I'm in Bleach, starting with Unlimited Blade Works.

If he remembered correctly, during the two-month-long training he had received from his uncle, it seemed that his uncle had often intentionally or unintentionally instilled in him the idea that Zanpakuto was inferior to the four Shinigami techniques.

Why are we training Zanpakuto abilities again?

"Snapped!"

Sensing that Byakuya Kuchiki's gaze was somewhat disrespectful, Erin slapped him across the face.

"You little rascal, what rude things are you thinking about?"

"Zanpakuto, as the weapon of a Shinigami, is born from the soul of a Shinigami and is equivalent to the 'half-body' of a Shinigami."

"If the four techniques of a Shinigami represent the lower limit of a Shinigami, then the Zanpakuto represents the upper limit of a Shinigami."

……

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Chapter 67 contains errors.

"Lower limit? Upper limit?"

Kuchiki Byakuya muttered to himself.

Although it was the first time he had heard these two words, according to Erin's uncle, Kuchiki Byakuya quickly understood their meaning.

The so-called "lower limit" should be the minimum strength that one can exert.

Conversely, the "upper limit" refers to the maximum strength one can exert.

In other words, the four techniques of a Shinigami allow one to have no weaknesses, while the abilities of a Zanpakuto can enhance one's strengths in a particular area.

"Uncle, I am willing to accept your second round of training."

……

"Captain Kuchiki, what on earth are you doing?"

This is the biggest question that has been troubling most of the Shinigami in Seireitei for the past two months.

Every day, they could feel the immense spiritual pressure emanating from Captain Erin of the Sixth Division.

Within the Seireitei, all captains are forbidden from releasing their Zanpakuto.

The example of Hoshino Hyouga, the third seat of the previous First Division, serves as a cautionary tale.

However, the Sixth Division Captain has been using Bankai in the Seireitei for more than two months, and Captain-Commander Yamamoto has not made any move. This makes everyone very curious. What is it that makes Captain-Commander Yamamoto indifferent to the release of Erin's Zanpakuto?

They had no idea that the reason Captain-Commander Yamamoto turned a blind eye to Erin's Bankai in the Seireitei was twofold. First, Kuchiki Ginrin had told Captain-Commander Yamamoto that Erin would leave Soul Society and enter the Human World in three months. At that time, Captain-Commander Yamamoto could use Erin's repeated violations of the prohibition as a reason to strip Erin of his position as captain, demote him from Soul Society, and increase Captain-Commander Yamamoto's prestige.

Second, and most importantly.

The reason Captain-Commander Yamamoto forbids the captains from fully unleashing their Zanpakuto is because the captains' Bankai is extremely powerful and would cause enormous damage to the Seireitei.

Based on observations over this period, it appears that Erin's Bankai only releases spiritual pressure during its release and does not cause any subsequent damage to Soul Society. This is why Captain-Commander Yamamoto agreed to Kuchiki Ginrin's request to allow Erin to use his Bankai in Seireitei for three months.

If Erin's Bankai were to cause immense damage to the Seireitei, Captain-Commander Yamamoto would probably have already attacked Erin the very first time he used his Bankai.

……

Within the Reality Marble Unlimited Blade Works, thousands of Zanpakuto floated in the air, surrounding Erin and Byakuya Kuchiki.

"Byakuya, I am very pleased that you were able to complete the first phase of training within three months."

"At the same time, I am also very happy to have completed the first stage of Zanpakuto release in these two months."

"If you fail to do either of these two things, I will not start the second phase of training for you."

"Before we begin the second phase of training, Byakuya, remember one thing."

Staring into Byakuya's eyes, Erin said, word by word, "Byakuya, no matter what your own Zanpakuto ability is, you must always believe that there are no useless Zanpakuto abilities, only useless Zanpakuto users."

"Only by firmly believing in this can you truly unleash the full potential of your Zanpakuto."

"If a Shinigami doesn't even believe in his own Zanpakuto, how can he possibly explore and develop its abilities?"

"I understand, Uncle."

Kuchiki Byakuya wrote down what Erin had said.

From what Uncle Erin had just said, Byakuya Kuchiki knew that Uncle Erin had set several stages of training for himself.

However, only after passing the previous training and meeting Uncle Erin's requirements will Uncle Erin begin the next stage of training for him.

Take myself for example. My Zanpakuto had already completed its Shikai a few days ago, but it wasn't until today, after all four of my Shinigami techniques were acknowledged by my uncle Erin, that I began the second stage of training.

Similarly, if he fails to unleash his Zanpakuto before the end of the March training, he will also miss the second phase of training.

"Then, Byakuya, let's begin. This stage of training will focus on developing and utilizing the Zanpakuto's abilities."

"Release your Zanpakuto, and let me witness its power."

"Yes!"

Kuchiki Byakuya held his Zanpakuto upright in front of him: "Uncle Erin, the name of my Zanpakuto is Senbonzakura."

"It can transform its Zanpakuto into countless blades the size of cherry blossom petals, which can then inflict damage on the enemy."

"Please advise!"

"Scatter, Senbonzakura!"

"boom!"

