While Asa returned to watch the fight with Byakuya, Ichigo and Unohana were standing in front of the Garganta created by Kurotsuchi and Nemu. The captain spared them the lengthy explanations and simply stated if they make it to the other side they'll be in the Human World. But he warned if they take one false step inside the Garganta could cause them to lose their way in the uncharted space between Hueco Mundo and the World of the Living from which they would never return. At that moment, Ichigo compared the situation to the time Urahara sent him, Uryu and Sado into Hueco Mundo to rescue Orihime, remarking that Kurotsuchi must have been Urahara's disciple at one point, as the two of them were quite similar. Kurotsuchi was greatly offended by this, but before he could do anything, Ichigo bid him goodbye and jumped into the Garganta. Unohana instructed her Lieutenant to take care of the rest before following him.
"Ichigo." muttered Rukia with concern.
"I see." said the grinning Kurotsuchi. "Fascinating. Kurosaki Ichigo is a fascinating man! I thought it might be interesting to trap him in the Garganta, but I changed my mind! I'll take my time putting some fear into him once this battle is over. Fear that'll make him think of this battle as a pleasant memory!"
"Understood, Mayuri-sama." responded Nemu, who was keeping the Garganta open with her reiatsu. "I'll think up a plan."
Not far from them, Byakuya and Asa were watching Zaraki and Yammy locking in combat. He glanced at her from the corner of his eyes before his gaze returned to the battle. "Why didn't you follow him?" he asked.
Asa looked at him, confused by his sudden question. "Why made you ask that?" she questioned back.
"You are aware of Aizen's abilities and his weaknesses." he began. "You have the bigger advantage compared to us. And yet, you chose to stay here. Why?"
She stared at him while processing his question before staring ahead, letting her gaze land on the huge amount of dust cloud shrouding the combatants while thinking of an answer. "Honestly, I don't know why." she replied. "I may be the only person who's able to see through Kyoka Suigetsu's Complete Hypnosis, besides knowing Aizen well enough to know who he really is." At that moment, a gentle smile flickered across her face. "But I think Ichigo is the right person to stop him."
Byakuy's gaze fixated on her for a moment before he closed his eyes. "Fool." he scolded lightly.
Asa merely chuckled and gave him a playful look. "Would rather have me fight Aizen instead?" she asked. "I can get Kurotsuchi-taichou to send me to the World of the Living."
She could see Byakuya tense up at the thought of sending her in Ichigo's place instead. She saw his eyes snapped open and glared at her. "Don't you dare." he said. Asa merely giggled at his reaction before continuing to watch the fight.
Zaraki had his arms raised, wielding the Zanpakutou, and attempted to struck Yammy, who blocked it with his arm before pushing him away. Zaraki seemed unfazed by this, as he landed on his feet and skidded a distance from him. "For a worm, you're pretty tough." he remarked with a grin.
"Don't talk big!" yelled Yammy before throwing punches at him. "Eat this!" After a few blows, he stopped and said, "Can't fight back anymore? It's over. I'll crush you like a damn fly!" With his fist raised up high, he lowered it to give Zaraki the final blow, only to have his index and middle fingers sliced off, causing him to yell out in pain as he gripped his hand. "Damn it! My fingers! How dare you cut off my fingers!" But to his surprise, Zaraki was on his wrist, standing on his two feet. With a grin, the Shinigami ran up his arm until he was close enough to leap and slash Yammy's forehead.
"I'm not done yet!" he said. Once he landed on the ground, he charged at the Arrancar and to continue fighting.
Meanwhile, the rest of the Shinigami were watching the fight resume. "Why did you stay behind, Kurotsuchi Mayuri?" asked Byakuya out of the blue.
"How odd." commented the said man. "That doesn't seem like something you'd care to know."
"There should be more things that are of interest to you in the World of the Living." explained Byakuya. "So why stay here? What are you plotting?"
