6 Senmanzakura- Ten Million Cherry Blossoms
I enter my quarters and take the Asauchi from where I left it. I haven't spent one day trying to infuse my essence into it. I use it for training my swordsmanship but other than that, I don't use it. Now I believe that it is time to try and infuse my essence into the Asauchi to meet my Zanpakuto spirit in my inner world. I also wonder whether it is still the same as it was in the story. I mean, I am no longer just Byakuya. So there might be a change now. Although that isn't very likely. Neither of my templates has special powers that could change my Zanpakuto. But I'm sure that it's more powerful than it was in the story.
I sit down and begin to meditate. I use my spirit energy to slowly infuse it into the Asauchi. I manage to get into deep meditation and after what seems to be hours, my consciousness passes through some form of darkness and I wake up in a cave. There are stone walls surrounding a turquoise lake. In the middle of the lake, there grows a Sakura tree. The sound of water slowly flowing can be heard. Light is provided by a big hole in the ceiling of the cave. I get a very warm and calm feeling as I look at this scene.
[Picture]
"So you're finally here. I have been waiting for a while now.", a voice said. I turned around but didn't see anyone. Then I looked back to the Sakura tree and saw a Samurai sitting underneath the tree. He was wearing his armour and had a long sword on his hip. It looked like an Odachi but different at the same time. I could tell that it was longer than a normal Katana and the handle seemed longer than a normal Odachi's as well.
[Picture Samurai with sword]
[Picture of the guard and handle]
I recognised the guard and the handle from Flashy Flash's sword 'Instakill'. It looked the same. It seemed that the two templates had an impact on his Zanpakuto. The length of the sword was about the same as the black blade Yoru, and the handle and guard were the same as Flashy Flash's. It looked good, if I'm honest I think it looks amazing. I wonder whether the abilities have changed as well.
"I apologise for not coming sooner, but I was in the middle of my training program and couldn't interrupt that. That doesn't mean that I don't value you.", I say.
"I know. I know of your strength and your life. I know about you as well as you do yourself. So I am aware that your training was important to you. I am not angry, just sad that you didn't come sooner. But you're here now and that's enough."
"I agree. We have many years to fight together. And as a bonus, I am now strong. Is there a test that you want me to take?"
"A test? You mean to see whether you are strong enough to wield my power?"
"Yes, I don't know how this works. Are you interested in tea or something like that?", I ask.
"Do you have any with you?"
"... No.", I say dejectedly.
"Haha, well then we won't be drinking tea. You are correct, you are strong and normally you would be strong enough to deal with my full power. However, I have been growing stronger over the years as well. I will tell you my name and we shall see, whether you are ready to wield our strength. ************"
.
I opened my eyes in the real world and looked at my Zanpakuto. When I saw it, I smiled. Not only the the form of the Zanpakuto changed from the original, but the name did as well. But only slightly. I unsheathed my Zanpakuto and held it in front of me. I was just about to release it when I thought that it might be a bad idea. I exited my room and went to the small training grounds. Then I finally released it.
"Scatter - Senmanzakura"
Senmanzakura's blade separates into ten million tiny, slender blade fragments, which fly away from the hilt, leaving only the sword's handle in my hand. While the blades are too small to be seen normally, they reflect light in such a way as to resemble cherry blossom petals. I watch in awe and wonder as ten million cherry blossoms float in the air and begin to follow my will.
[Picture]
It was a wonderful sight and it took me a moment to come to my senses.
"Beautiful.", the word escaped my lips. I could hear the voice of Senmanzakura in my head.
'Thank you. It is indeed beautiful. Grace and lethality in one. Your increased strength of your soul, spirit and body made is like this. And the best part is that I feel that this ... is not yet the end.'
"You mean we could grow stronger. I see the hole in the ceiling. It stands for my potential then."
'I believe that to be the case. The moment when you experienced the breaking of your limiter, the ceiling broke and the hole appeared. Training will show whether we're correct or not.'
"You're right. Let me try this out then.", I say and begin to will the tiny blades to fly around me. I can feel the sheer number of blades that appear like petals and the deadlyness they represent. After a moment of connecting with my Zanpakuto, I begin to form different objects one after the other. This is good training and helps me visualise what objects I can create. I have ideas on how to make my Zanpakuto truly powerful.
I can feel the safety- or 'Hurtless Area'. The small area around me where the petals won't enter. It seems to be a passive thing, but I am not interested in that. I will remove this weakness. To get hurt by your own Zanpakuto is not something I am interested in. I understand the danger of wielding a power such as this, but to get hurt by it like this ... no way.
.
I spent the rest of the day practising with my Zanpakuto. I reviewed my swordsmanship from Mihawk and Flashy Flash and tried to find a way to combine them. Although that wasn't necessary. I was proficient enough with them, to use them when I needed them in almost any situation. Flashy Flash's martial arts were based on speed while Mihawk's was more strength-based. That is only in comparison. Both of them are also strong and fast.
