Meeting Zan and Kuro

They continued sailing for hours.

Shane got up and went to the planning room and found his wife looking over maps before looking over to him.

"Hey dear."

"Hi honey. I'm going to be meditating for a bit. Mind me staying here?" Robin shook her head. "Thanks."

Shane walked over before unsealing Zangetsu and Doragonkuro and placing them over his lap as he sat down.

He then went into his mind.

*Shane's mind*

Shane looked around to see grasslands all around with a large pond in the middle with a few small waterfalls flowing on the opposite sides of the lake and flowed into it. There were trees that could provide shade.

"So you came to visit."

Shane saw Zangetsu, who looked like a completely white version of himself.

"I did say we'd talk later. But first, where's Kuro?"

"I'm right here." He heard and turned and saw her.

She looked like a small dragon with blue and red fur with a cap on while holding an orb that looked similar to the ones he's made.

"Ah, there you are. Now, I wanted to discuss who you think those two people we sensed before leaving were."

Shane had noticed them but didn't make contact because he could feel their power.

He would die in his normal form against one of them while the other would be a challenge if he didn't use these two.

"Yeah, I sensed them too. One felt familiar but I don't know where."

"One felt extremely malicious while I barely felt anything from the other."

Kuro is where he grew able to sense people through magic. Her skill is 3 times as good as his, explaining why he seemed shocked.

"The only way for you not to sense someone is when they're dead or have complete control over their magic."

"I know. That shows how dangerous that person is. The more emotional someone is, the more magic subconsciously released. That means they have almost complete control over their emotions."

"Yeah, yeah. Next time, just use us to get rid of them."

"Even then it might be unsure if we would." Shane warned.

"Do you not remember our agreement for you to use me." Zangetsu growled.

"'If you hesitate, you will die.' I'm not hesitating Zangetsu. I'm thinking because it could put my family at risk."

"That didn't stop your father." Kuro glared. "Ichigo used that fear to become stronger to the point the threat would no longer be able to hurt him."

"Then what about Aizen." Shane bit back.

"Aizen is a special case. He created some kind of object that could 'evolve him' into a stronger 'being' when he would be losing. It ended with Ichigo using our strongest technique to finish him off. The only cost to it is being unable to use me for a year afterwards."

"Is that why he lost? Because he didn't have you?"

"No, he won at the cost of his life. He could have lived if he hadn't used the technique. I could have sent energy into his body to heal him but at the last moment, Aizen used a magical blast called 'Bala' to cause too much damage without me.

Unfortunately, the timer starts immediately after the technique. So I could only feel his magic slowly deplete until it vanished."

Shane stayed quiet, letting that information sink in.

"Now do you understand why I never liked talking about him? I had to feel practically a part of me die while I couldn't help him." Zangetsu turned away. "Say what you still need to and leave. I can barely hold my restraint."

"Zan.." Doragonkuro whispered, knowing this conversation had emotionally destabilized him.

"..Alright. But now I have a theory. You said he created a device to make him 'evolve.' Then, are we sure this Aizen is actually dead?"

That question froze Zangetsu and Doragonkuro.

"Are you saying-"

"-that Aizen lived?"

"I mean, what's to stop him? It's said that he has the power to manipulate someone's senses. What if he came back and manipulated the dragons that said they saw him dead."

"He'd have no use. If he came back, he'd be all the stronger."

"But what if he wasn't? You kept mentioning a technique Dad used with you. Could that have done something to him?"

Zangetsu put his white hand on his chin. "There is a chance. The technique has two parts. It causes the opponent's magic to act against them, effectively stopping them in place before the user creates a dense magic wave that goes far and deep into the planet's crust and slicing the target in half.

Perhaps that device believed that the best chance of survival was to seal most of his magic so he wouldn't be spotted and used the sealed magic to heal him."

"Even so, where would he go?"

"Hueco Mundo. His HQ." Seeing their faces, he continued. "Aizen didn't come from nowhere. In fact, Ichigo and Aizen were trained in the same place. They called themselves the Soul Society but there weren't many students so an old man named Yamamoto trained both in how to use their special swords. Aizen eventually left and created a criminal organization called the Espada. 10 incredibly strong criminals with their own special swords. It was hard fought but Ichigo eventually beat all of them and went after Aizen.

He found him and slayed him or so we believed until he came back and fought Ichigo again. He always kept Hueco Mundo hidden in his own pocket space that only him and the Espada could access."

"How strong were these Espadas?"

"The 4 strongest had enough power to destroy Ylisse in one attack. The other six could destroy Ylisse together."

"How strong was Ichigo?"

"At his strongest, strong enough to defeat Grima easily."

'Even now, he still gained more power than I have.' Shane thought.

"We've talked enough. Your mate is trying to wake you now." Zangetsu told him before his world turned black.