"Oh?" responded Kurotsuchi. "How very cautious of you." He then raised his hand in assurance and said, "Don't worry. I'm not planning anything that'll scare you." When Byakuya turned his head to look at him from the corner of his eyes, Kurotsuchi put his hand down and continued, "It's just that, at the moment, the corpses over here are more interesting. That's all. Once the battle in the World of the Living is over, someone will open up a Garganta from the other side. I'll use that to go to the World of the Living, and take my time to examine each of the corpses." He took note of the surprised look on Byakuya's face. "What is it?" When the latter didn't respond, he started to get nervous under his gaze as his hands trembled. "What is it?!" He then got up on his feet and asked, "I asked you, what is it?! If you have something to say, say it! Okay?"
Byakuya stared at him for a moment before turning back to look ahead. "Well, I never expected you to say such a thing." he explained. "I was a little surprised."
"What?" asked Kurotsuchi, confused by what he said.
"That thing you just said; it sounded as if you were implying that sending Kurosaki Ichigo to the World of the Living would end the battle." he added. "It sounded as if you believe that Kurosaki Ichigo would be victorious." This caught everyone by surprise, including Kurotsuchi himself, as their gazes landed on them.
Kurotsuchi stared at him with his brows furrowed before sitting down. "Nonsense." he denied. "Absolute nonsense. I never expected such words to come from you, Kuchiki Byakuya." The said man didn't respond and closed his eyes, but a small smile was visible. Asa noticed it and smiled as well before bringing back her focus to the ongoing fight.
Things weren't going very well for the Zero Arrancar, for he couldn't keep up with Zaraki. Yammy swung his tail in attempt to hit him, but the Shinigami dodged it. "You're too slow!" he taunted. Yammy raised his fist again and slammed it into Zaraki, bringing him to the ground before landing a few more punches. However, the dust cloud cleared up to reveal the Shinigami still standing on his feet. "I told you. That itches, you worm!" As soon as he leapt up high, Yammy attempted to punch him but Zaraki dodged it before slashing at his chest with so much force that it threw back the humongous Arrancar until he fell on his back.
"Oh?" said Kurotsuchi. "His brain isn't the only thing brutish about him. If he's able to knock that giant body into the air, he's got some brute strength in him."
"Damn it." cussed Yammy after getting up. "You're really starting to piss me off! I am so pissed! Damn bug! You damn bug!" The two then proceeded to fight again.
"But if he's going to defeat him, I wish he'd do it quickly." commented Kurotsuchi impatiently. "I'm dying to dissect that Espada." Just as he said that, Yammy's tail managed to land a blow on Zaraki, sending him crashing into a pillar from far. "It appears I'll be dissecting the Squad 11 Captain before the large one. That should be enjoyable too."
But as usual, Zaraki managed to withstand the attack and threw giant pieces of rubble at the Arrancar, with one of them hitting his face. Zaraki was then seen to be one of the pieces that was created from the impact. "I've got you!" he yelled before leaping towards his face, only for Yammy to knock him with his head. Zaraki started to fall but he managed to flip over so that he could land on his feet. As soon as his feet contacted the ground, he leapt up high again to go in for another attack, slashing one of Yammy's legs first. When the latter screamed in pain, Zaraki added another gash on his knee.
"Get away from me, you damn bug!" yelled Yammy, attempting to swat Zaraki like a fly. But the Shinigami continued attacking, leaving gashes on different parts of his body until he cut off another leg. "My leg!" As the final attack, Zaraki leapt up high enough to deliver the final blow in Yammy's head, knocking the latter back before landing on his side, unconscious.
"Good, I was getting tired of waiting." said Kurotsuchi, relieved that it was finally over. "I almost feel asleep. But now it looks like I can begin dissecting." He turned to his Lieutenant and ordered, "Nemu, prepare to dissect."
"Yes, Mayuri-sama." she responded.
Zaraki landed in front of Yammy's face, seeing that he had became unconscious. "He finally went down." he said after clicking his tongue. "He was pretty tough. Hey, are you done, big guy?" He kicked the Arrancar's face, testing if he was really unconscious, and received no response. Clicking his tongue once more, Zaraki looked to where the rest of the Shinigami were. "Hey, Kuchiki Byakuya! He's no good! I'll let you handle the rest!"
"I don't know what you mean by that." he responded while walking towards the scene, leaving Asa behind.
