357. The Colossus of Fear

With Barragan's Zanpakutō release, he is shown to be a deadly foe. With a strange miasma attack, he rots away Soifon's arm, leaving nothing but bones. Before the rotting can spread to the rest of her body she has Marechiyo cut off her arm. Harribel and Hitsugaya continue their fight and Hitsugaya tells her that her water can become his weapon. Harribel tells him the same thing that his ice can become her weapon and hits Hitsugaya with a giant surge of water.

Summary
Soifon looks on in shock of Barragan's released form, a humanoid skull creature reminiscent of the American personification of the Grim Reaper. The released Barragan walks toward them on the surface of a roof. The roof rots beneath him just from him walking on it. Barragan informs Soifon that anything around him ages and dies. He points his hand at Soifon and Soifon yells at Marechiyo to run, that he is no match for him. Barragan finds this statement funny and says to Soifon that she is no match for him either.

He then releases a strange smoke-like miasma from his body, rotting everything it touches. Soifon sees the danger and attempts to run, but the miasma touches part of her left hand, deteriorating to only bone. Soifon looks at her skeletal hand in shock before screaming as more of the skin on her arm rots away to only bone. She yells at Marechiyo to cut off her arm and he hesitantly does so, preventing Soifon's death. The arm falls to the ground, now completely turned to bone. Barragan finds it funny that even Shinigami fear death.

Harribel shoots off a blast of water at Hitsugaya, engulfing him. He sticks his Zanpakutō in the water, turning it to ice and using it to counter Harribel. The ice quickly wraps around Harribel's sword arm but she quickly dispels it by slicing her blade in the air. Hitsugaya tells her that her Zanpakutō's water controlling powers will get her nowhere because of the fact that his turns water into ice, making her attacks turn into his. Harribel tells him that her water Zanpakutō will overpower him and soon. Hitsugaya shouts out not to underestimate him and shoots off an ice dragon off the tip of his Zanpakutō. Harribel tells him that he's the one doing the overestimating and blocks his attack with a shield of water. She continues to tell him that if water can become his weapon, the opposite is true as well. She then shoots a giant surge of water directly at Hitsugaya, engulfing him.

Characters
Characters in order of appearance:
 * Soifon
 * Barragan
 * Marechiyo Ōmaeda
 * Harribel
 * Hitsugaya