Awakening

""[[Zanpakuto Spirit?!]]""

Naturally, Hinata, Naruto, and even Kurama himself were rather surprised by that revelation. However, Naruto quickly realized that there might be a little problem.

"However, I do believe our swords are tied to our freshly hatched Zanpakuto Spirits, and we won't be able to use them together with Kurama."

Hearing Naruto's guess, Yuna simply nodded her head, agreeing with Naruto's theory.

"Indeed, we need a Zanpakuto without a Zanpakuto Spirit to make proper use of Kurama's power in this world."

"Does something like that even exist?"

Hearing Hinata's question, Yuna closed her eyes, seemingly deep in thought. After around a minute of silence, she reopened her eyes and simply shrugged her shoulders.

"Well, who knows? For now, we should ask Kisuke if he knows anything about Zanpakuto without a Zanpakuto Spirit, and if he doesn't, then we'll just have to learn how to make one ourselves."

Hinata and Naruto both nodded their heads after hearing Yuna's words. If it doesn't exist, just create it yourself. Easy.

[Will it really be so simple?]

'Meh, it will work out somehow. Generally speaking, creating something will fewer functions is easier than something with more, so creating a Zanpakuto that doesn't have a spirit should technically be easier.'

[If you say so.]

Early the next morning, the trio, plus Tatsuki, made it back to Urahara's shop, where Ichigo was still trapped inside the hole. Seeing Yuna and Naruto look down on him with teasing smirks, he could do nothing but glare back at them.

As soon as everyone was present, Yuna asked the question she and Naruto were dying to ask.

"Yo, Kisuke, just out of curiosity, are there Zanpakuto without a Zanpakuto Spirit?"

Although Kisuke's eyebrows rose in curiosity when he heard Yuna's seemingly random question, in the end, he decided to simply answer her.

"There are. Actually, they are pretty common as they are used by trainee Shinigami, that haven't awakened their power properly yet. Unlike real Zanpakuto, the ones without a spirit are somewhat easier to create."

'See, I told you so.'

[Yeah, yeah, the great Yuna-sama was right with her assumption~]

'Hehe, worship me more~'

After hearing Kisuke's words and a quick squirrel with Kurama, Yuna nodded her head in understanding.

"In that case, is it possible for you to get me two of them?"

Kisuke squinted his eyes as he inspected Yuna, wondering what she wanted to do with two defective blades. After thinking about it for a few seconds, Kisuke made a decision.

"I can easily get you two spiritless Zanpakuto, and I won't even ask you for money. Instead of money, I want to know what you wish to do with those two blades."

"Mhh, what a weird demand. Very well, I agree. As for what we want to do with them, I think you can make a good guess with the information we have revealed to you so far."

Kisuke scrunched up his face when he heard Yuna's words. He was a little dissatisfied that Yuna didn't answer him directly, but he actually liked figuring stuff out himself, so he gave it a try.

'Let's see, the greatest flaw these two blades would have is their missing Zanpakuto Spirits. Without them, the swords are pretty much normal, somewhat decently-made swords. The only way to make them useful is by adding a spirit to them, but where is that spirit supposed to come from?'

As Kisuke was pondering, he suddenly widened his eyes in surprise as he came to a realization.

"This Kurama person you allowed to control your body is a Zanpakuto Spirit!?"

Hearing Kisuke's outburst, Yuna nodded her head in approval.

"Correct, and don't ask where we found him; that's an S-Rank secret, you know~"

Kisuke briefly wondered why Yuna suddenly developed a sound tick, but he shoved that matter aside as his curiosity was sparked. 

"Ururu, bring me two of our spare Zanpakuto."

He quickly gave an order to Ururu, one of the people assisting in his shop, to fetch the two swords. He was very eager to see what would happen and if Yuna and Naruto really could turn a spiritless Zanpakuto into a proper one.

Around a minute later, Ururu returned carrying two ordinary blades and handed them to Yuna and Naruto, who eagerly took them.

