The Primera Espada, Coyote Starrk... the Segunda Espada, Baraggan Louisenbairn... the Tres Espada, Tier Harribel… the top three ranked Espada all came to the Living World with Aizen.
As for the remaining Espada, the Cuatro Espada, Ulquiorra, was slain by Toshiro... the Quinto Espada, Nnoitra, died at the hands of Zaraki.
The Sexta Espada, Grimmjow, had previously fought Sojiro to a standstill, leaving both severely injured, and was then taken away by the Exequias. It was unknown whether he had died from his injuries or was recovering somewhere inside Las Noches.
The Septima Espada, Zommari Rureaux, also died in battle at the hands of Byakuya. The Octava Espada, Szayelaporro, was killed by Mayuri. The Novena Espada, Aaroniero Arruruerie, was defeated and killed by Rukia despite having the advantage. The Diez Espada, Yammy Llargo, remained in Hueco Mundo.
As for the Captains of the Gotei 13 participating in the battle, they were: Captain of the 1st Division, Yamamoto Shigekuni... Captain of the 2nd Division, Sui-Feng... Captain of the 7th Division, Komamura Sajin... Captain of the 8th Division, Kyoraku Shunsui... and Captain of the 13th Division, Ukitake Jushiro… a total of five Captains.
If you calculate carefully, although the Gotei 13's participating forces were depleted, with members either betraying or being trapped in Hueco Mundo by Aizen, Aizen's Espada were not in much better shape, with some already dead in battle and others remaining in Hueco Mundo.
The number of high-level combatants, the Espada, participating in the battle was even fewer than the number of Gotei 13's Captains.
Of course, if you also count Aizen, Gin, and Tosen, the number of participants on both sides was still similar. In fact, Aizen's side might even have slightly more high-level combatants than the Gotei 13.
At this moment, the two sides faced off across the void. The atmosphere was tense, and a great battle was about to erupt at any moment.
"Th... the Reiatsu these guys are emitting... is simply... as powerful as monsters..." In the Shinigami camp, the 2nd Division's Lieutenant, Omaeda Marechiyo, looked at the Espada emitting powerful Reiatsu and was so scared he was sweating profusely and trembling all over.
"Hmph! Scared? If you're scared, then just run away! Useless!" Sui-Feng said with a cold snort.
As soon as Sui-Feng opened her mouth, Omaeda was immediately too frightened to speak. In his view, no matter how terrifying the enemy was, they couldn't compare to the terror of his own Captain.
"In this situation... should we take out the enemy leader first?" The 7th Division's Lieutenant, Tetsuzaemon Iba, asked Komamura.
"No, Aizen's Zanpakuto ability is extraordinary. The more people there are in a group battle, the stronger his ability becomes. So, the more of us there are, the more disadvantageous it is for us. Moreover, Toshiro-dono, who can counter Aizen's Kyoka Suigetsu, is not here. Therefore, to be safe, we should all attack together to take out Aizen's subordinates first, and then find a way to deal with Aizen himself." Komamura said in a deep voice.
As Komamura said, the Gotei 13's battle strategy this time was to concentrate their forces to crush Aizen's subordinates first, then combine their strength to deal with Aizen himself. This was the plan decided upon before coming to the Living World.
"Hey, Jushiro, which of those three Espada do you think is the strongest?" Kyoraku asked his good friend Ukitake beside him.
"Well... that's hard to say... Although they all seem very strong based on their Reiatsu, we haven't actually fought them, so it's hard to judge who is stronger or weaker. We probably won't know until we ask Aizen..." Ukitake said after some hesitation.
"We'll find out who is stronger or weaker when we fight. The problem is... when we're fighting the Espada, who can guarantee that Aizen won't interfere? Our original plan was to have Captain Hitsugaya as the main combatant to handle Aizen. But plans change. Now Captain Hitsugaya has gone to Hueco Mundo, and we don't know the specific situation. We have to face the pressure from Aizen directly. However... if Aizen interferes while we're fighting the Espada, I'm afraid..." Sui-Feng frowned.
Just as Sui-Feng and the other Captains were troubled by the situation before them, Yamamoto suddenly spoke: "All of you... step back!"
Having said that, Yamamoto's Reiatsu surged, and the cane in his hand instantly turned into wood chips that scattered in the wind, revealing the Zanpakuto wrapped inside.
Seeing this, the Gotei 13's members' hearts tightened! Without a second word, they quickly retreated into the distance!!
Yamamoto spoke with a dignified and authoritative voice: "All Things in the Universe, Turn to Ashes... Ryujin Jakka!"
Boom!!!
Instantly, powerful Reiatsu accompanied by endless flames erupted from Yamamoto's Zanpakuto.
Then, before the Gotei 13's members could retreat to a safe distance, the flames erupted by Yamamoto spread towards them.
"Jushiro! Get down quickly!!" Kyoraku saw that Ukitake beside him was a step behind and about to be caught by the flames, so he shouted a warning.
"Got it!" Ukitake said loudly.
Then Kyoraku pressed down on Ukitake's body, and the two of them ducked together to avoid Yamamoto's flames.
"Gyaaaah—!!!" A scream suddenly came from Omaeda's mouth.
Kyoraku and the others had dodged Yamamoto's flames, but Omaeda was not so lucky.
It wasn't that Omaeda didn't dodge the flames. Given Omaeda's strength, if he had actually been burned by Yamamoto's flames, he probably wouldn't have even left ashes, let alone had the strength to scream.
As loudly as Omaeda screamed, in fact, he ran faster than anyone else. He wasn't burned by the flames at all, only scalded by the heat waves from the flames. He wasn't really injured, just felt some burning pain. Yet even so, Omaeda still screamed without dignity.
However, the mere momentum of the Shikai's eruption was enough to make the Gotei 13's Captains and Lieutenants retreat. This showed just how terrifying Yamamoto's strength was.
Even the Espada under Aizen, standing farther away, felt immense pressure, their expressions becoming grave.
Just then, Yamamoto suddenly swung his Zanpakuto. The endless, scorching flames, like soldiers obeying a monarch's command, transformed into a giant fire dragon and suddenly lunged at Aizen.
Seeing this, Aizen showed no sign of panic, as if he was certain that Yamamoto's flames could not harm him. He just stood there calmly, motionless, letting Yamamoto's flames approach.
Boom—
Just as the giant fire dragon was about to hit Aizen, it stopped suddenly not far in front of him, then split in two, went around Aizen's left and right sides to behind him, and finally merged back into a giant wall of fire, as if forming a cage, trapping Aizen and Gin beside him inside.
"Jokaku Enjo!"
"This way, Aizen and the others won't be able to cross this wall of fire for a while. Now... go! Go and wipe out all of Aizen's subordinates!!" Yamamoto ordered the Gotei 13 members.