"So, you two came to me for Hyōrinmaru… No, for matters concerning Zanpakuto?"
After a while, Yoriichi generally understood the purpose of their visit.
In the office, he looked at Toushiro:
"What Hyōrinmaru said isn't hard to understand. Since you are also students of this year, I will tell you."
"Due to some events that occurred half a month ago, communication between Shinigami and Zanpakuto has become exceptionally important in a Shinigami's career."
"Therefore, after joint discussion by the school leadership, it was decided to add a new test item to the graduation assessment."
"This roughly involves awakening the Zanpakuto's true form, making it materialize, and then you personally spend some time with them."
"Ultimately, a corresponding score will be determined based on your actual interactions during that time."
"It should be noted that this score is independent of the four regular assessments: swordsmanship, hand-to-hand combat, movement, and Kido."
"If the score fails to meet the standard, no matter who it is, they will have to return to school and re-study for another year."
"This is also out of consideration for the Shinigami's safety."
As Yoriichi spoke, he turned his gaze to Hinamori Momo.
At this moment, Toushiro's expression shifted slightly.
He recalled his interactions with Hyōrinmaru, and the corner of his mouth twitched involuntarily. For a moment, he didn't know what to say.
However, Yoriichi seemed not to notice Toushiro's expression. After a slight pause, he turned his gaze back and continued,
"Momo, as a student, is naturally no exception."
"Since Toushiro, you have already met Hyōrinmaru, you must have interacted and spent some time with him."
"How does it feel?"
Toushiro recovered his senses, let out a light sigh, and said:
"It feels terrible. Hyōrinmaru said I'm too weak and can't unleash his full power, so he forces me every day to use his abilities and strengthen my control over ice."
"He even sparred with me before, and I lost terribly."
"It's for this reason that I brought Momo to see you."
"What if Momo's Zanpakuto has a really bad personality? I'm worried…"
Worry is a natural human emotion.
Although Toushiro spoke quite casually about his battle with Hyōrinmaru, in reality, he was seriously injured after that fight.
It took him nearly half a month of recuperation at home for his injuries to heal.
And the name of Hinamori Momo's Zanpakuto remains unknown to this day.
If even Toushiro, who is so strong, ended up like this, what about Hinamori Momo, who is much weaker than him?
Yoriichi understood: "No need to worry. Every Zanpakuto, at its birth, changes its personality according to its owner's personality."
"In other words, unless the Shinigami themselves have a very bad character, the Zanpakuto will never become like that."
As if he had reached a crucial point, Yoriichi slowed his speech. He crossed his arms, resting his elbows on the desk, and his tone became gentle,
"Just like your Hyōrinmaru, cold on the outside but warm on the inside. Momo's Zanpakuto will probably have a talkative and cheerful, sunny personality."
"If you feel uneasy, you can let her awaken her own Zanpakuto now and see what her personality is truly like…"
Toushiro fell silent for a moment upon hearing this. He had to admit, he was a little tempted.
However, considering some external issues, Toushiro immediately looked up and hesitated:
"Doing this… is it in accordance with the rules?"
"Although I really want Momo to see her Zanpakuto, if this will cause trouble for Tsugikuni-senpai, then forget it."
"What's there to conform or not conform to? It's just looking after a junior."
"I've watched you two grow up since you were young, and Momo is Rukia's friend."
"Besides, with Momo's aptitude, she will soon know her Zanpakuto's name. This action merely accelerates the process."
"Just like some students already possess the strength of an official squad member when they enroll…"
As Yoriichi spoke, he took out a Senkaizui from the drawer and handed it to Hinamori Momo, his tone still as calm as ever,
"Try it. First, awaken your Zanpakuto, and then we'll talk about other things."
Hinamori Momo had been silent until now. Seeing Yoriichi hand her something, she carefully took it.
After a slight hesitation, she smeared it on her sword, and a young girl dressed in a beautiful white and purple kimono with pink ribbons quickly appeared before everyone's eyes.
The girl was surprised and delighted to find herself out of the Zanpakuto.
Just as she was about to speak, she heard Yoriichi Tsugikuni's calm and somewhat concerned voice.
"All right, Momo, she won't disappear for a short while. Get along well with her."
"Perhaps Toushiro's experience frightens you, but that's just an isolated case."
"Hyōrinmaru is very proud and will never allow his master to be weak."
"Your Zanpakuto might be different."
Hinamori Momo gazed at the girl, and the voice in her ear made her nod gently.
Immediately after, she mustered her courage, extended her hand towards the girl, preparing for the possibility of no response, and softly said:
"Hello, my name is Hinamori Momo…"
As soon as her words fell, the girl generally understood the situation before her.
She looked Hinamori Momo up and down, extended her hand as well, a smile blossoming on her face, and a hint of excitement in her voice:
"Hello, my name is Tobiume. Are you my master? It's a pleasure to meet you."
