Hollowfication

"Ugh—" Ten Unohana released Yoruichi's Zanpakuto from between his hands, put one hand over the other, and covered his mouth with both.

The balance inside Ten Unohana had just been broken by Yoruichi's Zanpakuto, and a Hollow's Reiatsu surged out from the depths of his soul. In the palm of the hand Ten Unohana had covered with his other hand, where Yoruichi couldn't see it, a transparent Hollow Hole appeared.

At the same time—

"Ugh." Ten Unohana retched again. This time, his hands could no longer hold it back, and a white substance gushed through the gaps between his fingers.

"Bastard, what's wrong with you?" Yoruichi was frantic.

Ten Unohana had no time to pay her any attention. He used Shunpo to hurry toward the Fourth Division, all the while struggling to suppress the Hollow's Reiatsu inside him and keep it from leaking out.

Yoruichi hurried after him.

"Mama Hana, is Big Brother Ten all right?" Yoruichi asked Retsu Unohana anxiously as she came out of the house.

Retsu said gently, "Little Ten is fine. You don't need to worry, Little Yoruichi."

"Phew." Yoruichi breathed a sigh of relief.

Only then did she ask Retsu, "Then do you know what's wrong with Big Brother Ten, Mama Hana?"

Retsu said calmly, "It's an old problem of Little Ten's, but he'll be fine. Leave the medical matters to me, Little Yoruichi!"

"Then can I see Big Brother Ten?"

"No. Tomorrow, perhaps! Little Ten is resting." Hearing Retsu's words, Yoruichi answered dejectedly, "Oh, I understand! Goodbye, Mama Hana!"

"Mm, goodbye, Little Yoruichi!" Retsu watched Yoruichi leave and murmured to herself, "As expected of the Shihoin family's little princess. Her Zanpakuto really is terrifying! But even so, Little Ten shouldn't have undergone Hollowfication!"

There was just one possibility Retsu hadn't considered. No, it wasn't that she hadn't considered it; she had thought it impossible. That possibility was the Zanpakuto's Shikai.

"Th-this is..." Ten Unohana said, trembling all over as he looked down. Behind him stood a classical beauty dressed in ancient Tang-style clothing. Smiling radiantly, she said, "Hee-hee... are you trembling with fear, Master?"

Ten Unohana said blankly, "Is this what my Zanpakuto's world really looks like?"

"Mm! It is, Mas-ter—"

Ten Unohana took a deep breath. "What exactly is that down there?"

The classical beauty looked at Ten Unohana. "Master, don't forget where you were born."

At those words, Ten Unohana jumped like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. He grabbed the woman by the shoulders and shouted, "I'm asking you what that thing down there is!"

The classical beauty removed Ten Unohana's hands from her shoulders and slowly turned him toward what lay below. At the same time, she moved behind him and said slowly, "Master, that is—"

"Ah—"

Splash.

The classical beauty shoved Ten Unohana down. At the same time, she said coldly, a trace of killing intent in her voice, "Master, that is blood!"

"Although it's almost dried up, with very little blood left, it's still a sea of blood!"

With that, she jumped down after him. Ten Unohana lay listlessly in the sea of blood, staring blankly upward.

Splash. With the sound of water, the classical beauty landed beside Ten Unohana.

But Ten Unohana didn't turn his head.

"Master, hurry and get up!" the classical beauty said, looking at the listless Ten Unohana.

Ten Unohana said nothing.

After a long while,

"What on earth is going on??" Ten Unohana was unexpectedly calm. He had actually noticed that he wasn't afraid of all this blood, and that frightened him a little. What was wrong with him? Could he be like Ichigo—a Hollow?

The classical beauty slowly lifted Ten Unohana's head from where he lay half-submerged in the sea of blood, then pressed it firmly against her ample chest.

"Mm!" Startled, Ten Unohana instinctively began to struggle.

