Urahara Kisuke, shrewd and calculating as always, couldn't help but feel both surprised and deeply suspicious.
No wonder Kurosaki Ichigo could always produce power beyond expectations. With such a complex power structure within his body, it would be hard NOT to have cheat-like abilities!
But how much power could he actually draw from Yhwach? During Ichigo's training on the projection, I nearly turned him into a Hollow... I even threatened to kill him if he couldn't demonstrate his strength...
If Yhwach felt threatened and intervened to protect Kurosaki Ichigo, would I have been finished?
Thinking about it now, Urahara couldn't help but feel a chill of fear. He didn't know if he'd truly dodged a bullet...
After all, as someone dedicated to maintaining the balance of the three realms, his research and understanding of Yhwach rivaled even Aizen's! He was well aware of Yhwach's plans to assault the Soul King Palace.
Regardless, Yhwach's existence, his purposes, and his manipulation of Kurosaki Ichigo were definitely not simple matters!
This was becoming clearer to Urahara by the moment. As for Ichigo's future, he absolutely had to intervene and guide him onto the right path!
In the projection, Kurosaki Ichigo suddenly found himself in an upside-down building, falling rapidly through the air.
As Ichigo panicked, Old Man Zangetsu fell alongside him, delivering a lecture: "Don't panic! Shinigami govern death and control the vast majority of souls. Remember this quickly!"
"Could it be that you only possess the Shinigami power you received from Rukia?"
"No! You already possessed Shinigami power!"
"Rukia merely awakened the Shinigami power within you. Hurry and find the hidden Shinigami power from your very origin!"
Old Man Zangetsu was essentially deceiving Kurosaki Ichigo. However, because he appeared to be a good person—handsome and kind to him—and seemed to be helping him overcome his Hollowfication... Ichigo simply listened to him!
Through a game of finding the correct box, Ichigo struggled to complete the task of locating his own Shinigami power. Remembering what his friend Ishida Uryu had said about Shinigami spiritual power being red, Kurosaki Ichigo quickly found the box where his Shinigami power was hidden.
After finding his box, he discovered a Zanpakutō inside.
While Kurosaki Ichigo wrestled with his inner struggle, the outside world was undergoing tremendous changes.
Ichigo, his Chain of Fate severely eroded, screamed continuously as if on the verge of becoming a Hollow. The others worried greatly about this, debating whether to intervene.
Urahara Kisuke observed that Ichigo was different from other Hollows he'd witnessed—there still seemed to be a chance for him to regain his Shinigami powers.
However, as Ichigo's Hollowfication grew increasingly severe, Urahara's companion Tessai Tsukabishi decided he could watch no longer. Ichigo had to be stopped now.
He began casting Kidō on Kurosaki Ichigo:
"Bakudō #99, Part 1—Kin!"
"Part 2—Bankin!"
After a series of powerful binding techniques, he deployed his strongest move:
"Final Technique—Shūchū Bankin!"
A massive stone tablet inscribed with binding seals plummeted from the sky, ready to crush Kurosaki Ichigo.
However, at this critical moment, Ichigo finally accessed his power, erupting with tremendous spiritual pressure and deflecting the enormous tablet.
BOOM!!!
After a cloud of dust settled, a masked Kurosaki Ichigo appeared before everyone. Though he wore a Hollow mask, he carried a Zanpakutō and wore Shinigami robes—he didn't look like a typical Hollow at all.
[Hirako Shinji]: Oh, seems like he's entered a Hollow state? But it's a relatively superficial stage.
[Hitsugaya Toshiro]: His Zanpakutō is truly strange—it doesn't look like a regular Zanpakutō at all. It's even more unusual than Zaraki Kenpachi's blade.
Though the audience was somewhat surprised, they weren't overly shocked considering Kurosaki Ichigo's previous performance against Kuchiki Byakuya.
As expected! The power within Kurosaki Ichigo's body was truly extraordinary. He'd been connected to Hollows for quite some time!
Because of the explosive revelations about Ichigo and Yhwach, the audience had almost forgotten the video's title... It was actually supposed to be about the story of White Hollow!
[Kurosaki Ichigo]: Now I finally understand why I nearly went berserk from Hollowfication...
Thinking of the video's title and the White Ichigo inside him that was trying to devour him, Ichigo felt terrified.
Was he nearly replaced by this so-called White Ichigo? Was such a terrifying, strongest Vasto Lorde-class Hollow really inside him?
Oh god, could he really survive this?
Uncle Zangetsu, save me!
[Aizen Sosuke]: Excellent. I'm becoming increasingly clear about the true nature of these circumstances.
[Ichimaru Gin]: Hehe, I'm starting to believe it now. You truly are Captain Aizen's most perfect creation, Kurosaki Ichigo.
