A New Found Power 2

by The Reaping KNight

What if Ichigo had the power to control all the Zanpakuto? This is a BRANCH series of Shark Spartan's "A New Found Power" This was his original idea. Go read his fanfic to get caught up on where this story will begin. It will start at Chapter 14 on. This is my first story. It will be Rated M because of future chapters and language. Ichigo/All Zanpakuto "harem" (Bleach A.U) (hiatus)

4. Chapter 16

Hey, what is up my Cryptic Knights, The Reaping KNight here with the next chapter of A New Found Power 2. First, I've decided to make each chapter a variety of lengths. Sometimes it's going to be short and updates faster or longer, but a slower update I'm sorry for now uploading and I had a nasty flu I was bedridden for a while and my brother downloaded viruses my computer with his stupid games rendering it unusable, not to mention a few other school related things. Still, that's no excuse for not uploading and I'm truly sorry. With that having been said, let's start this chapter of A New Found Power 2.

(Seireitei) {Night}

A few hours had passed since the strategy meeting had ended, and they had managed to come up with a temporary plan. Captain Ukitake came up with the plan of, finding out more about a zanpakuto named Muramasa at the archives while the others went patrolling around the Seireitei. At which, Lieutenant Omeada volunteered to go to search in the archives. But, nevertheless he complained, "Man, why do I have to go to the archives to see if there ever was a zanpakuto named Muramasa? And why did Renji and the Captain have to hit me earlier?"

{Earlier}

Renji just had just woken up to find a very unpleasant surprise waiting for him. He had woke up to find that his own zanpakuto had left him to be with Ichigo. This had lead to an argument between Renji and Zabimaru about how they should reconsider to coming back to him. Lieutenant Omeada had been just been standing there eating his snacks as usual when Renji and Zabimaru argument had escalated and had made Marechiyo drop his snack and Renji accidentally crushed them beneath his feet and made Marechiyo angry grabbed Renji to stop the fight to make Renji apologize to him and his snacks for crushing them. However, this resulted in Renji turning around and elbowed him in the solar plexus which made him crumple to the ground as Renji went back to arguing with Zabimaru. Marechiyo, who was still on the ground, crawled over to Captain Soi Fong and complained, "CAPTAIN! He hit me after he crushed my snacks. Do something!" This earned him a scowl from her and said, "That was your fault for interrupting their fight and trying to make a big deal over nothing." then delivered a swift kick to his face, knocking him out.

It was at this time that Captain Unohana, who had left to heal the other soul reapers, had returned to finish healing Shuhei's injuries. But, she came in to see the room almost completely destroyed. She calmly walked over to Renji and Zabimaru and placed her hands on their shoulder, to which Zabimaru and Renji both stopped fighting to see a very angry Unohana who said with her scary motherly smile, "If you two want to fight take it outside. If you want to remain here, please stop find a compromise to end this discussion. If you couldn't already tell, you two have been destroying my barracks, which would mean more work for me and my squad, as well the others trying to make a plan. I can imagine Ichigo and others are finding it difficult to do so with all the racket you are making." This stopped them both from fighting because Captain Unohana had frozen them with fear at her scary smile. They both stopped and Renji agreed that Ichigo had been chosen by Zabimaru and in exchange, Zabimaru will continue to let Renji use her power up to their bankai. Monkey then walked over to Ichigo at the table with the other zanpakuto.

{Present}

Lieutenant Omeada was on way to the to the Archives, still complaining about the work he has to do while munching some of his rice crackers which were held in a sizable bag. "Man is complaining and eating all he can do. I mean I heard he jumped at Captain Ukitake's offer to go to the Achieves." a trailing soul reapers said with disdain as they followed Omaeda. "He probably did it because he knew investigating and patrolling the Seireitei would be even more work." another soul reaper said with equal disdain. Just then, Omeada tripped over something and dropped his bag of rice crackers."HEY! Why did someone a damn log in the middle of the road?" Omeada yelled as he looked back at what he tripped as he reached to retrieve his sack of rice crackers. When he saw the all the Archives guards laying scattered around the ground and the gate to the Archives we wide open, he jumped up and yelled, "WHAT IS GOING ON!? WHO COULD HAVE DONE THIS?" He then noticed two figures who took out his squad members and were cloaked in the shadows before one of them responded, "That would be our fault, but those we squad members? How pathetic." The other followed suit and said, "Those guys weren't even good as a warm-up."

