Chapter 169: The Zanpakuto becomes a symbol and the transformation into a divine body is revealed!

The training ground of the 11th Squadron is very large.

After all, this is a team that loves fighting. When the team members have nothing to do, they like to spar and fight in order to improve their own strength.

At the edge of the training ground is the 11th Squadron’s barracks.

And now, the team house has suffered great damage, which is caused by the aftermath of the battle.

When he repeatedly fell into desperate situations, and broke free from them time and time again, and walked back from the brink of death, the sealed power in Zaraki's body was reawakened, and it was not surprising that he awakened his Zanpakutō.

It seems that in the anime, it was Unohana Retsu who sacrificed himself to allow Zaraki to awaken his Zanpakutō.

But this is one way, not necessarily.

What really made Zaraki awaken his Zanpakutō was the battles that brought him close to death.

Every battle can awaken his hidden instincts a little.

Until he awakened to his peak.

But the so-called peak here is only his peak back then. If he encounters a strong enemy again and falls into a desperate situation, he can still become stronger again. For example, his Bankai was mastered in such a situation.

However, Natsuki was no longer interested in continuing to force Zaraki to master Bankai.

After all, his Bankai means turning into a mad beast.

Xia Mu didn't want to fight such a beast.

In fact, he now has no interest in fighting Zaraki.

"It's time to end it now."

Looking at Zaraki in front of him, who was holding a terrifyingly exaggerated Zanpakuto, Natsuki spoke calmly.

It was the strike of Zaraki after he awakened his Zanpakutō that destroyed the 11th Division's barracks.

"How can it end like this?"

"We haven't enjoyed a more exciting battle yet."

Geng Mu, however, was a little bit relentless.

"I am very interested in chopping you down!"

He grinned, and as he spoke, the gigantic Zanpakuto in his hand was raised. His whole body flashed and instantly appeared in front of Xia Mu. As he leaped up, a terrifying blow was slashed out.

Xia Mu raised his brows slightly.

"It seems that the battle will not end until I defeat you."

As the thought flashed through his mind, he dodged to the side.

Even Natsuki didn't want to take Zaraki's slash head-on.

Zanpakuto are divided into Kidō-type and direct-attack-type, and Zaraki's Zanpakuto, in Natsuki's opinion, is the pinnacle of the direct-attack type.

There is no power that is too strange, only extremely terrifying power.

In the anime, Zaraki, who unleashed his Zanpakutō for the first time, used his Shikai to smash a huge meteorite that was big enough to destroy Soul Society.

At this moment, although Zaraki, who had released his Zanpakutō, did not completely destroy the 11th Division, he did destroy part of the team's barracks. During this process, Natsuki, with his powerful spiritual perception, was able to see through the true and false strength of some of Zaraki's powers.

When Zaraki swings his sword, his powerful spiritual pressure will flow into the sword, amplifying his slashing power.

Yes, the sword that Zaraki used in the past when it was in a shallow strike state was not actually a complete shallow strike, but a half-release. This might be the reason why his sword pressure was so strong in the past.

boom!
Just as Xia Mu dodged, an extremely deep ravine appeared on the ground.

Even after releasing his Zanpakutō, Zaraki's fighting style did not change at all and remained as brutal as ever.

But it is normal. As long as the power is strong enough, even the most brutal attack method can be terrifying.

Natsuki felt the power contained in Zaraki's slash.

"I can't let you continue like this."

If the battle was in Rukongai, Xia Mu wouldn't have so many concerns.

But it's different here.

This is the squadron barracks of the 11th Squadron. If Geng Mu is allowed to fight recklessly, it will cause great damage to the squadron barracks, and it will also be a hassle to repair it afterwards.

A blood-red light emanated from Xia Mu's body.

In an instant, red mist filled the surroundings.

Zaraki swung his sword instinctively, and the terrifying slash tore through the red mist.

What greeted him was a scarlet slash.

boom! !

When the two slashes collided, the terrifying aftermath poured out in all directions, and it seemed that it was about to sweep up the surrounding spirit particles and turn into a spirit particle storm, but in a moment, it was absorbed by the invisible force. Countless red ropes emerged and wrapped around Zanaki's body, restricting Zanaki's movements.

"Although I don't oppose fighting, now, please have some sleep."

Natsuki's figure appeared behind Zaraki.

Extremely weird.

This is not a flash step, but a spatial transfer that is more powerful than a flash step, similar to the hollow's ringing transfer.

The hand that wasn't holding the knife flicked its fingers.

A powerful anesthetic called "Piercing Point" was injected by Xia Mu, penetrating through Geng Mu's skin and entering his body.

The anesthetic took effect quickly and Zaraki's body shook a few times. However, Natsuki still underestimated Zaraki's strong will. The powerful anesthetic that could easily knock down an elite death god had little effect on Zaraki.

