The Demon King, reborn in Japan as a monk

With the activation of the Heavenly Demon Power, Toshiro Hitsugaya, already under the complete hypnosis of Kyoka Suigetsu, was further drawn into his mental world by Shou Ishihara using the Heavenly Demon Power—

A vast, uninhabited, yet icy wilderness surrounded by towering peaks.

Or perhaps, it's the mental world possessed by his Zanpakuto, Hyōrinmaru.

But Ishihara Sho remained calm. Not only were the Heavenly Demons themselves experts at manipulating people's minds, but even when on someone else's turf, they could exploit every opportunity and condition to fight, influencing the emotions and will of the master of their spiritual world. Even their newly acquired complete hypnotic ability, the Mirror Flower Water Moon, was an unparalleled power to deal with this situation.

So the next moment, with the appearance of Hitsugaya Toshiro's spiritual body, the surrounding environment instantly changed from the mental world of the Zanpakuto to the original team barracks under his and Hojun's influence. Hitsugaya Toshiro stood in front of the door of a dormitory, looking like he was about to go in but hadn't yet. However, a strange sound had already come out of the room before him and entered Hitsugaya Toshiro's ears.

"what!"

"peach!"

Upon hearing the sound, Toshiro Hitsugaya no longer hesitated or wondered why he was there. He immediately opened the door and rushed inside.

Then he was stunned by what he saw before him—

His childhood friend, the girl he loves, Momo Hinamori, is currently riding on someone's back in a natural pose, galloping wildly...

"Shiro." Upon hearing Toshiro Hitsugaya's call, Momo Hinamori turned her head slightly, her face flushed with a clear expression of joy as she called out.

Completely oblivious to how indecent and inconvenient she was to be seen by others, she acted as if she were doing something very ordinary and normal, leaving Hitsugaya Toshiro completely bewildered.

"Xiaobai, you don't know him yet, do you? This is my boyfriend, Ishihara Akane. You can just call him brother-in-law." Hinamori Momo paused for a moment, then pointed to Ishihara Akane on the ground and introduced him again.

"So you're the little brother Shiro that Momo mentioned. Hello, I'm Ishihara Akane. I'm a bit unavailable right now, so I won't greet you properly." Ishihara Akane, who was mentioned, greeted Hitsugaya Toshiro, whose face was turning red and then pale, with a scathing smile.

"Sorry, I disturbed you. Please continue with your work, I'll come back later." After saying that, Hitsugaya Toshiro turned around and left Hinamori Momo's room without waiting for their reply, closing the door behind him.

Then, as if fleeing, Hitsugaya Toshiro frantically activated his Shunpo, running towards the distance, towards a place far from the Seireitei and far from human habitation. Only when he reached a desolate mountaintop did he suddenly kneel on the ground, pounding the earth with his hammer while roaring with a ferocious expression—

"what!!!!"

This shows just how significant the impact of the illusion created by Ishihara Sho had on Hitsugaya Toshiro.

Almost instantly, Ishihara Akira was given a large meal. Then, Ishihara Akira broke free from Hitsugaya Toshiro's mental world, used his hand to knock out Toshiro's soul while he was in a completely hypnotic state, and snatched the Zanpakuto from his hand.

"It's up to you." Seeing that the Zanpakuto was about to resist, Ishihara Sho said to Bojun beside him.

"Leave it to me." With that, Mara transformed into a streak of light once more and entered Hitsugaya's Zanpakuto, Hyōrinmaru.

Next, Ishihara Sho used the sealing techniques he learned in the Naruto world, combining them with Kido to seal Hyōrinmaru and block Hitsugaya's perception of it. Only then did he turn to look at Matsumoto Rangiku, who was also in a state of complete hypnosis.

After thinking it over, he decided not to do anything more to her. Except for reaching into her clothes before leaving, where she was also knocked unconscious, to experience her greatness, he left the 10th Division's base and returned to the 4th Division under the cover of night. He then crawled into Kotetsu Isane's bed and released the pent-up anger in his heart.

Then, the Seireitei, which had just calmed down, went on high alert again. All the captains went on high alert and searched all the locations in the Seireitei for the mysterious enemy who dared to break into the Seireitei, attack the 10th Division Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya, and even steal his Zanpakuto.

With an attitude of no return, Ishihara Akira had no choice but to behave himself again, learning the way of kendo under the guidance of Kotetsu Isane while receiving swordsmanship instruction from Unohana Retsu.

Time passed peacefully for quite some time...

Chapter 218 Zanpakuto Hunt

It was still one night when, having finished everything, Ishihara Sho transformed into the form he had used when attacking Hitsugaya Toshiro and left the Fourth Division barracks, heading towards Kuchiki Byakuya's house.

Yes, Ishihara's target this time is none other than the captain of the Sixth Division, the representative and protector of the nobles, Kuchiki Byakuya!

