Yoru Chikao used his tail to pull out a pure black shi ba zhuang and a sheathed katana with a blade full of nicks from the tree hollow.
"This is a shi ba zhuang, and... an Asauchi?"
Yoru Chikao held the tiny Zanpakuto in his palm, clearly sensing that the unusual spiritual pressure from before had emanated from this Asauchi.
At this moment, this Zanpakuto was like a small toothpick compared to Yoru Chikao's huge body.
He played with this nicked Asauchi for a while, just like he used to play with figurines in his previous life.
Then, a sudden thought struck him:
"Can I use this Zanpakuto?"
So, Yoru Chikao tentatively channeled his spiritual pressure into the Asauchi; wisps of dark golden spiritual pressure slowly flowed into the blade through Yoru Chikao's palm.
As Yoru Chikao's spiritual pressure came into contact with the original spiritual pressure within the blade, fragments of memories, like a movie playing, surged directly into Yoru Chikao's mind.
A handsome, purple-haired man with a tall stature, holding a paint black long spear, stood proudly in the Great Hollow Forest, continuously battling with groups of Hollows.
His long spear swept horizontally, carrying a terrifying might; with every thrust, a Gillian fell!
Ito Kaito was originally a vagrant from District 77 of the West District of Rukongai. Due to the very poor public order in District 77 and the generally poor living conditions of its residents, let alone Ito Kaito who was a vagrant, the originally young him wandered Rukongai all day, relying on theft to survive.
Such days continued for a long time, and the originally young Ito Kaito also became a young man. Because of his robust build and arms that were longer than those of an average adult, he was invincible in fights. Therefore, the thugs in District 77 of Rukongai gave him the nickname 'Long-Armed Ape'.
Until one day, District 77 of the West District of Rukongai was suddenly invaded by a group of Hollows of unknown origin. Seireitei immediately dispatched a group of Shinigami to the area to exterminate the Hollows.
Kasumiōji Yukari, from the noble Kasumiōji Family, was the first time Ito Kaito saw that woman who was like a blazing sun. She cleanly killed the Hollows that invaded Rukongai and rescued Ito Kaito from the Hollow's mouth.
And when Ito Kaito saw the graceful and cool-faced Kasumiōji Yukari, he actually dared to step forward and tease her.
The result was obvious: Kasumiōji Yukari directly bound Ito Kaito's hands and feet with a Bakudo #1, trapping him in place, unable to move.
Originally, because Ito Kaito had offended a noble, the Shinigami accompanying Kasumiōji Yukari were about to kill Ito Kaito, but they were stopped by the kind Kasumiōji Yukari.
"My name is Kasumiōji Yukari, and I am the Thirteenth Seat of the Eleventh Division. I only like strong people. If you truly like me, then work hard to become stronger. If one day you can defeat me, then..."
This sentence from Kasumiōji Yukari was firmly etched in Ito Kaito's memory.
In his understanding, only Shinigami could defeat Shinigami. The originally carefree him actually participated in the selection for the Spiritual Arts Academy, and surprisingly passed it on his first try, successfully enrolling and graduating smoothly several years later.
And he actively chose to join the Eleventh Division where Kasumiōji Yukari was. In the following decades, the originally unknown Ito Kaito actually caught up from being an obscure Shinigami of common birth, successfully becoming the Third Seat of the Eleventh Division.
His strength far surpassed Kasumiōji Yukari's, and in their subsequent battles together, he and Kasumiōji Yukari fell in love. The Kasumiōji Family behind Yukari also witnessed Ito Kaito's potential and agreed to their marriage, provided that Ito Kaito became a Vice-Captain of a Division, then he could officially marry Kasumiōji Yukari.
Just as everything was developing in a good direction, news came that Kasumiōji Yukari suddenly left Ito Kaito without saying goodbye, joining the Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Force to conquer Menos Grande in Hueco Mundo.
As a member of the Kasumiōji Family, even though she was from a branch family, she was still a noble and would not be assigned to a suicide squad like the Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Force. Ito Kaito, who had many doubts about this matter, went to the Kasumiōji Family multiple times to demand an explanation, but the Kasumiōji Family remained vague about it.
However, Ito Kaito, being of common birth, had no way to deal with the Kasumiōji Family. He could only give up his seat officer status and join a new round of the Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Force, heading to Hueco Mundo, hoping to reunite with his fiancée.
Unfortunately, their team, upon departure, mysteriously encountered spatial fluctuations. As soon as they exited Hueco Mundo, they surprisingly arrived directly in the Great Hollow Forest. Soon, Ito Kaito and his group fell directly into the encirclement of Hollows.
The rest of the team were quickly wiped out under the siege of a large number of Hollows. Only Ito Kaito, relying on his formidable strength, escaped. In the following years, Ito Kaito continuously hunted Hollows in the Great Hollow Forest while searching for Kasumiōji Yukari's whereabouts.
He didn't find Kasumiōji Yukari, but he killed quite a few Hollows.
Until one day, he attracted the attention of two Adjuchas. These two Adjuchas, accompanied by their Gillian army, came to besiege Ito Kaito.
Ito Kaito was indeed worthy of being the Third Seat of the Eleventh Division, a berserker squad. His strength had definitely reached the Vice-Captain level.
Facing the encirclement of hundreds of Gillians, he could still break through, and in the end, he even fought to the point of severe injury and near death, perishing together with those two Adjuchas.
At this moment, the last scene flashed through Yoru Chikao's mind.
"Fight to the death, Kamikaze Maru!"
With a soft chant, the Asauchi in Ito Kaito's hand transformed into a completely black long spear. Gusts of wind swirled around the long spear as it charged forward into the Hollow group, unstoppable!
At this point, the spiritual pressure lingering on the Asauchi completely dissipated!
"Alas, Brother Kaito is a true man! It's just a pity his brain isn't quite right..."
Based on the general situation understood from Ito Kaito's residual spiritual pressure, Yoru Chikao could tell with his intuition that Kasumiōji Yukari's disappearance must be inextricably linked to the Kasumiōji Family. Why did Ito Kaito rush to Hueco Mundo in such a hurry to find her?
Of course, this also had something to do with the 'god's eye view' he possessed.
After all, in the original anime, the Kasumiōji Family seemed to have caused quite a few troubles.
As a seat officer, Ito Kaito couldn't do anything to the Kasumiōji Family. But what if he were a Vice-Captain? If a Vice-Captain wasn't enough, what about becoming a Squad Captain?
Ito Kaito's life was extremely short for the long lifespan of a Shinigami. In other words, Ito Kaito had the potential to become a Squad Captain. This was also the fundamental reason why the Kasumiōji Family did not oppose the marriage before.
If Ito Kaito had mastered Bankai and wore a Squad Captain's haori, would he still be so passive when going to the Kasumiōji Family to demand an explanation?
A Squad Captain level figure, let alone the Kasumiōji Family, even the Four Great Noble Families would not dare to slight him.
"Alas, Brother Kaito, Brother Kaito, why were you so impatient? If I were you, I would have laid low until I was strong enough. Then all problems would be solved easily!"
Although their positions were different, Yoru Chikao couldn't help but feel regret for Ito Kaito, ultimately letting out a long sigh...