This is pure speculation... but wont Ichigo achive true power when he becomes one with his sword? (like in the sealed sword frency OVA. 😕 )

as i see it i think he will need to find old man zangetsu... and maybe absorbe him or something.. >_>

then again this is pure speculation.. but it does give an alternative to a new Vaizard... or Hollow... or bankai.... form.

[img]http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/9614/banneric3.png[/img]
Even on a dark road where there´s nothing Perhaps together - You can experience something beautiful - Like the moon up there in the sky -[Halas]

I think that he'll just learn to control his hollowed state, use its power but stay perfectly at strength and conscious. Who wants to trust a hero on a rampage after all?

Considering that millenniums have passed, and the science department have gotten no further than bankai or any of the captains - I really doubt Tite will add a third level. Or he will have to pull a big one out of his ass to explain how the proud Byakuya have only gotten to bankai.

UNLESS he goes the ultimate shame route - actually BRINGS in another class of warrior that combines something like shinigami/hollow/bounto 😲 😲 😲

Too much evidence!

Here is a plot i think of:

Ichigo and soul society loose the battle in Hueco mundo
and they escape. Ichigo though gets captured because
Aizen was so intersted in his Holow transformation ability.
Unable to do anything else zangetsu will take Ichigo
in the zanpakutou world to spare him the pain from the horrible
experiments that will be conducted on him. There he will
stay for a long time with zangetsu and his hollow self and
train like crazy waiting for his chance. And i imagine there
he will find what he needs to become super badass, maybe
a new power up, maybe a different way to utilize his bankai
or just plain reiatsu and strength from all the long training.

Mittsu no kokoro ga hitotsu ni nareba...
Hitotsu no seigi wa hyakuman pawaa.

• Getter Robo -

mabe he'll force his hollow part of him out of his body making it into that white bankai that his hallow version has so he has 2 bankais

http://narutofever.com/naruto-characters/pictures/anko-sig.gif
[img]http://i9.tinypic.com/4p4umpw.gif[/img]
[img]http://img85.imageshack.us/img85/4538/sigmagumvy9.jpg[/img]
we are all of the creed
the creed we worship rules us all
the creed of okutoness forever
that and when the next flight to japan

For ichigo to go further than he already has gone, I'm guessing that he should just train with Zangetsu. His only techniques thus far are getsuga tenshou and his uber-version shunpou. In the three days of his bankai training and month or so of vaizard training, that's all he's got a chance to learn. There should be more in Zangetsu's arsenal than that, which should be expected given what other shikai's and bankai's are capable of (such as rukia's and byakuya's) and how short a time he's actually known zangetsu, compared to the period of time normal shinigami have to know their zanpakutous (which could be decades or centuries). Honestly, I'm hoping someone besides Ichigo does something (such as the other vaizards and shinigami captains not yet to appear in battle).

"When we remember we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life stands explained."

• Samuel Clemens/Mark Twain

Basically everyone is wrong lol

it's actually obvios what is going to happen

ichigo's hollow state will achive Vasto Lord status

since his banki and vizrd state are not enough becoming a Vasto lord is the only

other state we've herad of that hasn't been seen or achieved

this is like Yu Yu hakusho all over again lol

[img]http://www.ixdrive.co.uk/img/584e3ee8a9c18da0e85d0ea21ad9f874.gif[/img]

"You just bleed there and think about what you've done!"

Quote from Keel

Basically everyone is wrong lol

it's actually obvios what is going to happen

ichigo's hollow state will achive Vasto Lord status

since his banki and vizrd state are not enough becoming a Vasto lord is the only

other state we've herad of that hasn't been seen or achieved

this is like Yu Yu hakusho all over again lol

i'll believe you when i see ishida use a spirit shotgun. that'd make my day actually. but seriously i thought vasto lorde was only a hollow rank?

