Ichigo returned to the Nohara residence and recounted what he had just experienced to Shin.
"That unfamiliar Shinigami Reiatsu? I sensed it too. But since the person doesn't want to reveal themselves, we don't need to worry about it."
Shin smiled. "Don't worry. Even if that person is an enemy, we have plenty of fighting strength on our side."
Ichigo nodded. "Nohara, what do you think about the Visoreds?"
Shin knew Ichigo was asking how he should approach the Visoreds, but the fact that he came here to ask meant he already had an answer in his heart.
"Since they can freely control the power of a Hollow, it means they definitely possess corresponding training methods."
"Besides, you don't need to join them. You just need to find out their training method."
"But..." Ichigo still had some concerns.
Shin interrupted him, "Kurosaki, you are running out of time. I believe you can sense the Hollow power inside you growing rapidly. If you fail to control it, you will eventually be consumed by it."
"What will happen to your friends and family then?"
This struck a chord with Ichigo. He made up his mind: he would accept and master the Hollow power within him.
He had to become stronger!
The next day.
Ichigo approached Shinji and restated his position.
Shinji was utterly perplexed. Ichigo had vehemently rejected him just yesterday, and he had been preparing for a long siege. Yet, today he agreed.
Still, agreeing was all that mattered. He couldn't stand being in that school for another minute.
After school.
Ichigo followed Shinji to the Visoreds' base of operations.
"Everyone, let's welcome our new comrade, Ichigo." Shinji announced in an overly dramatic tone.
To everyone's surprise, Ichigo immediately denied it, "No, I won't become one of your comrades. I only want to learn the method for suppressing the Hollow from you."
"Eh... wait! What?"
"We Visoreds don't take in trash, and the choice isn't yours. If you want to join, we have to see if you even have the strength." A blonde girl spoke up.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The pink-haired, stout man set up a barrier outside the abandoned parking lot, while inside, Ichigo had already started fighting the blonde girl.
"Use your Bankai." The blonde girl had already Hollowfied and donned her mask.
"Shut up!"
Ichigo didn't want to use his Bankai. After his battle with Shin, he realized that using Bankai made it nearly impossible to suppress the Hollow inside him.
"Suit yourself. Whether you use Bankai or Hollowfy, I'm the one who's going to finish you."
The blonde girl drew her Zanpakutō, and with every strike, she managed to chip away at Ichigo's Zangetsu. As Ichigo continued to take damage, his left eye turned black and gold—a clear sign of impending Hollowfication.
Slash!
The blonde girl left a long slash mark across his chest with one swift strike.
"Aargh—"
With a strange shriek, White Ichigo was back. He grabbed the stunned blonde girl with one hand, ready to strangle her.
The others finally reacted, restraining White Ichigo together, and Shinji shattered White Ichigo's mask with his Zanpakutō.
Ichigo slowly returned to normal.
"That's enough. Any objections, Hiyori?"
The blonde girl, Hiyori, was still too shaken to speak.
"You understand now, right, Ichigo? The Hollow inside you isn't some ordinary type that can be suppressed just by using your body, thoughts, and actions."
Shinji slowly stated, "You passed. I will make sure you learn the method to suppress your Hollow by heart."
—
Saturday.
The Nohara household.
Chad and Orihime arrived here early in the morning.
Shin listened to their request.
They felt they hadn't played a significant role during their last trip to Soul Society, so they wanted to ask Yoruichi to train them again to improve their abilities.
Chad, naturally, focused on offense and defense.
But Orihime was different.
So Shin asked, "Inoue, do you mean you want to participate in combat as well?"
Orihime nodded. "Yes. I want to learn combat skills too. I can't keep dragging Kurosaki-kun and the others down."
Shin said, "Learning combat skills is fine, but I still recommend you focus mainly on training your healing and defensive abilities."
"In a team fight, not everyone has to rush forward. Your healing and defensive capabilities are just as crucial."
"I understand, Nohara-san."
Shin looked at Yoruichi beside him. "Then these two are in your hands, Yoruichi."
"No problem."
...
Evening.
The group gathered around the dining table to eat.
Suddenly, Soi Fon received a message from Soul Society.
Yamamoto had gone missing, and Zanpakuto spirits had materialized and were attacking their own masters. Therefore, Soi Fon decided to return to Soul Society immediately.
"Zanpakuto rebellion?" Shin stopped his chopsticks upon hearing this. "Soi Fon, I'll go with you."
This incident was quite interesting, and he was very curious about the materialization of Zanpakuto. Most importantly, he could eliminate this hidden danger.
Yoruichi asked, "Shin, do you need me to come along?"
Shin shook his head. "No need. Yoruichi, just continue training those two. Trust me, this incident will be resolved quickly."
"Very well."
The two arrived at Seireitei via the Senkaimon.
At this time, all the Captains and Lieutenants were gathered together.
Because Zaraki and Yachiru were away on a mission, the Eleventh Division was represented by Ikkaku and Yumichika.
Sajin had already been defeated by his materialized Zanpakuto, Tenken.
