Chapter 8: The Two-Winged Executive Assistant Director of Heaven Media
Kisuke Urahara rushed Rukia into his laboratory and immediately began working overtime, running a series of diagnostic tests to determine the cause of her bizarre "fit."
Mo Yu, however, had already stopped paying attention. He knew Urahara was destined to find absolutely nothing. Even if he tore down the seal and re-examined the Hogyoku piece by piece, the result would be the same.
A God from another world had pilfered a sliver of glory and authority from this world's God. Even if it had already happened, it was not something Kisuke Urahara could detect; it was a corruption and usurpation on a much higher plane of existence.
Previously, Mo Yu had wondered if a core plot treasure like the Hogyoku was "qualified" to cross the Silver Sea and ascend to the material world. Now, the answer was clear: the Hogyoku, centered around a tiny fragment of the Soul King, lacked the inherent value for such an ascension. However, gaining control over this Hogyoku had provided Mo Yu with a massive, unexpected surprise.
The power of the Hogyoku is to read the subconscious desires of surrounding beings and manifest them into reality. It is a manifestation of the Soul King's "Omnipotence," specifically the side of "Desire Manifestation." While it sounds complex, in the original story, this power was never truly utilized to its full potential; at best, it acted as a catalyst for awakening Fullbringers.
Orihime Inoue awakened her Shun Shun Rikka (Shield of Hibiscus) because she was attacked by the Hollow of her brother's soul, catalyzed by the Hogyoku's subtle influence. Yasutora Sado awakened his Brazo Derecha de Gigante (Right Arm of the Giant) because he cursed his own powerlessness. While their powers were unique and had their moments of glory, they weren't world-shaking—though that might have been due to the users themselves.
Later, when Aizen obtained the Hogyoku, he successfully mastered it to break the limits of a Soul Reaper, evolving into an inscrutable level and eventually merging with it to become nearly immortal. His combat power leaped to the transcendental level of the Three Worlds, forcing even Yhwach to be on guard. Yet, even so, Aizen never truly tapped into the Hogyoku's creative authority; he merely used it as a source of power to govern both Soul Reaper and Hollow energies, completing his "evolution" into a copycat version of Ichigo.
To Mo Yu, an otherworldly God, the power of the Hogyoku was different. Rukia's "corpse-revival" dance—where she frantically flailed about before collapsing back into sleep—was, in essence, the Hogyoku listening to Mo Yu's thoughts and twisting reality to make them happen.
As long as Mo Yu thinks it, the Hogyoku makes it so. Of course, this power wasn't truly omnipotent; it was limited by the fact that it was only a fragment of the Soul King. The reality it could create couldn't be too exaggerated, and its manifestation was centered around the Hogyoku's vessel—Rukia.
But for Mo Yu, this was enough. It was a monumental breakthrough!
In a sense, Rukia had become his "Living Angel." She would carry Mo Yu's glory. From now on, Mo Yu's means of intervention in the Bleach world were no longer limited to spoiler-whispers and the weak "Divine Palm."
Having achieved his goal, Mo Yu shifted his focus back to Ichigo Kurosaki.
Ichigo was still undergoing the bloodline inheritance of the Quincy. The inheritance wasn't complex; it was more like an innate talent: the "Right of Command" over Reishi. In gaming terms, he had just gained the passive skill [Reishi Manipulation Mastery LV1].
Like breathing, he could freely inhale and exhale Reishi. Like walking, he could mold the shape of Reishi at will.
This is the most basic yet core power of a Quincy. The variations derived from it are countless: absorbing Reishi from the environment to create weapons and armor, mastering it to create infinite ammunition, or breathing it into the body to enhance attack, defense, and mobility. He could even interfere with and strip away an enemy's ability to use Reishi.
To be honest, it wasn't just a talent; it was a divine art, or rather, the "Administrative Permissions" of this world.
"Tsk. As expected of a protagonist. Even a basic Quincy inheritance is something else."
Watching the screen, Mo Yu couldn't help but click his tongue. He didn't know what it looked like when other Quincies inherited their power, but it certainly wouldn't be as exaggerated as this.
While accepting the bloodline, Ichigo was merely instinctively absorbing Reishi to forge his weapons. In Mo Yu's observation, Reishi within a thousand-meter radius swarmed toward him. The surge was so violent it caused a spiritual pressure tide. Ordinary humans in the area felt their bodies grow heavy, their heads spin, and their breathing become labored. The wandering ghosts that mortals couldn't see were terrified, fleeing as far away as possible.
