Sasuke slowly awoke from his meditation.
Not far away, on the rocky ground, a massive circular pit had appeared at some point.
Sasuke's eyebrow twitched slightly. A figure was clumsily climbing up from the edge of the deep pit.
It's Ichigo.
"Oh? Finished communicating so quickly?"
Yoruichi's voice came from nearby. She had been guiding Inoue Orihime and Sado Yasutora through some strange form of meditation.
Seeing Sasuke awake, she blinked her cat-like eyes, "Wait just a moment. Once I help these two little ones open their doors, I'll be right over to help you."
Sasuke wasn't in a particular rush. He stood up, walked to the edge of the pit, a trace of confusion flashing in his eyes.
"Hey, Urahara."
Sasuke's voice was as cold as ever, "What boring trick are you playing now?"
"Now, now, Sasuke-kun, this is no trick." Urahara lowered his head, revealing his usual grin as he fanned himself, explaining, "This is a 'Desperate Survival' special training to help Kurosaki-san regain his Shinigami powers."
He pointed to the corroding Chain of Fate on Ichigo's body, "By destroying the Chain of Fate attached to the soul, we forcibly draw out the dormant Shinigami power within him. If successful, he can become a Shinigami again. Impressive, right?"
Sasuke glanced at the orange-haired boy still huffing and puffing his way up and let out a noncommittal snort.
Just then, light footsteps approached from behind.
"Alright, since Kurosaki-san is almost finished here, let's begin as well." Yoruichi jumped onto Sasuke's shoulder, her voice turning serious, "Sasuke, after you communicated with Takemikazuchi, it must have presented you with a trial, correct?"
Sasuke nodded.
"Good."
Yoruichi leaped down from his shoulder and signaled for Urahara to bring something over.
It was a wooden doll with an ancient appearance and complex incantations carved on its body.
She looked up at Sasuke, her cat eyes shining with a solemn light.
"Before we begin, I need to explain the item we're about to use." She paused, her voice turning grave, "The Tenshintai. A forbidden doll secretly invented by Kisuke back when he was still in the Technical Development Bureau."
Yoruichi explained in detail, "Its only function is to forcibly pull the spirit of a Zanpakuto from its wielder's Inner World and 'materialize' it in the real world."
"Once materialization is successful, all you must do is subdue it in battle and gain its complete recognition. Achieve that, and you will learn Bankai."
She circled halfway around Sasuke, her tone carrying a note of warning, "But this is an extremely dangerous shortcut."
"The forcibly extracted Zanpakuto's spirit will be in an extremely unstable, rampaging state. The slightest misstep, and you will be devoured by your own power, completely consumed by your sword."
"And, the time limit is only three days." Yoruichi emphasized finally, "If you cannot subdue it within three days, you may forever lose the chance to master Bankai."
"I understand." Sasuke's reply was crisp and direct, his eyes holding only a thirst for power.
"Very good."
Yoruichi nodded in satisfaction, then produced a jet-black, doll-shaped wood carving and tossed it in front of Sasuke.
"This is the Tenshintai."
She stepped back, leaving enough space for Sasuke, "Plunge your Zanpakuto into its heart. The ritual will then begin."
Sasuke took a deep breath and hesitated no longer.
He walked up to the doll and slowly drew Takemikazuchi from his waist.
Then, under the watchful eyes of Yoruichi and the secretly observing Urahara, he slowly plunged the lightning-wreathed longsword into the Tenshintai's chest.
He focused completely, ready to meet the Zanpakuto's spirit clad in ancient hunting attire, bearing the Totsuka Sword.
Bzztt…!
However, the instant the blade fully sank into the doll, a Reiatsu completely unexpected by everyone erupted with a boom!
It was a terrifying aura mixed with ominous black flames and filled with endless hatred.
"This Reiatsu... how is this possible?!"
Yoruichi's languid posture vanished instantly. Her fur stood on end as she stared fixedly at the smoke erupting with that bizarre Reiatsu.
Beside the pit, the smile vanished from Urahara's face. His eyes, hidden under his hat's brim, snapped wide open, also locked onto the center of the smoke.
'This wasn't right!'
The smoke slowly dissipated.
The one who came out of the Tenshintai was not the Takemikazuchi that Sasuke had expected.
Instead, it was a young man whose figure bore some resemblance to Sasuke's, yet was taller, with an even more aloof and arrogant demeanor.
He had long black hair that cascaded down to his waist, and a pale, handsome face.
Most eerily, half of his face was covered by a deathly white bony mask. The eye sockets of the mask were pitch black, with only three crimson tomoe slowly rotating within them, emitting a sinister light.
In his hand, he held a long sword wreathed in black flames.
"Urahara!"
Yoruichi's voice suddenly turned sharp, filled with gravity, "This thing that materialized isn't the spirit of Sasuke's Takemikazuchi."
Urahara didn't respond. He adjusted his hat, his eyes glued to the materialized youth, his brow tightly furrowed.
"This Reiatsu..."
Urahara spoke rapidly, his voice suppressed, as if talking to himself or analyzing the situation for Yoruichi, "This mixture of Hollow energy and that Chakra aura, plus that mask, and those special eyes on it..."
A startling conclusion formed in his mind.
"It's the materialization of the 'Hollow Embryo' within Uchiha Sasuke's body!"
"Hollow?!"
Yoruichi's eyes widened in disbelief, "Didn't you say that power was endogenously generated from his hatred? Why was it pulled out through the Zanpakuto's materialization ritual?! This completely defies the Tenshintai's principle!"
"That's precisely the issue."
Urahara's gaze shifted to Sasuke, a flicker of complexity in his eyes.
"The Tenshintai only materializes the spirit of the Zanpakuto. That point is absolutely certain."
Urahara's voice grew low, "Unless..."
He recalled his previous examination of Sasuke, that Hollow-like power, the mysterious Asauchi that had suddenly appeared in the ruins...
All the clues connected into a complete line at this moment.
Urahara reached a deduction.
"Unless... this Hollow is the spirit of his other Zanpakuto."
Yoruichi instantly understood the implication of Urahara's words, her golden pupils contracting violently.
"So it seems, this is very similar to the situation inside Ichigo, both generated by a Hollow mixed with other powers."
She looked at the mysterious youth holding the black flame longsword in the arena, "The question now is, whether he can control this power or not."
Urahara's expression became extremely grave as he voiced the worst possibility.
"If he fails... he will likely be completely devoured by this power. His soul will collapse, and he will become an irreversible Hollow."
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