Rangiku Matsumoto & Yasutora Sado vs. Sawatari

 is a battle that takes place during the Bount Invasion, consisting of Yasutora Sado, 10th Division Lieutenant Rangiku Matsumoto, Ururu Tsumugiya, and Noba facing off against Sawatari and his Doll, Baura.

Prelude
At nighttime in downtown Karakura Town, Yasutora Sado and Noba silently patrol the streets in search of the Bitto and their Bount masters. After delivering a Bount-detecting headband to Ichigo Kurosaki and being told by Rukia Kuchiki to find Sado when they encounter Yoshi, Ururu Tsumugiya catches up to Sado and Noba in a park, where she relays Rukia's request for them to join Ichigo in fighting the Bount. However, as they acknowledge this, a chuckling Sawatari emerges in the center of a nearby roundabout while sitting on the back of his Doll, Baura, and has the latter turn around so he can face the group, whom he addresses maliciously as they tense up in surprise.

Nearby, 10th Division Lieutenant Rangiku Matsumoto leaps through the air and begins running across multiple rooftops while recalling 11th Division 5th Seat Yumichika Ayasegawa declining to participate in the clashes across the city since his division prefers to fight one-on-one battles. Noting that Yumichika left after stating this, Rangiku wonders why 3rd Division Lieutenant Izuru Kira and 9th Division Lieutenant Shūhei Hisagi would also run off as soon as they arrived.

Rangiku concludes that she should be the leader of this team since they were ordered to come to the Human World by her captain, Tōshirō Hitsugaya, and that she will be complaining about them once she returns before noticing Sawatari confronting Sado, Ururu, and Noba in a nearby park. Down in the park, Sawatari muses on how nice it feels to be young and decides to take his time as he enjoys his first Soul in a long time, prompting Sado to question why he is devouring the Souls of living Humans, though Sawatari simply brushes this off.

While Sado demands he stop attacking Humans, Sawatari declares he wants to gain more power, and when Sado inquires about what he will do once he gains this power, Sawatari sternly claims he cannot tell Sado this, causing the latter, Noba, and Ururu to assume battle stances in response. Suddenly, Rangiku pops up in front of Sado and begins repeatedly clapping her hand on his shoulder as she cheerfully greets him. With a confused Sado wondering what she is doing here while Ururu and Noba stare at her in shock, Rangiku asserts she is glad to have found Sado since he is having trouble here and explains how she arrived because Hitsugaya suddenly sent her here.

After mentioning how lieutenants like herself cannot come to the Human World too often, which has left her with little understanding of what is going on due to how long it has been since her last visit, Rangiku praises how interesting the Human World is with the many events occurring in it. When Sado gets her attention, Rangiku sees Ururu and Noba staring at her from behind Sado and assume they are his friends, which leads Ururu and Noba to introduce themselves to Rangiku and her to introduce herself to them in turn. Upon being asked by Rangiku what they are doing here, Noba raises his hand and points at Sawatari, whom he identifies as a Bount to Rangiku.

Though Rangiku is surprised at an old man being a Bount, Sawatari affirms that it is true and decides to prove it to a smirking Rangiku by tapping his cane on the ground and ordering his Doll, Baura, to go, causing the ground to begin rippling underneath the feet of Sado and his friends. Rangiku inquires if this is his Doll, and after confirming this, Sawatari sinks into the ground along with his seat, leaving Sado and his friends to brace themselves and look around the park expectantly. While Rangiku realizes that Sawatari's Reiatsu disappeared, Sado asks Noba if he senses anything, but as he initially denies this, Noba suddenly tells his friends to jump.

Battle
With Sado and his friends leaping away, Baura bursts out of the ground, revealing himself to be a large, whale-like rock creature before diving back into the ground. As Rangiku stands in the air above and questions what this was, she sees the shadow of Baura swimming around underneath the ground, prompting Sado, Ururu, and Noba to debate what kind of fish Baura most resembles. Proclaiming that it does not matter, Rangiku draws her Zanpakutō and comes down on the shadow with a downward stab, only to not receive any response from her blade piercing the concrete. When Noba alerts her to Baura emerging behind her, Rangiku is unable to pull out her Zanpakutō.

