An incomplete Bankai, or one with elements beyond oneself—that's possible.
For example, Kōga Kuchiki can call an incomplete Zanpakutō name to achieve a partial Shikai.
Another example: Yoshio suspects Suì-Fēng's Bankai is off.
Suì-Fēng's Bankai is Jakuhō Raikōben. It shifts from Shikai's two-hit kill to a massive missile. Even Suì-Fēng herself says it violates her stealth corps' pride.
Generally, a Zanpakutō is the manifestation of a Shinigami's spirit. "The blade is me." It should reflect one's most primordial nature.
So why does Jakuhō Raikōben contradict Suì-Fēng's pride?
Yoshio thinks the issue is the "Raikō" part.
Who is Raikō?
The thunder god.
And who is the flash goddess?
Yoruichi.
Jakuhō is Suì-Fēng's Zanpakutō, so what does Raikōben represent should be obvious.
From the name alone, Yoshio feels Suì-Fēng's situation and Hinamori's are similar: both have another person deeply embedded in their hearts, producing a Zanpakutō not entirely their own.
Hinamori's Bankai is Tobiume Shōsei, which isn't hard to parse.
Tobiume Shōsei invokes Sugawara no Michizane, one of Japan's famous four great vengeful spirits.
At age eleven he wrote his first poem, "On a Moonlit Night, Seeing Plum Blossoms": "Moonlight shines like clear snow; plum blossoms glitter like stars. Alas, the golden mirror turns; fragrance fills the jade chambers."
He loved plum blossoms. After he was exiled to Kyushu, the plum tree in Kyoto tore itself from the earth and flew to him.
That's Tobiume—the flying plum.
Clearly, for Hinamori Momo, she is the flying plum, and Aizen is Michizane. No matter where Aizen goes, Hinamori will fly to his side to fight for him.
That's her Bankai…
In terms of power, it's definitely not weak, and the longer it's allowed to accumulate, the stronger it becomes.
A bit like Yoshio's Black Sun.
Looking closely, each tree has six interwoven boughs, standing like a seven-branched sword. The plum forest splits to either side, while above, the blossoms dot the sky like stars, shining down on a palace below.
If the Wandenreich's Silbern is a world of ice, then this shadow domain is a world of fire. As they approached the sea of starry plum-fire, Yoshio's gaze dimmed.
"Captain Aizen, is this your new base?"
"More or less," Aizen said. "Or… the site of a new experiment."
New experiment…
"Quincy hollowfication?" Yoshio asked.
His Hōgyoku was still with Aizen.
"Mm," Aizen said. "Just as Shinigami hollowfication and Hollows' apotheosis require more than a Hōgyoku, Quincy apotheosis or hollowfication cannot be completed with a single Hōgyoku. I've done many experiments, but transforming among the three forces remains beyond reach."
"And Hinamori? Planning to Quincy-ify her too?"
"She's a rare test subject," Aizen said softly. "Captain-class souls are uncommon. I won't use her lightly."
They entered the palace, which was really a larger lab.
Besides Aizen, there were traces of at least three people having worked here.
Hinamori was one; who were the other two?
If he's linked to the Wandenreich, Gremmy might be among them. That leaves one more.
Also a Quincy?
Aizen's infiltration of the Wandenreich seems deep. But…
That would only be for another two years.
In two years, Yhwach will fully awaken. Then neither he nor Aizen can act with impunity.
Baelz's defensive setup won't be easy to crack—though having insiders helps.
And it's Aizen; sneaking into the Wandenreich isn't impossible.
Yoshio should warn Baelz to keep an eye on which Sternritter might be swayed—start with the less loyal or the cowardly.
Baelz, as a Schutzstaffel member, stands high and is trusted by Yhwach; Aizen likely wouldn't approach him.
What's Aizen building this for?
When the assault on the Royal Realm begins, these assets likely won't be deployable—the Sternritter can't just march with him openly.
They reached the lab's center, where Yoshio's Hōgyoku was.
Aizen took it down and handed it back.
Yoshio examined it—the completion was higher.
"So, Captain Aizen, how will you handle things with Hinamori?" Yoshio asked. "You can't keep her in the dark forever, can you?"
"You're right. When the time is right, I'll bring Hinamori to meet you," Aizen said. "If possible, I'll bring Kira along too. You have no objections?"
"Of course not. Kira and Hinamori are my beloved subordinates and friends. I'd be pleased to see them on the right path," Yoshio smiled.
Kira's current unraveling is likely Aizen's handiwork; when he's near collapse, Aizen will appear as savior and reveal the truth, as he did to Hinamori.
Given Kira's fragile state from seeing a world different from others', he'll be easy to recruit.
"How about this," Yoshio said suddenly. "When you succeed, let Hinamori come to me and Kira to Captain Ichimaru—let them drag us in. Wouldn't that be better?"