Of course, if given the chance, he wouldn't mind attacking Rukia on top of that and taking her Zanpakuto, Sode no Shirayuki, which is said to be the most beautiful Zanpakuto in the entire Soul Society.

It's unclear whether Rukia Kuchiki has recovered from the effects of the Hogyoku and regained her spiritual pressure at this point...

If he recovers, then he has a chance; but if he doesn't recover...

Then it's probably really over and we'll have to miss out.

After all, in the original work, it wasn't until after the original storyline, the Soul Hunt arc, that her Zanpakuto reappeared on her waist. Before that, even while she was in prison, she was always unarmed and had no chance to nurture her Zanpakuto anew.

……

And so, a moment later, Ishihara Akira arrived at the Kuchiki family mansion without incident. Carefully avoiding places and corners that gave off a strong sense of danger and contained terrifying spiritual pressure, Ishihara Akira quickly headed towards the location of Kuchiki Byakuya's spiritual pressure.

At the same time, Byakuya Kuchiki, who was writing and calming himself in his study, also had a sudden thought. He gripped his Zanpakuto and flashed out to meet the attack.

But what he saw was not the stranger that Ishihara Sho had transformed into, but someone who should never have appeared before him again—his wife, and the reason he adopted Kuchiki Rukia as his adopted sister, Kuchiki Hisa!

His familiar, timid expression immediately stunned Byakuya Kuchiki, who was originally filled with murderous intent.

But Ishihara Akira did not hesitate. Taking advantage of the moment when Kuchiki Byakuya was affected by the illusion he had created, he drew his Zanpakuto and uttered the release phrase for Kyoka Suigetsu: "Be illusory, Kyoka Suigetsu."

Instantly, Byakuya Kuchiki's mental state was affected. Countless Kuchiki Hisana figures, like Naruto Uzumaki's multiple shadow clones, filled all around him, making it impossible for him to see any trace of the enemy no matter where he turned his gaze.

"You've successfully enraged me." Kuchiki Byakuya, though outwardly calm, was shocked that his deceased wife had been used in such a way. However, a surge of killing intent welled up within him, fueled by his spiritual power, and erupted like a tsunami, engulfing the entire Kuchiki family mansion. This alarmed the servants, relatives, clan members, and even Rukia, who grabbed their weapons and rushed out of their houses towards Kuchiki Byakuya's location…

However, when they finally arrived at the location, what they saw was Byakuya Kuchiki lying unconscious on the ground, with the empty scabbard of his Zanpakuto in his hand—

"Could it be..."

"Quickly, report to the Captain-Commander that Captain Byakuya was attacked by a mysterious person and his Zanpakuto was stolen. Please mobilize the Gotei 13 immediately to search for and apprehend him." A quick-thinking member of the Kuchiki family, upon seeing this, immediately changed his expression and shouted at a person who, although also a formal Shinigami, was a servant of the Kuchiki family.

"Yes." Then, the servant Shinigami used his instantaneous movement to leave and head to the captain's office to report.

So, not long after, the familiar sound of striking wooden boards echoed across the entire Seireitei once again, startling all the squad members and putting them on alert.

"As expected, Rukia Kuchiki's Zanpakuto hasn't recovered yet. It seems I really can't miss it this time..." On the way back, Ishihara Sho, who had casually tossed the sealed Senbonzakura to Hamon for him to devour, sighed with some regret.

There's nothing I can do; Sode no Shirayuki's moves are just too beautiful. They're so much more visually appealing than Hyōrinmaru's sweeping and powerful techniques! But alas, I was unlucky and missed the opportune moment. To replicate Sode no Shirayuki's moves, I'll have to develop them myself after mastering Hyōrinmaru...

After all, techniques are always created by people, not given by the sword.

……

After another month of dormancy, giving Banji time to digest and replicate Senbonzakura's abilities, Ishihara Shou once again transformed into a Zanpakuto hunter and ran towards the First Division's barracks.

This time, however, he did not directly rush in to attack.

After all, the First Division is different from the other divisions, and it is also different from the Hitsugaya and Kuchiki Byakuya who attacked before. It is the place guarded by Captain-Commander Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni. Although there are not many members, as long as he is there, Ishihara Akira does not dare to openly break in.

Moreover, his targets this time included not only Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni himself, but also his vice-captain, Sasakibe no Nakajiro.

So when they were about to reach the First Division, Ishihara Akira stopped again, looked around for a moment, and found a member of the Seventh Division, the Inner Court Guard, who looked like a Shinigami member. He went up and restrained him, and made him enter the First Division under the pretext of delivering a message, so that he could lure out Chojiro Sasakibe.

The result was, of course, a success.

After all, although that guy seems rigid and unapproachable, he's actually quite easy to talk to.

This can be seen from the fact that when Kenpachi Zaraki asked him about hair care methods, he was able to readily give him tips on how to make hair smooth, and that he could bathe with Kenpachi Zaraki in the public bathhouse without any problems.

