Zanpakuto: The Alternate Tale, Part 1, 2-3

How's it going, Shunsui? Did you find out anything new?

No, nothing very helpful. And Old Man Yama is still missing.

What's happening at your end?

I've already dispatched all available squads to seek and capture each Zanpakuto that has been manifested.

Oh, brother. Everyone out there trying to capture their own weapons. What a screwed up situation to be in.

One more thing. It's about Byakuya, who's still missing. It seems his Spiritual Pressure has been extinguished.

That's very strange.

Sounds like a very unpromising state of affairs.

I'd like to apologize for overrunning your barracks while setting up our temporary command center.

It's alright. We need to consolidate. Now is not the time to scatter our military strength.

My Squad 4 is ready to assist. We'll do everything possible to help with this situation.

Well, at the moment, our top priority is to somehow stop the Zanpakuto and their vicious rampage.

In regards to that, I received a request from Squad 12 for test subjects to use in gathering further data.

A few of us, including myself, agreed to cooperate. In fact, I just came from Captain Kurotsuchi's examination.

You did, Captain Unohana? I'm surprised that you would comply with his request.

Hmm. Well, it would seem the Zanpakuto's spirit really has left my body.

Heheheh... Fascinating. Most fascinating.

Master Mayuri, I was under the impression that Zanpakuto and Soul Reapers were different manifestations of the same essential soul.

Normally, that is the case. But now, the two have split into entirely distinct entities.

That's impossible.

That's why it fascinates me! And don't act like a know-it-all, you useless idiot.

Hmm. The real question is what caused this change to suddenly take place.

From what you're telling us, it seems that our current situation is actually worse than I had imagined.

Excuse me, but can I ask a question about something?

Since they aren't connected to us anymore, what'll happen if one of the Soul Reapers defeats a Zanpakuto in battle?

I don't know.

If that happened, is there a chance we would lose our Zanpakuto forever?

It is possible. But without more data, I can't tell you for certain what would happen.

Under normal circumstances, a broken Zanpakuto would regenerate once its master fully heals.

However, our Zanpakuto have left our bodies and now exist as entities that are completely independent from us.

Meaning, the rules may have changed from what they once were.

Let me get this straight, Jushiro. You're thinking that killing those manifestations could lead to us losing our Zanpakuto?

While that thought sounds pretty logical, we have no actual proof.

Well, that's true.

However, the thing that worries me the most is if we were to confront our Zanpakuto with such a question in mind...

...would we even stand a chance against them?