Chapter 69: Zanpakuto

"Shinigami Power, a weapon condensed from the soul?"

Hoshigaki Kisame's expression changed slightly; he had not expected such a strange ability to exist.

Such a thing had never been heard of in the Ninja World.

Fang Yi was slightly surprised.

When Kisame was transported to Hueco Mundo, he had assumed the other would be compatible with abilities and professions related to Hollows.

Constantly enduring the falsehood of betraying comrades and escaping reality—if one were in the world of Shinigami, it would be very easy to fall and become a Hollow.

Yet he had not expected that a rusted Asauchi would appear before Kisame in the end.

Shinigami Power.

A substance entirely different from Hollow Power; from the moment one begins to control a Zanpakuto, one must converse with their own soul step by step, explore the secrets deep within the soul, and learn the soul's name.

For someone like Kisame, who lives in confusion and pain, the difficulty of becoming compatible with Shinigami Power is immense.

"Using the soul to forge a Blade—it couldn't be more fitting!"

After a moment of silence, Kisame suddenly smiled.

No wonder he was transported to this place by the trial; it was to encounter this rusted, broken blade.

"For a traitor like me, perhaps only keeping company with my soul will put everyone at ease."

Kisame reached out and grasped the rusted blade, and a surge of scorching energy flooded into his arm frantically.

He had a feeling:

If he could not control the Shinigami Power, he would likely be killed—a death of the soul in the truest sense.

Even if resurrected by the game, he would never again have the qualifications to converse with his own soul.

"Let me open my eyes wide and see clearly what the depths of my soul, the soul of a traitor, truly look like."

Kisame let out a low roar, like a shark baring its fangs.

He gripped the rusted blade backhanded and stabbed it into his heart.

Fang Yi sensed the scene within the trial.

He recalled Kisame's past: after experiencing countless betrayals, he chose to swing his butcher's knife at the superior who gave him orders—that high-ranking ninja within Kirigakure, the previous owner of the Samehada greatsword.

At that time, he had petulantly thought he was choosing to betray.

But in Fang Yi's eyes, it was actually the first time Kisame had summoned the courage to resist the fate shackled upon him, performing a cruel act that appeared insane and illogical to others.

"Resisting fate, is it?"

Fang Yi glanced at Kisame, whose face was twisted and hideous from being eroded by the Shinigami Power.

He could only say:

Ninja is truly a terrible profession.

The Ninja World is also pitiful; it was originally a very ordinary ancient world, but it was planted with a God Tree by aliens, forcibly birthing the Chakra Fruit.

Although the Sage of Six Paths sealed Kaguya Otsutsuki, he passed down chakra, invisibly elevating the world's power system without it having gone through the process of growing from nothing.

This resulted in the Ninja World being like a deformed product forced to ripen.

Backward systems and childish ideologies, yet possessing strength that transcends ordinary people.

It is like a group of childish children holding firearms and strafing each other, scrambling for limited resources in the most primitive and barbaric way.

To use some classic "chuunibyou" language:

The one at fault is this world.

Inside the Shilianchang:

Kisame's skin was steamed bright red, as if doused in boiling water; beads of sweat the size of beans rolled down incessantly, and his body trembled constantly.

This was pain originating from the soul.

The original Kurosaki Ichigo was the Child of Prophecy, possessed Shinigami Bloodline, and had Kuchiki Rukia voluntarily offer her Shinigami Power for him to accept; everything was very logical.

But Kisame was different; without bloodline or affinity, he could only rely on his own will to resist the Shinigami Power's transformation of his soul.

Fortunately, it was in the Shilianchang, with the help of the Samsara Game.

Otherwise, an ordinary person would have had their soul shredded by this Shinigami Power in an instant.

Pop.

【Soul damage index has reached the maximum. Do you wish to expend 3000 Reward Points for repairs?】

If he refused, he would be resurrected on the spot immediately.

This rusted Asauchi, as a profession item, would also disappear, counting as a failure to take the job.

Although Fang Yi admired Kisame's courage, the rules could not be broken; helping a player out of his own pocket was absolutely out of the question.

"Repair."

Kisame gritted his teeth and persisted bitterly; he did not want to fall short of success.

His Ninjutsu had all been handed over, and even the essence contained within his special constitution and Water Release affinity had been taken away by the Game Mall.

The next second:

A cool, nourishing sensation flowed over his soul like a mountain spring.

Converging with the soul-destroying Shinigami Power, the two energies interacted, tugging at Kisame's consciousness.

He struggled to keep his consciousness from becoming murky.

Until finally:

A portion of his soul, transformed by the Shinigami Power, began to overflow, covering his body and turning into a black Shihakusho that looked like silk.

A brand-new Asauchi hung at his waist, humming softly.

The pain gradually faded.

Hoshigaki Kisame collapsed to the ground, gasping for air.

"Is this my soul blade?"

Hoshigaki Kisame looked at the Shihakusho that had appeared on his body, then gripped the brand-new Asauchi, feeling a faint soul fluctuation emanating from the blade.

It was extremely familiar and intimate.

It was even stronger than the rapport between him and Samehada; no, this blade was already a part of him, and "rapport" was no longer enough to describe it.

【Trial Concluded】

The Shilianchang began to fade and peel away like mottled wall plaster.

Kisame blinked, having returned to reality, with Itachi Uchiha still in the trial beside him, as well as the mysterious merchant who was watching him with a smile.

Fang Yi clapped his hands and laughed: "Congratulations. Although you are an Apprentice Shinigami who does not yet know the true name of your Zanpakuto, it is still a rare high-level profession."

"How can I learn the true name of the Zanpakuto?"

Hoshigaki Kisame pulled at the corners of his mouth, feeling somewhat restless and expectant.

He could feel the soul fluctuations emanating from the Blade at every moment, but no matter how he racked his brains, he could not resonate with this fluctuation.

Fang Yi explained: "Reach level fifteen in the Samsara Game, then go to the Mall to purchase a Transfer Scroll and participate in a trial related to Shikai; then you will be able to know the true name of the Zanpakuto."

Of course, if Hoshigaki Kisame were gifted, he could also rely on himself to release the Zanpakuto.

This possibility was not high.

After all, even among the genuine natives of the Shinigami world, there are large numbers of soul bodies that cannot be Awakened to a Zanpakuto and cannot become Shinigami.

Don't look at how Shikai is as common as a dog and Bankai flies everywhere in the later stages of Shinigami.

But a Shinigami who has qualified Reiryoku and Reiatsu and can release a Zanpakuto is already considered a relatively talented existence; if placed in the Central Academy of Spiritual Arts, they would all be honor students.

For an outsider like Hoshigaki Kisame, who became a Shinigami with the assistance of the Samsara Game,

unless he is willing to purchase a Shinigami Bloodline, is willing to pay money to increase his Reiryoku and Reiatsu, and then coordinates with various Soul Communication Potions sold in the Mall to constantly contact and call out to the Zanpakuto,

it is only then possible to release the Zanpakuto on his own.

Although this method can to a certain extent bypass the level requirements of the Samsara Game, the price to be paid is also extremely huge.

Without hundreds of thousands of Reward Points, don't even think about it.

Not many people in the Ninja World can produce so many Reward Points, let alone a mere desperado and rogue ninja like Hoshigaki Kisame, who can only obediently go level up, do missions, and hunt Pollution Sources.

(End of this chapter)