Keys and Shackles

"After I fused with my Zanpakuto, I felt that I could use my power freely, without any constraints!"

Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto could no longer sit still; he stood up abruptly. Especially when Tsuna uttered the last four words while staring at his Zanpakuto, he could no longer remain calm.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi, what do you think of Zanpakuto as an object of Bleach?"

The same question, asked by someone else, can have completely different meanings. Only Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto in the Seireitei knows that Zanpakuto have a limit!

Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto did not waste these thousand years. He once tried to pave the way for the Bleach, but he failed every time. After that, he could only settle for second best and continuously compress the power within his body, eventually creating a new Bankai form, Zanka no Tachi.

Tsuna knew what Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto wanted to ask, but as Bleach, Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto couldn't say the answer. They had already enjoyed too many benefits from Zanpakuto, and in fact, most of the Bleach's power in the Seireitei came from their Zanpakuto.

Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto clearly already guessed it, but he simply couldn't bring himself to say the answer.

Tsuna stopped laughing and pointed upwards, saying softly, "Zanpakuto is both a key and a constraint—a constraint from above!"

Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto was speechless, because Tsuna's statement was exactly the same as his own: the Zanpakuto's binding force came from the Soul King Palace!

The Bleach of Seireitei can be powerful, but they cannot be more powerful than the Bleach of the Soul King Palace. Whether it's protecting the stability of the world or safeguarding the Soul King's safety, the Soul King Palace has fundamentally bound the Bleach of the lower realms.

In a sense, this constraint is almost non-existent; it's like the sky, something people on the ground can only see but never touch.

Almost all Bleach (death gods) cannot reach the threshold of that bondage in their entire lifespan; in the past thousand years, only Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto has achieved this.

So what if they've been bound? Just recruit them into the Zero Squad.

However, Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto was a very old-fashioned man who was determined to dedicate his life to the Gotei 13 and rejected the offer from the Zero Squad.

That doesn't matter. There's only one Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto; it's practically impossible for other Bleach to discover this.

What if we don't pursue the path of Zanjutsu?

Just as Sawada Tsunayoshi said, Zanpakuto is the best key to unlocking one's potential. How much effort it takes to give up Zanpakuto! And among those who use Zanpakuto, only Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto has emerged. Those who have given up their Zanpakuto are not worth fearing.

Zanpakuto are essential for maintaining the power of the Soul King Palace. They can unlock the potential of Bleach, enhance Bleach power, and increase the number of followers of the Soul King Palace. They can also limit the limits of Bleach and maintain the absolute dominance of the Soul King Palace.

Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto's hand, gripping Ryūjin Jakka, trembled slightly. The feeling of figuring something out on your own is completely different from having it brutally exposed by someone else.

Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto took a few deep breaths and said to Tsuna, "Sawada Tsunayoshi, let's not talk about the constraints of Zanpakuto anymore. I will refine your key theory during the academy's teaching."

In Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto's view, the Seireitei's strength was too weak, barely enough to be counted as just him and Tsuna as two capable fighters. If this matter caused dissatisfaction from the Soul King Palace, it would be a problem for the Seireitei.

Sometimes ignorance is bliss.

Tsuna rolled his eyes at Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto. It wasn't him who insisted on asking; Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto asked it himself. He waved his hand to comfort him.

"Relax, Old Man Yamamoto, do you think only the two of us know?" Tsuna pointed at them one by one, "Manager, Kurotsuchi Mayuri, Aizen, they should all have some idea, more or less."

"Why..." Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto could understand Aizen's words, but what about Urahara Kisuke and Kurotsuchi Mayuri?

"The shop manager and Kurotsuchi Mayuri are both researchers; they have modified their Zanpakuto countless times."

"You don't think they're just modifying it for fun, do you? They must have discovered the additive inside the Zanpakuto, but they just can't break through that limitation through modification right now."

"As for Aizen ... he's pursuing breaking through the boundaries of Bleach, and the fusion of Bleach and Zanpakuto is a path he will inevitably take in the future. It's just that I'm progressing a little faster than him." Tsuna said, pinching the universe between his fingers.

"So it's called 'Beyond Bankai,' right? It transcends the limitations of the Zanpakuto..." Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto summarized to himself.

"Yes, it's about maximizing the user's power; that's Beyond Bankai," Tsuna said.

Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto paced back and forth in the room, glancing at Tsuna every now and then. After hesitating for a long time, he finally asked, "Then you..."

"No problem." Tsuna wasn't blind; he could easily see that Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto was just too embarrassed to ask for it. "But let me make this clear: my method might not be suitable for you."

"It's alright, please enlighten me!" Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto said with a slight bow, behaving completely like a student.

"Hmm, we still can't get around Aizen," Tsuna said after thinking for a moment. Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto was even more speechless, wondering how this could be related to Aizen.

"Aizen's research on breaking through the limits of Bleach is the Hollowfication of Bleach and the Bleach of Hollows. By cleverly combining these two different powers, he can break through his existing power."

"And my Beyond Bankai is similar, except that it's a fusion of three powers: Bleach, Hollow, and Fullbring."

"This also shows that my three powers are actually the same, which is my own innate potential. When the three are combined, that is when I control my own power."

"This is thanks to my Zanpakuto being relatively easy to talk to. With its help, and as I became more and more proficient in controlling my own power, I was able to develop Beyond Bankai."

"My method has high requirements, and only Ichigo Kurosaki can handle it. As for your Gotei 13, currently only Hirako and the others are qualified to try. However, Hirako's mastery of Bankai is relatively average, so his success rate is not high. He also has room for improvement, so there is no need for him to take this path."

