In the Forest of Swords within the Zanpakutō Inner World
Sasuke Uchiha gripped his Zanpakutō tightly, eyes narrowed as he stood within the endless forest of blades. Towering swords surrounded him like a distorted mirror, reflecting his figure from all directions. Their imposing silence seemed to mock his unease.
Swish!
A sudden rift split through the formation behind him—silent but deadly.
Not good.
Sasuke turned on instinct. A glimmer of steel lunged from the gap—an extended blade thrust toward him with lethal precision, easily more than ten meters in length.
Clang!
He parried just in time, crossing his own Zanpakutō horizontally. Sparks burst from the clash. Though he blocked the attack, the sheer force sent him sliding back nearly ten meters. His spine nearly collided with another upright blade; the cold gleam of its edge threatened to slice him with just a misstep.
Fortunately, the spirit of the Zanpakutō—Shinso—hadn't manipulated the sword forest to actively strike. It served only to obscure vision, else Sasuke would have been skewered before making a single move.
Once again, the sword forest shifted—Shinso's form vanished into the metallic maze.
Sasuke was currently dueling Shinso, the Zanpakutō spirit of Gin Ichimaru, who took shape as a twisted mirror of his own sword. But Sasuke hadn't landed a single strike yet. He couldn't even pin down Shinso's location in this chaotic arena. The spirit's challenge was clear: defeat him here.
Damn it... I can't keep playing defense like this.
Gritting his teeth, Sasuke leapt into the air and momentarily stopped midair. Then, with another burst of spiritual energy, he jumped higher again. His elevation gradually increased.
This was a high-level control of Reiatsu—gathering spiritual pressure beneath the feet to form footholds in the air. It mimicked techniques like Hirenkyaku or Air-Walk, akin to what Byakuya Kuchiki or Renji Abarai often demonstrated when fighting in the World of the Living. Sasuke mentally referred to it as "Takong" for convenience.
Using this skill, Sasuke planned to ascend out of the forest and locate Shinso from above. But just as he neared the canopy—
Whoosh!
The entire forest of swords abruptly rose another ten meters. The sharpened steel shimmered threateningly, but Shinso's figure remained nowhere in sight.
"Seriously?! Shinso, you're relentless!" Sasuke shouted through clenched teeth.
His plan to rise above the forest and scout was thwarted. With no alternative, he returned to ground level.
"Fine! If you won't come out, I'll force you to!"
Scanning the endless blades ahead, Sasuke gave up the idea of hunting for Shinso in such terrain—it was meaningless.
"Ye lord! Mask of flesh and bone, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man—truth and temperance, upon the wall of blue flame, inscribe a twin lotus. In the abyss of conflagration, wait to be summoned—Hadō #73: Sōren Sōkatsui!"
Flames erupted from Sasuke's hand, surging in a wide arc and blasting apart a swath of vertical blades ahead of him.
Boom!!
Steel melted and twisted from the explosion—and for a fleeting moment, Sasuke spotted Shinso dashing through the newly formed gap.
"Got you!"
He darted after the figure—but before he could reach it, the forest shifted and closed again.
"Damn it!!"
He was on the verge of snapping. This was his fourth battle against Shinso in this space. And every time, it ended the same: a fruitless hunt through endless blades, followed by a sneak attack that dropped him in a single blow.
"Hadō #88: Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō!"
Spiritual energy surged violently. Sasuke abandoned all conservation of power. A massive thunder-dragon cannon roared from his palm and tore through the swords again.
This time, Shinso didn't vanish. He stood at the edge of the clearing, finally visible.
"Shoot to kill, Shinso!"
With renewed spirit, Sasuke shouted the release phrase. His Zanpakutō elongated in an instant, piercing forward like a silver arrow.
"Shoot to kill, Shinso!"
The embodied Shinso mirrored him perfectly. His own weapon shot forward faster—and hit first. Sasuke's shoulder was pierced clean through.
"You still have room to grow, Sasuke," the spirit remarked with a smile, retracting the blade.
Blood spilled from the wound, but Sasuke forced himself to stay upright. Shinso tossed his weapon into the ground, and it transformed into another towering blade.
"Seriously? You've been dodging this whole time—can't you fight me face to face for once?!" Sasuke threw down his blade, Reiatsu coating his palm as he healed himself using a low-tier Kaidō technique.
He was beyond frustrated. The whole encounter felt like an endless game of cat and mouse—with Shinso as both hunter and field.
"Heh. We've fought four times now—don't you understand my nature yet?" Shinso sighed, sounding genuinely disappointed.
"I'm not a frontal-assault Zanpakutō. I strike from the shadows. I kill in one blow. Like a viper waiting for the perfect moment—that's who I am. Each time we fight, I hope you understand that. But all you've done is accuse me of cowardice."
The spirit added, "And even when I did appear, didn't you still lose?"
Sasuke fell silent. Shinso's words echoed true. The Zanpakutō's Shikai, an extending blade that thrusts at near-invisible speeds, was nearly useless in frontal combat. It truly excelled from ambush—covert strikes, long-range assassination.
From the shadows, Shinso could strike faster than anyone could react. That was its core design. All this time, Sasuke had misunderstood it—treating it like a simple spear. He only ever used it to overpower or trap foes. But that wasn't its purpose.
So this… this is the correct way to use Shinso. It was a weapon of precision, speed, and stealth. A tool for assassination—not a sword for head-on battles.
"Ahem. I admit… I was a little too harsh just now. I'm sorry," Sasuke said with a sheepish bow.
"Heh, it's alright. I corrected you because you've shown determination. Want to give it another shot?" Shinso grinned.
"Not for now. I've still got two more trials waiting." Sasuke shook his head and turned toward the left—toward the blooming cherry blossom grove beside the forest of blades.
There, amidst the fluttering petals, stood a new figure: a masked samurai with an elaborate cherry blossom headdress.
With a single gesture, millions of petals fell and floated around him. Each one gleamed with lethal sharpness.
"Come," said Senbonzakura, arms folded behind his back.
Sasuke clenched his sword, heart steady. He charged forward into the storm of petals...
---
Some time later, Sasuke staggered out of the Zanpakutō's inner world—mentally drained, body battered.
He had just fought three of his Zanpakutō spirits in succession. Each battle pushed him to the edge, and he had yet to fully synchronize with any of them. Their Shikai still felt distant—like truths just beyond reach.
The next day, the classroom buzzed with excitement as Iruka stood at the front, ready to announce the newly assigned genin teams.
"…Team Seven:"