57 Unsealing Harribel's Zanpakuto Spirit

Harribel looked around in confusion as her head swiveled from right to left, trying to find out where she was currently. Everything around her was blue, and frankly, she couldn't even tell what direction was up and which was down due to feeling like she was floating in water.

"Where am I?"

Before Harribel could ponder her own question, another voice answered it for her.

"This is your inner world. Personally, I call it mindscape, but that isn't really important."

"So, it's something like the insides of my brain, Yuna?"

"I think it is more accurate to say that we are currently in your soul rather than your brain."

"My soul? Then why are you here as well?"

Hearing Harribel's question, Yuna couldn't help but chuckle a little while shrugging her shoulders.

"What a weird question. I'm the one who guided you here, so I'm obviously here as well. As for the method, I briefly connected our mindscapes. Well, 'connected' isn't really the right word, but it's something like that."

Hearing Yuna's clearly simplified answer, Harribel briefly considered asking more questions but, in the end, decided not to do so. After all, there were more important things to do first.

Before the conversation could continue, an angered roar echoed through Harribel's mindscape, drawing the duo's gazes toward a faraway place that seemed to be blocked by some kind of white mist.

"A roar? What is going on? Why did that sound so angry?"

"Well, I don't know about you, but I would also be angry when someone allows someone else to use a tool that restricts my movement."

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"Your Zanpakuto Spirit, obviously. Frankly, I can not fathom how you can believe the way you handle your Zanpakuto is natural. You use it as a core to seal away your Hollow powers, just to rerelease them in battle. What's even the point of that?

Unlike a Shinigami, whose natural form is with their sword sealed, while Shikai and Bankai cost some Spiritual Power to maintain, an Arrancar's natural form only appears after they unseal their Zanpakuto. So, why even bother sealing your Hollow powers within your Zanpakuto? Can't you just maintain your original form?"

Seeing Harribel being dumbfounded due to Yuna's words, Yuna could only sigh deeply.

"Seriously, you are doing the same shit Ichigo has going on for himself. One of your sources of power is suppressing another. That's just silly. The only reason why you don't have any trouble with your Shinigami powers is that you had been a Hollow for a very long time, while your Shinigami powers only surfaced recently."

'Well, that and the fact that she only has two types of power sources, unlike Ichigo, who seemed to have multiple. I didn't notice any conflict after he regained his Shinigami powers, but after seeing him in Seireitei, I can only say that that boy's powers are an utter mess.'

[Oh? Was it really that bad? I wasn't really paying any attention.]

'Yeah, it was a mess. While I felt like one was trying to suppress the other, there was a part of his power that seemed to clash actively with another, as if they didn't want to coexist with each other no matter what. I felt one more, but that one was too weak and barely noticeable. For a deeper analysis, I would need more time and direct contact with him.'

[Sounds messy.]

[Gahaha~ Chaos!]

Hearing her Zanpakuto Spirit comment on Ichigp's situation with her own name, Yuna couldn't help but chuckle in amusement before continuing the conversation.

'Well, if he somehow manages to align all of his power to properly work together, I believe he would become incredibly powerful, but knowing Ichigo, he will stubbornly reject everything but his Shinigami power while staying obvious and rejecting anything else, making the situation even worse. After all, Rukia told him: Hollow=bad, so, Hallow=bad. *Sigh* stubborn people are so annoying~'

[Says the most stubborn person in existence.]

'That might be true, but why wouldn't I be stubborn? After all, why should I change my opinion when I'm always right?'

[*Sigh* Right...]

Finishing her little conversation, which didn't even take a full second due to it happening mentally, Yuna's gaze landed on the murky white mist in the distance.

"Pretty sure we should go over there and take a look. The first step to increasing your power is to learn your Zanpakuto Spirit's name, which won't be too easy due to it currently being pissed at you."

Hearing Yuna's words, Harribel nodded her head in agreement. She hadn't fully understood everything that was going on yet, but she understood that she had wronged her Zanpakuto Spirit, which could be considered to be a part of her. Although she didn't even know that she had one up until now, that was no excuse in her mind.

So, the duo walked towards the white mist, but while walking, Yuna suddenly stopped and looked into the distance while squinting her eyes.

"Is something wrong, Yuna?"

By now, Harribel had somewhat warmed up to Yuna and no longer spoke to her harshly. After all, everything Yuna had told her so far seemed to turn out to be the truth, meaning that she could really become stronger, resulting in her trusting Yuna quite a lot more by now.

Hearing Harribel's question, Yuna averted her eyes from whatever she was looking at before simply continuing to walk.

"Meh, don't worry about it. I felt like someone was copying my style, but whatever."

Harribel tilted her head in confusion, not really understanding what Yuna was talking about, but in the end, she simply shrugged her shoulder and continued walking as well. She might have warmed up to Yuna a little, but she wasn't a very talkative person from the start, so she didn't bother continuing the conversation.

