Suì-Fēng vs. Mabashi

 is a fight taking place during the Bount Invasion between 2nd Division Captain Suì-Fēng and the Bount Mabashi, acting as the first conflict with the Bount following their invasion of the Seireitei and affecting many individuals beyond the fight itself.

Prelude
Following the Bount infiltrating the Seireitei, 2nd Division Captain Suì-Fēng stands before several Keigun as one relays the announcement of a captains meeting to her from a Jigokuchō. Irritated by the order coming at such an inconvenient time, Suì-Fēng instructs the Keigun to continue dispatching to the assigned areas and elaborates that the Keigun are to continue searching until they find the Bount, at which point they are to contact other groups and wait for help instead of immediately engaging, before departing with Shunpo while the Keigun do the same.

Soon afterward, the Keigun running through the streets stop upon finding themselves confronted by a smirking Mabashi, who identifies them as they demand to know if he is a Ryoka. Declining to answer this, Mabashi brings up how he heard that the Keigun are strong, and when they assume combat stances in response to him partially unzipping his shirt, Mabashi notes that they want to fight. Upon being summoned by Mabashi and told to proceed, his Doll, Ritz, acknowledges this and creates multiple copies of herself that begin flying around the Keigun, distracting them.

Mabashi rushes forward and slams his open palms into one of the Keigun to send him flying prior to bashing his elbow into the head of another Keigun and knocking him back with an uppercut. After hitting a third Keigun with a running punch that knocks him unconscious, Mabashi sticks his tongue out at the remaining Keigun and runs past the unconscious one around the corner of the intersection he is lying in, prompting the other Keigun to pursue him. Some time later, several Shinigami run down a street and stop in shock upon seeing Mabashi sitting against the wall on their right, leading them to assume combat stances and demand to know if he is a Ryoka.

As Mabashi gets up and wonders why they are wearing such fierce expressions, and as the Shinigami draw their Zanpakutō, Mabashi calls out to the multiple copies of Ritz, who narrow their heads into tendrils and jab their bodies into those of the Shinigami, causing them to collapse in pain and lose consciousness, before leaving alongside Mabashi. In the Second Division barracks, a Keigun reports the encounters of the second and third groups with the Ryoka to Suì-Fēng, who is annoyed to learn that the result of the encounters is unknown due to the complicated information and orders the Keigun to have all the groups gather in the northern streets of the Seireitei, where she will join them shortly.

Some time later, Mabashi crouches in the shade of an alleyway and chuckles as the Keigun run through the street nearby. After the Keigun groups gather before her, Suì-Fēng instructs the second and third groups to deliver their report, which leads a Keigun from the second group to reveal that the Ryoka they encountered escape as another Keigun from the third group informs Suì-Fēng that they were unable to apprehend the Ryoka they encountered at the fifth western street. In response, Suì-Fēng angrily berates them for rendering the high alert that the Gotei 13 has been placed on pointless by not performing their Onmitsukidō duties properly.

Hearing this, a grinning Mabashi tells Ritz that it is time to act as Suì-Fēng orders the first and second groups to spread out along the western streets. After instructing the third and fourth groups to make a detour eastward and head for the main road, which the Keigun acknowledge, Suì-Fēng turns around and begins to walk away, but suddenly finds a Bitto lodged in the back of her left shoulder when Mabashi has Ritz make one of the Keigun throw it, shocking her and the other Keigun. With the Keigun restraining the feral attacker, who quickly falls limp, a weakened Suì-Fēng falls to her knees in pain and wonders what exactly he did to her.

Suì-Fēng sees the Bitto lying on the ground where she threw it and realizes that this is a Bount's poison. Upon seeing the feral Keigun who threw the Bitto go limp in the arms of his comrades and be pronounced dead, Suì-Fēng gets to her feet and instructs the concerned Keigun to not make a fuss. After bringing up how she heard of a Bount who can control people like puppets, Suì-Fēng theorizes that this Bount took control of the Keigun when the two came into contact. As she mentally realizes that this means there could be others under the Bount's control, Suì-Fēng inquires if anyone else came into contact with the Bount, and as a female Keigun confirms that her group did so around the second east street, one of her comrades suddenly begins groaning in pain and approaches Suì-Fēng while grasping the handle of his sword behind his back.

