Chapter Summaries

A horde of Gillian-class Menos Grande attacked the temporary camp in Rukongai South District 7, and Wang Xun fought to protect the wounded until Unohana arrived. The battle ended with the Hollows defeated, while Aizen watched from the darkness and withdrew.

• An 11th Division guard spotted a horde of Hollows approaching, and Wang Xun ordered Isane to evacuate the wounded before joining the fight.
• Wang Xun helped turn back the Gillians, but more arrived and scattered Hollows broke through toward the wounded.
• A Gillian targeted Isane as she carried an injured soul, and Unohana immobilized and destroyed it with Kidō.
• Wang Xun continued attacking the Gillians while Unohana joined the battle, and the Menos Grande eventually stopped appearing.
• Aizen watched from the darkness and decided to end the attack after Unohana arrived.
• Unohana praised Wang Xun's combat fundamentals but criticized his Kendō, then told him to tend to the wounded.

Wang Xun practiced basic sword swings after Unohana judged his Kendō clumsy, while she watched and silently assessed his form. When Hollows attacked the camp again, Isane tried to fight one herself but was knocked down, and Wang Xun rescued her before admitting he had hardly trained his swordsmanship.

• After treating the wounded, Wang Xun checked his system and practiced simple sword swings to improve his Kendō.
• Retsu Unohana watched Wang Xun practice and concluded that his swordsmanship lacked technique and a sense of purpose.
• Isane Kotetsu told Wang Xun that wounded members of the 11th Division had arrived after a Hollow attack.
• When ordinary Hollows approached the camp, Isane asked Wang Xun to let her handle one and charged at it.
• The Hollow knocked Isane down, and Wang Xun killed it with a single slash before checking her injuries.
• Isane asked Wang Xun how he had trained his swordsmanship, and he said he had hardly trained at all.

Unohana agreed to teach Wang Xun Kendō after he said he wanted to protect those behind him. She began training him with wooden swords, using her killing intent to teach him to face an attack, and Wang Xun gained Kendō experience before she ended the first lesson and promised to continue the next day.

• Wang Xun returned to the clearing to practice, where Unohana asked whether he wanted to learn Kendō and told him to meet her the following evening.
• Wang Xun said he wanted Kendō so he could protect the people behind him, and Unohana agreed to guide him.
• Unohana gave Wang Xun a wooden sword and demonstrated the killing intent behind her understanding of Kendō.
• Unohana trained Wang Xun for two hours, correcting his instinct to retreat and his hesitation as he faced her attacks.
• Wang Xun gained Kendō insights and experience, and his Kendō level rose to level six after Unohana ended the lesson and said they would continue tomorrow.

After days of training with Unohana, Wang Xun learned to let his presence guide his sword. When three Adjuchas and more than a dozen Gillians attacked the camp, Unohana revealed her overwhelming strength and killed them all in moments.

• Unohana reflected on how Wang Xun had overcome his fear of her killing intent and was eager to continue training him.
• Over the next several nights, Unohana trained Wang Xun, then taught him to use his presence to guide his sword; after more than a hundred attempts, he finally struck without consciously thinking about the swing.
• As the rescue mission neared its end on the seventh day, Wang Xun sensed three approaching Adjuchas leading more than a dozen Gillians.
• Unohana ordered Wang Xun to protect the wounded, then unleashed her killing intent and charged the Hollows.
• Unohana killed all three Adjuchas and the Gillians within moments, then dismissed the battle as boring.

Unohana led the Soul Reapers in defeating a group of Hollows and suspected their repeated attacks had targeted the temporary camp. After she escorted the group back toward Seireitei, Aizen returned to the battlefield and erased the traces of his bait.

• Unohana killed the Adjuchas and ordered everyone to prepare to return to Seireitei the next morning.
• Wang Xun absorbed the Menos Grande Reiryoku Fragments and increased his Hollowfication to Lv4.
• Wang Xun and Unohana discussed the increasingly organized Hollow attacks, and Unohana recalled a past invasion led by a Vasto Lorde.
• Unohana suspected the Hollows had been drawn to the injured Soul Reapers in the temporary camp and planned to investigate after returning to Seireitei.
• The group traveled back toward Seireitei without encountering more Hollows, while Aizen returned to the battlefield and erased the traces of his bait.

