"Bankai, Daiguren Hyōrinmaru!"
Ice spread over Tōshirō Hitsugaya's right arm, taking the form of a red-eyed dragon's head that clamped down on Hyōrinmaru.
The ice dragon's wings unfurled, wrapping around Tōshirō Hitsugaya's body and forming a defense as he raised Hyōrinmaru.
The ice wings shattered. Under Harribel's attack, Tōshirō Hitsugaya was sent flying backward, his body nearly folding in half. He snapped several power lines, crashed through a low-rise building, and collapsed in the rubble.
"Captain of the 10th Division..." Harribel looked down at Tōshirō Hitsugaya as he struggled to rise. "Is that all you amount to?"
The ice dragon's right wing had nearly been severed. Tōshirō Hitsugaya tightened his grip on Hyōrinmaru and made the ice wing grow back.
His crystal-clear wings beat once, and Tōshirō Hitsugaya shot into the sky, swinging his katana to unleash a winding ice dragon.
Golden light streamed from the hollow short sword in Harribel's hand. With one slash, she shattered the solid ice and drove Tōshirō Hitsugaya back again.
Reishi crumbled beneath his feet one after another. Tōshirō Hitsugaya barely managed to steady himself, and the moment he raised Hyōrinmaru, he saw Harribel level her short sword as golden light blazed from it.
"Ola Azul!" Harribel thrust her sword straight forward, and the golden light tore free from the blade, shooting directly at Tōshirō Hitsugaya.
"Ryūsenka!" Tōshirō Hitsugaya thrust his sword forward as well. A massive pillar of ice extended rapidly from Hyōrinmaru, rushing to meet the golden light.
The golden light Harribel fired had already left her blade and had no further force behind it.
By contrast, Tōshirō Hitsugaya's Ryūsenka remained connected to Hyōrinmaru, allowing him to keep pouring Reiatsu into it and reinforce the ice pillar.
Judging by technique alone, Tōshirō Hitsugaya had the absolute advantage.
And yet the golden light smashed through the ice like it was nothing, crashing straight into Hyōrinmaru.
Its terrifying force did not seem to weaken at all. It pressed Hyōrinmaru back against Tōshirō Hitsugaya and sent him flying.
"But he's already used Bankai..." Rangiku Matsumoto watched Tōshirō Hitsugaya fall into a disadvantage and looked anxiously up at the clear sky. "Why..."
"He's dead!" A female Arrancar with one pink eye and one blue eye rushed in with her fist raised, her short black hair whipping behind her. A sharp horn extended from the broken mask on her forehead. "The moment that brat dared point his sword at Harribel-sama, his fate was already sealed!"
One of the three Fracciones of the 3rd Espada, Tier Harribel. Arrancar No. 54, Emilou Apacci.
"Oh my?" Rangiku Matsumoto parried with her katana. "I didn't expect you to make such an arrogant prediction... especially when your beauty is so understated."
"What did you say?!"
"You're not too bright either, are you?" Rangiku Matsumoto blinked. "Fine, I'll explain. I'm saying your ugliness is a lot more obvious."
Emilou flew into a rage. "You little..."
"Calm down!" The female Arrancar in bikini armor had clearly defined muscles and immediately saw what Rangiku Matsumoto was doing. "She's provoking you. Don't fall for it so easily. Attacking recklessly would be foolish."
The second of the three Fracciones of the 3rd Espada, Tier Harribel. Arrancar No. 55, Franceska Mila Rose.
"Exactly," Rangiku Matsumoto said with a nod. "Just listen to how well this female gorilla explained it."
"Who are you calling a female gorilla, you cow?!" Veins bulged on Mila's forehead as she swung her greatsword and charged at Rangiku Matsumoto. "I'll slaughter you!"
Clang!
Tetsuzaemon Iba swung his katana and blocked Mila. Her smooth, wheat-colored skin was reflected in his black sunglasses. "Your opponent is me."
"Old man..." Mila's gaze turned hostile. "Do you want to die that badly?"
Tetsuzaemon Iba stood firm. "As a man, there are things I must do, even if it kills me."
"How embarrassing..." The female Arrancar with deep green blunt bangs covered her mouth with her long sleeves as she complained. Three pink tear-shaped moles sat beneath her right eye. "Falling for the enemy's provocation that easily will make people think I'm as stupid as you two."
The third of the three Fracciones of the 3rd Espada, Tier Harribel. Arrancar No. 56, Sung-Sun.
"Sung-Sun!" Emilou roared. "Whose side are you on?!"
"Once I kill this guy, I'm teaching you a lesson next!" Mila glared at Sung-Sun. "You'd better... Look out!"
A cold gleam closed in. Sung-Sun vanished, then reappeared clearly in the distance. "So Shinigami resort to sneak attacks too, old man?"
"This is war." Chōjirō Sasakibe drew his Zanpakutō and held it before him. "Pierce, Gonryōmaru!"
The Zanpakutō transformed into a Western-style sword. Though Chōjirō Sasakibe's hair was white, his speed was astonishing.
Sung-Sun extended a trident from within her long sleeve and met the approaching sword point.
"They all have weapons," Rangiku Matsumoto said, sizing up Emilou as she swung her fists. "Why don't you? Are you so stupid you can't even use one?"
"I'll..." Emilou pressed her wrists together. The white bracelets snapped apart, leaving her wrists and spinning through the air as three curved blades sprang out. "I'll cut those two eyesores right off you!"
Gripping the blade rings, Emilou flashed closer. "Die!"
This was exactly the moment Rangiku Matsumoto had been waiting for.
"Growl, Haineko!"
The blade of her Zanpakutō turned to ash and surged toward Emilou.
"This sand-like crap..." Emilou charged into the ash. "What can it do?!"
Rangiku Matsumoto swung the hilt in her hand, and sharp flashes of sword light crisscrossed through the gray smoke.
Blood sprayed from Emilou's body. Sensing that something was wrong, she immediately tried to break free of the ash.
"Too late!" Rangiku Matsumoto made the gray smoke spiral, wrapping Emilou inside it.
When Haineko is released, the blade turns to ash.
Wherever the ash touches, Rangiku Matsumoto can create a slash simply by swinging the hilt.
In a sense, the drifting ash could be seen as an extension of the blade in Rangiku Matsumoto's hand.
However, because the slashes were separated from the hilt, Haineko's attack power was limited. A one-hit kill like Muten Natsu's was simply impossible.
But as long as she trapped an enemy inside the ash and kept them from escaping, Rangiku Matsumoto could use Haineko's power to cut them to pieces.
"Who do you think you're looking down on?!" Emilou growled as yellow light flared at the tip of the horn on her forehead. "Cero!"
A terrifying torrent of Reishi erupted, blasting the ash apart. Emilou slipped through the gaps in the ash and rushed up to Rangiku Matsumoto, slashing the blade ring in her hand toward Rangiku's chest.
Haineko's ability was certainly troublesome, but any Zanpakutō meant for long-range attacks had obvious weaknesses in close-quarters combat.
Rangiku Matsumoto retreated with Shunpo. Ash drifted out from her sleeve and settled against Emilou's neck.
Rangiku Matsumoto understood Haineko's weaknesses better than Emilou did.
That was why, whenever she released Haineko, Rangiku Matsumoto always kept a portion hidden in her sleeve, just in case.