Bankai Hollowfication?

"Sawada-kun, other services come with an extra charge."

Urahara, clad in his dark green haori, strolled over unhurriedly, with Hiyori behind him swinging a slipper like a foreman, urging him on.

"Hurry it up, baldy!" Hiyori kicked Urahara mercilessly in the rear again, and he stumbled to a stop in front of Tsunayoshi.

"Hiyori, isn't he fine?" Urahara said, rubbing his backside helplessly. He had long sensed that Kensei's violent Reiatsu had vanished, so whether he made it in time or not, he wasn't worried.

What met Hiyori's eyes was Muguruma Kensei, unconscious. From the looks of it, he really seemed fine. Even though she had been overreacting, Hiyori still clicked her tongue in dissatisfaction.

"Storekeeper, don't you have after-sales service?" Tsunayoshi didn't fall for Urahara's trap at all. Instead, he pointed at Hirako and said, "Besides, they're the ones who called you. You should charge them."

"Hey! You—"

Hiyori's anger flared again, and she was about to vent at Tsunayoshi when Lisa sealed her mouth with his big Lightning. Unlike Hiyori, Lisa had truly witnessed the Reiatsu Tsunayoshi had erupted with earlier. At that level of pressure, Tsunayoshi could suppress their entire group alone. Letting Hiyori run her mouth recklessly would be trouble.

"Kisuke, forget that stuff. Come check on Kensei first." Hirako said to Urahara Kisuke. Urahara Kisuke had helped them resolve their Hollowfication issues; he was the expert here.

Urahara Kisuke pulled out a strange device and scanned Kensei up and down. Soon, he reached a conclusion: "For now, aside from some exhaustion, Muguruma Kensei has no major problems. Hachigen, use Kaidō to assist him. After some rest, he'll be fine."

Hearing that Kensei was okay, the rest of the Visored went about their own business. Rose hummed a tune, Aikawa Love pulled out a manga, Lisa had somehow already produced a dirty book and was reading it, and only Kuna Hak and Hachigen were tending to the unconscious Kensei—though the noisy Kuna Hak wasn't much help.

"So, what happened?"

Urahara learned the details from Hirako, then pretended to wipe non-existent sweat and fanned himself with a folding fan. "That was close, Sawada-kun. You really went overboard."

"Overboard? I held back. Tessai-san can vouch for me. Who knew Muguruma was that fragile?" Tsunayoshi said. He truly hadn't intended to knock Muguruma Kensei into a Hollowfication state.

"Haha." Urahara laughed it off. He knew exactly how strong Tsunayoshi was after Bankai; Muguruma Kensei really couldn't match him.

"By the way, haven't you guys ever tried Hollowfication after Bankai?" Tsunayoshi asked Hirako.

"Hollowfication after Bankai?" Hirako lay on the ground, looking bored. "If it were possible, Kensei wouldn't have lost his mind instantly."

"The only one among us who tried was Kensei. The rest of our Bankai aren't suited for it." Hirako recalled. "That time was the same. Once Kensei went Bankai and put on the mask, he went completely berserk and started attacking indiscriminately."

"But that time, Kensei's Hollowfication wasn't as deep. I used Sakanade to drain his stamina and end it. Because of that attempt, none of us tried Hollowfication after Bankai again."

"After all, the rest of our Bankai have too wide a range and could easily hit allies." Hirako spread his hands, feigning helplessness.

"Then what's the point of your Hollowfication? Only usable in Shikai? That makes you no different from Vice-Captains," Tsunayoshi questioned.

"Hey hey, Tsuna-kid, it's not that we don't want to try—it's that we can't. You saw what happened to Kensei. If the rest of us went berserk, the danger would be even greater," Hirako said.

"No wonder Aizen saw you as failures. You don't even dare to attempt Bankai Hollowfication. What makes you think you can point your blades at Aizen? With your Shikai Hollowfication?" Tsunayoshi sneered coldly.

"Aizen! How do you know that name!"

Tsunayoshi's words reignited the anger of the Visored. All of them glared at him. The name Aizen was their taboo, and Tsunayoshi had brought it into the open.

"What do you know, you brat? I'll cut down Aizen sooner or later!"

Hiyori charged at Tsunayoshi with an Asauchi in one hand and a slipper in the other, as if she needed to teach him a lesson before defeating Aizen. But the moment she took two steps, a terrifying Reiatsu fell upon her. Hiyori was forced to stab her Asauchi into the ground to steady herself, unable to take another step.

"You can't even withstand this level of Reiatsu, and you want to cut down Aizen? Don't make me laugh!"

Hiyori looked up with difficulty, meeting Tsunayoshi's icy gaze. He had long grown tired of her irritable temper. A loudmouth with no strength only ends up dragging down teammates.

"Alright, Sawada Tsunayoshi, don't stoop to her level."

Hirako stepped between them, blocking Tsunayoshi's cold stare and Reiatsu, giving Hiyori a chance to breathe.

"In Aizen's eyes, a Shinigami's battle is a battle of Reiatsu. If you don't even have Captain-level Reiatsu, I suggest you stay out of it, or you'll just distract your teammates." Tsunayoshi stood up, speaking seriously. If the Visored dared to draw their blades on him again, he would make these clueless fools feel the terror of power.

