Renji Abarai & Uryū Ishida vs. Szayelaporro Granz

 is a battle taking place during the Invasion of Hueco Mundo, focusing on 6th Division Lieutenant Renji Abarai and Quincy Uryū Ishida's prolonged fight against Espada #8. Szayelaporro Granz.

Prelude
After 6th Division Lieutenant Renji Abarai enters Las Noches alongside his friends, they reach a crossroads with five different exits and strong Reiatsu emanating from the paths ahead. At Rukia Kuchiki's behest, the five of them split up and each take a different exit. Shortly afterward, as he runs through a corridor, Renji notices someone's Reiatsu and assumes that it belongs to Ichigo Kurosaki.

Upon looking behind himself, Renji is shocked to instead discover that it is Dondochakka Birstanne tearfully running and wailing behind him. When Renji demands to know what he is doing here and calls him crazy for coming down the corridor as well, Dondochakka declares that he is looking for Nel Tu, only for Renji to question why Dondochakka is following him if this is the case and assume that he is lost. In turn, Dondochakka asks Renji where Nel is, prompting him to affirm in incredulous annoyance that Dondochakka really is lost and chose to follow Renji at random since there is no way he could know this, and asserts that he has to find her since she went running after Ichigo.

However, when Renji counters that Nel is safer with Ichigo than she would be with anyone else and tells him to stop crying, Dondochakka begins to explain that he has to find and stop Nel soon before she does something, but stops upon realizing that Renji is still running away from him, which Renji attributes to reflex from Dondochakka chasing him and Dondochakka's face triggering an instinctive fear in people. With Dondochakka telling him to stop running so he can hear the full story, Renji angrily orders him to stop first and go search for Nel instead.

Some time later, a babbling Dondochakka runs along another corridor while carrying Renji over his had prior to slamming the latter head-first into the ground. When Dondochakka wonders what he is doing, Renji angrily kicks him in the head while still upside-down and reminds Dondochakka that the latter brought him here after getting excited from detecting Nel's Reiatsu, only for Dondochakka to reiterate his excitement and state that he cannot help it, to Renji's disbelief. As Renji continues kicking Dondochakka for piledriving him and in an attempt to get him to keep going, Dondochakka suddenly realizes that Pesche is not with him and begins tearfully asking Renji where he is, prompting Renji to hold him back and point out how Pesche was not even present when Dondochakka first showed up here. Interpreting this as Renji referring to when they first met, Dondochakka assumes that Pesche has been an illusion all along, to Renji's further chagrin.

Soon afterward, Renji is startled to sense Rukia's Reiatsu rising, and when Dondochakka asks him what is wrong, Renji assures him that it is nothing. In turn, Dondochakka steps forward and tells Renji to stop worrying him since he is already worried as it is, only to step onto a floor panel that causes a square section of the floor beneath him to fall away. With a surprised Dondochakka falling into the shaft below, Renji steps forward in concern and causes a second section of the floor to fall away from under him, leading to Renji falling into a second shaft as well. Moments later, Renji lands in a large chamber further down and wonders where he is.

Laughing over an intercom, Szayelaporro Granz admits he did not expect anyone to fall for the simplest of the many traps he set along the way, and as he emerges from a nearby doorway, Szayelaporro tells Renji to remember his sole introduction as best he can and pulls out the microphone embedded in his ear while identifying himself as Espada #8. Renji realizes Szayelaporro is one of the ten commanders of the Arrancar before hearing Dondochakka wailing, which alarms and confuses him since the latter fell into the trap before he did. Upon realizing Dondochakka's voice is emanating from the passage he came out of, Renji quickly moves out of the way and expresses relief at Dondochakka not falling on top of him, but a second hole opens up in the wall behind Renji just before Dondochakka crashes into Renji from it.

After complaining about how much that hurt and how scary it was in the shaft he was sliding down, Dondochakka sees an unamused Szayelaporro standing before him and immediately recognizes him as Hueco Mundo's top scientist and spiritual weapons expert. As Dondochakka continues outlining Szayelaporro's position and history, an aggravated Renji berates him for expositing so blatantly and demands that Dondochakka get off of him, and when Dondochakka wonders why Renji is underneath him, Renji angrily kicks him in the eye to force him back and threatens to do so again while noting how hard Dondochakka's face is. Asking Renji if he is done with his comedy routine, Szayelaporro sees the former glaring at him and assures Renji that he is not much of a fighter despite being an Espada.

