Izuru Kira reached the remaining active Sekkiseki in under a minute using Shunpo. Tetsuzaemon Iba, lieutenant of the Seventh Division, stood guard, battling two Arrancar. One had brown skin and red feathers at his joints, while the other sported long yellow hair and a mask covering half his face. Iba demonstrated his lieutenant-level strength by holding his own against their combined assault.
This, Kira noted, was likely due to neither Arrancar having released their Resurrección. If they did, the fight would undoubtedly shift.
"Yo, Kira! You're a lifesaver!" Iba called out as Kira arrived, intercepting an attack from the feathered Arrancar.
"Not at all, Lieutenant Iba. This is our assigned sector. I apologize for leaving you alone for so long."
"Don't mention it, Kira," Iba retorted, back-to-back with Kira as he repelled the yellow-haired Arrancar. "They needed you more over there. A brute like me only knows how to swing a sword. If I had any healing skills, I'd have been there myself. How's your spiritual pressure? Enough for another fight?"
"Yes, Lieutenant Iba."
"Then I'll leave this bird-brain to you. I'm going to teach that yellow-haired punk a lesson."
With a powerful leap, Iba lunged at the masked Arrancar. Kira, in turn, used Shunpo to take to the air and engaged the feathered Arrancar.
Kira, unlike Momo Hinamori, was a lieutenant of considerable skill. His strength and Zanpakutō ability placed him among the strongest lieutenants in the Gotei 13.
"Behead him – Aguila!"
Seeing he couldn't defeat Kira in his base form, Abirama Redder took to the skies and released his Resurrección. A blue aura flared before transforming him into a bird-like humanoid. He spread his wings, and countless red feathers, formed from his spiritual pressure that rained down on Kira.
"Devorar Pluma!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Under the attack of Abirama Reder, Izuru Kira quickly dodged among the tall buildings. Those feathers bombarded the tall buildings like bullets, blasting large holes in them.
"Raise your head – Wabisuke!"
While dodging Abirama's attacks, Kira released his own Zanpakutō.
In an instant, the blade straightened, its tip bending at two right angles, forming an inverted U-shape.
With a series of flashes, Kira moved beneath Abirama with his Zanpakutō slashing across the rooftop below. Then, he suddenly leaped back.
BOOM!
After Kira retreated, an immense force slammed Abirama into the rooftop, pinning him there.
"W-What's happening? I can't move! I'm so heavy!"
"Don't bother struggling."
At this time, Kira came in front of Abirama and looked at jim with his iconic dead fish eyes.
"My Zanpakutō, Wabisuke, doubles the weight of anything it cuts. I used to only attack tangible objects, but recently, I received some… guidance. I was told my Zanpakutō's ability was strong, but I hadn't discovered its true potential. If tangible objects gain weight when cut, what about intangible ones? Those strikes I made below you weren't random. I was cutting the air itself. Even air, after dozens of cuts, can become heavier than a boulder. You're now carrying the weight of a small mountain. You can't move."
"Such a… terrifying ability…" Abirama's eyes widened in disbelief. Doubling an object's weight was already powerful. To apply it to something intangible, like air…
"I, too, was surprised to learn of this application," Kira admitted. "As the first Arrancar to witness this technique, you should feel… honored."
He raised Wabisuke and swung it through the air above Abirama.
BOOM!
An immense pressure slammed down, the building beneath Abirama imploded, a three-meter-wide crater appeared in the rooftop, reaching all the way to the ground below. Abirama was crushed by the weight and was reduced to dust.
…
"Bushogoma!"
Shunsui Kyōraku swung his twin Zanpakutō, unleashing two tornadoes of wind towards Barragan Louisenbairn.
Barragan waved his hand, and his black Respira, his deathly miasma, coalesced into a massive axe that cleaved through the incoming tornadoes. The wind dispersed, rotted by the miasma.
Barragan eyed Kyōraku warily. This Shinigami was strong. Barragan's Respira, the ability to control time, was among the most potent in the Soul Society. Anything enveloped by his black miasma experienced accelerated aging, crumbling to dust in seconds. However, like all abilities, it had weaknesses. Highly condensed spiritual pressure resisted its effects. This wasn't a flaw in Barragan's power, but a fundamental aspect of the Bleach world. The denser the spiritual energy, the more resistant it was to time's decay.
