Byakuya Kuchiki & Ichigo Kurosaki vs. Jin Kariya

 is a battle taking place during the Bount Invasion that is initially comprised of the conflict between 6th Division Captain Byakuya Kuchiki and Jin Kariya before Ichigo Kurosaki joins partway through; it marks the first clash between a Gotei 13 captain and a Bount.

Prelude
At the Kuchiki Manor, 6th Division Captain Byakuya Kuchiki watches over Rukia Kuchiki as the Fourth Division tends to her injuries before silently leaving and approaching the room where Ichigo Kurosaki, Orihime Inoue, and Ririn are staying. Upon seeing Byakuya, Ichigo gets to his feet and frantically inquires about Rukia's condition. After initially ignoring Ichigo's inquiry, to the latter's irritation, Byakuya explains that Rukia's wounds are deep even though her life is not in danger and concludes that he will be letting her rest here until she recovers, to Ichigo and Orihime's relief.

Ichigo grows somber and reveals that he wants Byakuya to help him, to the latter's surprise, before detailing how the Bount targeted Rukia because her wounds were not fully healed simply to distract Ichigo and his friends, which he cannot forgive, but when asked if he does not feel the same way, Byakuya refuses to help Ichigo, leaving Ririn aghast as Ichigo angrily questions if Byakuya will tolerate the Bount rampaging through Soul Society. However, Byakuya calmly states that there is no reason to ally with Ichigo when the Gotei 13 are already on the move, further angering the latter, and instructs him to return to the Human World, only for Ichigo to realize that Byakuya still considers him an enemy on some level for his actions during the Ryoka Invasion, causing him to calm down and depart.

That night, Byakuya walks through the forest under the stars and comes to a stop before a smiling Kariya, who stands several feet away from him with his hands in his pockets. After Kariya confirms his identity, Byakuya notes that he seems to be doing whatever he likes, and when Kariya realizes that the Shinigami whom Yoshi cut down was Byakuya's younger sister, he wonders if Byakuya is here to avenge her, only for Byakuya to deny this since he just has to kill Soul Society's enemies. Byakuya questions if Kariya is not going to assume a combat stance, and when Kariya confirms this and offers to let Byakuya attack him whenever he wants to, Byakuya acknowledges this and remains still, causing Kariya to smile smugly.

Fights
Suddenly, Byakuya disappears with Shunpo and reappears behind a startled Kariya, who quickly grins and leaps away as Byakuya slashes at the air where he was standing with his Zanpakutō. Though Byakuya observes that Bount have speed equivalent to Shunpo, Kariya admits that the former grazed him while looking at his torn coat and declares that he is going next before summoning a gust of wind that obscures him with a cloud of dust and clears to reveal that Kariya has vanished. Byakuya does not move and eyes the area around him as a branch rustles in one of the surrounding trees, allowing him to move out of the way with Shunpo when a large sphere of swirling wind tears through the area where he was standing.

With the sphere shattering a tree in its path, Kariya appears in the air high above Byakuya and claims that he has got the latter as he slams into the ground where Byakuya is standing with a punch enhanced by wind swirling around his fist. When Byakuya moves out of the resulting cloud of dust and slashes at him three times in rapid succession, Kariya easily dodges each one by leaning back and eventually leaps back to the destroyed tree. Standing in front of the crater left by Kariya's attack, Byakuya brings up how he had heard Bount use puppets to fight and notes that he cannot see the puppet used by Kariya, who smiles and slyly declines to comment on what this means.

After Byakuya concludes that he will simply have to destroy Kariya along with his puppet, the two of them glare at each other for several seconds before rushing forward and fiercely clashing several times in different locations around the forest, each instance releasing yellow energy that surges into the sky. Having sheathed his arms in swirling wind, Kariya appears in front of a tree and disappears just as Byakuya slashes through it from a dozen feet away, with the severed trunk sliding off to reveal Kariya standing several feet back on the other side. As he observes that Byakuya is even better than the rumors made him out to be, Kariya expresses gratitude for having met him.

