The Soul Reaper and the Zanpakuto

In a pitch-black space, Ichiro's appearance brought light to the world, though the radius of that light was severely limited, spanning a mere two meters.

Ichiro slowly opened his eyes, first lifting his hands to examine his body with a puzzled expression. If his memory served him correctly, his body should have been completely wrecked; standing, let alone surviving, was a miracle in itself. He then scanned his surroundings, finally grasping his current situation.

If nothing went wrong, he was in his inner world. However, unlike the scene he had encountered before, there were no floating specks of light—only endless darkness.

"Sigh..."

Ichiro let out a breath, knowing full well why things had turned out this way.

A Zanpakuto's inner world reflects the state of a Soul Reaper's heart. For instance, in the original story, when Ichigo was sad or confused, it would rain in his inner world, and when he was in extreme despair, it would even transform into an underwater world.

Ichiro's situation, however, was different. He wasn't lost; there was only one reason for his inner world to become like this: his Zanpakuto had voluntarily severed its connection with him.

Sighing again, Ichiro walked slowly through the dark void. To be honest, he truly regretted this, as it hadn't been his intention. Otherwise, he would have mastered Shikai through this method long ago.

Anything he could achieve in the state of Absolute Reason, he could accomplish; the only difference was the level of precision. Yet, he had never chosen this crude approach.

Instead, he had planned to continue researching his Zanpakuto and then achieve a simulated Shikai independent of the blade.

This was not impossible. Through his research, Ichiro discovered that a Zanpakuto's Shikai and Bankai were primarily composed of two aspects: the enhancement of spiritual pressure and the evolution of the blade itself.

The enhancement of spiritual pressure is simple to understand: after a Soul Reaper spends years pouring their spiritual pressure into an Asauchi, it forms an entity akin to themselves. Upon activating Shikai, a circuit forms between the Soul Reaper and the Zanpakuto, linking their spiritual pressures. Once the Shikai is complete, the Soul Reaper's spiritual pressure increases by two to five times based on the circuit's completion, while Bankai completes a more comprehensive circuit, boosting it by six to ten times.

However, this boost is not permanent. Once the circuit between the Soul Reaper and the Zanpakuto is formed, it never disappears. Through this circuit, the Soul Reaper's spiritual pressure grows rapidly for a time, but once their base spiritual pressure reaches the level of the released state, the boost vanishes.

But this does not mean the Zanpakuto becomes useless!

Shikai and Bankai enhance a Soul Reaper in two ways: the spiritual pressure aspect, and the blade itself.

Shikai sublimates the power of the Zanpakuto, producing various abilities, while Bankai further elevates this on that foundation. Of course, for some Soul Reapers, the practical utility of their Bankai decreases even as its power grows—take Soi Fon's Zanpakuto, for example.

Her Shikai is a two-hit kill; against an opponent with similar spiritual pressure, as long as your technique is superior and you strike the same spot twice, you win. While her Bankai becomes a one-hit kill, it... well, the assassin suddenly turns into a stationary turret... those who know, know. It's even more miserable than that bald guy from the 11th Division.

However, looking at the baseline, most Bankai do indeed become stronger.

Naturally, Ichiro had set his sights on this. Once the issue of spiritual pressure amplification was resolved, Shikai and Bankai were, in essence, merely the evolution of the blade.

In other words, as long as Ichiro could complete a simulated Shikai and Bankai of spiritual pressure and then replicate various Zanpakuto, he could possess all manner of Shikai and Bankai!

Hmm... does that sound familiar? Indeed, this idea of Ichiro's was "borrowed" from fanfiction he read in his first life. But in those stories, the Zanpakuto possessed the ability to replicate, whereas Ichiro intended to use his skills to forge a new blade. The result was the same, but the process was different.

The feasibility was quite high. After all, everything in Soul Society is composed of reishi, and Zanpakuto are no exception. Beyond that, what gave Ichiro confidence was how Soul Society categorized Zanpakuto.

As everyone knows, Zanpakuto are divided into five types: Rule, Illusion, Kido, Melee, and Healing. Setting aside the other four, let's look at the Kido type.

Why is it called the Kido type?

Because the effects of the Zanpakuto are similar to Kido, but more convenient.

So, if I forge a blade with the same effect, haven't I completed a copy?

That was what Ichiro thought, and it was what he did. By analyzing and deconstructing an Asauchi, he had basically mastered the simulated Shikai of spiritual pressure. Through his vast knowledge of Kido, he had already preliminarily forged a Kido-type Zanpakuto—or rather, a blade. There were still some key points he hadn't grasped, so he had stopped.

And that was how the relationship between Ichiro and his Zanpakuto had turned so cold.

Simply put, if Shikai is like chasing a girl, most people communicate daily, acting like a simp until they win the goddess over. But not Ichiro!

He wanted the goddess, but he wouldn't simp!

What was his approach?

Find someone (a blade) similar to the goddess, analyze them, even dissect them, understand the structure similar to the goddess, and then cater to her preferences to satisfy her physiologically...

Naturally, the Zanpakuto distanced itself from him. Ichiro didn't really mind, because the relationship between a Soul Reaper and their Zanpakuto is unique, and he was only targeting other Zanpakuto, so there would still be opportunities to communicate later—had it not been for this blunder...

Thinking of this, Ichiro sighed again. This incident made him consider burying the Absolute Reason skill for good.

No one is perfect, and not everything can be accounted for.

Pre-setting parameters can solve some drawbacks, but not all of them.

In his past life, Ichiro used this technique often because he usually operated alone, so there was nothing to worry about. But now it was different. The structure of the Soul Reapers was not like that of a State Alchemist; it was almost impossible to act alone, and Absolute Reason would eventually cause him even greater trouble.

Though, the trouble he was in now was already quite significant...

Thinking of this, Ichiro sighed once more.

According to his intuition, if he kept walking like this, he should be able to see his Zanpakuto. The problem now was how to persuade... no, how to apologize!

"Sigh~"

Just as Ichiro sighed again, a resentful girl's voice suddenly emerged. After a brief moment of shock, Ichiro looked toward the sound and saw a girl in palace attire sitting with her knees pulled to her chest. Her Zanpakuto rested across her arms and onto her shoulder. Her eyes were slightly red, and she was looking at Ichiro with a mournful gaze.

"What? Was the power you snatched not enough, and you intend to take the Bankai as well? It's fine, go ahead and do it. After all, your alchemy can do anything..."

Ichiro felt awkward. He rubbed his hands against his clothes and said sheepishly, "If I said what just happened was an accident, would you believe me?"

"Heh~ I believe you, of course I do. Isn't it just a Bankai? Come and take it, just like you did before, use your alchemy to take it."

With that, the girl closed her eyes and tilted her head back, exposing her jade-like neck, which bore red claw marks.