All Zangetsu

"Old Man Zangetsu, how... how should I address you?"

Since Old Man Zangetsu isn't Zangetsu, it's inappropriate to still call him Zangetsu. Ichigo wants to know Old Man Zangetsu's real name.

Old Man Zangetsu didn't make things difficult for Ichigo; he simply said, "My name is XXXX."

Just like last time, Ichigo could only see Old Man Zangetsu opening his mouth, but he couldn't hear Old Man Zangetsu's name at all.

"Was something blocking it?" Ichigo wasn't stupid. He didn't think that Old Man Zangetsu would deliberately play tricks on him now. He quickly figured it out: Old Man Zangetsu's name had been erased by something.

After some deliberation, Ichigo couldn't think of a better way to address him, so he simply said, as was his habit, "I'll just call you Old Man Zangetsu."

"Hey, Ichigo, I am Zangetsu." White Ichigo said, quite dissatisfied, as he moved closer to Ichigo.

"I know you're Zangetsu, and he's Old Man Zangetsu, but just to differentiate..." After much deliberation, Ichigo decided, "Since you're both my power, it's fine if you both use the name Zangetsu. It's decided, you'll be called Zangetsu, and he'll be called Old Man Zangetsu!"

"Alright." White Ichigo could only accept Ichigo's hasty decision, but he was still somewhat annoyed that Old Man Zangetsu, the thief, shared the same name with him while squatting next to Ichigo.

"Hey, Zangetsu, now that we know each other, I won't lose consciousness when I Hollowfication, right?" Ichigo asked, squatting down next to White Ichigo, trying to ingratiate himself.

"Hey, that's hard to say..." Because Ichigo hadn't completely satisfied him, White Ichigo didn't immediately agree to Ichigo.

"Don't be like that," Ichigo said, patting White Ichigo on the shoulder. "Tsuna said you guys wouldn't lie to me, so be honest."

"Hmph!" White Ichigo turned his head away. He really wouldn't lie to Ichigo; the most he could do was simply not answer Ichigo's question.

"Old Man Zangetsu, say something too." Ichigo turned around, wanting to find help.

Looking at Ichigo's grinning face, Old Man Zangetsu asked very seriously, "Ichigo, do you know why we won't lie to you?"

"Huh?" Ichigo hadn't really thought about that question. When Old Man Zangetsu asked, he could only reply according to his own thoughts, "Aren't you all part of me? How could my own power deceive me?"

Old Man Zangetsu disagreed with Ichigo's statement. "Self-deception exists. Also, Zangetsu is a product of the combination of external Hollow's power and your Bleach power; he doesn't entirely originate from you."

"Then... why?" Ichigo fell into thought, vaguely sensing that Old Man Zangetsu's question was very important.

Seeing Ichigo's conflicted expression, White Ichigo finally couldn't hold back any longer. He snapped, "Idiot Ichigo, think about it! When do I ever show up?"

With White Ichigo's reminder, Ichigo keenly realized that whenever he craved power, his power would break through. Even when he was at a disadvantage in the battle against Byakuya, it was the Hollowfication power granted by Zangetsu that allowed him to defeat Byakuya.

Another question is why he was able to recover even after he was completely Hollowfication by Hollow Hole. Ichigo feels the only explanation is that Zangetsu's efforts prevented him from truly falling into Hollow form.

While increasing his power, it also removed his negative effects. Could it be that...?

Ichigo had a vague suspicion in his mind. His eyes swept over Old Man Zangetsu and White Ichigo. Strangely, he could see the expectant look in Old Man Zangetsu's eyes through his sunglasses, and White Ichigo's expression was exactly the same...

"You... are you protecting me?"

Old Man Zangetsu revealed a satisfied smile, while White Ichigo turned his head away, appearing disdainful but secretly delighted.

"That's right, Ichigo. Our existence is solely for your protection. Everything else is meaningless." Old Man Zangetsu explained his thoughts in detail.

"When you were young, I was afraid you would be drawn to the Hollow's power, so I mobilized most of my power to seal the Void within you."

Hearing this, White Ichigo silently pursed his lips. Old Man Zangetsu made it sound so easy, but he was the one who was suffering.

"Until one day, you began to cultivate the power within your body. I combined a portion of the Quincy's power with your original form to create your Fullbring. However, because most of the power is still sealed, you can only release three arrows per day."

"Until the power of Fullbring was no longer enough for you, I used the power I had collected from Zangetsu over the years to create Zangetsu for you, making you Bleach."

"But I didn't expect the influence of the Bleach's power to be so great. You actively sought the power of Bankai, Zangetsu awakened within you, and you began to learn Bankai and Hollowfication. At this point, I no longer needed to maintain the seal, Zangetsu appeared in this world."

"It was only then that I realized that the so-called Hollow's power also existed to protect you..." Old Man Zangetsu's words already acknowledged that he had done some good deeds that backfired in the past.