But the classical beauty immediately restrained Ten Unohana and said, "Master, what are you afraid of? Don't forget!"

"Don't forget why you came to this world of Shinigami!"

Those words calmed Ten Unohana down at once.

He slowly pulled his head out from between the classical beauty's breasts and murmured blankly in a faint voice, "Why did I come to this world?"

"To protect Mom from being killed," Ten Unohana said blankly.

After a while, Ten Unohana shook his head. "No, no, there's also Yoruichi, and, and..."

"And other women too, right?!" The classical beauty once again shoved Ten Unohana hard into her breasts.

"But, Master, don't forget that there's also a Hollow inside you, and a Hollow Hole on your body." The classical beauty's words reached Ten Unohana's ears.

Ten Unohana shuddered and feigned calm. "So what?"

"Master!!!!" the classical beauty said, a little irritated. "Could you stop running away?"

Feeling Ten Unohana gradually calm down, the classical beauty smiled and said, "That's more like it!"

However,

Ten Unohana said with some fear, "But if that's the case, I'll be going against all of Soul Society!!"

The classical beauty smiled. "As long as the women are on your side, isn't that enough for you, Master? Besides, Soul Society isn't what matters most to you, is it?"

Ten Unohana smiled, nuzzled against the classical beauty's chest, and laughed. "Yes, yes, yes!! In that case, hehe, shouldn't I start making plans?"

"Hehe." The classical beauty smiled as she watched the level of the sea of blood beneath her feet begin to rise slowly.

Ten Unohana looked at his bloodstained hands, and a bloodthirsty smile slowly curled his lips. It grew wider and wider, until... when he saw the blood on his body, the smile broke free completely and became wild laughter.

"Hahahaha! Since I can't keep a low profile, then I'll make Soul Society tremble before me!!" Ten Unohana threw back his head and laughed wildly. "Let's see whether I, a being who is neither Shinigami nor Hollow, am killed by you, Soul Society, or whether you, Soul Society, submit to my strength!!"

This was the reason for Ten Unohana's series of reactions just now—

Soul Society could not tolerate Ten Unohana because of his Hollow Hole. It was the mark of a Hollow, something even more representative of one than a Hollow's mask.

The classical beauty looked at the turbulent sea of blood that had nearly engulfed her, smiled faintly, and pulled Ten Unohana, who had already been submerged, out in one motion. Then she flew upward.

Once they reached the ground above, a faint, murderous, wicked grin still hung on Ten Unohana's lips.

Helplessly, the classical beauty tried to pick Ten Unohana up, but he stopped her.

Ten Unohana looked up at the enormous complex of palaces rising from the ground beneath his feet. The wicked grin slowly faded from his lips. He pushed open the doors of the main palace and sat on the dragon throne atop its raised platform. "From now on, I—will make—Soul Society bow its head to me!!!"

Boom. The sea of blood beneath the palace sent up a tremendous crash of waves.

At that moment, the classical beauty slowly said, "Master? How does this feel?"

Ten Unohana closed his eyes. "Good, very good, exceptionally good! This feeling—I've never had it before!"

As he spoke, he looked at the blood slowly drying on his hands.

As though lost in his own world, he murmured to himself, "I wonder when I started feeling this bloodthirsty? Was it when I was born in Hueco Mundo??"

Hearing Ten Unohana's words, the classical beauty smiled. "Yes, Master."

Ten Unohana stared at the blood on his hands for a moment, then said firmly, "Then I should also have something like a Hollow double, right?"

The classical beauty nodded and looked down at the sea of blood.

Ten Unohana noticed the classical beauty's movement and slowly reclined on the dragon throne. "Then first tell me what's going on with this world. Especially that sea of blood below—it's not that simple, is it?"

The classical beauty said, "This world consists of three parts. The first is the blood moon in the sky."

"Hey, wait, a blood moon in the sky?"

The classical beauty said, "Master, you haven't truly killed anyone yet. The blood moon won't appear until you've killed a certain number of people."