He swayed his body for a while, as if he was drunk, but he did not fall down.

As a last resort, Xia Mu could only use physical blows.

Completely knocked down Gengmu.

As Zaraki fell, his Zanpakutō, which was in the Shikai state, also degenerated and turned into the appearance of Asauchi.

"It's finally over."

Glancing at the devastated training ground, Xia Mu couldn't help but think.

What he cared about was not the training ground, but the damaged team house not far away.

Perhaps it was because the power after Zaraki released his Zanpakuto was too terrifying. Although Natsuki had asked the team members to avoid it during the previous battle, they still moved closer, wanting to figure out what was going on.

"Go away, go away, go away!"

Facing the team members who had rushed here, Xia Mu spoke directly and ordered them to disperse.

……

The 11th Squadron's barracks are under renovation.

When Geng Mu woke up, the first thing he thought of was to continue challenging Natsuki.

Since coming to Seireitei, he lost count of how many times he had lost to Natsuki.

Here in Xia Mu, he enjoyed the thrill of fighting.

There is no need to suppress your own strength, just fight with all your strength. No, even if you fight with all your strength, it will be difficult to defeat Xia Mu.

Zaraki didn't know how strong Natsuki was, nor did he know if Natsuki used his full strength when facing him.

His brain didn't allow him to think about so many things.

He only remembered that he lost to Xia Mu again.

So, he wanted to continue fighting with Xia Mu until he defeated Xia Mu.

Just when he was about to burst into fighting spirit and decided to challenge Xia Mu to a fight, Xia Mu's words calmed him down.

"We'll talk about the battle later. Now we can talk about the Eight Thousand Flows."

"What happened to Yachiryu?" Zaraki asked hurriedly after hearing what Natsuki said.

Although it seems that Zaraki has no other desires except fighting, he actually has things he cares about.

What he cared about was Yachiryu.

"Yachiryu has disappeared." Natsuki did not hide the truth and told Zaraki truthfully.

Geng Mu's expression changed, and he was somewhat unable to accept this fact.

Then, Xia Mu's words calmed him down a little, "But I have a way to let you see Yachiryu again."

After all, Kusaka Yachiryu is Zaraki's Zanpakutō.

She would disappear only because Zaraki finally heard the sound of his Zanpakutō and mastered its release, thus her mission was accomplished.

If Zaraki could just master sword Zen and the technique to communicate with his Zanpakutō, he could actually meet Yachiryu.

But such a thing is extremely difficult for Zaraki, who likes to rely on instinct and has poor learning ability.

Instead of letting him slowly learn to communicate with his Zanpakuto.

It would be better to use another thing to force Kusaka Hachiryu to materialize into reality.

After many years, the Soul Transmigration Body that Urahara Kisuke had placed under the warehouse gathering dust was borrowed out by Natsuki again.

With the help of the divine body, even though Zaraki had not yet fallen into despair and reached the edge of controlling Bankai, the soul of his Zanpakutō, that is, Kusaka Hachiryu, was still forcibly materialized and met Zaraki in another way.

Zaraki just doesn't like to use his brain, but that doesn't mean he is really a fool.

As Kusaka Yachiryu appeared in this way, he also knew the origins of Kusaka Yachiryu.

The rest of the time was left to Zaraki and Kusaka Hachiru.

Not all Zanpakutō will get angry if they are forcibly materialized into reality. In any case, Kusaka Hachiryu is not such a sword.

I went to the Fourth Division again.

Although I can use the spirit particle communicator, since it involves Zaraki, it is better to talk to Unohana Retsu in person.

"Zaraki has mastered the release of his Zanpakutō."

When Unohana Retsu heard this, he didn't move much, but his eyes involuntarily froze.

After a long silence, a gentle voice came out from Unohana Retsu's mouth, "Thank you."

"Sister Lie, you don't have to thank me. Zaraki is now the Shinigami of my 11th Division. His becoming stronger means that my division is also stronger, which is a good thing. In addition, the reason why he can master the release of his Zanpakutō is because of his desire to fight."

At that time, Zaraki was able to seal himself in order to enjoy fighting.

Likewise, in order to enjoy the battle, he will also release the seal on himself and become strong again. This is a relative thing.

The conversation with Unohana Retsu didn't last too long.

I just told Unohana Retsu so that Unohana Retsu could feel at ease.

It was also after Zaraki mastered the release of his Zanpakutō that Natsuki's special training of Zaraki was considered complete.

Even though Zaraki still challenged Natsuki to a fight, Natsuki ignored him.

This kind of internal friction, in Xia Mu's opinion, is meaningless. If he has this time, he might as well go and see what new things Urahara Kisuke has come up with.

