After Toshiro expended some effort to kill Shawlong Koufang, the battle between Rangiku and Nakeem was still ongoing.
However, unlike Toshiro, who had suppressed Shawlong Koufang from start to finish and swiftly killed his opponent, Rangiku was suppressed by her opponent throughout.
This wasn't because Rangiku was weaker than Nakeem... Rangiku, after all, was a seasoned Lieutenant-class expert, standing at the peak of that tier. Her being suppressed was mainly due to the Spirit Restriction Seal. Rangiku, with only one-5th of her original power, was ultimately too strained trying to handle Nakeem, who possessed Lieutenant-class strength.
After killing Shawlong Koufang, Toshiro saw that Rangiku was at a disadvantage and in a critical situation, but he didn't go to help, seemingly wanting her to solve the problem herself.
This wasn't because he feared hurting Rangiku's 'manly pride' or anything, and Rangiku clearly wasn't someone who cared about 'manly pride' in such a situation... if she could solve things easily, she would have welcomed Toshiro's help.
Toshiro's main reason for not immediately aiding Rangiku was to train her.
Perhaps due to her naturally lazy personality, or perhaps because her soul was wounded by Aizen back then, preventing her from reaching Captain-class, the fact remained: Rangiku had reached Lieutenant-class long ago. She was quite senior among the Gotei 13 Lieutenants, yet for many years, she hadn't broken through to Captain-class.
Toshiro suspected the most likely reason was the flaw in her soul. Perhaps because of this incomplete soul, transcending to Captain-class seemed impossible, leading Rangiku to simply clock in, slack off, and be lazy… Toshiro rarely saw her train hard.
Unable to progress, losing motivation, spending days lazing around… this might be Rangiku's mindset.
But now, Toshiro hoped she would change her indolent ways. The situation was different from the past. Soul Society had enjoyed a long peace, so Rangiku slacking off wasn't a major issue.
But now, with Aizen close by and Yhwach far away, Soul Society faced too many powerful enemies. In future battles, even Captain-class might not be sufficient, let alone Lieutenant-class.
With Lieutenant-class strength, encountering a slightly stronger opponent might make survival impossible.
Thus, Rangiku could no longer afford to be as lazy and neglectful as before, and Toshiro could no longer indulge her... that would harm her, not help her.
So even though Rangiku was overwhelmed and struggling against Nakeem, Toshiro didn't intervene recklessly.
Even if this level of battle couldn't help Rangiku overcome her soul's defect and reach Captain-class, it could at least increase her combat experience and hone her fighting spirit.
"Hey, Rangiku! You need to step it up! I've already finished my opponent, you need to speed up too!"
Toshiro called out to Rangiku, arms crossed, looking quite relaxed.
"Dammit! Captain can see I'm at a disadvantage, but instead of helping, he's just standing there making sarcastic comments!"
Rangiku grumbled discontentedly while frantically blocking Nakeem's attacks.
Rangiku's opponent, Nakeem, seeing Toshiro lurking nearby after Shawlong Koufang's death, his eyes darting around, looking for a chance to escape.
"Hey there, Arrancar. With me, the Captain, standing right here, don't bother trying to run. Just keep fighting. If you can beat Rangiku, I'd feel too ashamed to attack a small fry like you, so you might have a chance to live. But if you try to run now, death is the only option."
Seeing Nakeem's intent to flee, Toshiro directly threatened him. After all, good opportunities and opponents to train Rangiku were hard to come by... Toshiro wouldn't let him escape so easily.
Nakeem, fighting Rangiku, saw that Toshiro had seen through his plan and abandoned the idea of running. He wasn't confident in escaping under Toshiro's watchful eye once he was being watched.
So Nakeem had no choice but to continue fighting Rangiku, praying that Toshiro would keep his word and not attack him if he won.
"Hmm... Sojiro seems to have finished his fight too. Ashido and Ichigo are still at it on the other side. It seemed the battle won't be decided for a while, so there's no need to rush..."
After ensuring Nakeem, under threat, gave up on fleeing and chose to continue fighting Rangiku, Toshiro took a moment to sense the situation at the other battlefields.
On another battlefield, Ashido was engaged in a fierce fight with Edrad. Sojiro, Renji, and Keigo, Ichigo's ordinary human friend who had ended up there by accident, were watching from the sidelines.
As for Yylfordt, who had been fighting Sojiro, Sojiro had already dealt with him.
After the Bakkoto incident, Sojiro had broken through to late Captain-class. Coupled with his Hyosetsumaru was among the 'top' of ice-type Zanpakuto, making him very powerful overall.
Even among the Gotei 13's Captains, Sojiro ranked above average. His opponent, Yylfordt, was only early Captain-class. So even with only one-5th of his power due to the Spirit Restriction Seal, Yylfordt was no match for Sojiro. After Sojiro used his Bankai and fought seriously, Yylfordt ultimately perished at his hands.
Like Toshiro, after killing Yylfordt, Sojiro didn't recklessly intervene in Ashido and Edrad's fight, choosing to observe instead.
As for Renji and Keigo, Renji arrived too late to get an opponent, and Keigo was just wandering outside late at night and got caught in the crossfire of Ashido and Edrad's battle. If not for Sojiro and Renji saving him, Keigo would be long dead.
Currently, the battle situation was very unfavorable for Ashido. Edrad completely suppressed Ashido, leaving small cuts on him one after another.
Although Ashido was mid-Captain-class and Edrad was early-Captain-class, Ashido only had one-5th of his power due to the Spirit Restriction Seal. Even if a mid-Captain-class had significantly more Reiatsu than an early-Captain-class, it wouldn't be a fivefold difference.
So in terms of Reiatsu, Edrad had a huge advantage. Coupled with Edrad's various Arrancar abilities, Ashido, like Rangiku, was at a disadvantage.
"Um... aren't you going to help? Isn't he your comrade?"
Keigo asked Sojiro and Renji beside him, seeing Ashido losing.
"Precisely because he's a comrade, I cannot interfere."
Sojiro said gravely, "This concerns Ashido's pride as a man."