"Captain Soi Fon, Nohara-san."
Soi Fon asked, "What exactly happened?"
Jushiro briefly explained the situation to the two of them.
It turned out that the Shinigami of Soul Society had noticed abnormalities with their Zanpakuto several days ago.
Today, Yamamoto suddenly summoned everyone but failed to appear himself. Afterward, Chojiro appeared severely injured, reporting the Captain Commander's disappearance.
Immediately following that, a mysterious man appeared and declared war on the Shinigami.
Sajin stepped forward, intending to defeat the man, but was wounded by the sudden appearance of Tenken.
Shin shook his head, looking at the fallen "Big Dog."
Why is it always the Big Dog who leads the charge and gets knocked down fastest?
"Sit upon the frozen heavens, Hyorinmaru!"
Toshiro chanted the Shikai command, only to find that his Zanpakuto didn't react at all.
Seeing this, the others also began to activate their Zanpakuto's Shikai.
"Roar, Zabimaru!"
"Growl, Haineko!"
Without exception, none of them could activate Shikai.
"I can't sense the Zanpakuto's Reiatsu at all."
"The Reiatsu is indeed gone. How did you manage that?" Mayuri glanced at his own blade and asked the mysterious man.
"Under my leadership, your Zanpakuto have been liberated from your control as Shinigami."
As soon as he finished speaking, explosions erupted throughout Seireitei, and flames shot into the sky.
"What's going on?"
"Those are your Zanpakuto causing trouble. Hahahaha!" The mysterious man burst into loud laughter.
Shin looked at Muramasa before him. This guy was practically the god of internal conflict.
"Come and say hello to your former Zanpakuto." Blood flowed from Muramasa's right eye.
A host of materialized Zanpakuto appeared beside him.
"Soi Fon, is that your Suzumebachi?"
"How cute." Shin teased.
The materialized Suzumebachi looked like a small fairy with a long brown braid, wearing yellow and black patterns, and the golden finger guard from its Shikai form on its right arm.
Soi Fon clearly didn't have time to bicker with Shin right now.
All the Shinigami looked shocked and confused, except for Mayuri.
"Who exactly are you?"
"My name is Muramasa, and the Shinigami's control over the Zanpakuto ends today."
Muramasa summoned his Zanpakuto, preparing to attack.
"Um... if I could interrupt for a moment, Muramasa-san, could you see if you can materialize my sword too?" Shin looked at Muramasa with a serious expression.
He actually hoped Nietono no Shana could materialize, that would make things much more interesting.
Muramasa only noticed Shin then. He couldn't sense any Reiatsu from Shin, nor from the sword—he looked exactly like an ordinary human. He immediately lost interest and ignored Shin.
"Looks like it's a no-go. What a pity." Shin shook his head.
At this moment, Shunsui stepped forward and asked a crucial question, "Where is old man Yama? He was the one who called us here, wasn't he?"
"Yamamoto has been sealed. His Zanpakuto, Ryujin Jakka, refused to join us, so I used your Zanpakuto—Katen Kyokotsu, Sogyo no Kotowari, and Minazuki—to seal his power."
"How is that possible? How could the Captain Commander be sealed?"
Everyone was momentarily in disbelief.
Ikkaku, however, didn't want to waste any more words with Muramasa. He charged forward and launched an attack on Muramasa, but was blocked by Hyorinmaru.
Seeing this, the others immediately followed suit. However, without their Zanpakuto, the Shinigami's strength dropped significantly, making it difficult to determine a victor immediately.
Shin didn't want to waste too much time. He was only mildly interested in some of the materialized Zanpakuto.
His primary goal for coming to Soul Society this time was to eliminate Muramasa and his master.
A Zanpakuto like this definitely couldn't be allowed to exist in Soul Society, its threat level was too high. It was powerful internally but useless externally.
However, Muramasa couldn't die yet, he needed him alive to find his master. The other materialized Zanpakuto spirits were an exception.
Therefore, Shin showed no mercy and quickly dispatched Kazeshini and Zabimaru in just a few moves, giving them no chance to even use Bankai.
Shinigami and their Zanpakuto are one. Without their Shinigami, the Zanpakuto's power was also weakened.
Kazeshini and Zabimaru reverted to their sword forms, but they were broken.
Seeing this, Muramasa knew he had misjudged the situation, this human was extremely powerful. If he stayed any longer, all the Zanpakuto would be defeated.
Thus, he immediately tore through space and fled, and the remaining materialized Zanpakuto spirits vanished with him.
Shuhei and Renji looked at their broken Zanpakuto, feeling like crying but having no tears.
"My apologies. I didn't expect this outcome. Let Captain Kurotsuchi fix them for you." Shin looked toward Mayuri.
In fact, materialized Zanpakuto can only return to normal if they are defeated by their own masters. If they are destroyed by someone else, they end up in the current state.
"Our immediate priority now is to find the Captain Commander and increase the intensity of the search for the Zanpakuto."
Jūshirō and Shunsui gathered the others.