The Fearless Child

Hisagi opens with gratitude that Tosen mistakes for mockery. The lieutenant means it, though: he intends to turn every lesson his old captain gave him against the man and drag him home to Soul Society. Tosen only sneers that Hisagi has not changed, then vibrates his blade free of the entangling chain. The one thing he taught, Tosen says, was that those blind to fear have no business fighting, and he hears no trace of fear in his student's words.

As Mashiro casually crushes Hooleer, Gin notes with an unusually wide grin that the beast had been Wonderweiss's favorite. Stunned by the loss, Wonderweiss gathers a Cero in his mouth, but Mashiro's boot slams into his face before it can fire, leaving him sprawled while she declares victory.

Off to one side, Hitsugaya asks Hiyori for a favor: would she and Lisa hold off the Espada so he can go after Aizen. Hiyori explodes at him, pointing out that the Visored came to kill Aizen themselves and that he was already floundering before they arrived. The captain admits he let panic get the better of him, weathering her insults until she calls him a runt, at which point he grabs her and roars that she is the shorter of the two. Their squabble only ends when Lisa peels off to engage Harribel.

Elsewhere Hachi greets Sui-Feng warmly, and she pretends not to recognize him, wary of anyone tied to the Visored. Baraggan cuts in, declaring that identity and ability mean nothing since all things are equal beneath him, and dares Hachi to approach so he can reduce him to bone. Hachi answers with a clap of his hands, snaring the Espada inside a barrier. He explains that he studied what Baraggan does and came prepared, since no attack matters if it cannot reach you. Then Baraggan lays a hand against the barrier and it begins to crumble, asking whether Hachi truly believed age could not gnaw at Kido.

Hisagi vows to use Tosen's own teachings to bring him back, and Tosen dismisses him for lacking fear. Mashiro destroys Hooleer and kicks down Wonderweiss before his Cero can fire. Hitsugaya asks the Visored to cover him against the Espada and is browbeaten by Hiyori. Hachi greets a cold Sui-Feng, then traps Baraggan in a barrier, only to watch the Espada's decay begin eating through his Kido.

The opening chapter of volume 43, Kingdom of Hollows, which features Baraggan Louisenbairn on its cover. It was adapted into episode 280, Hisagi and Tosen, the Moment of Parting. The chapter sets up three concurrent confrontations and reveals that Baraggan's aging power can corrode even barrier Kido.