The black haired tall woman immediately looked up in shock. She stared at Mayuri for a whole three seconds before saying, "You'll really do it?"
"Stop wasting both of our time and pass it to me, Benihime."
Benihime didn't immediately say anything and stared at him for some more. She furrowed her brows and asked, "What's happening out there?"
"The Central 46 and Zero Division is trying to impose a lockdown. I will need to go in an hour too."
Benihime's eyes widened before she immediately closed them. A few seconds later, she clicked her tongue and stood up. With a single gesture, multiple Magic Circles were deployed and she even took out some unknown devices in conjunction with them, but another set of time went by and Benihime took back the Magic Circles while gritting her teeth, "...I can't contact Kisuke. Even the path to Hell was closed."
.
.
.
As if it signaled the start of the real war, the deployment of Furoufushi's Magic was soon followed by the release of Reiatsu on different battlefronts.
While watching all of these lights emerge, Batsu'unsai commented, "No one could afford to hold back anymore after that display, it seems."
On the other hand, her opponent could only stare in shock towards Furoufushi's direction, "How is she doing this? She's [Unchained] so the Hell's Blessing should have forsaken her..."
Batsu'unsai returned her sights to the hunching old man carrying a katana in front of her and said, "Impossible, is it? But only because you haven't experienced the real impossibility yet."
Saizou also looked back at her, more specifically, on the small blue pigmentations on the various parts of her skin, "Is that why you could also resist my poison?"
Batsu'unsai lifted her blade, "Let's just say that I'm a bit different from before." With a Flash Step, she instantly arrived at Saizou's side, but the old man predicted her movements and was able to block her attack with ease. But even with Saizou doing nothing, the blot on Batsu'unsai's skin slightly worsened.
"I don't think that you're totally resistant to it," Saizou commented with a smirk while shifting his blade to initiate a counterattack.
Batsu'unsai followed the movement of his sword and used the force he put it to get away. Once she was a certain distance from Saizou, the poison in her body stopped spreading.
In that short amount of clash, the situation around them has already changed drastically with everyone showing off their abilities with the flames created by Yamamoto the most noticeable.
Batsu'unsai was still calm and picked up the scabbard of her katana and sheathed her blade back, "Sakahone-san... Before we start, would you mind me asking something?"
Saizou smiled slightly and stabbed his sword to the ground, "Go ahead."
"Why didn't you cast off your chains?"
"The answer is simple. I simply can't do it and now I'm at the point of no return."
"I find that hard to believe..." Batsu'unsai had an obvious lonely expression as she recalled the ruthless but incredibly kind old man when they were still alive, "Alongside the Captain, you're the one who sacrificed the most to secure the safety and rights of the commoners. I still vividly remember the time that you put your own body forward to protect the innocent people against the tyranny of the nobles... So why this path?"
Saizou chucked and put one of his arms behind him, "I might have mellowed out during my last years, but... Well, most of you didn't notice. I wasn't just fighting for the commoners."
'...That's really the case, huh?' Batsu'unsai let go of a long breath. She already noticed but just didn't want to think about it.
Saizou was able to guess what she was thinking and continued, "That's right. I've always wanted to slit the throat of those high and mighty. I couldn't let go of that hatred that seemed to burn my very being and the only way for that pain to subside is to accept these chains. It's not really that bad, you know. Despite being tied like this, it's a very liberating feeling."
"I see... There's no helping it then." Batsu'unsai closed her eyes for a few seconds. As soon as she opened them, the sad expression she was making was no more and was replaced by a cold, uncaring expression that is filled with killing intent, "It's really a shame." Holding up his sheathed blade, she muttered, "Bankai, Record Retainer: Sea of the Unknown; Plague of Knowledge."
The blade in her hand instantly disappeared and without any prior signs, a few hundred meters around Batsu'unsai and Saizou became covered with thick fog that only allowed the latter to see a few meters in front of him.
And it wasn't just his sight that was hindered but also his sense of smell, hearing, and even his ability to pick up Reiatsu.
However, it didn't just end there and Saizou heard Batsu'unsai's voice again, "Heartless Isolation."
Although Saizou couldn't feel any changes around him, he knew what Batsu'unsai's 'Heartless Isolation' was, "Hooh? Why create an isolated place for us? You know that this is just going to give me the advantage, right?"
Of course, Saizou doesn't truly believe that Batsu'unsai made a mistake nor that she's stupid, 'I can just fill this space with my poison, but why do this despite knowing that?' He asked himself while also touching the handle of his Zanpakuto that's stabbed to the ground, "Bankai, Fear of Venom: Infusion of a Thousand Desecrated Insects." Nevertheless, he decided to pull all the stops too.