With the female Keigun being thrown aside when she attempts to stop the attacker, the other Keigun rush forward to restrain him, only for the attacker to rapidly subdue them with Hakuda as two of the remaining Keigun suggest that Suì-Fēng tend to her wounds while they handle this, prompting Suì-Fēng to run off despite her concern. Nearby, Ichigo Kurosaki runs down a street with Ririn, who expresses confusion and frustration at how the Reiatsu of the Bount keeps appearing and disappearing. Realizing that the Bount are up to something, Ichigo suddenly comes to a stop, which causes Ririn to flip over his shoulder and onto the ground in front of him.

From the intersection in front of Ichigo and Ririn, three groaning Shinigami run toward them with their Zanpakutō drawn and begin attacking Ichigo, who dodges the first slash and draws his Shikai, Zangetsu, before blocking the second strike and demanding to know what the Shinigami are doing as Ririn rejoins him and reveals that they smell like Bount. From within the Shinigami, Mabashi's Doll, Ritz, declares that Ichigo will die, and with Ichigo realizing that she is a Doll, the three Shinigami rush forward and resume their assault, leading Ichigo to block the first blow with Zangetsu and kick the Shinigami back with a blow to the abdomen from his knee.

After ducking to evade a horizontal slash from the second Shinigami, Ichigo bashes the hilt of Zangetsu into his stomach prior to slamming the flat side of the blade into the respective side and neck of the other two Shinigami, knocking all three of them out. While Ichigo deduces that the Shinigami were being controlled by Mabashi's Doll, 6th Division Lieutenant Renji Abarai finds himself and Kurōdo confronted elsewhere by several more Shinigami with their Zanpakutō drawn, whom Renji tells to knock it off as he blocks two strikes from them and moves back so the group is completely in front of him, which leads Kurōdo to observe that this is just like when Rukia Kuchiki was being controlled.

Meanwhile, Yasutora Sado and Noba are confronted by a dozen more Shinigami in a different part of the Seireitei. Though Sado leaps out of reach to evade their strikes, the Shinigami simply begin cutting each other down instead, prompting a chuckling Mabashi to praise Ritz for her performance from a rooftop overlooking the chaos, only to tense up upon sensing a strong Reiatsu approaching him. Simultaneously, 9th Division Lieutenant Shūhei Hisagi informs 7th Division Captain Sajin Komamura of the Shinigami who have been possessed by Ritz and are attacking their allies, which he recognizes from his previous encounter with Mabashi in the Human World.

When asked by Komamura if there is a way for the possessed to regain control, Hisagi explains that it is difficult to defeat only Ritz when she is inside their bodies, to Komamura's concern. Elsewhere, on a rooftop pavilion, Suì-Fēng sheds her bloodied haori and other overgarments, leaving her Keisen Shōzoku, and internally asserts that the puppets should be brought under control if the one controlling them is defeated, which means that she must eliminate the Bount, as she stumbles away. However, Suì-Fēng quickly senses the presence of Mabashi, who casually walks into the pavilion and details how he came here upon sensing a strong Reiatsu that should mean Suì-Fēng is a captain.

Battle
Mabashi observes that Suì-Fēng has been injected with the poison of a Bitto and reveals that leaving a condensed living Soul alone in the Bitto causes it to rot before concluding that Suì-Fēng is going to die soon, since there is no way to counteract the poison. Briefly falling to her knees, Suì-Fēng pushes herself up and leaps into the air, where a grinning Mabashi follows her and begins trading blows. While the two of them evade multiple strikes from each other, Mabashi begins blocking Suì-Fēng's punches and kicks with his hands and elbows, and as Suì-Fēng continues her rapid assault, Mabashi attempts to pull her in by the ankle, but Suì-Fēng breaks free and kicks at his face.

After grabbing a dodging Mabashi's wrist, Suì-Fēng pulls him aside and tries to kick him once more, only for Mabashi to outmaneuver this, grab Suì-Fēng's fist when she throws a punch at his face, and throw her over his shoulder, where Suì-Fēng recovers and trades several more blows with Mabashi prior to the two leaping off of and away from each other into pillars on opposite sides of the pavilion. With Suì-Fēng having gone up and Mabashi having gone down, the two rush toward each other in midair once more and block multiple strikes from each other before Suì-Fēng swings Mabashi around by the wrist and kicks him away from herself, resulting in the two of them landing on the ground below.