"What are you, stupid?" mocked Zaraki. "You must be bored from watching all this time. We just need to finish him off. I'm letting you take care of that."
"I see." responded Byakuya. "You're telling me to clean up after your unfinished job. Who do you think you are?"
Zaraki was walking towards him when he said, "What? I don't like finishing off those who are weaker than I am. Stop complaining and do it!"
Byakuya stood in front of him and coldly refused. "Finishing someone off is a job that is suited for a brute like you." he added.
"What?" growled Zaraki, who was equally annoyed as him.
'Are they actually arguing in the middle of a battle?' questioned Asa with a sweat drop on the back of her head.
Before their argument could continue, Yammy woke up and rose, angrier than ever. "Damn it..." he cussed. "Damn it! DAMN IT!" He opened his mouth wide open and charged an enormous Cero before firing it at the two Captains. The impact was so strong that it created strong gushes of wind blowing clouds of dust.
"Nii-sama!" said Rukia worriedly.
"What are they doing?" wondered Kurotsuchi. "Well, no matter who dies, I'll still get good research specimens."
Once the attack died, Zaraki avoided the strong wind and began running along it. "That was an impressive Cero." he commented. "Damn bastard still has power left."
"Indeed." agreed Byakuya, who was following behind him in the air. "All that's left is to finish him off, you say? Look at him. I pity your foolish judgement."
Zaraki humphed at this. "To me, that's all it took." he said. "A good finish! But I suppose it was too much to ask from you!"
The two Captains glared at each other before Byakuya held his Zanpkautou with the blade facing down. "How interesting." he said before letting it go, allowing it to sink into the ground and two rows of a thousand giant blades rose up from the ground. As soon as Byakuya flew by all of them, the swords turned into one hundred million blades. "You can feel for yourself whether it's too much to ask or not!"
"Sounds good!" said Zaraki, who accepted the challenge. "I've always wanted to fight you!"
"Are they serious?" questioned Asa with blue lines all over her forehead.
The two Captains then charged towards each other, but before their blades could clash, Yammy appeared next to them and had his hands above them. The Shinigami intentionally missed each other before turning around to face the Arrancar. "You're in the way!" they said in unison before slashing at him, causing the white mask to shatter and blood spilt. "Get lost!" The impact was strong enough to push him back until he fell to the ground.
"Now then..." said Byakuya while looking at Zaraki.
"Shall we continue?" asked the latter.
At that moment, the blade petals gathered around Byakuya while Zaraki wielded his Zanpakutou, both getting reading to fight each other. But luck was not by their side as Yammy suddenly got up, surprising Zaraki who could believe that the Arrancar was still alive. "He really is a nuisance." scowled Byakuya.
"That hurts." said Yammy with a menacing laugh. "You guys really annoy me."
"What's with him?" wondered the annoyed Zaraki. "Has he gone crazy?"
"Un-Unforgivable!" growled Yammy before his reiatsu glowed in red. "Unforgivable! Un-Un... Un-Un-Un... Un-Un... UNFORGIVABLE!" His reiatsu built up before he released them, taking in another form that seemed stronger than before. Not only his damaged mask was restored, all previous injuries were healed. The black piston-like protrusions on his back became more like extensions of his vertebrae, and he gained two massive horns on his back, as well as multiple horns on his head with some covering his lower jaw, and crack-like markings framing his eyes. His arms were positioned in knuckle-walk position, and his legs were hairy, ending in short stubby toes, giving Yammy an ape-like appearance. His tail became hairier and ape-like, losing its large club. His extra sets of legs were lost as well, leaving him with only a pair of legs.
"I-Impossible!" gasped Rukia with horror when she saw his bulk.
"That's good, you guys." said Yammy to the two Captains, whom were forced to stop their fight. "You're really annoying. The name of my Resurrección is Ira. I'm a beast of rage! Anger becomes my strength! Come on, make me angrier! Your deaths will be that much more pathetic!"
"My, my." sighed Kurotsuchi after taking note of the Arrancar's size. "Take care of it, you two. Just kill each other already. If he gets any larger, I'll have a difficult time dissecting him."
'Looks like we'll be here for a little while longer.' thought Asa, who was starting to feel tired.