Baura comes down on Rangiku and seemingly swallows her whole, prompting Sado to call out to her in concern, only to see Noba teleport Rangiku onto the ground nearby while Ururu joins them. Upon being thanked by Rangiku, who uses his shoulder to pull herself up, an embarrassed Noba zips his hood closed in response, leaving Rangiku to question why he would do this when she is simply thanking him as Ururu indicates that Noba is bashful. Suddenly, Baura emerges from the ground behind the group and slides down the top section of his back protrusions to reveal Sawatari, who observes that Sado and his friends have escaped death.

Introduced to Sado and his friends by Sawatari, Baura comments on how he was summoned on a good night, and when Rangiku expresses surprise at Baura being able to talk, Noba tells her Dolls have minds of their own as Sawatari reveals Baura can create special alternate dimensional spaces and swim freely within them in a manner similar to Noba's teleportation ability, though he mockingly declares Noba is still outclassed. With Noba inquiring if he is sure about this, Sawatari criticizes him for being arrogant and suggests Baura display the difference in their power, but Rangiku proclaims she and the others will be the one displaying this difference.

After releasing her Shikai, Haineko, Rangiku sends the ash toward Sawatari, who hides himself within Baura and has the latter open his mouth to inhale the ash. When Rangiku frantically recalls the ash before it can enter the mouth of Baura and reforms her blade, Sado wonders why she did this, which leads Sawatari to praise her judgement as correct and push his face out of the hide of Baura while detailing how Rangiku would have lost her Zanpakutō had she allowed Baura to devour the ash of Haineko. Hearing this, Noba tells a confused Sado that the mouth of Baura seems to also be connected to an alternate dimensional space.

As Sawatari gloats about having nearly acquired a Shinigami's Zanpakutō, Rangiku pulls a communicator out of her shihakushō and requests a spatial freeze for 300 meters around her in addition to Soul protection from the Shinigami Research and Development Institute, which is granted, before asking that the same be done for Izuru and Hisagi. However, the technician on the other end of the line reveals to Rangiku that 6th Division Lieutenant Renji Abarai engaged in battle without Soul protection and was injured while protecting a Human, shocking Rangiku, who returns the communicator to her shihakushō and tells an inquisitive Sado that everyone is having a hard time.

With Sawatari laughing at them, Rangiku informs the others that the space around them is now protected by Soul Society, which means that they no longer have to restrain themselves. Acknowledging this, Sado manifests his Fullbring, Brazo Derecha de Gigante, and fires an energy blast at Baura, who dodges it by sinking into the ground and swimming underneath Sado before emerging. While she and the others leap back to evade Baura, Rangiku fires '''Hadō #4. Byakurai at him, only for Baura''' to dive back into the ground right before the beam hits him and proceed to swim around as Rangiku continues to fire at his shadow, though Noba reminds her this is pointless.

Still in midair, Rangiku finds Baura lunging at her from the ground and attempts to slash him after stepping onto his fin, but fails to wound him while he returns to the ground. Upon being warned by Rangiku that Baura is headed his way, Sado sees Baura charging toward him and fires another energy blast directly at him, only for Baura to open his mouth and inhale the blast, leaving a stunned Sado to be pulled into the air by Rangiku prior to Baura closing his mouth over the area where Sado was standing. When Baura circles around the park and pursues Sado and Rangiku into the air, Ururu leaps up and kicks Baura solidly in the underside, sending him flying.

As Rangiku praises Ururu's skill and Baura slams into the ground below, Noba draws Ururu's attention and leaps away with her over a jungle gym while Baura sinks into the ground behind them. Shortly afterward, Sado, Ururu, Noba, and Rangiku move to a rooftop overlooking the park, and with Ururu recalling how Baura absorbed his energy blast, Sado concludes that it is useless to attack him from the front. Questioning what they are supposed to do now, Rangiku turns to Noba and asks him if he can sense when Baura is moving to attack, prompting Noba to explain that Baura creates ripples in space when he surfaces from his alternate dimensional space.