Kariya explains to a confused Byakuya that he wanted to test his level of skill by challenging the strongest head of the Kuchiki Clan and praises Byakuya's strength as being satisfying to him. When Byakuya inquires about what he plans to do, Kariya describes him as the most famous member of the Gotei 13 protecting Soul Society and asserts that the residents of the Seireitei will be shocked if he is defeated, and when Byakuya tells him to stop talking nonsense, Kariya asserts that he would not have come here if he was not convinced that he could defeat Byakuya. However, Kariya mocks Byakuya as being far more naïve than he expected him to be.

Recounting how Byakuya was desperate to protect Rukia Kuchiki when Yoshi tried to finish her off, Kariya points out how Byakuya has come by himself to avenge his sister and claims that he never thought the latter would fall for such a cheap taunt. Despite this, Byakuya merely reiterates that all he has come here to do is kill Soul Society's enemies, though Kariya states that this is fine since he is going to die here as part of the great plan of the Bount. After countering that Kariya is the one who is going to die here, Byakuya holds his Zanpakutō in front of his face and releases his Shikai, Senbonzakura, startling Kariya as several streams of blade petals hurtle toward him.

Though Kariya dodges the initial strike of Senbonzakura by moving into the air, the blade petal streams follow him upward and coalesce around his body in a swirling mass while Byakuya watches intently below. Suddenly, the mass of blade petals begins warping and deforming before being blown apart by an unharmed Kariya, who descends to the ground in a cloak of wind that slightly craters the area underneath him prior to landing. Having caught one of the blade petals between his index and middle finger on his left hand, Kariya praises Senbonzakura as being as beautiful as it is famous, only to dismissively crush the petal, which cuts his finger, and conclude that the technique will not work on him.

With Byakuya staring at the crushed petal floating by his face, Kariya decides to perform his own attack and beckons strong winds to begin swirling around him, prompting Byakuya to realize that he is controlling the wind itself as Kariya initiates Windestanz, which coalesces the wind into a Wind Barrier around him and generates four medium-sized tornadoes around Byakuya that slam into him simultaneously and form a large tornado to lift a tumbling Byakuya high into the air. However, as Kariya begins walking away, Byakuya blasts through the tornado with '''Hadō #33. Sōkatsui''', freeing himself, and drops down onto a surprised Kariya with a downward slash of his Zanpakutō.

When Kariya leaps back to evade this, Byakuya fires '''Hadō #4. Byakurai''' with his outstretched index finger, unleashing a powerful surge of white lightning that blasts through multiple trees and leaves smoking stumps behind. On the other side of the destroyed trees, a smirking Kariya gathers wind around his right fist and lunges toward Byakuya with his palm outstretched, only for Byakuya to roll Kariya over his back and turn around to strike at him, which Kariya counters with a kick that generates electricity at the point of impact. After pulling back his leg, a grinning Kariya presses his fingers together into a point and stabs it toward the base of Byakuya's Zanpakutō.

Forcing Kariya back, Byakuya slashes at him while the latter is still off the ground, sending Kariya flying back. After landing, Kariya describes Senbonzakura as splitting into a thousand blades too small to be seen with the naked eye and resembling cherry blossoms falling when they catch the light, but reminds Byakuya that there is wind in Soul Society and thus a limitless amount of air, meaning that he can create a power to rival Senbonzakura if he gathers it, while concentrating a small ring of wind above his wagging index finger that expands into a conical gauntlet of swirling air around his right hand and wrist as he concludes that this is simple number theory.

Kariya proclaims that Senbonzakura, Kidō, and direct Zanpakutō attacks cannot cut him even if they are splendid, but Byakuya merely questions if this is true, which leads Kariya to admonish him for acting tough and begin inching toward Byakuya, who responds in kind, before the two leap forward and clash in a shockwave of power. In the aftermath, Byakuya finds the fingertips of Kariya's outstretched hand at his throat and Kariya finds the blade of Byakuya's Zanpakutō at his own throat. As the two of them stand completely still, Byakuya commends Kariya for displaying reckless valor in facing him bare-handed and sees blood trickling from a wound on his throat near Kariya's hand.