Despite Szayelaporro affirming Dondochakka's description of him as a scientist, Renji cuts off Szayelaporro's explanation and draws his Zanpakutō while asserting that he came here to crush the Espada rather than talk, though he does not mind if Szayelaporro keeps talking while being cut down where he stands, before activating his Bankai, Hihiō Zabimaru, which immediately bursts apart into hundreds of small pieces. With Renji staring in shock at this and questioning what just happened, Szayelaporro resumes his explanation and informs Renji that he cannot perform Bankai in this room, which Renji repeats in disbelief. Mocking Renji for needing to say it again in order to memorize it, Szayelaporro elaborates that the shape, nature, Reiatsu, Reishi composition, and ultimate form of Hihiō Zabimaru are all familiar enough to him that he was able to make some adjustments to the area in order to seal it and prevent its activation.

When Renji counters that only someone who was struck by Hihiō Zabimaru could know these things, Szayelaporro attributes this to his older brother and, upon realizing Renji does not remember his name, informs the latter that Yylfordt Granz is his older brother, to Renji's astonishment. Once Szayelaporro comments on him remembering such a fool, Renji deduces that he is not here to avenge Yylfordt, which Szayelaporro confirms prior to detailing how he had implanted Rokureichu all over Yylfordt's body prior to his battle that he collected data on Hihiō Zabimaru from while examining his corpse afterward and describes his brother as just a box for his data collection that he is too mature to get mad over the breaking of. Renji coldly states that Szayelaporro is the fool if this is the case, but Szayelaporro simply notes that Renji's comments continue to confirm his judgement of Renji being mind-bogglingly stupid.

After promising Renji that he can neither win nor escape, Szayelaporro draws his own Zanpakutō and admits that this is an exciting moment for him due to being the first time he has met someone who can actually perform Bankai, prompting him to request that an unnerved Renji not struggle too much so that his corpse is left as intact as possible.

Battle
Some time later, Szayelaporro is told by Lumina and Verona that Aaroniero is dead, which leads him to admit that he was too preoccupied to notice the report he received and take a moment to process the information before telling a battered Renji that both of them are dead. With Renji expressing confusion at this, Szayelaporro elaborates that one of his friends and an Espada killed each other, which he sarcastically claps for and praises as an accomplishment, and responds to Renji wondering how he knows that they are both dead by asserting that they are and revealing that the woman's name was Rukia.

In response, an angered Renji swings his Shikai, Zabimaru, at Szayelaporro. Though Szayelaporro easily blocks this with his Hierro-protected wrist and comments on how predictable Renji's reaction was since he has already been told Shikai is not enough to harm an Espada, Renji rips Zabimaru back toward himself in an explosion of force, grazing an alarmed Szayelaporro's temple in the process, and demands Szayelaporro get out of his way. Minutes later, a yelling Renji attacks with Zabimaru, only for Szayelaporro to easily sidestep the extended blade as it slams into the ground where he was standing, stomp down on it to break off one of its fang-like protrusions, and dismissively toss this away to Lumina and Verona after catching and examining it because Renji is boring him.

When a bloodied and panting Renji demands to know what he said, Szayelaporro reiterates that Renji is boring and elaborates that Zabimaru is a power-type Zanpakutō with no unique properties and an extremely simple shape variation theory, which means there is nothing more to observe here. Deciding to end this, Szayelaporro presses a trigger to summon several of his Fracción, which burst through the walls and ceiling behind him, and explains to a shocked Renji that the Espada are allowed to select Arrancar below the rank of 11th as their minions, with some choosing one and other choosing many. After noting that his Fracción are unique because they consist of Hollows whom he modified and had turned into Arrancar by Sōsuke Aizen, Szayelaporro decides that this has been enough conversation.

Concluding that he will not be killing Renji himself because the latter is not worthy prior, Szayelaporro announces that this is the finale. Suddenly, Medazeppi is shot through the side by a large Heilig Pfeil, and as a startled Szayelaporro turns to a newly-created hole in the wall above, a bloodied Uryū Ishida notes it is unfortunate for the Arrancar that the walls of Las Noches are not made of Sekkiseki since he could hear their Reiatsu echoing through three walls before telling a stunned Renji that it looks like someone beat him up. Szayelaporro's Fracción bemoan Medazeppi's death and turn their ire toward Uryū, who observes there are a lot of them even though they do not seem very tough. Hiding behind a pillar near Uryū, Pesche Guatiche asks him if he scared the Arrancar to the point of shaking, though an annoyed Uryū tells him to continue hiding so he does not ruin the moment and looks at Szayelaporro.

