Masaki's Zanpakuto - Gold

"Masaki, I'm going to sever your Chain of Fate. Be careful!" Ten Unohana said gravely, looking at Masaki.

Masaki nodded and took a long look at Ten Unohana. If things went badly, this might be the last time they saw each other. There was no telling when they would meet again.

Clang! Clatter!

Only a few links remained of the Chain of Fate on Masaki's chest.

Masaki watched the remaining links slowly disappear at a speed visible to the naked eye. She gave Ten Unohana one last look, then concentrated...

Meanwhile, with Ichigo Kurosaki in the World of the Living,

"Bakudō #99: Kin!"

"Please become a Soul Reaper and climb out within three days. Otherwise, you'll turn into that kind of monster, and I'll have no choice but to kill you!!" Kisuke Urahara's approach was far more violent than Ten Unohana's! It was not only because Ichigo was not family, but even more for the sake of Ichigo's mindset—the determination to burn his boats!! Only with that determination would he resist with absolutely no way out when he turned into a Hollow, because if he didn't resist, he would die.

"Phew... I still can't do it."

Masaki let out a long breath as she spoke.

Ten Unohana frowned at the Chain of Fate on Masaki's chest and asked gravely, "What's wrong?"

Masaki said helplessly, "I only recently gave birth, and my body still hasn't recovered, so I can't sense the Soul Reaper Reiraku when it's so faint. After all, I've never had Soul Reaper power in my body before, apart from that tiny bit I had to begin with, so..."

Ten Unohana sighed. "Now we'll have to wait until the Chain of Fate breaks completely. The moment you turn into a Hollow, your Reiatsu will go wild, and you can start looking for the enlarged Soul Reaper Reiraku!"

"Ah!" "Ah!" "Ah!"

In the World of the Living, Ichigo Kurosaki had already begun turning into a Hollow. A mask was slowly starting to appear.

Inside Ichigo's Zanpakuto world,

Zangetsu had appeared, but...

Ichigo couldn't hear Zangetsu's introduction, which meant he couldn't achieve Shikai.

And the Zanpakuto world had already begun to crumble...

Outside, Ichigo's Hollowfication had begun spreading across his entire body.

"Bakudō #99, Part 2: Bankin!"

"First Song: Shiryū!"

"Second Song: Hyakurensan!"

Inside Ichigo's Zanpakuto world,

Ichigo recalled what Zangetsu had said: "Out of all these boxes, only one contains the power of a Soul Reaper."

Then I just have to find the one that's different!! Ichigo thought. He really was the type to rise to the occasion in a crisis.

"Final Song: Bankin Taihō!"

Boom!

Ichigo had managed to become a Soul Reaper after all, but...

Kisuke Urahara looked at the mask on Ichigo's face and thought, Did he complete Hollowfication training on his own?

Compared to Ichigo's difficult experience, Masaki's training was simple. There was nothing earth-shattering about it. When she underwent Hollowfication, she entered her Zanpakuto world, grabbed the red Reiraku, drew her Zanpakuto, and left the Zanpakuto world again. The sword spirit, who saw her master leave before she had even emerged, was quite depressed.

"You left without paying any attention to me, but since you drew me, I won't hold it against you, Master."

"Hm?! Are you my Zanpakuto?" Masaki replied upon hearing the voice after returning to reality.

"Yes! It's nice to meet you, Master. My name is Gold."

"Rest in serene stillness, Gold!!" Masaki watched as her Zanpakuto slowly transformed into a bow. Ten Unohana looked at the Zanpakuto in her hand and said with a smile, "Not bad, Masaki! You've already released your Zanpakuto's Shikai."

Masaki smiled. "I was already a Quincy, so I had a foundation." Ten Unohana looked at the bow in Masaki's hand,

and asked, "What is your Zanpakuto's ability?"

"Fixation. It can fix anything in place, including an enemy's attacks."

"There are no restrictions?" Ten Unohana asked in puzzlement.

Masaki shook her head. "There is a restriction. I have to shoot an arrow from the bow into an object before it can be fixed in place."

"Arrows?" Ten Unohana looked Masaki over but couldn't find any arrows.

Masaki drew the bow slightly, and as the string was pulled back, an arrow of light appeared on it. She explained, "That's how it works. The more Reiatsu I put into the bow, the more arrows there are and the faster they go."

She shot the arrow and drew the bow again. This time, two arrows appeared on it, and both their release and flight were faster.

The World of the Living

Ichigo's Shikai training had yet to begin.