However, while Kariya grins at the sight of this, he is shocked to see a cut form on his own neck near Byakuya's Zanpakutō, prompting Byakuya to assert that he can still decapitate Kariya with a single slash at this distance. With Kariya claiming that he will take off Byakuya's head before he can do so, the two of them separate and begin fighting at even higher speeds, where Kariya blocks a slash from Byakuya using the bottom of his right foot and swings his fist at Byakuya, who ducks underneath it and strikes downward at Kariya. After Kariya deflects this with the wind gathered around his left hand, Byakuya moves in again and drives his Zanpakutō into Kariya's left shoulder.

In response, Kariya grabs the blade of Byakuya's Zanpakutō with his left and and summons wind around his right before jabbing it at Byakuya's head and cutting the right side of his neck. Bleeding considerably alongside Byakuya, Kariya observes that they cannot separate from each other now and initiates Windestanz again as Byakuya simultaneously releases Senbonzakura once more, resulting in a violent tornado of blade petals forming around the two of them and drawing out more blood from their wounds. Though Kariya claims that one arm is a small price to pay if he can win this fight, Byakuya simply wonders if he is insane as the tornado strengthens and rips through the forest.

Meanwhile, as he runs through the forest nearby with Ririn on his shoulder, Ichigo Kurosaki notices a couple drops of blood spattering on his cheek and stops in surprise, where he sees the blade petal tornado surging through the forest and grabs his Shikai, Zangetsu, to fire a Getsuga Tenshō at the top of it, causing the tornado to explode in a burst of blue energy that shocks Byakuya and Kariya while they land on either side of the short ravine created by the tornado. With Ichigo wondering why Byakuya is having such a hard time after refusing his assistance earlier, an annoyed Byakuya looks at Kariya, who turns back in anticipation to a smirking Ichigo.

After affirming Kariya's observation that he got here quickly, Ichigo asks Byakuya if he is alright, only for the latter to call this unnecessary and inform Ichigo that he will treat the latter as an enemy if he interferes. However, they are interrupted when Kariya begins healing his injuries with Reishi absorbed from their surroundings, to Ichigo's confusion, and details how the Bount are empowered and invincible as long as Soul Society is filled with such high-quality Reishi. With Byakuya deducing that he is using Reishi to heal himself, Kariya stops absorbing Reishi and announces that he is beginning his attack as wind begins swirling around him in a sphere.

In response, Ichigo activates his Bankai, Tensa Zangetsu, creating his own tornado that quickly disperses to reveal Ichigo rushing toward Kariya, who blocks Ichigo's subsequent downward slash with a Wind Barrier on his forearm before jabbing at Ichigo with his hand. When Ichigo disappears and reappears behind him with Shunpo, Kariya envelops both of his legs in swirling wind and kicks at Ichigo with both of them in turn, with Ichigo dodging each one prior to slashing upward at Kariya. After Ichigo dodges a third blow from Kariya, the two reappear on the ground a few feet apart from each other, where Kariya comments on Ichigo's terrifying speed as Ichigo merely scoffs in return.

Ichigo and Kariya proceed to rapidly clash with each other several times across the clearing, with each blow generating electricity, while Ririn watches with concern and admits that she cannot even tell what they are doing due to their high speed. Nearby, Byakuya watches the fierce battle between the two and casually follows all of their movements with his eyes before dropping his Zanpakutō into the ground and activating his own Bankai, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi, shocking Ichigo and Kariya as they see a surging mass of blade petals rise up into the sky and slam down onto them. In the aftermath, Ichigo stands at one end of the deepened ravine while Kariya stands at the other with a Wind Barrier active. With Byakuya reiterating that Ichigo is in the way, Ichigo glares at him and Kariya regards them both with interest.