Then Omeada and one of the figures looked at each other with suspicion. They walked up to each other and almost comically in sync looked and sized the other up. They then ate a rice cracker and, still in sync, said "Tasty!" as they munched on a rice cracker from each of their respective sack of rice crackers. Omeada asked the figure, "Are you who I think you are?"

To which the figure responded, "Oh yeah, I am the mighty Gegetsuburi." They continued to stare at each other again before laughing.

"I see I see, so you're my zanpakuto, Gegetsuburi. You're a pretty stylish looking guy, like me!" Omeada said while patting his shoulder.

Gegetsuburi scowled at Omeada and retorted, "Huh? When's the last time you took a look in the mirror? I've seen more hair on a babies bum!" This surprised Omeada and tried to justify his hairstyle by saying, "WHAT! I'm not going bald, this is just how I style my hair."

"That's lame," Gegetsuburi said before pointing at Omeada and saying, "You're the reason why my manifestation is a total fatass and doesn't have a waist you lazy ass." he said while lifting and dropping his stomach fat and letting it jiggle as if to prove his point.

"Lazyass? If you're actually supposed to be my zanpakuto, but it would seem you lack the basic understanding of what beauty truly is." Omeada yelled back.

"WHAT!?" Gegetsuburi yelled back before his sack of rice crackers flashed purple and turned into a giant spiked mace.

"Wanna fight?" Omeada said. "You know what, when I defeat you I'm gonna force you to surrender to me so I can use powers again and Ichigo won't be able to take you away." he finished.

"Tsk. Good luck making that happen. And Hozukimaru, you stay out of this." Gegetsuburi said glancing back at the other zanpakuto.

"It's not my style to interfere with other people's battles." Hozukimaru said while stepping back signifying the beginning of the battle.

The two stared at each other while slowly shuffling to the size trying to find an opening. Then, they both yelled and were about to charge at each other, Ichigo kicked through the wall by the slab of the wall slammed into Omeada and sent him flying into another wall and rendering him unconscious.

"Oh great, we knocked down the wrong guy." Ichigo said. Ikkaku who was with him and the other zanpakuto responded, "No big deal, it's just Marechiyo." in a nonchalant tone before walking out of the rubble. "Besides, I never expected to find some rebelling zanpakuto here," Ikkaku continued. "But this is perfect, now you'll (Ichigo) see the result from my training."

Angry that someone interfered with the battle, Gegetsuburi yelled, "Who the hell are you?" in an irritated tone. Just then, Hozukimaru dashed past him and attacked Ikkaku. Ikkaku was barely able to block his attack with his sword.

"I sure have missed you, partner." Hozukimaru said with a hint of sarcasm. Ikkaku still not getting it asked, "others" Then he noticed (finally) the zanpakuto's weapon said with realization, "Your weapon." Hozukimaru smiled and raised his spear, spun it and yelled, "That's right, I'm Hozukimaru!" as he swung down his weapon and Ikkaku was just able to jump back and avoid the attack.

Still doubting, that is was this was the real Hozukimaru he asked, "You're really Hozukimaru?" glaring at the big burly figure before him.

"Want to confirm it?" Hozukimaru asked glaring back at Ikkaku. To which Ikkaku answered, "How would I do that?" Hozukimaru replied, "You can do it however you like."

"Alright, then how about we do that? You seem to be down with that." Ikkaku answered.

"What is that?" Hozukimaru asked with slight confusion and curiosity.

"Well, if you're actually Hozukimaru, then you should be able to keep up with me when we go for it." Ikkaku replied with a slight smirk on his face.

Hozukimaru chuckled and said, "Ahh, now I see. Let's go." in an amused tone.

Ikkaku then said, "Let's do it." in a serious and amused tone.

Hozukimaru only responded by saying, "Right."

[Enter Ikkaku's Tsuki-Tsuki Dance] (not going horizontally detail because it's stupid. Feel free to look it up if you want)

"What... The hell was that?" Ichigo said genuinely confused. (as were the other zanpakuto.