The hand was extended too suddenly, and the name was announced too abruptly.
Hinamori Momo hadn't even reacted, only managing a soft "Eh," before her right hand was already tightly grasped by the girl's soft and warm hand.
And when the name "Tobiume" entered Hinamori Momo's mind, she felt even more bewildered.
Didn't they say… that it takes a long period of interaction for a Zanpakuto to reveal its true name?
Why… did she know the name the moment they met?
… …
"Yes, why?"
Toushiro stood to the side, his brow furrowed.
He watched Tobiume skip away with Hinamori Momo's arm around her shoulder, completely unable to understand why Hinamori Momo's Shikai process was so smooth.
One must know that he had to struggle for several months across the ice fields of the spiritual world to learn Hyōrinmaru's name before succeeding…
Several months was already considered very fast compared to other students and even Shinigami.
But compared to Hinamori Momo's mere few seconds…
Even though he sincerely wished for Hinamori Momo to become stronger, a hint of sourness couldn't help but rise in his heart at this moment… What was this?
"Perhaps it's a talent," Yoriichi Tsugikuni said, noticing Toushiro's emotions and offering a timely explanation.
"It's like some people are naturally close to small animals; because of that closeness, they easily gain the animals' approval."
"Momo might be like that. Of course, we can't rule out that her personality is very much to Tobiume's liking, which is why it went so smoothly."
"A Zanpakuto is not a machine, after all. The first impression often determines the difficulty of Shikai."
This explanation instantly brought Toushiro back to his senses. Thinking about it carefully, it seemed to be the only possibility; otherwise, it made no sense at all.
So, he let out a long sigh:
"A talent that can't be learned? I should have thought of it earlier. Momo is so gentle… Tsugikuni-senpai, thank you very much."
Toushiro looked up,
"Momo has now mastered Shikai and gets along so well with her Zanpakuto. She should easily pass the graduation assessment, right?"
Yoriichi nodded: "She should, as long as nothing unexpected happens."
"However, there are still five years until your graduation. Anything can happen in five years… Just interact normally."
Toushiro was about to open his mouth to continue thanking him when Yoriichi's words suddenly sounded again, making him freeze in place.
"Momo's matter has been resolved. Let's talk about you, Toushiro, what do you think of Hyōrinmaru?"
… …
… …
"The strongest ice-type Zanpakuto?"
Soon after, Toushiro, who had left the Ninth Division, seemed a bit absent-minded.
Although he somewhat disbelieved Yoriichi Tsugikuni's words, he was a senior after all, and his judgment should not be wrong.
Hyōrinmaru's ability is not to create ice, but to manipulate the moisture in the atmosphere, i.e., water vapor.
Water vapor exists everywhere in the world. In other words, if this ability is developed to its extreme, he could even freeze the entire world.
Such a powerful ability, calling it the strongest ice-type Zanpakuto, is indeed not an exaggeration.
Compared to Ryujin Jakka's burning the world…
As soon as he thought of this, Toushiro felt a lot of pressure. He finally understood why Hyōrinmaru hated weaklings.
Unlike ordinary ice-type Zanpakuto, which use spiritual pressure to create ice to attack enemies and have a very low upper limit, controlling moisture has a very high upper limit: freezing the air, freezing the human body, freezing the world…
If he were Hyōrinmaru, just thinking about his ability being used by a Shinigami as only an ordinary ice-type would make him want to spit out a mouthful of old blood.
"Sigh… Why me? I'm not Captain-Commander Yamamoto."
Toushiro rubbed his brow, recalling his age and spiritual pressure, his tone slightly helpless,
"As it is, I can only cultivate according to the method Tsugikuni-senpai taught me."
"I cannot limit Hyōrinmaru's ability to just ice, but must control the weather to fight. Absolute zero, huh…"
Toushiro had never been to the Human World, so he didn't know about the theories there.
But when Yoriichi Tsugikuni mentioned it, he also felt an uncontrollable excitement.
Because absolute zero is the precondition for freezing the world. At this temperature, even time can stop, making it the strongest ice-type technique.
If his spiritual pressure is strong enough, even Yamamoto Genryusai's Ryujin Jakka would become a mere fire poker in front of it.
Currently, in Soul Society, from a power level perspective, only Hyōrinmaru has the potential to achieve this.
Although he might not necessarily master it, it's still a new direction worth striving for… He still needs to keep working hard; he can't let Momo leave him behind.
Thinking this, Toushiro took a deep breath, regained his spirits, and prepared to go back and delve deeper into Hyōrinmaru's power.
Even if he can't freeze time, freezing space would be good…
… …
After Toushiro and Hinamori Momo left, Yoriichi Tsugikuni finished his official duties and intended to rest for a while.
