'Although life in my original world wasn't great, at least it was much safer than here.'
'Co to think of it, I've been daydreaming about so many things. Why haven't I felt the attack yet? Could it be that the Cero's power is so imnse that I turned to ashes before I could even feel the pain?'
Suddenly, a voice echoed repeatedly in Toshiro's ears...
Wrapping around his entire being...
Like thunder captured in the palm of his hand...
Toshiro opened his eyes and was instantly stunned by the scene around him.
In an endless expanse of blue ice plains, a massive blue ice dragon lay coiled.
Its head resembled a cal, its horns like a deer, its eyes like a rabbit, its ears like a cow, its neck like a snake, its belly like a clam, its scales like a carp, its claws like an eagle, its paws like a tiger, and on its back were a pair of enormous ice wings.
rely by lying there, a raging blizzard swirled around it as if it were the center of the world.
'Could this be the Inner World where the Zanpakuto resides?' Toshiro wondered.
"My apologies for making you wait so long, my master." The ice dragon's majestic, deep voice resounded.
"What do you an by that? Are you my Zanpakuto?" Toshiro asked.
"I am indeed a Zanpakuto, but I am also the dragon pearl left behind by the ice dragon."
"After the dragon pearl brought you to this world, in order to adapt to this world's power system, it rged with your soul, thus giving rise to my existence."
"During the period when the dragon pearl was rging with your soul, all of your power was unusable. Even if you were in danger, the dragon pearl couldn't function. But fortunately, the fusion was completed just in ti." The ice dragon replied.
'Just in ti? How the hell is that 'just in ti'? I almost died!' Toshiro thought to himself.
'But according to the ice dragon's explanation, everything makes sense now.'
Actually, after Momo ntioned taking the Shin'o Academy's entrance exam, Toshiro had wondered if he should beco a Shinigami earlier. But after sensing the Reiatsu within his body, he dismissed the idea.
Logically, as a prodigy who would later beco the youngest Captain, even if his Zanpakuto hadn't awakened, Toshiro should possess high innate Reiatsu. However, Toshiro hadn't been able to sense any Reiatsu within himself.
At the ti, Toshiro thought it was because it wasn't yet ti for his powers to awaken. But Reiatsu is sothing so people are born with, while others aren't… no matter how hard they train, it won't appear.
As a prodigy, Toshiro should naturally be one of those born with it. He shouldn't have been unable to sense it. Now it seems it was all because the ice dragon pearl was rging with his soul.
"What about the situation outside? Is Hinamori okay?" Toshiro asked with concern.
"No need to worry. Everything is fine outside. You should focus on what cos next." The ice dragon replied.
"Now then, ti is short. Let's get to the main point. Toshiro, you should know the thod to obtain my power, right?" The ice dragon urged.
"I think I roughly know what to do." Toshiro said seriously.
"Although you may already know my na, I advise you: if you cannot truly hear it, it's best not to speak it. Because that would an you have not yet earned my recognition, and you might lose your life as a result." The ice dragon warned.
Toshiro felt a chill in his heart. He had thought that by leveraging his foreknowledge from the ani, which is knowing his Zanpakuto's na, he could easily obtain the ability of Shikai.
Now it seed there was no such thing as a free lunch in this world. To gain sothing, one must pay a price.
"I'll give you so ti to prepare. Once you're ready, we'll begin." The ice dragon said, looking at Toshiro.
Shikai is the initial release form of a Zanpakuto.
A Shinigami communicates and interacts with their Zanpakuto to understand it, gain its recognition, be told its true na, and then invoke that na to achieve Shikai.
Communication is the ans, understanding is the goal. In the ani, Shinigami achieve this by spending day and night with their Zanpakuto, sharing their lives to mutually understand each other and learn the Zanpakuto's true na. But now, there was no ti for Toshiro to take it slow.
"Just what should I do?" Toshiro pondered.
"A Zanpakuto is born from a Shinigami's soul. Its abilities are closely tied to the Shinigami's personality and experiences. In other words, understanding the Zanpakuto ans understanding oneself."
"So, what kind of person am I? What are my desires? What is the aning of my existence? What do I truly want to do?"
Toshiro thought of his grandmother, of Momo, of the warmth they shared when the three of them ate together.
"I see. So that's it. What I want is sothing so simple. Even though I joked about dominating the Soul Society and reaching the peak of life during idle monts, that was just amusing myself."
"If anyone tries to harm my family or friends, they'd better be prepared to stake their lives on it! Whether it's the enemy or myself!"
"Ti's up. I'll only say this once, so listen carefully." The ice dragon's voice rang out.
"My na is..."
Outside.
When Toshiro shielded Momo, Momo also looked back. She saw a red beam of light shooting toward Toshiro and herself. Instinctively, Momo wrapped her arms around Toshiro from behind.
'It wouldn't be so bad to die together with Toshiro like this.' Momo thought.
Suddenly, in her daze, Momo seed to hear a voice ring out.
"Sit Upon the Frozen Heavens, Hyorinmaru!"
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