Quote from Dr. Love

I think Vaizard will be the last 'transformation'. Btw, Bleach does not look like DBZ. >_> In DBZ, they just made up those transformations as time went on. (e.g. Super Saiyan 1, 2, 3, etc.) In Bleach they already hinted the Vaizard transformation in the very beginning. So it wasn't as if that fell out of the sky.

well, the vaizarding hint came to be more clear after that mask started
following him around which wasnt too far off when he actually made
the transformation, nobody suspected that the hollow would actually
turn out to be a weapon or a power up... so im assuming that there
is other things that tite has left clues that he was saving till the very
last moment,, im pretty sure hes thought out most of his stories
beforehand.... except for ichigo's father incident, it kinda looked like
he made THAT one up midway

Quote from bluegreenangel

Quote from Dr. Love

I think Vaizard will be the last 'transformation'. Btw, Bleach does not look like DBZ. >_> In DBZ, they just made up those transformations as time went on. (e.g. Super Saiyan 1, 2, 3, etc.) In Bleach they already hinted the Vaizard transformation in the very beginning. So it wasn't as if that fell out of the sky.

well, the vaizarding hint came to be more clear after that mask started
following him around which wasnt too far off when he actually made
the transformation, nobody suspected that the hollow would actually
turn out to be a weapon or a power up... so im assuming that there
is other things that tite has left clues that he was saving till the very
last moment,, im pretty sure hes thought out most of his stories
beforehand.... except for ichigo's father incident, it kinda looked like
he made THAT one up midway

idk about his dad's status coming out from nowhere. besides the whole thing about him never calling kon ichigo when he was in his body, i always thought it was weird how just from the little bit of power ichigo got from rukia that we became as ridiculously strong as he was.

man there are a whole bunch of errors in the manga...like why would Rukia, who is qualified to be a seated officer and wasn't wearing a gigai at the time be soo weak that she wouldn't have been able to handle such a low level hollow. lets assme that the cap placed on her was so strict that it repressed her poweres so much that it was limited to this extent but then why wasn't the rest of the vice captains and captian Hitsugaya's cap so strict during the Arrancar arc...hmmm. And also why didn't Renji use Bankai on ichigo during the Soul society arc since he could allready manifest it by that time...hmmm. And why is it that Zaraki easily defeated Tōsen. Tōsen easily defeated Grimjaw who gave Ichigo a hard time even in his Vizard form and ichigo defeated Zaraki without his Bankai form only his released zanpakto. This would mean Tōsen and Zaraki are above and simaltaniosly below Arrancar lvl which makes no sense any way you look at it. And the number one thing that does not make sense out of everything is that even tough Bankai is the last lvl a shinigami can reach most of the bankai's are on way different lvls. It took 2 ppl to atleast subdue 1st division captain Genryūsai's released zanpaktou.I'm sure that there are many moer errors as well that ppl just havn't yet noticed or somthing...it is only shonen however so you can't really expect the story line to be so follow through since it's directed towards a youngere age group tho...still love the manga too also lol just picking out facts

[img]http://www.ixdrive.co.uk/img/584e3ee8a9c18da0e85d0ea21ad9f874.gif[/img]

"You just bleed there and think about what you've done!"

he never twirls his sword like hollow version >.> thats his final step

Quote from Keel

man there are a whole bunch of errors in the manga...like why would Rukia, who is qualified to be a seated officer and wasn't wearing a gigai at the time be soo weak that she wouldn't have been able to handle such a low level hollow. lets assme that the cap placed on her was so strict that it repressed her poweres so much that it was limited to this extent but then why wasn't the rest of the vice captains and captian Hitsugaya's cap so strict during the Arrancar arc...hmmm. And also why didn't Renji use Bankai on ichigo during the Soul society arc since he could allready manifest it by that time...hmmm. And why is it that Zaraki easily defeated Tōsen. Tōsen easily defeated Grimjaw who gave Ichigo a hard time even in his Vizard form and ichigo defeated Zaraki without his Bankai form only his released zanpakto. This would mean Tōsen and Zaraki are above and simaltaniosly below Arrancar lvl which makes no sense any way you look at it. And the number one thing that does not make sense out of everything is that even tough Bankai is the last lvl a shinigami can reach most of the bankai's are on way different lvls. It took 2 ppl to atleast subdue 1st division captain Genryūsai's released zanpaktou.I'm sure that there are many moer errors as well that ppl just havn't yet noticed or somthing...it is only shonen however so you can't really expect the story line to be so follow through since it's directed towards a youngere age group tho...still love the manga too also lol just picking out facts

