16 Despair

(Oetsu POV)

Well, that went sideways... 

I was currently in my lab working on something new when the message popped up on my screen. My decoy had been destroyed. Shit! That was not supposed to happen this early on. Good thing I planned for this scenario and also for millions of other scenarios as well. I was prepared while still a bit surprised that this was the way it went. 

I suddenly got into a hurry and worked faster than I ever had. The special potion was nearly done, I only needed 30 more seconds. My hands flickered all over the place and then ... I finally finished it. I took the injector, scanned myself, loaded the potion in the special place and then injected my newest creation into my neck.

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At the exact moment, the door to my lab was pushed in and the door flew off its hinges. 

Ichibe had arrived ... oh golly.

"Did you think I wouldn't know the true name of this creation you made, Oetsu? I am Ichibe Hyosube, the Manako Osho and no name goes unnoticed by me ... I knew that you had plans that you kept secret but I was curious to see what you would come up with.", Ichibe said as he stood in front of me and pressured me with his presence. 

"Blacken, Ichimonji!", Ichibe released his Zanpakuto.

"You wanted to see it, did you not? To research ways around it, or how to use this power for yourself ... well here you go, try it out!", Ichibe said and then splashed his brush, which transformed into a form of a somewhat short glaive, with the top portion taking the form of a short, single-edged blade reminiscent of a tip of a chokutō, attached to the long brush handle. 

All over the lab black ink was splashed and also ... one me...

"Now Oetsu ... or rather, the one who was formerly called Oetsu ... You have lost your name. I'm sure you can tell, or maybe you can't, what my Ichimonji does. Everything the ink touches ... loses its name ... impressive isn't it ... former Oetsu. 

You committed a sin and that has to be punished. Poor fellow. Thinking you could do that ... 

How about ... I give you a name!!", Ichibe said and then activated his 'Bankai' which was called ...

"Shin'uchi: Shirafude Ichimonji"

Ichibe activates his Bankai by calling out "Shin'uchi" ("True Blade") instead of Bankai, as Ichimonji was the first Zanpakuto to take on an evolved form long before the term "Bankai" existed. 

Upon activation, the blade of Ichibe's brush turns into white bristles akin to its sealed state but begins emitting white ink instead of black ink, with some of this ink forming a large circle around Ichibe himself.

"I'm sure you are well aware of why I don't use the term 'Bankai'. Shin'uchi is the first name I decided on before calling the second release Bankai. But as the first evolved Zanpakuto, Ichimonji was around long before the other Bankai existed in the world.

But who am I telling this ... you already know that. After all ... you were the one to make it for me...!!!"

Ichibe began to write calligraphy into the air.

"This sword can etch a new name on whatever is painted over by Ichimonji.", Ichibe said and then finished writing the new true name on my black body.

'従順 な大越' (従順 - obedient, な大越 - Oetsu)

"How do you feel, 'obedient Oetsu', who was formerly known as Oetsu Nimaiya? Now you have the powers of Oetsu, who is obedient to me and does what I command him to ... isn't that nice? ..."

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To understand what happened here and how this Shitshow came to be, we must turn back the pendulum ... get it? 

This was shortly after I got used to my new body and powers. I was no longer just Oetsu anyway, I was more than that. The Hogyoku reformed Aizen's soul and created something... divine if you will. My Hogyoku was similar. But unlike the Hogyoku of Aizen, my Hogyoku only had one will and that was my will. 

There was no way that I was going to allow something that fuses with me, to have free will that is not my own. It might seem hypocritical but that's what I was like. When I created the Hogyoku and then fed it, I made it truly mine. It was my will that guided the Hogyoku. 

This didn't mean that it didn't have sentience. It did, but the only thing it wanted was my well-being and whatever I wanted. It was a true part of me.

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So when I fused with the entire Eight-Handled Wheel, everything that made up the EHW, was essentially one new thing. And this new creation was controlled like a body is controlled by a brain. And this brain is the Hogyoku. I could do things on my own and also have changes done, with the Nanomachines, but that was not truly necessary. 

I wanted to grow more powerful, I wanted to become something more and not just stay a Shinigami. That was why the EHW/Hogyoku did what it did and reformed me. I was in a constant state of growth now and that was only possible thanks to the Essence of the Blank and the EHW that had the Hogyoku inside. 

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After I got used to it, I began with the things I wanted. I began to research the Super Soldier Serum and how to replicate it. The Essence of the Mad Doctor really came in clutch. I hadn't spent so much time with this but I was still very good at using it. 

