"The lotus blooms, and when it falls, the fruit remains."
"Burn through yourself just to bloom for one magnificent instant; that is the essence of Garenge."
"If you wish, you can even pour in a massive amount of Spiritual Pressure at once to unleash a strike far beyond your current limits, blowing your opponent away in an instant."
"Of course, given your current state, you'd be lucky to pull off such an extraordinary attack even once."
Garenge looked at Ren with eyes full of pity and consolation.
Although she was talking about Spiritual Pressure, it felt like she was implying something more.
Ren curled his lip.
"What, you want to try?"
"Eek! Master, you're so mean. You wouldn't even spare your own Zanpakuto?"
Just as Ren was about to rap her over the head with the back of his blade, she wiped the smirk off her face and continued.
"While Garenge's original abilities remain, they are no longer my core function. What I'm about to describe is my other new ability."
"'Cuffs' is the new skill the System has granted me."
"I can analyze the abilities of any enemy you encounter—be it a Zanpakuto's power, a Quincy's technique, a Fullbring, or even a Hollow's ability."
"As the analysis completes, I can resist or even seal the enemy's power."
"Resistance is passive; sealing is active."
"However, the effectiveness of the seal depends on your Spiritual Pressure limit."
"The analyzed abilities are stored in... let me see, hmm..."
Garenge lay flat on her back, her fair legs crossed as her delicate feet swayed back and forth.
She extended a finger, sliding it up and down across the System interface appearing before her.
"Why don't I see a single analyzed ability, meow?"
"Oh, right! I haven't been released yet, so I haven't analyzed any enemy abilities."
"Hehe, Master is so weak."
Watching Garenge scroll through the System menu, Ren finally realized what was happening.
He froze for a moment, his eyes widening slightly.
"You have it too?"
"A little cheat doesn't count as cheating."
Garenge waved her hand dismissively.
Ren watched her fingers move, then opened his own status panel.
[SYSTEM: NAME: HASUMI REN]
[SYSTEM: SPIRITUAL POWER: GRADE 8 (EXP: 650/8000)]
[SYSTEM: ZANJUTSU: LV4 (EXP: 310/5000)]
[SYSTEM: HAKUDA: LV4 (EXP: 220/5000)]
[SYSTEM: HOHO: LV4 (EXP: 350/5000)]
[SYSTEM: KIDO: LV3 (EXP: 2650/3000)]
[SYSTEM: ZANPAKUTO: GARENGE (SHIKAI)]
[SYSTEM: SPECIAL ABILITIES]
[SYSTEM: HOLLOWIFICATION: LV1 (EXP: 460/1000)]
[SYSTEM: HOGYOKU (AWAKENING: 0.05%)]
Ren saw that the Zanpakuto entry had changed to Shikai status and recorded Garenge's name.
With a thought, another window popped up.
[SYSTEM: ANALYZED ABILITIES: NONE]
This was the section Garenge had been scrolling through.
Ren stood in place, quietly processing the information for a while.
This Zanpakuto provided him with an overwhelming amount of information.
But the surprise was just as great.
Garenge's intrinsic ability was more like a melee type, allowing Ren to burst with immense power in a short duration.
The other ability, which could analyze and even seal others, was closer to a rule-based type.
It had both raw power and specialized mechanics.
The only problem now was that his basic attributes were too weak.
Garenge seemed to see through his thoughts.
"Hehe. Master is like someone seeing two high-performance cars parked in front of him, but he's so small and weak that he can't even reach the gas pedal."
"Even though you're holding the keys, you can't find the ignition. You can't drive these beauties freely; you can only sit on the sidelines and cry your eyes out in frustration."
With a thud, Garenge took a hit from the back of the blade. With a cry of pain, she tumbled to the ground, clutching her head and wailing.
"Argh, ow... I'm being abused by my host! I'm going to post about it online and expose you!"
Ren ignored Garenge's thrashing and let out a quiet sigh.
What she said was true.
His progress was a bit too slow.
While he could still grind some experience from Kaien, there was a limit to it.
For some reason, Ren suddenly thought of the badge Urahara Kisuke had given him.
'The Detention Unit...'
'Perhaps it's time to take the initiative and get in touch with my future colleagues.'
After Ren finished processing the information, he finally exhaled slowly.
Then, he looked at Garenge, who was secretly picking at her toes, and asked a few questions.
"I still have some questions regarding this analysis ability you mentioned."
"If the opponent is an ability-type and their interference or control effects fail against me, I can understand that."
"But if the enemy is a melee-type or Kidō-type, what happens to their attacks while you're analyzing them?"
"During the analysis process, the damage will gradually decrease as the progress bar fills, until you achieve full immunity once it's complete."
"Take Ryujin Jakka, for example. Once the analysis is done, the flames generated by the blade will no longer harm you."
"However, even without the elemental damage, Old Man Yama's Spiritual Pressure and physical strength could still crush you into dust with a single swing."
"Or take Zangetsu. A Getsuga Tensho would feel like a tickle."
"But if he gets in your face and lands a physical hit, you'll end up looking like a Gojo Satoru cosplay on the spot."
"If it's just a standard melee type with only a change in shape, where the ability merely boosts the user's output efficiency, the best I can do is reduce the damage dealt to you."
"In the end, Master will still have to clash blades with them, meow."
Ren listened and more or less understood.
"In other words, as your analysis completes, both control and damage effects are weakened or even negated, but basic attacks still deal fundamental damage."
"I can even consume my own Spiritual Pressure to seal the opponent's ability, right?"
Garenge nodded and rubbed her nose.
"Exactly."
"After all, those 'strongest Zanpakuto' claims are just people hype-building for each other. A Zanpakuto is just a tool to amplify and release their own strength."
"What's truly powerful is never the Zanpakuto's ability, but the person wielding it, meow."
Ren nodded in agreement.
Despite her crude phrasing, the sentiment was sound.
Ren recalled something else.
"I remember among the Bakkoto developed by the Kasumioji Clan, there was one that could suppress Zanpakuto abilities. Would that work on you?"
"Huh? Why are you comparing some low-quality, third-party workshop plugin to my original, full-blooded Pro Max version?"
"Besides, don't underestimate the System, you idiot! Among all rule-based abilities, my priority is definitely the highest, meow!"
Looking at the confident, hissing Garenge, Ren nodded numbly and raised a second question.
He held up a finger.
"That person... he probably doesn't fully know your name and abilities, right?"