[Kurosaki Ichigo]: Agh, what are you talking about? I don't want to hear this anymore!
[Aizen Sosuke]: Kurosaki Ichigo! There's no point in running away—slowly learn the truth! Although your father is an incompetent parent... you should feel fortunate to be such a perfect creation.
[Kurosaki Isshin]: Enough, Aizen! Do you have no shame speaking here? Don't forget that I, his biological father, am still present. You have no right to speak on this matter.
[Aizen Sosuke]: Shiba Isshin! You are a thoroughly unqualified father! Every child should have the right to know their own heritage, instead of living in darkness for over ten years...
[Kurosaki Ichigo]: Agh! Could you all please stop talking!
[Aizen Sosuke]: Kurosaki Ichigo, what's more contemptible than weakness is lacking the courage to face reality!
Aizen's words made Kurosaki Ichigo's mental state crumble even further!
In the real world, he covered his face, his body trembling slightly.
What were they... talking about...?
[Shihouin Yoruichi]: My goodness, is this turning into a family drama?
[Kuchiki Rukia]: Did Aizen implant Hollow power directly into Kurosaki Ichigo's body? Just like the experiments he performed on other captains?
[Kuchiki Byakuya]: Even if Kurosaki Ichigo was given some form of Hollow power right after birth, does that qualify him as the "most perfect creation"?
[Kurotsuchi Mayuri]: By the way, what was the video supposed to be about initially? Why is it focusing on Kurosaki Ichigo? Is Aizen planning to use this "White" to fight Ichigo and stimulate his growth?
[Abarai Renji]: That's quite possible. After all, many of Ichigo's previous battles were under Aizen's orchestration...
Since the parties involved, particularly Aizen, weren't immediately providing answers, the audience could only speculate.
In the projection, after Kurosaki Ichigo recovered his Shinigami powers, he began the final phase of testing with Urahara Kisuke.
Urahara also revealed his Zanpakutō at this point, so Ichigo didn't dare take things lightly. He could sense that Urahara truly harbored killing intent—if he didn't defeat him, he would likely die.
But Kurosaki Ichigo's Zanpakutō was broken at this moment, reduced to just a hilt and handle. The power he possessed wasn't sufficient!
At one point, he was even chased by Urahara Kisuke and found himself in mortal danger!
Witnessing this scene, many Shinigami expressed surprise. They discussed privately:
"Is Kurosaki Ichigo really this weak right now?"
"Is it because he hasn't found his true strength yet, or because this Yhwach hasn't granted him power?"
Kyoraku Shunsui posed a question: "By the way, Kurosaki Ichigo possesses Shinigami power within his body? As a Quincy, why would Yhwach encourage Ichigo to regain Shinigami power?"
Shunsui's words reminded many others, and the Shinigami began discussing:
"That's right! According to information we've gathered, Kurosaki Ichigo prefers calling this person Old man Zangetsu.'"
"So this bastard Yhwach has been impersonating Ichigo's Zanpakutō spirit?"
"From this perspective, Kurosaki Ichigo still favors the Shinigami side, which is good news for us."
"Exactly! Ichigo definitely has no emotional attachment to the Quincy!"
"Otherwise, there'd be no need for Yhwach to masquerade as Shinigami power."
Yamamoto Genryusai couldn't help but chuckle: "Hmph, that old bastard Yhwach would actually resort to such methods. Should we tell Kurosaki Ichigo that Yhwach is actually the evil Quincy King?"
Ukitake Jushiro shook his head: "Forget it. This Kurosaki Ichigo seems to have a good relationship with Yhwach—he even calls him Old Man Zangetsu... He truly treats him as a Zanpakutō spirit. If we rashly declare him a major villain, Ichigo definitely won't be able to accept it and will think we're lying to him, right?"
At this point, Zaraki Kenpachi also noticed something peculiar: "By the way, while I don't care about most of what you discussed earlier..."
"One thing stands out: the Zanpakutō in Kurosaki Ichigo's hand is in a broken state—it's not the large cleaver he used when fighting me!"
"What's going on?"
After a moment's consideration, Unohana Retsu said slowly: "Kurosaki Ichigo... could it be impossible for him to gain power from this Yhwach? I hope Yhwach will be like that broken sword and be completely severed from Kurosaki Ichigo!"
The Shinigami reached a consensus: they absolutely could not allow Kurosaki Ichigo to gain Quincy power from Yhwach!
However, in the projection, events didn't unfold as the Shinigami hoped.
Old Man Zangetsu spoke within Ichigo's spiritual space: "Kurosaki Ichigo, what are you running from?"
"Kurosaki Ichigo, look forward properly!"
"Cast off your fear!"
"Defeat your opponent by advancing courageously. Retreat will only age you, and fear will surely bring death. Call out my name!"
"My name is..."
