Three days later, early morning.
The outermost perimeter of Rukongai, a desolate land.
This place was far from Seireitei and beyond the areas where ordinary souls gathered.
Yanagawa and Isshin Shiba appeared quietly in the center of this desolate scene.
They had deliberately avoided all potential prying eyes, choosing this wasteland that even Hollow rarely visited.
In Yanagawa’s hand, he held a rectangular device about the size of a standard book box.
Inside was the Tenshintai created by Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi.
Isshin rubbed his hands together, both excited and carrying a trace of vigilance against the unknown, as he examined the device in Yanagawa’s hand.
“Using this thing on a Zanpakutō can call out that guy’s ‘true form’?
But Yanagawa, isn’t being this careful in a place like this a bit much?”
Yanagawa carefully placed the Tenshintai on a relatively flat boulder, his gaze sweeping across the desolate scenery around them, his voice calm:
“Forcing the Zanpakutō spirit to materialize is, in itself, a forced interference with the rules.”
“The process, the result, and even the manifested Zanpakutō spirit itself all possess immense uncontrollability.”
“Moreover, the one we are summoning this time is Hyōrinmaru, known as the strongest ice-type.”
He paused, looking at Isshin:
“No one can predict what state Hyōrinmaru will be in when forcibly dragged out of reality.”
“Within Seireitei, any accident could cause inestimable destruction and uncontrollable spread.”
“Here, at least, we can minimize the impact and have enough space to react.”
Isshin grasped the weight of these words.
He put away his joking expression and nodded.
“That makes sense.
If Hyōrinmaru went crazy and froze half of Seireitei into an ice block, that would be a huge problem.”
Yanagawa said no more, then untied a long, thin cloth bag he had been carrying diagonally across his back and laid it flat on the rock next to the Tenshintai.
The bag was dark gray, looking somewhat old and even covered in a bit of dust; it was clearly something that hadn’t been used in a long time.
Yanagawa slowly untied the old bag, his movements very light, as if touching a piece of sealed memory.
He slowly undid the tie and drew a Zanpakutō from the bag.
Isshin’s gaze was immediately drawn to it, his eyes widening in curiosity.
“Is this your Zanpakutō?”
The scabbard was a simple silver-white, without any ornate decorations, save for a few extremely fine, naturally flowing patterns engraved near the tsuba.
The hilt was equally simple, wrapped in dark, non-slip fabric.
However, the moment Yanagawa’s fingers gripped the hilt, Isshin keenly felt that the sparse, chaotic Reishi in the surrounding air seemed to tremble ever so slightly.
It wasn’t a burst of Reiatsu, but rather, it felt like some sort of resonance between the Reishi and the blade itself.
Yanagawa picked up the Zanpakutō while still sheathed, not drawing it, just holding it quietly in his hand.
He looked at Isshin’s curious gaze and took the initiative to explain:
“The sword’s name is Tenshin.”
“Tenshin?” Isshin repeated, savoring the name.
“Sounds pretty cool!
What about its ability?
Tell me!”
Yanagawa’s gaze fell on the silver-white scabbard.
“Its ability is ‘Vibration’.”
“Vibration?”
Isshin was stunned, then suddenly realized.
“Oh!
I get it!
Like an earthquake?
Or a sonic attack?”
Yanagawa shook his head.
“It’s hard to describe exactly how it works; you’ll see it when you have the chance.”
He paused and added:
“But I cannot yet perfectly control the power of this sword.
Even a slight deviation could trigger an unpredictable chain reaction or cause a backlash against myself.”
“After the Zanpakutō awakened, I realized that before I could fully control its power, using it in an environment like Seireitei—with its stable Reishi structure, dense buildings, and numerous people—was too risky.”
“If I wasn’t careful, it wouldn’t just be as simple as destroying a building.”
He glanced at Tenshin in his hand.
Naturally, I never carry it with me in Seireitei.”
Isshin was left speechless.
It was no wonder Yanagawa didn’t dare use it lightly; this was practically a walking, unstable bomb, and an unknown one at that.