When Sado inquires if he can predict this in advance, Noba shakes his head and clarifies he can only sense Baura right before he appears, which leads Rangiku to muse they can only manage to dodge at the last second. With Sado wondering how Baura knows where they are, Noba speculates Baura is using something like sonar since he can sense a subtle wave of Reiatsu from within the ground, but refutes Rangiku's idea of them being able to track Baura this way because it is too weak, to her disappointment. Sado reminds them Baura pursues them from within the ground, which means they should be safe in a high place, and suggests they think of a plan.

Suddenly, as Ururu affirms this, Baura emerges from the side of the building next to the group and bears down on an astonished Sado with his mouth open, only for Ururu to push Sado out of the way and take his place in the path of Baura, resulting in Baura swallowing her and sinking into the rooftop while an agonized Sado calls out to Ururu. Within the alternate dimensional space of Baura, Ururu falls through the void and expresses happiness at Sado being safe. Back on the rooftop, Sado lands in a crouch and looks at the portion of the building carved out by the path of Baura before being alerted by Noba, who stands on an upper section with a water tower next to Rangiku.

After beckoning Sado to follow her and Noba, Rangiku runs across the rooftops of several buildings of different heights with them and questions where Baura is. While Sado confirms he is not behind them, Rangiku wonders if the appearance of Baura on the building means height does not mean anything to him as long as there is a wide surface to emerge from, which Sawatari confirms, startling the group into stopping in their tracks and looking around the rooftop with a large four-sided billboard they are currently standing on. As he notes Baura has taken out one combatant, Sawatari emerges on the other end of the rooftop while sitting on the back of Baura.

Sawatari assures Sado and his friends that Ururu is fine, since he is having her stay in the alternate dimensional space within the stomach of Baura, but stands up and warns them that she cannot stay there for a long period of time due to the unique ability of him and Baura to engulf, dissolve, and absorb an entire Human body instead of just Souls. Angered by this, Sado demands that Sawatari return Ururu to them, but a laughing Sawatari promises to have Baura devour each of them one by one and has Baura fly toward the group, prompting Rangiku to refuse to let this happen as she releases Haineko once more, surrounding herself, Sado, and Noba with ash.

Though Sawatari declares that this does not matter and orders Baura to swallow them, Haineko carves a rough circle into the rooftop around the group, causing them and the severed portion to fall into the building right before Baura crashes into the area where they were standing. With a shocked Sawatari running to the edge of the newly-created hole, Rangiku stands on the severed portion of the rooftop with Sado and Noba below while mocking Sawatari's specialty of diving into the ground and advising him to watch his head. Looking around in confusion at this, Sawatari sees the billboard next to him fall on top of him, having had its support struts cut through by Haineko.

As a large plume of dust rises from the collapsed billboard, Baura flies out from the side of the building and moves to a lower rooftop, where Sawatari emerges on his back and curses Rangiku for making a fool of him. With Baura observing that they have not gone far and Sawatari proclaiming that they will be pursing the group, Sado, Noba, and Rangiku huddle in an alleyway far from them, where Noba affirms to Rangiku that this area should be safe because Baura cannot exit from his alternate dimensional space without a sufficiently wide space to emerge from, with the enormous amount of energy he uses to travel through space not able to be opened up in cramped quarters.

Seeing Sado looking down in concern, Rangiku gets his attention and assures him that this is not his fault, but Sado asserts that his power is meant for protecting others and recalls Oscar Joaquín de la Rosa giving him his coin, 8th Division Captain Shunsui Kyōraku cutting him down in the Seireitei, and Ichigo Kurosaki promising to fight to protect what Sado holds dear, as well as the latter's fierce battles to save Rukia Kuchiki and him getting cut down by Sōsuke Aizen in front of Sado. After concluding that there is no point to having his power at this rate, to Rangiku's concern, Sado claims that they should go save Ururu and attempts to stand up, only for Noba to grasp his shoulder.