"C'MON, DID YOU FORGET ABOUT IT ICHIGO? THAT WAS MY BIG LUCKY DANCE! I SHOWED IT TO YOU WHEN WE FOUGHT FOR THE FIRST TIME, YOU REMEMBER!" Ikkaku yelled at Ichigo.

The zanpakuto looked at Ichigo who only responded with, "I've seen that before?" he asked.

"Ah, just forget it. Anyway, you're dancing was perfect, proving without a doubt that you are Hozukimaru." Ikkaku confirmed. "But, this is perfect, After I defeat you, all my zanpakuto powers will return and once again will be mine to use and before Ichigo can get his hands on them." he finished.

Hozukimaru huffed and asked, "You really think you can defeat me?" not believing that he could.

"I'll give it a shot." Ikkaku replied with a cocky grin on his face.

Then Gegetsuburi came out of nowhere and tried to hit Ichigo from behind by swinging his giant mace, but Ichigo was able to dodge it and jump onto the top of a nearby wall.

"Damn, I thought I had you." Gegetsuburi said slightly disappointed that his attack didn't connect.

"What the hell was that all about?" Ichigo yelled at the zanpakuto.

Gegetsuburi only responded by saying, "Hey, don't blame me, your the one who needs to start paying attention."

Then Kyokotsu landed on Gegetsuburi's back and manifested her blade at his throat. "You, just a cheater." Ichigo said. Gegetsubori then disappeared making Kyokotsu fall to the ground. "He seems to be quite fast despite his big appearance. " Katen said slightly amused. Then came above Ichigo swinging his mace saying, "Winning is all that matters here." making Ichigo jump back into the 'yard' of the Archives building.

Meanwhile, Ikkaku and Hozukimaru were going at each other full force. It appeared that Ikkaku had the advantage until Hozukimaru released his bankai in an explosion of air.

Ichigo yelled over to over to Ikkaku through the smoke to see if he was alright. He then sensed Gegetsubori behind him trying to attack with the cover of the smoke and Ichigo was just able to dodge his attack. Ichigo was starting to get annoyed at how Gegetsuburi was fighting and yelled, "All you have are cheap shots! Stop sneaking around and face me you creep!" in slightly annoyed. Then he heard Gegetsuburi's voice ring out, "My soul reaper partner is pitiful and stupid, but he was in the stealth force so that the style I know." in an informative voice.

But at the same time, Suzu and Shirayuki were communicating with Ichigo in his head. "Hey Berry boy, I found him, he's going to attack you from behind again. So when he comes out Shirayuki and I are going to get him so don't move when he attacks so we can get the drop on him, while he thinks he's got the drop on you. So just trust us ok?" said Suzu with a slight giggle. "I will be freezing and immobilizing while Suzu attacks him from behind." Said Shirayuki. Ichigo agreed to this plan and thought it would be a good trust exercise and it may be exciting to find out the look on Gegetsuburi's face when he realized he's lost.

At the same time, Katen, Kyokotsu, and Zabimaru were sitting this one out and enjoying the show. All of the zanpakuto, being able to communicate with and to each other through Ichigo, already knew the plan, and thought it would be exciting to see how it turned out. Kyokotsu, being a little overprotective of Ichigo, was little worried about Ichigo and had her blade out ready to block the attack if Suzu and Shirayuki's plan failed.

When Gegetsuburi jumped out to attack he yelled out, "I hope you're ready, cause I'm taking you out!" as he hurled his mace towards Ichigo's back. The plan was set into motion as the mace making a beeline towards Ichigo's back came closer it was suddenly frozen into a large cylinder of ice that spiked out from the ground. At the same time, Suzu zoomed up behind him and put a mark on his forehead, cheek, and neck. The attack had stunned Gegetsuburi and he fell to the ground.

It was this time that Ikkaku went hurling past Ichigo and crashed into the stone stairs behind him. Ichigo went to see if he was alright until he heard Hozikimaru's voice say, "What's wrong? Is that you got, soul reaper?" Ichigo cursed under his breath and turned to face him, but he was stopped by Ikkaku who managed to pull himself out of the rubble, but he could barely stand and was injured. He insisted that he handle this fight and that he not interfere. So Ichigo was decided to let him duke it out with his zanpakuto. Ikkaku was breathing very heavily and then both he and Hozukimaru charged at each other, but they were both suddenly stopped by Soi Fong who suddenly appeared around them with the stealth force. She was accompanied by Captains Ukitake and Kyoraku who were standing beside her behind Ichigo. "We have you surrounded." started Ukitake. "Yeah, sorry but we are going to heave to butt in." finished Kyoraku.

