Hyorinmaru in Chaos

Three days later, at dawn. The outermost edge of Rukongai, a desolate wasteland.

This place was far from the Seireitei, beyond even the regions where ordinary souls gathered.

Liu Chuan and Isshin Shiba quietly appeared in the heart of this barren landscape.

They had deliberately avoided all possible observers and chosen this dead zone, a place even Hollows rarely visited.

In Liu Chuan's hand was a rectangular device about the size of an ordinary book box.

Inside was the Tenshintai created by Mayuri Kurotsuchi.

Isshin Shiba rubbed his hands together, excited but wary of the unknown as he examined the device in Liu Chuan's hand.

"Use this thing on a Zanpakuto, and it can call out that guy's 'true form'? But Liu Chuan, isn't choosing a place like this a little too cautious?"

Liu Chuan carefully placed the Tenshintai on a relatively flat boulder. His gaze swept across the desolate surroundings as he spoke calmly.

"Forcibly materializing a Zanpakuto's true form is, in itself, a forced interference with the rules."

"The process, the outcome, and even the manifested Zanpakuto entity itself all carry enormous uncontrollable risks."

"Not to mention, the one we are summoning this time is Hyōrinmaru, said to be the strongest ice-type Zanpakuto."

He paused and looked at Isshin Shiba. "No one can predict what state Hyōrinmaru will be in after being forcibly dragged into reality."

"Within the Seireitei, even the slightest accident could cause immeasurable destruction and uncontrollable spread."

"Here, at least, we can minimize the impact and have enough room to respond."

Isshin Shiba understood the weight of his words. He put away his joking expression and nodded.

"That makes sense. If that Hyōrinmaru goes crazy and freezes half the Seireitei into ice blocks, that'd be one hell of a mess."

Liu Chuan said no more. He removed a long, narrow cloth case that had been slung across his back and laid it flat on the rock beside the Tenshintai.

The case was dark gray and looked somewhat old, with even a little dust on it. Clearly, it had not been used in a long time.

Liu Chuan slowly opened the old cloth case, his movements gentle, as though he were touching a memory long sealed away.

He loosened the cord and drew a Zanpakuto from within.

Isshin Shiba's attention was immediately drawn to it, and his eyes widened with curiosity.

"This is your Zanpakuto?"

The sheath was plain silver-white, without any ornate decoration. Only near the guard were several extremely fine patterns carved into it, like naturally formed flowing water.

The handle was equally simple, wrapped in dark anti-slip cloth.

Yet the instant Liu Chuan's fingers gripped the hilt, Isshin Shiba sharply sensed that the thin, chaotic Spirit Particles in the air around them seemed to tremble ever so slightly.

It was not an eruption of Spiritual Pressure. It was more like the Spirit Particles had resonated with the blade somehow.

Liu Chuan lifted the Zanpakuto, sheath and all, without drawing it. He merely held it quietly in his hand.

Seeing Isshin Shiba's curious gaze, he offered an explanation. "Its name is Heavenquake."

"Heavenquake?" Isshin Shiba repeated, savoring the name. "That sounds awesome! What can it do? Come on, tell me!"

Liu Chuan's gaze fell upon the silver-white sheath.

"Its ability is 'vibration.'"

"Vibration?" Isshin Shiba froze for a moment, then understood. "Oh! I get it! Like an earthquake? Or soundwave attacks?"

Liu Chuan shook his head. "It's difficult to describe exactly. You'll see it someday."

He paused, then added, "But I still cannot perfectly control this blade's power. Even the smallest deviation could trigger unpredictable chain reactions or cause backlash to myself."

"After the Zanpakuto's initial awakening, I realized that before I could fully master its power, using it in an environment like the Seireitei—with its stable Spirit Particle structure, dense buildings, and numerous people—was far too risky."

"One small mistake, and it might not be as simple as destroying a single building."

He glanced at Heavenquake in his hand. "That is why I rarely use it. Most of the time, I keep it sealed away. Naturally, I never carry it with me in the Seireitei."

Isshin Shiba clicked his tongue in amazement. No wonder Liu Chuan did not dare use it casually. It was practically a walking unstable bomb, and one with unknown destructive power at that.

