Demon Loves the Dark

Before he strikes, Tosen lists the three routes to a captaincy in the Gotei 13: sitting an examination judged by three or more captains alongside the Captain-Commander, gathering endorsements from six captains with three of the remaining seven agreeing, or slaying a sitting captain while no fewer than two hundred of that division look on. Kenpachi grumbles that none of this is news to him, so Tosen makes his point plain. Ever since Kenpachi seized the Eleventh by cutting down Kenpachi Kiganjo, Tosen has regarded him as a bloodthirsty aberration certain to shatter the Soul Society's calm.

Insisting the grudge is not personal, Tosen declares that peace simply demands Kenpachi's removal. He widens the ring fixed to his hilt, then releases Suzumushi Tsuishiki: Enma Korogi, splitting it into ten kanji-marked rings that anchor a black dome over the whole pavilion. Inside it, every captive loses sight, hearing, smell, and any sense of reiatsu, sparing only the one who holds Suzumushi. Tosen opens cuts across Kenpachi's shoulder and back, confident the darkness will unnerve any swordsman.

Kenpachi keeps his footing through touch alone and drives his blade into the earth right beside Tosen without a flicker of fear. Realizing he faces a true monster who feels at home in the void, Tosen resolves to stop wasting time. On distant Sokyoku Hill, Rukia is led onto the platform and shuts her eyes as Yamamoto, standing with Sasakibe, announces that the sentence will now be carried out.

Tosen recites the three recognized ways to reach captain rank and admits he has distrusted Kenpachi since the man earned his post by killing Kenpachi Kiganjo. He then releases his Bankai, Suzumushi Tsuishiki: Enma Korogi, wrapping the battlefield in a dome that strips away every sense but touch. Kenpachi proves immune to the terror the technique depends on. Elsewhere, Rukia reaches the execution platform, and Yamamoto gives the command to begin.

The chapter introduces Tosen's Bankai and its sensory-deprivation gimmick, which backfires against a foe who has never depended on his eyes in combat. The material was adapted into Episode 53, Gin Ichimaru's Temptation, Resolution Shattered.