The absurdity didn't stop there. When Uryu Ishida, as a trained Quincy, pulled back his bow, his light arrows were at most as thick as a man's arm. But Ichigo...
His light arrow was the size of a 330mm naval gun shell. It was truly "Strong and Powerful." And that was just the result of a preliminary condensing; as Reishi continued to pour in, the caliber of the arrow was still rising.
Even Ichigo was startled by his own power. He hurriedly dissipated the "spiritual light cannon" and didn't dare to experiment further.
However, these were minor matters. As the inheritance concluded, Mo Yu keenly sensed a will slowly awakening within Ichigo's body.
The first thing this will did upon waking was to suppress the massive, runaway power, allowing Ichigo to successfully disperse that casual energy blast.
Mo Yu clicked his mouse. His Divine Authority responded, and the camera dove deep into Ichigo's body to observe the landscape of his inner world.
The scenery of Ichigo's inner world was a reflection of Karakura Town, but a highly distorted one. Skyscrapers lay sideways across the ground or hung inverted from the sky. Twisting streets like a labyrinth symbolized his confusion and naivety in not yet finding his own path. The terrifying surges of Reishi energy erupting from the earth and sky symbolized his gradually awakening potential.
On one of the inverted skyscrapers, a cool middle-aged man with tea-colored V-shaped sunglasses, a flowing cloak, and long hair stood indifferently, overlooking this world.
In the original plot, this being was called Old Man Zangetsu by Ichigo. In reality, he was the manifestation of Yhwach's power within Ichigo's bloodline, symbolizing his pure and terrifyingly vast Quincy strength.
At this moment, Old Man Zangetsu was working hard to suppress Ichigo's runaway potential. It wasn't an act of malice, but a benevolent one; without it, Ichigo would have been consumed by his own overwhelming power.
But this suppression wasn't without its challenges. Within the pillars of Reishi energy, black and red shadows began to spread, eventually forming an all-white Ichigo with black-and-red eyes.
"Yo, old man... You look like you're worth killing..."
Violent beastly nature, arrogant bloodlust, and a desire to trample and destroy everything radiated endlessly from this "White Ichigo."
This was the other side hidden within Ichigo, the "Limit-Breaking Hollow (White)" meticulously crafted by Aizen through the souls of hundreds of Soul Reapers. It symbolized the fusion of Soul Reaper and Hollow powers.
Rukia's transfer of power wasn't actually the required condition for Ichigo's awakening. In the original plot, her energy acted as a "scalpel," piercing the outer membrane that restrained his power. Because like attracts like, his Soul Reaper powers had been the first to leak out.
Although Uryu Ishida had stolen the scene and caused the Quincy power to manifest first, Mo Yu's subsequent "correction" had nudged fate back onto the rails, allowing the Soul Reaper power to seep out as well. The end result was this scene, nearly identical to the original work.
Old Man Zangetsu and "Whitey" had awakened simultaneously.
Zangetsu looked down indifferently. With a light step, he vanished and reappeared instantly beside Whitey. He naturally reached out and gripped the Hollow's head. In the next instant...
Whitey was slammed into the ground by Zangetsu and dragged along at high speeds. The friction carved a deep trench into the earth, and buildings collapsed in their wake.
When the smoke cleared, an enraged Whitey let out a furious roar, preparing to retaliate. But it was too late. Arrows of light had already pierced his body. His form collapsed into a stream of Reishi and was swallowed by Zangetsu's cloak.
To the manifestation of the Son of the Soul King, a mere experimental Hollow wasn't a significant threat. He had seen far more ancient and ferocious beings. Furthermore, this Hollow had only been inside Ichigo for a few years; while its potential was vast, its combat experience was non-existent.
Of course, this was only for the moment. As Ichigo's combat experience grew, the strength and skill of this Hollow would also rise. Because this Hollow was not just a manifestation of power, but also of Ichigo's inner beast and fighting spirit, Zangetsu could only suppress it, not erase it.
Zangetsu looked up, his deep gaze piercing the sky:
"Ichigo... I hope you aren't swallowed by the shadows in your heart..."
"Quite interesting." Mo Yu watched Zangetsu and revealed a playful smile. He could see a trace of the ancient Yhwach's grace in him.
An aura of majesty and nobility, a hardened will, yet not lacking in kindness and warmth. He looked nothing like the tyrannical and ruthless Yhwach that would appear in the final arc of the original story.
