A Fierce Battle Against His Future Self

"Sawada-sensei, where shall we begin?" Renji Abarai asked after bowing respectfully to Tsuna.

After the captains' meeting, Renji was the first person Tsuna approached for training. The reason was that Tsuna had promised Renji before the Sōkyoku battle began, but things had been delayed until now.

After agreeing to train with Tsuna the next day, Renji's captain Byakuya Kuchiki, gave him some special instructions, basically saying that Tsuna was very strong and that he should take him seriously.

Combined with the scene of Tsuna's exchange with Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto at the Captains' Meeting, Renji had unknowingly placed Tsuna on the same level as the Captain-Commander.

"Ah? Let's talk briefly. Your Bankai, Hihio Zabimaru." Suddenly being treated with such respect, Tsuna was slightly flustered. "Have you made any progress with your Blade Zen these past few days?"

"No, after I entered the Blade Zen, I could only see a baboon in a fog. When I was about to chase after it, it retreated and disappeared into the fog," Renji said, recalling what he saw after entering the Blade Zen.

"Ever since I learned Bankai, my Zanpakuto has stopped communicating with me. I have a vague feeling that it's deliberately avoiding me, but I have no proof."

Tsuna immediately understood what was going on. Renji even got his name wrong, so expecting the sword spirit to pay attention to him was a miracle.

"Have you ever wondered why your Zanpakuto, which is clearly named Zabimaru, later acquired the name Baboon King?" Tsuna asked.

"Of course, it was when I was practicing my Bankai that I saw the baboon sword spirit and made it submit!" Renji said matter-of-factly.

Tsuna was almost speechless. He couldn't say that Renji was wrong, because that was what Renji went through while training for Bankai.

"Your Zabimaru is clearly more like a snake, yet it's been transformed into Baboon King out of nowhere. Don't you find that a bit strange?"

"You call yourself Hihio Zabimaru, but your attack methods are no different from those of a giant snake. Is your so-called Baboon King just another one of your 'vegetarian' tricks?"

Having risen to the level of Vice-Captain, Renji's mind wasn't entirely useless; with a little guidance, a glimmer of inspiration flashed through his mind.

"You mean my Bankai should be related to snakes? That doesn't make sense, the sword spirit I saw looked like a baboon." Just as he had a thought, Renji immediately denied it.

"Your sword spirit, is it like this?"

Tsuna knew his drawing skills were very abstract, so he simply used his mist attribute to condense a baboon to show Renji. Fortunately, he was familiar with Renji's power; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to recreate the power composition of other Bleach in this way.

Renji's eyes widened. He realized that the baboon Tsuna had created was exactly the same as the one he had seen before. The only strange thing was that the baboon's tail was a snake!

Renji then realized that he seemed to have never seen the baboon's tail before. Considering the baboon's retreating and disappearing posture, could it be that the snake was controlling the baboon?

"Sawada-sensei, this snake and the baboon..." Renji asked somewhat hesitantly, as if he had grasped some key points but couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"As you can see, your sword spirit is this baboon with a snake tail. Your Shikai uses the power of the snake tail, and your Bankai, due to its urgent need for power, caused the baboon to release that part of its power to you. This is the Hihio Zabimaru."

"A sword spirit with two spirits in one body, both of which have consciousness. Your current Bankai is only half-baked; the snake tail part hasn't recognized you yet," Tsuna said, pointing to the baboon's tail.

That makes so much sense...

Renji was dumbfounded. Was this the Captain-Commander Yamamoto Bleach? Why did he know his Zanpakuto better than he knew himself? Zabimaru, whose sword is that anyway?

"What are your thoughts?" Tsuna asked with a smile.

"Sawada-sensei, you're telling me to use the Blade Zen to go see this snake, right?"

"That's right, you've already gained the Baboon King's approval, but you still need the Snake King's approval. However, according to what you've said, the Snake King doesn't seem to be too fond of you," Tsuna commented.

"It seems so, I noticed that too."

Renji scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly, then suddenly remembered the Zanpakuto Manifestation Device that Ichigo had introduced to him, and asked with shining eyes.

"Sawada-sensei, Ichigo told me that Urahara's Zanpakuto Manifestation Device can help Bleach train their Bankai. Can I use the Zanpakuto Manifestation Device to perfect my Bankai?"

"That's a good idea, but Ichigo probably didn't tell you that the Zanpakuto Manifestation Device can only be used once, right? What if it fails and you can't learn Bankai?"

Tsuna's words sent chills down Renji's spine, making him curse Ichigo's unreliability. Without the Zanpakuto Manifestation Device, Ichigo still had Bankai, but with the Zanpakuto Manifestation Device, he might not even have Bankai if he didn't practice properly.

"I'll take it one step at a time," Renji said somewhat embarrassedly. "Thank you for your guidance, Sawada-sensei. I'll begin my Blade Zen training now."

Renji felt that he would have to rely on the monotonous training method of Blade Zen for the rest of his time, and he didn't know how he could gain the Snake King's approval.

"Indeed, only you can handle your own Zanpakuto ..." Just then, Tsuna, and an interesting idea appeared in his mind, "But then again..."

