Chapter Summaries

Wang Xun confirmed to Nanao that he had achieved Shikai and encouraged her to pursue her own path through Kidō. On their way to the training grounds, Tokinada Tsunayashiro confronted Wang Xun and tried again to recruit him, but Wang Xun refused.

• Wang Xun teased Nanao about a massage before she asked whether he had achieved Shikai, and he confirmed that he had.
• Nanao congratulated Wang Xun, admitted she would pursue her own path in Kidō, and promised to keep up with him.
• Wang Xun and Nanao encountered Tokinada Tsunayashiro, accompanied by Heita Harada and Kenji Takaya, on their way to the training grounds.
• Tokinada offered to double his previous recruitment terms after learning of Wang Xun's performance during the Konsō field exercise, but Wang Xun said the decision was no longer his to make.
• Tokinada insisted the Tsunayashiro name could make anything possible, while Takaya and Heita urged Wang Xun to accept the offer.

Wang Xun rejected Tokinada Tsunayashiro’s attempt to recruit him, citing Captain Shihoin’s authority, and stood up to Tsunayashiro when he threatened Wang Xun’s business and insulted Nanao. After Tsunayashiro left, Wang Xun comforted Nanao and they headed back.

• Wang Xun told Tokinada Tsunayashiro that his assignment came from the Second Division Captain and that Tsunayashiro could only recruit him if he got him out of the Second Division.
• Tsunayashiro grew angry when he realized Wang Xun might have Shihoin backing and insulted Nanao by repeating rumors about the Ise Clan.
• Wang Xun released his Reiatsu, warned Tsunayashiro not to provoke him, and threatened to retaliate if Tsunayashiro harmed anyone close to him or his Ichiraku Ramen business.
• Tsunayashiro left with Heita Harada and Kenji Takaya after threatening Wang Xun’s business, while Wang Xun ignored the watching students.
• Wang Xun reassured the upset Nanao, who thanked him, and then invited her to go back.

Nanao watched Wang Xun train, grew uneasy when other girls gathered around him, and left in a huff. Wang Xun discovered that Shackle Lotus had unlocked automatic fragment pickup and was pulled into his inner world, where she asked him for H-books as a reward.

• Nanao asked Wang Xun to spend more time with her and watched him train at the Kendō grounds.
• Students gathered to watch Wang Xun, and Nanao intimidated the girls who sat beside her before leaving angrily.
• Wang Xun chose to collect fragments instead of following Nanao and absorbed nearby fragments automatically.
• Shackle Lotus told Wang Xun she had developed an automatic pickup function that absorbed fragments within his Reiatsu range.
• Wang Xun praised Shackle Lotus, who asked him to get her some H-books as a reward.

Wang Xun visited the Second Division to check on Kisuke Urahara’s experiment and ask for help with his problems. Urahara brought him into the Maggot’s Nest, where they continued toward the laboratory.

• Wang Xun left the training grounds, thought about Nanao and Tsunayashiro’s warning, and decided to visit Kisuke Urahara.
• Wang Xun used Urahara’s token to gain entry to the Second Division barracks and was escorted to the Detention Unit.
• Wang Xun crossed the Sekki Stone barrier and entered the Maggot’s Nest with Urahara.
• Wang Xun asked Urahara about the experiment and admitted he had other problems he wanted help solving.
• Urahara led Wang Xun through the cavern where prisoners could move freely and toward his laboratory.

Wang Xun accompanied Kisuke Urahara through the Maggot's Nest, where Urahara explained why its inmates were confined and warned that they might attack. After Urahara dealt with two prisoners, Wang Xun defended himself against another and faced a growing group of hostile inmates as Urahara went to fetch something.

• Wang Xun followed Kisuke Urahara through the Maggot's Nest and absorbed Reiryoku and Hakuda fragments while Urahara warned him about the inmates.
• Kisuke Urahara explained that the prisoners were considered potential threats and that many resented being confined despite not having committed actual crimes.
• A burly prisoner and a long-haired man attacked Kisuke Urahara, who stopped them and threw them aside.
• The long-haired man charged at Wang Xun, who dislocated his wrist, struck him in the abdomen, and threw him down.
• More prisoners confronted Wang Xun, and Kisuke Urahara left to fetch something after telling the hidden guards to keep the situation under control.

Kisuke Urahara provoked the imprisoned Mayuri Kurotsuchi into drafting a complete experimental plan while Wang Xun fought the prisoners outside. Urahara then brought Wang Xun to his hidden research facility and asked why he had really come to see him.