After a pause, the woman continued, "As for the sea of blood below, it will slowly rise as you slaughter."

Ten Unohana interrupted her. "Slowly rise?"

The classical beauty said, "Mm... to be precise, it depends on how many people you kill and how strong they are."

"What about this palace?" Ten Unohana asked, looking at the woman.

The woman answered, "This palace complex will grow bigger as you grow stronger. Living creatures will also slowly increase in number on the island where the palaces stand."

"Hm? With my current state of mind, there can still be living creatures on this island?"

The woman nodded. "There can, but they'll be ferocious beasts of extraordinary beauty. Master, don't forget that the more beautiful a creature is, the more dangerous it is."

Ten Unohana frowned. "Then will those creatures attack me?"

"They won't attack you, Master. Mm, to be precise, those creatures are under your control."

Roar. A beast's roar suddenly rang out.

Ten Unohana asked, puzzled, "Hm? Could it be? Is that..."

The classical beauty said, "No, it isn't. That is the Hollow double you asked about just now, Master."

Hearing the classical beauty's words, Ten Unohana frowned and thought, That thing, huh? Just like Ichigo's! I really hate things that can't be controlled. I remember that in the original story, this thing fought the original for control of the body. In that case, I can only kill it completely before it grows!!!

With that thought, Ten Unohana used Shunpo to rush out of the palace.

Roar. The moment he stepped out of the palace doors, the tip of a broken blade came at him with the roar. Ten Unohana dodged the attack.

He looked down at the Hollow in the sea of blood. It looked exactly like him, though only its upper body was visible.

Its lower body was submerged in the sea of blood and couldn't be seen, but presumably it was exactly like his.

Ten Unohana said to the classical beauty, who had followed him out, "It doesn't seem to be conscious!"

"Of course. Don't forget, Master, Ichigo..." Before the woman could finish, Ten Unohana hurriedly interrupted her. "Wait, wait. I've been wondering about this all along, but I've only just had a chance to ask. Ichigo? How do you know him? And what happened just now—you know what I'm thinking?"

The woman said, "I am one with you, Master. I know everything that happened before you drew your Zanpakuto, including your transmigration! Of course, I don't know what happened after that."

Ten Unohana frowned. "I see! How disobedient! But never mind. Hmm—then, according to what you just said, this Hollow isn't conscious."

The woman said, "Of course. Ichigo's Hollow Reiatsu was his own Reiatsu, converted into Hollow Reiatsu when he became a Shinigami, so it carried part of his consciousness. But your situation is completely different, Master. Your Hollow Reiatsu formed when an external Hollow invaded you at birth, and the Hollow formed after it absorbed some of your Reiatsu when you were too young. Not only is it unconscious, but as long as you can fuse with it, you can control that portion of Hollow Reiatsu. After all, as it absorbed your Reiatsu to grow, that portion of Hollow Reiatsu was slowly assimilated by yours, so it's easy to control. It's nothing like the Hollow inside Ichigo. But there is one drawback to fusing with that Hollow double, Master.

"Once you fuse with the Hollow, it won't advance anymore, because it will no longer absorb your Reiatsu and convert it into Hollow Reiatsu. That means that after you fuse with it, the Hollow will remain at this level of strength unless you use a Hollow's methods to strengthen it, such as—devouring Hollows."

Ten Unohana nodded. "All right, I can accept that. So should I start fusing with it now or later?"

The woman said, "Now. Once you kill someone, it might undergo other changes, and it would be bad if something unexpected happened then. That's also why I talked you through it, Master—to lure it out, then destroy and fuse with it."

Ten Unohana looked at the Hollow that mirrored him. "Is there anything different about him?"

The classical beauty nodded. "He's very strong in the sea of blood because he can control it and use it to attack. So you'll have to lower the palace, Master. You only need to pull him out and defeat him, and then you can fuse with him."