Passage of time, mental stability, place, and situation. All of these can affect someone fighting strength, just like home field advantage can work for you if you're winning or against you if you're getting you ass kicked. Also IIRC Renji didn't aquire his bankai until AFTER Ichigo defeated him, if he did have it he didn't think it was needed until he was already defeated, plus he really didn't want to stop someone who was trying to save Rukia. As for the reason why Rukia was so weak in the begining, ever consider that Urahara may have put a restrictor on her through the hogyoku in so that she wouldn't be discovered and didn't expect the Soul Society to put an additional restriction on her? Furthermore, if you don't like the series, and from you disertation above it sounds that way, then stay out of the Bleach threads.

But anyway this is getting off topic, I truly believe that Ichigo will have to confront/accept his hollow side before he can get back on the track to gaining power. I feel he has hit one of those crucial plateaus where you either baet what is holding you back or get chained down by it.

[img]http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj56/Spanky858/Avis/1226195917014-1.jpg[/img]

Hmmm nope....not at alll....this is bad....rukia did not recieve her gigai that contained the hogyoku until after she turned ichigo into a shinigami so that thought is way out of the window...but nice try...and also as for the home field advantage i mean yea thats so believable...considering the gap would be so large that she would be scared enough to forget how to use flash step...even though she's been a shinigami for a significant amount of time...oh and Renji learned bankai from Ikkaku before the soul society arch.It's more believable that Ikkaku wouldn't use his bankai considering the fact that he was in soul society and doesn't want anyone to know that he can reach that level so he would in turn become a captain...thats why the first time we see it he's in the human world...but your telling me to believe that the prideful Renji lost on purpose...and that Rukia who has vice captain abilities...and training...would freeze up against a low lvl opponent...hmmi see your point...not

[img]http://www.ixdrive.co.uk/img/584e3ee8a9c18da0e85d0ea21ad9f874.gif[/img]

"You just bleed there and think about what you've done!"

[/quote]do you think that there will be a level
where ichigo managed to pull off something higher than
a bankai or a vaizard? [quote]

the answer is very simple : how long does kubo intend to carry on his manga ?
if it's longer than 5-7 volumes then you can bet your head than there will have something higher.... I mean just take the symbol of shonen : DBZ. On the beginning the kamahega was supposed to be the ultimate technique . Then we had the kaioken supposed to be too demanding for the body to go beyond level 2.... except goku went until level 20..... After that the super saian was supposed to be the ultimate warrior that appears once in 1000 years (or 3000 years ...'don't remember... who cares... )... Except that eventually Goku , Gohan , Vegeta , Trunk , Goten in a span of 10 years learnt to master it...for the last 2 they don't even needed to train.... in a highly cynical state of mind Vegeta remarks that there must have some kind of bargain sale on super sayan. And there is something like 4 level of super saian . And after that you have the fusions.....Each time it' supposed to be the most powerful technique ever .... until the next arc....

It was kind of funny with DBZ since it was new... Now it's just disgusting .... Every basic shonen use the same device without any intelligence. Bleach belongs to this kind : so no need to search for any coherence . There isn't any : the author invents just for the sake of carrying on .

Keel cleverly pointed out some loopholes in the story . There is one much much bigger : the soul society .On the beginning it's just supposed to be a kind of company , nothing more , nothing less. Rukia discard any notion of hell and heaven at this time . Except that later on the manga it clearly becomes religious (especially with the appearence of a hell) . Same goes for the status of shinigami and rukia especially .It's obvious that on the beginning the author didn't have any grasp on his story , he just had a pitch which sound cool hence this loose story without any real frame. The author just made up his mind after 7 volumes and changed everything with the arrival of rukia's brother and renji , just in the same way that the arrival of vegeta and nappa changed totally the spirit of DBZ.

Can't you see that there is no need to search for any coherence : this is not Hikaru no Go . There is not a real and accurate scale of power .