"..."
"Hmm?"
Tetsuzaemon, who had been standing with his back to Ikkaku in a cool and aloof manner, suddenly heard a strange sound behind him and couldn't help turning around to look.
"Cap... Captain?!" Tetsuzaemon turned around and was surprised to find Komamura standing behind him, his furry 'dog ears' twitching, clearly listening to his conversation with Ikkaku.
Then Tetsuzaemon and Ikkaku both couldn't help but look nervous. Their conversation just now had definitely been heard by Komamura.
'Oh no! Captain Komamura definitely knows that I've mastered Bankai now...'
'Not good! I clearly promised Ikkaku that I wouldn't tell anyone...'
"Don't worry!" Just as Ikkaku and Tetsuzaemon were feeling worried and vexed, Komamura suddenly spoke. "Unfortunately, my ears happen to be a bit deaf today..."
"Thank you, Captain Komamura!" Ikkaku couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, then quickly thanked Komamura.
"Well, even if I kept it a secret for you, it wouldn't mean much, because..."
Komamura walked up to Ikkaku and said: "Even if the higher-ups of the Gotei 13 know that you've mastered Bankai, they won't force you to become a Captain."
"Really?" Ikkaku said with some surprise.
In Ikkaku's view, with three Captain's positions suddenly vacant, the Gotei 13's prestige and strength had been greatly weakened. If there was an opportunity to fill those Captain's vacancies, the higher-ups of the Gotei 13 would definitely not let such a chance slip by.
That was precisely why, even when facing a life-threatening crisis earlier, he did not use his Bankai to fight the enemy. He was afraid that the Gotei 13's higher-ups would see it and force him to become a Captain. Then he would have to leave the 11th Division, where Zaraki was.
"Of course." Komamura couldn't help but find it a bit amusing. "You overestimate your own strength, Ikkaku. Do you think that just by mastering Bankai you can become a Captain? If you really think that, then you're being a bit too naive."
"Mastering Bankai is only one of the conditions for becoming a Captain. You should know that although Captains generally know Bankai, not everyone who knows Bankai can become a Captain."
"Lieutenant Abarai of the 6th Division has also mastered Bankai, but he is still a Lieutenant. To become a Captain, you also need to pass the [Captain Proficiency Test]. But as for you..."
"It's not that I'm looking down on you, but with your strength, passing the Captain Proficiency Test would actually be quite difficult..." Komamura shook his head.
Although Komamura had not witnessed Ikkaku's Bankai with his own eyes, he could still conclude that Ikkaku's strength was insufficient to become a Captain.
Because earlier, Ikkaku had been utterly defeated in his battle with Choe Neng Poww, losing miserably and nearly losing his life.
You must understand, Choe Neng Poww had not even used his Resurrección when fighting Ikkaku, while Ikkaku had already used his Shikai.
Generally speaking, Arrancars only have one Resurrección, unlike Shinigami who have Shikai and Bankai. So, an Arrancar's normal state is equivalent to a Shinigami's Shikai state.
Therefore, Ikkaku and Choe Neng Poww had just fought under equivalent conditions, both in states equivalent to Shikai. There was no situation where one relied on "Bankai to fight Shikai."
Yet, fighting under equal conditions, Ikkaku still lost. So, even if Ikkaku used Bankai, there was a high chance he would still not be a match for Choe Neng Poww.
And Choe Neng Poww, after all, was just an Arrancar equivalent to early Captain-class. Although he was considered relatively strong among early Captain-class, he was still easily defeated when facing Komamura, who was among the weaker Captains in the Gotei 13.
This shows that even the weakest Captain is not something an Arrancar like Choe Neng Poww can match. And Ikkaku, who couldn't even defeat Choe Neng Poww, simply couldn't become a Captain.
Yamamoto would not allow a Shinigami of Ikkaku's strength to become a Captain and lower the average combat power of the Captains. So Ikkaku's worry was completely unnecessary.
"Is that so? I see... It seems I was completely flattering myself..." Ikkaku said with a wry smile after hearing Komamura's explanation.
"You two, take care of yourselves. I'll go ahead. I need to continue fighting..." Komamura nodded to Ikkaku and Tetsuzaemon, then turned and left.
