"Ururu, come say hello to Grandpa Yamamoto," Urahara Kisuke said, beckoning to her as if coaxing a timid kitten.
"Ya–Yamamoto… Grandpa…"
Ururu murmured shyly, hiding halfway behind Urahara.
Facing such an adorable little girl, Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto couldn't very well maintain his usual stern demeanor. His expression softened slightly.
"You're Ururu, correct? I'll entrust Muramasa to you."
"I… I'll do my best," Ururu replied timidly.
"What are your plans for her afterward?" Yamamoto asked. "Will she join the Gotei Thirteen?"
If Muramasa wasn't held under proper control, he simply couldn't rest easy.
Urahara gave a wry smile. Of course he understood Yamamoto's concerns.
"But which squad would she even join? With Ururu's personality, it doesn't seem like she'd fit anywhere."
Ururu was extremely shy. In a military environment like the Gotei Thirteen, that kind of personality made survival difficult. Even someone like Hanatarō Yamada, with a similarly gentle nature, was frequently bullied by fellow squad members and often ended up doing unpleasant tasks like cleaning sewer channels.
Yamamoto knew about certain unspoken rules within the squads, but matters concerning the internal management of each division were difficult for him to interfere with directly.
"Send her to the new organization," Yamamoto decided after a moment.
"Muramasa is the kind of blade that should hang above the heads of every Shinigami as a warning."
"There are Shinigami there who have lived in the Human World before. Let them take care of her."
"That works," Urahara said after thinking for a moment.
With Love Aikawa—that manga-obsessed former captain—around, Ururu's safety would hardly be an issue.
While Yamamoto and Urahara chatted, Muramasa's figure was gradually fading.
His Reiatsu had been completely absorbed by the Empty-Shell Zanpakutō.
Under the control of that spiritual power, the Zanpakutō that had absorbed Muramasa's strength slowly rose into the air.
At that moment, Tsunayoshi switched the attribute of his Bankai.
To encompass everything… harmonize everything…
The power of the Sky.
"Everyone," Tsunayoshi said calmly,
"don't let anyone disturb me."
This was the most critical moment.
Tsunayoshi rose into the air as well, holding the Zanpakutō horizontally before his chest.
Flames ignited on the armored guards of both arms, identical in color and nature, covering the blade from above and below.
The others said nothing.
After exchanging brief glances, they silently moved into position, guarding the lake from four directions.
Even Yamamoto quietly took one corner.
Only Ururu remained, gazing up at the sky.
At present, the Zanpakutō that had absorbed Muramasa's power was actually two different entities.
One part was the artificial Zanpakutō created by Urahara.
The other part was Muramasa's spiritual power.
What Tsunayoshi intended to do was use the harmonizing ability of the Sky Flame to bring these two completely different forces into the same frequency—transforming them into a true Zanpakutō.
The harmonizing attribute of the Sky Flame wasn't something as simple as turning objects coated in flame into stone.
It was a power capable of fully containing and balancing six different "climates" of the sky.
Only after possessing the Sky Flame could the other six flame attributes be regarded together as the Seven Sky Attributes.
From the very beginning, the harmonizing ability existed to contain and reconcile incompatible forces.
This was precisely why the Sky Flame was considered one of the essential qualities of a leader.
Only a leader could command subordinates of vastly different temperaments.
Tsunayoshi didn't start with the Hard Sky Flame.
Instead, he first wrapped the blade with the Soft Sky Flame, gradually expanding the output.
Soon the flames spread outward until both Tsunayoshi and the sword were enclosed within a massive sphere of Sky Flame.
In a sense—
What Tsunayoshi was doing now was forging a sword.
A unique variation of dual-core forging, combining two different powers into a single blade.
Even with Urahara's brilliant mind, after hearing Tsunayoshi's plan regarding Muramasa, he had needed a long time to devise this forging method.
Without Tsunayoshi's Sky Flame, the result would have been nothing more than a half-finished product.
It only demonstrated just how incredible Ōetsu Nimaiya's sword-forging ability truly was.
After all, he was the man responsible for one of Soul Society's greatest inventions.
Just as Tsunayoshi transformed into that blazing sphere—
A group of people arrived from Karakura Town's city district.
Kurosaki Ichigo and the others.
From the moment Tsunayoshi and the others had arrived in the Human World, Ichigo's group had already sensed something strange about the spiritual pressure in Karakura Town.
Later, they even felt the immense Reiatsu released when Tsunayoshi activated Bankai.
Coincidentally, it had been during PE class.
Ichigo, Tatsuki Arisawa, and the others had found an excuse to slip away to the infirmary before rushing over here.
In their minds, if Tsunayoshi had used Bankai, then a powerful enemy must have appeared.
They had to come help.
"Mr. Urahara!"
Tatsuki's sharp eyes immediately spotted him.
As for the blazing sphere of flame in the sky—she could clearly sense that it carried Tsunayoshi's Reiatsu, so she didn't dare interrupt. Instead, she went straight to Urahara for answers.
"Looks like we dragged you all the way out here," Urahara said with a smile.
He and Tsunayoshi had indeed forgotten to send Tatsuki and the others a message. Muramasa's sudden appearance had thrown their plans into chaos.
"Shopkeeper," Ichigo asked bluntly,
"what's Tsunayoshi doing?"
"He's forging a sword," Urahara replied. "Using the power of his flames."
"But earlier that incredibly dense rain-attribute flame… and Captain Kuchiki's Reiatsu…" Tatsuki looked worried. "That didn't look like simple sword forging."
"Tsunayoshi's fine," Urahara said casually.
"Even if something happens to the rest of us, that guy will still be perfectly okay."
