"Why are you here?"
Clearly, Byakuya was also very surprised by the reappearance of Senbonzakura and Sode no Shirayuki.
"Byakuya..."
Hiss, hiss, hiss...
Just as Senbonzakura was about to answer Byakuya's question, a large amount of white mist suddenly rose from the body of the enemy that Senbonzakura had defeated and was lying on the ground, his life or death uncertain.
Then, when the mist cleared, the enemy on the ground had actually turned into a sword.
A glint flashed in Byakuya's eyes. "This is..."
"Ah, that's right, this is indeed a Zanpakuto."
Toshiro stepped forward, picked up the sword from the ground, and examined it.
"Senbonzakura, Sode no Shirayuki, didn't you turn back into swords? Why have you reappeared now?"
Byakuya asked again.
"Oh, this. Although Muramasa is dead, the influence of his power on us hasn't disappeared. The reason we materialized Zanpakuto turned back into swords before was simply because we had exhausted our Reiatsu fighting those Menos. So we were forced to return to our swords, using our masters' Reiatsu to recover our power. It doesn't mean we can't reappear in the outside world anymore."
Senbonzakura explained.
After Senbonzakura finished, Sode no Shirayuki also stepped forward to explain: "As for why Senbonzakura and I are here... mainly because I suddenly sensed that Rukia was in danger. So I took the liberty of deciding to materialize from my sword form again and appear in the outside world to rescue Rukia. As for Senbonzakura, he probably sensed the disturbance here and just happened to come and save me."
"I see. But what is this about?"
Byakuya took the broken blade from Toshiro. "What is this Zanpakuto about?"
Rukia spoke up: "Earlier, when I was about to return to my room, I suddenly heard screams. Without time to think, I rushed over here. Then I saw two people wreaking havoc in the room. I tried to stop them, but because I had forgotten my Zanpakuto, I was instead pushed into a desperate situation. Fortunately, Sode no Shirayuki arrived in time and saved me. Sode no Shirayuki, since these two causing destruction are also Zanpakuto, do you know anything about them?"
As she spoke, Rukia looked at Sode no Shirayuki.
"We don't know much either. Although we are also materialized Zanpakuto, we don't know what's going on. I only know that when I first arrived here, I saw them attacking you, Rukia. Then one of them was defeated by Senbonzakura-sama, and the other escaped."
Sode no Shirayuki shook her head.
"What exactly is going on?"
Byakuya frowned deeply as he looked at the Zanpakuto in his hand.
"Regarding this question, I think there might be someone who knows better than us."
Toshiro suddenly spoke.
"You mean Mayuri..."
Byakuya realized.
"That's right. That guy Mayuri has been researching the cause of the Zanpakuto rebellion and finally succeeded in lifting Muramasa's brainwashing. So, regarding these Zanpakuto that suddenly appeared here and caused destruction, I think that guy Mayuri should know something."
Toshiro said.
In fact, although Toshiro had watched the original manga and anime and remembered quite a bit of the plot from the [Zanpakuto Unknown Tales Arc], he didn't really know what was going on with these suddenly appearing, destructive materialized Zanpakuto.
He only vaguely remembered something about some Zanpakuto that had lost their masters causing trouble everywhere. He couldn't clearly remember the rest.
After all, a lot of time had passed, and his memories were starting to fade. Of course, the main reason was that this incident wasn't too important, just an original non-canon story.
Even for the [Zanpakuto Unknown Tales Arc], Toshiro could only remember the general plot because it was quite good, basically the best among the original non-canon story, leaving a relatively deep impression on him.
As for the other original non-canon story in the Bleach anime... honestly, they weren't very good. At least, aside from the [Zanpakuto Unknown Tales Arc], Toshiro basically had no impression of the others.
12th Division, Technology Development Institute.
"Oh my, this is quite a rare sight. I never expected so many of you to come to my 12th Division at the same time."
Mayuri leaned back in his chair, looking casually at Toshiro, Byakuya, and the others who had appeared before him.
To find out about the Zanpakuto that had caused destruction in the Kuchiki estate, everyone, on Toshiro's suggestion, came to the Technology Development Institute to ask Mayuri for information.
"Well, the fact is, as you can see, the Zanpakuto are still maintaining their materialized state."
Rukia glanced at Sode no Shirayuki and Senbonzakura beside her and said respectfully to Mayuri.
"Of course they are!"
Mayuri said as if it were only natural.
"Huh?"
Rukia looked surprised and speechless.
"Although I lifted the Zanpakuto's brainwashing, I never said I restored them to their original state. Look here."
As he spoke, Mayuri also drew his Zanpakuto. In front of everyone, his Zanpakuto materialized again, turning into an infant with butterfly wings, flying around Mayuri.
Finally, Mayuri reached out, and his Zanpakuto, Ashisogi Jizo, turned back into its sword form.
"That's... that's how it is."
Mayuri looked impatient. "My, my, I'm busy right now, and you're wasting my time with this kind of thing. Aren't you deliberately making things difficult for me?"
"Nemu, ignore them. Let's go back and continue our research."
Mayuri said to Nemu beside him.
"Yes, Mayuri-sama."
Nemu nodded respectfully.
"Wait!"
Toshiro suddenly spoke.
"Oh my, oh my, Vice-Captain-Commander Hitsugaya, do you have any other business? You know, I'm very busy."
Although he used the title Vice-Captain-Commander, Mayuri's tone was tinged with sarcasm and showed no respect at all.
But Toshiro didn't take it to heart. Mayuri was just this kind of irritable person. Apart from research, he wasn't interested in anything else, and he wouldn't give respect to anyone. If his temper flared, he'd even dare to confront Yamamoto.
"Mayuri, we have another question for you."
Toshiro said.
"Another question?"
"It's about this Zanpakuto."
As he spoke, Toshiro handed the defeated, materialized Zanpakuto to Mayuri.
"Ah, this. This is the product of a Zanpakuto materialized through Muramasa's power that has lost control."
Mayuri took the Zanpakuto and examined it.
"Zanpakuto out of control?"
Toshiro frowned.
"Muramasa's ability to materialize Zanpakuto doesn't just target Captains, Lieutenants, and those elite seated officers. It can also affect ordinary members. You should be clear about that."
"Among these ordinary members, some couldn't make their Zanpakuto submit and were instead killed by them. These are the products of those masterless Zanpakuto that lost control and ran wild."
"Originally, when a master dies, their Zanpakuto also disappears. The current situation should be due to the influence of Muramasa's power, causing these Zanpakuto to undergo an aberration. These things are no longer Zanpakuto, not Shinigami, not even Hollows. They should be called 'sudden mutants'. Right, let's name them [Sword Beasts]!"