Shortly afterward, as Kariya rises into the air while surrounded by a Wind Barrier as Ichigo and Byakuya appear on the ground below him with Shunpo. Smirking at this, Kariya uses Wind Licht Schneide to unleash two intersecting diagonal blades of wind at Ichigo and Byakuya, prompting Ichigo to fire a Getsuga Tenshō at it while Senbonzakura Kageyoshi surges forward in turn. The colliding attacks create an explosion of energy that rips through the surrounding forest and sends a screaming Ririn flying back as Uryū Ishida sees smoke coiling into the sky in the distance and runs toward it. In the aftermath, Ririn runs up to the edge of the massive, newly-formed crater and peers inside to see Ichigo, Byakuya, and Kariya standing across from each other.

After pausing for a few seconds, Ichigo uses Shunpo to rush toward Kariya, rupturing the ground in his wake. Suddenly, Ichigo reappears behind a startled Kariya and criticizes him as being slow while slashing at him, only for Kariya to summon swirling wind around his right arm and block Ichigo's sword before pushing it aside. Upon seeing Senbonzakura Kageyoshi hurtling toward them from behind Ichigo, Kariya pushes back Ichigo, who moves into the air with Shunpo, and shields himself with another spherical Wind Barrier just as Senbonzakura Kageyoshi crashes down onto him. After rejoining Byakuya on the other side of the crater, Ichigo demands that he cut it out and questions if Byakuya is trying to kill him as well, only for Byakuya to reiterate that he is in the way.

With Ichigo outraged by this, he and Byakuya see a swirling wind sphere surge out of the blade petal maelstrom and toward them, which leads Ichigo to leap into the air as Byakuya shields himself from the wind with a portion of Senbonzakura Kageyoshi that the sphere dissipates around. In midair, Kariya appears behind a stunned Ichigo and punches him in the gut with his left fist, causing Ichigo to cough up blood, prior to summoning a cone of wind around his right arm and firing it into Ichigo, who is sent flying down and crashes into the side of the crater. Having created a rocky outcropping with the impact of his crash, Ichigo wipes the blood from his mouth and wonders how Kariya is keeping up with him.

In response to this, Kariya admits that he is not nearly as fast as Ichigo is and explains that his years of fighting experience allow him to predict which way Ichigo is going to move, leaving Ichigo astonished while he smirks. However, Kariya is interrupted when his left shoulder receives a small cut, which prompts Byakuya to observe that his Wind Barrier cannot protect Kariya from everything if Byakuya uses an attack that is more powerful than his defense is. After recalling Senbonzakura Kageyoshi crashing into him earlier, Kariya praises Byakuya's skill, but asserts that he cannot win and reminds Byakuya that the Bount are immortal in Soul Society due to its concentrated Reishi.

To demonstrate this, Kariya casually heals his injury and repairs his jacket with Reishi from their surroundings, only for Byakuya to request that he prove his immortality before having Senbonzakura Kageyoshi surge from around him toward Kariya, who slashes through it with wind. Despite this, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi merely reforms behind a shocked Kariya, forcing him to shield himself with a spherical Wind Barrier. With Senbonzakura Kageyoshi penetrating the barrier and slashing his body in several areas, a pained Kariya is slammed into the ground by the mass of blade petals, leaving a crater several feet deep that he stands up in while bleeding.

As Kariya begins to heal himself with Reishi, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi flows out from behind Byakuya and slams into the crater right after Kariya moves into the air and forms another Wind Barrier, where Senbonzakura Kageyoshi rushes toward him in two streams and prompts Kariya to respond in kind with a thick tendril of compressed air that slams into Senbonzakura Kageyoshi, creating a bright explosion of energy that forces Ichigo to shield his eyes below. In the aftermath, with all three combatants glaring at each other and Ririn quivering in fear, the battle is suddenly interrupted by a massive beam of energy that falls into the crater, prompting the three of them to move outside.

