… … Nice eyes.
Hollow White showed a malicious smile.
"You're a completely different person from before. Should I praise you for growing up? But in this place, in front of me, the last thing I need is your calm and rational gaze."
"Didn't you hear me asking you a question! Where did Zangetsu go… or what did you do to him!"
"I'm here, Ichigo."
A familiar voice came from behind. Ichigo spun his head, and sure enough, saw Zangetsu, clad in a black robe, hanging upside down like a giant bat on another tilted skyscraper.
"Zangetsu…"
Ichigo's expression relaxed, but then another question arose.
Zangetsu, as if seeing through his thoughts, said, "Ichigo, you've come again. I know you really want to master Bankai."
"In fact, I'm willing to cooperate with you."
"But that alone isn't enough."
"You must understand your own power more deeply. Only then… will you be able to achieve true Bankai."
Ichigo grew more confused the more he listened.
"True… Bankai? What… are you talking about?"
Isn't Bankai just Bankai?
He hadn't even learned a fake Bankai yet, so how could there be a true Bankai?
"Heh, having a dumb master is a headache. If it were me, I wouldn't have the patience to listen to his whining. Just cut him down. If he doesn't die, he'll understand. It's like how people naturally learn to walk, to run, to eat and drink. It's instinct."
Hollow White scoffed mercilessly.
"Can a few words help someone understand this and that? Don't joke around. If they were that smart, would they need others to remind them?"
"You…!"
"Don't be angry, Ichigo. Arguing with someone driven by instinct is meaningless."
Zangetsu looked at Hollow White and soothed him softly.
"If you want to know why… he is a Hollow."
"?!"
Ichigo's eyes widened, staring speechless at the white figure identical to himself.
The latter gave a strange smile, not refuting.
He implicitly agreed with the statement.
"His name is 'Hollow White'."
Zangetsu didn't give Ichigo a chance to react and calmly think, continuing to explain:
"He is the Hollow who once attacked your mother."
"Your mother died at the hands of a Hollow. Although you were very young at the time, you should be able to perceive the truth now."
"But what I want to tell you isn't that, but that before this, before you were born… she was attacked by another Hollow."
"After that Hollow died, its soul transferred into your mother's body, and after you were born, it transferred into your body."
"…"
Ichigo was speechless, his expression changing erratically, showing his extreme inner turmoil.
"As you awakened your Shinigami powers and gradually grew stronger, he also revived with you, growing stronger alongside you… If this continues, there is no doubt that one day in the future, you will be influenced by him, lose control, fall into depravity, harm your comrades, be expelled from Seireitei, and live in isolation."
"As a Shinigami, you cannot coexist with a Hollow. You should be very clear about this after learning about the dangers brought by the Hōgyoku."
"So…"
A shark-like sword appeared in Zangetsu's hand, but the next moment it transformed into a black bow and was thrown in front of Ichigo.
"Take the 'bow' I gave you, eliminate his consciousness, and reclaim the absorbed nourishment. This way, you can avoid the outcome I spoke of."
"...Yes, yes, come at me. Otherwise, sooner or later I'll become stronger than you, take over your body, devour everything you have, and destroy everything you care about~"
Hollow White stopped spinning his blade, casually grabbed the hilt, and pointed the tip of the sword at Ichigo with ambitious and malicious words.
"Zangetsu…"
Ichigo glanced at Hollow White, then looked up at Zangetsu.
"You said to reclaim the absorbed nourishment, but he is a Hollow. Even if I reclaim it, won't it still be Hollow power? Won't it still incur the hostility of Seireitei?"
"That power originally belongs to you, not something comparable to Hollowfication. How you decide the form of this power depends on you. It is a more perfect state than so-called Hollowfication."
Zangetsu answered calmly, as if he had expected it.
"As long as you are willing, you will obtain two Zanpakuto, representing Hollow power and Shinigami power respectively… The dominant power will be clear at a glance. How can that be considered using Hollowfication power?"
"…I generally understand what's going on. No wonder I have two Shikai forms."
Ichigo picked up the bow in front of him.
"This black bow represents Zangetsu."
"And this guy…"
He cast his gaze towards the sword in Hollow White's hand.
"Represents the exaggeratedly large sword form."
"To achieve Bankai, Zangetsu's cooperation alone isn't enough; I also need to 'subdue' this guy."
"Not 'subdue,' but eliminate."
Zangetsu said in a deep voice.
"Although the effect is the same, the method is more extreme. This is also a trial you, as a Shinigami… must overcome, a demonic obstacle you must shatter."
"Ah, Zangetsu, I understand all that you're saying. I also know you're thinking of me, but I have one question… My mother… did Mom know this would happen?"
"?"
Zangetsu and Hollow White paused simultaneously.
