Future Prospects

Ichiro still had no idea how much the events in the world had shaken Ichibei Hyosube. At that moment, he was in the warehouse, sorting through the research materials he had collected over the past few months.

The data was extremely valuable, but also very dangerous, so Ichiro had to handle it carefully. The easiest thing would've been to burn it all, but unfortunately, he couldn't bear to. So when the Head Captain opened the warehouse door again, she found Ichiro hard at work.

"What are you doing?" the Head Captain asked curiously.

"Uh, organizing my notes."

"What I'm asking is, why are you organizing your notes? Do you think this place can still be used as a warehouse after all the work you've done here?"

"Uh... Sorry, Head Captain. What will this place be used for now?"

"We'll remodel it and use it as your laboratory. You can keep working here."

At that, Ichiro glanced at the materials in his hand, tossed them on the ground, dusted off his hands, and headed outside. If that was the plan, what was the point of tidying up?

Seeing this, the Head Captain shook her head helplessly. "At least clean up all the bloodstains."

"Tsk. All right, World, sorry for the trouble."

"Understood, Lord Ichiro."

World's voice came from the Zanpakuto. Along with it appeared a white glow. Wherever the light passed, everything was instantly restored to pristine condition, as if it had just been built!

Watching the bloodstains slowly disappear from the room, the Head Captain narrowed her eyes. She said nothing, instead looking at the Zanpakuto, World, at Ichiro's waist.

"Is this... your Zanpakuto personification experiment succeeding?"

"Yeah. Say hello to the Head Captain, World." Ichiro gently rested his left hand on the Zanpakuto's hilt and spoke softly.

"Yes, Lord Ichiro." As soon as she finished speaking, the Zanpakuto scattered into points of light, then re-formed beside Ichiro as a young woman dressed in white palace robes. "Head Captain, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Tianxin World, Lord Ichiro's 'best friend'!"

"Tianxin... His best friend, huh?" The Head Captain gave the embarrassed Ichiro a knowing look, then said to World, "I'm Ichiro's captain, and more or less his teacher. You don't need to be so formal. Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on the girls in the squad for you."

"Head Captain."

"Haha, come along. There are a few things I'd like to discuss with you. What you gave Kisuke Urahara has been causing the Head Captain quite a headache." With that, the Head Captain laughed and headed toward her office.

"Urahara? Did the Mimicry Shikai succeed? Tsk, what a hassle. But knowing him, he's probably improved it by now." Ichiro sheathed the Demon Dragon beneath World, who had turned back into a sword, then followed the Head Captain, murmuring to himself.

"Does personifying a Zanpakuto have any side effects?" the Head Captain asked curiously as they walked toward the office.

"Side effects? Quite a few." Ichiro loped along behind her, his hands clasped behind his head. "First, I can't use Shikai anymore. World's an independent person now. Of course, if you really want to classify her, she could be considered a living-type Zanpakuto. But I should still be able to use Bankai. We can both activate it."

"Two Bankai?"

"No. Only one of us can use it at a time. As long as my spiritual pressure meets the requirements, I can use Bankai now. But I don't think that's because my Zanpakuto became personified."

"Heh, you lucky brat. What else?"

"Well, Shikai is gone, and the period of rapid spiritual pressure growth is gone too. But because of the special relationship between World and me, our spiritual pressure training progress stacks, so in the long run, it's more beneficial. Then there's combat. It's more flexible, I guess. World's ability to reconstruct Reishi structures is powerful, but honestly, it doesn't suit my fighting style.

"Whether she can reset something depends on the difference in spiritual pressure. In other words, it works best when I can overwhelm the opponent. If I use varied tactics, there are too many things to consider and too many variables. I can't keep track of them all."

"So that's why you made two Zanpakuto for yourself?"

"Technically, I only made one: Flame Sparrow. The Demon Dragon was an accidental byproduct. Flame Sparrow's future development will focus on Kido, strengthening its attack power to the utmost and making up for my lack of firepower."

"Mm. What about the Demon Dragon? Now that you've made it, I doubt you'd abandon it."

"Of course not. I plan to let the Demon Dragon keep charging ahead as a living-type Zanpakuto, strengthening its body and combat skills to the utmost, while improving its ability to replenish its spiritual pressure on its own as much as possible. Ideally, it'll still be able to fight powerfully and for a long time even without a supply of my spiritual pressure!

"Lastly, I plan to look into Fullbring. Unfortunately, the school doesn't have much material on it. Do you have any connections, Head Captain?"

The Head Captain stopped and turned back curiously. "Fullbring? What made you want to study that?"

"During this Zanpakuto personification experiment, I lost a certain ability, and that's going to interfere with my future research. So I want to see if I can use Fullbring to regain something similar."

"I see. The Seireitei doesn't have many records on Fullbring, and we don't have any training materials either. Do some research on your own for now, but don't go learning it recklessly. I'll see what I can do."

"I'll be careful, Head Captain."

"Mm. Anything else?" The Head Captain looked at Ichiro expectantly.

"One last thing. I plan to put my swordsmanship training on hold for a while." Ichiro lowered his hands from behind his head and looked at the Head Captain seriously. "Although those weren't real lives, their bodies were no different from real ones. Spending two months in such a bloody environment definitely messed with my mind!

"If it were ordinary swordsmanship, that'd be fine. It has a way of purifying the heart. But I remember what you told me: since I don't have the talent to train in the Way of the Sword, I should focus on sword techniques for killing! So I don't think I'm suited to sword training right now. I plan to devote all my energy to studying Kido and Kaido for a while.

"Once the violence buried in my heart has been completely purged, I'll resume learning swordsmanship under you, Head Captain. Besides, my two Mimicry Zanpakuto need time to be refined."

"Clap, clap." The Head Captain applauded with satisfaction. As expected, Ichiro was the student she'd chosen. She didn't know how he'd managed to suppress the violence in his heart and appear completely normal.

But her past experience told her that was impossible. Even she would have developed an intense bloodlust after spending two months in that kind of environment!

So even if Ichiro hadn't brought it up, she would've ordered him to stop practicing swordsmanship. Not even his daily basic drills would be allowed. Still, she was glad to see that Ichiro hadn't let her down.

"Good. You've thought things through, but it's not enough. I don't know how you dealt with those negative emotions, but I suspect you've only suppressed them rather than eliminated them completely. So from now on, you'll still come to Squad 4 every day for two hours of training. Not sword practice—releasing that suppression. You'll devote yourself completely to Sword Meditation."

"But, Head Captain, my Sword Meditation..."

"It's fine. I'll guide you. You'll definitely be able to enter Sword Meditation."

"Gulp." Looking at the Head Captain's kindly smiling face, Ichiro swallowed involuntarily. The life he'd been looking forward to seemed to be slipping farther and farther away.