Coming from the Zanpakuto

After leaving the Hokage's office, Narak went straight to the hillside outside Konoha.

For many years, Narak had cultivated here. The hillside had practically become Narak's personal training ground.

"That rotten old geezer, Third Hokage, won't let me do anything but the hardest, most exhausting work unless I become a Jonin. Isn't that forcing me to work myself to death? What a pain. I just want to lie flat and quietly check in every day." The more Narak thought about it, the more speechless he became.

But clearly, all Narak could do was complain. After all, he currently lacked the ability to resist. Since that was the case, he could only choose to accept it.

"Forget it. I'll improve my strength as quickly as possible. Once I have enough strength, no one will be able to order me around."

Having figured things out, Narak calmed his mind, sat cross-legged, and began calling out to the Zanpakuto from the depths of his heart.

For the past eight years, ever since the day Narak obtained the Zanpakuto and spiritual pressure, calling out to the Zanpakuto from the depths of his heart in hopes of receiving a response from it had become Narak's daily compulsory practice.

However, throughout all these years, even though Narak persisted in calling out to it every day, the Zanpakuto had remained completely unresponsive.

This made Narak suspect more than once that the system had given him a fake Zanpakuto just to amuse itself at his expense.

The system's response was: "Products from this shop are guaranteed to be genuine! The reason you can't obtain a response from your Zanpakuto lies entirely with the host himself. Please work hard at studying it and strive to achieve Shikai as soon as possible. Muah! (*╹▽╹*)"

That explanation was no different from saying nothing at all. Narak could only rely on himself to keep groping for a solution, persevering every day in communicating with his Zanpakuto.

Because of this, Narak even thought that perhaps he wasn't sincere enough. For a period of time, he bathed and burned incense every day before beginning his calls. However, nothing changed.

Later, he even placed the Zanpakuto on an incense altar and reverently kowtowed to it with utmost sincerity. The Zanpakuto still gave him no response.

That scene happened to be witnessed by Hyuga Hiashi as he passed by, and it left Hyuga Hiashi completely horrified.

"My eldest son can't have something wrong with his head, can he? Why has he started kowtowing to a sword... Could I have been too strict with him lately, causing him too much stress and making him mentally unstable... This won't do. Narak is the hope of the Hyuga Clan. He absolutely can't go crazy... No, I need to have a good heart-to-heart with him and ease some of his stress..."

Thus, over the next few days, Hyuga Hiashi stopped training Narak. Every day, he asked after Narak's well-being and took care of him with meticulous attention. At first, Narak thought Hyuga Hiashi had taken the wrong medicine, but later, after learning the reason, Narak's face instantly turned dark with embarrassment.

Someone actually saw me in such a shameful state? Should I silence him? Forget it, forget it. He's my old man. Hold it in!

After calming himself, Narak called out to the Zanpakuto. He had thought that this time would end fruitlessly just like before, but in the next moment, he felt a pulse coming from the Zanpakuto in his hand.

Narak's heart leaped. Is this...? Did the Zanpakuto respond to me?

Overjoyed, Narak seized that pulse and strengthened his connection by following its rhythm.

In the next instant, Narak felt his consciousness being pulled into a pitch-black space.

Narak looked around. The space was pitch-black, and a spherical object floated before him.

"What is this? Is this the true form of my Zanpakuto? Then what should I call my Zanpakuto? Ball Ball? Eggy?"

Narak curiously studied the sphere before him, but the sphere gave no response.

Unable to resist, Narak reached out and poked the sphere before him.

"Boom!" The moment Narak's finger touched it, the sphere exploded.

At the instant the sphere burst apart, Narak seemed to hear a deafening roar that shook the heavens and split the earth, making his entire soul tremble. Yet it also seemed as though he had heard nothing at all, as if that tremendous roar had merely been a hallucination.

Narak felt completely dizzy. He couldn't help raising a hand to support his head in an attempt to ease the vertigo.

The exploded sphere transformed into a wave that spread in every direction. The originally pitch-black space was instantly illuminated, turning into a riot of colors.

With his consciousness still woozily spinning, Narak thought that everything was over. But in the next moment, as the multicolored light surged, a stretch of land appeared out of nowhere beneath his feet. It extended from beneath him, growing larger and larger until its end could no longer be seen.

"What... what is going on?" Narak's mind went blank.

Wait, this isn't right. Other people's Zanpakuto are either humanoid or animal-shaped. At worst, they're some kind of conscious entity. How did my Zanpakuto become a ball? And it exploded from one poke? What, was it inflated too much and burst?

And why did that scene just now look so much like the creation of heaven and earth?

"Um... Ball Ball, are you still there?"

"Not answering me? Then... Eggy, are you there?"

"Still ignoring me? Then what are you called? Give me some kind of response. You pulled me in here without telling me your name. What difference is there between that and giving someone a cigarette without a light..." Narak shouted frantically in the space of consciousness.

"Host, stop shouting. The Zanpakuto won't respond to you anymore, because at that moment just now, it already perished."

The system, which had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke!

"Uh... System, what do you mean? What do you mean it perished? If the Zanpakuto's spirit has perished, doesn't that mean... my Zanpakuto has been destroyed?" Narak asked the system in horror.

A large part of a Soul Reaper's strength depended on their Zanpakuto. If Narak's Zanpakuto had been destroyed, it would have a tremendous impact on his future growth.

"Not exactly. The host's Zanpakuto can be said to have perished, but it can also be said not to have perished!"

Hearing the system's unclear explanation, Narak became even more confused.

"Ahem, System, could you explain that more clearly? I understand every word individually, but when you put them together, I kind of don't understand..."

"When I say it perished, I mean that in that instant, the consciousness originally belonging to the Zanpakuto dissipated. As for why it can be said not to have perished, that's because at the moment it vanished, this system merged the abilities the Zanpakuto should possess with the host's soul. In other words, from this moment onward, you yourself are the Zanpakuto's consciousness." The system patiently explained.

"I am the Zanpakuto's consciousness?"

"That's right. Ordinarily, for a Soul Reaper to obtain the power of a Zanpakuto, they need to communicate and synchronize with it. The higher their compatibility, the greater the strength they can unleash. But after the host merged with the Zanpakuto, the two became indistinguishable from each other. The Zanpakuto's power is now the host's power."

Narak finally understood what the system meant, but another question immediately arose.

"System, why did my Zanpakuto's consciousness perish?"

"Because it was too weak to begin with!"