Hollowfication

Hollowfication
Kanji	虚(ホロウ)化
Information
Purpose	Transformation
Users	The Visored & Kaname Tōsen

Hollowfication (虚 (ホロウ)化, Horōka) is the term used to describe the process by which the strength limit of a soul is increased by removing the boundary between Shinigami and Hollow. This allows one to gain tremendous power if their Hollowfication can be controlled, which is personified by an "inner Hollow" reflection of the person in their inner world. A Hollow-like mask appears when entering this state.

Attaining Hollowfication

Hollowfication is the act of inserting a Hollow's soul into a normal soul, then breaking the boundary between them to try and turn the original soul into something more powerful. Originally, this was meant to be used to strengthen a Shinigami's soul, but the technology that Soul Society possessed was not advanced enough to control it. The process by which to activate such a transformation can be achieved by three possible methods, though only two are known in any real detail. In any process, the main determination of having achieved Hollowfication is the manifestation of a Hollow mask.

White

A Hollow creation of Sousuke Aizen formed from the souls of many Shinigami. White is capable of infecting whomever it bites with a poison that induces Hollowfication. His initial creation was for the purpose of infecting a Shinigami and turning them into a Hollow. By entering a final "transfer" stage, it can also enter an individual's soul and fuse with their latent Shinigami powers. Despite its creator's intentions, White chose a Quincy, Masaki Kurosaki, as its target, before activating its self-destruct mechanism.

Hōgyoku

The Hōgyoku, an object designed for the purpose of breaking the boundaries between Shinigami and Hollows, possesses the ability to grant a Shinigami the power of Hollowfication, which Aizen used to conduct his Hollowfication experiments on the Visored. Kisuke Urahara's Hōgyoku played a vital part in the process of making the Visored currently what they are, as he tried to use it to return them to their previous Shinigami state. According to Kisuke, what his device did was not what he had intended; instead, the Hōgyoku stabilized theirs transformations, which he considers the solution a failure on his part. They did not become complete Hollows, due to his intervention, and did eventually gain control over their new power. As Aizen stated, a normal soul can't contain the prototype when undergoing Hollowfication; therefore, Shinigami of high Reiryoku have to be the ones who undergo this process. Kaname Tōsen was also given the ability to Hollowfy by Aizen, though it is unknown if this is a result of the Hōgyoku or due to Aizen modifying Tōsen through other means.

Unknown Infection

Hiyori Sarugaki succumbs to Sousuke Aizen's Hollowfication infection after contracting it from the infected Kensei Muguruma.

After being transformed by the Hōgyoku, the Hollowfied Visored could afflict others with some kind of infection that forces those affected to Hollowfy too. The process seems to spread through wounds, causing the infected to experience great sickness and fatigue, eventually vomiting up Reishi in the form of a white liquid, which forms the beginnings of their Hollow mask before proceeding to transform their bodies and warp their minds, with the process being accelerated by increased stress. The conclusive result makes a Shinigami into a primarily Hollow-like humanoid, which is a highly unstable transformation causing mindlessness and aggression.

Overview

Ichigo Kurosaki Hollowfying.

By gaining the strength of a Hollow, one's Reiryoku increases dramatically. Only those who have control over their inner Hollow can Hollowfy. It manifests itself as a unique mask of different shapes and designs. It also causes the user's eyes to change color, with their sclera becoming black with yellow irises. Ichigo's Hollow mask has been shown to change form over time; when he first manifested his Hollow mask while being possessed by his inner Hollow, it only formed on the left side of his face. After mastering his Hollowfication, Ichigo's mask now covers his entire face, with red stripes covering the left half. During Ichigo's brief fight with the Cero Espada Yammy Llargo, the mask changed once again, with only one vertical red stripe on each side of the mask, interrupted by the mask's widened eye-holes and the jaw. It is unclear if this is a trait exclusive to Ichigo or if it is present in all Hollowfied Shinigami.

The Visored after Hollowfying.

