Outside the palace of the Sexta Espada.
After defeating the Arrancar No. 105, Cirucci Sanderwicci, Sojiro advanced all the way towards the interior of Las Noches.
During this time, although Sojiro had initially sensed the battle between Ashido and Nnoitra, after sensing that Toshiro had already rushed over to Ashido's location, Sojiro gave up on the idea of going to support Ashido.
After all, in Sojiro's view, if Toshiro rushed over, no matter what enemy it was, they couldn't possibly be a match for Toshiro, and they wouldn't be short of one helper like him. So, Sojiro continued advancing deeper into Las Noches.
However, not long after leaving the fork in the road, Sojiro arrived outside the palace of the Sexta Espada, Grimmjow, and then naturally encountered Grimmjow.
Because his previous fight with Ichigo in the Living World had been interrupted, forcing him to return to Hueco Mundo, Grimmjow had been feeling frustrated lately.
So, upon seeing Sojiro actively 'come knocking', Grimmjow, wanting to vent his irritation, started fighting with Sojiro on the spot without a second word.
As it turned out, their strength was surprisingly similar. They fought for a long time without determining a winner, leaving both of them battered and bruised, and even their Reiatsu and physical strength nearly exhausted.
So, the two of them simultaneously decided to use their strongest moves, wanting to completely defeat the other.
"Hyosetsumaru!"
"Desgarrón!"
A huge tornado formed by wind and snow collided with two deep-blue claws, each dozens of meters long, made of Reiatsu.
Boom!!!
A huge explosion sounded, and even the space of Las Noches itself couldn't help but twist and tremble.
And Grimmjow's grand, magnificent palace as an Espada was destroyed by the shockwave from the collision of their two strongest moves.
Bang!
Bang!
Sojiro in Bankai and Grimmjow in Resurrección, after their Reiatsu and physical strength were exhausted, and having directly endured the aftermath of the collision of their ultimate moves, fell powerlessly from mid-air, crashing onto the sandy ground, and fell unconscious.
Tap, tap, tap...
The sound of footsteps echoed, and then dozens of members of the Exequias, led by their leader, Rudbornn, walked onto the scene.
"Still breathing?" Rudbornn glanced at Grimmjow and Sojiro lying on the ground.
Then Rudbornn walked over to Sojiro: "To be able to fight to a draw with Grimmjow-sama, an Espada, is truly admirable strength. Someone with this level of power shouldn't be unknown, yet I've never heard of this person in Soul Society. And..."
"...from his attire, he doesn't even seem to be a Captain, just an ordinary Shinigami. If an ordinary Shinigami possesses this level of strength, then Soul Society's power is truly terrifying."
"However, regardless... this Shinigami cannot be allowed to live..."
Saying this, Rudbornn drew his Zanpakuto and said: "Begin..."
Just as Rudbornn was about to kill the unconscious Sojiro, two figures suddenly appeared on the scene.
"Who!?" Rudbornn instantly turned to look at the newcomers.
"Captain of the 4th Division of the Gotei 13, Unohana Retsu."
"Lieutenant of the 4th Division, Kotetsu Isane."
The newcomers were precisely two of the Soul Society reinforcements, Unohana and Isane.
"Soul Society..."
Rudbornn's tone was somewhat heavy. He held his Zanpakuto horizontally in front of him, watching Unohana and Isane with extreme vigilance.
Upon seeing Rudbornn's alert state, Unohana spoke: "The Fourth Division is a medical relief squad. We came to Hueco Mundo only to treat everyone's injuries. We have no intention of fighting you. If you do not interfere with our mission, we will not attack you."
"Is that so? It seems a wise Captain has appeared before us!" Rudbornn said.
However, although his words sounded 'arrogant', Rudbornn was still quite self-aware. He knew well that he was no match for a Captain-class Shinigami. So, after a moment of thought, he immediately and decisively ordered: "Let's go!"
Then, the other members of the Exequias, carrying the unconscious Grimmjow, immediately turned and left under Rudbornn's lead without a moment's hesitation.
Seeing this, Unohana showed no intention of stopping them. However, although Unohana remained indifferent to the Exequias' departure, Isane beside her couldn't help but speak: "Wait..."
"Isane!"
Unohana immediately stopped Isane and said: "Our mission in coming to Hueco Mundo is to stop bleeding, not to cause unnecessary bloodshed. There is no need to pursue fleeing enemies. First, treat Third Seat Kusaka's injuries."
"Yes!"
Although she didn't quite understand Unohana's approach, Isane still nodded and obeyed her Captain's order.
"I wonder how Toshiro is doing? It seems even Aizen has appeared. I wonder if Toshiro can handle it..." Unohana looked into the distance and murmured with some concern.
…
"Sorry, Hitsugaya-kun. Although I don't want to interrupt your reminiscing with Captain Zaraki, we were in the middle of a fight. Is it really appropriate for you to ignore me and chat with your friend?" Aizen suddenly spoke, interrupting Zaraki and Toshiro who were 'catching up'.
"Ah, sorry, sorry. Sorry for neglecting you, Aizen!" Toshiro said sarcastically.
"Well then... shall we continue our 'spar', Hitsugaya-kun?" Aizen said with an indifferent smile.
"Hmph! Perfect. This time I'm going to get serious. You show your true skills too. Let me see how much you've improved!" Toshiro said coldly.
Now that Zaraki was present to handle Nnoitra, Toshiro no longer had to be cautious and restrained, worried that Nnoitra would harm Nel and the others. He could focus entirely on fighting Aizen.
Upon hearing Toshiro's words, Aizen looked around, then showed a strange smile and said: "Hitsugaya-kun, fighting inside Las Noches, both of us would be constrained, unable to go all out. So... why don't we fight 'beyond the heavens' of Las Noches?"
Seeing Aizen's strange smile, Toshiro's heart skipped a beat, and a bad feeling rose within him, feeling that Aizen had some conspiracy.
However, on the surface, Aizen's words didn't seem problematic. If both of them went all out, not to mention Nel, Rangiku, and the others nearby, even the entire Las Noches would be in danger of being destroyed.
And at that time, the hundreds of Shinigami from the Soul Society Hueco Mundo expeditionary force imprisoned somewhere inside Las Noches would also not survive.
So, fighting 'beyond the heavens' of Las Noches was beneficial for both Toshiro and even Aizen.
Thinking this, although he had some concerns that Aizen might be playing some trick, Toshiro still agreed to Aizen's words.
"Fine, let's fight 'beyond the heavens'!" Toshiro said in a deep voice.