"Bleach... Hollow..."

Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto's eyes flickered with a strange light. He had given up on Fullbring, but Hollowfication...

Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto was originally strongly opposed to the appearance of Hollow's power in Soul Society. He only agreed to let Hirako and the others return in order to fight against those ignorant nobles. Now, he wants to rely on Hollow's power power to achieve power that Beyond Bankai.

Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto had to weigh whether it was more advantageous for Hollow's power to appear in Soul Society, or for the Soul King Palace to continue to restrict the Zanpakuto with Seireitei.

"Actually, I don't think you need to rush," Tsuna said. "My Zanpakuto tells me that Hollow's power is indeed necessary, just a little bit is enough, and I was able to combine the three because I have Hollow's power."

"Does this old man also need to undergo the Hollowfication Experiment?" Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto asked in a deep voice. He could no longer improve his strength, but if he really wanted to Hollowfication, he might be able to try it after he relinquished his position as Captain-Commander.

"Uh, who would dare let you Hollowfication?" Tsuna retorted. He was joking, of course. If Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto became Hollowfication, wouldn't he tear down Soul Society? Who could control him?

"Is it absolutely necessary to use the Hollow's power?" Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto unwilling to give up.

"Old Man Yamamoto, do you know how Asauchi is forged?" Tsuna asked in return.

"All the Asauchi in Soul Society originated from the Soul King Palace, and were created by the swordsman Ōetsu Nimaiya Etsu," Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto said.

"You still haven't answered the key question. How did Ōetsu Nimaiya forge his Zanpakuto? Or rather, what are the raw materials for his Zanpakuto?" Tsuna didn't keep them in suspense any longer and said, "The souls of Hollows and Bleach!"

"There's a rule in Soul Society that Gillian can only be dealt with by Royal Guard. Don't you find that absurd? Are the captains of the Gotei 13 really incapable of killing even Gillian?"

"There's only one reason: Gillian are the raw materials used to forge Zanpakuto. The two 'ni-mai' in Nimaiya are actually the souls of Gillian and Bleach. The so-called 'ni-mai combined forging' is a method of combining these two to form a sword!"

"You! How did you know this secret?" Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto knew that if Tsuna was right, this was a top secret of the Soul King Palace, something even he couldn't know.

"I guessed and made a Zanpakuto?" The Decimo is the best!

"Guess..." Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto was at a loss for words. The origins of this story were clearly fabricated, yet it sounded incredibly real. How could this be?

"The so-called Beyond Bankai, or the fusion of Zanpakuto, requires two conditions to be met: first, the Zanpakuto's complete acceptance—not submission, but complete unity of Isshin; and second, the reforging of the sword within the inner world of the Blade Zen wielder using their own Bleach power!"

"The moment you reforge yourself into a new Zanpakuto, this key will automatically become one with you—that is Beyond Bankai!"

"Self-forging a sword... How is that possible?" The news was still too shocking; Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto it hard to believe.

"Nothing is impossible. It was while I was developing new powers that I combined the power of the Bleach with the Hollow's power, and that's when I discovered the secret of the so-called Sword God. As for Fullbring, it's just icing on the cake."

"When I achieved Beyond Bankai, I already told the shopkeeper about my idea. The shopkeeper was also trying to create Zanpakuto, but the result was just an empty shell. It seems that he lacked the forging technology to combine two Zanpakuto." Tsuna's words were as shocking as they could be.

"Then how did you manage to forge your own sword?" Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto asked.

"Old man, don't be so dense. The so-called self-forging of the sword is just a way of talking about breaking through a realm. The little bit of Hollow's power is just a neutralizing agent. The so-called sword is already in your hands, isn't it?"

Looking at Ryūjin Jakka in Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto's hand, Tsuna continued, "The soul of the sword is forged in the inner world, and the blade in the hand is the shell. Isn't the fusion of the two the essence of Zanpakuto?"

Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto was thrilled. How exhilarating it would be to reach even greater heights! And by replacing the soul of his existing Zanpakuto, wouldn't that mean he had broken through the limitations of the Soul King Palace?

But Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto quickly lowered his head again, "It seems I have no chance."

Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto knew his own strength all too well. Once he went berserk in Hollowfication, probably no one but Tsuna could stop him. Without the protection of the barrier, if Tsuna used his Beyond Bankai stop him, the two of them would probably end up destroying Soul Society together.

Soul Society was still more important, so Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto had to abandon his own ideas.

"Don't rush, old man. Didn't I tell you? Only a little bit of Hollow's power is enough; it's far from enough to achieve complete Hollowfication."

"The store manager has already researched this so early, preparing Shadow-Infusion Medicine containing a trace of Hollow's power to deal with future crises."

Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto slammed his fist on the ground; he was more concerned about the impending crisis than with the slight amount of Hollow's power.

"I've wanted to ask you for a long time: what exactly is in the shadow you mentioned before? Is it related to your Shadow-Infusion Medicine? What dangers lie ahead?"

Tsuna smacked his lips, his mouth getting a little dry from talking. He figured it would be more satisfying to have someone else take over and finish the conversation himself.

"Grandpa, let's convene a meeting of the team leaders. This concerns the Three Worlds, and it's not something you or I can decide directly. The other team leaders are also key players; they need to know the truth."

Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto stared at Tsuna for a while, and considering Tsuna's physical condition, he made a decision.

"It's scheduled for tomorrow. I'll send someone to inform you."