Ikkaku was pissed at this and yelled, "What are you doing? My zanpakuto, my fight!" at the captains. He turned around to see Hozukimaru put down his weapons down with his arms crossed. "It isn't much of a fight." stated Hozukimaru.

"What did you say?" asked Ikkaku angrily.

"I said that I'm done fighting for the day." Hozukimaru said bluntly.

Ikkaku yelled back at him, "You can't just go and quit now!"

Hozukimaru didn't say another word and picked up his weapon and released some of his spirit energy and started to spin his bankai around. Soi Fong yelled at her troops to bring him down, but Hozukimaru slammed his weapon into the ground, creating an explosion of blood red energy which sent the stealth force flying backward. When the smoke cleared, Hozukimaru was gone. Soi Fong wanted to have her men go after him but was stopped by Captain Ukitake, who insisted that it was no use because his spiritual pressure was gone. Some of the stealth force members had captured and restrained Gegetsuburi. But when the captains turned to look, Gegetsuburi started burst into a purple light and disappeared.

(Seireitei)

After the explosion that Hozukimaru created and seemingly disappeared, Ichigo and the other zanpakuto were able to stay on his trail. He had activated his bankai to try to catch up with him. He was about to catch up with him when he started to see pink petals started to form around him. Ichigo felt Byakuya's spiritual pressure. It had started to form around him seemingly to try to make Ichigo lose Hozukimaru, but at that moment a blast of purple light materialized and destroyed the petals. Not wanting to lose Hozukimaru (who was going the same way as Byakuya's spiritual pressure) he continued on, forgetting or not stopping to question the purple burst that appeared seemingly out of nowhere. But a second later the purple light changed into a humanoid shape who was running with them. The purple light dissipated and a human took its place as if the purple light was cloaking it. The figure was a tall and fat figure, he wore no shirt but had a teal cape and a gold chain around his neck, and was wearing a pair of sweatpant-ish pants. It was Gegetsuburi who had appeared. He looked at Ichigo and nodded confidently before materializing his weapon and chucked it at Hozukimaru. The chain wrapped around him and stopped him in his tracks. When they caught up to the immobilized Hozikimaru just outside the Seireitei on the edge of a forest., they stopped and decided to converse with him.

"Hey, so I heard you like to fight, but why would you leave Ikkaku for Muramasa? You both seem to love fighting, so why?" Ichigo asked.

Hozukimaru sighed before responding, "Yes while it may be true that we both love to fight. I am way stronger them him and I don't like that fact that I had to obey him despite the fact that I'm so much stronger than him." in a slightly weary tone.

Having heard this, Ichigo envisioned a lion being held captive in a cage and put on display by a human at a zoo. Ichigo thought it was about time he thanked the zanpakuto who had helped him capture the previously escaping zanpakuto. "Hey, thanks for helping me catch him. I don't know why you are here though, shouldn't you be with Omeada?" Ichigo asked ignoring the suspension he had in the back of his mind.

"Thank you for freeing me from Muramasa's control. Well if you must know, I suppose it's up to me, the great Gegetsubori, to tell you why I am here. I have decided to join you." Gegetsuburi said in a high-and-mighty voice.

"But why come with me and not go back to Omeada?" Ichigo repeated despite the fact that he had a pretty good guess already.

"Tsk. I left my previous partner because he's lazy and all he does is eat and complain about everything." Gegetsuburi replied with disgust.

Ichigo let out a sigh before saying, "Alright, but first, we should probably deal with him so he doesn't try to get away again." said while glancing at Hozukimaru. Gegetsuburi agreed to the arrangement and they both turned to face Hozikimaru once again. Hozikimaru having been restrained by Gegetsuburi had finally been able to sense Ichigo's massive spirit energy and decided he wanted to make a deal with him.

"Hey, soul reaper. How about you and I make a deal?" stated Hozikimaru with a glare towards Ichigo. Ichigo decided to listen to his offer and asked for the details of this deal he spoke of.

