"I really didn't want to act on the first day…" Ichigo Kurosaki tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Didn't we just have this conversation?"
"Yeah." Uryū Ishida tried to move his fingers, only for a sharp, piercing pain to shoot through them. "But this time, I wasn't part of it."
"You're even crazier than he is," Muten Natsu added irritably. "He's reckless because he doesn't know better. You knew exactly how dangerous it was and still charged in."
Uryū Ishida glanced at Ichigo Kurosaki. "I'm stronger than you."
Ichigo Kurosaki: "...How did you get that from what I said?"
The Menos had been destroyed, but scattered Hollows still lingered in the area.
After the Menos's corpse dissipated, the three of them clearly weakened, and the Hollow pack swarmed in again.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Continuous cannon fire echoed as several Hollows were blown apart.
"H-hello…" Ururu Tsumugiya, carrying a massive weapon wrapped in talismans, greeted them shyly.
"Natsu-san!" Kisuke Urahara appeared, happily waving his folding fan. "We're here to help!"
"Jinta Home Run!" Jinta Hanakari swung his oversized spiked club, smashing a Hollow into fragments.
"Hah!" Tessai Tsukabishi shouted, thrusting out his palm and blowing apart another Hollow's head.
With everyone working together, the approaching Hollows were quickly eliminated.
"Thanks for holding on." Kisuke Urahara raised his fan to cover his face. "Leave the rest to us."
"You really showed up just in time…" Muten Natsu's vision blurred. He vaguely made out Rukia Kuchiki and Orihime Inoue approaching, but he couldn't hear their voices at all.
...
[Physical damage repaired]
[Zanpakutō damage: 64%]
[Slow repair in progress]
[Shadow Blade Shield: completely destroyed]
Within a white space crisscrossed by pitch-black cracks, Muten Natsu scanned the information displayed on the light screen. "Why is there still garbled text?"
[This is the result of you misjudging your own limits]
"That sounds like sarcasm."
[No]
"Good."
[There was no 'sounds like']
"..." Muten Natsu rubbed his ear. "I really don't think there should be a problem. Something feels off. My strength has clearly recovered a bit. A brief Hollowfication combined with Hellfire shouldn't have caused this level of collapse."
[Your reasoning is logical]
[If only it were correct]
Muten Natsu sighed. "You could skip the sarcasm and just tell me where I went wrong."
[The fundamental difference between Shinigami and Hollows lies in boundaries]
Images appeared on the light screen to illustrate the explanation. A blue humanoid figure appeared, its outline clearly defined.
[Boundaries are limitations]
[They are also protection]
Within the humanoid outline, the shape of a blade appeared. At the same time, a blade took form outside the figure as well.
[A Shinigami's power is essentially the projection of the strength contained within their boundaries, released through the Zanpakutō]
[This allows a Shinigami to display immense power while still preserving the self]
The blade outside the figure vanished. The body's outline collapsed, blue light spreading outward until only the head remained partially intact.
[Hollows are formed when a soul collapses and is reassembled]
[During the collapse]
[Most boundaries are destroyed]
[Only obsessive fixations remain]
[The power released during collapse attaches itself to those fixations, reassembling them into a Hollow]
The blue light gathered again around the remaining head, forming the silhouette of a beast. The surrounding outline was much fainter now, and a black hole gaped open in its chest.
[The boundary's strength after reassembly is weaker than before]
[The soul's power can pass through the boundary and be released]
[But the originally intact consciousness is also damaged]
[The inhuman form is the result of the soul's inner nature being fully exposed]
[The Hollow Hole in the chest represents a fractured consciousness]
[The mask is a means of concealing and escaping one's true nature]
[The soul's power will continue to pass through the boundary and be released]
[Therefore, Hollows must consume souls to sustain their existence]
Muten Natsu recalled the beetle Hollow from the abandoned hospital.
In its semi-Hollow state, the half-formed Hollow Hole in its chest had already been a sign that the boundary was about to break.
Once the Hollow Hole fully took shape, it was like a balloon filled to the brim and then punctured. It exploded instantly.
That was the collapse of the boundary, with power spiraling completely out of control.
Under the pull of the Jibakurei's obsession, that runaway power gathered again on the hospital rooftop, reassembling into a beetle-like Hollow.
The beetle had an exoskeleton.
Hard on the outside, soft within.
It was a perfect reflection of the Jibakurei's true inner state.
On the surface, it acted domineering, yelling at anyone who looked its way.
But deep down, it was fragile. Muten Natsu had only offered a single word of comfort, and it fell apart.
[Shinigami Hollowfication occurs while preserving the boundary]
[Allowing the soul's power to pass through the boundary and be released]
The blue glow of the humanoid silhouette slowly seeped beyond its outline.
[This release of power]
[In itself damages the boundary]
[Once the power output reaches a certain level]
[Hollowfication can no longer be reversed]
Muten Natsu nodded. "And Hellfire strengthens the soul's power while also damaging the boundary, which makes the Hollowfication progress much faster."
[Without the assistance of Uryū Ishida and Ichigo Kurosaki's power]
[You would very likely have truly become a Hollow this time]
"But it wasn't this extreme back in Seireitei," Muten Natsu said, noticing the discrepancy. "I held on for a long time then."
[The Reishi concentration in Seireitei is relatively high]
[Which suppresses the release of soul power to a certain extent]
[The Reishi concentration in the World of the Living is lower]
[So the suppression is comparatively weaker]
[During your time in Seireitei, your strength was stable]
[The Reishi obtained through Soul Essence Stealing came from Shinigami]
[The Reishi forming your body was relatively stable]
[Giving you greater tolerance]
[Your strength has not yet fully recovered]
[The Reishi obtained through Soul Essence Stealing now comes from Hollows]
[The Reishi forming your body is overly active]
[Your tolerance is therefore weaker]
"Understood." Muten Natsu reached a conclusion. "Next time, I can only Hollowfy for a very short period. If it goes on too long, it'll be dangerous."
[Your conclusion is completely correct]
[With death around anyway, how could you not push it?]
Muten Natsu casually swiped the light screen aside. "I seriously suspect the main reason I still can't use Bankai is because your personality is just awful."
[As the mirror of your personality]
[I completely agree]
After a Zanpakutō reaches Shikai, it can undergo a second stage of release—Bankai—allowing its abilities to be unleashed and utilized in a far more thorough and comprehensive manner.
If I could use Bankai, things wouldn't have been that dangerous earlier.
"Logically, this doesn't make sense. I've heard other people really struggle to communicate with their Zanpakutō." Muten Natsu couldn't wrap his head around it. "We communicate so smoothly. Bankai should be easy for us."
[The prerequisite for Bankai is that the Zanpakutō itself can be materialized, and that it can be subdued]
"Then materialize one for me to see."
[The Zanpakutō is a mirror of the Shinigami]
[The materialization of the Zanpakutō is the materialization of the Shinigami's self-awareness]
[Only after you gain a clear understanding of yourself]
b[Can I reflect a concrete form]
Muten Natsu fell into thought. "So if I want to achieve Bankai…"
[You need to materialize one for me to see]
Muten Natsu: "...?"