A Hollowfied Shinigami is technically the antithesis of an Arrancar, as they are a Shinigami that has acquired Hollow powers, whereas an Arrancar is a Hollow that has gained Shinigami abilities. When a Shinigami Hollowfies, their voice becomes distorted with a ringing echo to it. In order for someone to be able to Hollowfy properly, one must first be able to control their inner Hollow, or they might risk permanently losing themselves to their Hollow and going insane; when Ichigo Kurosaki's Hollow powers started to increasingly manifest while not under his control, Shinji Hirako explained Ichigo's conflict with his inner Hollow is a common symptom the other Visored had to deal with at one point or another in order to master their abilities. In order to Hollowfy at will, a Shinigami must confront their inner Hollow in a battle lasting usually no more than an hour; by the time an hour has passed, this means that the Hollow has won and has gained control. Hiyori Sarugaki had the longest internal battle with her inner Hollow among the Visored, at 69 minutes and 2 seconds. If the Shinigami has won, they will become able to summon their Hollow mask at will, though they must train to become able to better use their Hollow abilities. Shinigami with the power of Hollowfication have frequently been seen placing their hand in front of their face to don their Hollow mask. They also become able to voluntarily unsummon their Hollow mask.

Hollowfication grants a tremendous boost in strength, speed, and durability, with Kaname Tōsen describing it as a power far greater than Bankai; the Visored, while Hollowfied, were easily able to take out an entire hoard of Gillians, with Marechiyo Ōmaeda regarding them as being very powerful. During Ichigo's second encounter with the Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, Ichigo was able to easily overpower the Sexta Espada and heavily injure him, despite Grimmjow previously having the upper hand against Ichigo in their first battle. Likewise, with his Bankai, Tensa Zangetsu, and his Hollow mask active, he was able to fight on even terms with Grimmjow with his Resurrección, Pantera, active and eventually defeat him, though not without being overwhelmed himself. During Rōjūrō "Rose" Ōtoribashi and Love Aikawa's clash with the Primera Espada Coyote Starrk, both of them were durable enough to survive the detonation of Starrk's wolves. Mashiro Kuna was strong enough easily able to destroy Hooleer with her Mashiro Super Kick with her Hollow mask active. As a byproduct of Hollowfication, a Shinigami's Reiatsu also becomes Hollow-like, with Tier Harribel describing Ichigo's Reiatsu as being sinister for a human and more Espada-like while Hollowfied.

Another ability Hollowfied Shinigami can use is the Cero, befitting their status as Shinigami with Hollow powers. Shinji, Hiyori, and Mashiro have all displayed the ability to fire a Cero, often with enough force to damage Hollows and an Arrancar's Hierro. Hollowfication also enhances one's energy-based abilities; Hachigen Ushōda was able to decapitate multiple Gillians with his Bakudō prowess while Hollowfied, and Ichigo's Black Getsuga Tenshō became potent enough to knock down and damage (albeit only lightly) Yammy with his Resurrección, Ira, active, and cause him to bleed.

Kaname Tōsen's Resurrección form resulting from Hollowfication.

Kaname Tōsen, who was given the ability to Hollowfy by Sosuke Aizen, has shown powers not seen among other Hollowfied Shinigami. Not only did he grow strong enough to overpower Lieutenant Shūhei Hisagi and Captain Sajin Komamura of the Gotei 13, but he was also able to use High-Speed Regeneration to heal his left arm after it was broken by Komamura's Bankai, Kokujō Tengen Myō'ō. The only other Hollowfied Shinigami to have used High-Speed Regeneration is Ichigo, and even then, it was due to being under Zangetsu's control rather than having the innate ability to regenerate. Uniquely, Tōsen even has the ability to use an Arrancar's Resurrección, with his own being known as Suzumushi Hyakushiki: Grillar Grillo. This Resurrección gave him an insectoid form and restored his eyesight, granting him new abilities such as Los Nueve Aspectos and La Mirada that allowed him to destroy Komamura's Bankai and wound Komamura himself, though he was caught off-guard by Hisagi stabbing him in the throat and could not heal his injuries, with his head exploding shortly afterwards.

The new appearance of Tōshirō Hitsugaya's temporarily Hollowfied Bankai, Daiguren Hyōrinmaru, stemming from Kisuke Urahara's Shin'eiyaku.

Hollowfication can also be used for purposes outside of strengthening a Shinigami. When the Wandenreich used their Medallions to steal the Bankai of the Gotei 13, Kisuke hypothesized that a Quincy cannot intake Hollow Reiatsu without suffering injuries. To counter the Bankai-stealing, Kisuke invented the Shin'eiyaku, which will temporarily Hollowfy the Shinigami taker, thus poisoning the Quincy who are in possession of the respective Shinigami's Bankai.

Advancement

Ichigo's merged Hollow form.

