Bleach: Reborn as Hinamori

"──Haaaaa..."

Lying on the hospital bed, I couldn't help but let out a sigh.

I returned from Hueco Mundo almost unscathed, yet somehow ended up hospitalized in the 4th Division. According to the official story, the Fifth Squad Captain duo learned of the situation through their subordinates' reports and rescued me with the cooperation of the 12th Division's experimental void technology. Such a sloppy cover-up is only possible thanks to Aizen-sama's usual theatrical skills.

But Aizen-sama...

"──Ahhh, I was so scared..."

The terror from that moment won't leave my mind, and I hug myself while kicking my legs restlessly. There's not a shred of joy left from the success of my intense encounter with Aizen's faction.

...What was that spiritual pressure? Is that the famous "twice that of a Captain" they talk about?

No way. That "twice the spiritual pressure" must be like Hitsugaya at level 50 and Aizen-sama at level 100, or something like that. If I were cut by that, I'm confident I'd be split into Hina/mori with a single swing.

Harribel, who withstood two strikes and even counterattacked, truly is the No. 3 Espada. I envy her for getting cut...

"No, that's not it! Well, it's not wrong, but that's not the point!"

──I'm talking too much about Aizen-sama!

I hold my head and roll around on the futon. I didn't intend to reveal that much about the original story. But when Aizen-sama stared at me like that, I got scared and blurted it out to ease the tension. Even though it's clearly not something I should have revealed at this stage...

Well, to be fair, I didn't explicitly state anything. But given who Aizen-sama is, I should have taken the possibility that he might notice something off about my information more seriously. Because of that, instead of erasing the red mark from the Kurohitsugi failure, I forgot to hold back and ended up tarnishing the pride of the final boss.

"No, that's not it!"

That's Aizen-sama in his prime before the Hogyoku's collapse! Eighty percent of the famous quotes in Bleach are his!

If you're going to show off your knowledge of the original manga and novels and act like a reincarnated genius, at least choose your opponent wisely! At least pick a low-threat character like Shiro-chan or Soi Fon. Are you an idiot!?

Of course, the information I shared with Aizen-sama in Hueco Mundo about the Shiba family was mostly fabricated. Sure, I did some questionable things like peeking at forbidden texts, but there's no way someone like me could uncover the secrets of the Five Great Noble Families, and I've never even seen Kuchiki's private records.

That said, I had always thought that being at the Shiba family could be used to tie up loose ends when using original story knowledge related to the Soul King. If someone asked how I knew something, I could just say, "I learned it at the Shiba family," and get away with it.

But the fact that discovering that "secret of the world" at the Shiba family was part of Aizen-sama's plan was a surprise. To achieve that, he injured Kuukaku-san and forced her into retirement, then had me contacted through Ganju, that's too clever.

However, even in the original work, he wasn't infallible, but I never expected the cause of that to come back to me. How am I supposed to deal with my older sister now...

That heretical Aizen seems intrigued by the original knowledge I couldn't hide. I never thought Aizen-sama, who is all pride, would show interest in the power of the Almighty given to him by Yhwach, so I just said, "You can surpass the Soul King with the power of Shinigami and Hollow alone, right?" The fact that he figured out I knew the true nature of the Quincy's power from just one comment was completely unexpected. His intellect is truly broken.

That said, Aizen-sama's behavior pattern is surprisingly simple. As someone who believes he is the only one in the world, he won't abandon a plan he made himself, so the defection plan I want should proceed as expected.

...The problem is that Aizen-sama seems to value my intellect more than my combat ability.

Being praised for my intellect by the final boss is extremely problematic for someone as foolish as me. It's the worst possible outcome, failing a task because I didn't understand my superior's intentions.

(But maybe that's actually better...?)

If I'm not being too conceited, Aizen-sama seems to like me quite a bit right now.

Ideally, I wanted to be discarded like Harribel and then have Shiro-chan shout "Hinamori!" But if things keep going like this, my approval rating might get too high and I won't get the disposal flag.

I need to make myself look incompetent so he'll be a little disappointed, otherwise, I'll just end up being a repeat case.

My current tasks at the Shin'ō Academy are to increase the number of followers and master Bankai. I want to focus on Bankai first and ignore the followers for now to see how Aizen-sama reacts.

(If I disappoint him too much, I should be able to make it up with my knowledge of the original work...)

Yes, it's like Taikoubou in Hoshin Engi or Luffy in One Piece.

It's a strategy where I act like a clueless fool most of the time but occasionally cut to the core, using the contrast to boost my value. I still have plenty of original work knowledge to draw on, so I should be able to manage.

(...But I guess I can't skip mastering Bankai, or else I'll be in real trouble! I should at least meet that expectation!)

And so...

"Let's work on Bankai!"

Alright, I'm currently visiting Tobiume's Heian-era-style noble mansion again.

"Ah, hello. It's been a while."

"Yes! It's been a while!"

The celestial maiden is still staring at me with those sparkling eyes. Even without using her Zanpakutō, she can really enter the inner world. It seems our bond has grown even stronger since she activated Shikai.

...This kid is way too easy to please, isn't she? Where did the noble-minded you go, who was criticizing the original Hinamori-chan for being deceived by Aizen-sama?