Reverse the sequence so Hinamori and Kira think they dragged Yoshio and Gin into it—would they still feel guilty?
Aizen's gaze turned curious, but perhaps he also found it appealing. "You have a point. Let's do that."
Leaving the shadow realm, Yoshio returned to Division 10.
Despite Rangiku's grumbling, he was shut in to process paperwork.
Meanwhile, in the Wandenreich, Baelz finally condensed the Raven of Death evil node.
The Raven of Death represents plundering death—this kind of evil accumulates fast, since he's often by Yhwach's side.
The next node, "The Burner," was nearly filled.
Time was speeding up.
But with Gabriel and Teresa, purification should keep pace.
As Yoshio spaced out, a Jigokuchō fluttered in.
It landed on his hand, bringing a new mission.
From Central 46: track down Gabriel.
Of course they didn't know her name, but they were sensitive to that mysterious woman.
Per Mayuri, she might have Bankai—she activated her Zanpakutō with no incantation.
That's no ordinary Shinigami!
So Central 46 made it a priority—and assigned Yoshio, since he'd seen Gabriel before.
As for Quincy…
Compared to a potential Bankai-level Shinigami, a few Quincy weren't much.
Originally, Mayuri had struck a deal with Central 46 to have the Gotei discreetly bring him Quincy corpses.
But he wasn't satisfied; even while Yoshio was active, he tried to act on his own. That crossed a line.
The Shinigami, at least on the surface, have face to keep. The Living World Quincy have yielded; no need to push them into a corner.
A cornered dog will jump over the wall.
Thanks to Yoshio's report, Mayuri likely won't target Ishida Sōken for a while.
Of course, who knows if Mayuri listens to Central 46.
But Hela and the others are in the Living World; it should be fine.
Yoshio sent the Jigokuchō back to indicate he'd received the mission.
A never-before-seen Shinigami in the Seireitei, with a Zanpakutō and possible Bankai, is the real priority!
This gave him another reason to head to the Living World.
It was also a covert, long-term mission—he couldn't stay indefinitely.
But at least it would let him visit periodically on official grounds.
That very night, Yoshio went to the Living World again.
He intended to claim two spiritual abilities.
Before leaving earlier, he had given Sōya Azashiro a task: fund orphans in Karakura Town—do some charity.
Among the beneficiaries were the Inoue siblings: Sora and Orihime. Yes, that Inoue Sora and Inoue Orihime.
Orihime's mother was a prostitute; her father was a drunker. When Orihime was three, Sora took her and fled that hell.
They came to Karakura and relied on each other.
Life wasn't easy. Sora supported them both with odd jobs.
At this time, under Brainleaf Co.'s name, Yoshio sponsored their living and schooling, and even hired Sora.
To them, it was a tremendous kindness.
Yoshio could, of course, see their soul abilities.
Sora's ability was "Raise to Adulthood."
"Raise to Adulthood: Children in your care grow better."
Not surprising. To decisively take his three-year-old sister away from hell and raise her alone is extraordinary.
Orihime's ability was "I Reject."
"I Reject: Reject an event that has already happened, consuming spiritual pressure proportional to the difficulty."
As expected, Orihime's ability aligns with her Fullbring. It's very powerful.
Conceptual abilities—Yoshio can never have enough.
So when he visited them as Brainleaf Co.'s director, their goodwill toward him shot above 80 on the spot!
They're both kind. When others are kind to them, they reciprocate.
Orihime is still young, but poor kids grow up early. At six, she knows who treats her well.
These two's soul abilities should be relatively easy to change—starting from childhood, futures are malleable. Especially Sora's.
As long as he doesn't die in a few years, his soul ability should change.
That said, Yoshio was genuinely interested in "Raise to Adulthood." He's raising Nezuko, and even Yamiko is still a child.
"Raise to Adulthood" differs from "Strict Teacher Produces Outstanding Students." The latter is active with a one-day cooldown.
"Raise to Adulthood" is passive, always on.
In other words, Nezuko and Yamiko's growth will be even smoother…
Though, to be honest, they weren't struggling to begin with.
This soul ability…
Better than nothing.
After leaving the Inoue home, Yoshio was about to return to Soul Society when Nezuko found him.
"Dad! I learned Fullbring!"
She was excited.
She thought Yoshio had already left and felt a bit down, but he was still here that night!
"Oh? Already? What is it?" Yoshio asked, surprised.
When he left, Nezuko hadn't shown signs of awakening Fullbring. How did she learn it in a day?
Nezuko entered transformation and said, "This is my Fullbring!"
"…" Yoshio wasn't a novice; he immediately saw the traits of her re-entered transformation.
"It's the Shihakushō?" he asked.
"!" Nezuko's eyes went wide. "How did you know?!"
"I'm a Shinigami. How could I not tell?" Yoshio smiled.
