"What?"
Ichigo was stunned for a moment, looking at Kyoya in confusion.
Regarding that guy who could seize his body at any time, Kyoya was actually asking if he had heard what that guy said?
However, Ichigo was no ordinary person after all.
Suppressing the fear in his heart, Ichigo closed his eyes and recalled the scene after he met that guy.
As Ichigo recalled his encounter with the Hollow Ichigo, some Reiatsu leaked from his body. This Reiatsu coalesced on his face, seemingly trying to form a Hollow mask.
Slap!
Ichigo slapped the mask on his face, shattering it, and gasped for breath.
"Sorry, Kyoya-senpai."
"Whenever I think about that guy, he comes out to fight me for control of my body."
"Ichigo, have you ever considered that perhaps that guy isn't really trying to fight you for control of your body, but is using such a method to get your attention?"
"What?"
Ichigo was dumbfounded.
"Why would he want to get my attention?"
"Naturally, it's because if he didn't do that, even his own existence would be usurped!"
Kyoya sighed.
In the world of Bleach, everything has a 'name'.
And the name is power!
Things without a name possess no power whatsoever.
They might not even exist at all.
The Quincy power hidden within Ichigo's body usurped the name and ability of the Zanpakuto [Zangetsu] from the Hollow Ichigo, sealing the power of the Hollow Zangetsu.
If Ichigo were to forget the Hollow Zangetsu, then the Hollow Zangetsu would lose its existence.
The Hollow Zangetsu, although it was originally a Vasto Lorde-level Hollow created by Aizen using a Shinigami's soul, because it fused with Isshin's Shinigami Reiatsu within Masaki's body and was later reborn within Ichigo, it became the Zanpakuto that protects Ichigo.
Like the Quincy Zangetsu, the purpose of the Hollow Zangetsu's existence is to protect Ichigo.
However, the Hollow Zangetsu's perspective is the opposite of the Quincy Zangetsu's.
The Quincy Zangetsu believes that as long as Ichigo's strength isn't too great, he won't be seen by Yhwach and thus won't die by Yhwach's hand.
Therefore, he sealed the Hollow Zangetsu's power and, at the same time, limited Ichigo's use of his own power, keeping Ichigo's strength within a certain range where he wouldn't be 'seen' by Yhwach.
This way, Ichigo would survive.
But the Hollow Zangetsu believes that as long as one's own strength is great enough, strong enough to slay Yhwach, then one can properly protect Ichigo.
Both of them are using their own methods to protect Ichigo.
As Ichigo experienced more battles, even the Quincy Zangetsu had to acknowledge the Hollow Zangetsu's viewpoint and agreed to increase Ichigo's power.
He released his suppression of the Hollow Zangetsu, allowing Ichigo to use the Hollow Zangetsu's power.
The Hollow Ichigo would not fight Ichigo for control of the body, nor would he replace Ichigo. The Hollow Zangetsu simply felt that doing so could better stimulate Ichigo's potential.
And indeed, as the Hollow Zangetsu expected.
Under his pressuring, Ichigo mastered the power of [Hollowfication] in just a few short days.
"Ichigo, I know you can understand an enemy's thoughts through the clash of swords during battle."
"So, did you read his heart when you fought that guy?"
"More importantly, that guy is the power your parents left you to replace them in protecting you."
Before giving birth to Ichigo, the Hollow Zangetsu's Reiatsu was sealed within Ichigo's body.
After Ichigo was born, the Hollow Zangetsu merged with Ichigo, its own nature assimilated by Masaki's 'love' and 'protection' for Ichigo.
As the Quincy Zangetsu and Hollow Zangetsu said after fusing when Ichigo was training [The Final Getsuga Tensho]...
The only one they ever wanted to protect was Ichigo!
"As long as you can gain that guy's recognition, your strength will undoubtedly receive a huge boost."
Patting Ichigo's shoulder, Kyoya could tell that Ichigo's Reiatsu had been increasing rapidly recently, showing that the Hollow Zangetsu had been putting considerable pressure on him.
