Chapter 49: Zanpakutō and Divine Weapons

Chapter 49 - 49: Zanpakutō and Divine Weapons A Shinigami's growth isn't always steady and gradual. There are certain key milestones—once crossed, one's power undergoes a qualitative leap. Nanatsuki had just passed one of those milestones. His Inner World had taken form, and he had met his Zanpakutō. Not only that, he had even learned its true name. As a result, his Reiatsu had surged once more. He glanced at his Status Interface. His Reiatsu had risen from Level 63 to Level 75! Sixth-Class Spiritual Power! That meant his Reiatsu had now reached the level of a Seated Officer. Within the Gotei 13, Seated Officers were already considered noteworthy individuals. If Nanatsuki were to quit his position as an instructor at the Shin'o Spiritual Arts Academy and join the 8th Division, his current level of Reiatsu and swordsmanship would be more than enough to secure a top-ranking Seated Officer role. But then he saw the experience points needed for the next Reiatsu level-up—and felt his scalp tingle. It now required 30,000 EXP for just one level. With such steep requirements, he decided to shore up his other weak points first. "Your Reiatsu seems to have strengthened a lot... could it be..." Batsu'unsai studied Nanatsuki's Zanpakutō, a speculative look in his eyes. "You're right. I saw my Zanpakutō in my Inner World, and..." Nanatsuki drew his Zanpakutō and gently brushed his left hand along the blade. "Reflect all creation—Kagehime." The shape of the Zanpakutō didn't change much, but the blade quickly turned pitch black, becoming a completely dark Zanpakutō. "You can already use Shikai?" Batsu'unsai said with delight. "I'm still not very skilled with it, but yes—I've reached Shikai." Nanatsuki nodded. "My Zanpakutō's ability is related to shadows." The Shikai granted him new powers, though he still needed to develop them further to utilize Kagehime properly. "Come on, try out what it can do!" Batsu'unsai looked even more excited than Nanatsuki. Just then, she sensed a faint Reiatsu fluctuation. Turning her head, she noticed a blade-shaped shadow on the doorframe near her ear—something that hadn't been there before. And that shadow had stretched from beneath Nanatsuki's feet. Even though Nanatsuki's blade hadn't moved, a gash had appeared on the doorframe. "I can control shadows," Nanatsuki said. "Your shadow can actually deal real damage?" Batsu'unsai was startled. "Then your attacks will be really hard to anticipate." She touched the shadow, finding only the doorframe beneath her fingers—no physical object. Yet the cut in the wood was definitely real. "The shadow must be materialized to deal damage," Nanatsuki explained. "Just now, I briefly solidified it and used the shadow blade to slice the doorframe. I'm still not proficient with it, though. You must've sensed the Reiatsu spike earlier—once I get the hang of it, I think I can minimize that, making the technique even stealthier." Not only that—the shape of the shadow could change! Which meant he could extend it to attack enemies beyond his Zanpakutō's usual range. He also had a vague sense that he could eventually control not just his own shadow—but others' shadows as well. Though this likely required deeper mastery of his Shikai. "With this kind of ability, you'd be wasted anywhere but the 2nd Division," Batsu'unsai said, clicking her tongue in admiration. She clearly believed Nanatsuki's Zanpakutō powers were perfect for the Onmitsukidō. Nanatsuki agreed. Back in the Inner World, Kagehime had demonstrated a movement technique that let him travel through shadows—a perfect assassination skill. But at his current level of development, he couldn't use that move yet. So, his next phase of training would focus on fully developing his Zanpakutō. "But... this isn't a natural dual-blade setup," Batsu'unsai said, rubbing her chin. "Looks like that blade you brought from Rukongai holds some secrets." Nanatsuki had planned to pretend he was a natural dual-blade user, but now it was obvious—only one blade had been released. Plus, the guards on the two blades were different, and Batsu'unsai immediately recognized that the released Zanpakutō wasn't the original one. Still, she didn't press him about where the Asauchi had come from and continued: "I'd examined that blade before. It definitely wasn't forged by any ordinary swordsmith. I always assumed it was just an Asauchi." "But now... it's clearly no ordinary Asauchi. Otherwise, you would've been able to enter a deeper state of Zanpakutō Meditation long ago. You might've even formed your Inner World and learned Shikai by now." "I think that blade might be a Divine Weapon. They're rare, but I've seen a few in my time." "For example, the Shihōin clan—nicknamed the 'Tenshihō Banshōban'—has many heirloom Divine Weapons. Some take the form of swords." "Or the Tsunayashiro family's divine blade, the Enrakyōden—also sword-shaped." "Oh, and then there's the Ise family's Eight Mirror Blade... you've probably heard of that one too. It's quite famous due to the Ise clan's circumstances." Nanatsuki nodded—of course he'd heard of the Eight Mirror Blade. While the Divine Weapons of the Shihōin and Tsunayashiro clans were relatively obscure, the Ise family's Eight Mirror Blade was widely known. Some Shinigami even jokingly called it the "Widowmaker." Every man who had married into the Ise clan had, for one reason or another, died young. Nanatsuki recalled what Kagehime had told him in the Inner World—that his Reiatsu would need to reach Vice-Captain level to wield the other blade. Even back then, he had already begun to suspect this blade was one of the legendary Divine Weapons. From his conversation with Kagehime, he could tell she had already met the spirit of that blade. Like Zanpakutō, Divine Weapons possessed sentient consciousness. He could faintly sense that, after years of carrying the blade and undergoing meditation with it, he had developed some kind of connection with it. Which meant—the spirit of that sword was likely in his Inner World now. That would also explain why he had never been able to enter his Inner World before during meditation with that blade— Because it wasn't an ordinary Asauchi at all! That sword had delayed his progress for years. Had he been using a normal Asauchi, he might have met Kagehime much earlier—and his Reiatsu wouldn't have stayed stuck at the level of a no-name foot soldier for so long. Still, Divine Weapons typically held immense power—something all Shinigami yearned for. Spending ten years of meditation in exchange for a Divine Weapon? Totally worth it. "I don't know why that Divine Weapon ended up in your hands," Batsu'unsai said seriously, "but if Heaven sends a gift and you don't take it, you'll regret it. You must treat it carefully. If anything seems off—tell me immediately. Divine Weapons can bring great power to their wielder, but many of them carry curses. If you get hit by one... the consequences could be dire." "I'll be cautious," Nanatsuki replied, a warm feeling rising in his chest.