But something else came to mind when I reviewed all of my experiences, knowledge and skills. Yoru was a black blade. Senmanzakura wasn't a black blade. But I could very well turn it into one. That was now my project apart from training and increasing my connection with Senmanzakura.
Every waking moment, I am now infusing Senmanzakura with my Haki while training physically and increasing my skill with Senmanzakura. I can feel that I am going to reach unprecedented heights with this.
.
Year: 21
My fifth year in the Shin'o Academy started and I have continued to grow stronger. I never stopped doing my daily training, but due to me breaking my limiter, it has gotten rather easy now to perform the training. I continue to increase the gravity more and more to make it hard for me. I have finally made both templates fully mine. They are now just as much me, as I am Byakuya Kuchiki. I have become more than just a normal Shinigami.
I have also continued to imbue Senmanzakura with my Haki and I believe that I will be successful in turning it into a black blade. Senmanzakura told me that he doesn't feel bad or any negative effect through this. On the contrary, he feels like my Haki is making him stronger. And in turn, it is making me stronger as well. I have spent a lot of time in my inner world to get closer to Senmanzakura.
I told him as much and while he didn't say it, I know that he likes that. My goal is to fuse with my Zanpakuto and reach the next stage of power. Although I don't have a limit in the normal sense, I believe that this would make not only me personally stronger, but Senmanzakura and his abilities as well. My Zanjutsu has reached master level easily and I am definitely the most skilled swordsman in the entirety of Soul Society. The only thing that I might be lacking now, is experience and I know just the person to give me that. Retsu Unohana, the Captain of Squad 4 would be the best choice. But would she accept? Probably not.
My skill in Kido has reached new heights as well. I am now easily able to perform all of the Hakuda and Bakudo to #89 and without incantation. The rest aren't allowed to be learned, no matter whether you are a noble. It is already special that I have been allowed to learn up to #89. Normally you would only be able to go up to #60. I understand the importance of Kido and the use of them. I never understood how a Bakudo like #81 could go as unused as it did. I mean imagine a Bakudo that can stop Kidō-based attacks with power up to #89. I tried to create a way to have Bakudo activate on its own as defensive measures, similar to Satoru Gojo's Infinity. But I haven't reached that stage yet.
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Yoruichi Shihoin has been the Captain of Squad 2 and the Commander of the Onmitsukidō for about 7 years now. But every once in a while, when she doesn't want to do paperwork, she takes some time off and comes to visit me and plays games with me. Mostly tag, since Hoho or speed in general, is her speciality. At least that is what she believes. She hasn't seen me since I have truly made the template mine. I am beyond the speed of light by now. I am not sure how much faster than light I am though. But again, I believe that this will increase the more I train it.
"Byakuya, there is a guest coming today. So prepare yourself.", Grandfather says to me as he comes to the garden where I am currently going through the motions of my martial arts. I am using this time to do a tai-chi-like training and infuse my Haki into Senmanzakura.
"Who is it, Grandfather? Is it someone from the noble clans? Should I go change then?", I say in my calm and collected way, that I have gotten after I fully integrated with both templates. Byakuya Kuchiki, Dracule Mihawk and Flashy Flash all have similar personalities.
.
Mihawk is mostly very serious. He rarely smiles, and he has only been seen laughing twice so far. He never unnecessarily reveals emotions on the battlefield, even when something unexpected happens. As an infamous pirate, he is not someone ambitious or cruel.
He takes pride in his swordsmanship, believing that a nick on his sword is a blemish to his pride. Though he is confident in his strength, Mihawk remains grounded.
Flashy Flash is a calm and serious man. He is also very confident in his abilities. He has a very firm mindset that training is one of the only ways to become truly strong. While normally prideful and rude, he is incredibly respectful of those he deems strong and is more than willing to give praise to such individuals.
Byakuya on the other hand acts in an aristocratic manner. He always seems serene and apathetic towards other people, even while actually deeply conflicted. He is notably calm, even in battle. He generally acts indifferent, bordering on arrogance, to most situations he is faced with, and rarely views his opponent as being worth his time.
Byakuya strongly believes in law and order. As a captain of the Gotei 13 and head of one of the great noble families, he works hard for a peaceful society. He feels that if someone in his position does not follow the rules as a good example, no one else will. He believes that to maintain order, all lawbreakers must be punished, even if it goes against his own wishes.
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All these three personalities came together with my own and formed something that was new and independent from all three of them and yet similar. It was an amalgamation of the three. So while I acted serene, noble and maybe also a bit apathetic, I was also a free-spirited man who wouldn't watch as his 'sister' is executed. Order is not as important to me as it was for the original Byakuya.
I saw strength as the tool to dictate the laws and understood that if I wanted to have a say in this world, I had to become powerful. Even more than what I already achieved.