Admitting that he is impressed by a panting and kneeling Suì-Fēng, Mabashi reminds her that the poison will spread faster if she moves. Upon realizing that it is disadvantageous for her to drag this out, Suì-Fēng moves behind Mabashi with Shunpo, presses her Zanpakutō to his neck, and releases her Shikai, Suzumebachi, only to wince in pain before she can attack, which allows Mabashi to free himself from her grip and leap into the air. As she follows Mabashi, Suì-Fēng refuses to let him get away and stabs at him with Suzumebachi, forcing a shocked Mabashi to twist his body away from her at the last second and move to the other side of the pavilion while Suì-Fēng falls down.

An angered Mabashi curses Suì-Fēng as a Hōmonka forms on his chest, which he recognizes with amusement and describes as killing him if he gets struck in the same place twice, but points out how Suì-Fēng's time is almost up and decides to hide so he can take his time watching her until she dies. With her vision beginning to blur, Suì-Fēng sees Mabashi leap away and tells him to wait as she begins crawling forward, only to collapse. Meanwhile, Komamura finishes knocking out several possessed Shinigami alongside his subordinates and Hisagi, whose analysis of Ritz being completely fused with the bodies of the Shinigami he concurs with as the latter notes they might lose control again later.

In response, Komamura suggests that they move the possessed Shinigami to the Sōgō Kyūgo Tsumesho so 4th Division Captain Retsu Unohana can give her opinion on the matter, due to there being no one else who can help the Shinigami in their current condition, which leads Hisagi to order the other Shinigami to move the possessed to the Sōgō Kyūgo Tsumesho. Soon afterward, Unohana stands in one of the infirmary rooms with her lieutenant, Isane Kotetsu, and 3rd Seat, Yasochika Iemura, as two of Komamura's subordinates relay the status of the possessed and the uncertainty of how many have been afflicted to her, which is why they want her opinion on how to proceed.

Moving her hands over the possessed Shinigami lying in front of her, Unohana realizes that extraction of Ritz from his body without extensive preparation is impossible because of how strongly his mind and body are being controlled, and when asked about what they should do, Unohana instructs the Shinigami to bring in the other possessed Shinigami in order to stop their movement, leading the two Shinigami to run off while Unohana laments that they must use an unreliable method for this and orders Isane to make preparations. Back in the pavilion, a panting Suì-Fēng struggles to crawl forward and falls flat on her face as she mentally observes that she cannot see things directly in front of her.

Uncertain of what she should do in the face of her unexpected helplessness, Suì-Fēng thinks of Yoruichi Shihōin and looks at Suzumebachi, where she realizes what she needs to do and screams in pain as she stabs the tip into her own body. Simultaneously, Komamura incapacitates three possessed Shinigami at once with shockwaves from open-palmed strikes while Hisagi takes out several more in rapid succession with powerful punches and kicks. When one of the Shinigami embeds his Zanpakutō in Komamura's chest, one of his subordinates expresses concern, but Komamura insists that he focus on his own enemies and tosses his attacker away by the head.

While Iemura directs nurses in the Sōgō Kyūgo Tsumesho to put patients in new rooms and Unohana attempts to heal one of the possessed Shinigami with Kaidō, Mabashi sits on the steps leading up to a building and expresses confusion at his inability to send orders to some of the Ritz copies, which he deduces is the result of the Shinigami knocking out those whom Ritz is attached to, but declares that it does not matter when his increased power allows him to multiply Ritz as much as he wants to and summons Ritz once more. Splitting Ritz into multiple copies that he spreads across the Seireitei, Mabashi comments on how easy this is for him to do.

Upon remembering that it is almost time for Suì-Fēng to die, Mabashi decides to make her feel a little more despair first. Elsewhere, Ichigo incapacitates three possessed Shinigami with a sweeping kick, jabs the handle of Zangetsu into a fourth, and uppercuts a fifth with his free hand while Ririn knocks out the fourth Shinigami by repeatedly kicking him in the face. At the same time, Renji uses '''Bakudō #1. Sai on the Shinigami surrounding him, causing their arms to be locked behind their backs, and as Kurōdo praises him for being able to fight with Kidō as well, Renji notes that he is doing so due to his current inability to use his Shikai, Zabimaru'''.