But at the same time, because Ichigo hadn't truly acknowledged the Hollow Zangetsu, or rather, he believed the Hollow Zangetsu was his own dark side that would fight him for control of his body, whenever his emotions fluctuated greatly or he used too much Reiatsu, his body would be eroded by Hollow Reiatsu, entering a Hollowfied state.
This was also a manifestation that Ichigo hadn't fully mastered the Hollow Zangetsu's power yet.
"Uh..."
Hearing Kyoya say this, Ichigo felt somewhat hesitant.
It's just that he had just tried to recall a bit earlier and almost Hollowfied, showing just how much fear he currently held towards the Hollow Zangetsu.
Kyoya could understand this point.
No matter what, Ichigo was just a sixteen-year-old boy.
Knowing there was someone hidden within his heart who could seize his body at any time, how could he not be afraid?
He had only seen the Hollow Zangetsu's madness and was terrified that if his body were taken over, the Hollow Zangetsu would use his body to hurt the people he cared about.
"Don't worry, did you forget what happened after you completed your Bankai Training?"
"After you fell unconscious, that guy used your body and fought me."
"You can think more here about every word that guy said to you, analyzing what he meant."
"As for the rest, leave it all to me."
"With me here, even if you Hollowfy, you won't hurt anyone."
"Similarly, once I find your body starting to deeply Hollowfy, I will shatter your mask and bring you back to consciousness."
"How about it?"
"You probably want to solve this problem soon too, right?"
Ichigo was silent for a moment, then finally nodded.
"Then, Kyoya-senpai, I'll leave it to you!"
For the current Ichigo, Kyoya was indeed one of the few people he could trust.
Plus, as Kyoya said earlier, even if he fell into a Hollowfied state, he could easily shatter Ichigo's mask and bring him back to consciousness.
Taking a deep breath, Ichigo sat cross-legged on the ground, placed Zangetsu on his knees, and entered a Zanzen state.
He was going to enter his Inner World again to talk with that guy who looked exactly like him.
Even if they had to converse with swords, he wanted to understand just what kind of existence that guy inside his body was.
Boom!
After Ichigo entered the Zanzen state, Kyoya noticed that the Reiatsu on Ichigo's body gradually turned black-red.
A large amount of Reiatsu erupted from Ichigo's body, condensing into a mask with black, white, and red patterns.
"Groooowl-"
A sound like a Hollow's roar came from Ichigo's mouth.
The massive black-red Reiatsu made the current Ichigo look more like a Hollow than an actual Hollow.
Whoosh!
Ichigo's figure flashed, instantly appearing beside Kyoya, swinging his Zanpakuto down at Kyoya.
"…"
Seeing Ichigo enter the Hollowfied state, understanding flashed in Kyoya's eyes.
Normally, when Ichigo entered a Hollowfied state, it was the Hollow Zangetsu controlling Ichigo's body to fight.
But right now, the Hollow Zangetsu was fighting Ichigo in his Inner World. Therefore, what was currently controlling Ichigo's body was the 'instinct' of Ichigo's body activated by the Hollow Zangetsu's Reiatsu.
The instinct for survival!
Such an instinct would make Ichigo indiscriminately attack everything around him that might pose a threat to his survival.
Glancing around, although this place was sparsely populated, the area affected by the battle between Kyoya and the Hollowfied Ichigo would undoubtedly be large.
Shusuke and Kariya's fight destroyed a forest, so the destructive power of a battle between Kyoya and the Hollowfied Ichigo would naturally not be low either.
"This isn't a good place for a fight. Let's find another location!"
Saying this, Kyoya grabbed Ichigo's head with one hand. His figure flashed, and in an instant, he crossed dozens of miles with Ichigo's body, arriving at a remote, desolate place.
Boom!
Throwing Ichigo aside, Kyoya directly smashed Ichigo into the mountainside, creating a huge crater in the mountain.
"Groooowl-"
Although he suffered significant damage, the current Ichigo was a Hollow. High-Speed Regeneration allowed the injuries on Ichigo's body to heal almost instantly.
This ability was not inferior to the Cuatro Espada Ulquiorra Cifer's High-Speed Regeneration.
Most Hollows, when evolving to the Adjuchas level, would abandon the Hollow's 'regeneration' ability to enhance a certain aspect of their power.