Isshin understood.
“Then why take it out now…”
Yanagawa gently tucked Tenshin into his waist, his gaze returning to the Tenshintai on the rock.
“We are facing Hyōrinmaru this time.
Regardless of its state, as the strongest ice-type Zanpakutō, its power is not to be underestimated.
Bringing Tenshin is just a precaution.”
He looked at this desolate world.
“Here, even if Tenshin’s power goes slightly out of control, the damage will be relatively limited, so there’s no need for too many scruples.”
“Understood.”
Isshin also turned serious, placing his hand on the Zanpakutō at his waist.
“Then I’m ready too.
Although my Zanpakutō isn’t as special as yours, it’s fine for a normal fight!”
Everything was ready.
Efficient rhythms began to circulate.
He extended his right hand, fingertips glowing, and hovered them over the Tenshintai, aiming at a recessed, fingerprint-like Reishi sensing array in the center of the device.
“Then, let’s begin.”
Yanagawa first took out two Zanpakutō.
The scabbard styles were slightly different, but the blade length, curvature, and especially that restrained yet impossible-to-conceal, bone-chilling cold Reiatsu were almost identical.
These were exactly the Hyōrinmaru of Tōshirō Hitsugaya and Sōjirō Kusaka.
“This is…?” Isshin asked, puzzled.
Yanagawa didn’t explain.
He first took Sōjirō Kusaka’s Hyōrinmaru, hilt pointing downward, and slowly inserted it into the special groove in the center of the Tenshintai used to “receive” the Zanpakutō’s Reiatsu imprint.
The Reishi circuits on the surface of the Tenshintai continued to circulate with a faint blue light, and the device emitted a low hum, the Reishi vortex rotating slowly.
However, other than that, nothing happened.
“Eh?
No reaction?”
Isshin leaned in to look, then looked at Yanagawa.
“What’s going on?
Is the Tenshintai broken?
Or did that guy Mayuri give us a defective product?”
Yanagawa’s expression showed no surprise; instead, a glimmer of realization flashed in his eyes—a “just as I thought” look.
He slowly pulled Sōjirō Kusaka’s Hyōrinmaru out of the Tenshintai, his movements steady.
“The Tenshintai is fine,” Yanagawa explained calmly, his gaze falling on the Zanpakutō he had just pulled out.
“This was just to verify a guess I had earlier.
Now it seems the guess was correct.”
“What guess?” Isshin pressed.
“The principle of the Tenshintai is to use high-concentration Reishi resonance and rule interference to force the amplification and materialization of the Zanpakutō spirit hidden deep within the Zanpakutō.
Its target is the ‘core essence’ of the Zanpakutō.”
As Yanagawa spoke, he picked up Tōshirō Hitsugaya’s Hyōrinmaru.
“If a Zanpakutō’s core is not within the blade, or if it is in some special state that cannot be directly reached by the Tenshintai…
then, naturally, the Tenshintai cannot materialize it.”
He looked at Isshin and said:
“This Hyōrinmaru of Sōjirō Kusaka’s likely does not contain the true core of Hyōrinmaru.”
“It is more like an empty shell, a replica endowed with a portion of Hyōrinmaru’s power.”
Isshin gasped.
“This…
how is that possible?!”
“So, the key lies in this one.”
Yanagawa said no more and, in the same manner, solemnly inserted Tōshirō Hitsugaya’s Hyōrinmaru into the core groove of the Tenshintai.
At that very moment.
Boom!!!
Completely different from the previous calm, the Tenshintai shook violently, and all the faint blue Reishi circuits on its surface suddenly erupted with an incredibly dazzling, incandescent light!
At the same time, a massive Reiatsu, like an iceberg that had been silent for ten thousand years suddenly collapsing, exploded from the center of the Tenshintai and swept in all directions!
Centered on where Yanagawa and Isshin were standing, the ground, rocks, and even the air within a radius of several hundred meters were instantly covered in a layer of thick, crystal-clear ice!
Frigid currents danced wildly.