Although Kenpachi Zaraki's hair care method was so effective that he could no longer tie his hair up, leading to some misunderstandings about Chojiro Sasakibe, he had to admit that this guy was a good person.

So not long after, Chojiro Sasaki walked out of the First Division's barracks alone, slowly and leisurely, even with a somewhat relaxed and cheerful mood, toward the Seventh Division's barracks.

Then, Ishihara Sho jumped out, giving Chojiro no chance to react, and directly unleashed the power of Kyoka Suigetsu.

There's not much to say about the battles that followed. With complete hypnosis and mind-controlling techniques, even if Chojiro had 100% of his power at this point, he couldn't unleash it at all. Or if he could, the places he could strike were all deserted spots lured by Ishihara Sho, which not only couldn't hurt him at all, but also made it very easy for him to knock his opponent unconscious.

So, in the blink of an eye, Chojiro Sasaki's Zanpakuto fell into the hands of Ishihara Sho.

After sealing it and handing it to Bo Xun, Ishihara Sho quickly rushed back to the Fourth Division.

Of course, he could also go to the Rukongai outside the Seireitei, stay overnight in one of the izakayas there, and then go back reeking of alcohol, so as not to let Unohana Retsu, who has been suspicious of him recently, deepen his suspicions and interrupt his chances of obtaining Ryujin Jakka.

Chapter 219 Seeing Through

"You're back! The captain is looking for you. You'd better go quickly." The next day, when Ishihara Akira saw Kotetsu Isane again, he heard some alarming news.

"I understand, I'll be there in a bit," Ishihara Akira replied.

He took a deep breath to calm himself down, and then thought about the countermeasures and possible situations in his mind before taking a step and walking towards Unohana Retsu's office, still smelling of alcohol.

"Captain, you wanted to see me."

"Went out for drinks?" Unohana Retsu smiled as Ishihara Akira walked in.

"Yes." Ishihara Akira nodded.

"Please sit down first."

Ishihara Akira, as always, did not stand on ceremony and sat down next to him.

"Why did you attack the vice-captain of the Sparrow Division?" Unohana Retsu asked directly without any preamble.

"The vice-captain of the Sparrow Division? Why would I attack him? We have no grudge against each other." Ishihara Sho asked, feigning surprise.

“Yes, you have no grudge against Captain Hitsugaya or Captain Kuchiki, but you still attacked them, didn’t you?” Unohana Retsu chuckled.

"Why is the captain so certain that the mysterious enemy who attacked them must be me?" Ishihara Akira asked curiously.

"There are two reasons. First, on the night they were attacked, someone saw you leave the Fourth Division and only return to the team after the attack. The second reason is that a member of the Seventh Division who was not involved appeared in the incident involving the attack on the vice-captain of the Sparrow Division yesterday. Although no problems were found with him after the interrogation, you were still the first person I thought of."

Because Kotetsu Isane's memories were altered by Ishihara Sho without her realizing it, which perfectly matches the situation of that member of the 7th Division.

Besides that, there's probably Aizen's Zanpakuto, Kyoka Suigetsu.

Although she had sealed the knife, the seal only lasted for half a day to a day.

Of course, this refers to the reason why Aizen could be cleansed and summoned with spiritual power before he was captured. However, after being captured, without the help of subsequent power, it should not be able to break free from the seal she set up.

But the truth is, on the very night Aizen was captured, his Zanpakuto, Kyoka Suigetsu, disappeared!

Furthermore, it can be confirmed that it was not because Aizen was captured and sealed away in Hell that he was imprisoned.

Because the seal she left on the sword could completely isolate the effects of this situation, and no one else knew that Aizen's Zanpakuto was with the Fourth Division, and the Fourth Division had not been invaded or broken into by anyone, but Aizen's Zanpakuto still disappeared inexplicably, right under the noses of Kotetsu Isane and Ishihara Sho.

If this wasn't an inside job, Retsu Unohana couldn't think of any other possibility.

Surely the Zanpakuto didn't just run away on its own?

It's not time for the original storyline of the Blade Beast arc yet.

In other words, Kuchiki Kyouga is still sealed away, so it's impossible for him to awaken a sword beast and wreak havoc on the entire Seireitei.

Moreover, the illusion of a mirage is still sealed away.

However, each Zanpakuto is a weapon exclusive to a specific Shinigami. Even if the master is gone, others cannot inherit that power. At most, they can only use it as an ordinary Asauchi and then combine it with their own Shinigami traits and mental projection to create a new Zanpakuto that may contain some of the traits of the previous master.

Even more surprisingly, it wouldn't be surprising if it were completely rebuilt.

For example, the Zanpakuto that Kenpachi Zaraki wields looks like a broken sword.

Who would have thought that it was a legitimate Zanpakuto, and that it had already awakened?