On the ground.
Lisa walked with a cool expression to the side of Kyoraku, who seemed to be lying on the ground, severely injured and unconscious.
Looking at this man, a trace of nostalgia appeared on Lisa's face. Over a hundred years ago, before the Hollowfication incident occurred and before the Vizard had left Soul Society, Lisa had been Kyoraku's Lieutenant, and their relationship had been very good.
Thud!
Lisa suddenly stomped on Kyoraku's head and said with dissatisfaction: "Just how long are you going to keep playing dead?"
"Ow, ow, ow!!!"
Kyoraku immediately stood up from the ground with a scream, showing no signs of being seriously injured or unconscious.
"Sigh, how troublesome..."
Kyoraku stretched his body, then looked at Lisa and couldn't help but flirt: "It's been a while, you've become even more beautiful..."
Bang!
Before Kyoraku could finish his sentence, Lisa kicked him again, sending him flying.
Then Lisa turned and walked away without hesitation, saying as she went: "You just stay lying there. I'll show you just how strong I am now!"
"Lisa-chan..." Kyoraku leaned against a collapsed building, watching Lisa walk away, and couldn't help but show genuine emotion: "Seeing you so spirited... is really great."
Hearing Kyoraku's words, Lisa's figure trembled slightly, and she stopped walking. Then she turned her head with a complex expression and glanced at Kyoraku: "Idiot!"
Then Lisa steeled her heart, flashed, and disappeared from the ground instantly.
Kyoraku stared blankly at the spot where Lisa had vanished, his expression silent.
Lisa's feelings for Kyoraku were very complex. There was the friendship from years of working together, the admiration of a subordinate for her Captain, and a faint, indescribable feeling of longing.
But now, although they had met again, they were already on different paths. One was a Captain of the Gotei 13, the other was a fugitive member of the Vizard.
And most importantly... although Kyoraku appeared on the surface to be a playboy flitting among flowers, the person he loved most was actually... Ukitake.
Yes, that's right, his best friend Ukitake was Kyoraku's true love. (T/N: …)
In the air, at the rear of the battlefield.
"Have you come... to seek revenge against the Gotei 13?" Yamamoto asked with narrowed eyes, looking at Shinji walking towards him and Toshiro.
"It has nothing to do with you. We're here for Aizen this time. Besides, if we really harbored resentment, we wouldn't have been let in so easily. After all, there's a powerful barrier around here. If we hadn't run into that guy guarding the outside, we would have just been circling around and never been able to get into the battlefield." Shinji pointed behind him at Sasakibe, who had appeared with them.
Sasakibe knelt on one knee and said: "I am deeply sorry, Captain-Commander, Vice-Captain-Commander. I was hesitant about whether to let them in, but seeing Captain Kyoraku and Captain Ukitake defeated, and the situation becoming disadvantageous for our side to the point where both of you would have to personally take the field, I couldn't help myself..."
"It's fine." Yamamoto did not blame Sasakibe.
"Hirako Shinji... now that you've come, does it mean you recognize yourselves as 'comrades' on the same side as the Gotei 13?" Yamamoto asked Shinji further.
"Comrades? Hah, needless to say? Of course... not!" Shinji denied without hesitation.
"We are not your comrades. We are Aizen's enemies. Strictly speaking, we only share a common enemy. But... the enemy of my enemy... is not necessarily my friend. So don't flatter yourselves."
"We came this time only to deal with Aizen. We have no intention of getting involved with you..."
Having said that, Shinji turned and left, returning to the Vizard.
Watching Shinji leave, Toshiro murmured: "The enemy of my enemy is not necessarily my friend, huh..."
"Toshiro, what do you think of Hirako Shinji and the others?" Yamamoto asked from beside him.
"What do I think? Nothing much. It doesn't matter whether they're here or not. Ultimately, victory will be ours. However... the appearance of Hirako Shinji and the others does save us a bit of effort. Although they can't possibly be a match for Aizen, they can at least... clean up some of the small fry," Toshiro said calmly.
Toshiro didn't really care whether the Vizard appeared or not. Their participation or non-participation wouldn't affect the final outcome.
In the original work's final battle against Aizen, the Vizard's role was to help the Gotei 13 deal with the remaining Espada and clean up the hordes of Gillian. That was it.
But now, with Toshiro present, the balance of power between the Gotei 13 and Aizen's side had shifted. The Gotei 13's peak combat power surpassed Aizen's side. Whether it was Toshiro or Yamamoto, if either of them took action, they could quickly deal with the remaining Espada.
Therefore, the appearance of the Vizard was irrelevant. Even if they joined the battle, they would at most save Toshiro and Yamamoto a bit of effort.
"Is that so? It doesn't matter whether they're here or not? That's not wrong, but do you know why I didn't stop them from participating in this battle even though Hirako Shinji's tone was unfriendly?" Yamamoto asked Toshiro.
"Hmm? Isn't it to increase our combat strength?" Toshiro said.
"No, it's not just that. Toshiro, if you are to succeed as Captain-Commander in the future, you need to take a longer view. Currently, the most important thing is to defeat Aizen, but after we defeat Aizen, we need to consider other matters."
"Such as filling the Captain vacancies. Aizen and the others defected, leaving the Captain positions of the 3rd, 5th, and 9th Divisions vacant, greatly weakening the Gotei 13's strength. Although we can't address this now, after Aizen is dealt with, we need to find ways to fill those Captain vacancies."
"And the best candidates to fill those Captain vacancies are undoubtedly Hirako Shinji and the others. So having Hirako Shinji and the others fight alongside us now will also help bridge the gap between us. That way, when we invite Hirako Shinji and the others to return to Soul Society to serve as Captains, they should consider agreeing," Yamamoto said.
"You're finally back."
"Are you done talking?"
The Vizard asked Shinji as he returned.
"Although I wasn't finished... but continuing would be meaningless. Besides, I think the enemy is probably getting impatient waiting..." Shinji glanced at Aizen and the others in the distance.