He had immediately noticed that Tatsuki wasn't worried about a battle.
She was worried about Tsunayoshi.
After hearing Urahara's answer, Tatsuki stopped asking questions and simply looked up at the blazing sphere in the sky.
"Aren't you supposed to be in class?" Urahara asked.
"It was Ichigo's idea to sneak out," Ishida Uryū replied calmly.
With their physical abilities, ordinary PE classes had long since become meaningless.
"Hey! Uryū, you came along too!" Ichigo shouted.
Ichigo and the others brought a bit of liveliness to the quiet surroundings.
But they couldn't stay away from school for too long.
After confirming that Tsunayoshi was safe, they returned.
Sword forging was an extremely long process.
Ichigo and the others came back again and again.
Eventually they simply set up tents by the lake and started holding barbecue gatherings.
Of course, all the cooking equipment and ingredients were generously sponsored by Urahara Shop.
For once, even the notoriously stingy Urahara didn't complain.
Their presence made the long wait much more bearable.
By the time the weekend arrived, just as Ichigo and the others were preparing for yet another dull day of waiting—
The giant sphere of Sky Flame finally began to move.
The flames slowly dispersed.
Tsunayoshi's Bankai form emerged.
Floating before him was a Zanpakutō with no distinguishing features.
The Shinigami present all widened their eyes.
That was the original appearance of an Asauchi.
Every student of the Shin'ō Spiritual Arts Academy received an Asauchi that looked exactly like this.
Only after a Shinigami poured their own Reiatsu into the blade—or discovered the sword's true name and achieved Shikai—would the blade's appearance change.
Tsunayoshi descended slowly, clearly exhausted, carrying the sword with him.
Everyone gathered around immediately.
He handed the blade to Urahara and smiled.
"Mission accomplished."
They had succeeded.
With Urahara's technology, Tsunayoshi's harmonization, and—thanks to Kōga Kuchiki's involuntary contribution—
They had forged the first Zanpakutō outside the Royal Palace.
"Tsunayoshi!"
Tatsuki quickly caught him as his body swayed.
Mental exhaustion was far worse than simple spiritual fatigue.
Tsunayoshi gently rubbed her head and leaned his full weight against her.
"Help me back to camp so I can rest."
"The rest… leave it to the shopkeeper."
Among everyone present, Tatsuki was the only one uninterested in the Zanpakutō.
No one else moved an inch.
Seeing everyone's curiosity, Urahara simply handed the blade to Ururu.
"Give it a try," he said.
"Call its name."
Ururu drew the Zanpakutō.
It looked completely ordinary.
No change.
She sat cross-legged, placed the blade across her knees, and closed her eyes.
Urahara had already taught her Jinzen.
And Ururu possessed a rather unique ability.
She already knew the sword's name.
"Muramasa… can you hear me?"
"Muramasa…"
As she called out again and again, Ururu felt herself entering a strange state.
When she opened her eyes—
She found herself standing inside a pure white world.
This was Ururu's Inner World.
A blank expanse.
She had been created by Urahara Kisuke.
She possessed nothing and desired nothing.
Day after day, she simply lived as an employee of Urahara Shop.
At the center of this empty world—
A man lay curled up.
Like a fetus in the womb.
Waiting for rebirth.
As Ururu continued calling his name, the man's closed eyes began to tremble.
Muramasa?
Someone seemed to be calling him.
Was that his name?
And who was calling him?
Muramasa felt curiosity stir within him.
He wanted to see who had disturbed his sleep.
Slowly, he opened his eyes.
A girl with twin ponytails was crouching before him, looking at him with gentle warmth.
"Who are you?" Muramasa asked—the classic question asked by anyone awakening from unconsciousness.
"My name is Ururu Tsumugiya. You can call me Ururu," she said softly.
"Muramasa… did I wake you?"
Wake him?
She was concerned about him.
Muramasa had never experienced that feeling before.
Just as he was about to sit up, Ururu spoke again.
"If I disturbed you… you can keep resting. I can come back tomorrow."
"Why are you here?" Muramasa asked, stopping her.
"Here?" Ururu tilted her head.
"You're the one inside here."
"This is my Inner World."
Muramasa slowly sat up.
An Inner World?
One so empty it didn't even have four walls?
Could this really be called an Inner World?
Muramasa had visited the Inner Worlds of countless Zanpakutō.
He had never seen one so clean and empty.
And if he was here—
Inside this girl's Inner World—
That meant…
She was his master.
His new master.
Muramasa hadn't expected that his wish before death would actually come true.
A new master…
And she seemed like a good person.
Shinigami feared death.
And as a Zanpakutō spirit, he feared it as well.
If he could avoid disappearing, that was naturally best.
Muramasa gently took Ururu's hand and bowed, kissing the back of it in a gentlemanly greeting.
"Ururu, hello."
"My name is Muramasa."
"From today onward, you are my master."
"Please command me as you wish."
But Ururu shook her head.
"Not master, Muramasa."
She pulled him up to his feet and smiled brightly.
"Let's be friends instead."
A surge of indescribable emotion welled up inside him.
Tears spilled from his eyes.
The word friend felt incredibly unfamiliar.
Even when Muramasa manipulated other Zanpakutō spirits in the past, he had always used the language of masters and servants—control and domination.
Friends?
Could a master truly be friends with their Zanpakutō?
Yes.
The person standing before him was exactly that kind of master.
Muramasa engraved her name deeply into his memory.
Ururu Tsumugiya.
For her—
He would offer everything.
In the name of friendship.
And at the moment Muramasa grasped Ururu's hand and stood up—
The blank white world around them began to fill with color.
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