Zangetsu

"This is? My home?"

Ichigo Kurosaki's vision shifted, and he found himself standing at the entrance of his home. It was a bright, sunny day. Ichigo pushed the gate open and entered. The layout of the house was identical to the one he was currently living in.

"Mom, Dad, Yuzu, Karin?"

Ichigo called out to his family tentatively, but there was no response. The house seemed empty. He walked into the living room and found many photos related to him on the wall.

There was a family photo, pictures of him with his sisters, his parents, and also photos with Tsuna, Tatsuki, and Orihime Inoue. Ichigo found it strange; he clearly didn't remember taking these photos, yet they depicted scenes he remembered most vividly.

Ichigo even saw the scene of his first encounter with Chad, and the scene of him and Uryū fighting a Hollow together. Every photo on the wall was deeply connected to Ichigo.

Ichigo's fingertips lightly brushed across the photos. His fingertips seemed to be touched, and he turned his head towards his room. At this moment, the lights in the entire house dimmed, leaving only the path leading to his room.

With a sense of trepidation, Ichigo opened his room door. There was nothing unusual. Whether it was the bed or the desk, they were exactly the same as the ones he was currently using.

A cool breeze blew, and Ichigo noticed that his room window was open. As he walked to the window, Ichigo suddenly saw a dark shape appear above him. He quickly poked his head out to look up. Was that a silhouette?

"Who are you? Hey!" Ichigo shouted. The person didn't respond. Ichigo was anxious; he had finally met a living person here, how could he let them escape his sight?

Ichigo immediately stepped onto the windowsill and used his hands and feet to climb up, supporting himself on the eaves. Ichigo climbed onto the roof in a somewhat disheveled state. The first thing he saw was a person in a long black trench coat standing on the rooftop.

"Who are you? Why are you here..." Ichigo suddenly remembered what Tsuna had told him before, "In my inner world?"

The person turned around. They had long black hair and black sunglasses. Judging by the stubble on their chin and their slender build, this was a middle-aged man.

"Ichigo Kurosaki, why have you come?"

"I've come to find my own power, of course!" Ichigo clenched his fist.

"As you wish!"

Suddenly, the world turned upside down. The originally sunny sky became overcast and cloudy, appearing below Ichigo. Ichigo fell towards the sky with no point of support.

At the same time, countless small squares followed Ichigo's figure. Ichigo looked closely and realized they were countless photos of himself. These photos all appeared from the inverted house, and that person was standing upside down on the roof like a vampire.

Soon, Ichigo was submerged by these photos. Ichigo realized that these photos contained far more than what he had seen in the living room. How could he possibly find his own power among these countless memories?

No matter what, he had to try. Ichigo desperately rummaged through the sea of photos. Every photo had Ichigo in it, from his infancy to his high school years. Which photo was the key?

Ichigo didn't know. He only knew that every photo here was precious to him. But there was no time for him to reminisce about the past; he had to find the key photo as quickly as possible.

Ichigo continued to struggle in the air. Gradually, he was about to fall into the clouds. Ichigo had a strange feeling that if he fell into the clouds, he would have completely failed this time.

What were the consequences of failure? Ichigo vaguely remembered Tsuna saying something about turning into a Hollow? Then what was the point of all these photos around him!

He wouldn't allow it! He wouldn't allow such a thing to happen!

In the real world, a yellowish liquid gushed from Ichigo's slanted wound. Hollow reiatsu erupted from Ichigo's body.

"Ohoho, it's starting. Mr. Tsuna, you'll handle it yourself." Urahara sat cross-legged on a rock, looking like he was enjoying a show. He had suffered a lot from Tsuna's Hollowfication back then, and now it was finally his turn to watch.

"Come on, isn't this a small matter?" Tsuna said to Urahara. The Ichigo beside him was already enveloped in a large amount of liquid, entering a frenzied state.

"Sawada-kun, be careful!"

Tsuna knew Orihime Inoue wasn't worried about him, but asking him to go easy so as not to hurt Ichigo. Tsuna no longer had the time to pay attention to Inoue. The Hollowfied Ichigo had already lunged at him with his ferocious claws.

Tsuna calmly raised his hand to block Ichigo's attack, and his voice changed, "Ichigo, you're still a long way from surpassing me with Hollowfication!"

Tsuna also put on half of a Hollow mask, using Hollow power against Ichigo's initial Hollowfication. Tsuna was not a Hollow at all.

Soon, Ichigo and Tsuna began to fight. Ichigo attacked Tsuna like a wild beast, while Tsuna retreated defensively, not choosing to suppress Ichigo, but rather acting as a punching bag, letting Ichigo unleash his power.

As long as Tsuna didn't completely suppress Ichigo, Ichigo wouldn't push his Hollow power further, and it would also buy Ichigo some time.

Tsuna wasn't worried that Ichigo would actually turn into a Hollow. The power within Ichigo was primarily protective, and even if it came down to the last moment, the old man within Ichigo would definitely hand over the power to Ichigo.