[Well, we have the sword now, but what are we supposed to do with it?]

Hearing Kurama's words, Yuna scoffed in disdain. To her, it was pretty obvious what to do next.

'Don't ask silly questions, Kurama. If you get a new sword and want to activate its hidden features, there is only one thing to do.'

As she said that, she raised the sword and cut the palm of her hand, allowing her blood to flow down the sword.

'When in doubt, pour your blood on it.'

[There is no way something this ridiculous would actually...]

Before Kurama could finish talking, he suddenly felt a slight connection with the Zanpakuto Yuna was holding, while the blade itself seemed to change as well, becoming slightly longer, while the hilt turned white. A slight change, representing that the Zanpakuto now held a Zanpakuto Spirit.

[You have got to be joking! That actually worked!?]

'When in doubt, pour blood on it.'

[Urgh, you don't have to repeat it, I got it.]

Initially, Naruto was rather shocked due to Yuna suddenly cutting her own hand, but as soon as he saw the sword in her hand changing, his eyes started shining in admiration.

'As expected of nee-san. She instantly saw through the correct method to bind the sword to her.'

[Honestly, I have reached a point where I don't even know anymore whether what she is doing is actual skill or if she's laughably lucky.]

'Pah, nee-san knows what she is doing. There is no way she did something stupid like cutting her hand before carefully considering the situation.'

[Sure, let's pretend that to be the case.]

While Naruto was bickering with Kurama, he mimicked Yuna's actions and cut the palm of his hand, allowing Kurama to become the Zanpakuto's Zanpakuto Spirit.

As soon as he was done, Yuna and Naruto felt a rather particular stare on them as they both turned around and saw Kisuke looking at them with stars in his eyes. If he had a tail, it would, without a doubt, be wagging right now.

"Well, I wonder if you could show me what your Zanpakuto can do~"

Seeing the look he was giving them, Yuna couldn't help but chuckle in amusement. It was rather obvious that Kisuke was dying to know how such an unusual Zanpakuto Spirit would manifest its power.

"Fine, since you helped us with this, I won't be stingy and show off a little. Naruto, you're with me?"

Pondering Yuna's words for a short moment, Naruto nodded his head in agreement as he placed his still-drawn Zanpakuto in both of his hands while pointing its tip upwards.

"Sure, let's show off a little. I'll be going first."

As he finished speaking, his Spiritual Pressure rose significantly as strong wind started blowing into the underground hideout.

"[Tear Everything Into Shreds, Kurama]"

[Wait a moment! Where did that phrase come from!?]

'I thought it sounded cool, so I added it.'

[What the hell!? Don't just add random stuff!]

Despite the duo's argument, Naruto's Zanpakuto started glowing as it was rapidly changing. Initially, it looked like it was straight up melting away, but after a short moment, the seemingly melted Zanpakuto wrapped around Naruto's hand, forming a pair of yellow gloves that were ornamented with what appeared to be carvings of wind blowing.

Seeing the change in his sword, Naruto couldn't help but be excited. This was exactly what he was hoping for, causing him to sigh in relief.

"Phew, I was really praying that Zanpakuto could transform into something that isn't a sword. I really didn't want to learn how to use a sword. Seems like my prayers were answered, and I got the perfect weapon for me."

As he said that, he punched forward, causing a powerful wind bullet to be shot out of his fist, which quickly blew a hole in a nearby wall.

"*Whistle, not bad, nod bad at all. Suddenly, controlling the wind is much easier. Good stuff."

Meanwhile, Kisuke couldn't help but be fascinated. Naruto clearly activated his Shikai form for the first time just now, but it seems he already had good control over it and could exert quite a bit of power at the same time.

'Truly fascinating. He seems to have a great affinity with Kurama; otherwise, he wouldn't be able to use this much power so effortlessly.'

While Naruto was experimenting with his new power, Yuna decided to give it a try as well, as she raised her Zanpakuto and lightly stabbed the tip into the ground.

"Well, I guess it's my time now, huh?"