Ever since Captain-General Yamamoto developed selfish ambitions and seized power, the entire Soul Society has made rapid progress as if overnight, which makes sense if you think about it.

In the past, the progress and development of Seireitei were all carried out in the Central Forty-six Chambers under the guidance of the nobles.

Only research permitted by the Central Office 46 can proceed.

As for the nobles, except for a few enlightened ones, the vast majority are conservative.

It’s not that they are pedantic.

It is because only by being conservative can they safeguard their own interests.

From ancient times to the present, they have been the vested beneficiaries.

Although they are in decline now, it is absolutely impossible to ask them to give up the interests in their hands.

The progress of Seireitei means that a new order may emerge. The new order will shake the old rules and affect their interests. Therefore, whenever it comes to matters related to the progress of Seireitei, they need to discuss it seriously.

From this point of view, the members of the Central 46th Room who were slaughtered by Kuchiki Xianghe were actually enlightened people.

They supported Hikifune Kiryu in establishing a technology development bureau and supported the development of Kidō weapons.

However, the group of Central Forty-six Chambers that came after, due to the manipulation of the old monster Tsunayashiro's ancestor, directly reversed history and wanted to turn the Soul Society back to its original state of being ruled by nobles. They wanted all the Gotei 13 to be dominated by them and become killers of the nobles.

Of course, that's all in the past.

Between progress and regression, and between conservatism.

Captain Yamamoto finally chose to make progress.

Such a choice surprised Xia Mu, because based on his understanding of Captain Yamamoto, he thought that the other party would stick to the old ways.

With the support of Captain Yamamoto, the two geniuses, Kisuke Urahara and Mayuri Kurotsuchi, constantly came up with all kinds of strange and weird things. They made the world of Bleach quickly move from the feudal ancient society to modern civilization.

Ghost weapons are also constantly changing.

But when I think about the tremendous power I felt when I bombed the lepton space.

Xia Mu felt that relying solely on ghost weapons might not be enough to deal with the Quincy.

After all, the Quincy has the ability to gather spirit particles.

The power of the ghost way also comes from the spirit particles.

Zanpakuto, an extremely important weapon for the gods of death, was once put down by many gods of death after the birth of Kidō weapons.

Because the damage that a weak god of death can cause by relying solely on cutting techniques is not as great as that caused by ghost weapons.

There is nothing wrong with the weak doing this.

But some strong people obviously cannot rely entirely on Kidō weapons. They have extraordinary potential. As long as they practice diligently and develop their Zanpakuto, their abilities will be superior to Kidō weapons.

"Kisuke, maybe you can make that thing public."

In the Technology Development Bureau, Natsuki gave advice to Urahara Kisuke like a staff officer.

Urahara Kisuke certainly knew what Natsuki was talking about.

Before this, Natsuki had borrowed the Divine Body from him, and used the Divine Body to help Zaraki and Kusaka Yachiru meet.

If Natsuki hadn't mentioned it, Urahara Kisuke would have planned to keep the Divine Body sealed.

Back then, he developed the Tenshintai with the idea of ​​learning Bankai through convenient means.

But later I found out that transforming into a divine body was not that good.

This thing can certainly allow the god of death to learn Bankai quickly, but the conditions are very harsh.

Spiritual power, the strength of the god of death, all of these are indispensable.

If the spiritual power is not enough, the Zanpakutō cannot be materialized into reality. If the strength is insufficient, it is very likely that the Grim Reaper will be killed by the Tensei body.

Although there are no examples.

However, Urahara Kisuke had personally learned Bankai with the help of the Tenshintai, so he was aware of this risk.

After that, only Natsuki learned Bankai with the help of the Tenshintai.

Even so, it took Natsuki an extremely long time and was fraught with danger to learn Bankai.

As a result, now, Natsuki took the initiative to suggest that Urahara Kisuke make his divine body transformation public, which made Urahara Kisuke very conflicted.

"I know that the divine body transfer is a very dangerous thing. It is a shortcut to learn Bankai."

"But you also know that learning Bankai through normal means is an extremely long process, often taking years, and there may be no progress for decades."

"Not all Shinigami can learn Bankai in just one month like Vice Captain Suzube."

"Corresponding to the danger, the result of the transformation into a divine body is that the god of death quickly learns Bankai."

The words of persuasion fell into Urahara Kisuke's ears. Urahara Kisuke looked hesitant. He had not made a decision yet, but asked Natsuki another question, "Natsuki, why do you care so much about improving the strength of the Gotei 13?"

Whether it is the development of Ghostly Dao weapons or the current suggestion that he make his Divine Body Transformation public, the purpose is the same.

That is to improve the Gotei 13 and enhance the strength of the Shinigami.

“Because the crisis has not disappeared.”

Natsuki didn't hide much from Urahara Kisuke.