Contrary to Tsunayoshi's expectations, Hirako wasn't angry. Instead, his eyes lit up as he asked, "You're going after Aizen too? An enemy of my enemy is my friend. We could be allies."

Hirako had seen Tsunayoshi's strength firsthand. It would be best if Tsunayoshi joined them against Aizen.

"Allies? You?" Tsunayoshi laughed. "One only plays music, one only reads manga, one loves dirty books, one fantasizes about being a superhero, one's a powerless rage machine, and you—you haven't even mastered your own Shikai. Becoming your allies? That's hard."

"You Visored—only the fat uncle and the guy on the ground still train. The rest of you have your hobbies. Do you really want revenge?"

Tsunayoshi's words struck like a blade into everyone's heart. Whether it was fear of Aizen or corrosion by their interests, most of the Visored had to admit they had grown slack.

"Can I hear your take? On my Shikai," Hirako asked.

"Do I even need to ask? Sakanade, the Zanpakuto that reverses everything! And you? You've only developed visual reversal. Temperature, the five senses, Reiatsu, even cognition—there are plenty of areas to reverse, yet you only developed the weakest one: sight." Tsunayoshi laughed in exasperation. "I wonder how Sakanade even acknowledged you. With that level of skill, you learned Bankai?"

Hirako suddenly felt a strange stir—from his Zanpakuto. Sakanade acknowledged Sawada Tsunayoshi's words?

"I have been slacking off." Hirako held his Zanpakuto level, saying this to the astonishment of everyone present.

Influenced by Hirako, the rest of the Visored looked at their own Zanpakuto. For nearly a century, their combat power hadn't improved beyond Hollowfication. Could they really take revenge on Aizen? How terrifyingly strong had that man become by now?

Seeing the Visored lost in thought, Tsunayoshi walked over and said, "I noticed something from my fight with Muguruma Kensei."

"Please, speak." Urahara sat up straight. Whenever Tsunayoshi shared information, he was at his most attentive.

"I felt Hollow power within Muguruma Kensei's Zanpakuto. That means that blade possesses both Shinigami and Hollow power."

"I suspect that with proper training, Muguruma Kensei might be able to master both Bankai and Resurrección."

"Resurrección?" This new term piqued Urahara's interest.

"Like Sora Inoue. After you stripped part of his power away, he took human form. In reverse, if you return his original power to him, he reverts to his strongest state. I call that attempt Resurrección."

"And Muguruma Kensei's Zanpakuto clearly still holds the violent Hollow power from his rampage. If he can master Resurrección, wouldn't he be able to unleash that crazy strength at any time?"

"Interesting. What about Hirako and the others?" Urahara asked.

"They don't have any on them. I suspect this state only occurs when someone is forcibly knocked unconscious while in Bankai, infinitely close to Hollowfication, causing the Bankai to be dispelled."

"As everyone knows, Shikai is the reflection of a Shinigami's soul power, while Bankai is the materialization of that power—to some extent, the true release of a Shinigami's strength. Being forcibly rendered unconscious in this state forces the already-released Zanpakuto back into its Asauchi form. I think that's where the Hollow's power on that Asauchi came from."

"Interesting. I'll take this Asauchi back with me." Urahara picked up Kensei's Zanpakuto and said to Hirako, who naturally had no objections.

Urahara turned and continued to Tsuna: "I've also been researching the Visored's Hollowfication recently. I've found that it's because they don't have Hollow power inside them. Every time they undergo Hollowfication, it's done in their Shinigami state, which is why it's so prone to going berserk."

"If we seal a Gillian inside each of them as a source of power, perhaps their Hollowfication could unleash even greater strength—or even make it possible for them to achieve what you call Resurrección."

"That is indeed interesting," Tsuna agreed. "But wouldn't sealing one directly inside them be too dangerous? What about sealing it into their Zanpakuto instead? Isn't that your specialty, shopkeeper?"

When it came to modifying Zanpakuto, Kurotsuchi Mayuri wasn't the only one skilled at it. Urahara's diverse Shikai and his Bankai, which was itself a modification, all testified that Urahara Kisuke was equally adept at altering Zanpakuto.

"Hey, hey, hey. You two sound like you're discussing something terrifying?" Hirako couldn't help but interject. What was with these two treating them like lab rats?

"Isn't that because your strength is too weak? You won't even let me practice Resurrección properly..." Tsuna glanced at Hirako and quipped.

"Come on, I was once the captain of the 5th Division. I'm not that weak, am I?"

"Exactly." Hirako voiced his opinion, and Rose, the former captain of the 3rd Division, nodded in agreement beside him.

"You? One of you clears small fry with Bankai, and the other's weak point is their ears. Are you really that strong?" When it came to Bankai's strength, Hirako and Rose had no room to boast. "On the other hand, Love-san, I'm very interested in your hammer's Bankai."

"My Bankai is too dangerous to use casually. It would hurt my allies." Aikawa Love patiently explained to Tsuna.