• Kisuke Urahara visited Mayuri Kurotsuchi in his cell and showed him an experimental plan for modifying Reishi.
• Mayuri Kurotsuchi dismissed the plan until Urahara taunted him, prompting him to demand paper and a pen so he could write a better design.
• Kisuke Urahara secretly activated a surveillance bug and left Mayuri Kurotsuchi writing furiously.
• Wang Xun fought the prisoners, gained Reiryoku fragments and Hakuda experience, and stopped only when Kisuke Urahara intervened.
• Kisuke Urahara led Wang Xun into a concealed research facility and gave him a preliminary plan to increase plant yields.
• Kisuke Urahara asked Wang Xun to explain the real reason he had come to see him.

After Tokinada Tsunayashiro threatened his businesses, Wang Xun asked Kisuke Urahara for advice and bought defensive equipment and custom communicators for his workers. Urahara then revealed that Yoruichi was investigating disappearances in Rukongai and that some of the obstruction came from within the Seireitei.

• Wang Xun told Kisuke Urahara about Tokinada Tsunayashiro’s threat and asked how to protect his businesses.
• Urahara described ways Tokinada could sabotage Wang Xun’s shops and offered surveillance devices and nonlethal defenses.
• Wang Xun haggled with Urahara, then ordered ten sets of defensive tools and shop surveillance equipment for three million kan.
• Wang Xun explained that Ganju Shiba’s growing logistics operation could watch for suspicious activity, and he ordered ten custom communicators from Urahara.
• Urahara told Wang Xun that Yoruichi was investigating the disappearance of high-Reiryoku souls in Rukongai, and that some leads were being obstructed from within the Seireitei.

Kisuke Urahara told Wang Xun that Yoruichi suspected the Tsunayashiro Clan of conducting illicit experiments, then analyzed a sample of Wang Xun’s Reiatsu and discovered highly pure Hollow Reiatsu integrated into his soul. Yoruichi sent Soi Fon to monitor Wang Xun and investigate the attackers, while Tokinada Tsunayashiro arranged a campaign to shut down Wang Xun’s ramen shop.

• Kisuke Urahara explained to Wang Xun that Yoruichi suspected the Tsunayashiro Clan of secretly experimenting on souls, and Wang Xun asked whether she might use the current incident to investigate them.
• After Wang Xun left, Urahara examined his Reiatsu and blood, finding highly pure Hollow Reiatsu that appeared to have originated within Wang Xun’s soul.
• Urahara reported to Yoruichi that Wang Xun’s conflict with the Tsunayashiro Clan could provide an opening to investigate them, and Yoruichi ordered Soi Fon to monitor Wang Xun and trace the attackers’ connection to the clan.
• Tokinada Tsunayashiro met with Nagano Masayasu, who outlined plans to spread rumors, stage complaints, and threaten the ramen shop’s employees to force it out of business.

Tokinada Tsunayashiro’s plan to ruin Wang Xun was interrupted when his older cousin Tsunayashiro Tokinada attacked Nagano Masayasu and announced he would deal with Wang himself. Concerned about the danger to the Tsunayashiro Clan and their ties to Yoruichi Shihōin and Shunsui Kyōraku, Tokinada ordered Nagano to wait for further instructions.

• Tsunayashiro Tokinada burst into Tokinada Tsunayashiro’s tea room after beating Nagano Masayasu for failing to show him proper respect.
• Tokinada Tsunayashiro confronted his cousin for interfering with Nagano, and Tsunayashiro Tokinada mocked his covert campaign against Wang Xun.
• Tsunayashiro Tokinada said Wang Xun’s connection to Shunsui Kyōraku’s niece made the matter interesting and threatened to kill him himself.
• Tokinada Tsunayashiro worried that his cousin’s actions would provoke Yoruichi Shihōin or Shunsui Kyōraku and bring trouble to the Tsunayashiro Clan.
• Tokinada Tsunayashiro told Nagano Masayasu to delay his plans and await further instructions, then regretted how events were unfolding.

Wang Xun trained in the Maggot's Nest, collected tools for the ramen shop, and heard Ganju's report that trouble in Rukongai had gone strangely quiet. On the way back, Tokinada Tsunayashiro warned him that his older cousin planned to intervene, leaving Wang Xun alarmed by the name Tsunayashiro Tokinada.

• Wang Xun visited the Maggot's Nest, where Kisuke Urahara supplied the tools he had requested and watched him train against the prisoners.
• Wang Xun improved his Hakuda and Spiritual Might, then left with Ganju and the tools tied to Ganju's boar.
• Ganju told Wang Xun that no one had caused trouble at the shop and that his underlings had heard nothing from Rukongai.
• Tokinada Tsunayashiro stopped Wang Xun and Ganju on a secluded street and warned that his older cousin planned to get involved in their conflict.
• After Tokinada left, Wang Xun recognized the name Tsunayashiro Tokinada and grew concerned about the danger ahead.