Noba tells Sado to calm down as Rangiku inquires about what Sado was planning to do and if he has a plan, and when Sado suggests that he take Ururu's place, Rangiku dismisses this idea due to the unlikelihood of Sawatari releasing Ururu for this reason when the Bount only see Humans as food. While Rangiku states that they need to think of a plan, Noba proposes that he suck Baura into his own alternate dimensional space, to Rangiku's delight, and details how he can extinguish the energy of Baura by surrounding him with his power to move everything he has swallowed through space, which will allow him to save Ururu, illustrating this with a stick in the dirt.

Though Rangiku is uncertain this will worth, Noba asserts it should work in the same way that alternate dimensional spaces are created by Reiryoku and that it is possible, leaving Rangiku perturbed that this is the only viable method. Upon being asked by Sado about what he and Rangiku should do, Noba instructs them to lure Baura in front of him without the latter noticing. When Sado offers to be the decoy, an annoyed Rangiku declares she will be the decoy and orders Sado and Noba to support her from the back. As Sado points out how she will be in danger, Rangiku exerts her white Reiatsu and sternly demands to know whom he believes he is talking to.

With Sado and Noba intimidated by this, Rangiku cheerfully walks away and instructs Sado and Noba to follow her and not waste any more time, startling them into getting up. Soon afterward, at a football field, Rangiku lands on the ground and invites Sawatari to come out since she knows that he is nearby and is alone, but does not receive a response. Suddenly, Baura rears up below Rangiku's feet, prompting her to move several feet away and dodge a subsequent lunge from Baura with Shunpo prior to moving into the air when Baura flies upward from underneath her, where Rangiku criticizes his attacks as being predictable and slashes at the hide of Baura.

While an unharmed Baura falls back toward the field, a yelling Sado runs toward him from the other side and fires an energy blast with Brazo Derecha de Gigante, only for Baura to disappear into the ground before the blast can hit him. When Sado fires two more blasts at the area Baura submerged himself in, creating a large cloud of smoke, Rangiku chides him for doing so since she can no longer see where Baura is. Upon landing on the ground and looking around for Baura, Rangiku has her left ankle pulled on by Sawatari's cane emerging from the ground, which causes Rangiku to fall over as Baura emerges behind her and rushes forward to devour her.

However, after engulfing Rangiku, Baura rears up with his mouth still open, to Sawatari's confusion, and as she keeps the mouth of Baura propped open by holding her Zanpakutō and its sheath vertically end-to-end in front of her, Rangiku proclaims Sawatari fell for it while Sado grabs the tail of Baura and begins swinging him around. With Sawatari immobilized by the force of this, Sado throws him and Baura toward the other end of the field, where Noba opens a massive Wormhole in an attempt to draw in Baura. Despite this, Baura manages to counter Noba's energy with his own as Sawatari refuses to lose to him after absorbing so many Souls for this power.

Suddenly, Sado runs up behind Baura and fires another energy blast squarely into his underside, catching Sawatari off-guard and sending Baura crashing into Noba's Wormhole, which disappears while Noba collapses. With Sado and Rangiku running over to him in concern, Noba assures them he is alright and prepares to withdraw Ururu, only to begin convulsing in pain before being suspended in midair as red energy begins gathering around his chest. Warning a concerned Sado and Rangiku to not come near him, Noba involuntarily opens another Wormhole that releases Baura and is sent flying back, forcing Rangiku to move to and catch Noba with Shunpo.

Though Rangiku and Noba are relieved to see that an injured Noba is still alive, Sawatari approaches them and mocks the group as being one hundred years too early to be sealing him and Baura away before inviting them to bring this fight to its natural conclusion, leaving Sado and Rangiku to stare at him with trepidation and anger. A chuckling Sawatari has Baura move him to his back, startling Sado and Rangiku, before having the latter dive down into the ground, which prompts Rangiku to assert that they need to run away. After Rangiku moves Noba onto Sado's back, the two of them begin running down the field, but Noba warns them that it is useless to do so.