After smirking back at Uryū from behind his Fracción, Szayelaporro yells at them to be quiet so their guest can say what he wants to say. Uryū thanks Szayelaporro for this and apologizes for his bluntness in confirming this before inquiring if Szayelaporro is an Espada, which leads Szayelaporro to identify himself as Espada #8. Though Uryū admits that this does not sound too scary, Szayelaporro warns him to not be fooled since he is still stronger than Uryū is and wonders who the latter is, and when Uryū introduces himself as a Quincy, an elated Szayelaporro realizes he is the one who fought Cirucci Sanderwicci, whom he casually disparages as idiotic, and celebrates encountering both a Quincy and a Bankai user at once.

However, as Szayelaporro proclaims that Yammy Llargo would be howling with joy and calling this lucky, Uryū appears behind him with Hirenkyaku and states that he does not know who Yammy is prior to declaring that having someone with as many openings as Szayelaporro in his sights makes him feel lucky too and firing a Seele Schneider from his Heilig Bogen, Ginrei Kojaku, directly at a stunned Szayelaporro, who is pierced directly between his clavicles by the blade and falls to his knees as his Fracción call out to him in concern. Suddenly, the blade of the Seele Schneider dissipates in a burst of energy, to Uryū's shock, and a maniacally laughing Szayelaporro calls him foolish for believing his arrow could pierce, puncture, or penetrate Szayelaporro before bringing up his knowledge of Uryū's battle against Cirucci and revealing that he has already analyzed the latter's abilities.

Seconds later, Uryū evades a punch from a large Arrancar whose fist unfurls into several tendrils that stab into the ground where Uryū was standing. When Uryū fires a Heilig Pfeil at its head, Szayelaporro tells him to not bother while the projectile disintegrates in front of the Arrancar's face, and when another bulky Arrancar appears next to Uryū, Szayelaporro warns him that Ginrei Kojaku will disappear too just before it disperses in Uryū's hands, leaving him defenseless while the Arrancar attempts to punch him with a massive fist. Suddenly, Renji appears in front of Uryū and catches the Arrancar's fist with Zabimaru as he tells Uryū to figure out a way to defeat Szayelaporro instead of just standing there. With Uryū assuring him that he will, a grinning Renji forces the Arrancar back and instructs Uryū to not mess up since he is counting on the latter, prompting Uryū to assert that Renji does not need to worry about him and should focus on not messing up instead while Szayelaporro watches them.

When asked by Uryū about how long he can hold off Szayelaporro, Renji estimates that he can do so for twenty seconds at most. In response, Uryū affirms that this should be enough as an intrigued Szayelaporro tells his Fracción to stay back so he can find out what Uryū and Renji can do in their condition. Nearby, Pesche slides down one of the pillars lining the walls while quietly screaming in pain, but lands crotch-first on an upturned chunk of rock and falls to the ground while denying that it hurt him before complaining about Uryū going off on his own and depriving him of the second half of his comedy team that could have pointed out how his fall was real instead of comic relief. Suddenly, Pesche sees Dondochakka's foot sticking out of the rubble several meters away and realizes that he was not only with Renji, but ended up in this comedic position completely by chance, to Pesche's irritation.

Despite this, Pesche creeps behind the rubble separating him from the Fracción so he can save Dondochakka and prays that he is not noticed, which leads him to assure himself that he does not lack presence even though none of the Fracción know that he is here, only to mentally admit that he is slightly sad over no one actually knowing he is here and that it would be nice if he was noticed just a little. However, upon being reached by Pesche, Dondochakka bursts out of the rubble and loudly greets a startled Pesche. As Dondochakka tearfully proclaims that Pesche has come to save him and that he was so scared, Pesche warns him to be quiet just before the Fracción begin ganging up on him, only to be sent flying by a massive blast of force from behind, to Pesche's confusion.

On the other side of the chamber, Renji rapidly spins Zabimaru in a wide arc above his head, generating radial waves of force outward from his position, and as Szayelaporro comments on him choosing brute strength out of all possible courses of action, Renji sends Zabimaru hurtling toward him, prompting Szayelaporro to deflect it with his own Zanpakutō and call this pathetic. Suddenly, Renji rushes forward, grabs a surprised Szayelaporro by the collar, and wraps the blade segments of Zabimaru around the two of them, binding them together in place with the end segment embedded in the ground nearby.

