Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-36952851-20180918223113

In the entirety of the manga, the only shinigami who were shown to have an inner world with a zanpakuto spirit are Kurosaki Ichigo and Hitsugaya Toshiro. There is no proof that this is the same case for all the other shinigami in the world of Bleach.

According to the lore, Oetsu Nimaiya created asauchi and gave them to the shinigami of the Gotei 13. In the hands of a shinigami, a zanpakuto spirit is nurtured until it develops a personality and powers matching the wielder's soul. It's important to note here that the zanpakuto is NOT a part of the shinigami's soul. They are a completely separate entity.

Kurosaki Ichigo and Hitsugaya Toshiro are seemingly the only exceptions to this rule due to their special circumstances. In Ichigo's case, the hollow white fused itself with Ichigo's spiritual energy and became, for all intents and purposes, a zanpakuto spirit without a zanpakuto. In Toshiro's case, he is the (not confirmed) reincarnation of a powerful shinigami.

What does this mean for our understanding of Bleach? To begin with, it means that a zanpakuto spirit is NOT one of the guaranteed features of a shinigami's powers. This closes up a number of seeming plot holes in the story:

1. As a separate entity from a shinigami, a zanpakuto can exist even after the shinigami is dead. This is the case for Suzumushi which was inherited Kaname Tosen from his deceased friend.

2. A shinigami doesn't have to have a zanpakuto at all. We've all assumed that Shihoin Yoruichi must have a bankai because of her history as a shinigami captain even though no mention was ever made of her zanpakuto but it is entirely possible that she never had one to begin with.

3. Despite having been a substitute shinigami for an unstated period of time, Ginjo Kugo never had his own zanpakuto. Most likely because, being a substitute, he wasn't given an asauchi. I am of the personal opinion that Kubo would have completely fleshed out that plot if given enough time.

4. As written in the wiki, a shinigami must use Jinzen to commune with their zanpakuto spirit. Why would they need to do this if the spirit resides in them the whole time?

For further consideration, Ichigo did not have a shikai and bankai until the 1000 year blood war arc. The ones we knew of were completely outside the expectations of a zanpakuto compared to the other shinigami, according to characters like Kuchiki Byakuya and Oetsu Nimaiya, precisely because they were fakes.

What we thought was his shikai was actually the reishi manipulation abilities of the False Zangetsu projecting a sword while suppressing Ichigo's power. Ichigo's bankai was likewise the False Zangetsu releasing its hold on his power, which had the consequence of bringing the hollow entity closer to the surface.

During the trial to earn his bankai, the False Zangetsu forced Ichigo to choose an ideal sword from a gallery of conjured blades that were merely warped versions of the shikai he had been using. In this period, Ichigo's spiritual pressure was rising even though he was exhausting himself. What actually happened was that the False Zangetsu, probably not knowing how bankai trials are usually conducted, was merely stalling for time while coming up with ideas of what to make the bankai look like.

Finally, when Haschwald broke Tensa Zangetsu, it could easily have been repaired by the False Zangetsu but it didn't do so because Ichigo would have continued to fight Yhwch, potentially leading to his defeat.

For the record, I don't think it's right to assume that all zanpakuto spirits are usually cryptic and vague when communicating with their wielders. We now know that the False Zangetsu acted that way because it had an agenda of preventing Ichigo from reaching his full potential. Maybe other spirits are actually friendly and try their best to meet their wielders half-way?

I could go on and on, even disproving my own arguments a few times, but I hope this is sufficient material to spark a discussion on the zanpakuto and their full role in the story. 