As Kuchiki Byakuya uttered the release phrase for Senbonzakura, his spiritual pressure suddenly increased more than threefold.

Then, the Zanpakuto in Byakuya Kuchiki's hand glowed with a cherry blossom color, instantly transforming into tens of thousands of cherry blossom-petal-shaped blades. Like pink morning mist, these blades, under Byakuya Kuchiki's control, attacked Erin.

Faced with the countless cherry blossom petals coming at him, Erin swung his sword, and several sword lights flashed instantly, scattering the cherry blossom petals.

On the other hand, perhaps because it was the first time Byakuya Kuchiki had released his Zanpakuto, he lacked control over it.

After Senbonzakura's Shikai was broken up by Erin, Byakuya Kuchiki's control over the blades weakened. It wasn't until Byakuya Kuchiki unleashed his spiritual pressure and swung the hilt of his sword that he was able to make Senbonzakura's blades fly around Erin again and attack him.

"Shhhhhhh..."

"boom!"

However, no matter how Kuchiki Byakuya controlled the tens of thousands of Senbonzakura blades to form a storm or transform them into torrents of blades, they were all scattered by Erin at an extremely fast speed.

The shattered blade posed no threat to Erin whatsoever.

"hateful!"

Byakuya Kuchiki unleashed his spiritual power, and the powerful spiritual pressure caused numerous cherry-colored blades to bloom on the hilt of the sword in his hand, which he then swung to join the attack on Erin.

but--

Even after Byakuya Kuchiki exhausted his spiritual power, and the thousands of blades returned to the hilt of his Zanpakuto, releasing Senbonzakura from its Shikai state, Erin's feet still couldn't move an inch.

This severely damaged Byakuya Kuchiki's confidence.

It should be noted that even when Erin's uncle suppressed him to the same level as himself, he was still able to hold his own against Erin's uncle with his four Death God techniques.

But even after unleashing his Zanpakuto and using only its abilities, he couldn't even make his uncle Erin move a little.

Is my Zanpakuto's power too weak?

Fortunately, the moment the thought crossed Byakuya Kuchiki's mind, he immediately remembered the admonition his uncle Erin had given him before the training began.

At that moment, Byakuya Kuchiki quickly muttered to himself, "Senbonzakura's ability is the strongest. The reason I couldn't unleash her full power is because I didn't use and develop her properly..."

After silently repeating the mantra several times, Byakuya Kuchiki regained his composure and opened his eyes to look at his uncle, Erin.

"Not bad, Byakuya, your Zanpakuto's ability is quite strong."

"However, you misunderstood the abilities of your Zanpakuto before."

Chapter 68 Thousand Blades

"Is there a misunderstanding about Senbonzakura's abilities?"

Hearing his uncle Erin say that his Zanpakuto was very powerful filled Kuchiki Byakuya with joy.

The feeling that his Zanpakuto was weak vanished instantly, something he couldn't achieve even after silently reciting his uncle Erin's opening words several times.

Erin's words even made Byakuya Kuchiki truly believe that he hadn't properly unleashed the full power of his Zanpakuto.

If anyone else had said that, Byakuya Kuchiki would have already slashed them with his sword.

But since it was Erin who said it, Kuchiki Byakuya sincerely asked Erin for guidance: "Uncle Erin, please teach me."

Back when he was first seriously injured by his uncle Erin and saw one of the thousands of Zanpakuto being released by Erin to heal him, Byakuya Kuchiki had a very bold guess in his mind.

Could it be that all of these thousands of Zanpakuto can be unleashed by Uncle Erin, allowing him to obtain the abilities of thousands of Zanpakuto?

While other Shinigami could only possess one Zanpakuto, Erin's uncle already owned thousands of Zanpakuto.

When it comes to understanding the abilities of Zanpakuto, Byakuya Kuchiki doesn't know who in the world can compare to his uncle Erin.

“You said before that Senbonzakura’s ability is to transform the blade into tens of thousands of tiny cherry blossom-shaped blades.”

"However, during our battle just now, I discovered that in addition to the petal-shaped blades that your Zanpakuto initially formed from the sword's blade, there were even more blades that were later transformed from the hilt using your spiritual pressure."

"In other words, Senbonzakura's ability is essentially to transform your spiritual pressure into a blade the size of a cherry blossom petal."

"The stronger your spiritual pressure, the more blades you can transform your spiritual pressure into through the Shikai of Senbonzakura."

Kuchiki Byakuya suddenly realized.

Indeed, indeed, after releasing his Zanpakuto, he used the technique of "spiritual pressure burst," and at that time he did feel that his spiritual pressure had turned into more blades.

"Byakuya, I must say, your Zanpakuto is very powerful."

"However, your spiritual pressure is too weak right now, which is seriously hindering this powerful ability."

"Senbonzakura's strength lies in its use of a dense array of blades for both attack and defense."

"But with your current spiritual pressure, even after releasing Senbonzakura, you can only unleash tens of thousands of blades at most, which is far from enough to unleash its full power."

After hearing Erin's words, Kuchiki Byakuya sighed and raised his Zanpakuto to his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Senbonzakura."