Baura surfaces in front of them, to their surprise, and upon seeing this, Sado leaps to the side with Rangiku and fires another energy blast at Baura with Brazo Derecha de Gigante, only to narrowly graze the scales on the side of his body instead of his underbelly and subsequently land on top of Noba, whom he rolls off of while Baura sinks back into the ground. With Sado expressing concern for Noba, Rangiku tells him to follow her, and as Sado picks up Noba once more and begins to run away with Rangiku, he sees the shadow of Baura swimming across and underneath the ground in front of them, causing both him and Rangiku to stop in their tracks and remain still.

As Baura circles around her and Sado, Rangiku notes that he is not going to let them get away and internally admits that she cannot move very far using Shunpo due to her current limited Reiatsu and that it would be difficult to use Hohō while carrying both Sado and Noba, leaving her uncertain of what to do. However, Sado points out that she could manage to escape on her own and suggests that Rangiku leave him and Noba behind as decoys so she can run, though an astonished Rangiku admonishes him for saying something like this instead of focusing on getting away. Suddenly, Sado and Rangiku see Baura partially surface while continuing to circle around them.

Rangiku tells Sado that they will move as far away as possible with her Shunpo once Baura attacks, which Sado affirms. However, after narrowing the diameter of his encircling to a tight rotation, the shadow of Baura shrinks and disappears beneath Sado and Rangiku's feet, to their confusion, before Baura bursts out of the ground underneath them in a flash of energy that kicks up a large amount of dust and chunks of earth. In midair within the dust cloud, Rangiku pulls Sado and Noba back to the field outside and runs with Sado toward a nearby set of stairs, but finds Baura bursting out of the stairs as well with Sawatari mocking them for falling for his misdirection.

Cursing at this, Rangiku is suddenly teleported away alongside Sado by Noba, who deposits them on a sidewalk in a different part of Karakura Town. Amazed by Noba pulling this off in his condition, which he downplays, Rangiku observes that it will not be long before Sawatari catches up to them even though they have bought themselves some time. While looking across the street, Rangiku deduces that the clashes of Reiatsu she is sensing across the town must be 9th Division Lieutenant Shūhei Hisagi and the others, whom they have been lured far away from by the Bount, and concludes that it will be impossible to neutralize the power of Baura with Noba in this condition.

Upon hearing this, Sado declares that they are going to immobilize and catch Baura so they can make him cough up Ururu Tsumugiya, but Rangiku counters that he is putting this too simply and reminds Sado that their reliance on Noba to predict the appearances of Baura makes it hard for them to dodge, meaning that they cannot perform a calculated counterattack in that same instant and cannot damage Baura by just attacking him haphazardly. However, Sado suggests that he attack the belly of Baura where his scales seem thinnest, and after noting that they would need someone to be a decoy again, Rangiku encourages them to leave since it is dangerous here.

When Sado tells Noba that they should leave his Gigai here, Rangiku is left perplexed, leading Sado to inform her that Noba is a Modified Soul created for use against the Bount and that his body is a Gigai made by Kisuke Urahara, which Noba confirms is why he can tell where Sawatari is when Rangiku asks Sado about this. With Sado requesting that Rangiku remove Noba's Gikongan due to her Shinigami powers allowing her to do so, Noba insists that he is fine and that Mod-Souls cannot die as long as their Gikongan are not destroyed. Though Sado protests this, Noba assures him and Rangiku that he can still move through space with this body.

Suddenly, Rangiku asserts that they might be able to catch Sawatari if they combine her Kidō with Noba's Bount-tracking capabilities, only to caution them that it would use up the rest of their Reiryoku and leave them helpless if they fail. Despite this, Noba simply inquires about what he needs to do, and when Sado expresses concern for him, Noba reminds Sado that the Mod-Souls were created to defeat the Bount and that countless Humans have already fallen victim to the latter before concluding that he will do whatever he can as he gets to his feet, which Sado acknowledges. Rangiku reiterates that they have once chance and that she and Noba will draw out Sawatari.

