Preparations Before Departure (Part 1)

Bleach Zanpakuto all possessed self-awareness. They called out to their owners and told them their names.

Once a Bleach learned a Zanpakuto's name, they could call upon it and gain power. This was the Zanpakuto's Shikai.

It was like obtaining a safe filled with money. As long as someone knew the password, they could take the money inside.

It sounded simple, but it was far from easy to accomplish. Most Bleach in the Seireitei used Asauchi for their entire lives and could not achieve Shikai with their Zanpakuto, let alone Bankai.

Although Ichigo Kurosaki was the protagonist and had been born with powerful spiritual power, his control over it was poor. If he relied solely on himself, communicating with his Zanpakuto and learning its name would not be something he could accomplish in a day or two.

But that was not a problem for Zhang Miao. Ichigo Kurosaki might not have known his Zanpakuto's name, but Zhang Miao did!

To someone familiar with the plot, how could a Zanpakuto's name possibly be a secret?

Therefore, he adopted the simplest and most direct method: he told Ichigo Kurosaki the Zanpakuto's name directly through the illusion!

After hearing the Zanpakuto's name within the illusion, Ichigo Kurosaki immediately repeated it.

"Zangetsu!"

As he called out that name, the Zanpakuto that Byakuya Kuchiki had cut in half transformed, in the blink of an eye, into a massive crescent-shaped black blade!

"So this is the difference after learning a Zanpakuto's name?"

Looking at the dramatically altered Zanpakuto in his hand and feeling his Spiritual Pressure surge, Ichigo Kurosaki could not help smiling.

But before he could rejoice for long, he suddenly discovered that the illusion around him had changed again. The verdant grassland vanished, replaced by a dim street before his eyes.

At one end