The leaden clouds in the sky seemed to be stirred by an invisible giant hand, rapidly gathering, and fine ice crystals began to fall, turning into a howling blizzard in the blink of an eye!
Heavenly phenomena descended!
The power of Hyōrinmaru to change the climate!
“So cold!”
Isshin was caught off guard and shivered, hurriedly circulating his Reiatsu to resist the cold, but white frost quickly hung on his eyebrows and hair.
He looked at the direction of the Tenshintai in horror.
Inside that incandescent light, a huge, dragon-shaped phantom made entirely of ice let out a silent roar at the sky and shot upward!
The dragon shadow was vivid, its claws flying, emitting an ancient and majestic breath of ice—it was the symbol of Hyōrinmaru’s true form!
It circled and stretched in the blizzard, each movement bringing with it more violent cold winds and hail.
However, this shocking scene did not last long.
After circling for a few turns, the huge ice dragon phantom seemed to be drawn by something and began to rapidly shrink and condense.
The ice crystals and snow filling the sky also seemed to find their home, gathering toward the center.
The light gradually converged, and the ice dragon phantom dissipated.
Not far in front of the Tenshintai, at the core of the blizzard, a tall figure slowly appeared and solidified.
It was a male wearing a pale purple traditional kimono.
His posture was upright, his expression cold.
Most striking were the two diagonally crossing marks on his face, like deep scars.
His hands and feet were not human, but covered in ice dragon claws that looked like they were carved from diamonds, emitting a chilling cold.
He stood there quietly, his body naturally emanating a low-temperature field that froze everything.
His violet eyes slowly opened, seemingly reflecting endless glaciers and blizzards.
Hyōrinmaru!
The materialized true form of the Zanpakutō!
“Did, did we succeed?!”
Isshin was both shocked and delighted.
Although his teeth were chattering from the cold, he still tried to squeeze out a smile, raised his hand, and waved, trying to greet him:
“Hey!
Hyōrinmaru!
We are…”
Before he could finish his sentence.
Hyōrinmaru’s violet eyes suddenly turned toward Isshin’s direction.
There was no intention of rational communication in his eyes, only cold, chaotic madness!
Right in the center of his forehead, a dazzling, brilliant golden light—completely unlike the ice-cold attribute—flickered violently like a living thing!
Whoosh!
Without any warning, Hyōrinmaru casually waved his right hand covered in ice dragon claws.
The ground in front of him suddenly exploded, and a huge ice pillar as thick as a water bucket, like a siege hammer fired by a giant crossbow, instantly tore through the air and shot violently toward Isshin!
“Watch out!”
Yanagawa’s warning sounded almost simultaneously with the sound of the ice pillar breaking the air.
He had been observing Hyōrinmaru’s state with full concentration and had noticed something was wrong the moment the golden light flickered and Hyōrinmaru’s eyes changed!
Isshin was a Captain-level powerhouse after all, and he used Shunpo to dodge the attack.
“What’s going on?!
Why did Hyōrinmaru attack as soon as he came out?!”
He was shocked and furious.
Yanagawa locked his gaze on the icy figure in the distance emitting a chaotic and violent aura, especially the brilliant golden light on his forehead that kept flickering and was incompatible with Hyōrinmaru’s own icy Reiatsu.
His perception unfolded fully, analyzing the essence of that golden light.
Yanagawa’s voice was low and fast, carrying unprecedented gravity:
“Hyōrinmaru’s sanity has been interfered with.
Look at his forehead!”
Isshin also noticed the ominous golden light.
“What the hell is that?!”
“I don’t know, but it’s definitely not Hyōrinmaru’s own power!” Yanagawa spoke extremely fast.
“The nature of that power is very peculiar; it is interfering with Hyōrinmaru’s will.
We must consume it first.”
“Or temporarily suppress that additional golden power, otherwise Hyōrinmaru will only remain in this violent state that doesn’t distinguish friend from foe, and we won’t be able to communicate at all!”
As if to confirm Yanagawa’s words, Hyōrinmaru, whose forehead golden light flickered violently again, let out a low roar mixed with pain and rage.