Isshin Shiba understood. "Then bringing it out now is..."

Liu Chuan gently tucked Heavenquake at his waist and turned his gaze back to the Tenshintai atop the boulder.

"This time, we are facing Hyōrinmaru. Regardless of its condition, the strongest ice-type Zanpakuto is no trifling force. Bringing Heavenquake is a precaution."

He looked over the barren land. "Here, even if Heavenquake's power slips out of control slightly, the resulting destruction will be relatively limited. There is no need for too much restraint."

"Understood." Isshin Shiba grew serious as well, placing a hand over the Zanpakuto at his waist.

"Then I'm ready too. My Zanpakuto may not be as special as yours, but it can handle ordinary battles just fine!"

Everything was ready. Liu Chuan moved with efficient rhythm. He extended his right hand, a faint glow lighting his fingertips as they hovered above the Tenshintai, aimed at a recessed Spirit Particle sensing array at the device's center, like a fingerprint scanner.

"Then let's begin."

Liu Chuan first took out two Zanpakuto.

Their sheaths differed slightly in style, but their blade lengths, curves, and especially that restrained yet impossible-to-conceal, bone-piercing icy Spiritual Pressure were almost identical.

They were Toshiro Hitsugaya's and Sojiro Kusaka's "Hyōrinmaru."

"This is...?" Isshin Shiba asked in confusion.

Liu Chuan did not explain. He first took Sojiro Kusaka's Hyōrinmaru, pointed the hilt downward, aligned it with the special groove at the Tenshintai's center meant to "receive" a Zanpakuto's Spiritual Pressure imprint, and slowly inserted it.

The Spirit Particle circuits on the Tenshintai's surface continued flowing with faint blue light. The device emitted a low hum, and the Spirit Particle vortex slowly revolved.

Yet aside from that, nothing happened.

"Huh? No reaction?" Isshin Shiba leaned closer for a look, then turned to Liu Chuan. "What's going on? Is something wrong with the Tenshintai? Or did Mayuri give us a defective one?"

Yet Liu Chuan did not look surprised at all. Instead, a flash of just as I thought understanding passed through his eyes.

He slowly withdrew Sojiro Kusaka's Hyōrinmaru from the Tenshintai, his movements steady.

"There is nothing wrong with the Tenshintai," Liu Chuan explained calmly, his gaze falling on the Zanpakuto he had just pulled out.

"This was only to verify a previous hypothesis of mine. It seems the hypothesis was correct."

"What hypothesis?" Isshin Shiba pressed.

"The Tenshintai works by using high-density Spirit Particle resonance and rule interference to forcibly amplify and materialize the blade spirit hidden deep within a Zanpakuto. Its target is a Zanpakuto's 'core essence.'"

As Liu Chuan spoke, he picked up Toshiro Hitsugaya's Hyōrinmaru.

"If a Zanpakuto's core is not within the blade itself, or is in some special state that the Tenshintai cannot directly reach... then naturally, the Tenshintai cannot materialize it."

He looked at Isshin Shiba and said,

"Sojiro Kusaka's Hyōrinmaru most likely does not contain Hyōrinmaru's true Core."

"It is more like an empty shell, a replica endowed with part of Hyōrinmaru's power."

Isshin Shiba sucked in a sharp breath. "This... how is that possible?!"

"So this one is the key."

Liu Chuan said no more. In the same manner, he solemnly inserted Toshiro Hitsugaya's Hyōrinmaru into the Tenshintai's core groove.

At that moment.

BOOM!!!

Completely unlike the earlier calm, the Tenshintai suddenly shook. Every faint blue Spirit Particle circuit on its surface erupted with blinding white light!

At the same time, an immense Spiritual Pressure burst forth from the Tenshintai like an iceberg that had lain dormant for ten thousand years suddenly collapsing, sweeping in every direction!

Crack, crack...

Centered on where Liu Chuan and Isshin Shiba stood, the ground, rocks, and even the air within several hundred meters were instantly covered by a thick layer of clear, crystalline ice!