With Szayelaporro questioning what this awkward position is, Renji mumbles an incantation under his breath and admits that there is a wide gap in power between Szayelaporro and his Shikai, with him also not being very effective at close-range combat either, before pointing out how Szayelaporro is helpless at this distance despite being much more powerful than him while generating red, smoking energy in his left hand, alerting Szayelaporro in the process. After revealing that he has never been good at Kidō and always got reprimanded by his teachers for not controlling it better, Renji invites Szayelaporro to find out which of them is more durable and unleashes a point-blank '''Hadō #31. Shakkahō''', resulting in a large explosion of energy that engulfs the two of them and reaches the ceiling above.

In the aftermath, a burnt Szayelaporro stumbles out of the smoke as Renji collapses behind him and curses the latter, but is interrupted when Uryū appears several meters behind him and levels a Seele Schneider at Szayelaporro, whom he brings up moving away from Renji just as the latter attacked in order to maintain the distance between them and accuses of preferring to look down on his enemies by keeping just out of their reach. When Szayelaporro wonders why this matters since Uryū likes to attack from behind and assumes that Uryū believes he has won, Uryū confirms this, flips the Seele Schneider so its blade is pointing downward, and stabs it into the ground, causing energy from it to extend outward and connect to a shocked Szayelaporro alongside four other Seele Schneider embedded in the ground around him in a pentagonal formation.

Though Szayelaporro insists that he sealed all of Uryū's weapons, Uryū counters that there are things Szayelaporro does not know about the world and tells him it is over in Spanish prior to pouring the contents of a Gintō onto the Seele Schneider in front of him, engulfing Szayelaporro in a massive pentagonal explosion as Uryū walks away and discards the Gintō. With Szayelaporro's concerned Fracción rushing toward him and past Uryū upon witnessing this, Pesche asks Uryū what this move was, prompting Uryū to explain that Sprenger consists of him creating a zone of destruction with Seele Schneider, which store Reishi in their pommels to maintain themselves against a Reishi-diffusing enemy, and marking a Quincy Zeichen on the ground before creating a large explosion inside of the zone with a drop of concentrated Reishi.

However, Uryū clarifies that its lengthy setup time makes it useless in single combat despite its power unless the user has dependable backup, which leads a prone Renji to dismiss Uryū's attempt at flattering him, though Uryū insists that he is being sincere. Suddenly, a badly burned and bloodied Szayelaporro makes his presence known within the clearing smoke behind Uryū, who is startled alongside Renji and admits that he is amazed at Szayelaporro still being able to stand after this. In response, Szayelaporro reminds Uryū that he has already analyzed the latter's Reiatsu, which allows him to diffuse the impact of any technique Uryū uses even if it is new to him prior to maniacally declaring that he has reduced the damage, grabbing Lumina, and rapidly consuming most of the latter's body, causing his own injuries to quickly heal.

After spitting out Lumina's left arm, Szayelaporro tells an aghast Verona to stop screaming because he will make him a new friend later and explains to a stunned Uryū and Renji that his unique Fracción exist to help him recover from his injuries by being eaten, and when Uryū calls him a monster for this, Szayelaporro counters that genius is the more accurate term. When Szayelaporro turns on his heel and begins to walk away, Uryū demands to know where he is going, prompting Szayelaporro to assert that he is going to change into a new set of clothes since he cannot be expected to fight in the rags of his current outfit. Though Uryū is incredulous at this, Szayelaporro suggests that Uryū and Renji use this time to come up with a plan because he will assuredly be thinking of a horrible way to kill them as well.

Later, Uryū, Renji, Pesche, and Dondochakka run up a flight of stairs in Szayelaporro's palace, where Uryū responds to Dondochakka wondering why they are running away by reminding him that they are there to save Orihime rather than defeat the Espada and that it makes no sense to wait around in a room where their powers do not work. Concurring with this, Renji notes that they will have to save Rukia and Sado now as well, prompting Uryū to conclude that they must get out of here just as the group reaches the doorway at the top of the stairs. However, Uryū and his friends are astonished to find themselves back in the chamber that they just left. Inquiring about whether they enjoyed their run, Szayelaporro steps out in a new, undamaged outfit and declares that it is time to begin the second act.