Wang Xun advanced his Kendō under Retsu Unohana’s instruction and learned that her swordsmanship was called Yachiru. The next morning, Kisuke Urahara visited him with news that their Spirit Spring Project had made progress.

• Unohana continued training Wang Xun and helped him break through his focus on precision, raising his Kendō to Lv7.
• Unohana began teaching Wang Xun true swordsmanship, using feints, hidden weapons, and Kidō to show him the dangers of ignoring his surroundings.
• After Wang Xun asked about her swordsmanship, Unohana named it Yachiru.
• Kisuke Urahara visited Wang Xun at the Fourth Division barracks and told him the Spirit Spring Project had made progress.

Wang Xun visited Kisuke Urahara’s expanded spirit spring laboratory and saw how much its improved Reishi-gathering barrier had increased its yield. Urahara secretly tested Wang Xun with a vial carrying Hollow Reiatsu, but Wang Xun showed no reaction before proposing future cooperation.

• Wang Xun asked Kisuke Urahara about the investigation into the missing Soul Reapers, and Urahara said it had yielded only minor suspects so far.
• Wang Xun told Urahara that he had become the Fourth Seat of the Fourth Division and was responsible for organ repair techniques for severely injured patients.
• Urahara showed Wang Xun the expanded laboratory, where the spirit spring gathered Reishi more than five times as efficiently as before and enriched plants and animals.
• Wang Xun absorbed hundreds of Reiryoku Fragments from the spring, raising his Spiritual Might experience to 12880 out of 17000.
• Urahara placed a vial with concentrated Hollow Reiatsu among the laboratory supplies to test Wang Xun, who showed no sign of noticing it.
• Wang Xun praised the spring’s results and suggested discussing future cooperation with Urahara.

Wang Xun and Kisuke Urahara negotiated a spirit-farming partnership while Urahara secretly tested him with refined Hollowfication Fragments. As Wang Xun prepared to leave, Urahara openly presented the reagent and asked whether he knew what it was.

• Wang Xun suggested moving the spirit spring outside to expand production, and he told Urahara he had secured a remote plot in West Rukongai.
• Wang Xun let Urahara's refined Hollowfication Fragments enter his body and concluded that Urahara was testing him again.
• Wang Xun and Urahara negotiated a deal in which Urahara would receive thirty percent of the profits and handle future improvements.
• Wang Xun left the laboratory, while Urahara wondered whether he had noticed the reagent and was pretending otherwise.
• Urahara stopped Wang Xun at the hidden door, held up the vial, and asked whether he knew what it was.

Kisuke Urahara confronted Wang Xun about the Hollow power inside him and offered to help investigate and control it. Wang Xun refused, citing his duties in the Fourth Division, and left the laboratory while Urahara watched him go.

• Kisuke Urahara recalled Wang Xun noticing the vial during their East Rukongai mission and revealed that it contained the power he had hidden in his sleeve.
• Kisuke Urahara told Wang Xun that Hollow power was hidden inside him and warned that the person behind the Shinigami disappearances might target him.
• Kisuke Urahara offered to investigate Wang Xun's power and help him control it, promising that mastering it would make him much stronger.
• Wang Xun rejected the offer, saying he was already strong enough and that the Fourth Division's duty was to heal the injured, not pursue strength.
• Kisuke Urahara accepted Wang Xun's refusal and said he could return if he changed his mind; Wang Xun left through the hidden door.

Wang Xun weighed the risks and benefits of Kisuke Urahara’s interest in his Hollowfication, deciding to cooperate cautiously while continuing to strengthen himself. At the Second Division training grounds, Soi Fon challenged him to a spar.

• Wang Xun left the Maggot's Nest and considered Urahara’s offer, suspecting that Urahara wanted to use him as a test subject.
• Wang Xun reflected that Sōsuke Aizen was behind the disappearances and Hollow activity, and feared Aizen discovering his Hollowfication.
• Wang Xun decided he could use Urahara’s research to improve his strength, as long as he kept his secrets and maintained control of their cooperation.
• Wang Xun resolved to focus on training in the Fourth Division and avoid seeking Urahara out, while expecting Urahara to approach him again.
• Wang Xun went to the Second Division training grounds, where Soi Fon greeted him and challenged him to a spar.

Wang Xun sparred with Soi Fon at the Second Division training ground, where he defeated her despite her emerging Shunkō skills. After discussing his progress in the Fourth Division, he left without revealing what he considered his greatest strength, while Soi Fon resolved to train until she could beat him.

