Bleach: Stirring Up a Storm

”Ahem! Well...” Hirako stood up and patted the dirt off his clothes, pretending as if nothing had happened. ”Although Hiyori often does unreliable things, what she said is actually true.”

”You didn’t need to add that first part,” Hiyori retorted faintly. She turned back to continue scolding Ichigo. ”In short, if you want to learn how to control your Hollowfication, get up there and start running! Got it, you bald idiot!”

Got it? As far as Ichigo was concerned, the only thing he understood was Hiyori’s last sentence. As for why controlling his Hollowfication required him to run on that piece of junk treadmill, even though Hiyori had explained it, he still didn’t get it.

However, seeing how serious Hirako and Hiyori looked, it seemed to be the truth. Ichigo helplessly stepped onto the treadmill in front of him. Who would have thought his training would actually start with running on a treadmill?

”How long do I have to run on this thing?”

”Why are you asking so many questions? Just keep running until I tell you to stop!” Hiyori yelled at Ichigo. She turned her head, intending to tell Hirako to keep a close eye on Ichigo, only to see him walking toward the door. ”Hey, where are you going this late, Hirako?”

”Nowhere in particular, just going for a stroll. It’s too stuffy in here, I’m going out for some fresh air.”

*’This rundown warehouse doesn’t even have intact windows, and he thinks it’s stuffy?’* Hiyori pursed her lips in displeasure. *’If you want to slack off, at least don’t use such a half-hearted excuse!’*

Hirako walked away from the warehouse for about ten minutes before letting out a heavy sigh, as if the air around the warehouse really had been too stuffy. He pulled a cell phone out of his pocket and dialed a number without a second thought.

”Hello?”

”Everything is set. That kid Ichigo has already started his Hollowfication control training,” Hirako said calmly. As junky as Hiyori’s treadmill was, it was indeed a necessary condition for safely mastering Hollowfication.

To a Shinigami, Hollowfication was an invasion. It was like a second personality being born within the body, only this entity was destined to be violent and insane. It would never coexist peacefully with you; it would absolutely seek to devour the original you completely.

Destroying it was one method, but Urahara’s experiments had proven that to be impossible. Therefore, another method emerged: controlling the Hollowfication. This meant establishing an absolute hierarchy between the two personalities.

However, just as Hirako had told Ichigo, controlling Hollowfication wasn’t something that could be achieved just by thinking about it. In Hiyori’s words, it required slowly building a suitable environment for resistance. For Hirako, it was closer to the word ”adaptation.”

In truth, if Ichigo were a bit more mature and thoughtful, he would have noticed the clues regarding his Hollowfication. The more intense the battle, the more severe the Hollowfication became, but this process always transitioned from calm to out of control.

If one could push this process as close as possible to the critical point between calm and loss of control, and continuously delay that critical point to adapt to the loss of control brought on by Hollowfication, it would be equivalent to controlling it. Hiyori’s treadmill was designed to provide exactly that critical point as much as possible.

By continuously draining Reiatsu, it simulated a series of miniature battles. When his Reiatsu weakened to a certain level, the Hollowfication would emerge, allowing him to inch closer to the critical point and attempt to control it.

Of course, this wasn’t the only method, but it was the most reliable and carried the lowest risk.

”Slower than I imagined. Does it really take that long to prepare a treadmill?” Kōe’s voice came through the phone. Clearly, he was also aware of this method.

”It is a bit late. Mostly, I didn’t expect that guy Ichigo to make up his mind so quickly, and...”

Before Hirako could finish, Kōe’s voice rang out again, interrupting him. ”A fifteen-year-old boy who dared to storm the Seireitei for his friends—you should have faith in his resilience.”

*’This guy,’* Hirako gritted his teeth, pretending to casually remind him, ”Wasn’t that because you took it upon yourself to add fuel to the fire, making the rest of us nervous along with you?”

”Well...” Kōe paused on the other end of the line before continuing. ”Wasn’t that also out of concern that he’s only fifteen? I was worried that pushing him too hard might break him. But I had a lot of confidence in him after that, which is why I had you guys keep waiting.”

Yoruichi was right. This guy Kōe could concede defeat in anything, but he would never admit defeat with his mouth. Hirako sighed softly. ”Let’s end this topic here. There’s another reason it took so long to prepare. The Hollow inside Ichigo is a bit troublesome, so Hiyori had to put some thought into adjusting the machine.”

Kōe didn’t say anything, so Hirako continued, ”When Hiyori fought him during the day, according to our intel, he should only start Hollowfying after using Bankai. But at that time, he started Hollowfying without using Bankai, and there was a momentary loss of control. It’s highly unusual.”

”What’s so unusual about that? Even if left alone, the suppression of Hollowfication will continuously weaken. As someone who experienced it firsthand, you should know this better than anyone.”

Kōe spoke as if it were a trivial matter. Hirako casually leaned against a wall. ”You can fool Ichigo with that kind of talk, but you know exactly what I mean. Starting from the first time his Hollowfication appeared in the Seireitei, this progression is a bit too fast. If we go by the intel from the past two days, the speed is simply absurd. It’s almost exactly like when Aizen forced Hollowfication on us back then.”

”And in terms of intensity, just a momentary loss of control nearly killed Hiyori—a Hiyori who had already Hollowfied. This doesn’t align with what Urahara said about the entity inside Ichigo appearing because he became a Shinigami the moment his Chain of Fate was devoured. A fifteen-year-old brat couldn’t possibly spawn something like that on his own.” Hirako dug into his ear with his pinky finger, his tone turning unfriendly. ”Don’t you think you owe me an explanation, Chōzuka?”

”Hey, hey, hey, don’t make it sound so serious, Hirako,” Kōe’s voice sounded somewhat helpless over the phone. ”That’s what Urahara told me too. How about I have him explain it to you?”

”How about I head over there right now and have you explain it to me face-to-face?”

Kōe fell silent on the other end for a moment. ”It’s possible, just a possibility, mind you, that the Hollow inside Ichigo is connected to Aizen. A Hollow that underwent Shinigamification from a different angle.”

”It seems you have no intention of spilling the truth obediently...”

”Don’t be so hasty. I know you think this sounds fake. After all, Aizen only concluded his Hollow Shinigamification experiments in the last two years. Even if we push the timeline back, he wouldn’t have had the opportunity to experiment on Ichigo. And, of course, there would be no need to.”

”So I—no, I should say Urahara—is only speculating. Because the one who was actually used as the test subject back then was Ichigo’s father. Of course, a little accident occurred, and that accident was Ichigo’s mother.”

”Two humans? Do you expect me to believe that?”

”No, no, no!” Kōe repeatedly denied over the phone. ”Ichigo’s mother could barely be considered within the realm of humans, but his father is an old acquaintance of ours.”

”Kurosaki Isshin. You probably haven’t heard that name. But if we change it to Shiba Isshin, does that ring a bell, Hirako?”