Strong Spiritual Pressure erupted out of her as the ground her sword was stabbed into started freezing while the temperature in the room dropped around Yuna.

"[Freeze All of Creation and Consume it, Kurama]"

[Shit, don't add random stuff.]

'That's impossible for me, and you know it.'

As Yuna and Kurama were chatting, the temperature around Yuna kept growing colder, while her Zanpakuto became significantly bigger, causing her to smile a little as she raised it.

"Yup, this is perfect."

She slashed down her sword, causing a massive ice blade to erupt out of it, leaving a deep gash in the ground and wall. This wasn't just any sword; this was HER sword. It felt exactly like the one she usually created when things were about to get serious.

Meanwhile, Kisuke could only squint his eyes and look at Yuna in wonder. He thought that Naruto's power was already pretty absurd, but it seemed like Yuna went even further.

'That's almost on the level of a Bankai, that ridiculous. Wait a moment, can they use Bankai as well? There is no way, right? Right!?'

"*Gulp* By any chance, do you think you can go further and use Bankai as well?"

Hearing Kisuke's question, the duo closed their eyes as they tried to feel if there was more they could do than just call Kurama's name, resulting in them using Shikai.

Moments later, a smirk appeared on the duo's faces as they opened their eyes simultaneously, causing Kisuke to shudder a little.

"Nope, this is the limit for now."

"Yup, same for me."

Obviously, Kisuke didn't believe them for even a second. That smirk they wore told him everything he needed to know, causing him to click his tongue in annoyance.

'Sorry, Ichigo, I'll probably have to ditch you. These two are getting more and more out of hand. *Sigh* So many plans, and all of them have to be ditched. Oh well, for now, I'll wait to see how Soul Society plays out and adjust everything accordingly. I wonder how Aizen will react to the trio's presence.'

A slight smirk appeared on Kisuke's face as he imagined Aizen getting seriously flustered while Yuna and friends crashed through all his plans, smashing everything apart.

'Oh well, I'm looking forward to it.'

Another day passed, and it was finally time for Ichigo's do-or-die test, as the 72 hours he had to get his Shinigami powers were slowly running out.

Despite that, no one was currently paying any attention to him, as Yuna was currently fighting Hinata while Naruto was sparring with Tatsuki, who was rather annoyed by how easily the trio got a power-up while getting nothing herself. Obviously, she wanted to go through the same process, but Naruto vehemently denied her, telling her that he swore that there was a good reason why he was doing so while promising to tell her very soon.

Anyway, Yuna and Hinata were not that great a match-up at first glance, as Yuna could simply freeze Hianta's water. However, that was actually the case, as Hinata could reverse the process, turning the ice back into water.

Frankly, the fight in their previous lives and this one were rather similar as it would always develop into a tug-of-war for control over the ice and water in the air. Unfortunately, Hinata would usually lose those, but since they were currently only trying to get used to their new power, Yuna was somewhat holding back to make the match more even.

On Naruto and Tatsuki's side, a rather one-sided match took place as Tatsuki simply couldn't compare to Naruto in skill. Previously, that was somewhat offset by Naruto having to be careful of Tatsuki's magma-covered hands, but now that Naruto had a pair of well-fitting gloves to protect him, that was no longer such a big problem, annoying Tatsuki greatly.

Kisuke, on the other hand, occasionally kept an eye on Ichigo while spending most of his time watching the other four fight. Frankly, it was abnormal how well they fought while displaying nothing but confidence. Considering Ichigo's recent loss, Kisuke was rather certain that his mental state would be far away from what Yuna and the rest were currently displaying.

Not even Tatsuki, who Kisuke didn't consider part of the super monster group of Yuna, Hinata, and Naruto, showed admirable amounts of determination and confidence, despite being by far the weakest of the little group of four.

Suddenly, a loud scream was heard from the hole Ichigo was currently in, and moments later, powerful Spiritual Pressure radiated out of it, making Kisuke wary.

'As expected of some with potential as monstrous as Ichigo. This Spiritual Pressure is insane. Maybe, Ichigo is really the one I should put my money on?'