Sky, the Espada camp.
"Charlotte and the others have been defeated..."
"Damn!"
Seeing their comrades defeated, the two remaining subordinate officers behind Baraggan, Ggio Vega and Nirgge Parduoc, couldn't help cursing.
Creak, creak, creak...
Baraggan, watching his subordinates being defeated one by one, also had a grim expression and was extremely angry, his hands gripping the armrests of his Bone Throne tightly, making them creak.
"Choe, Charlotte, Abirama, Findorrr... defeated by Shinigami... a bunch of useless trash!"
Bang!
In his anger, Baraggan couldn't help but slam his hand on the armrest of his Bone Throne.
Crack!
The armrest of the Bone Throne immediately snapped, turning into powder that scattered in the wind. Then Baraggan slowly stood up from the Bone Throne.
Seeing Baraggan's fury, Ggio Vega and Nirgge Parduoc, in fear, quickly knelt down and said: "We are truly sorry! Baraggan-sama, please sit back down and wait a moment! We will go and destroy those Shinigami immediately!!"
"Who did you say... you're going to destroy?"
A voice suddenly came from behind Ggio Vega and Nirgge Parduoc.
Hearing the voice behind them, Ggio Vega and Nirgge Parduoc's hearts tightened, and they quickly turned around to look.
There, Sui-Feng and Omaeda were walking through the air towards Baraggan's side.
"Is it to destroy Komamura and the others... or all of us? If your answer doesn't satisfy me... then I'll start with you." Sui-Feng looked at one of the Arrancars, who had golden eyes, wore a saber-toothed tiger skull mask, had a black braid, and had a handsome, feminine appearance.
Yes, this handsome Arrancar was Baraggan's subordinate officer, Ggio Vega. And if you didn't hear his voice and only judged by appearance, he would definitely be a breathtakingly beautiful woman.
Seeing Ggio Vega not speaking, Sui-Feng spoke again: "Well, whatever... even if you don't answer, I'll still fight..."
Having said that, Sui-Feng reached for the hilt of her Zanpakuto tucked behind her waist.
Shiing—
The Zanpakuto slowly unsheathed. Then a gleam flashed in Sui-Feng's eyes, and she instantly charged at Ggio Vega.
Ggio Vega was not to be outdone, also drawing his sword and charging at Sui-Feng.
Tap, tap, tap...
Tap, tap, tap...
The two ran through the air, and when they got close, they suddenly swung their swords at each other.
Clang!
Swords clashed, sparks flying.
At the same time.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...
Tap, tap, tap...
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...
Pak, pak, pak...
As Sui-Feng and Ggio Vega engaged, the Gotei 13 Captains and Lieutenants, and the Espada and Fraccion of the Hueco Mundo side, also simultaneously charged at each other.
Starrk and Lilynette blocked Kyoraku and Ukitake. Omaeda encountered Baraggan's other Fraccion, Nirgge Parduoc. Harribel was about to choose Komamura on the distant ground as her opponent.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Just as Harribel was about to head towards Komamura on the distant ground, the figures of Ichigo, Uryu, and Chad suddenly appeared on the battlefield.
"Yare yare, Old Man Yamamoto really is something. He didn't even tell us about something as important as the decisive battle with Aizen. Luckily we arrived in time. So... I'll be your opponent!" Ichigo blocked Harribel's path.
Yamamoto in the distance saw the sudden appearance of Ichigo and frowned, but did not say anything further.
The reason Yamamoto had not told Ichigo about the decisive battle was that he didn't want him to get involved. Although Ichigo was a Substitute Shinigami, he was still a human.
In Yamamoto's view, the decisive battle with Aizen was Soul Society's own affair. So he did not want to involve an 'innocent human' like Ichigo.
However, since Ichigo had already come, Yamamoto couldn't send him back either.
Then Yamamoto said in a deep voice: "Finally... the full-scale war has begun..."
At the same time, in the dimensional space.
Inside the giant iceberg, over a kilometer high and several kilometers long, frozen by Absolute Zero, Toshiro suddenly opened his eyes.