Recently, to deal with Muramasa's affairs, he had been shuttling back and forth between the Forty-Six Chambers and the Gotei 13.
Even the time he had to supervise Renji and Kira's training was dwindling.
Fortunately, those two were quite self-disciplined and did not betray his trust…
Just as he put away the documents and closed his eyes, Yoriichi Tsugikuni hadn't had time to relax his mind when a sudden knock sounded at his office door.
Thump, thump, thump.
The knocking was particularly abrupt. Yoriichi reluctantly woke up and sighed softly, "Come in."
Creak~
The door slowly opened, revealing Rukia, Hisana, and Ai following behind them.
"It's you three."
Yoriichi breathed a sigh of relief, glad it wasn't something like a prisoner escaping.
He straightened his posture, his gaze falling on the three, and asked, "Is there something you need?"
As the older sister, Hisana first exchanged a glance with Rukia, as if they had reached some unspoken agreement, then stepped forward and voiced her confusion:
"Brother, we met Toushiro and Momo on our way here."
"We heard that the requirements for the graduation assessment have changed?"
It was about this matter again. Thinking about it, he realized he hadn't told them yet, as everything was still uncertain before the plan was implemented.
Yoriichi Tsugikuni then repeated what he had told Hinamori Momo and Toushiro earlier. Hisana frowned after hearing it:
"If that's the case, Brother, do Shinigami like us, who have awakened Shikai and gained the recognition of our Zanpakuto, still need to participate in this assessment?"
"If the scores are judged based on our relationship with our Zanpakuto, I'm afraid many Shinigami won't be able to graduate smoothly."
"Especially the students in the regular classes..."
"Yes."
Rukia also nodded in agreement beside her,
"To be honest, Brother, during my year at the academy, I made many friends from the regular classes."
"Their backgrounds are just like ours used to be. Because of that, I clearly know their determination to become Shinigami, to change their own destinies..."
"If they can't graduate, isn't that too cruel to them?"
"Can't graduate? Who told you that?"
Yoriichi remembered he had never said such a thing. He looked at Hisana and Rukia,
"I said they would repeat a year. This is a form of protection for them..."
Before he could finish, Yoriichi suddenly remembered something, and his expression grew serious,
"Wait, you've awakened Shikai? When did this happen?"
He had almost overlooked it due to their 'questions'.
Yoriichi knew Rukia had mastered Shikai because her innate spiritual pressure was not weak.
She had learned it through her own efforts when she was in her early forties, about three years before enrolling.
But Hisana...
"Don't you know, Brother?"
Hisana frowned slightly. After a brief recollection, she realized she hadn't told Yoriichi Tsugikuni about this...
No, to be precise, she had originally intended to tell him.
It was just that she unexpectedly encountered Toushiro and Hinamori Momo, which made her forget about it.
Hisana lowered her head slightly with a hint of guilt, exhaled softly, and said:
"I apologize, Brother, I was negligent. I only mastered Shikai today."
"Would you like to see?"
...
The Zanpakuto Rukia wields is named Sode no Shirayuki, which will one day be the most beautiful Zanpakuto in the Soul Society.
Hisana, as her biological elder sister, although her personality had changed, the form reflected in her Zanpakuto would not be much inferior.
In the training ground, Yoriichi Tsugikuni stood opposite Hisana, while Rukia and Ai stood beside Hisana.
Seeing the two confront each other, about to engage in a 'bout', Ai wanted to cheer them on but didn't know who to cheer for.
At this moment, Yoriichi's voice slowly sounded:
"Moon Frost Flower, according to my initial deduction, it should be an ice-type Zanpakuto, just like Rukia's Sode no Shirayuki."
"However, a Zanpakuto's ability cannot be accurately determined by its name alone."
"Now that you've learned Shikai, can you tell me about its ability?"
Hisana nodded vigorously: "Of course."
With that, she quickly calmed her breathing to alleviate the pressure in her heart.
Then, in an unhurried tone, she softly said:
"As you deduced, Brother, it is indeed an ice-type Zanpakuto."
"But unlike Sode no Shirayuki, which releases cold air, its effect is to release ice and snow to slow down or even stop the functions of everything in front of it."
"To put it simply, as long as it comes into contact with the ice and snow, the activity of muscles, bones, thoughts, and cells will decrease."
"Hmm..." Upon hearing this, Yoriichi Tsugikuni nodded slightly, as all ice-type abilities generally use freezing as their primary means of attack.
A sudden slowing effect appeared, similar to how the cold wind in winter can make one's body stiff, and he immediately understood:
"I see, is it a support-oriented ice-type Zanpakuto? It's indeed different from Rukia's."
"That's right, your personalities are inherently different."
The reason for this was that Rukia was naturally active and had a strong drive.
This drive, when reflected in a blade, likely translated into offensive power.
