The following morning, before the dawn mist had fully cleared from the Seireitei, news exploded like a thunderclap, tearing the usual tranquility to shreds with astonishing speed.
It reverberated through every division barracks, across the Seireitei, and into every corner of the Shin’ō Academy, igniting unprecedented shock and fervent debate.
“Did you hear?
Over at the Shin’ō Academy!
Two geniuses!
With the exact same Zanpakuto!”
“Hyōrinmaru!
The one hailed as the strongest of all ice-type Zanpakuto!”
“How is that even possible?!
Aren’t Zanpakuto supposed to be completely unique?!”
“It’s true!
One of them is named Tōshirō Hitsugaya, and the other is Sōjirō Kusakabe!”
“Nothing like this has ever happened in the history of the Soul Society!”
The uniqueness of a Zanpakuto was an ironclad absolute in the Soul Society—a physical manifestation of a Soul Reaper’s one-of-a-kind soul.
Now, that fundamental rule had been broken, and broken by twin blades bearing the title of the “strongest” ice-type.
The resulting fallout was nothing short of a spiritual tempest.
The rumors naturally found their way into the Kidō Corps.
Kaito Yanagawa sat holding a freshly brewed cup of tea.
As he listened to his colleagues’ hushed, breathless discussion, his expression remained placid, though a gleam of contemplative curiosity flickered deep within his eyes.
*Tōshirō Hitsugaya…* The name was not unfamiliar to him.
Thanks to Momo Hinamori, he had met the white-haired boy a handful of times.
His impression was of a boy with a tender face but precociously sharp eyes, carrying an aloof calm and pride that far outstripped his youth.
Whenever Hinamori mentioned him, her voice brimmed with trust and fond admiration, calling him “Shiro-chan” and praising him as an undeniable prodigy whose spiritual power was growing at a staggering rate.
He had not expected this young prodigy to awaken Hyōrinmaru.
Still less had he expected another boy to awaken the exact same Zanpakuto.
*Sōjirō Kusakabe…* Yanagawa had little impression of that name.
Perhaps he was not among the most dazzling in his class, but to awaken Hyōrinmaru, his innate talent and spiritual disposition were undeniably extraordinary.
*Two Hyōrinmaru…* This was no minor anomaly.
The “name” and “form” of a Zanpakuto originated from the very essence of a Soul Reaper’s soul.
In theory, it was impossible for two completely identical manifestations to exist.
Just as no two leaves in the world were identical, no two souls were truly the same.
That left only a few possibilities for this twin Hyōrinmaru phenomenon:
First: one of them was a counterfeit—the result of some exquisitely mastercrafted imitation.
Yet Hyōrinmaru was a pinnacle-tier blade; the underlying laws and spiritual tier it encompassed were unimaginably high.
Mimicking such a weapon would be extraordinarily difficult.
To forge a copy so authentic right at the awakening stage that it fooled the Shin’ō Academy’s monitoring devices and the spiritual senses of countless Soul Reapers made this probability virtually nonexistent.
Second: a resonance on the level of fundamental soul origin or cosmic law that surpassed current knowledge.
Perhaps deep within their souls, Tōshirō Hitsugaya and Sōjirō Kusakabe shared an astonishing similarity or a unique bond that neither boy even realized existed.
This could have triggered a vanishingly rare loophole or exception in the rules governing the Soul Society, causing the Name representing the pinnacle of ice to answer both souls simultaneously.
It sounded absurd, but to Yanagawa’s mind, it seemed far more plausible than a flawless counterfeit.
After all, the universe was vast and full of wonders, especially when dealing with the most enigmatic domain of all: the soul.
Third: external interference—an intervention by an entity powerful enough to distort the laws governing Zanpakuto awakening.
Who would do such a thing, and toward what end?
Yanagawa’s mind instantly turned toward the Soul King Palace he was slated to visit, and the fathomless Ichibē Hyōsube.
Yet he dismissed the thought almost immediately.
What benefit would the Soul King Palace—dedicated to upholding the balance of the three realms—gain from so blatantly fracturing fundamental laws?
It lacked logic.
Other possibilities…
Hueco Mundo, perhaps?
Or entities lurking in the shadows of history?
With insufficient information, it was impossible to draw a conclusion.
Regardless of the root cause, the event itself had dealt a massive blow to the Soul Society’s established framework of knowledge.
One could easily envision Central 46 and the upper echelons of the Gotei 13 currently locked in furious, uproarious debate.
How would they handle two wielders of Hyōrinmaru?
Cultivate both as prized assets, or isolate and interrogate them?
The resulting deliberations and decisions were bound to stir turbulent undercurrents.
“Tōshirō Hitsugaya…” Yanagawa set his teacup down and lightly tapped his fingers on the table.
Knowing Momo Hinamori as he did, the girl was surely wrought with anxiety right now—bursting with pride at her childhood friend’s blossoming genius, yet terrified of the trouble this unprecedented predicament might bring down upon him.
And Hitsugaya himself, proud and fiercely independent prodigy that he was, was likely grappling with feelings far too complex for words.
As for the other boy, Sōjirō Kusakabe, his position was bound to be even more precarious.
“The rules have been broken…” Yanagawa murmured to himself, the researcher’s curiosity burning brighter in his eyes.
To someone striving to deconstruct and comprehend the fundamental power systems of this world, this incident was like a sudden, glaring outlier in a dataset—a variable of immense observational value.
The mystery behind it made his fingers itch to investigate.
Unfortunately, with his departure for the Soul King Palace looming in the near future, he would likely miss the chance to closely monitor and study the aftermath.
Captain-Commander Yamamoto and the higher-ups were undoubtedly watching the situation like hawks, if they hadn’t intervened directly already.
“It seems the Seireitei is in for quite a commotion.” Yanagawa looked out the window, almost able to feel the extraordinary unrest and tension permeating the air.
The rise of genius and exceptions to iron rules were ever accompanied by turmoil and upheaval.
Pulling his gaze back, his attention returned to the fresh draft spread before him—his latest mathematical calculations on a Reishi Steady-State Barrier.