There have been certain situations in which Hollowfied Shinigami have assumed monstrous forms instead of simply wearing a Hollow mask. When the Visored first gained their Hollowfication, they became violent Hollow-like beasts bent on destruction, attacking their comrades with no concern for their safety and infecting them with a white liquid to force them to Hollowfy as well while causing them intense pain. Similarly, during Ichigo's training with the Visored to overcome his inner Hollow, Zangetsu took control of Ichigo's body, resulting in his transformation into a monster with reptilian armor and the ability to use High-Speed Regeneration. This transformation progressed even further to the point where the armor covered Ichigo's entire body and grew a tail, though it was interrupted when Ichigo defeated Zangetsu in his inner world. While in this state, Ichigo, manipulated by Zangetsu, could fire a Cero dangerous enough to threaten Love Aikawa without his Hollow mask (though its full power was never seen) and could regenerate. During Ichigo's clash against the Cuatro Espada Ulquiorra Cifer in Las Noches, after Ulquiorra blasted a hole through Ichigo's chest using Cero Oscuras, Zangetsu possessed Ichigo a second time, taking on a new form that could easily overpower and kill Ulquiorra despite the former having used his Resurrección: Segunda Etapa form. In addition to High-Speed Regeneration, this form could also fire a Cero powerful enough to counter Ulquiorra's Cero Oscuras, as well as use Sonído with enough speed to bypass Ulquiorra's Pesquisa. In his second clash against Yhwach, Ichigo once again assumed a new form of Hollowfication, only this time willingly. By drenching Zangetsu in Quincy Reiatsu, Ichigo's appearance became similar to that of his second Hollowfied form while facing Ulquiorra. This was done by breaking the balance between his Hollow and Quincy powers; though he should normally be able to achieve this transformation at will, because he was not yet proficient at using his Hollow and Quincy powers together, he used Yhwach's Reiatsu as a catalyst to trigger it. In this form, Ichigo could fire a Gran Rey Cero and combine it with his Getsuga Tenshō to create an attack that could wound even the Soul King-empowered Yhwach, leading the Wandenreich emperor to declare Ichigo's might as being incredible.

Drawbacks

Ichigo's Hollow mask reaches its time limit.

One major drawback to Hollowfication is that it has a time limit, and thus cannot be sustained forever. The Visored can only use their Hollow masks for a total of three minutes; the only exception to this is Mashiro, who was able to maintain her Hollow mask for 15 hours straight without any practice. However, this fifteen-hour duration does not appear to apply to combat situations, as her mask shattered sooner than she expected while fighting Wonderweiss Margela. This time limit can be increased with training. Ichigo could initially only use his Hollow mask for four seconds after gaining control of his Hollow powers. His time limit increased to eleven seconds after a month of training, giving him enough to time to overwhelm and injure Grimmjow, though the short time limit allowed Grimmjow to easily turn the tides in his favor and nearly kill Ichigo. During his third and final battle against Grimmjow, Ichigo inexplicably became able to use his Hollow mask state for much longer, which Grimmjow suggested was a result of Ichigo's training or battles.

Ichigo fails to resummon his Hollow mask.

Once Hollowfication is used, it cannot normally be used again before a certain period of time. When Ichigo attempted to resummon his Hollow mask to no avail, Grimmjow speculated that this was either due to sustaining too much damage, expending too much Reiryoku, or that the Hollow mask can only be used limited amount of times. Ichigo was somehow able to overcome this limit, having resummoned his Hollow mask to protect himself from Ulquiorra's Cero in their first encounter, and once more during his final battle the Cuatro Espada. Ichigo cannot resummon his Hollow mask if too much fear lies in his heart. After Ichigo's mask changed in his battle with Yammy Llargo, he noticed his mask felt different, as if it was heavier, and he was unable to resummon it for a brief period of time. Tensa Zangetsu states the oddities of the new mask come from Ichigo's fear of the Hollow form he took to defeat Ulquiorra, where his sanity was overwhelmed by its power, and he cannot Hollowfy properly. Hollowfication is also not an absolute power, and can be overshadowed by an even greater one; Ulquiorra was able to heavily damage Ichigo in both of his Resurrección states (Murcielago and Resurrección: Segunda Etapa) even when the former had used his Hollow mask, requiring Zangetsu's intervention to turn the tables of the battle, and Sousuke Aizen was able to easily defeat the Hollowfied Visored.

