Death: Then stood in the sky.

My own younger brother.

He awoke just as the ceremony was about to be completed.

Jushiro Ukitake struggled to move his eyes, and the pain in his body was relieved as the One-Eyed God fell asleep and the power of "Stop" was activated again.

"Your body is about to give out, but even so, are you still going to stop me this time?" Jushiro Ukitake took a deep breath, bit his tongue, and the taste of blood spread in his mouth, awakening his numb body.

“It’s not the right time yet.” Ukitake Seiji shook his head, stopping Ukitake Jushiro from activating the Divine Regalia to awaken the One-Eyed God again.

“But your body can’t hold on much longer,” Jushiro Ukitake emphasized.

This is a fact.

It should be noted that Jushiro Ukitake was on the verge of death in his childhood, while Seiji Ukitake, who also fell ill in his childhood, has stubbornly and lively survived to this day, which is simply incomprehensible to Jushiro Ukitake.

"I told you, it's not time yet, Ukitake." Seiji's peripheral vision swept over Ukitake Jushiro without leaving a trace, and the remaining black spiritual pressure of the One-Eyed God slowly extinguished like a flame, falling silent and dormant.

"Call me elder brother." Ukitake, who was usually a nice guy, couldn't help but say irritably.

“Yes, Ukitake.” Seiji smiled, then turned his gaze: “I’m sorry to have worried you, Father and Mother.”

Jushiro Ukitake: "..."

Sometimes I regret not giving my younger brother a good beating when he was little.

......

The Ukitake family's residence.

Although they were only lower-ranking nobles, the Ukitake family actually lived quite well because they produced a captain in the Gotei 13, Jushiro Ukitake.

After comforting his parents and getting rid of Ukitake Jushiro, who was still worried about his health, Seiji returned to his room.

He is not a local.

Or to be more precise, they are people who traveled from another era and were born and raised in the local area.

Even though she looks seriously ill and seems like she could die at any moment, it is indeed her own body.

It means I'm about to die.

"Cough cough."

Thinking of this, he became so angry that he spat out a mouthful of blood.

Looking at the bright red blood in his palm, Aoji fell into deep thought.

Jushiro Ukitake was right; this body was indeed on the verge of collapse.

If we don't find a solution soon, we'll probably have to hope for a resurrection and another chance.

After getting up and washing away the blood, Aoji sat back down and began to pant.

This simple action alone consumed a lot of his energy.

It's easy to imagine how weak one's body had become.

Even without disease, such a body wouldn't live long, because this is the world of death, a world full of monsters.

The Gotei 13, the Ten Espada.

Each and every one of them is a monster among monsters, possessing terrifying power.

The Death Gods at the Executive level already possess inhuman combat power and various bizarre abilities, including some rule-based ones.

The combat power of captains is even more exaggerated; destroying a city is no more difficult than eating or drinking.

As for Vastod, he is an even heavier figure, and at the current point in time, he is even above the captain level.

Not to mention, there is an existence that no Grim Reaper can bypass—

Aizen Soyousuke!

And, there is also Ayahbach, who wanted to destroy the world and return everything to chaos!

"So that's why there are so many monsters in this world."

Aoshi sighed helplessly.

Here, the strong are respected, and there are many who aspire to become gods, some even approaching godhood.

His biggest dream is to live a peaceful life.

After careful consideration, Seiji decided that the best way to die peacefully of old age was to become a Grim Reaper and then, through his connection with Jushiro Ukitake, live a leisurely life in a quiet place.

He concealed his talents and disguised his abilities, thus spending the rest of his life in this way.

Showcase your talent?

Exposing our true strength?

Stop fooling around, that will only attract the attention of the monsters in this world.

He even participated in the final battle in Karakura Town, directly confronting Aizen.

If we survive this great war, we will have to participate in the Millennium Blood War again in a year and a half and face Yhwach!

What kind of hell is this?!

Only by contentedly drifting through life can one survive.

But what Aoji didn't expect was that Ukitake Jushiro's illness also flared up in his own body.

That was when I was fifteen years old.

Fortunately, he had some things on that he hadn't turned off.

A vial was taken out of the clothes.

