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| So what
of Ichigo? Even if you are not convinced that Ichigo is Kaien's
reincarnation, consider this: Ichigo was always part Hollow. You might
say that he only became part Hollow after Urahara subjected him to the
Shattered Shaft (trial in the pit), a challenge for him to find his innate Shinigami
powers before the chain of fate erodes and he transforms into a Hollow.
In the last moments of the trial Ichigo even started to form a Hollow's
mask over his face, yet this was perhaps the strongest evidence I offer
to the contrary. You see, as Urahara himself noted, Ichigo's stages of
becoming a Hollow were highly unorthodox. Normally the soul explodes and
regroups, forming the Hollow's body first and the mask as the final seal
of the transformation.
The fact that Ichigo manifested
the mask first can be explained in one of two ways. Urahara explained (falsely
or not) that it was pointing to Ichigo's resistance of the
transformation. Another explanation could be that Ichigo was not
transforming into a Hollow at all but into his true self - his soul's Shinigami-Hollow
hybrid that Kaien died as, the slumbering root of his true power. |
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Chapter 63 |
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| Transforming
into his true self and finding his own power was what the Shattered
Shaft was
designed to accomplish in the first place. Ichigo emerged out of the pit
as a Shinigami-Hollow hybrid, with a Shinigami body and a
Hollow's mask. For a moment we are left wondering what exactly happened
in the pit and what the hell that thing is, but Ichigo promptly breaks
and thrusts off the Hollow's mask, leaving most of us content to believe
that he merely overcame the threat of becoming a Hollow at the last
minute. |
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Chapter 64 |
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| But
gradually we learn this was not the case. Ichigo did not get through the
trial scott-free, something had remained. The same Hollow mask he though
he broke and was rid of kept appearing time and time again out of
nowhere inside his clothes, protecting him. It is interesting to notice
that the mask gains an additional stripe every time it helps Ichigo
cheat death. Some kind of countdown perhaps? It seems to ominously
correlate with the Hollow's growing influence in Ichigo's affairs. Does
it hint at some kind of pact to forfeit one's soul in exchange for
temporary power and invincibility?
Oddly enough, even when the mask
first appeared after the Shattered Shaft, it already had two stripes in
place (see above). The very question of "where did the stripes come
from?" implies that the mask existed in some form prior to the
Shattered Shaft. Certainly
Ichigo vs Renji and Ichigo vs Zaraki were not Ichigo's first brushes
with death. Ichigo surviving his initial encounter with the Grand Fisher
when he was a child, Ichigo being stabbed multiple times by the Grand
Fisher later, Renji dicing up Ichigo's torso the first time, Byakuya's
dispatching of Ichigo in the rain, and even the Shattered Shaft itself
could all be considered suitably life-threatening events.
True, the mask
didn't appear in those instances, but we already know that it is not a
set, solid thing. No matter how many times it cracks, breaks, or is
thrown away it always re-forms like new. Just because it was not
physically present does not necessarily mean it did not exist as an
essence, presence, or "counter" of some kind within the fabric
of Ichigo's soul, from which it materialized after it was literally
forced to form during the Shattered Shaft. |
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Exhibit
C: after Aizen fight...
does that look like 5 stripes now?
Exhibit
D: Ichigo vs Hollow Ichigo fight...
9 stripes?!
Chapter 100, 116, 189, 222 |
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| And
finally, during the fight with Zaraki, all doubts that Ichigo was not
alone in his body were dispelled once and for all. There were indeed at
least two resident Ichigos, except the white-haired aspect had the eyes
and manners of a Hollow. This Hollow-esque being was not inherently
hostile to the Shinigami Ichigo. He called him his
"partner" and it was made clear that they were the same being.
But if they were the same being,
why were they split? If Ichigo was Kaien's reincarnation, his soul would
have been a result of an Aizen style of incomplete fusion, one that was
unable to truly create a "new being"... meaning, a whole,
unified being different from and superior to the original(s)? The
apparent duality within Ichigo's soul likely means he has not yet
reached the potential of a fully merged Shinigami-Hollow hybrid.
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Chapter 110 |
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| It's important to point out that
this split personality was not an altogether new development, either.
Ichigo's more psychotic side appeared during the first time he
encountered Renji, when he was on the brink of defeat and death and had
nowhere else to turn. |
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Chapter 55 |
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| However,
a question has to be raised about who is in control of this
relationship. The Hollow aspect has an obvious interest in Ichigo's
training and development, but how does one interpret the words
"because one day, that power will become mine"? Is it the
innocent implication that, being one with Ichigo, he will share in
Ichigo's growing strength as equal partners? Or the more sinister
implication that he intends to somehow take over Ichigo in the end?
