Climax! Kyōraku vs. Starrk!

Across the false Karakura Town, Suì-Fēng lines up her Bankai, Jakuhō Raikōben, against Baraggan and lets the rocket fly. The detonation is felt by every fighter on both sides, hurling Ōmaeda into a building and tearing away the cloak that briefly anchored his captain. He wrenches himself free to catch Suì-Fēng before she can be flung to injury, then points her toward the confirmed hit, only to be told to release her because he sickens her.

Elsewhere, Starrk keeps deflecting Kyōraku's swings without committing to the exchange, drawing a complaint from the captain about his passivity. When Kyōraku wonders aloud whether worry for his comrades is holding him back, a brief image of Lilynette surfaces in Starrk's mind before he brushes it off. Curious about how far captain-class Bankai can go, Starrk needles Kyōraku until the captain grins, tosses his kimono to Ukitake for safekeeping, and accepts that his opponent is at last ready to commit.

Starrk calls Lilynette to his side and explains that the two of them are a single being: rather than pouring his strength into a sword the way other Arrancar do, he split it across two bodies, so rejoining them unseals his true form. She dissolves into light as he releases Los Lobos and steps out of the resulting cloud gripping a pistol in each hand. Kyōraku answers by releasing his Shikai, Katen Kyōkotsu, as Lilynette's confiscated Zanpakutō melts away to feed the transformation.

Starrk's guns fire Cero, and his bickering with the pistol-bound Lilynette punctuates the fight. Kyōraku opens with a hat feint and his spinning Bushōgoma, follows with Takaoni from above, and is driven back by a point-blank shot. The Espada escalates to Cero Metralleta, a relentless spray of blasts that forces the captain into constant Shunpo evasion. Kyōraku holds out, refusing to reveal his Bankai, until Ukitake steps in with his own Shikai, Sōgyo no Kotowari, to break the barrage and buy his friend room.

While the battle rages, Yamamoto stands watch over the fiery prison holding Aizen, Gin, and Tōsen; Gin savors the swelling Reiatsu of the released Espada and itches to intervene, but Tōsen counsels patience. The comedic Shinigami Illustrated Picture Book segment has Starrk resort to firing flags, flowers, and birds from his guns, which so charms Ukitake and Kyōraku that they lose the will to fight. Numerous Espada Resurrección forms appear only in flashback recaps.