"That day, we used the Kidō Cannon to destroy the spirit sub-space hidden in the shadow of Seireitei. It seemed like a permanent solution, eliminating all future troubles, but that was not actually the case."

“At that moment, I felt an incomparable and magnificent power.”

"Those Quincies hiding in the spirit subspace may not be completely dead, and one of them may be one person."

Xia Mu opened his mouth and said a name.

Urahara Kisuke's expression changed again and again.

After taking control of the 12th Division, he knew many secrets, and of course he knew about that person's existence.

Yhwach, once the ruler of the Empire of Light and the king of all Quincies, once invaded Soul Society and fought a fierce battle with Captain-General Yamamoto.

According to records, the other party had been killed by Captain Yamamoto.

But now it seems that this is not the case.

If Youhabach had not died, war could have broken out at any time.

Considering the records of that battle in history books, Urahara Kisuke felt that it was understandable that Natsuki was so eager to improve the strength of the God of Death.

Because of their years of interaction, Urahara Kisuke believed what Natsuki said.

He pondered for a long time, and said in a deep voice: "I agree to make the Transformation Body public, but some usage restrictions must be imposed."

"Of course we have to add it. This thing is too dangerous. If there is no restriction, it will be like a repeat of what happened to the Xiumu Xianghe River back then."

In the past, Kuchiki Hibiki hypnotized all the Zanpakuto in the Soul Society with the help of the Reiwa Towers that were spread throughout the Soul Society.

For the weak Shinigami who haven't even mastered the Shikai, it doesn't have much impact, as their Zanpakutō are not fully developed and cannot be materialized in reality at all. However, those Shinigami who have mastered the Shikai have suffered a lot.

If Kidō weapons had not been widely used at that time, the entire Gotei 13 would have suffered heavy casualties.

And the transformation into a divine body is even more dangerous than Kuchiki Hibiki's Muramasa hypnosis.

This is the practice of learning Bankai.

A Zanpakutō can only be defeated in head-on combat, and the likes of Kidō weapons cannot be used at all.

"I'll temporarily appoint him as the vice-captain."

Xia Mu thought for a while and stated the restrictions.

"Only Shinigami who have reached the level of vice-captain can practice Bankai with the help of the Tensei."

The measure of whether a Grim Reaper has reached the level of vice-captain is not based on his position but on his spiritual power.

When things are settled.

Natsuki and Urahara Kisuke went to see the captain-general again, and this time they went to the executive office of the first team in person. After all, it was too disrespectful to always ask the captain-general to come to the Technical Development Bureau.

It is true that when Xia Mu was dealing with the lepton space incident, he spoke to the captain in a very impolite tone, because at that time, he still had a trace of resentment towards the captain in his heart.

Even if he entered hell, it was his own idea.

But the captain did not speak for him during this process, which made Xia Mu a little unhappy.

But now, the captain-general has stopped the formation of the new Central Forty-Six and fully supports the progress of Soul Society. This move has also caused Natsuki's attitude towards him to change somewhat.

When the captain learned about this strange creation of the Transformed Divine Body.

The captain was very shocked.

Then, he learned that Urahara Kisuke had invented this thing a hundred years ago, and he became even more shocked.

So, if you have such a useful thing, why don’t you take it out earlier?

As for using the divine body, there are risks.

How can it be so easy to gain power?

Compared to being able to learn Bankai, this risk is completely acceptable.

The work of promoting the transformation of the divine body is going very smoothly.

Soon, Captain-General Yamamoto gathered a group of deputy captain-level Shinigami whose spiritual power had reached the fourth level, and they began to practice Bankai with the help of their divine bodies.

Although he is only at the fifth level of spiritual power, he is also considered as a deputy captain.

But the fifth rank is just the level of deputy captain.

The divine body transformation is very dangerous. To be on the safe side, it is better to let the elite deputy captain use this item for now. Although a god of death of this strength has not fully mastered Bankai, he has also practiced Bankai himself.

With the help of the divine body, some of them quickly completed the last step of accumulation and successfully learned Bankai.

……

The long river of time continues to rush forward.

Unlike the Soul Society which developed slowly in the past, in today's era, new things are born basically every once in a while.

The rapid development of the times has made it difficult for many elderly death gods to adapt.

After the Gotei 13's strength increased further, the already declining nobles were unable to make any waves.

However, some gossip and anecdotes about the nobles would occasionally spread within the Soul Society.

A recent rumor about the nobility.

The story goes that the young head of the Kuchiki family, Byakuya Kuchiki, fell in love with a commoner girl while traveling in Rukongai and insisted on marrying her.

It would be fine if it were just civilians.

After all, there was a history of commoners marrying into the Kuchiki family.

But this civilian woman is... a whole.

(End of this chapter)