White Ichigo was furious upon hearing this. No one could tolerate the fact that Old Man Zangetsu had sealed him away for no reason. "Damn it! Take this!"

Unable to contain himself, White Ichigo drew Zangetsu and slashed at Old Man Zangetsu. However, Old Man Zangetsu made a slight grasping motion, and a Zangetsu appeared in his hand as well, blocking White Ichigo's attack.

"Can't you use your own power?!" White Ichigo cursed angrily, Old Man Zangetsu currently using power that he had stolen from him.

"Ichigo hasn't learned the Quincy's techniques yet," Old Man Zangetsu explained.

"How infuriating!" White Ichigo grumbled, sheathing his sword. He had fought Old Man Zangetsu countless times since waking up, and each time it ended inconclusively.

"Old Man Zangetsu, if I go to learn Quincy abilities, will I be able to use your power?" Ichigo asked curiously.

"This is the necessary path to unlocking your true Quincy power," Old Man Zangetsu replied.

"By the way, Old Man Zangetsu, since you didn't use your power to seal Zangetsu, does that mean my Fullbring has no limitations?" Ichigo was still thinking about the three arrows he shot that day.

"Yes, because my power is those arrows. Once my power is removed, your Fullbring ability is to create various types of bows, which can enhance the attacks shot from them."

"Creating a bow and arrow? Seems a bit weak..." Ichigo muttered, recalling Tatsuki's ability to Side by Side, and realizing that his own was far too simple in comparison.

"You can create any bow you want at will. With this power, you won't need to create your own Quincy Cross like other Quincy," Old Man Zangetsu said.

"Okay, that sounds kind of tempting," Ichigo said, though he himself didn't really see what use it was.

As someone who had watched Ichigo grow up since he was a child, Old Man Zangetsu naturally understood Ichigo's perfunctory attitude. It didn't matter; after he guided Ichigo, Ichigo would know that this power was not weak.

"Let's not talk about that now, Zangetsu, I need to discuss something." Ichigo grinned and moved closer to Zangetsu.

"What?" Zangetsu didn't give Ichigo friendly look. The fact that he hadn't Ichigo was already a big favor to Ichigo.

"I'm sorry I didn't listen to you properly before." That's Ichigo he realizes his mistake, he'll never stubbornly deny it.

White Ichigo's expression improved slightly. At least Ichigo now acknowledged that he was Zangetsu, and his mouth loosened a little. "What is it?"

"Look, now that we know each other, when I Hollowfication, you don't need to come out and compete with me for consciousness anymore, right?" Ichigo asked.

"You have the nerve to say that? I wouldn't be going out if you weren't about to be hacked to death." Unlike Ichigo, White Ichigo was incredibly stubborn.

"See? You let me master the Hollowfication power from that day, so there's no way I could lose to that Byakuya Kuchiki, right?" Ichigo said.

"You have the nerve to say that? You were completely fooled by his combat experience. Clearly, the Hollowfication Tensa Zangetsu is no worse than his opponent!" White Ichigo got angry as soon as he said that. Seeing Ichigo fight with Zangetsu was like watching a complete novice who didn't understand how to use Tensa Zangetsu at all.

"Isn't Zangetsu a direct attack type? It doesn't have any special abilities." Ichigo argued, his Zangetsu neither transforms like Renji's nor has any special Kido power.

"What a joke! Zangetsu isn't some simple Zanpakuto!" White Ichigo said. "Here's what we'll do: you learn Zangetsu's fighting style from me, and I'll pass on some of my Hollowfication power to you."

"Tell me, how do I learn?" Ichigo immediately asked, eager to try.

White Ichigo wore a smug expression as he casually swung Zangetsu and said, "The simplest way is, of course, to fight! Let's fight, Ichigo!"

White Ichigo has been wanting to legally beat up Ichigo for a long time, and now he's using the teaching method to torment Ichigo without Ichigo being able to complain. This is so satisfying.

At this point, Ichigo had no idea what kind of battle he would face. This was different from when he was learning Hollowfication. When he was learning Hollowfication, White Ichigo had been held back by the sea, all so that Ichigo could learn the power of Hollowfication.

Now, White Ichigo is preparing to go all out. What Ichigo sees as straightforward Zangetsu will become unpredictable and treacherous in White Ichigo's hands.

In the real world, Tsuna looked at Ichigo lying on the ground. The traces of Hollowfication had appeared on Ichigo's face. These traces would increase and disappear at the same time, and half of Ichigo's face remained in a semi-solid state.

The experienced Tsuna could tell that Ichigo was probably struggling internally, which was quite dangerous. Tsuna couldn't abandon Ichigo and had to stay by his side at all times.

Tsuna squatted down in front of Ichigo, watching the constant changes on Ichigo's face. Actually, he really wanted to see into Ichigo's inner world, mainly to meet the guy that Ichigo called Old Man Zangetsu, the one who knew all the Quincy's abilities.