Thinking about it, it makes sense. Nezuko treasures her supernatural power, believing her Shinigami power is inherited and granted by Yoshio.
For a girl, the most salient expression of Shinigami power isn't the Zanpakutō, but the Shihakushō.
Men are more attuned to weapons; women to clothing, with more emotion invested.
Ichigo's Fullbring is the Substitute Badge, creating a weapon.
Yoshio Nezuko's Fullbring is her Shihakushō. As for its effect…
"Dad, attack me!" Nezuko said eagerly.
Yoshio didn't hold back. He raised a hand; lightning gathered at his fingertip.
"Hadō 4: Byakurai."
The bolt stabbed at Nezuko. She did nothing, yet the lightning seemed to seep into her body.
Her Shihakushō turned even blacker, as if it could drip ink.
"My Fullbring lets me channel external forces into my body, greatly boosting my speed and strength. While Fullbring training already enhances physical power, this is another level entirely!"
Proudly, Nezuko said, "Your attack doesn't hurt me; it's absorbed into my Shihakushō and converted into power."
"…Excellent ability," Yoshio applauded.
Ichigo's Fullbring wraps power around the body to project outward—Getsuga Tenshō follows that principle.
Thus the Xcution crew, after getting Ichigo's Fullbring, could externalize their abilities.
Nezuko's ability internalizes that sheath, stimulating the body inward.
She lacks a light cannon like Getsuga, but frankly, in Bleach, close-quarters swordplay usually out-damages beams.
Few people are killed by beams; most are cut or stabbed in melee.
Unlike a certain Moonlit World where giant beam spam is king, Yoshio thinks wide-area beams aren't so useful here.
Top-tier powers are rule-type; next is swordplay; beams come third.
So he's very satisfied with Nezuko's power.
"Now that you've grasped Fullbring, the next phase is learning Quincy techniques."
"Quincy…?"
"Yeah. But you've worked hard. Rest a bit first."
"I'm not tired!" Nezuko said quickly. "Dad, I don't want to go to school. Teach me Quincy!"
"No. Real-world knowledge is just as important. Remember? Learn classical mechanics, and I'll teach you Kidō."
"Okay…" Nezuko nodded thoughtfully.
"Go to bed—it's late. You have school tomorrow."
After seeing her inside, Yoshio heard Gabriel's voice as he stepped out.
"You two have a great father-daughter bond."
Leaning against the stairs on the 33rd floor, the petite Gabriel said, "But you don't need to push her so hard so young."
"The future will only get more complicated. Without power, you can't grasp your fate," Yoshio said softly. "Same goes for us. Come on, I've got a new idea."
They went to the 32nd floor.
That's where they purified evil nodes.
He'd delivered two more recently; they'd purified them into more Light Seeds.
Yoshio brought only Gabriel. He picked up a Light Seed, then split off a piece of The Animals from his soul. Stacking the two in one hand, he said, "Try fusing this?"
Gabriel eyed the glowing clumps. "What do you mean?"
"Your Zanpakutō is fake, since you don't have an asauchi. But I think these can help."
The Animals accelerates soul evolution—like a catalyst. It doesn't participate in the reaction; it speeds it up or ensures success.
So on a normal soul like Gabriel's, its effect is limited.
We need to proactively push her soul into a reaction, then The Animals can accelerate it.
Light Seeds are the purified remnants of evil nodes. Eating a evil node yields massive spirit energy and an ability.
Light Seeds are similar, but their active energy is weak; much of their energy is inert.
With The Animals, you can convert inert energy into active and accelerate fusion between Light Seed and soul.
"Light Seeds can realize the materialization of the psyche. If the soul is strong and reishi sufficient, the result is a personalized weapon like a Shinigami's Zanpakutō. I'll call it an 'ego' for now."
"For you, I think it'll be a true Zanpakutō."
In truth, Yoshio's goal isn't just that.
To become a god, he needs to absorb the Light Seeds' energy.
The more energy in the Light Seeds by then, the better.
How to enrich them?
Simple: cultivate them with virtue and goodness.
Virtue will transform Light Seeds. That's why Yoshio had Brainleaf Co. disseminate Light Seed energy worldwide.
Thus, the dispersed energy can soak up the world's ambient goodness.
Of course, fusing them into strong individuals works even better.
Members of the Wings of the World should fuse Light Seeds to cultivate them.
If possible, Yoshio would like others to fuse them, too—
People of good character…
For example…
Kurosaki Ichigo?
In Soul Society… among the captains, Hitsugaya might qualify.
Others… not for now.
Gabriel accepted the two glowing masses, didn't question Yoshio's intent, and swallowed them after only brief hesitation.
Warmth surged within her.
The Zanpakutō at her waist flared with golden light. Its surface didn't change, but the feeling was…
It was more solid. More real.