Despite admitting that it is not worth explaining how this was accomplished, Szayelaporro details how he has absolute control over the interior of his palace much like he does his own body and that he has cameras implanted in every wall as well as the ability to rearrange the hallways at will, which resulted in him shifting the corridor that Uryū, Renji, Pesche, and Dondochakka were running down so it led right back to him because he knew they would flee the moment he left. Noticing Uryū and Renji glaring at him, Szayelaporro deduces that they are aggravated by having wasted so much time and energy running down long hallways and up staircases just to arrive back here anyway.

Though he compares this to a bad joke, Szayelaporro asserts that being forced to work to defeat worms like them is an even worse joke and draws his Zanpakutō before activating his Resurrección, Fornicarás, by shoving it down his throat, which causes his body to rapidly inflate like a balloon and release a large amount of fluid before slimming down and gaining a vast amount of layered tentacles covering his lower body, two sets of elongated and thin wing-like appendages comprised of long, dark, and thick strands hanging from the light bases, and lengthened fingers ending in spherical tips, all of which cause him to initially tower over the other combatants. After the tentacles almost fully recede into his body to reveal his legs and form a skirt, Szayelaporro apologizes for keeping his enemies waiting and announces once again that the second act will now begin.

However, Szayelaporro corrects himself and asserts that the second act will instead end prior to initiating Carbon-Copy by releasing a large amount of fluid from his back that splashes against the ceiling, causing it to begin raining down on Uryū, Renji, Pesche, and Dondochakka. With Renji panicking over this, Uryū warns Pesche and Dondochakka to keep evading and not let the fluid touch them, but while they protest that this will not be easy, a drop of the fluid lands on Dondochakka's head, causing a near-identical clone of him to begin rapidly forming from this spot. Alarmed by this, Uryū notices another drop of the fluid land on his cape just as several clones of himself and Renji rise around them. A maniacally laughing Szayelaporro sits down on a throne formed by two of his Fracción and observes that all of the characters have been introduced before explaining that the clones have the exact same abilities as the originals, who will have to battle fiercely if they want to live, and revealing that the device which was sealing their powers has been deactivated so they can fight freely.

While Szayelaporro cackles at this, Uryū notes with trepidation that being forced to fight themselves before they can fight the enemy is akin to a zen riddle and admits that this really is a bad joke. Shortly afterward, Dondochakka lunges toward Uryū, who steps back just before Dondochakka crashes onto the ground in front of him. When Dondochakka claims that it is not nice to get out of the way like this since he was scared and wanted a hug, Uryū counters that Dondochakka seemed to be attacking him just before several of Dondochakka's clones lunge toward him in turn, forcing both of them to frantically run several meters away before the clones slam into the ground where they were standing.

With the clones accusing him of dodging the deadly Dondochakka Press, Uryū punches Dondochakka in the cheek and takes this as proof of his assumption, though he is left cradling his injured knuckles afterward. Despondent at the situation, Dondochakka proclaims that they have to find Nel, and when an annoyed Uryū asserts that they will once they escape, Dondochakka clarifies that they have to do so right now before Nel travels any deeper into Las Noches. Shortly afterward, as Dondochakka and his friends face off against their Carbon-Copy clones, he suddenly senses an immense Reiatsu and calls out to Pesche, who confirms that he has as well. When Uryū questions what is going on, Pesche muses that even though he has not felt this Reiatsu in a long time, he still recognizes it as Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck's.

Moments later, while battling his clones, Renji narrowly evades a downward hand chop from Dondochakka, whom he admonishes for not realizing he is the real Renji and for attacking without verifying this first prior to Pesche landing a flying kick to Renji's lower back. With an aggravated Renji claiming that they must be doing this on purpose once Pesche recognizes him, Uryū interrupts Renji kicking Pesche in retaliation to inform them and Dondochakka that the main difference of the clones is the markings around their eyes, as well as Dondochakka's clones lacking dots on their backs and Pesche's clones wearing pants instead of loincloths, to their collective shock.

After Uryū wonders what they were looking at if they did not notice these traits before, Renji mocks Szayelaporro for making such prominent mistakes, but Szayelaporro interjects to clarify that he only removed the spots and loincloths because they did not appeal to him, leaving Renji aghast at him doing this purely out of personal preference while Dondochakka continually insists that the spots on his back are polka dots. Upon clashing with one of his clones using Zabimaru, Renji tells Uryū that they need to leave this space because it is too cramped to fight here, and when Uryū questions how they will do that when they already failed once before, Renji reveals that he has had an idea and activates Hihiō Zabimaru, which prompts a startled Uryū to realize what is about to happen just as all of Renji's clones activate their Bankai as well, resulting in an enormous surge of energy that erupts through and blows apart the entirety of Szayelaporro's palace.

