Board Thread:New on Bleach Wiki/@comment-27120311-20151025235010/@comment-26475399-20151227195120

DarkMuse616 wrote: I always thought that after the FGT training his hollow powers fused to his shinigami powers, thereby filling the hollow hole of his vasto lorde form and preventing the monstrous form while removing the need to use a mask. Even his powers after that training seemed like an arrancar's, like blocking with his bare hand as if he had a hierro and how he seemingly used something like pesquisa to locate his sisters before fighting Aizen.

Ichigo's Hollow manifestation was his actual Zanpakuto spirit all along, and what he merged with during FGT training was the fake Zangetsu, which was in actuality his Quincy powers manifested. Ichigo's true Shinigami powers came from Hollow Ichigo (natually where all of his Hollow powers came from, too, as Ichigo had a Hollowfied Zanpakuto spirit), although they were held back substantially by Old Man and Tensa, who manipulated the connection between Ichigo's true Hollow Zanpakuto and Ichigo himself.

I still personally believe that this merging of the two spirits during FGT training was when Ichigo lost the need for the mask, and any Hollowfication such as Vasto Lorde form (it also seemed to cancel out any attempt from the Hollow taking over... and i'll go into more detail about that in just a moment). After the merged form of the two manifestations, they disappeared, and were never to be seen again. Where did they go? I believe that the two spirits were absorbed into Ichigo's soul, and that, while their respective powers were still there, their independent personalities were essentially gone, and their manifestations were no more.

I admit that i may be very wrong with that hypothesis, but allow me to continue. Remember how Ichigo was always saved from certain death, due to the Hollow taking over? It was always the Hollow, as he was the true Zanpakuto and source of Ichigo's (Hollowfied) Shinigami powers. When Ichigo was almost killed by Yhwach in their first encounter, who saved Ichigo? It wasn't the Hollow; it was Old Man Zangetsu (Quincy spirit / fake Zangetsu) by performing Blut Vene.

You may say, "Well by the logic mentioned above (that the two spirits merging and then disappearing made it where their independent manifestations had left), then how is it that the Quincy Zangetsu was there to use Blut Vene?"

Well it was Tensa Zangetsu who disappeared; he was another form of Old Man Zangetsu. And this is where it gets weird, as i'm not sure why there was a "Shikai" Quincy form of Old Man, and a "Bankai" Quincy form of Tensa. So maybe you guys can help me understand that better.

Maybe since, in merging, Tensa (the Quincy power) was the dominant personality over the Hollow, then he as a Quincy presence retained control over Ichigo's powers, since he was the one who manipulated all of Ichigo's powers from the beginning, anyway. And that's why Old Man didn't vanish forever and was summoned during Soul Palace training.

We did, after all, see a case of Ichigo being convinced that Hollow Ichigo was gone for good, during the Visored training; and then the Hollow returned in FGT training while in his other form of Vasto Lorde. Now i guess it was Old Man Zangetsu's turn; Ichigo thought "Zangetsu" was gone, but during Soul Palace training, "Oh, look, it's Zangetsu...!"

Anyway, forgive my tangent. From that line of thought, i gather in my own understandings that when Hollow Ichigo merged with Tensa Zangetsu, and Hollow Ichigo seemed to still be kept in check by Tensa Zangetsu, and then the fact of them vanishing upon completion of FGT training... simply the fact that up until Ichigo's forging of his true Zanpakuto, Hollow Ichigo never returned and (as a manifested spirit, not as the power itself) was actually gone for real this time, Ichigo thought that that was the end of any need for the mask or Hollowfication.

I'm willing to say that maybe Ichigo really didn't fully lose the need for Hollowfication until Soul Palace training, but after completing FGT training, he felt personally that he didn't need it. Maybe in that case, the Soul Palace training just sorta finalized the issue of Hollowfication.

I would also like to know if he really does have bankai at all. Doesn't this reforged Zangetsu count a little like a new sword? Plus he never got the true form of his zanpakuto from bankai training, so he may even have to redo it but maybe this time while learning vollstandig so he can fuse the 2?

I've gone through different variations of theories involving Ichigo's new Bankai. One is that, as you mentioned Vollstandig, Ichigo has some new awesome Bankai form and outfit, and then, as an extension to his Bankai, he brings forth his Final Getsuga Tenshou form once again, and applies the Vollstandig method to it, making it where he can use it whenever he wants, and he doesn't lose his powers afterwards.

I'm close to finalizing this theory, so fairly soon from now, I'll be posting my own General Discussion thread about it; and i can link it here for anyone who wishes to contribute. ;)