But it was understandable. Yhwach might have once been such a man, but his experiences changed him. In ancient times, Quincies and Soul Reapers had a brief "honeymoon period." Both sides performed their duties—though this peace was mainly because Yhwach, as the Son of the Soul King, possessed the lineage and power to challenge the Soul Society's noble order.
In the era before the Gotei 13, the Soul Society was a place of noble infighting and bloody turmoil. It was during that time that Yhwach met Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto, who led a gang of murderous psychos and was slaughtering his way through the world.
To make a long story short: after a series of plots and traps, one day amidst a sea of corpses, a "murderous psycho" who had played dead for three days delivered a poisoned blade. Then, Yamamoto launched a sneak attack.
Yhwach paid the price for his nobility and foolishness. But he didn't die; he left a prophecy of his return and fell into a long slumber.
During that sleep, Yhwach heard the endless wails of his descendants. The former gang of psychos had rebranded themselves as the Gotei 13 and turned their blades against the remaining Quincies. Through constant hunting and slaughter, some Quincies hid in the shadows of the Soul Society, but more fell to the Soul Reapers' butcher knives.
This continued until Ichigo was nine years old, when Uryu Ishida's grandfather breathed his last in a laboratory of the 12th Division. On that day, Yhwach opened his eyes and performed Auswählen (Holy Selection), taking back the power of all Quincies to return from death. His revival, however, caused the deaths of both Ichigo's and Uryu's mothers.
The Yhwach who returned from death to launch his revenge was now consumed by tyranny and malice.
As an outside God, Mo Yu took no side in these ancient tales. The true name of this world was "BLEACH"—the "bleaching" or cleansing of original sin. Without Mo Yu's intervention, the karma and sins stretching from the dawn of time would eventually be settled.
For now, Zangetsu's awakening was a good thing for Ichigo. After observing for a while, Mo Yu did nothing more. He exited the inner world perspective and transmitted his voice to Ichigo, who was still exploring his new powers:
"Now, you are qualified to face your fate. So, when do you plan to start filming?"
The moment Mo Yu spoke, Zangetsu within Ichigo's body snapped his head up, his expression one of utter confusion. Even with his power, he couldn't find the source of that holy voice from beyond.
Ichigo's mouth twitched. "I don't think I've agreed yet."
Mo Yu said nonchalantly: "The salary for the first episode is part of the truth behind your mother's death, as well as the location of the Hollow that killed her. If you don't agree, consider it unsaid."
Ichigo fell silent. This matter was the eternal pain in his heart. He could never let it go.
The result was inevitable. The material-world God and the 2D Messiah reached a consensus on the "film career" and immediately discussed the details. Ichigo had some complaints:
"Hey! I have to establish and manage the crew? I have to control the shooting schedule? Why do I have to do all this as the actor? What are you going to do?"
Mo Yu said calmly: "The Strongest Academy Security Guard is just a trial run. Whether it succeeds or not, there will be plenty of scripts in the future. I believe the best way is for you to build a complete team. I give you the script, you organize the resources and people, and you film it. Simple."
Mo Yu didn't want a one-off deal. He truly intended to turn the Bleach World Bubble into an anime production factory. That way, even if he didn't produce a "megahit," he'd make a decent income from high volume.
His plan was solid, but it wasn't great news for Ichigo. He thought he was a volunteer actor, but now he was an amateur director who had to find his own funding. The problem was, where does a sixteen-year-old boy get the resources for a professional film crew?
"Don't worry. Money is hard to come by on my side, but it's easy on yours. I'll go blackmail—er, ask Kisuke Urahara for a 'sponsorship' later. As for the early stages, it won't cost much. I'll handle it. You just need to buy a wig, some colored contacts, change your clothes, and use a stage name."
Ichigo was confused, but Mo Yu didn't explain. If he was going to film an anime, he couldn't have Ichigo appearing as himself; what if there were copyright issues? And as everyone knows, in the anime world, a change of hair and eye color makes you a completely different person. Even if the faces are the same, it doesn't matter; many studios use "ancestral templates" for faces anyway. "Face-clashing" is just an industry feature.
"Once Rukia transfers to your school tomorrow, take the afternoon off with her and start filming!"
Mo Yu set the date. Ichigo asked, puzzled: "Forget about me, will Rukia actually agree to film this crap?"
"She will," Mo Yu said meaningfully. "Because she will be the Two-Winged Executive Assistant Director of Heaven Media."
End of Chapter
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