As Kisuke's plan who to prop up was yet again questioned by himself, a mask started slowly forming on Ichigo's face, showing that he was resisting the Hollowfication.

'It's different from the trio. While those three calmy formed their masks without the slightest interruption, Ichigo was struggling with it and fought it with all his mind and body. What did those three do? Did they seriously just accept their Hollow? That's ridiculous.'

An explosion occurred as Ichigo shot out of the hole and landed in front of Kisuke, resulting in him taking a combat stance.

Ichigo raised his hand and pulled out his still-broken sword; however, instead of attacking, he smashed the hilt of his sword against his mask, shattering it in the process.

"Phew, I'm finally out of there."

Seeing that everything went well, a happy expression appeared on Kisuke's face as he pulled out his little fan to hide his mouth.

"Congratulations! You succeeded in becoming a Shinigami and passed the second test. Horray!"

Hearing Kisuke's fake cheering, a tick mark appeared on Ichigo's forehead as he smashed the hilt of his sword in Kisuke's face.

"Horray, my ass! I almost died just now! You should have prayed that I never come out of that hole because while I was down there, I swore one thing to myself. In case I get out of there, I'll definitely kick your ass!"

Hearing Ichigo's proclamation, Kisuke couldn't help but smirk.

"Ohya? That's quite convenient as the third lesson is for you to knock my hat off my head. There is no time limit~"

As soon as Kisuke stopped speaking, Ichigo swung his blade, forcing Kisuke to bend sideways, barely dodging the blow, which left a small nick in his hat.

"Oh~ Not bad at all~ You managed to leave a nick despite your broken sword~"

Confidence radiated out of Ichigo as he pointed the tip of his sword at Kisuke.

"That's right, forget about the matter of no time limit; I'll finish this in five minutes."

Hearing Ichigo's words, the atmosphere around Kisuke changed as he grasped the end of the walking stick he was usually carrying around.

"Heee~ Is that so~"

He pulled on it, revealing a hidden blade within the walking stick.

"You really think so? Very well, let's do it."

Ichigo couldn't help but gulp down some saliva as ridiculous amounts of pressure started radiating out of Kisuke.

'What the hell, wasn't he just a shady merchant? What with this pressure?'

Before Ichigo could realize the trouble he was in, the tip of Kisuke's sword appeared in front of his face, causing his eyes to widen as he barely managed to dodge the attack. Despite almost getting stabbed, Ichigo kept up the cocky act.

"Not bad for only having such a small sword."

"Oh, my~ I was praised."

As Kisuke was speaking in a sing-song voice, Ichigo was repeatedly forced to dodge his strikes, turning the whole situation into a weird game of cat and mouse where Kisuke would chase after Ichigo and slash at him while Ichigo was constantly running away.

"How long do you think he will last, Naruto?"

"Meh, it's not looking too good; I give him five minutes, nee-san."

"Excuse me, the popcorn is ready. Would any of you like some, Yuna, Naruto, Tatsuki?"

"Errr, is it really okay for us to watch the situation like this?"

"Mah, don't worry about it, Tatsuki. Thanks for the popcorn, Hinata."

While Ichigo was running for his life, Yuna and her little group had somehow brought a couch here as they were currently spectating what was happening with Ichigo.

"YOU BASTARDS, I'LL KICK YOUR ASSES LATER!!!"

Despite Ichigo cursing at them, Yuna simply waved her hand at him while Naruto gave him a thumbs up.

"Go for it!"

"You can do it!"

Suddenly, Kisuke slashed down his sword at the distracted Ichigo, leaving a small bloody gush behind, making Kisuke frown.

"What are you getting distracted for? Do you think this is a game?"

Despite his words, Kisuke genuinely wondered where Yuna's group had gotten that couch from, but he decided to ponder those matters later. For now, he had to get Ichigo into shape.

"It seems like I'm still not taken seriously. Very well, let's do this then. [Awaken Benihime]"