Ichigo leaves and takes up residence in Soul Society!

"...Not bad eyesight."

Ichigo, dressed in white, revealed a wicked smile.

"You're completely different from before. Should I praise you for growing? But here, in front of me, what I need least is your calm and rational gaze."

"Didn't you hear me asking you a question! Where did Uncle Zhan Yue go... or what did you do to him!"

"I'm here, Ichigo."

A familiar voice came from behind him. Ichigo turned around abruptly and saw Zangetsu, dressed in black robes, hanging upside down on another tilted building like a giant bat.

"Uncle Zhan Yue..."

Ichigo relaxed, but then a question popped into his head.

Zangetsu seemed to read his mind and said, "Ichigo, you're here again. I know you really want to master Bankai."

"In fact, I'm willing to cooperate with you."

"But that alone is not enough."

"You must understand your own power better, only then... can you achieve true Bankai."

Ichigo became more and more confused as he listened.

"The real... Bankai? What... are you talking about?"

Bankai is just Bankai, isn't it?

He hasn't even mastered a fake Bankai yet, so how can he talk about a real Bankai?

"Ha, having a stupid master is such a headache. If it were me, I wouldn't have the patience to listen to his nagging. I'd just cut him down. If he doesn't die, he'll eventually understand. Just like how people naturally learn to walk, run, eat, and drink. That's instinct."

Ichigo, dressed in white, sneered mercilessly.

"Can a few words really help someone understand this or that? Don't be ridiculous. If someone were that smart, would they need someone to remind them?"

"You guy...!"

"Don't be angry, Ichigo. It's pointless to argue with someone who's driven by instinct."

Zangetsu looked at Ichigo in his white coat and gently comforted him.

"If you ask why... he is an illusion."

"?!"

Ichigo stared wide-eyed, speechless, at the white figure that looked exactly like him.

The latter gave a strange smile and did not refute.

This statement was accepted as fact.

His name is "Xu Bai".

Zangetsu didn't give Ichigo a chance to react and think calmly, and continued to explain:

"It is the void that attacked your mother."

“Your mother died at the hands of the Hollow. Although you were very young at the time, you should be able to perceive the truth now.”

“But that’s not what I’m talking about. Before that, before you were born… she was attacked by other Hollows.”

"After that creature died, its soul transferred to your mother's body, and after you were born, it transferred to you."

"..."

Ichigo was speechless, his expression shifting, clearly showing his inner turmoil.

"As you awaken the power of the Grim Reaper and gradually grow stronger, he will also awaken and grow stronger along with you... If this continues, there is no doubt that one day in the future you will be influenced by him, lose control, fall, hurt your companions, be expelled from Seireitei, and live in seclusion."

"As a Shinigami, one cannot coexist with Hollows. You should understand this clearly now that you know the dangers of the 'Hogyoku'."

"so……"

Zangetsu produced a shark-shaped slash in his hand, but the next moment it transformed into a black bow and was thrown in front of Ichigo.

“Take the ‘bow’ I gave you, destroy his consciousness, and reclaim the nutrients that were absorbed. In this way, you can avoid the ending I have described.”

"...Yes, yes, bring it on! Otherwise, one day I'll become stronger than you, take over your body, devour everything you have, and destroy everything you value!"

Hollow White stopped spinning the blade, grabbed the hilt casually, and pointed the tip of the sword at Ichigo with ambitious and malicious words.

"Uncle Zhan Yue..."

Ichigo glanced at Hollow White, then looked up at Zangetsu.

"You say you're taking back the absorbed nutrients, but he's a Hollow. Even if you take them back, isn't it still just the power of a Hollow? Wouldn't that just invite the Seireitei's hostility?"

"That power that originally belonged to you is incomparable to intangibility. How you decide the form of this power is up to you. It is a more perfect state than so-called intangibility."

Zhan Yue answered calmly, as if he had expected it.

"If you wish, you will obtain two Zanpakuto representing Hollow power and Shinigami power respectively... The control is obvious, so it can't be considered using Hollowfication power, right?"

"...I roughly understand what's going on now. No wonder I have two initial release forms."

Ichigo picked up the bow in front of him.

"This black bow represents Uncle Zhan Yue."

"And this guy..."

He turned his gaze to the knife in Xu Bai's hand.

"This represents an exaggeratedly large sword shape."

"To master Bankai, Zangetsu's cooperation alone isn't enough; we also need to make this guy 'submit.'"

"Not 'submission,' but annihilation."

Zhan Yue said in a deep voice.

"Although the effect is the same, the method is more extreme. This is a trial that you, as the Grim Reaper, must overcome and a demon that you must shatter."

"Ah... Uncle Zhan Yue, I understand what you're saying, and I know you're thinking of me, but I have a question... My mother... Does Mom know this is going to happen?"

"?"

Zhan Yue and Xu Bai were both taken aback.

"Ichigo..."

