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Bleach fans mostly remember Zommari Rureaux for his no-holds-barred fight with 6th Division Captain Byakuya Kuchiki. The Septima Espada in Sosuke Aizen’s army of Arrancar, Zommari is also known for his bombastic claim of being the “fastest Espada,” a bold statement that has sparked considerable debate over the years.
Many fans argue that it’s hard to see Zommari as the fastest Espada when the group includes characters with superior feats. Coyote Starrk completely outspeeded the likes of Zaraki Kenpachi and a Bankai-activated Ichigo Kurosaki and was also able to keep up with Shunsui Kyoraku. Baraggan Luisenbarn showcased impressive speed too, as he outclassed Soi Fon.
Considering that Zommari was matched by Byakuya, a fighter who struggled against Ichigo, the former’s claim of being the fastest Espada seems at least questionable. Ironically, in his Resurreción state, which should be his strongest form as an Arrancar, Zommari discards all his mobility to become a stationary fighter, casting further doubts about his boastful declaration.
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Zommari claimed to be the fastest Espada in Bleach
Zommari in Espada is like Soi Fon in the Gotei
While there’s an evident contradiction between Zommari’s claims and his performance, the Septima Espada doesn’t come off as being a presumptuous individual like Nnoitra.
It’s possible that Zommari wasn’t aware of what Starrk, Baraggan, or a Second Resurreción from Ulquiorra could do, making his statement in good faith but debunked by his own limited knowledge, or lack thereof. Also, to be precise, Zommari didn’t really say that he was the fastest Espada, as his exact words were:
“I have the fastest Sonido of all the Espada.”
This is something to take account of, as Sonido is a technique used by Hollow and Arrancar to move at high speed, akin to the Shinigami’s Shunpo and the Quincy’s Hirenkyaku. Zommari’s words possibly referred to the proficiency of this specific technique, rather than being an assessment of his speed in comparison to his Espada colleagues.
Zommari was the only Espada capable of using Sonido to generate up to five clones in order to confuse and flank his opponents, but that doesn’t necessarily make him faster than Baraggan, Ulquiorra, and Starrk.
It’s not even clear what it means to have the fastest Sonido if it’s about making the highest number of steps or traveling the longest distance faster. Soi Fon can also generate clones of herself through the speed of her Shunpo, but no one would consider her to be a faster fighter than the likes of Aizen, Urahara, Shunsui, Yamamoto, Kirinji, and other powerful Shinigami who didn’t display a similar technique.
Soi Fon’s lieutenant, Omaeda, seemed to imply that Soi Fon is the fastest member of the Soul Society, but it’s easy to doubt the credibility of such a claim. Soi Fon was completely outsped by Baraggan – who was in his base form – while Shunsui Kyoraku kept up with Starrk even when the latter entered his Resurreción, and Yamamoto was even faster than Shunsui.
That’s not even considering Yoruichi, whose speed is just astonishing, Kisuke Urahara, who is fast enough to keep up with Yoruichi’s highest Shunko transformation and outspeed a Vollstandig-enhanced Schutzstaffel member such as Askin Nakk Le Vaar, and Tenjiro Kirinji, who is known as “Lightning-Fast” for his speed, and proved his superior skill by easily outmaneuvering Soi Fon.
These characters probably weren’t included in the statement, as they are Shinigami but not Soul Society members, but Kyoraku and Yamamoto are. Moreover, Omaeda is hardly a neutral source of information about Soi Fon, given his blind and unconditional admiration for her.
His claim about her speed being unparalleled within the Soul Society might be more of a testament to his loyalty than to factual accuracy. Omaeda’s tendency to panic is another factor that casts doubt on the reliability of his statement, especially considering that he was outright panicking when he made it. So, there’s another reason to think that Omaeda’s assessment wasn’t exactly accurate.
The fact that being skilled at performing high-speed movement techniques like Shunpo or Sonido doesn’t necessarily translate to superior combat speed seems a given. Zaraki is laughably bad at Shunpo, yet still manages to keep pace with opponents who should – in theory – be far quicker than him due to their mastery of Sonido, Shunpo, and Hirenkyaku.
Zommari's speed feats compared to those of the top Espada
While Soi Fon is an incredibly proficient Shunpo user, some Soul Society members surpass her when it comes to actual combat speed. Similarly, Zommari may be the best Sonido user among the Espada, but that alone doesn’t automatically make him the fastest fighter in the group, especially when speed is a crucial element in Bleach’s power scaling, yet Zommari’s overall strength is well below the Espada’s elites.