Only Ulquiorra was different… he gave up other abilities and retained his regeneration ability.
At the Adjuchas level, Ulquiorra's [Regeneration] advanced to [High-Speed Regeneration], allowing him to quickly recover from injuries. Even disabilities could be quickly restored as long as Reiatsu was consumed.
After advancing to the Vasto Lorde level, Ulquiorra's [High-Speed Regeneration] advanced to the even more powerful [Super High-Speed Regeneration].
At this stage, [Super High-Speed Regeneration] allowed Ulquiorra to instantly recover from injuries by consuming Reiatsu.
Even if limbs were severed, they could regenerate instantly.
As long as his head and heart remained, Ulquiorra was practically immortal.
Ulquiorra's eventual demise came when his entire upper body was blasted apart by the fully Hollowfied Horned Ichigo, leaving him without a heart, leading to his death.
Ichigo's Super High-Speed Regeneration after Hollowfication was no weaker than Ulquiorra's.
Even after having his chest pierced by Ulquiorra earlier, to the point where even Orihime couldn't save him, after fully Hollowfying, aside from consuming a lot of Reiatsu, once Ichigo deactivated his Hollowfication, the injuries on his body had completely recovered.
Moreover, Ichigo's Reiatsu recovery speed was extremely astonishing.
When traveling through the Garganta with Unohana, judging by the state of Ichigo's clothes, he seemed to have only about one-third of his Reiatsu left.
But after arriving in the human world, Ichigo's Reiatsu had already fully recovered.
Even Unohana was shocked by Ichigo's recovery speed.
Boom-
A red Cero erupted from Ichigo's mouth, rushing towards Kyoya.
"Calm down!"
Seeing this, Kyoya simply raised his left hand and grabbed Ichigo's Cero, crushing it.
Although this place was remote, if he could avoid damaging the surrounding environment, Kyoya still wanted to minimize the impact.
His figure flashed, and Kyoya appeared beside Ichigo, grabbed his neck, and pressed him to the ground.
Boom!
"Bakudo #75, Gochutekkan!"
With Kyoya's shout, Reishi in the air instantly condensed into five huge iron pillars connected by chains that descended from the sky, pressing Ichigo's limbs and head to the ground.
Boom Boom Boom-
Under the suppression of these five iron pillars, Ichigo was temporarily sealed.
Cracks began spreading upward as Ichigo struggled.
Clearly, Ichigo's power was simply not something a #75 Bakudo could suppress-
Even if this Bakudo was personally released by Kyoya.
Since there were designation numbers, there were naturally limits to their power.
Unless it was a Kido related to light, Kyoya could use his [Absolute Dominion] over light to enhance its power.
For other non-light Kido, even Kyoya had no way.
However, even for Ichigo, breaking free from Kyoya's seal wouldn't be a simple matter.
According to Kyoya's estimate, the Gochutekkan could at least seal Ichigo for ten seconds.
Ten seconds was enough for Kyoya to chant a higher-level Bakudo.
Kyoya clapped his hands together and began chanting a Kido incantation.
"Bakudo #99-"
Slap slap slap slap slap...
"Kin!"
Several leather straps pressed over Ichigo's body, and numerous nails firmly pinned the straps to the ground.
On those seemingly simple leather straps, Ichigo was directly restrained, unable to move.
"This should be enough to last until Ichigo completes his 'Hollowfication' training, right?"
Compared to the Visored, Kyoya was much stronger.
They needed to take turns fighting Ichigo to facilitate his Hollowfication training.
Whereas Kyoya alone easily suppressed Ichigo.
This showed just how big the gap in strength was.
Thump Thump Thump...
"What's wrong, Ichigo?!"
"Fighting me, you still dare to lose focus?!"
Boom-
In Ichigo's Inner World, the Hollow Zangetsu, who had just blasted Ichigo away with a slash, laughed wildly.
"Ichigo, do you know the difference between a king and his steed?"
"I'm not asking you about the relationship between a person and a horse."
"Rather, I'm asking you, if there are two beings with completely identical forms, abilities, and power, and one becomes the king to command the battle, while the other becomes the steed to increase combat power..."