However, Renji assumes that Kurōdo was subtly making fun of him by mentioning this and demands to know if it is really so unusual that he can use Kidō as a lieutenant, leaving Kurōdo unnerved and submissive. On a rooftop in the Second Division compound, Mabashi lands and sees Suì-Fēng lying face-down in a pavilion nearby, where he approaches her and questions if she is still alive. When Suì-Fēng questions why he came back if he was planning on hiding until she died, Mabashi explains that he sensed the Shinigami incapacitating those he had possessed with Ritz and decided to hit them with someone strong, which leads Suì-Fēng to conclude that he wants to use her for this.

Claiming that he cannot stand to see Ritz hurt, Mabashi wonders what Suì-Fēng is looking at and presumes that she wants to kill him by striking the Hōmonka on his chest once more, though he asserts that this is impossible. Suddenly, ten Keigun appear on the far rooftop and leap over to Suì-Fēng, which prompts Mabashi to move back and comment on there still being some Keigun left who want to avenge their captain. With the Keigun expressing concern for Suì-Fēng and promising to get her to the Sōgō Kyūgo Tsumesho, Mabashi inquires if they are really her allies and calls out to Ritz, causing the Keigun to begin writhing in pain.

Upon seeing the flower of Ritz sprouting from the abdomen of each Keigun and spreading purple root-like markings across their chests, Suì-Fēng is left staring in shock as Mabashi proclaims that all of her subordinates already belong to Ritz and has them pull her to her feet. With Suì-Fēng aghast at this, Mabashi asks her how it feels to be restrained by her own subordinates and observes with irritation that she can still talk pretty well despite not being able to move when Suì-Fēng curses at him before proclaiming that he is going to take Suì-Fēng's body and enslave it with Ritz until she dies as he summons Ritz once more with a chuckle.

After sarcastically apologizing to Suì-Fēng, Mabashi has Ritz fly toward her, but Suì-Fēng suddenly activates her Shunkō, sending Ritz flying back in distress and forcing the Keigun back, allowing Suì-Fēng to move to a stunned Mabashi with Shunpo and stab the center of his Hōmonka with Suzumebachi to initiate Nigeki Kessatsu. As Suì-Fēng pulls the blade out and leaps back, Mabashi clutches his chest and demands to know how she is able to move, leading Suì-Fēng to reveal that she already detoxified the Bitto poison by stabbing herself in the arm with Suzumebachi, which she proves by sliding down her sleeve to display her own Hōmonka.

Suì-Fēng elaborates that being trained to enter the Keigun from a young age left her immune to most poisons and taught her how to build resistance to new poisons, which she did by countering the Bitto poison with the poison of Suzumebachi. When Mabashi questions why she pretended that she could not move in this case, Suì-Fēng concludes that she had no chance of saving her subordinates if Mabashi did not come after her and that it was a last-resort gambit. With Mabashi falling to his knees and panting heavily, Suì-Fēng asserts that it is over, only for Mabashi to counter that she should not underestimate him and summon the ten Ritz copies out of the Keigun.

Though Mabashi deduces that he can save himself from the poison if he kills Suì-Fēng and assumes that she is not moving because she is so afraid of him, Suì-Fēng merely calls him foolish, and when an angered Mabashi orders Ritz to attack her, the copies instead begin attacking him, to his shock and confusion. Watching this, Suì-Fēng brings up how she heard the power of a Doll is a double-edged sword because it will turn on its controller if their power weakens. As Mabashi falls over and begs Ritz to stop while his body begins to desiccate and release green energy, Suì-Fēng informs him that the poison of Suzumebachi is already affecting his body, which turns to dust as he screams.

Aftermath
In the aftermath, Suì-Fēng walks over to Mabashi's empty clothes and looks down solemnly while the possessed Shinigami surrounding Ichigo suddenly groan and collapse, to his and Ririn's confusion, with the same occurring to the Shinigami being bound by Renji, prompting Kurōdo to note that the presence of Ritz has disappeared. With Sado and Noba looking over the unconscious Shinigami around them, Komamura sees the signs of possession disappear from the face of the Shinigami he is holding up by the collar while in the Sōgō Kyūgo Tsumesho, Unohana sees her patients regaining consciousness and assures them that everything is alright because someone has defeated the controller. That night, Isane informs 10th Division Captain Tōshirō Hitsugaya that Suì-Fēng's recovery will take some time and has left her confined to her quarters.