"Ichigo…"
"Sorry, I might not have been clear enough. What I mean is… did Mom know she had a Hollow inside her? Did she know that after she gave birth to me, the Hollow would transfer to my body? I absolutely must get this question clarified."
Ichigo looked at Zangetsu with unwavering eyes, his attitude extremely firm.
"…"
Zangetsu seemed to have anticipated something, closed his eyes, and sighed.
"She knew."
"…"
Ichigo was silent for a moment, then slung the bow over his shoulder and grinned.
"Is that so? Then I can't just casually eliminate this guy."
"Huh?"
Hollow White's expression was quite something.
"Are you an idiot! If you don't use the bow in your hand, if you don't use your power to eliminate me, I'll eventually drive you to a dead end!"
"Indeed, I understand the nature of Hollows better than anyone, but you are someone my mother insisted on giving birth to, even knowing this would happen."
"Wait…"
"That's why you look exactly like me, isn't it? That Hollow, which transferred into Mom's body after it died, was actually as good as dead already, right? Otherwise, it wouldn't have idly transferred to me. Wouldn't it have been better to stay in Mom's body? An adult is stronger than a baby, after all, right? So, this must have been an uncontrolled outcome."
"That Hollow was no longer the original Hollow. It was more like a pure power, which is why it could transfer to me through blood, and then, without any qualms, merge with my power…"
"If I'm not mistaken, Mom deliberately left you for me as a trump card to protect me when I encountered danger, right? After all, if I died, you wouldn't have an easy time either."
Ichigo, mimicking his best friend's way of thinking, calmly deduced.
"Hiss… While it's true, I'd be very troubled if you died… But…"
"The reason it didn't work when I had that car accident was because Mom miscalculated one thing: she overestimated you. She didn't realize you needed Shinigami power to revive, to grow, and to help me."
"…"
Hollow White's mouth was slightly agape, his stunned expression exactly like Ichigo's usual reaction when bombarded with information.
All that was missing was his catchphrase.
"Zangetsu."
Ichigo apologized to the equally silent Zangetsu.
"I know you want me to eliminate him because you're afraid that one day he'll cause trouble, be discovered by Seireitei, and then I'll be executed. But this guy is a memento Mom left me, like my blood brother. Even if he's a Hollow, I just can't bring myself to do it."
"Besides, he and I have a symbiotic relationship. Aside from causing trouble, he won't kill me or drive me into a corner. There's no benefit in it for him… If he really can't sit still and is dominated by the Hollow's destructive impulses, then I'm willing to go all the way with him. I actually need a training partner, since I feel bad always bothering Zangetsu."
"…"
"…"
Ichigo's sincere words plunged Zangetsu and Hollow White into silence again.
"Is that so…"
Zangetsu sighed.
"In that case, let's try a different 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 no choice but to make the decision for you, but no matter what… I hope to live peacefully in Soul Society."
"Ah, I'll keep that in mind."
Ichigo took a deep breath and nodded vigorously.
Then he left his inner world.
Swish!
Hollow White plunged his great sword into the ground, laughing in exasperation.
"Hey, did you hear that? He called me his brother! How can there be an idiot in this world who calls a Hollow his brother?"
"But you were indeed born from Ichigo. Your form, your thoughts, your consciousness all come from Ichigo."
"Tsk… That's why I helped you, to give him a chance to use your power… to use Quincy power to eliminate me."
"Yes."
Zangetsu's mood was complex.
"For Ichigo, who has become a Shinigami, Hollow power is not only dangerous but also destined to be rejected by Soul Society. Even if he is given Quincy power, Shinigami power will still be dominant."
"I also hoped you could do this, but you were very unwilling to provide unconditional assistance. So, the only way to resolve future worries and gain your power was to eliminate you."
"Unfortunately, Ichigo still refused."
"Of course. Who would want to damage their own Zanpakuto? Looking at it that way, though that guy is foolish, his instincts are quite sharp."
Hollow White bared his pale teeth.
"Using Quincy power to eliminate the Hollow consciousness within the Zanpakuto… You're even crazier than I am. I don't even know what would happen if I actually did that? Would I really die? Or be sealed? Or revive in the distant future?"
"It's hard to say if my agreeing to cooperate with you also has something to do with this curiosity."
"But then again, he's rejected your proposal, and I'm too lazy to cooperate with him, so how is he supposed to learn true Bankai?"
"True Bankai? Don't underestimate your master's capabilities too much."
Zangetsu turned his body and landed lightly.
"Look at this tilted world before you, and you should understand—"
"For the master of this world, the power to overturn the world… there's as much as he wants."
"True Bankai… is the same."
"Since Ichigo doesn't value you, I will continue to give him the Bankai of a Quincy."
----------
Check Out P atreon For More Chapters:
P atreon.com/AnonymousWriter6