No serum would be impossible for me to replicate or create. It didn't take all too long and I had the correct formula. I adjusted it for myself for it to work but then stopped. I didn't want to use it for myself, but it would be a good base for someone I chose to help grow more powerful. 

I then chose to go further and focus on the SSS's younger and stronger brother, the Golden Sentry Serum. The power of 1 million exploding suns. That was some serious power inside one man. There were multiple steps in my process of creating it. 

As usual, I was a very cautious man. No matter if I was now immortal and had the powers of adaptation and evolution, there was no way that I wanted to have my own dark Oetsu lurking inside me and waiting to destroy everything. I had no interest in a 'Void' like Robert Reynolds had. 

I wasn't sure whether the Void was created by Robert Reynolds' mental illness or whether it was due to the Serum. No matter, I was not going to just drink it like that. So making sure that wouldn't happen, was step one. 

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Step two was to see whether there was a way for me to not only have the power of 1 million exploding suns through the Serum but maybe another energy as well. What about something like Spirit Energy? The energy of the soul. Or what about other energies? Could those also work?

And lastly was the effects the Serum would have on me. I was interested in this power, but I didn't really need it right now. Nevertheless, I would create it, maybe upgrade it and then take it when I was sure that it wasn't harmful and that there would be no 'Void'.

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Now as I was doing the Golden Sentry Serum or my adaptation of it. I got curious about what I could adapt to. As I was thinking about that, I wanted to try something out. I began to create a decoy. This one was similar to the Rick and Morty decoy but it was not one that would just randomly start to create his own decoys. 

All of my creations follow my will. No exceptions. 

With this decoy, I then gave it one simple task. Go to Ichibe and find out what the ink is made out of that he uses with his Ichimonji. I wanted him to go get me a sample of it. How he would do that was for him to decide. 

The decoy went to do its job ... but then something bad happened. Ichibe found out that it wasn't me who was asking him for a fight. He understood what was happening and correctly guessed that I was preparing against his powers. 

He wasn't happy about that.

Ichibe understood that I was planning something and would one day go against him. He didn't like that and instantly destroyed the decoy. All of the parts that were still there self-destruct and left nothing behind. 

And then Ichibe began to make his way towards my position. He just waltzed into my home and smashed the door to my laboratory. His expression was the same as when he told Yhwach that he would have to kill him. His eyes were white and he had that big toothy grin on his face. 

And what happened next we already know.

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(3rd Person POV)

Ichibe had a sinister grin on his face as he looked at Oetsu. He changed his name to 'Obedient Oetsu'. This was especially sinister due to the fact that he now turned Oetsu into a pupped that would do anything he asked, but still had the skills the original Oetsu had. He made him a slave who knew he was a slave. 

"You will now continue with what you were doing, but you will never create something that goes against me or the status quo. When you have an idea that could threaten the world as it is right now, you will forget it and stop doing that. You will also never tell anyone about what happened today.", Ichibe told Oetsu and then left the laboratory.

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Oetsu was now alone in his lab. He was standing there and did nothing. How could this happen? How could something that was going so well, go so bad in such a short amount of time? 

Had he been too greedy? Was the fact that he didn't know whether he was the strongest upset him so much that he wanted to get more and more powers? Was he truly so greedy that he had killed all of his progress and his future?

The body's name was no longer Oetsu Nimaiya. It was now 'Obedient Oetsu'. A slave to Ichibe Hyosube. Truly he was an evil man with a sinister heart. His powers were a testament to that fact. The power to remove all names and then give them new ones was simply broken. 

And now Oetsu was standing in his lab and waiting for something. Ichibe didn't even think it was necessary to wash off the ink, that was Oetsu's shame. The shame that spoke of his failure. Failure to rise above what he was. He was now no longer his own person. He was what Ichibe wanted him to be. A Zanpakuto creating ... man who listened to every word Ichibe said.

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The door to the lab opened again and Kikimaru walked in. He was aware of what happened and had a sad look on his face. 

"Master Oetsu ... are you alright? Is there something that I can help you with?", he asked but Oetsu didn't answer him. He only looked into the void without any expression.

"... would you like something to eat or drink ... maybe a bath? Should I leave you here, Master Oetsu?"

However, Oetsu didn't answer. Kikimaru was anxious. He knew how much time his master invested in all of his work. He loved his creations and was very enthusiastic whenever he created something new. But now ... he seemed to have lost his light. There seemed to be nothing left ... but despair ...