Moments later, the duo reached their destination and now stood in front of a wall made out of white fog that had the silhouette of a creature swimming within it. It was a little hard to see, but Yuna was pretty sure that creature was something like a big fish, a shark, or something similar.

Before either of the duo could say anything, the shark-like silhouette approached the duo and started speaking with an angered voice.

"Why are you here? Why did you come here after you perverted what I'm supposed to be!?"

Obviously, Harribel's Zanpakuto Spirit wasn't happy with her. Harribel's Zanpakuto was supposed to further elevate her power, but instead of that, a tool was used to seal part of her power within it.

In the end, she still got stronger due to part of her Shinigami power being released in tandem with her Hollow powers, not that they were bound to her Zanpakuto, but in the end, it was far from how it was supposed to be.

Harribel had already realized that her Zanpakuto Spirit probably wouldn't be happy after realizing it was used for something it wasn't supposed to be used for.

Although she still was loyal to Aizen, she couldn't help but be dissatisfied due to how crudely he handled the current situation. Only now, after seeing her Zanpakuto Spirit, did she realize that instead of her becoming a proper Hollow-Shinigami hybrid, she became a Hollow that could use a little bit of a Shinigami's power. At best, she could be considered a fake Arrancar.

"Initially, I did not fully understand what exactly the Hogyoku would do, but I won't use that as an excuse for what happened. Additionally,

even though I never realized my Zanpakuto would one day have a Zanpakuto Spirit, I won't use that excuse either. I can only hope that you can forgive my ignorance and cooperate with me from now on."

Frankly, Harribel didn't like apologizing to anyone. She was in a position of power for a very long time and hadn't apologized to anyone for decades. Despite that, she had no trouble apologizing right now due to one thing Yuna made very clear to her: Harribel's Zanpakuto Spirit was a part of her, just like her Hollow powers were. She had no trouble apologizing to what was essentially a part of herself, even if it was sentient.

Feeling the sincerity in Harribel and knowing her character due to being part of her, the shark-like silhouette backed away for a moment before sighing deeply.

"*Sigh* There is no point in me staying angry, is there? In the end, I only was in this state for a very short period of time, and it's not like I experienced any pain or discomfort.

Additionally, in the end, I desire to cooperate with you as well. Very well, I forgive you. However, is it possible to remove this wall of fog? Until it is removed, it would be impossible for me to cooperate with you any way."

As soon as those words left the creature's mouth, Harribel's gaze immediately landed on Yuna. Frankly, Harribel understood most of the things that were going on, but since Yuna seemed to have planned everything out already, it was only obvious to ask her for a solution. Additionally, she might understand what was going on, but that didn't mean she had a solution for the current situation. Although she could grasp that the fog wall in front of her had something to do with the Hogyoku forcefully strengthing her, she had no idea what exactly it was or how it worked.

Feeling Harribel's gaze on her, Yuna chuckled in amusement before she resumed talking.

"I have a method, but I'll only use it after you promise me that you will tell no one what is about to happen next."

Harribel paused a moment when she heard Yuna's offer, but after only thinking about it for a few seconds, she nodded her head in agreement.

Although she still considered herself to be loyal to Aizen, there were no doubts that some cracks had started forming after she realized the state of her Zanpakuto Spirit. Clearly, the Arrancar's well-being was not Aizen's priority, and he cared much more about experimenting with the Hogyoku than helping those under him get stronger.

As soon as Harribel nodded her head in agreement, the atmosphere around Yuna changed as her purple eyes started glowing with power, involuntary causing Harribel to take a step back.

'What in the...'

"Very well; in that case, I'll help you. I'll need to get a little rough, but no need to worry; everything will be fine."

Before Harribel could comment any further, Yuna stepped in front of the fog barrier with disdain clearly visible on her face.

"The Hogyoku. Created by Kisuke and improved by Aizen, huh? It forcefully incorporates the power of a Shinigami into a Hollow and vise-versa. I'm sure there are other things that things can do, but that is all that is present in this case."

A smirk appeared on Yuna's face as her hand moved, seemingly grabbing the fog floating in front of her.

"In the end, it's just a tool created by a bunch of brats, thinking they are god~"

Suddenly, without any warning, a domineering aura rippled out of Yuna, washing over Harribel's whole mindscape, almost causing her to collapse.

Unlike before, when Harribel couldn't feel Yuna's presence at all, she now felt like an ancient god was standing in front of her. A god so powerful she could erase her with a single glance.

In the outside world, there was a limit to how much power Yuna could display simply because her Spiritual Power was limited. However, inside a mindscape, only two things mattered: The strength of the soul and the strength of the will. Although Yuna's soul strength was still somewhat limited due to being reborn, her willpower was uncontested.

So, while Harribel almost fainted due to Yuna exerting her will on her mindscape, while the shark-like Zanpakuto Spirit trembled in utter terror, Yuna spoke a single word while moving her hand like she was ripping a poster from a wall.