Ichigo Kurosaki had not been through a single battle at this point, so he was only an ordinary soul with a Zanpakuto. Even a Soul Reaper fresh out of Shin'ō Academy was stronger than he was now.

"Well, for the time being, you've acquired the power known as a Soul Reaper. What next? It's time to find you a teacher," Kisuke Urahara said to the somewhat excited Ichigo.

As for Ichigo, now that he had power, he wanted to teach Kisuke Urahara a lesson for putting him through that hellish training earlier.

But

the difference was enormous. Ichigo was thoroughly beaten. Kisuke Urahara didn't even draw his Zanpakuto, yet left Ichigo with tears streaming and his nose running.

"Hey, Urahara, what did you call us here for?" A cat walked up to Kisuke Urahara with Rukia and spoke.

"Ah!! Ah!!! The cat, the cat, the cat talked!!" Ichigo's eyes widened in astonishment.

Kisuke Urahara ignored Ichigo's amazement and said to Yoruichi and Rukia, "Miss Rukia, first of all, I apologize for my actions."

Rukia looked at Yoruichi, unsure what to do. In fact, she didn't want to forgive Kisuke Urahara, because Ten Unohana still hadn't returned, and he had only encountered danger for her sake.

Yoruichi said to Kisuke Urahara, "You'd better save those words for Big Brother Ten." Then she looked at Ichigo.

Kisuke Urahara said awkwardly, "I see! In that case, Miss Rukia, could I ask you for a favor?"

Without waiting for Rukia to answer, Kisuke Urahara shamelessly continued, "I know you won't refuse, Miss Rukia, will you?"

Rukia had no choice but to ask, "What favor?"

"Help me take this kid along and let him kill a few Hollows to give you a hand!!" Kisuke Urahara said brazenly.

Rukia looked at Ichigo. "It's that rude person?! How annoying!"

Only then did Ichigo shout, "Hey, hey, hey, Kisuke, why does she have to take me? Wouldn't it be better if you did it? Why are you making her take me? You know, he's..."

Bang!

Kisuke Urahara didn't dare let Ichigo continue. He punched him hard in the stomach, then looked at Yoruichi. "Yoruichi-chan."

Yoruichi said helplessly to Rukia, "Then take him along for now!"

She then said to Ichigo, "Kid, if I see you make the slightest mistake, you can leave on your own!" With that, she slowly left with Rukia.

Kisuke Urahara said to Ichigo, "Go on. Remember, once you get there, watch where you look. Then learn as much as you can from them. That's all. Hurry after them."

Ichigo reluctantly followed Yoruichi and Rukia away...

"All right, you can stop here. Don't go any farther." Yoruichi's words sent Ichigo into a rage.

"What?! Here? We're outside the gate! Are you going to teach me or not? If you're not, just say so. Don't..."

Thud!

Yoruichi, still a cat, slammed hard into Ichigo. "Don't think you can do whatever you please just because Kisuke Urahara gave you his word. You think you could have made it here on your own? If we hadn't brought you here, you'd have died ten thousand times over. All right, come and wait here early every morning from now on."

"Huh!! Kurosaki, why are you here? Oh!! Yoruichi and Rukia are here too!" An airheaded voice rang out.

"Oh, Orihime, you're back!"

"How are things at school, Orihime?"

Compared with the calm Yoruichi and Rukia, Ichigo was much more excited.

He shouted, "Orihime!! Why are you here? Are you a Soul Reaper too? Take me to kill those monsters!!"

Orihime stammered for a long time, unsure what to say, without managing a single meaningful sentence.

Rukia pulled Orihime inside the house, with Yoruichi following, and said, "Come back tomorrow." Ignoring the look on Ichigo's face,

she shut the door with a bang.

The exile grounds in the Dangai

Ten Unohana smiled as he watched Masaki play and romp with the two children. He felt a little reluctant to leave. Everything here was so peaceful!

But when he thought of the people outside who cared about him and the people he cared about, he gave up the idea. Fortunately, the disruption of the timeline had given him enough time to adjust and recover.

Once Masaki recovered and his two daughters, Yuzu and Karin, could withstand the conditions of passing through the Dangai, Ten Unohana could reach the World of the Living and begin his plan...

The World of the Living

Ichigo still went to the villa where Rukia was staying. After all, Kisuke Urahara had told him to, and aside from these few people, Ichigo really didn't know anyone else with such abilities. That was called a monopoly.

"Let's go," Rukia said.

But Ichigo's eyes had wandered behind her,

to a bevy of beautiful women.

"If you don't want to die, look away. That's a warning!!" Rukia cautioned coldly.

Ichigo also remembered Kisuke Urahara's words and quickly looked away.