This was why deceased captains, whose spiritual pressure remained even after death, required a special cremation ceremony. Otherwise, their bodies wouldn't decompose, wouldn't return to the world's cycle of souls.
Against Soi Fon, Barragan's ambient miasma had been enough to decay her attacks before they reached him. Against Kyōraku, however, it wasn't enough. Hence the axe, a condensed form of his Respira. The denser miasma, its power amplified, could rot anything Kyōraku threw at him.
"My, my. This was a miscalculation. Ukitake would have been far more effective against you."
Seeing his attack fail, Kyōraku sighed. Ukitake's Zanpakutō ability was truly formidable, a perfect counter to Kidō-type abilities. Sōgyo no Kotowari could absorb any form of energy – elemental attacks, Ceros, even raw spiritual pressure – and redirect it, amplified. Against Barragan, Ukitake would have ended the fight in minutes.
Kyōraku had noticed a crucial detail during his brief exchange with Barragan. While the Segunda Espada could control Respira, he wasn't immune to it. There was a gap between his body and the miasma, similar to Byakuya Kuchiki's "safe zone" within Senbonzakura's range. Just as Byakuya risked being cut by his own blades if they moved too quickly, Barragan had to maintain a Respira-free space around himself. Otherwise, he would be consumed by his own power.
This realization gave Kyōraku an idea. He leaped into the air and raised his twin Zanpakutō above his head.
"Zanki!"
Barragan, seeing no difference in this attack, raised his axe to block.
BOOM!
An immense force slammed into Barragan, sending him crashing into the ground below. The spiritual pressure enveloping Kyōraku's blades dissipated into black smoke.
Zanki, one of Katen Kyōkotsu's abilities, followed a simple rule: the higher the ground, the stronger the attack. Kyōraku, having been significantly higher than Barragan, had doubled his attack's power.
Of course, due to Barragan's ability, Kyōraku had enveloped his blades in a dense layer of spiritual pressure, protecting them from the miasma. This tactic, while effective, drained his spiritual pressure quickly.
"Now, let the games begin!"
Having driven Barragan into the ground, Kyōraku vanished with a flash.
BOOM!
Barragan's spiritual pressure exploded outwards, a wave of Respira was consuming everything around him, rotting buildings and turning the earth to dust.
"Whoa! That was close!"
Kyōraku reappeared on the ground, leaping back to avoid the expanding miasma. He had intended to use Kageoni, another of his Zanpakutō's abilities, to attack Barragan from his shadow. However, Barragan's indiscriminate Respira had forced him to abandon that plan.
With a sigh, Kyōraku tapped his head in frustration. Katen Kyōkotsu manifested children's games, and like any game, both participants had to know the rules. While Kyōraku, as the Zanpakutō's wielder, could choose the game, he had to explain its rules after each use.
"Barragan, was it? Did you notice my attack was stronger than before?"
"That's because of Zanki's rule: the higher the ground, the stronger the attack."
"Shinigami! Do you take me for a fool?" Barragan's angry voice rang out from the crater. "Do you think I need you to explain your abilities to me? My power is absolute!"
BOOM!
His spiritual pressure surged again, the expanding Respira's potency increased, its decay accelerating.
"Alright, fine."
Seeing that none of Katen Kyōkotsu's other abilities could be used until he had explained their rules, Kyōraku felt even more exasperated.
In any other fight, an opponent would be eager to learn their enemy's abilities. Knowledge, after all, was an advantage in battle. But Barragan, the former King of Hueco Mundo, possessed immense pride. In his eyes, his power was supreme; understanding his opponent's abilities was unnecessary.
Unfortunately for Kyōraku, his Zanpakutō's abilities required his opponent's understanding. Since Barragan refused to listen, Kyōraku couldn't use them. Fortunately, he had already explained Zanki. Since Barragan knew its rules, he could still use it.
An idea struck him. A way to circumvent Barragan's arrogance. He decided to appeal to the Arrancar's pride.
"I, too, believe my Zanki is invincible. So, Your Majesty, shall we test which of our abilities reigns supreme?" The best way to deal with a proud opponent, Kyōraku reasoned, was to challenge their pride directly.
"Very well!"
"Let's go!"
With Barragan's agreement, Kyōraku shot into the air, raising his twin Zanpakutō. "Zanki!"