In the aftermath, Renji confidently stands in the rubble and details how he believed that the clones were copying his moves, which led him to assume that they would follow suit if he performed Bankai as well. Noticing Uryū climbing out of the rubble, Renji asks him about what he thinks of this clever move, only for an exasperated Uryū to assert that Renji is just like Ichigo, though Renji simply dismisses this as a non-compliment despite Uryū confirming that he did mean it as an insult. After musing that Pesche and Dondochakka should be fine even though he cannot see them since they are fairly tough, Renji cautions Uryū that they need to watch out for Szayelaporro because the latter could pop out directly underneath them. Suddenly, Szayelaporro emerges from the rubble, having shielded himself with Telon Balon.

Szayelaporro expresses annoyance at having to tell Aizen that his palace was destroyed prior to snapping his fingers, which causes the clones surrounding Uryū and Renji to pop like balloons. Admitting that this was not much fun anyway, Szayelaporro invites Uryū and Renji to witness the true power of Fornicarás. After seeing a remaining clone of Renji behind him, Szayelaporro notes that the former did not hear him and snaps his fingers again, causing the clone's head to burst as well as the real Renji notes that it is disconcerting to watch himself get blown to pieces like this, before apologizing for keeping them waiting and proclaiming that he will show them the true power of Fornicarás.

In response, Uryū dashes away from Renji with Ginrei Kojaku and asserts that they are going to have to interrupt this demonstration because they are not interested in said power, which Renji concurs with as they both attack Szayelaporro. However, Uryū's Heilig Pfeil and Renji's Hihiō Zabimaru are both intercepted by the two large Arrancar who had been comprising Szayelaporro's throne, leaving Szayelaporro to claim that he is the sorry one because they have no choice in the matter due to this demonstration being mandatory. From behind a startled Uryū, one of Szayelaporro's wing-like appendages bursts out of the rubble and engulfs him, but before Renji can assist a struggling Uryū, the appendage spits him back out, leaving Renji confused while Szayelaporro licks his lips and one of the globules near the base of his appendage expands until it pops open, which releases a small doll resembling Uryū into Szayelaporro's waiting palm.

With Renji urging Uryū to wake up and the latter insisting that he is alright, Szayelaporro draws their attention to the doll by pretending to voice it, and when Uryū questions what he is doing, Szayelaporro states that someone called its name and declares that it is the new Uryū. Seeing Uryū's bewilderment, Szayelaporro presses his thumb to the right side of the doll's head, causing Uryū to feel a pressure on the same part of his face, and explains that the doll is akin to a remote control for Uryū's senses before flicking the left side of its head, which results in Uryū being cut on his left temple and falling back in shock.

While Renji expresses concern and astonishment at this, Szayelaporro prepares to twist the doll in half at the waist despite Renji's pleas for him to stop, but the doll simply pops apart without harming Uryū, leading Szayelaporro to call Renji foolish for believing that Uryū would break in half since the doll is designed to come apart. Szayelaporro holds up the bottom half of the doll to display a myriad of small, labelled pieces with distinct shapes, which he compares to little toys and notes are the true greatness of the doll prior to deciding to show Uryū and Renji their function rather than explain it by holding up a piece labelled "stomach" and crushing it between his fingers, which causes an agonized Uryū to double over and begin vomiting a large amount of blood. With an enraged Renji attacking him, Szayelaporro encloses the latter in another appendage and sighs over his opponents always losing perspective the moment they experience a little teasing and surprise in battle. After claiming that all Humans, Shinigami, and Quincy are equally vile, Szayelaporro concludes that Aizen should exterminate all of them solely for this vileness. Moments later, Pesche pushes up a large chunk of rubble in the wreckage of Szayelaporro's palace and narrows his eyes while observing Szayelaporro, who watches Renji bleed heavily from the mouth and notes with annoyance that he should be unconscious after all the organs he has had crushed through his own doll.