"Still, you are truly an amazing person. That Shinigami named Aizen Sousuke from earlier seemed to be quite skilled, but the way you effortlessly bound him with your words was truly impressive!"

"...You were watching that?"

The misunderstanding-driven overestimation is accelerating again.

But I see. So you can peek into the outside world sometimes. That could be handy in a pinch. I should ask for your help.

"But there's one problem..."

"What?"

"While it's great that you helped that Aizen guy and fought the Gotei 13, if you want to achieve Bankai in five years, there's something we need to decide quickly."

"...What, what?"

Seeing her serious expression, I feel uneasy. Apparently, as a Zanpakutō, she doesn't seem very interested in the order of the world or power struggles, but I'm extremely anxious about what she considers important.

"It's the name of the technique!"

"...What?"

I ask her again, and she starts talking while holding her head.

"That's right, it's the name of a technique that shows our power! From now on, you will face the fierce warriors of the Gotei. In order to defeat them, we must give our power a form, a name, and a spirit, or else we will not be able to unleash our full power."

"Ah, I see."

So it's like Ichigo's "Getsuga Tensho." Hmm, I guess Hinamori-chan would go for something cute with a flower name in it, right? I'm looking forward to it.

"So, do I need to go through some kind of trial to learn it from you?"

"...No."

"Huh?"

Tobiume is looking down and trembling. What's wrong?

"...There isn't one."

"What? You'll teach me without a trial?"

"...That's why! There isn't one! The technique name!"

"Huh?"

I ask in a serious voice.

"Ah, it's because you found out my true name too quickly, so I haven't been able to master the technique yet! Besides, my self-awareness was supposed to develop much later, and normally a Zanpakutō is supposed to grow slowly by absorbing the master's spiritual energy, but you've been pouring so much of it into me every day, so I...!"

Tobiume trembles, hugging herself with both arms. Hey, stop acting like a woman who's been mistreated. The daily blade meditation was just a textbook method to help the spiritual energy settle.

"Um, so you're stuck because you don't have a technique name?"

"...Yes. To reach Bankai, I need a name that represents the form of my power to make it more concrete..."

But even if you tell me that, what am I supposed to do? I thought Zanpakutō techniques were derived from some spiritual element, so I don't know how I can help with that.

"So, what should I do? My spiritual power is already restored, so if you want some, I can give it to you."

"Please lend me your wisdom."

"Huh?"

The request came from an unexpected place. What kind of wisdom do you want from me? I don't have much of that.

"That's not true. I'm ashamed to say that I couldn't understand the verbal battle between you and Aizen, but I do understand that it was the work of your superior intellect!"

"Eh, that..."

"Come on, master! Please give me a name that suits this technique!"

"What!?"

For some reason, I was suddenly ordered to come up with a name for my own technique from my Zanpakutō. Seriously, stop this. In my previous life, I managed to escape my middle school delusions, and now I've been reborn in the stylish world of Bleach. With all that resurfacing, if I'm asked to do something like this, I'll never be able to go back!

"Why can't you, the Zanpakutō, come up with a name?"

"...Earlier, when I sent you into the crowd of Hollows, I... I reflected on my words afterward..."

"You're just embarrassed!"

This kid is definitely my type of person.

After being asked multiple times, the "Zanpakutō Finishing Move Naming Project" began, with every reason for the request eventually falling back on me as some kind of punishment game.

"—So, please name this technique."

Tobiume, wielding her flaming sword form, shouted "Yaaah!" in a cute voice. A huge fireball was released, turning the beautiful Japanese garden into a scene reminiscent of the Onin War.

"This is the foundational technique of my Shikai. A name related to fire would enhance its combustion power, while one related to explosion would boost its explosive force."

"You can adjust it like that?"

"Changing the name of the same technique to alter the quality of the power it unleashes is a fundamental principle of spirit summoning."

"Huh."

I'm honestly impressed by the stylish reasoning. Hmm.

"If it's about explosions, bombs or weapons would be strong, but that's too straightforward and not stylish..."

"I'm not sure, but names with little connection to the 'flying plum' theme may actually reduce the technique's power, so please avoid them."

"You're picky."

It seems like there are various delicate issues involved. However, if that's the case, then...

"How about 'Burning Plum' with different kanji? By overlapping the reading with 'burned to ashes,' we can forcefully determine the technique's outcome!"

"That's an excellent use of the power of words! ...Well, how about something based on the shape of a fireball?"

"Wow! That sounds cool and cute! And since we're at it, why not change the kanji for a more stylish look? It has the same meaning, and having 'fly' in it makes it feel like it'll explode and fly everywhere. Plus, it's also the 'to' from 'tobiume' (flying plum)."

"Flying! 'To' is great! I really want it! Yay, it has both 'to' and 'ume'!"

"Yay, let's keep going!"

In the original work, the basic technique of the fireball bomb was decided as the cool and cute name we came up with.

Later, in the late-night, high-energy mood, we decided on names for the other two big moves used in my encounter with Aizen-sama in the Void, but after coming to our senses, we stopped using them because we were too embarrassed to shout out the names we had come up with ourselves.

Bankai is still a long way off.

***

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