A black overcoat. Long hair. Black sunglasses.
Old Man Zangetsu made his entrance with his usual cool demeanor.
Just as Tsunayoshi had expected, Old Man Zangetsu could also be affected by Zanpakutō materialization.
Perhaps Old Man Zangetsu had pretended to be a Zanpakutō for so long that even Muramasa's power worked on him.
"Ichigo, why did you call me?" Old Man Zangetsu asked the moment he appeared.
His eyes were fixed entirely on Ichigo. To him, it was as if no one else existed.
Ichigo's expression was also somewhat emotional.
Ever since White Ichigo had returned to his position as the true Zangetsu, Ichigo had not seen Old Man Zangetsu again. Even so, he still remembered his friend's request.
"I'm not the one looking for you, Old Man Zangetsu. Tsunayoshi is."
Ichigo pointed toward Tsunayoshi. Only then did Old Man Zangetsu slowly turn to face him.
"Sawada Tsunayoshi, what do you want from me?"
Old Man Zangetsu knew of Tsunayoshi as well.
As for this friend who had always helped Ichigo, he neither liked nor disliked him. On one hand, Tsunayoshi had indeed helped Ichigo many times. On the other hand, Tsunayoshi had also taught Ichigo Fullbring and pulled him into dangerous battles.
"Should I call you Old Man Zangetsu," Tsunayoshi asked, "or Yhwach?"
Tsunayoshi's words shocked everyone.
Aside from Ichigo, everyone immediately drew their weapons and prepared themselves. They all knew that their greatest enemy in the next stage would be Yhwach.
"Tsunayoshi, what are you talking about?" Ichigo could no longer smile. "I don't understand."
Old Man Zangetsu had always helped him. How could he possibly be that dangerous Yhwach?
"Hey, Old Man Zangetsu, tell Tsunayoshi that you're not that Yhwach guy!"
Seeing Old Man Zangetsu remain silent, Ichigo grew anxious.
But Old Man Zangetsu remained exactly as he was.
Silent.
Neither denying nor admitting it.
"Ichigo, don't make things difficult for him," Tsunayoshi said. "This Yhwach is not the same Yhwach we have to fight."
After briefly explaining that, Tsunayoshi stared at Old Man Zangetsu and asked, "Since you're staying silent, that means you know everything about Yhwach, right?"
Old Man Zangetsu nodded slightly.
"I only know his past."
"That's enough—"
"No, Tsunayoshi, what are you talking about? I don't understand!"
Ichigo rushed forward and grabbed Tsunayoshi by the shoulders.
Ichigo was always like this. He often said he did not understand, but he still had to ask until he got to the bottom of things. That was why Tsunayoshi usually placed the final result directly in front of Ichigo.
This time, however, there was no way around it.
Old Man Zangetsu was the power inside Ichigo.
"Don't rush. Listen carefully."
Tsunayoshi pulled Ichigo's hands away. He had no choice but to explain things to him first.
"This Old Man Zangetsu is indeed the Quincy power inside your body. But his power comes from Yhwach. That's why his appearance is exactly the same as Yhwach's."
"But this Yhwach is not the real Yhwach. Because after he became your power, he truly belonged to you. His connection to Yhwach was already severed."
"So, his knowledge and appearance come from the Yhwach of the past. He is completely different from the current Yhwach hiding within the Wandenreich."
"In other words, Old Man Zangetsu can be trusted completely, right?" Ichigo asked.
What Ichigo cared about from beginning to end was Old Man Zangetsu.
"That's right," Tsunayoshi said with a nod. "He, Old Man Zangetsu, has always prioritized your safety. That's why he kept sealing your power in every possible way. He was afraid you would be dragged into danger."
"That's good."
Ichigo sighed in relief.
"Old Man Zangetsu, whatever Tsunayoshi wants to ask, just answer him properly. If he gets rude, I'll help you beat him up!"
Seeing Ichigo's half-threatening expression, Old Man Zangetsu felt the warmth of Ichigo's concern.
As for Tsunayoshi, he found it somewhat amusing.
This was Ichigo.
No matter the situation, he trusted his own people without reservation.
"Then let us return to the original question," Old Man Zangetsu said. "Sawada Tsunayoshi, what do you wish to know?"
"You possess Yhwach's past knowledge. In that case, you should know how to make a Quincy awaken the power of a Schrift, right?"
Tsunayoshi went straight to the point.
This was the key reason he had gone through such a roundabout path.
"A Quincy's Schrift is bestowed by Yhwach," Old Man Zangetsu said. "It is granted by drinking his blood."
Tsunayoshi stared at Old Man Zangetsu with dead-fish eyes.
"Who are you trying to fool? A Schrift is originally a power within a Quincy's own body. That whole blood-drinking method is just Yhwach's way of giving out loans, isn't it?"
"Through his blood, Yhwach gives a portion of his power to a Quincy. The Quincy's strength rises dramatically. Then, when Yhwach needs it, he can activate Auswählen at any time and take that Quincy's life."
"That so-called trick of bestowing Schrift is nothing more than Yhwach using The Almighty to see the power hidden deep inside a Quincy's body."
Old Man Zangetsu paused for a moment before asking, "If you already know that much, why ask me?"
"That's exactly why I'm asking you. Is there any method that lets a Quincy learn their own Schrift and awaken it on their own?"
Tsunayoshi pointed at Uryū.
"And don't tell me it has to be done through Yhwach. Uryū already possesses the power of The Antithesis."
Old Man Zangetsu glanced at Uryū.