"Does Sawada-sensei have another way?" Renji asked eagerly, his eyes lighting up. He wasn't the type to sit still for long, and making him sit and practice Blade Zen was like being cut with a dull knife.

"Would you like to see your perfected Bankai?" Tsuna's face revealed a look of amusement.

"Ha?"

Renji didn't understand at all. Shouldn't he be the only one who knew about his perfected Bankai?

No! That's not right!

He probably doesn't even know what his Bankai is like right now.

"Looks like you're interested." Tsuna kicked Renji away Renji Tsuna even react. "Hurry up Bankai, or you'll die."

Renji easily flipped over and stood firm. Tsuna's kick hadn't injured him; it had only sent him flying a certain distance. He didn't dwell too much on why Tsuna would do that, but instead drew his sword and activated Bankai.

"Hihio Zabimaru!" A giant bone snake coiled around Renji, Renji Tsuna's move.

Tsuna drew the White Blade symbolizing Hollow's power and plunged it into his chest without hesitation.

Open your eyes, moth!

The Hollow's spiritual pressure assaulted Renji, and a pair of enormous black and white moth wings sprouted from Tsuna's back. The black and white tones on the wings formed the shape of pupils, which was a Mist-attribute Resurrección.

Both being mist-attribute powers, Tsuna in his Resurrección form also possesses extremely high proficiency in Illusion.

However, the mist attribute power of the Bleach is more suitable for combating Illusion in the spiritual world, while the Hollow's power can create more realistic changes based on the spiritual world.

A glint of light flashed in the pupils of the moth's wings, and a large amount of thick white liquid enveloped Tsuna. Under the kneading and shaping of the Hollow Spirit Pressure, Tsuna's appearance gradually changed.

Wearing a black Shinigami Uniform, with long red ponytail hair and a headscarf, her body was covered in light bone armor, with a bone rope wrapped around her waist. A huge furry monster hand hung on her left shoulder, and her right arm was completely wrapped in a snake-headed skull, with a sharp blade protruding from the snake's head.

"Double King, Zabimaru!"

Seeing that face that looked exactly like his own, Renji was completely stunned. How could he look so handsome in that form?

Double King? Baboon King? Snake King?

Renji gradually realized what his Bankai lacked, and his gaze became increasingly determined. He wanted to gain the Snake King's approval!

The next moment, to Renji's even greater shock, the Renji opposite him actually charged at him. Sawada-sensei wasn't just putting on an act; let's see the power of this Sōō Zabimaru!

Renji flicked his arm, sending the giant bone snake hurtling towards Tsuna. This was a common probing move by Renji; if things didn't look good, he would immediately retract the bone snake.

Facing the bone snake with its gaping, ferocious mouth, Tsuna showed no fear whatsoever. The strange hand on his left shoulder suddenly grew larger and forcefully grabbed the bone snake's mouth, closing it shut.

Then, the giant hand grabbed the giant snake and used it as a whip, swinging the enormous bone snake around!

This is the power of the Baboon King, pure, immense strength.

Startled by the sudden change Renji quickly severed the spiritual pressure connecting the bone snakes, regaining control of most of their bodies at the cost of one snake head.

However, this was only the prelude. Tsuna hadn't even used the true Snake King, which was inlaid with sharp blades, yet Renji had already paid the price by firing the snake head that launched the Higa Zekkou.

Tsuna shook off the snake's head and continued his charge. Renji quickly shattered all his joints and used his spiritual pressure to connect them to the snake's head. The fangs on every joint were all pointed at Tsuna; this was the Higa Zessou.

With dozens of sharp fangs linked together by spiritual pressure, only one target remained. The moment Tsuna shook off the snake's head, he entered Renji's attack territory.

However, Tsuna was completely unafraid. The smooth Zanpakuto in his right hand had its blade transformed into a serrated edge. As Tsuna thrust forward, a terrifying spiritual pressure enveloped Renji and all his joints.

This spiritual pressure was like the gaping maw of a python. The snake's shape was exactly the same as the bony snake head that Tsuna had thrown off. This was the Shatetsu no Teppou Sōō Zabimaru!

The gaping maw snapped shut instantly, its terrifying spiritual pressure seemingly capable of devouring everything. The attack caused an explosion, leaving only a blinding white light at the scene.

Renji knelt on the ground, his eyes vacant. Beside him lay the scattered components of the Hihio Zabimaru. He was stunned by the Shatetsu no Teppou, and in his mind, he witnessed the magnificent explosion of the Shatetsu no Teppou.

Behind Renji, Tsuna knelt on one knee, still in the position of drawing his sword. He didn't know any Shatetsu no Teppou; it was all just Illusion.

Although in this state, Tsuna can slightly alter the appearance of reality using Hollow's power, the power of mist ultimately boils down to Illusion.

The moment the moth's wings emitted light, Renji had already fallen under Tsuna's Illusion; everything that followed was merely a performance orchestrated by Tsuna himself.

By altering his physical body and combining it with Renji's imagination, he created an imperceptible Illusion world for Renji, where he battled against his future self.

Tsuna sheathed his Resurrección, glanced at the collapsed Renji, and hoped this scene would awaken Renji's true power.