Wang Xun retrieved his Asauchi from the Spiritual Arts Academy because he feared Tokinada Tsunayashiro would target him or his shop. Shunsui Kyōraku caught him leaving, heard his explanation, and offered to accompany him toward West Rukongai.

• Wang Xun sent Ganju to distribute the supplies and warn Uncle Ichiraku to prioritize his safety.
• Wang Xun returned to the Spiritual Arts Academy, retrieved his Zanpakuto, and slipped out past the patrols.
• Shunsui Kyōraku stopped Wang Xun and pointed out that taking an Asauchi off Academy grounds was against the rules.
• Wang Xun told Kyōraku that he feared the Tsunayashiro Clan would act against him because of his disagreement with Tokinada Tsunayashiro.
• Kyōraku acknowledged the danger and offered to go with Wang Xun toward the noodle shop in West Rukongai, promising to intervene if trouble arose.

Wang Xun and Shunsui Kyōraku were ambushed in West Rukongai, where Wang Xun fought off a coordinated group of assassins. After two attackers released their Zanpakuto and gained the advantage, Wang Xun released Shackle Lotus, leaving them stunned.

• Shunsui Kyōraku escorted Wang Xun from the Seireitei into West Rukongai while acting as though they were taking a nighttime stroll.
• Several assassins attacked Wang Xun and Kyōraku, and Wang Xun defended himself against two coordinated opponents while Kyōraku casually handled his attackers.
• Wang Xun adapted to the pair’s tactics and wounded the tall, thin attacker, but the two released their Zanpakuto and began to suppress him.
• Kyōraku watched Wang Xun closely and sensed others hiding nearby, while Wang Xun sustained several wounds from the released Zanpakuto.
• Wang Xun retreated and released Shackle Lotus, unleashing immense Reiatsu that stunned the two attackers.

Wang Xun used Shackle Lotus’s Shikai to analyze and overcome the abilities of Mad Fang and Poison Stinger, defeating both attackers despite his heavy Reiatsu use. After Shunsui Kyōraku praised him and admitted he had been testing him, Stealth Force members arrived and surrounded the scene.

• Wang Xun’s Shackle Lotus analyzed Mad Fang and Poison Stinger as their wielders launched a coordinated attack.
• Wang Xun completed the analysis, learned both Zanpakuto abilities, and used Shunpo and Hakuda to knock the tall, thin attacker unconscious.
• Wang Xun evaded the burly attacker’s all-out slash and killed him with a blade strike.
• Wang Xun reviewed the experience gained from the fight as Shunsui Kyōraku approached and praised his Shikai.
• Shunsui Kyōraku said he had been testing Wang Xun and drew attention to figures hiding nearby.
• Members of the Stealth Force rushed in and sealed off the scene.

After the Stealth Force captured the attackers who had targeted Wang Xun and Ichiraku Ramen’s businesses, Shunsui Kyōraku promised to report the attack and confront the Tsunayashiro Clan. Wang Xun went with Soi Fon to the Fourth Division for treatment, hoping to gain more Kaidō experience.

• Soi Fon arrived, identified the attackers as targets the Stealth Force had been tracking, and explained that the noodle shops’ attackers had caused only property damage and no casualties.
• Soi Fon praised Wang Xun’s strength and Kaidō, while the wounded attacker claimed they had been hired without knowing who their employer was before the Stealth Force gagged him.
• Shunsui Kyōraku decided to report the attack to Central 46 and visit the Tsunayashiro Clan, promising Wang Xun that the clan would not target him or his shops again.
• Shunsui Kyōraku asked Soi Fon to take Wang Xun to the Fourth Division, and Wang Xun agreed while hoping to collect more Kaidō experience fragments.

After being treated in the Fourth Division, Wang Xun secretly harvested Kaidō and Spiritual Might fragments from the busy infirmary. He returned to his room after gaining new healing knowledge, only to find Captain Unohana waiting there.

• Soi Fon escorted Wang Xun to the Fourth Division dispensary, where a healer treated his wounds and told him to rest.
• Wang Xun collected Kaidō and Reiryoku fragments near the treatment rooms, raising his Kidō level before Lieutenant Kiyōnosuke Yamada ordered him back to bed.
• Captain Unohana caught Wang Xun lingering outside patients’ rooms and gently warned him to return to his room.
• That night, Wang Xun secretly gathered fragments throughout the Fourth Division and improved his Kaidō and Spiritual Might experience.
• Wang Xun returned to his treatment room and found Captain Unohana sitting on his bed.