"We will battle, and if I win you let me go, but if you win I will also join you along with Gegetsuburi. Alright?" Hozukimaru said with excitement as he had the chance to finally fight a strong opponent.

"Oh, by the way, I want this to be as fair as possible so I will only use one zanpakuto during our fight, having said that is there anyone you want to fight in particular?" asked Ichigo calmly.

"Hmm. I see I want to fight you at your strongest, so come at me with your strongest zanpakuto." Hozukimaru replied with a bloodthirsty smirk on his face.

Ichigo thought about this and wanted to make the best decision to fight against him. Gegetsuburi was out because he They with him. Suzu was definitely out because her small size would not be good for him because Hozukimaru would definitely go on the offensive a lot, and the same goes for Shirayuki. So that left Zangetsu and Katen and Kyokotsu. He thought about this for a moment before he chose to fight with Zangetsu. "Zangetsu are you ready to go?" Ichigo asked as turned and looked over at Zangetsu. Zangetsu nodded and turned into his blade form on Ichigo's with his white cloth covering the blade which had no guard. but when Ichigo grabbed the handle he felt a new power surging from within the blade and his soul. He drew his blade and turned to face Hozukimaru and the battle began.

Ichigo charged in towards Hozukimaru and swung Zangetsu but was blocked by Hozukimaru by summoning his three sectional spear staff. Hozukimaru jumped back slightly and jumped back into attack he swung his spear horizontally and had the spear disconnect and spin around going for Ichigo's throat, but Ichigo was able to duck and avoid the attack and rushed in for an attack as while his weapon was spinning around and left Hozukimaru defenses wide open. He was almost able to cut Hozukimaru's stomach but, Hozukimaru was barely able to block it as he stepped back to try to dodge it. The force of Ichigo's attack had managed to inflict a deep crack the spear. It was at this time that he notices that his speed and power had improved. Not only that, but since the battle had begun he could begin to see his opponents next move and time seemed to slow down when he was about to be hit by an incoming attack. He figured that this was the new power he felt when he grabbed Zangetsu earlier. Hozukimaru noticed this and decided to get serious.

"Time to get serious! I hope you're ready, BANKAI!" yelled Hozukimaru in a burst of blood red energy. When the smoke cleared, Hozukimaru had Chinese monk's spade and a standard guandao with a red tassel and each part was connecting them to the center. Hozukimaru picked up the massive weapons spade part of the weapon and spun it around over his head at astonishing speed and making the two guandao spin around and created a strong gust of wind. Then Hozukimaru jumped up and brought the centerpiece dig into the ground and created an eruption of red energy that sprouted from the ground towards Ichigo. Ichigo couldn't dodge it with even a flash step because the energy was sky high so he decided to counter it.

"BANKAI!" Yelled Ichigo as he unleashed his bankai and the release of so much spirit energy at one time was able to disperse the attack.

Ichigo bankai has changed significantly. His shihakusho looked more like an inverted captain's cloak. He had more markings on his arms up to his elbow. Zangetsu's blade had changed only slightly, as it had most of its regular black and red handle and black guard on it. The only differences were that the handle a had an alternating black and gold (Suzu), a snow white (Shirayuki), emerald green (Zabimaru), and a violet stripe (Gegetsuburi), crisscrossing downward from side to side. And the guard had a very thin stripe of the same colors outlining the edge of it.

Having since the released state of Ichigo's massive amount so spirit energy that was increasing by the second, Hozikimaru sweatdropped and decided that he should try and finish off Ichigo before his power increased any further. He concentrated the rest of his spirit energy and rushed in towards Ichigo to try to deliver the final blow.

Ichigo sensed this concentration of spirit energy that was charging towards him and released a Getsuga Tenshou towards the charging Hozukimaru. The blast of the Getsuga Tenshou enveloped Hozukimaru and then sent him flying into a nearby tree.

Ichigo walked up to the bruised and battered Hozukimaru and held out his hand. "So, it looks like I won. Here, let me help you up." said Ichigo.

Hozukimaru gave Ichigo a look of mild confusion before reaching out and accepting Ichigo's hand. "You have thoroughly defeated me, and I plan to make good on our deal. Though I must say for a substitute soul reaper you have an astonishing amount of power." complimented Hozukimaru.