When Renji rushes forward with Hihiō Zabimaru, Szayelaporro simply asserts that he must stop the former and crushes a piece representing Renji's left Achilles tendon, causing the latter to collapse mid-run, before explaining that he will be crushing every major tendon in Renji's body one at a time since crushing any more of the latter's organs would kill him. With Renji cursing him and struggling to get up, Szayelaporro insists that he not move and crushes a tendon in Renji's right arm, which Renji screams in agony at, as he claims to not want to hurt Renji any more than necessary. Suddenly, a stream of Infinite Slick splashes over Szayelaporro's wings, leaving him perplexed prior to the liquid coating the dolls in his hand and causing them to slip from his grasp just as Pesche slides along the ground next to him and catches them.

At a rejoicing Pesche's behest, Dondochakka has Bawabawa emerge from his gut through his mouth and slither along the ground to knock Pesche onto his back. When a shocked Uryū questions what he just saw, Pesche details how Bawabawa is one of the many combat insects contained inside Dondochakka, which they never told Nel about because they were afraid too much information about themselves might cause her memories to return. After recalling how Nel was finally freed from the cycle of combat that she had always disliked and how he and Dondochakka wanted to quietly protect her by not triggering her memories of battle, Pesche declares that it is their duty to help her if she wishes to fight now and warns Szayelaporro that they cannot waste time on the likes of him while Bawabawa rears over the unperturbed latter. Upon being charged at, Szayelaporro holds back Bawabawa with one of his tendril wings.

Though Szayelaporro scoffs at Pesche's claim of not having time to waste on him as being a bold statement for a lowly Fracción, Pesche leaps off of Bawabawa's head into the air, where he unnerves Szayelaporro by reaching into his loincloth and pulling out a cylindrical object. However, Pesche reveals this to be his Zanpakutō, Última, and slashes Szayelaporro's arm with it before declaring that its blade is shining with overflowing Reishi, which leads him to compare it to Uryū's Seele Schneider, though Uryū takes offense to being compared to him at all. Upon being called a coward by Pesche for this, Uryū is left aghast at Pesche doing so when his internal organs have been crushed by Teatro de Titere, and as Renji observes that Uryū is fairly composed for someone in this situation, Szayelaporro orders his two Fracción to strangle Bawabawa while he deals with Pesche and Dondochakka.

In turn, Dondochakka simply pulls his own kanabō-like Zanpakutō out of his mouth and smashes it into the two Fracción hard enough to send them flying over a stunned Szayelaporro. While hopping onto Dondochakka's back, Pesche informs Szayelaporro that his loss came from assuming that Pesche and Dondochakka had not improved since the last time they fought him when they had actually spent the entirety of their time in the desert training to protect Nel, which he demonstrates by initiating Cero Sincrético, a technique he developed with Dondochakka that merges their respective Ceros, and telling a stunned Szayelaporro to perish from it prior to firing at him.

Aftermath
Following this, however, Szayelaporro stands unharmed in front of a massive cloud of smoke while an exhausted Pesche lies in the rubble and questions why the Cero Sincrético did not work. In response, Szayelaporro reveals that they gave him too much time and that he knew they were Nelliel's Fracción the moment he saw them despite them changing their masks before explaining that he was gauging their movements, Reiatsu, and experience even as he was fighting Uryū and Renji. Though he admits the Cero Sincrético was a brilliant and devastating technique, Szayelaporro declares he was expecting as much and concludes Pesche and Dondochakka lost because they did not use this technique the instant that the fight began.

After inferring that they are out of ideas, Szayelaporro congratulates those before him on finally being able to put an end to this lengthy scene and states that he will end everything. Suddenly, Szayelaporro finds himself confronted by 12th Division Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi and Lieutenant Nemu Kurotsuchi, who had been transported to Hueco Mundo by Kisuke Urahara at the behest of Captain-Commander Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto. When Szayelaporro wonders who he is, Mayuri merely questions what the point of telling Szayelaporro anything is. Uryū demands to know what Mayuri is doing here, and when Szayelaporro inquires if Uryū is a friend of his, Mayuri claims that he does not befriend inferior creatures, to Uryū's irritation. In response, Szayelaporro requests that they not quarrel in front of him since it is unseemly and begins to ask for Mayuri's name again, but stops and muses that it does not matter since Mayuri and Nemu are just two insects for him to crush. However, Mayuri notes that he does need to know Szayelaporro's name and informs the curious latter that he needs to know how to label the specimen jar which Szayelaporro will be put in, to Szayelaporro's amusement.