Theory of Zangetsu (Manga 240)

That chapter made a lot of sense when I read it. Remember when Ichigo was trying to subjugate White in his Inner World ? When Ichigo asked him where Zangetsu was, White continually kept replying "I am Zangetsu !".

As for 'fake Zangetsu/Ichigo's Quincy power' I think he only looks like Yhwach because Yhwach's blood flows through every Quincy (which also makes a lot of sense).
How much fake Zangetsu actually knows, we'll find out soon enough.

I was just baffled. It's yet another twist by Kubo that I feel needs a hell of a lot of explanation. Let's look at what's happened before:

1) In the Zanpakutō Rebellion arc, it wasn't his inner Hollow that was summoned up but the man who calls himself Zangetsu. I realize that it's a filler arc, but still, are we made to believe that he somehow warped the powers of Muramasa to summon him? And the fact that he could directly wield Zangetsu in this instance makes for some confusion as well.

2) He changed as a result of bankai. This is probably a lot easier to explain, but once again, Tensa Zangetsu is wielding his blade. Are we to believe that his Quincy powers modify en tandem with his Shinigami/Hollow powers? And if that's the case, why did his fake Zangetsu get younger instead of older, moving backwards in time to when he was likely weaker?

3) This leads to some troubling questions about the inner Hollow as a whole. Are we to believe that Ichigo's near death experience at the hands of Byakuya didn't actually create an inner Hollow, but rather unlocked it? And if so, how did he have access to a blade at all before that happened? It also creates some uncertainty on the Hollow mask and Hollow forms. Was he actually turning into a Hollow, or was that an evolution of his Zanpakuto? Or was it both? How do these two concepts work?

4) What about the other Visoreds? They all have inner Hollows as well, but they all trained with an actual Zanpakuto and learned its name long before they acquired that inner Hollow. Does their inner Hollow exist as a separate presence from their Zanpakuto spirit, or are they one in the same?

5) And how does the Hougyoku factor into all of this? We're made to believe that the only reason the Visoreds were able to control their Hollow powers is because it was used to stabilize them, and Ichigo is included in that mess, as Aizen told us. So now we have a very convoluted story that involves about 5 or 6 different acting forces on Ichigo's life that somehow coalesce into the individual he is now.

There's probably a cohesive story in here somewhere, but the number of uncertainties in here make it unlikely that they'll ever be answered. I'm sure pretty much any theory is reasonable, but I can't think of one that answers them all.