Ichigo scratched the back of his head and chuckled lightly. "Yeah, I get that a lot, but I have another request for you. If I become your soul reaper partner, as you put it, you have to let Ikkaku use your powers again. And please, just call me Ichigo, and not anything weird or formal. The same goes for you Gegetsuburi." Ichigo said with a slight tone of warning in his voice.

Hozukimaru thought about this for awhile before he decided he would agree to these terms laid of by Ichigo. "Alright, Ichigo I will let him use a fraction of my power is you so wish." said Hozukimaru verbalizing his agreement to Ichigo.

"Alright then, let's have you bond your spirit energy with mine so I can use your powers. But first, you need to change into your weapon form Hozukimaru. OH, and you to Gegetsubori." said Ichigo as he let Zangetsu return to his human form and sat down. Hozukimaru glowed orange-ish red and Gegetsuburi glowed violet as they changed into their blade forms. Gegetsubori was on Ichigo's right side held down by his white sash and Hozukimaru materialized in his blade form of Ichigo's lap. Zangetsu and the others decided to protect from any possible enemies that may try to attack Ichigo while they are bonding.

Ichigo grasped each weapon, closed his eyes, and concentrated. He began to feel both Hozukimaru's and Gegetsuburi's powers connect and intertwine with his own. Then he felt his spirit energy change signifying what they had bonded and the two zanpakuto had made their areas in his inner world.

Ichigo stood up and set the two zanpakuto down and let them revert back to their human forms. The two zanpakuto had changed much more than just their clothes. Gegetsuburi had slimmed up and was no longer fat, he was taller then Ichigo and his red-orange hair was longer and was combed back. He had a teal formal coat with a dark violet button up undershirt, a pair of navy blue jeans and matching colored dress shoes, and he still had his gold chain necklace and lip pierced with a ring that was the same color as his hair. Hozukimaru, on the other hand, looked more like Chad as their skin color was the same the both had a big, brawny figure. He had big muscles and his long dark orange hair was tied back into a long ponytail that appeared to stop at his mid-back. He was wearing a black and mahogany short sleeve shirt that you could barely see the outline of his 8-pack, and he wore baggy, cream white colored shorts. He had mahogany and orange striped sneakers.

Ichigo had also a slight change in his appearance as well. He had a gold strip down the middle of his red sash and his shihakusho had short orange fur coming out the end of the sleeves.

"Hey, Ichigo before we head out can we change back into other clothes, because I don't think this would be easy to move in during combat. I think we should have shorter names. You can call me Honzoki (Hon-Zaki)" said Hozukimaru before he went back into Ichigo to change.

"You may call me Gengeta (Ge-jen-ta) if5 you want." said Gegetsubori before following Hozukimaru into Ichigo.

"Hey, Ichigo," called out Monkey over to Ichigo. "You should come up with a name for me and Monkey. I think it would be kinda odd to call us 'Snake' and 'Monkey' in the human public and Zabimaru won't work either since 'Zabimaru' is you collective name. Don't you agree?" Snake finished in a somewhat snarky tone.

"I suppose that's true. Is there anything you want to be called in particular? I'm not very good at naming things." inquired Ichigo while

"Well, you can call me Shiro since my scales and clothes are white." Snake stated waving his sleeve back and forth. "I suppose you can call me Monxie (Mon-zee), unless you have something better." said Monkey with a slight blush on her face.

"Okay if that's what you want then it's fine." replied Ichigo.

Then, as if on cue, Hozikumaru and Gegetsubori rematerialized together with a flash of violet and red. Gegetsuburi was still the same size but his clothes were the same as they were when he was fat. Hozukimaru they just the same as before.

"Ichigo, before we head out again, we should tell you about a couple of things." Zangetsu said in a serious tone.

"Alright then, let's talk. It may answer the questions I have." Ichigo responded.