Wang Xun was caught wandering the Fourth Division wards at night, but convinced Unohana that he had been studying Kaidō by demonstrating his healing skill. Unohana let him return to rest and offered him a place in the Fourth Division, while Wang Xun suspected Yoruichi had been watching over him.

• Unohana confronted Wang Xun for visiting wards with seriously injured patients in the middle of the night.
• Wang Xun claimed he was studying Kaidō and demonstrated his precise control by forming a healing technique in his palm.
• Unohana improved the technique and learned that Wang Xun was a fifth-year student bound for the Second Division.
• Unohana noticed Stealth Force members watching the area and remarked that Shihoin valued Wang Xun, then offered him the option of joining the Fourth Division.
• Unohana told Wang Xun to rest and invited him to ask openly for Kaidō guidance in the future.
• After Unohana left, Wang Xun suspected she had not believed him and concluded that Captain Yoruichi was looking after him.

Yoruichi Shihōin visited Wang Xun with Kisuke Urahara and Marechiyo Ōmaeda, offered protection through a Seireitei branch of Ichiraku Ramen, and discussed the crop-yield research. Wang Xun accepted the partnership, while Yoruichi revealed that Captain Kyōraku would confront the Tsunayashiro Clan over the attacks.

• Kisuke Urahara, Yoruichi Shihōin, and Marechiyo Ōmaeda visited Wang Xun in the hospital and assured him that Yoruichi's people had stopped troublemakers near his shop.
• Urahara told Wang Xun that experiments using Kidō barriers and Reishi Structure Intervention Technology could shorten crop growth cycles and raise yields.
• Yoruichi proposed opening an Ichiraku Ramen branch in the Seireitei's noble district under the Shihoin Clan's protection.
• Ōmaeda offered to provide funding, premises, and paperwork in exchange for seventy percent of the profits, while Wang Xun retained control of the recipes and preparation methods.
• Yoruichi told Wang Xun that the Tsunayashiro Clan had left no usable evidence, but Captain Kyōraku would visit them.

Wang Xun decided that he needed to focus on becoming stronger after recent attacks drew him into dangerous conflicts. He chose to join the Punishment Force, and Yoruichi agreed to arrange his early graduation and special recruitment while warning him to prepare for its entrance assessment.

• Wang Xun asked Ōmaeda to help advance Kisuke Urahara's proposal to increase raw-material production, and Ōmaeda agreed to learn more about their cooperation.
• Wang Xun reflected on how recent attention from Aizen and conflict with the Tsunayashiro Clan had made strength more important than money or connections.
• Wang Xun told Yoruichi that he wanted tougher training and to join the Gotei 13 after finishing his Spiritual Arts Academy courses early.
• Yoruichi described the Punishment Force's dangerous missions and warned Wang Xun that he could die at any moment.
• Wang Xun chose the Punishment Force, and Yoruichi offered to arrange his early graduation and special recruitment while telling him to prepare for its entrance assessment.

After returning to Shin'ō Academy, Wang Xun told Nanao and Kaien Shiba that he planned to graduate early and join the Second Division's Stealth Force. Nanao supported his decision, while Kaien revealed that he also intended to apply for early graduation.

• Wang Xun returned to Shin'ō Academy after getting new clothes, then visited Nanao in the library.
• Wang Xun told Nanao he planned to apply for early graduation and join the Second Division's Stealth Force, and she urged him to stay safe while supporting his choice.
• Wang Xun visited Kaien Shiba at the training grounds and told him about his early graduation plans and his decision to join the Second Division.
• Kaien said he also planned to apply for early graduation, wished Wang Xun good fortune, and acknowledged the danger of Second Division missions.

Wang Xun passed the Spiritual Arts Academy’s early graduation exam after demonstrating Shikai and was assigned to the Second Division. At the barracks, Soi Fon began a personal entrance examination, challenging him to endure her Hakuda attacks.

• Kisuke Urahara represented the Second Division as Wang Xun passed his graduation tests and revealed his Shikai, Shackle Lotus.
• Wang Xun received his graduation certificate and assignment to the Second Division, then reported to its barracks three days later.
• Punishment Force reserve members eyed Wang Xun with hostility because he came from Rukongai and had been specially recruited.
• Soi Fon summoned Wang Xun to an outdoor training ground and explained that she would test him personally.
• Wang Xun accepted Soi Fon’s challenge to last as long as he could against her while she used only Hakuda.