{Shatter}

*Crack*

As soon as that single word left her mouth, cracks appeared in the space covered by the white fog, and seconds later, the sound of glass breaking echoed through Harribel's mindscape as the fog vanished, revealing a 10-meters-huge, blue shark wearing a Hollow-like mask.

Usually, such a gigantic creature would cause people to be awed or even terrified of it but said shark was currently cowering behind a reef, looking at Yuna like she was the personification of death. Considering the reef only had a height of around 5 meters, it looked rather comical.

It took Harribel a while to regain her bearing, and when she did, she couldn't help but look at Yuna with a combination of awe, terror, and surprise.

To tell the truth, Harribel wasn't knowledgeable enough about mindscapes to know what exactly Yuna had just done, nor could she fully grasp where the power Yuna had just used was coming from, but there was one thing that firmly manifested itself in her mind after what she had just experienced: Never make Yuna your enemy.

Seeing Harribel and her Zanpakuto Spirit looking at her warily, Yuna chuckled in amusement before shrugging her shoulders.

"Mah, no need to look at me like that. That's not something I can use casually. *Cough*"

As if to confirm her words, Yuna coughed out a little blood, which splattered on the floor, causing Harribel and her Zanpakuto Spirit to relax a little.

"What exactly was that?"

Hearing Harribels question, Yuna only shrugged her shoulder before answering in a non-committed way.

"Sorry, but that's one of my secrets, and we aren't close enough yet for me to tell you about it."

Although Harribel was slightly disappointed that Yuna wouldn't tell her about what she had just experienced, she would push the matter, as she could understand that Yuna didn't trust her enough to just casually reveal some of her hidden cards.

So, she decided to stop her brief conversation with Yuna and focused her attention on her Zanpakuto Spirit, which had decided to get out of its hiding place by now, making it look much more imposing.

"It is nice to meet you; I'm Tier Harribel. I hope we'll get along from now on."

Hearing Harribel's words, the giant shark swam up and down, which Harribel interpreted as a nod of the head before it started speaking as well.

"Very well, we had a bumpy start, but I hope we can work together from now on. My name is §#ß&%$."

Harribel couldn't help but frown when she heard her Zanpakuto Spirit introduce itself because when it said its name, she couldn't understand it all.

Realizing that Harribel couldn't hear its name yet, the giant shark couldn't help but chuckle in amusement. After all, this was the first time it talked with its wielder, so it would have been more surprising if she could already hear its name.

"Oh well, seems like it's too early for you to hear my name, but I guess it can't be helped. Let's get along from now on."

Although Harribel clearly wasn't happy about not being able to her her sword's name yet, in the end, there was nothing she could do about that.

She didn't know too much about how Shinigami and their Zanpakuto worked, but she did know that getting the Zanpakuto's name was a matter of trust. Considering what had happened so far, she was not surprised that there were still some cracks in how much trust there was between her and her Zanpakuto.

"Very well, I'll learn your name soon."

Seeing the determination in Harribel's eyes, the shark nodded in acknowledgment before its gaze landed on Yuna.

"Frankly, I have no idea what kind of being you are, and I can't wait until you finally leave this place, but nonetheless, I'm thankful for removing that barrier and helping my wielder make contact with me."

"Mah, not need to thank me. After all, there is something in there for me as well, §#ß&%$."

As soon as Yuna finished speaking, the air solidified as both Harribel and the giant shark were looking at Yuna with nothing but disbelief while sharing a thought.

' 'D-Did she just say my Zanpakuto's name/ my name? What the hell?' '

Yuna, seemingly oblivious to the duo's utter confusion, nodded her head with a satisfied expression on her face and turned around.

"Of well, since my job here is done, I'll leave the two of you alone to get to know each other better. I'll hope you'll learn your Zanpakuto's name as soon as possible, Harribel."

Just like that, Yuna walked away, leaving a dumbfounded Arrancar and the giant shark behind. Initially, there was nothing but silence between the duo, but after maintaining that silence for a few seconds, Harribel finally regained her bearing.

"D-Did she just say your name, despite me not being able to hear it?"

"T-That seems to be the case."

Yet again, an awkward silence reigned over Harribel's mindscape before she managed to squeeze out her next question.

"Is that even possible?"

"Pretty sure it isn't, but apparently, it is..."

Harribel really wanted to doubt her Zanpakuto Spirit's words, but seeing how it was just as distressing as her, she decided not to comment on this topic any further.

"Well, considering what just happened, I think it's safe to assume that Yuna is some kind of incomprehensible monster, so let's stop bothering thinking about this.

Assuming what we have just experienced when she tore apart that fog barrier, her being able to hear the name of another person's Zanpakuto really isn't a big deal."

Hearing Harribel's words, the shark-like Zanpakuto Spirit yet again bobbed up and down, signaling that it agreed to Harribel's words.

"That's right; there clearly is something weird about her, so no need to think about it any further!"

Although both of them could clearly feel in how much denial they were, neither called out the other, instantly deepening their bond. In the end, it was only a question of time until Harribel heard her Zanpakuto Spirit's name.