"First off, in your battle with Hozukimaru, your attacks were a bit sloppy, but this is because of your unfamiliarity with your new powers correct?" Asked Zangetsu, to which Ichigo nodded in confirmation. "Well since you established even the temporary bond with Gegetsubori a new fraction of your powers had awakened. You see when you obtain a new zanpakuto you will obtain a new enhancement from the all the other zanpakuto you aren't wielding at the time. This is what you felt and saw when fighting. Katen and Kyokotsu's power is the ability to slip into the shadows, but only briefly. Suzu gives you a speed boost. Shirayuki lets time appear to slow down for you when you are about to be hit no matter the angle. Gegetsuburi gives you the ability to make your spirit energy be completely invisible to enemies. This only works until you enter a battle. Hozukimaru gives you a strength (power) boost. Zabimaru gives you heightened awareness so you can sense even the faintest trace of spirit energy with ease. Finally, I give you an increase in spirit energy and endurance." Zangetsu explained.

"Alright I get it part, but what about those minor changes that appeared when I was in your bankai state?" Ichigo asked.

"Those also contribute to your powers as a kind of proof that zanpakuto's spirit energy has merged with yours. It will only appear on a bankai state since in your bankai state your power will be unrestrained except for your hollow powers, but those may also into as well. You already know how to activate you hollow powers. But, I also suspect as you spectrum of power broadens and expands you will be able to sustain you hollow powers even longer. I think that sums up your new powers up until this point. I will tell you more as you power is gradually unlocked as you obtain more zanpakutos." Zangetsu finished.

It took Ichigo to process all this information, and when he did he decided that he would have to choose how he fought from now on. Not to mention the new powers he will inevitably obtain as time passes on.

Ichigo decided that is was time to move for them on before Byakuya's lingering spirit energy disappeared. The others agreed and the set off to try to find Byakuya.

(?) {Earlier}

Sokyoku felt a new power all around her and she began to investigate what could be the source of this new power within that substitute soul reaper. When she flash stepped to the areas, she kept a safe distance, but she noticed two figures standing there in two new areas that had formed. She reluctantly jumped down from the building she was standing on to the Alright to ask them some questions.

Getegsuburi's are was an old-style Japanese castle that overlooked a river. It had a bridge that connected the castle entrance and a minor grassy plain that harbored a big entrance sign that read 'THE TOWER OF THE GREAT GEGETSUBURI'.

As for Hozukimaru, It was a dojo open roof dojo that was a classical slide open door. Inside it had Hozukimaru's shikai and bankai on the wall on display, on the side there were wooden practice spears that were in a bin by the door.

"Hello, fellow brethren, would it be alright to ask you some questions?" Sokyoku asked. Hozukimaru and Gegetsuburi turned around to look at her and realized, by her spiritual pressure, that she was the Sokyoku.

"Alright you may ask us a few questions, but try to make them fast we have somewhere to be." Hozukimaru said.

"I have but two questions for you. First, what do you think of that substitute soul reaper and why did you decide to join him instead of deciding to go free once you were free from Muramasa's control?" Sokyoku asked with curiosity.

"I will be answering first. For starters, I think Ichigo is a kind and compassionate person who puts other before himself. But, he seems to put all the responsibilities of the safety of all the people he cares about on his shoulders and that may burden him. I guess that part of the reason I joined him, of course, I have other reasons too, like for example he takes care of himself properly and ISN'T A LAZY FATASS!" explained Gegetsubori with scorn at the end at remembering his old partner.

"A-ah ok, how about you? Why do you pursue relations with him?" asked Sokyoku while looking over at Hozukimaru.

"Well, I joined him because I sensed a great power within him and I wanted a stronger master than my previous master. My old master almost always refused to use my full power and it pissed me off. Not only that he seems to be smarter than my previous master and he looks like the type who could actually bring out my full potential. As for what I think of him, I think he is a responsible and smart person who cares about everyone even his enemies. And despite all the power he wields he uses it to fight fairly, conservatively and responsibly and doesn't abuse the power he has." answered Hozukimaru.

"I see, thank you I shall return for now, but please don't tell your master we had this talk, or even met me here today." Sokyoku asked before she flash-stepped away but to her corner.

Alrighty, that's it for chapter 16. I hope you all enjoyed it. This chapter was running at over 5000 words. Please tell me what else you would like this fanfic. I am open to reviews and suggestions for later chapters as well. NEXT CHAPTER: Ichigo pursues Byakuya, but is stopped and caught up in some argument between 2 zanpakuto and a mysterious 3rd zanpakuto who searches for a suitable master. Reaping KNight signing off for now, and I'll see you, in the next chapter. Thanks for reading! (Sorry again for taking so long)