In the Living World, on the battlefield of the decisive battle between Soul Society and Aizen's side.
Bang!
Baraggan, seated on his Bone Throne, slapped Sui-Feng on the shoulder, sending her flying again.
"Hmph, you can't even make me leave my throne? Is this all the Gotei 13's Captains are capable of? How disappointing." Baraggan said contemptuously from his Bone Throne.
Earlier, after the battle began, Sui-Feng had finally managed to defeat Ggio Vega at the cost of minor injuries.
Then, without taking a break, Sui-Feng immediately attacked Baraggan, who had been leisurely sitting on his Bone Throne watching the show.
However, no matter what tricks Sui-Feng tried, Baraggan easily deflected them. Baraggan never even left his Bone Throne. That meant Sui-Feng couldn't even make Baraggan move.
"Huff, huff, huff..." Facing Baraggan's ridicule, Sui-Feng did not retort. She just breathed deeply, taking the opportunity to recover her stamina.
"Tch, how boring!"
Seeing that Sui-Feng did not respond, Baraggan seemed to lose interest and no longer wanted to play with her. So he actively rose from his Bone Throne, then raised his hand, and the Bone Throne transformed into a giant axe that fell into Baraggan's hand.
"Well then... who should I cut first?" Baraggan looked playfully at Sui-Feng and Omaeda, who was not far from Sui-Feng.
"Ca... Ca... Captain..." Seeing Baraggan looking at him, Omaeda, who had been lying there playing dead after being sent flying, couldn't pretend anymore. He immediately looked at Sui-Feng, trembling.
"What is it now? If you have something to say, say it quickly!" Sui-Feng said crisply.
"Th-that... that... is it about time?" Omaeda asked.
"About time for what?" Sui-Feng asked, puzzled.
"Do I have to say it? Restriction Removal of course!" Omaeda gestured with his hands and said excitedly to Sui-Feng: "We've accumulated enough Reiatsu! Hurry up and release the limitation! Take care of this old guy!!"
"Oh? What? You have some kind of trump card?" Baraggan asked with some interest.
"Of course, old man! Once the limitation is released, you're as good as dead!" Omaeda said, spittle flying, pointing at Baraggan arrogantly.
"How interesting. I'd like to see if your so-called Restriction Removal is really that powerful." Baraggan said.
If the opponent was too weak, Baraggan wouldn't be very interested. So the stronger Sui-Feng was, the happier he would be.
"Hmph! No need for you to yell! Here comes the Restriction Removal! Right, Captain!" Omaeda first said arrogantly to Baraggan, then looked at Sui-Feng with an obsequious expression.
However...
"No!" Sui-Feng refused decisively.
"Huh?" Omaeda immediately froze.
"The so-called Restriction Removal means that when Captain and Lieutenant class Shinigami pass through the Senkaimon, a Restriction Seal is automatically imprinted on a certain part of the body... which can be temporarily lifted in an emergency. However... we came to the Living World specifically to fight this time. Naturally, we wouldn't specifically plant a Restriction Removal to restrict our own strength. So..."
"If you're talking about Restriction Removal... then we are already in the released state..." Sui-Feng explained calmly.
"Huh? Huhhh?" Omaeda looked completely dumbfounded.
Then, after snapping out of it, the person known as 'Omaeda-sama' immediately deflated. He carefully smiled apologetically at Baraggan and said: "Well... I'm sorry... old man... ah no, kind sir... I made a mistake... please forgive me..."
Baraggan: "..."
Whoosh!
After a moment of stunned silence, Baraggan directly raised his axe and swung it at Omaeda.
Whoosh!
Starrk swung his sword lightly. Kyoraku casually leaned to the side to avoid it.
"Hey, hey... Mr. Espada, don't keep attacking so casually. Let's have a good fight!" Kyoraku said helplessly.
"No, I refuse." Starrk answered without hesitation.
"Yare yare, how can you say no? That's so cold..." Kyoraku said.
"Same goes for you. You say you want a good fight, but you haven't even drawn your second sword. Clearly, you're not using your full strength."
Starrk said lazily.
"The short sword is only used when it's inconvenient to use the long sword. It's not used together with the long sword." Kyoraku defended.
"Is that so? But from the beginning... you've been alternating that sword between your left and right hands... And I don't know if you've realized... when you swing with your left hand, you're closer to me than when you swing with your right..."
"The attack distance is different between your left and right hands, you can use a sword with both hands, and you have a long sword and a short sword at your waist... You say you're not a 'dual-wielder'... Do you even believe that yourself?" Starrk countered.
Hearing Starrk's words, Kyoraku's heart tightened, and he put away the faint smile on his face.
"Yare yare, how troublesome... I specifically adjusted the distance between my left and right sides." Kyoraku said helplessly.
The person known as 'Old Schemer', Kyoraku Shunsui, had specifically hidden his short sword, wanting to catch Starrk off guard and land a vicious blow. He didn't expect to be so easily seen through.
"Impressive! Mr. Espada. You saw through that even though I adjusted..." Kyoraku adjusted the bamboo hat on his head, then continued: "How frightening, how frightening..."
Whoosh!
Even as he said 'how frightening', Kyoraku's left hand suddenly drew the short sword from his waist and slashed at Starrk.
But Starrk, whether anticipating it or reacting quickly, retreated just as Kyoraku drew his sword.
"Oh my, you actually dodged!" Kyoraku said as he pressed his attack.
"Impressive! You adjusted your attack distance in an instant!" Facing Kyoraku's left-handed short sword attacks, Starrk no longer dared to be as casual as before and had to get serious to avoid them.
"Thanks for the compliment! However... Mr. Espada, if I draw both swords, will you fight with all your strength?" Kyoraku asked as he attacked.
"Really, give me a break! You're already strong enough. If you draw both swords, it'll be even more troublesome!" Starrk said with a headache.
"I see. Then..." Kyoraku's right hand rested on the hilt of the long sword at his waist: "I'll just have to draw both swords!"
"Are you sure... you want to do that?" Starrk said, his expression becoming serious.
And Kyoraku answered him with his actions.
Shiing—
The long sword was drawn! Then Kyoraku attacked with both hands, swinging both swords simultaneously at Starrk.
Starrk, with a grave expression, swung his sword to meet Kyoraku's attack.
Boom!!!
The three swords collided with the force of thunder. In an instant, even the space of the Living World shook.
…
In the passage from Hueco Mundo to the Living World.
Toshiro seemed to sense something and paused for a moment.
"What's wrong, Toshiro?" With no outsiders here, Unohana addressed him by name, just as in private.
"The battle seems very intense. We'd better hurry over, Hana-chan." Toshiro said with a grave expression.
Having said that, Toshiro and Unohana quickened their pace again.