At this moment, under Old Man Zangetsu's guidance, Kurosaki Ichigo finally called out the name:
"Zangetsu!"
BOOM!—————
Tremendous spiritual pressure erupted instantly! The resulting windstorm forced Urahara Kisuke to shield his face with one hand.
Kurosaki Ichigo's power suddenly soared!
In Soul Society, the Shinigami cried out in dismay! Had Kurosaki Ichigo finally obtained Yhwach's power?
But they were also confused!
"Why didn't Yhwach guide Kurosaki Ichigo to shout his real name?"
"Could it be that Yhwach has a special fondness for the name 'Zangetsu'?"
Zaraki Kenpachi said with a strange expression: "So should we say 'Release, Yhwach'...?"
The Shinigami: "..."
The mental image was too beautiful—they really couldn't picture it!
The Shinigami's analysis did make sense, though. In the world of Shinigami, Zanpakutō required communication with one's inner spiritual world to release their power. Names held tremendous importance in the Shinigami world.
If you couldn't call out the correct name of something, you couldn't access its full power. Abarai Renji was perfect proof of this.
And shouting louder during battle increased one's power—it was a similar principle... Those knowledgeable about Royal Guard knew that the monk Hyoshubu Ichibei knew the names of all Zanpakutō!
In this world, names weren't just abstract concepts but actual sources of tremendous power. Ichibei could be called a master of internal warfare.
As long as he wanted to deal with a Shinigami, he could erase their Zanpakutō's name—then they might lose the ability to use their Zanpakutō's power entirely! This was definitely not an exaggeration!
Captain-Commander Yamamoto and other veteran captains speculated: Had the monk modified or erased what Yhwach said earlier, preventing his voice from reaching Ichigo's ears? That's why his real name couldn't be known by Kurosaki Ichigo!?
Or perhaps Yhwach knew the Shinigami were constrained by the monk, so he had to take this roundabout approach to avoid the Soul King Palace's surveillance as much as possible? So he couldn't use his real name "Yhwach" and could only use "Zangetsu"?
That was quite possible! After all, if not for this video's exposure, people in this world truly didn't know such a being existed within Kurosaki Ichigo!
In the projection, after calling out Zangetsu's name, Kurosaki Ichigo's massive spiritual pressure erupted rapidly.
BUZZZZZ!
A Zanpakutō as tall as a person appeared—with no visible guard or proper handle, and an extremely crude blade shape.
Even Tessai and the others complained about it, feeling this didn't look like a Zanpakutō at all. It was just a weapon condensed from Ichigo's spiritual power!
Afterward, with his new weapon, Kurosaki Ichigo quickly defeated Urahara Kisuke.
CLANG!
Urahara's Benihime was knocked away a considerable distance.
Seeing this, Urahara commented that without his special defensive tools, he would have died already. Therefore, Kurosaki Ichigo's training had passed!
Of course, only Urahara knew how much he'd held back...
This marked the beginning of Kurosaki Ichigo's journey of cheat-like power-ups!
The screen quickly transitioned to the next scene.
After saving Rukia, Kurosaki Ichigo returned to the human world. He discovered that the Hollow mask that had appeared before and would return periodically had vanished.
White Ichigo's voice frequently appeared in his mind, constantly taunting him and making it impossible to forget.
At this moment, in Kurosaki Ichigo's mind, the White Ichigo who coexisted with Old Man Zangetsu appeared:
"Ichigo! What are you doing?"
"Are you too frightened to endure it anymore?"
"Haha, this is so interesting—let me get closer to you gradually!"
"Let me approach you! I'll have a chance to devour you eventually!"
At this moment, White Ichigo's hideous image appeared in Kurosaki Ichigo's mind again!
Kurosaki Ichigo panicked... Don't come over!
He didn't want to see him again and wanted to expel him from his mind as quickly as possible. He frantically grabbed his hair, trying to dispel White Ichigo...
But it backfired. This guy continued tormenting him, as if he truly intended to devour Kurosaki Ichigo!
After helping Ichigo fight last time, White Ichigo seemed addicted. Not only did he want to fight for Kurosaki Ichigo, but he also wanted to seize control entirely!
Kurosaki Ichigo could only despair at this. Did he have to coexist with such a being forever?
Uncle Zangetsu! Can you control this guy!
At this moment, Old Man Zangetsu's image in Kurosaki Ichigo's heart became increasingly glorious!
The other viewers were equally surprised:
[Kuchiki Rukia]: Huh, another video about Ichigo?
[Kuchiki Byakuya]: What's the relationship between Kurosaki Ichigo and that thing inside him? Will it really devour him?
[Kyoraku Shunsui]: Oh, we almost forgot—wasn't this video's theme supposed to be about some kind of Hollow? That one looks like a Hollow. Could he be the extremely powerful Vasto Lorde-class Hollow mentioned?
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