Turning to Sado, Rangiku instructs him to attack during this time since they will be unable to move and encourages him to blow Sawatari away with the same attack that surprised 8th Division Captain Shunsui Kyōraku. Soon afterward, Sawatari rides Baura through the streets of Karakura Town and curses Sado and his friends for evading death, though he chuckles maliciously and proclaims this area will be their grave even if they are planning something while ordering Baura to pursue them. Elsewhere, at a pavilion bordering two skyscrapers, Rangiku stands with Sado and decides to initiate their plan here, which prompts Sado to set down Noba.

After donning a Gokon Tekkō on her right hand, Rangiku places it against Noba's chest, which glows blue around her hand, and reaches into it to extract Noba's Gikongan, causing his lifeless Gigai to close its eyes and slump forward while Sado pulls Noba's plushie body out of his pocket and places it on the ground, where Rangiku pushes Noba's Gikongan into its head. Upon coming to life in the plushie, Noba walks over to Rangiku and wraps himself around her forearm, and after instructing Noba to synchronize his Reiatsu with her own, Rangiku begins exerting her Reiatsu alongside Noba, which concerns Sado as he sees them sweating in exertion.

However, Noba's red Reiatsu and Rangiku's white Reiatsu successfully merge into a pink Reiatsu that solidifies around them and begins exerting pressure on the surrounding area, leading Sado to realize they have synchronized. With each of her eyes partially covered by a leaf-shaped intersection of their sclera, Rangiku draws a seal in ink on the ground and performs '''Bakudō #58. Kakushitsuijaku''', which results in a beam of pink light being produced by the seal as it displays coordinates. Though Rangiku initially has trouble finding Sawatari and wonders if Bount Reiatsu acts differently, she eventually sees a swimming Baura displayed in the seal.

Rangiku proclaims success and notes Sawatari does not seem to notice their observance, but Noba warns her and Sado that he is approaching them. Questioning what direction Sawatari is coming from, Sado looks at Rangiku and Noba concentrating and internally asserts he cannot waste the chance they have created before a startled Rangiku ends the spell and tells him Baura will appear above them. Looking up, Sado sees Baura swim out of the middle of a skyscraper, and as an embedded Sawatari assumes Sado and his friends would never expect an attack from above, he is shocked to see Sado facing him with energy charging on Brazo Derecha de Gigante.

As Sawatari expresses disbelief at Sado and his friends knowing his location, a grinning Sado leaps into the air and delivers a powerful blow to the underbelly of Baura, sending the latter flying back up into the air while groaning in pain. Upon landing on the ground in front of a crashing Baura, Sado charges up energy on Brazo Derecha de Gigante again and fires it as a blast at Baura, who is pushed back by the force of it colliding with his underside and spits up a large amount of dust. With Sado panting in exhaustion, Baura writhes around and begins ejecting large quantities of dirt and trees from his mouth, culminating in Ururu being sent flying out.

Aftermath
While Sado calls out to her, Ururu lands on a broken tree in front of him and comments on having been brought back prior to collapsing on her face, to Sado's further concern. Nearby, a chuckling Sawatari sits on the tail of the incapacitated Baura and declares that they are going to finish this later since he is done fighting for the day. Though Rangiku refuses to let him run away, Sawatari calls out to Baura, who blinds the group with a bright flash of light and sinks into the ground with Sawatari, leaving it rippling in his wake. After observing that they escaped, Rangiku walks up to Sado and points out how he was still holding back since he could have defeated Baura with his full power.

However, Sado simply reminds her that he could not have saved Ururu had he done this, which Rangiku acknowledges as she praises Sado for doing a good job, only to be startled when he collapses next to Ururu, leaving Noba to run to his side in concern.