• Soi Fon attacked Wang Xun with rapid Shunpo and Hakuda, showing that she had nearly mastered Shunkō.
• Wang Xun calmly blocked Soi Fon’s attacks and stopped her strongest strike by disrupting her Reiatsu, forcing her to admit defeat.
• Wang Xun praised Soi Fon’s progress and explained that Shunkō fused Kidō with Hakuda.
• Wang Xun told Soi Fon that he had become Fourth Seat in the Fourth Division and could perform organ repairs on severely injured patients.
• When Soi Fon asked what he was best at, Wang Xun left without answering and returned toward the Fourth Division.
• Soi Fon watched Wang Xun leave and resolved to train harder so she could defeat him one day.

Unohana began sparring with Wang Xun using real swords, pushing his Kendō forward through their increasingly fierce exchanges. When Wang Xun finally grazed her arm, Unohana’s suppressed fighting instinct erupted, and she realized he had seen her bloodthirsty smile.

• Unohana told Wang Xun that their Kendō lessons would use real swords and warned him that he could be hurt if he lost focus.
• Unohana attacked Wang Xun, and he struggled to withstand her precise, powerful strikes while learning from her swordsmanship.
• As their sparring continued, Wang Xun improved his Kendō and began combining Shunpo with his swordplay.
• Wang Xun evaded Unohana’s strike and countered, grazing her sleeve and cutting her arm with his Zanpakuto.
• Unohana’s killing intent erupted, and Wang Xun saw her eerie, pleased smile as she stared at her wound.
• Unohana noticed Wang Xun’s expression, touched the corner of her mouth, and paused in surprise.

After Wang Xun impressed Unohana by cutting her sleeve during their sparring match, she decided to train him seriously in the true Yachiru Swordsmanship. She healed his injuries with Minazuki and warned him that her future lessons would be far stricter.

• Unohana praised Wang Xun's progress in Kendō and recognized that he had grasped the basics of Yachiru Swordsmanship.
• Unohana reflected on Wang Xun's extraordinary talent and resolved to teach him the deeper techniques of the First Kenpachi's swordsmanship.
• Unohana healed her own forearm with Kaidō, then used Minazuki to heal Wang Xun by swallowing and spitting him out.
• Unohana warned Wang Xun that she would train him in earnest from then on and hold him to standards a hundred times stricter.
• Wang Xun agreed to the demanding training as Unohana left the sword training ground.

Kirio Hikifune visited Unohana to ask about the Zero Division ahead of her likely transfer, and Unohana helped ease her doubts. Their conversation was interrupted by Wang Xun, whose calm manner caught Hikifune’s interest.

• Kirio Hikifune and Hiyori Sarugaki visited Unohana, and Hikifune asked what to expect from the Zero Division.
• Unohana described Tenjirō Kirinji and the other Zero Division members as arrogant, but explained that their achievements justified their confidence.
• Unohana reassured Hikifune that being selected for the Royal Guard proved she belonged there, easing her anxiety.
• Wang Xun entered to report on patients, and Hiyori asked who he was.
• Wang Xun introduced himself as the Fourth Division’s Fourth Seat, recently transferred from the Second Division, while Hikifune watched him with interest.

Kirio Hikifune suspected Unohana had a reason for appointing Wang Xun Fourth Seat, while Wang Xun learned he would represent the Fourth Division on a mission to investigate disappearances in Rukongai alongside Kenpachi Kiganjō and Sōsuke Aizen. He agreed to depart the next morning, though Aizen's involvement made him uneasy.

• Kirio Hikifune and Hiyori Sarugaki left the Fourth Division, and Hiyori called Wang Xun a poser for his calm manner.
• Kirio Hikifune told Hiyori to be kinder to Wang Xun, suspecting he might have a significant future in the Fourth Division.
• Wang Xun reported on recent patients and his progress repairing injured organs to Unohana.
• Unohana told Wang Xun that souls were disappearing between North District 70 and District 80 of Rukongai and that patrols sent to investigate had not returned.
• Unohana assigned Wang Xun to lead the Fourth Division medical team alongside Kenpachi Kiganjō and Sōsuke Aizen, and ordered him to meet them at Kokuryōmon the next morning.