Inner world.

Ichigo struggled hard. Suddenly, he caught sight of a photo that was different from the others. There was no him in the photo!

Ichigo "swam" through the sea of photos and finally grabbed the photo he had been searching for. It was only then that Ichigo realized that it wasn't that he wasn't in the photo, but that he wasn't the protagonist. His body was mostly obscured, with only his head showing. And the person obscuring him was his mother, Masaki Kurosaki.

Ichigo saw Masaki Kurosaki spread her arms to block a Hollow. Behind Masaki Kurosaki was his unconscious self. The composition of the photo didn't end there. In another corner of the photo, Ichigo saw a red bow, shooting three arrows at the Hollow.

It was Tsuna's Fullbring. Ichigo recognized it immediately. So Tsuna had possessed such power so early. No wonder he knew the secret of his parents. As for Ichigo, because he was unconscious, he had no memory of this at all.

At this moment, Ichigo understood the significance of this photo. If it weren't for Tsuna, his life might have been completely different. Without power, Masaki Kurosaki could only use her body to block that Hollow.

The significance of this photo was a change in destiny. Ichigo gently touched the photo, and it shattered. A black reiatsu wrapped around him. The familiar Shinigami uniform was worn on his body, and he had regained his Bleach powers.

However, Ichigo's fall had not stopped. He met the gaze of the man in black. The other party said, "Congratulations, it's time to leave."

"Wait!" Ichigo had now figured it out. This stranger was his Zanpakuto. "Tell me, your name..."

Faintly, Ichigo saw the man's lips move a few times...

"Zangetsu!" In the real world, Ichigo shouted. A massive reiatsu connected the heavens and earth of the entire underground space.

When the reiatsu dispersed, Ichigo, wearing a Shinigami uniform, carrying a giant cleaver-like Zanpakuto, and with a mask diagonally across his forehead, appeared before everyone.

As soon as his reiatsu erupted, Ichigo's will had already taken control of his body. Seeing the man with the strange mask blocking him, Ichigo immediately recognized him as Tsuna.

A smile appeared at the corner of Ichigo's mouth. A mischievous thought crossed his mind. Using the blast wave as cover, Ichigo swung his sword directly at Tsuna.

Reiatsu concentrated on Ichigo's Zanpakuto. Using the Zanpakuto as a medium, Ichigo unleashed his reiatsu. A powerful reiatsu sword wind appeared before Tsuna.

Tsuna immediately drew his yellowish short sword in response. A red arc met Ichigo's sword wind, breaking it and turning into a blood moon that flew far away.

This is another way to use a Cero. When using the full power of a Hollow, Tsuna can easily unleash a slash equivalent to a Cero.

"You seem to be in good shape, Ichigo," Tsuna said, taking off his mask and addressing Ichigo.

"Tch, what a shame." Ichigo was still a little annoyed that Tsuna was hiding things from him. If the people around him weren't so cryptic, he wouldn't always feel so clueless.

"No need to be ashamed. Since you've already mastered the Shikai of your Zanpakuto, you'll have extra training starting tomorrow." Tsuna wasn't angry at Ichigo's surprise attack at all; it couldn't hurt him.

"Shikai? You mean Zangetsu?" Ichigo casually swung his large cleaver, feeling pretty good about himself. The new Zanpakuto felt natural in his hands.

Zangetsu. The power within Ichigo had chosen this name.

"Alright, go share your joy with Inoue. I'm going to sort out your special training coach first." Tsuna changed back into casual clothes, waved his hand, and prepared to leave Urahara Shop.

"Special training coach?" Ichigo asked curiously. "Who is it? Aren't you qualified enough to be my coach?"

Logically, Tsuna was more than capable of training Ichigo's combat abilities, so why would he need another coach?

"Some powers need to be passed down. Someone is more suitable to teach you than anyone here." Tsuna walked towards the onlookers without looking back.

"Who is it? Do I know them?" Ichigo followed, asking.

"You definitely know him, Uncle Kurosaki. How could you not?" Tsuna wasn't being a riddle-master anymore and directly told Ichigo who it was.

"My old man?"

Ichigo stopped in his tracks. Did his father, who usually just messed around with him, really possess such great power?

Ichigo glanced at his right foot. He had kicked his father away quite a few times usually. He wondered if his dad would use this opportunity for revenge.

No, Ichigo decided. Since Tsuna was still here, he needed to get some information about his father from Tsuna beforehand, so he wouldn't end up being trained into a useless dog.

"Tsuna, wait! What is my dad good at..." Ichigo ran after Tsuna's retreating back.

(PS: Regarding Ichigo's inner world, I lean more towards his mother's death causing him to feel lonely and isolated, similar to the imagery of tall buildings and the deep sea. Since Masa is alive now, I believe Ichigo's inner world is warmer, filled with many of Ichigo's memories. The above.)