Zommari’s ability to keep up with Byakuya Kuchiki was remarkable, but not really impressive in the grand scheme of things. During their confrontation, Byakuya tried to flank Zommari by coming up behind him, but Zommari swiftly evaded the attempt as he vanished and reappeared behind Byakuya’s back.
Zommari then avoided Byakuya’s attacks with his high-speed Sonido technique, the Gemelos Sonido, but Byakuya was able to cut down three of the clones before they could even retaliate. When Zommari surrounded him with five clones, Byakuya managed to get past them via Utsusemi.
This technique allowed him to move at blinding speed, to the point where he left an afterimage so convincing that it deceived Zommari into believing he had landed a blow.
All in all, Byakuya was able to keep up with Zommari’s speed. Considering Utsusemi, he even outpaced the supposed fastest Espada. That says a lot, given that Byakuya had his problems in dealing with Ichigo’s speed when the latter activated his Bankai. On the other hand, Grimmjow kept pace with Bankai Ichigo, and Ulquiorra zoomed past him like he was standing still, overwhelming him in a flash.
Baraggan blitzed Soi Fon effortlessly, even though the 2nd Division Captain was fast enough to match a rusty Yoruichi, whose speed still exceeded that of Byakuya. As for Coyote Starrk, he utterly outspeeded a Bankai-using Ichigo, thus making Byakuya’s feats – and by extension Zommari’s – no big deal in comparison.
The same lightning-fast Ichigo who held the upper hand against Byakuya – an arguably more powerful version of Ichigo, to be fair – looked like a snail compared to Starrk. Based on the aforementioned scenes, Byakuya would stand no chance against Baraggan, let alone Starrk. Yet, Byakuya managed to match Zommari. So, this dismantles the idea that Zommari is the fastest Espada.
Who is the fastest Espada in Bleach?
Even the assertion that Zommari is the fastest Espada when disregarding Resurreción and considering only base forms is unsubstantiated. Baraggan outsped Soi Fon while in base, and Starrk kept pace with Shunsui – even dodging some swift attacks from the future Captain Commander – before resorting to his Resurreción. He also was in the base when he dominated Ichigo and Zaraki.
When in his unreleased form, Starrk was already quick enough to zip across enormous distances in the blink of an eye, making a speedster of Ichigo’s caliber look slow in comparison. Starrk’s Resurreción only increases his speed even further, making the Primera Espada a dangerous foe. That is, assuming that he is motivated enough to be in the mood to fight properly.
Combining his special ability Senescencia with his innate speed, Baraggan could outmaneuver most opponents. Slowing time around himself, he reduces the speed of anyone trying to come at him. So, he would be free to move and strike – at quickness high enough to outpace Soi Fon – while his opponents would be slowed down, their agility hampered.
Of course, no conversation about the fastest Espada can skip Ulquiorra. a fighter who outright blitzed a Bankai-wielding Ichigo. It should be noted that Ichigo’s speed was also boosted by his Hollow mask, yet he couldn’t even catch a glimpse of Ulquiorra until the latter was already at his throat.
Ichigo flat-out admitted that he could not react to Ulquiorra’s fast movement, and that was when the Espada had warned him. With the additional boost from the Segunda Etapa transformation, Ulquiorra’s speed goes off the charts, making him a beast that not many Bleach characters can hope to match.
Admittedly, Zommari was just overconfident in his abilities. This evident flaw was even emphasized in the Bleach manga when Byakuya – after witnessing the extent of Zommari’s skills – mocked him. He even questioned if he really deserved the title of the fastest Espada. As Byakuya pointed out, frustration had clouded Zommari’s judgement. To Byakuya, Zommari was embarrassing for being the so-called fastest Espada.
There’s a chance that Zommari once deserved that title, but was eventually overshadowed by newer recruits who joined Aizen’s ranks. Unable to let go of his ego, he kept boasting about his supposed title out of pride.
While there’s no way Zommari is the fastest Espada, his claim about having the “fastest Sonido” of the group may be technically true, much like Soi Fon has the “fastest Shunpo” among the Gotei 13. They can perform peculiar speed-oriented techniques. Granted, that doesn’t change the fact that some of their colleagues are more effective fighters than them even when it comes to speed.
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