After all, he was part of Aizen's experiments to turn Hollows into Shinigami,
presuming the Hollow would be the dominant personality.
It is intriguing that as
Hollow-Ichigo
disappears, it flows into Zangetsu's leg. A zanpaku-tou
being an expression of Ichigo's soul, I guess this isn't particularly
surprising, but it hints at some fascinating implications for the nature
of Zangetsu as a sword. As befits the hybrid nature of Ichigo's soul,
Zangetsu is probably a hybrid sword, with all the boundless power and
consequential massive size that comes with it. If it draws on the energy
from Hueco Mundo as well, it would explain why it is capable of dark
blasts. And if so, would it mean that Zangetsu could act as some kind of
link with or gateway to Hueco Mundo (another potential reason for why
the Hollow disappeared into it)? Was this hypothetical link what allowed Ichigo to deflect
Menos Grande (a gigantic Hollow that usually takes a task force to deal
with) and send it retreating back to Hueco Mundo?
I should point out that Ichigo's
sword had extraordinary size even before Zangetsu and the pit episode.
Any sword he holds being an outer manifestation of his own soul, it
could be more evidence for him being part Hollow to begin with. When
Zangetsu first appears to Ichigo during the Shattered Shaft, he says
Ichigo should already know who he is, and that nobody in the world knows
him better. |
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Chapter 111 |
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| Whatever
the case may be, when Ichigo emerged from his first encounter with his
inner Hollow, his battle aura flared up with the mask's signature
design. |
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Chapter 113 |
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| The
Hollow makes its first real entrance into the outer world by freaking
the bejeezus out of and going apeshit on poor Byakuya. Though it would
seem it itself does not quite know who or what it is (or simply doesn't
see Byakuya as worth telling), this did not stop it from leaving a
lasting impression. It also appeared to have a better understanding of
Ichigo's abilities, more efficiently utilized his power reserves, and
wielded Zangtsu with greater skill. Was this knowledge instinctive or
conscious? |
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Chapter 166 |
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| Just
like in the pit trial, Ichigo still had a fair bit of control over his
Hollow form's manifestation and it did not take him long to beat the
Hollow back into the recesses of his soul and tear off the mask.
Interestingly enough, the Hollow actually displayed an overt (if somewhat
misplaced) desire to work together with and help Ichigo, and Ichigo was
the one that sought to assert dominance. If left on their own, would
they eventually fuse naturally? Would the Hollow aspect gradually
overwhelm Ichigo as the stripe counter adds up? Will they employ
Urahara's help and use the hou gyoku to fully merge and reach new
heights? Will Urahara reveal why the hou gyoku is considered
dangerous, and if it is related to the stripe countdown? All has yet to
be seen. |
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Chapter 166 |
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| When
Ichigo faces his inner Hollow again during his training with the
Vaizards, Hollow Ichigo confirms what was already
visually implied during their first encounter when the Hollow
was absorbed into Zangetsu. Zangetsu and Hollow Ichigo are the
same entity, and have been one from the very beginning. One's zanpaku-tou
being a direct reflection of one's soul, Hollow-ness IS
Ichigo's inner power.
So,
to know how long Ichigo had Hollow/hybrid potential, all we have
to figure out is... how long has Ichigo had Zangetsu? |
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Chapter 218 |
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| Ichigo
first sees Zangetsu during the Shattered Shaft trial at the
bottom of the pit when he is on the brink of fully transforming
into a Hollow. But
regardless of Ichigo's inability to hear him, Zangetsu has
existed before the Shattered Shaft. He says that he has called
to Ichigo many times in the past and that there is nobody in the
world that knows him better than Ichigo.
If
Hollow Ichigo was one with Zangetsu from the very beginning, and
Zangetsu existed before the Shattered Shaft, then this was not
the instance where Ichigo acquired his Hollow self! Zangetsu
tells Ichigo that he has his own Shinigami powers outside
of those transferred to him by Rukia, and it is those that he is
here to reclaim. As the red reiraku that leads to the box
with Ichigo's soul contains Zangetsu's sword hilt, Hollow Ichigo
is among those powers.
If
Ichigo was born with a Shinigami soul, and Zangetsu is
the direct expression of that soul's power, then given that
Zangetsu and the Hollow are the same entity, Ichigo had a Hollow
for as long as he had Zangetsu - i.e. from birth! Just
as Rukia awakened Ichigo's own latent Shinigami powers,
so the Shattered Shaft awakened his latent Hollow powers. |
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Chapter 63 |
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