Wang Xun joined a mission to Rukongai as the Fourth Division’s medical representative, where Kenpachi Kiganjō dismissed him as an unqualified youth. The group reached the desolate sixtieth district and made camp for the night, with Wang Xun checking his medical supplies as Aizen approached him.

• Unohana told Wang Xun to prioritize treating the wounded and his own safety, while privately imagining him as a future 11th Division captain.
• Wang Xun met Aizen and Kenpachi Kiganjō at Seireitei’s northern gate before the mission set out.
• Kiganjō questioned Wang Xun’s appointment and ordered him not to slow the group down, while Aizen defended him.
• Aizen charmed the group during their journey north, while Wang Xun remained wary of his friendly facade.
• The group reached Rukongai’s sixtieth district at dusk and made camp, where Aizen approached Wang Xun as he checked his medical supplies.

Wang Xun and Aizen waited uneasily near the site of a missing patrol while Kenpachi Kiganjō’s 11th Division drank and celebrated. During the night, Hollows attacked the camp, and several Gillian-level Menos Grande began descending through a Garganta.

• Aizen told Wang Xun that the missing patrol had reported Menos Grande and warned that the Hollows might be Gillian-level or stronger.
• Kiganjō forced an 11th Division member to drink liquor despite their mission, and Aizen warned Wang Xun to stay alert.
• Wang Xun stayed awake, sensing that something was watching him, while Aizen brought him a waterskin and sat with him.
• Aizen noticed something was wrong just before Hollows rushed the camp, and the Fifth Division watchman raised the alarm.
• Kiganjō and the 11th Division joined the battle, but several members were badly wounded before they could recover from drinking.
• Aizen and Wang Xun saw several Gillian-level Menos Grande tearing open a Garganta above the battlefield.

Wang Xun witnessed Aizen release Kyōka Suigetsu and began analyzing its complete hypnosis, allowing him to see through the illusion as Aizen departed. Aizen noticed Wang Xun watching, but Wang Xun concealed his awareness and pretended to be deceived while Aizen continued observing him.

• Aizen ordered the Fifth Division to protect Wang Xun and the Fourth Division, while Wang Xun drew his Zanpakuto and prepared to fight.
• Aizen released Kyōka Suigetsu, causing the Hollows to mistake one another for enemies and attack among themselves.
• Wang Xun secretly released Shackle Lotus, and his system began analyzing Kyōka Suigetsu as his perception of the illusion shifted.
• Wang Xun saw the real Aizen leaving with several Fifth Division members while everyone else remained deceived by the illusion.
• Aizen stopped and watched Wang Xun, who kept up his act and claimed Shackle Lotus improved the efficiency of his Reiatsu output.
• Aizen continued watching Wang Xun instead of leaving as Wang Xun feigned amazement at Kyōka Suigetsu.

Wang Xun used Shackle Lotus’s help to stabilize his resistance to Aizen’s Kyōka Suigetsu, then survived Aizen’s deadly test by pretending to remain hypnotized. As the Hollow attack ended and the Garganta closed, Wang Xun stayed wary of Aizen’s motives and possible informants.

• Wang Xun entered his inner world, where Shackle Lotus explained how she could balance his resistance to Aizen’s reiatsu and preserve the illusion.
• Wang Xun returned to reality with his expression unchanged, while Aizen noticed that the strange fluctuation in his reiatsu had disappeared.
• Aizen suddenly aimed Kyōka Suigetsu at Wang Xun’s neck, but Wang Xun maintained his hypnotized act and gave no sign that he perceived the strike.
• Aizen withdrew his sword and left with the Fifth Division members after telling them to continue the mission.
• Wang Xun credited his training under Unohana with helping him stay calm, then remained guarded as the 11th Division defeated the Hollows and the Garganta closed.

After the battle, Wang Xun treated the wounded 11th Division members and earned their respect through his skilled Kaidō. As he recovered his Reiatsu, he wondered what Aizen was doing in the darkness.

• Kenpachi Kiganjō finished killing the Gillian Hollows and ordered the 11th Division to count its dead and wounded.
• Wang Xun noticed that the division members believed Aizen’s illusion had directed the battle, while the real Aizen had slipped away unseen.
• Wang Xun began treating the wounded 11th Division members, quickly healing severe injuries with precise Kaidō.
• The 11th Division members changed their opinion of Wang Xun and promised to remember his name.
• Wang Xun drank from his waterskin to recover his Reiatsu and looked toward the darkness where Aizen had disappeared.