Tsunayoshi was right.
There was indeed a fluctuation inside Uryū Ishida's body that belonged uniquely to a Schrift.
Tsunayoshi narrowed his eyes and asked Old Man Zangetsu, "The reason you've been hiding all this… you wouldn't still be plotting something with Ichigo, would you?"
"Are you afraid that once Ichigo obtains the power of a Schrift, he'll be dragged into danger again?"
Tsunayoshi stared fixedly at Old Man Zangetsu.
Finally, he saw a slight change in the other man's face.
Tsunayoshi immediately spat in disdain.
"What kind of rotten excuse is that? Is this what you call protecting Ichigo?"
"Your past is Yhwach's past, so you should know exactly what Yhwach intends to do. With Ichigo's personality, do you think he would just stand by and watch the world be destroyed and returned to its original state without doing anything?"
"You keep saying it's for Ichigo's sake, but you've never once considered what Ichigo himself wants to do. Are you truly doing this for Ichigo's good, or are you using him to satisfy that inexplicable vanity of yours?"
"Wouldn't giving Ichigo his power in advance be far better than waiting for some last-minute explosion under the name of protection?"
"Why do you have to wait until Ichigo loses something before handing his power over to him?"
"Do you think that will make Ichigo see you as some kind of hero?"
"What have you been doing inside Ichigo all these years?"
"Do you truly understand Ichigo?"
"Zangetsu! Aren't you afraid Ichigo might come to hate you for this one day?"
Tsunayoshi's tone grew increasingly harsh.
He even called the other man Zangetsu directly.
In Tsunayoshi's view, whether it was Ichigo's Shinigami power or his Quincy power, if Ichigo believed they were Zangetsu, then they could all be called Zangetsu.
To Tsunayoshi, his own ideals and Old Man Zangetsu's were completely opposed.
Tsunayoshi believed in growing stronger ahead of time to face future dangers.
Old Man Zangetsu believed in last-minute bursts of power under the excuse of protection.
If the final result was the same, then why did Ichigo have to be placed in danger or suffer a terrible blow before his power was allowed to emerge?
"Tsunayoshi."
Ichigo stepped forward and placed a hand on Tsunayoshi's shoulder.
This was the first time he had seen Sawada Tsunayoshi so angry.
So the Tsunayoshi who always seemed capable of anything had been worrying about him all along.
True brothers did not need many words.
It was enough to keep that feeling in his heart.
Old Man Zangetsu responded to Tsunayoshi only with silence.
Everything Ichigo had experienced in the past flashed through his mind.
It was true.
He had once thought that unless Ichigo fell into despair, unless Ichigo desperately craved power, he would absolutely never return Ichigo's original power to him.
A vague sense of vanity.
An inexplicable desire to be a hero.
Those words did fit him somewhat.
Old Man Zangetsu looked toward Ichigo.
Ichigo knew it was his turn to speak.
He straightened his back and stepped forward, his expression firm.
"Old Man Zangetsu, please believe in me, just like I've always believed in you. We can overcome every obstacle together!"
Old Man Zangetsu smiled.
He was laughing at his own arrogance.
Just as Ichigo had said, Ichigo had always believed in him. Ichigo had even argued with his closest friend over him.
Yet he had never truly believed in Ichigo.
Trust?
He wanted to try it.
He wanted to trust Ichigo without needing a reason.
Old Man Zangetsu spoke.
"A Schrift is indeed a power within a Quincy's body. One method is for the Quincy to notice their own specialty and slowly cultivate it until it emerges."
"The reason Yhwach can activate another person's Schrift after seeing their Schrift power is because Yhwach's Schrift is A."
"The A that represents all."
"The second method is to have a Quincy whose Schrift is A forcibly activate it. That is the privilege of Schrift A."
"Schrift A?"
Tsunayoshi turned his head and asked, "In other words, Uryū can forcibly activate the Schrift inside me?"
"Him? Uryū Ishida cannot."
Old Man Zangetsu explained, "Because that Schrift A does not belong to him."
Uryū's Schrift power came from his mother, Kanae Katagiri.
If Schrift A was easier to discover, then no wonder that, back then, out of the entire Ishida family, only Kanae Katagiri possessed the power of a Schrift.
"Then does that mean none of us can have the same kind of power as Uryū?" Ichigo asked, somewhat disappointed.
He had actually wanted to see what his own Schrift was.
"You don't seem disappointed at all, Sawada Tsunayoshi," Old Man Zangetsu said.
Tsunayoshi had gone through so much effort, yet he was not disappointed even after learning that Uryū's Schrift could not work.
"Stop hiding things already. Hurry up and bring out Ichigo's Schrift."
Tsunayoshi patted Ichigo on the shoulder, then walked toward Uryū and the others.
"I'll leave my Schrift to you, Ichigo."
"Me?"
Ichigo pointed at himself.
"No, wait. Why me?"
"Because Sawada Tsunayoshi already guessed it," Old Man Zangetsu said, looking at Tsunayoshi's back. "Ichigo, your Schrift is also A."
In other words, as long as Old Man Zangetsu activated Ichigo's Schrift power, Ichigo would be able to follow Old Man Zangetsu's guidance and use his own Schrift A to awaken the Schrift power inside Tsunayoshi.
He had even calculated this much?
Sawada Tsunayoshi, just what kind of person are you?
The thought had only just appeared before Old Man Zangetsu cast it aside.
No matter what kind of person Tsunayoshi was, his concern for Ichigo was genuine.
As long as he treated Ichigo well, that was enough.
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