'Although life in my original world wasn't great, at least it was much safer than here.'
'Come to think of it, I've been daydreaming about so many things. Why haven't I felt the attack yet? Could it be that the Cero's power is so immense that I turned to ashes before I could even feel the pain?'
Suddenly, a voice echoed repeatedly in Toshiro's ears...
Wrapping around his entire being...
Like thunder captured in the palm of his hand...
Toshiro opened his eyes and was instantly stunned by the scene around him.
In an endless expanse of blue ice plains, a massive blue ice dragon lay coiled.
Its head resembled a camel, its horns like a deer, its eyes like a rabbit, its ears like a cow, its neck like a snake, its belly like a clam, its scales like a carp, its claws like an eagle, its paws like a tiger, and on its back were a pair of enormous ice wings.
Merely by lying there, a raging blizzard swirled around it as if it were the center of the world.
'Could this be the Inner World where the Zanpakuto resides?' Toshiro wondered.
"My apologies for making you wait so long, my master." The ice dragon's majestic, deep voice resounded.
"What do you mean by that? Are you my Zanpakuto?" Toshiro asked.
"I am indeed a Zanpakuto, but I am also the dragon pearl left behind by the ice dragon."
"After the dragon pearl brought you to this world, in order to adapt to this world's power system, it merged with your soul, thus giving rise to my existence."
"During the period when the dragon pearl was merging with your soul, all of your power was unusable. Even if you were in danger, the dragon pearl couldn't function. But fortunately, the fusion was completed just in time." The ice dragon replied.
'Just in time? How the hell is that 'just in time'? I almost died!' Toshiro thought to himself.
'But according to the ice dragon's explanation, everything makes sense now.'
Actually, after Momo mentioned taking the Shin'o Academy's entrance exam, Toshiro had wondered if he should become a Shinigami earlier. But after sensing the Reiatsu within his body, he dismissed the idea.
Logically, as a prodigy who would later become the youngest Captain, even if his Zanpakuto hadn't awakened, Toshiro should possess high innate Reiatsu. However, Toshiro hadn't been able to sense any Reiatsu within himself.
At the time, Toshiro thought it was because it wasn't yet time for his powers to awaken. But Reiatsu is something some people are born with, while others aren't… no matter how hard they train, it won't appear.
As a prodigy, Toshiro should naturally be one of those born with it. He shouldn't have been unable to sense it. Now it seems it was all because the ice dragon pearl was merging with his soul.
"What about the situation outside? Is Hinamori okay?" Toshiro asked with concern.
"No need to worry. Everything is fine outside. You should focus on what comes next." The ice dragon replied.
"Now then, time is short. Let's get to the main point. Toshiro, you should know the method to obtain my power, right?" The ice dragon urged.
"I think I roughly know what to do." Toshiro said seriously.
"Although you may already know my name, I advise you: if you cannot truly hear it, it's best not to speak it. Because that would mean you have not yet earned my recognition, and you might lose your life as a result." The ice dragon warned.
Toshiro felt a chill in his heart. He had thought that by leveraging his foreknowledge from the anime, which is knowing his Zanpakuto's name, he could easily obtain the ability of Shikai.
Now it seemed there was no such thing as a free lunch in this world. To gain something, one must pay a price.
"I'll give you some time to prepare. Once you're ready, we'll begin." The ice dragon said, looking at Toshiro.
Shikai is the initial release form of a Zanpakuto.
A Shinigami communicates and interacts with their Zanpakuto to understand it, gain its recognition, be told its true name, and then invoke that name to achieve Shikai.
Communication is the means, understanding is the goal. In the anime, Shinigami achieve this by spending day and night with their Zanpakuto, sharing their lives to mutually understand each other and learn the Zanpakuto's true name. But now, there was no time for Toshiro to take it slow.
"Just what should I do?" Toshiro pondered.
"A Zanpakuto is born from a Shinigami's soul. Its abilities are closely tied to the Shinigami's personality and experiences. In other words, understanding the Zanpakuto means understanding oneself."
"So, what kind of person am I? What are my desires? What is the meaning of my existence? What do I truly want to do?"
Toshiro thought of his grandmother, of Momo, of the warmth they shared when the three of them ate together.
"I see. So that's it. What I want is something so simple. Even though I joked about dominating the Soul Society and reaching the peak of life during idle moments, that was just me amusing myself."
"If anyone tries to harm my family or friends, they'd better be prepared to stake their lives on it! Whether it's the enemy or myself!"
"Time's up. I'll only say this once, so listen carefully." The ice dragon's voice rang out.
"My name is..."
Outside.
When Toshiro shielded Momo, Momo also looked back. She saw a red beam of light shooting toward Toshiro and herself. Instinctively, Momo wrapped her arms around Toshiro from behind.
'It wouldn't be so bad to die together with Toshiro like this.' Momo thought.
Suddenly, in her daze, Momo seemed to hear a voice ring out.
"Sit Upon the Frozen Heavens, Hyorinmaru!"