Soul Suicide

A Hollow hole forming on Masaki Kurosaki's chest as a result of Soul Suicide.

When a soul is Hollowfied, the original soul gets mixed up with the Hollow soul, becoming a monster unable to reason. In the end, not only is the boundary between souls disrupted, but also the soul itself and the external world, and the soul, regardless of its own will, self-destructs. Kisuke Urahara has named this phenomenon "Soul Suicide" (魂魄自殺, Konpaku Jisatsu). According to Kisuke and Mayuri Kurotsuchi's hypothesis, a Quincy is incapable of Hollowfication, as Hollow powers are essentially poison to them, and should a Quincy be infected, it would weaken their spiritual powers and lead to a Soul Suicide, with no chance of Hollowfication to occur.

There are only two known solutions to Soul Suicide, both developed by Kisuke Urahara. The only way to stop the Soul Suicide is to insert into the soul something opposite to Hollowfication. The destruction of the boundary between souls, which is the key to Hollowfication, happens by disrupting the balance of the souls. In other words, a conflicting object would restore the balance on the other side and stop the destruction.

• Hollowfied Shinigami: Kisuke created a vaccine using the Quincy's Heilig Pfeil and human souls, which he injected into the souls of the Hollowfied Visored, stopping the Soul Suicide in all of them. This vaccine has a 100% success rate.

• Hollowfied Quincy: Developed to stabilize Masaki Kurosaki by using a specially created Gigai made from a human soul that envelops the Shinigami who enters it, becoming like a human body. If a Shinigami enters it, then they will become a being midway between Shinigami and human. They will become the opposite to that which they are attempting to stabilize (in this instance, a human as they are attempting to stabilize a Hollow). The drawbacks of this is that while inside the shell, the use of Shinigami powers would be impossible, nor will they have the ability to see Hollows. Upon entering, there is also no guarantee that the Shinigami will be able to go back to being a Shinigami again. Finally, to make the shell work as a vaccine to block Hollowfication, both the soul and the Hollow inside must be bound with a Reishi string. The string is extremely strong, and its purpose is to bind souls; as long as its connected to the Shinigami, they won't be able to leave as long as they live.

Known Users

Hollowfied Shinigami
Name	Hollow Mask/Appearance	Techniques
Shinji Hirako		Cero
Love Aikawa		Kagamibiraki
Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi		N/A
Kensei Muguruma		N/A
Mashiro Kuna		Mashiro Super Cero
Hiyori Sarugaki		Cero
Hachigen Ushōda		N/A
Lisa Yadōmaru		N/A
Ichigo Kurosaki		Black Getsuga Tenshō High-Speed Regeneration Cero Gran Rey Cero
Kaname Tōsen		Resurrección: Suzumushi Hyakushiki: Grillar Grillo High-Speed Regeneration Los Nueve Aspectos La Mirada

Appearances in Other Media

In Bleach: Fade to Black, Homura and Shizuku underwent a different form of Hollowfication by absorbing a parasitic Hollow into themselves, and later merged with Rukia Kuchiki to create the hybrid being known as Dark Rukia.

A similar form of Hollowfication occurs with Muramasa during the Zanpakutō Unknown Tales arc as a result of absorbing Hollows to sustain his corporeal form, only to lose control. Both of these forms involved pre-existing Hollows being merged with the individual in question and forced into submission rather than a completely new Hollow being spawned from their consciousness.

Ichigo's Hollow Mask manifests itself in Hell.

In Bleach: The Hell Verse, Hollowfication is noted by several of the Togabito as being capable of liberating them from Hell. The Togabito Kokutō notes the powers of Hollowfication are influenced directly by the atmosphere of Hell, in which, if left uncontrolled, their inner Hollow could proceed to consume them entirely. This is most notable when Ichigo Kurosaki's Hollow mask manifests itself as he is preparing to fire a Black Getsuga Tenshō.

In Ryōgo Narita's short story Beginning of the Revive of Tomorrow, Shaz Domino, a Quincy of the Wandenreich, seeks to create another Hōgyoku to turn himself into a Hollowfied Quincy, in order to prove himself to be more than a creation of Gremmy Thoumeaux's powers.

Trivia

• According to Q&A #133 by Tite Kubo on his fansite "Klub Outside", it is theoretically possible for the Visored to achieve Resurrección like Kaname Tōsen did, as well as for them to use their Hollow masks in conjunction with their Bankai.