"I'm sorry, I might not have explained it clearly. What I mean is... does Mom know that she has a deficiency in her body? Does she know that after giving birth to me, the deficiency will transfer to me? I really need to find out the answer to this question."

Ichigo stared intently at Zangetsu, his attitude extremely firm.

"..."

Zhan Yue seemed to have foreseen something, and he closed his eyes and sighed.

"she knows."

"..."

Ichigo was silent for a moment, then slung the bow over his shoulder and grinned.

"Is that so? Then I can't just kill this guy like that."

"what?"

Xu Bai's expression was quite something.

"Are you an idiot! Instead of using your bow, use your strength to destroy me. Sooner or later, I'll drive you to your doom!"

“Indeed, I know the nature of the illusory all too well, but you are my mother who insisted on giving birth to me even knowing that this would happen.”

"and many more……"

"So that's why you look exactly like me, isn't it? That Hollow that transferred to Mom's body after it died was practically dead by now, wasn't it? Otherwise, it wouldn't have bothered to transfer to me. Wouldn't it have been better to stay in Mom's body? Adults are definitely stronger than babies, right? So, this must be an uncontrollable result."

"That void is no longer the original void; it's more like a pure power, which is why it was able to transfer to me through my bloodline and then merge with my power without any hesitation..."

"If I'm not mistaken, it's a trump card that Mom deliberately left for me, to protect me when I'm in danger, right? After all, if I die, you won't have an easy time either."

Ichigo, mimicking his best friend's thought process, calmly speculated.

"Hiss... It's true, I'll be very troubled if you die... but..."

"The reason it didn't work when I was in a car accident is because my mom overlooked one thing. She overestimated your strength and didn't realize that you needed the power of death to recover and grow up to help me."

"..."

Hollow White opened his mouth slightly, his stunned expression exactly the same as Ichigo's reaction when bombarded with information.

All that's missing is that catchphrase.

"Uncle Zhan Yue".

Ichigo apologized to Zangetsu, who was also silent.

“I know you want me to destroy it because you’re afraid that if it jumps out and causes trouble one day, the Seireitei will find out and then execute me. But this thing is a memento left to me by my mother, like a brother to me. Even if it’s a Hollow, I just can’t bring myself to do it.”

"Besides, he and I have a symbiotic relationship. Apart from causing trouble, he won't kill me. Pushing me into a corner won't do him any good... If he really can't stand being idle and is driven by the destructive impulses of the Hollow, then I'm willing to play along to the end. I happen to be short of a sparring partner. After all, I always feel bad for troubling Uncle Zangetsu."

"..."

"..."

Ichigo's heartfelt words plunged Zangetsu and Hollow into silence once again.

"Yeah……"

Zhan Yue sighed.

"In that case, let's try a different kind of test."

"When you're ready, try to defeat me with the bow in your hand."

"You only get one chance. If you fail, I'll have to make the choice for you. But no matter what... I hope to live peacefully in Soul Society."

"Ah, I will keep that in mind."

Ichigo took a deep breath and nodded vigorously.

Then I left my inner world.

bass!

Xu Bai shoved his broadsword into the ground and laughed in exasperation.

"Hey, did you hear that? He called me 'brother'! How could anyone in the world call Xu 'brother'?"

"But you were indeed born because of Ichigo. Your posture, your thoughts, your consciousness all come from Ichigo."

"Tsk... That's why I helped you, giving him a chance to use your power... the power of a Quincy to destroy me."

"Yes."

Zhan Yue felt conflicted.

"For Ichigo, who has become a Shinigami, the power of Hollows is not only dangerous, but also destined to be rejected by the Soul Society. Even if he is given the power of a Quincy, it will still be dominated by the power of a Shinigami."

“I also wish you could do that, but since you are very unwilling to provide assistance unconditionally, the only way left is to eliminate you, which can solve the problem of future troubles and also obtain your power.”

"Unfortunately, Ichigo still refused."

"Of course, who would want to damage their own Zanpakuto? In that sense, although that guy is stupid, his instincts are still quite sharp."

Xu Bai revealed his gleaming white teeth.

"Using the power of the Quincy to destroy the Hollow consciousness within a Zanpakuto... You're even more insane than I am. I don't even know what will happen if I actually do it. Will I really die? Or will I be sealed away, or will I be resurrected in the distant future?"

"It's hard to say whether I'll agree to cooperate with you, or if it's also related to this curiosity."

"But then again, he has rejected your proposal, and I'm too lazy to cooperate with him, so how is he supposed to learn true Bankai?"

"A true Bankai? Don't underestimate your master's abilities."

Zhan Yue turned around and landed lightly.

"Look at this tilted world before you, and you'll understand—"

"For the master of this world, the power to overthrow the world... is as abundant as one desires."

"The true Bankai... is the same."

"Since Ichigo doesn't think much of you, then I'll continue to give him the Bankai that belongs to the Quincy."