Frigid currents howled through the air. The leaden clouds overhead seemed to be churned by an invisible giant hand as they rapidly gathered, and fine ice crystals began to fall, turning into a shrieking blizzard in the blink of an eye!

Heavenly Weather Subjugation! Hyōrinmaru's power to alter the climate!

"So cold!" Caught off guard, Isshin Shiba shuddered violently from the chill. He hurriedly circulated his Spiritual Pressure to fight off the cold, yet frost still quickly formed on his eyebrows and hair.

He stared toward the Tenshintai in shock.

Within the blazing white radiance, a massive dragon-shaped phantom formed entirely of ice raised its head and released a soundless roar as it soared into the sky!

The dragon phantom was lifelike, its scales and claws spread wide as it gave off an ancient, majestic aura of ice. It was the symbol of Hyōrinmaru's true form!

It coiled and stretched through the blizzard, every movement bringing fiercer winds and hail.

Yet the breathtaking sight did not last long.

After circling several times, the massive ice dragon phantom seemed to be pulled by something and began rapidly shrinking and condensing.

The ice crystals and snowstorm filling the sky also seemed to find their destination, converging toward the center.

The light gradually withdrew, and the ice dragon phantom vanished.

Not far before the Tenshintai, at the heart of the blizzard, a tall figure slowly emerged and solidified.

It was a man dressed in an ancient light-purple kimono, tall and upright, his expression cold and stern. Most striking were the two slanted, intersecting marks across his face, like deeply carved scars.

His hands and feet were not human, but covered in ice dragon claws that looked as though they had been sculpted from diamonds, radiating chilling cold.

He stood there in silence, naturally exuding a low-temperature domain that froze all things. His violet eyes slowly opened, as if endless glaciers and blizzards were reflected within them.

Hyōrinmaru! The manifested true form of a Zanpakuto!

"It worked?!" Isshin Shiba was both shocked and delighted. Though his teeth chattered from the cold, he still forced out a smile and raised a hand in greeting.

"Hey! Hyōrinmaru! We're—"

Before he could finish.

Hyōrinmaru's violet eyes suddenly turned toward Isshin Shiba.

There was no sign of rational intent to communicate in them, only cold, chaotic fury!

At the center of his forehead, a dazzling golden light—entirely unlike an icy power—began flashing violently like a living thing!

Whoosh!

Without any warning, Hyōrinmaru casually swung his right hand, which was covered in ice dragon claws.

The ground before him abruptly exploded, and a gigantic pillar of ice as thick as a barrel tore through the air like a battering ram fired from a massive crossbow, shooting straight toward Isshin Shiba!

"Watch out!" Liu Chuan's warning rang out almost at the same time as the ice pillar's shriek through the air.

He had been watching Hyōrinmaru's condition with complete focus. The instant the golden light flashed and Hyōrinmaru's gaze changed, he had already sensed that something was wrong!

Isshin Shiba was, after all, captain-class. He used Flash Step to dodge the attack.

"What is going on?! Why is Hyōrinmaru attacking the moment he appears?!" He was both alarmed and enraged.

Liu Chuan fixed his gaze on the distant icy figure radiating chaos and violence, especially the dazzling golden light constantly flashing on his forehead, utterly incompatible with Hyōrinmaru's own frigid Spiritual Pressure.

He spread his senses to their limit, analyzing the nature of that golden glow.

Liu Chuan's voice was low and rapid, carrying an unprecedented gravity. "Hyōrinmaru's mind has been interfered with. Look at his forehead!"

Isshin Shiba noticed that ominous golden light as well. "What the hell is that?!"

"I don't know, but it is definitely not Hyōrinmaru's own power!" Liu Chuan spoke extremely quickly.

"The nature of that power is extremely strange. It is interfering with Hyōrinmaru's will. We have to wear it down first."

"Or temporarily suppress that added golden power. Otherwise, Hyōrinmaru will remain in this berserk state, unable to distinguish friend from foe, and we will never be able to communicate with him!"

As if to prove Liu Chuan's words, Hyōrinmaru's golden forehead light flashed violently again, and he let out a low roar mixed with pain and fury.

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