Bleach: Starting as a Vasto Lorde

Chapter 56: Destruction

The root of Baraggan's rage was less about the destruction of his Zanpakutō and more from the perpetrator of the act. The Hollow he had dismissed and looked upon with scorn had turned the tables, making a mockery out of him. His pride was wounded, and for this humiliation, he had to destroy Kazuya.

His provocation ability had also fueled Baraggan's flames of fury.

However furious Baraggan might be, he maintained enough self-control to cease his rampage before it could exhaust all his Reiryoku — an unfortunate outcome for the opportunist Kazuya.

Sensing Baraggan's reluctance, he halted and cast a smirking glance at Baraggan from afar. "Can't stomp the lowly ant now, huh?"

Baraggan's fists clenched, the familiar grasp of his ax absent from his hands. "Insolent worm."

"Hahahaha."

Yoruichi arrived by his side. "You are having fun... I would do the same if I was in your situation."

"This guy had me worried for so long. It feels great to see him like this."

Yoruichi's gaze shifted to Baraggan, who hovered silently above them within the cloak of his Respira. His silent, brooding fury was unnerving on multiple levels. "Fun and games aside, you have to eventually finish him."

"Since we're allies now, why don't you finish him for me, Shihōin-san?"

Despite shattering Baraggan's Zanpakutō, the battle had reached an impasse. Kazuya was yet to discover a strategy to neutralize Baraggan's time field, and he didn't possess enough firepower to obliterate Baraggan completely.

At the very least, he had decrypted the actual purpose of Baraggan's time field — it counteracted the aging process of his Aspect of Death, enabling him to roleplay as the God of Death and Senescence.

If the field was deactivated, Baraggan would be consumed by his own power — essentially the manner in which Baraggan met his demise in his battle against Soi Fon and the pink-haired Visored whose name he didn't remember.

Yoruichi hissed. "Stop joking. A melee fighter like me is the worst matchup for Baraggan. I also don't have your regeneration to contest with his decay mist."

She was guaranteed a death against Baraggan's utterly broken ability.

Kazuya was aware that she might fare even worse than Soi Fon if pitted against Baraggan. After all, Soi Fon's Bankai was quite destructive for a ranged weapon. "Then use your Zanpakutō's Bankai form."

He was curious about Yoruichi's Zanpakutō which never made it to the manga or anime. Even if it was weak, a Bankai was no joke.

She shook her head in dismissal. "It's insufficient against a Vasto Lorde, let alone an Arrancar one."

Truth be told, she had a mutual agreement with her Zanpakutō spirit. She was much stronger with her Shunkō and Hakuda than the Bankai Release of her Zanpakutō. Her lazy Zanpakutō spirit also agreed with the sentiment.

"Kisuke should have an answer," Yoruichi muttered. "Should we go back and ask him to whip something out of his lab?"

"I'm not leaving without my friends. You can go if you want."

"I don't wanna leave either... I have an idea. I don't know if it will work or not."

"May as well give it a shot. What's the worst that could happen?"

Yoruichi and Kazuya whispered to each other, refining the strategies proposed by the mischievous cat. They seemed to have forgotten Baraggan's existence, or they stopped treating him like a threat.