In contrast, Hisana's personality was relatively gentle and peaceful, wishing only to maintain the current stable state...
This might be one of the reasons for the difference in their Zanpakuto abilities.
After a quick deduction in his mind, Yoriichi subtly gestured to Hisana, prompting her to attack, wanting to see the actual effect of this ability.
Hisana tightly gripped the hilt of her blade, watching Yoriichi, her deep breaths never stopping.
She slowly channeled the spiritual pressure within her, her tone unconsciously carrying a hint of nervousness, likely due to it being her first time using Shikai in combat.
"Brother, be careful."
Bang.
With a muffled thud, she stomped hard on the ground, pointed her blade at Yoriichi, and softly chanted:
"First Dance: Frostfall."
As if to cooperate with this move, the moment Hisana's words fell, countless small white snowflakes surged out from the blade.
The instant the snowflakes appeared, Yoriichi Tsugikuni felt the surrounding temperature drop sharply.
Although it was the height of a hot summer, and the surroundings should have been scorching and humid.
Yet, at this moment, it felt as if he had been pulled into late autumn, with waves of coolness.
Even if it couldn't compare to the winter low temperatures created by Toushiro's Hyōrinmaru earlier, there wasn't much difference in the sensation of cold between three or four degrees and zero degrees.
Facing the surging impact of the snowflakes, Yoriichi Tsugikuni did not dodge.
The vast expanse of snowflakes instantly transformed into an avalanche, directly engulfing and burying him.
And when the snowflakes touched his body, Yoriichi Tsugikuni truly experienced what it meant for his functions to be affected.
These snowflakes seemed to have a life of their own, desperately drilling into his skin. Every bit they drilled in, his muscles would stiffen a bit.
Even if they couldn't penetrate due to the difference in spiritual pressure, there were other ways to affect the human body.
For example, breathing. These snowflakes could silently enter the body through one's breath.
Under such circumstances, bones and cells would suffer severe erosion, either pulverizing or necrotizing...
Yoriichi couldn't help but change his previous thoughts.
This ability was still very strong offensively, but it needed to be combined with certain other abilities, as it was too easily countered by fire-type abilities.
Thoughts flashed quickly through his mind. After understanding the effect of "Frostfall," Yoriichi slightly channeled his spiritual pressure and vibrated his entire body.
With a "bang," the white snowflakes scattered like raindrops.
The erosion his body had suffered gradually disappeared. Yoriichi looked at Hisana and nodded in praise:
"Not bad. Do you have any other moves?"
"Since it's the First Dance, then like Rukia, there should be a Second Dance, right?"
Hisana's face was faintly pale. To avoid disappointing her brother, she had used almost all her strength, and now only had enough energy to speak:
"...Yes, but with my current strength, I can't use the Second Dance yet."
"Moreover, even the First Dance I just used, I can't perform it again right now... I'm sure you noticed."
"Normal frostfall is the sublimation of water. Although I can actively release it, under normal circumstances, it cannot form an avalanche-like power."
"In combat, if spiritual pressure output is limited, this move can probably only serve to delay time, similar to a support skill..."
"Only by using the Second Dance can it possess a certain degree of lethality."
"Compared to Rukia's Sode no Shirayuki, it's still quite a bit behind..."
"Don't belittle yourself, Hisana. The effects of any Zanpakuto are not immutable; it depends on how you develop it."
Yoriichi Tsugikuni gently shook his head. He clearly understood Hisana's current mindset, so he comforted her:
"Just like Byakuya's Senbonzakura, at first it could only turn into petals to cut others, but now it can form a sea of flowers."
"In the future, who knows, it might turn into a world of flowers."
As he spoke, Yoriichi stepped forward and gently helped Hisana,
"Go rest first. It seems that last move took quite a toll on you."
"I'm not expecting Bankai; as long as you can fully master Shikai and protect yourself, that's enough."
"Rukia, come here, quickly take your sister back."
After Rukia helped Hisana leave, Yoriichi Tsugikuni finally noticed Ai, who had been standing there, not having left and not having spoken a word, and asked:
"So, Ai, what do you need me for?"
Ai pursed her lips, her gaze fixed on the direction Hisana had left. Then she quickly jumped onto Yoriichi Tsugikuni's shoulder, hugging his neck, and said playfully:
"Father, I want my own Zanpakuto too."
"Aunt Hisana's snow is so beautiful, and Aunt Rukia's ice. Can I also awaken an ice-type Zanpakuto?"
"..." Most likely not. Based on Ai's personality, it would either be a fire-type or a direct attack-type.
Of course, personality can change, so Yoriichi didn't make an arbitrary judgment.
He reached out and stroked Ai's head, saying softly:
"Let's talk about it when we get home. No one can say what the future holds, but I can teach you a few ice-type Kido..."
"As long as you promise me not to use them to hurt others."
"Can you do that?"