In the aftermath of the Thousand-Year Blood War, Soul Society's fragile peace cracks again when Tokinada Tsunayashiro, newly installed head of his noble clan after a string of convenient deaths among rival claimants, sets a plan in motion to install a new Soul King. Ninth Company lieutenant Shuhei Hisagi, doubling as a reporter for the in-universe Seireitei Communication, finds himself investigating the conspiracy and squaring off against the enigmatic figure Tokinada keeps at his side, Hikone Ubuginu. This three-volume novel picks up Bleach's story immediately after the main manga's final arc.