The impact of the energy bream kicks up an enormous cloud of dust that washes over the surrounding area, and as Ichigo wonders what is going on and Ririn digs herself out of the rubble, those present see Ran'Tao emerging from the cloud of dust, shocking Kariya and Ichigo, who are astonished alongside Ririn to recognize her face as that of Yoshino Sōma. With Kariya expressing stunned disbelief at this, Ran'Tao notes that she has finally found him and identifies herself, further surprising those present while Ichigo recalls that she is the creator of the Bount who was exiled from the Seireitei. While Kariya questions how she is still alive, Ichigo inquires if she is really Ran'Tao.

However, Ran'Tao simply mocks Ichigo for being more vulgar than Shinigami used to be and points out how her being the only one who knows of the Bount other than the Shinigami of the Seireitei should be enough proof of her identity. After observing that all information on the Bount other than a small section should have been destroyed, Ran'Tao turns to Kariya and deduces that he is a Bount before concluding that he must be able to sense that she is the real Ran'Tao. As Ran'Tao asserts that she knew Kariya would come to Soul Society one day and that she has waited a mind-numbingly long amount of time for him, Kariya acknowledges the Bount were forced to suffer for an agonizingly long time.

When Kariya demands to know if she is the one who forced this upon the Bount, Ran'Tao merely notes that he is more emotional than he looks and more short-tempered than he sounds while inquiring if Kariya is going to kill her. Upon hearing this, Ichigo leaps between them and refuses to let Ran'Tao die here since he has a lot of things to ask her. Despite this, Kariya reminds Ichigo that no one said he would kill Ran'Tao here and details how she must watch the Bount achieve their goal as the direct result of her actions prior to promising to kill her once he has destroyed the Seireitei. Suddenly, while Ichigo curses Kariya, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi slams into the latter from above.

With Kariya moving into the air to avoid this attack, Ichigo turns in surprise to Byakuya, who reiterates that he will kill anyone who is an enemy of Soul Society and has Senbonzakura Kageyoshi surge toward Kariya once more. Seeing Kariya shield himself with a Wind Barrier and disappear from sight, Ichigo vows to not let him get away and moves behind Kariya when the latter reappears in midair. Though Kariya protects himself from Ichigo's subsequent slash with another Wind Barrier around his arm, a yelling Ichigo manages to push the sword of Tensa Zangetsu through the barrier and into Kariya's arm, drawing a large amount of blood as the two of them land on the ground.

Aftermath
As Ichigo observes that he can also break through Kariya's defense, he and Byakuya glare at a stoic Kariya before noticing dozens of metal spheres flying toward them, which Byakuya moves out of the way of with Shunpo while Ichigo initially deflects some with his sword before following suit and grabbing Ririn after her cover is destroyed by one of the spheres right before he reaches her. Gō Koga runs over to Kariya and advises him to retreat for now as he orders his Doll, Dalk, to cause a disturbance, leading the latter to move in front of Ichigo and Byakuya, whom she apologizes to for being unable to play with them today despite their handsomeness.

Upon being fired upon by Dalk, Ichigo and Byakuya begin evading the dozens of metal spheres with Shunpo, with Ichigo eventually moving to the rock that Ran'Tao is hiding behind and sternly deflecting all the spheres coming her way, which she smiles at. When the dust from the onslaught of Dalk settles, Ichigo sees that she, Koga, and Kariya have vanished, only for Ririn to reveal that her sensors could not properly track them during the previous explosions when he turns to her for their locations. With Byakuya sheathing his Zanpakutō, Ichigo questions if he is not going to pursue Kariya, which leads Byakuya to point out how Kariya has already disappeared into the distance.

While Ichigo deduces that he is saying it is pointless to pursue Kariya, Byakuya clarifies that he is waiting until they encounter him again and departs, leaving Ichigo to express his exasperation at this before turning to an approaching Ran'Tao and inquiring if she is an enemy or an ally, to her bemusement. Ririn alerts Ichigo to someone approaching, only for Ichigo to discover that it is Uryū in his Quincy uniform as the latter dissipates the Heilig Pfeil in Kojaku and expresses relief at Ichigo being safe. However, Uryū quickly notices Ran'Tao behind Ichigo and mistakes her for Yoshino in shock. Afterwards, Ran'Tao invites the two of them to talk back at her house.