【Name: Life-Supplementing Medicine】

[Attribute: Restores health to a certain extent upon use]

[Note: This is a product of alchemical synthesis of a flesh-repairing agent sponsored by a kind person. It can better repair the body and restore it to a perfect state. However, it should be noted that repeated use will reduce the number of cell divisions.]

This is the source of Aoji's confidence that has allowed him to survive until now.

At first, Aoshi spent a long time researching but couldn't find anything strange about himself.

So they mistakenly believed that they didn't have any local specialties.

It wasn't until Seiji was taken to Kisuke Urahara's laboratory by Jushiro Ukitake that he asked the captain of the 12th Division to think of a way to prolong his life.

But I was rejected.

The reason given was that Kisuke Urahara had important work to do and it was uncertain when he would have enough time to study Aoji's condition.

Jushiro Ukitake looked disappointed, but Seiji looked bewildered.

Because in Kisuke Urahara's laboratory, Seiji witnessed the most shocking scene of his life.

It was an unremarkable stone sealed in a box, but in Aoji's eyes, it radiated a dreamlike light.

Space and matter seem to be flowing, even the line of sight is distorted, rules are constructed within it, transcending everything.

【Name: Flawed Hōgyū (Semi-finished Product)】

[Attribute: To a certain extent, it can materialize the host's inner desires and protect the host, but the host must have the strength to realize those desires. When the host's life is threatened or their abilities reach their limit, the Hogyoku can help the host enter a higher realm.]

[Note: A truly magnificent creation, but unfortunately, it's not even a true half-finished product at this moment.]

[Should we add crafting materials?]

Chapter 3: This time it's not a catastrophe start.

It wasn't until this moment that Aoji realized what his cheat ability was.

Alchemy, or rather, synthesis.

This refers to combining valuable materials into entirely new items.

Without a doubt, the Hogyoku is a valuable material, and it's hard to imagine any other material being more perfect than the Hogyoku.

The moment Aoji discovered the Hogyoku, he understood that Kisuke Urahara had already begun research on the Hogyoku and even achieved remarkable results—the Hogyoku marked as the material was the evidence.

At the same time, as the note says, this is a flawed hogyoku that can't even be called a complete semi-finished product.

Kisuke Urahara still has a long way to go.

So Kisuke Urahara wasn't making excuses; he genuinely didn't have time, and everything he said was the truth.

As for Aoji, he had considered taking the Hogyoku.

But he quickly suppressed it.

The principle is simple: you can't do it, and you shouldn't do it that way.

Leaving aside how he, as a teenager, snatched or stole the Hogyoku from Kisuke Urahara, this was a completely different concept from a regular item like a flesh supplement, so Kisuke Urahara couldn't possibly let his guard down.

Another crucial point is that Kisuke Urahara needs to continue his research to completely perfect this flawed Hōgyoku (half-finished product).

I'll stop thinking about these things.

At this moment, Qing Si took out the [Life-Supplementing Medicine] and inserted it into the area of ​​his lungs.

The cool liquid was pushed into the body.

The life-restoring medicine began to take effect rapidly, and the weakness in the body was suppressed in the blink of an eye, as if the body had been completely cured.

But these are all illusions. This is only a temporary return to health, but... it's better than constantly being on the verge of death.

"call......"

Qing Si let out a slow breath, knowing that this was a temporary measure. After the terrible disease was suppressed for a short time, it would soon come back like maggots and devour his internal organs.

At that time, I will really be close to death.

As for this disease...

"Actually, this isn't an illness at all."

Aoshi placed his hand on his chest and whispered, "Some kind of curse? Or perhaps a breakdown at the genetic level?"

There is no precedent for this disease in the Ukitake family.

Jushiro Ukitake was the first example.

Aoshi is the second example.

What they have in common is that they are brothers and both possess outstanding abilities as Grim Reapers.

Furthermore, the situation becomes increasingly serious with age...

"So the more spiritual pressure increases, the stronger the spiritual pressure becomes, and the faster the genes and body collapse? The faster the body collapses, the more the spiritual pressure increases and becomes stronger?"

"The left punch deals more damage, the right punch deals more damage, the higher the damage, the faster you die, and the faster you die, the higher the damage, right?"

Seiji complained about his and Ukitake Jushiro's physical constitutions.

but......

"I still want to live."

"No matter what, we must live on, live freely."

In my previous life, I worked myself to the bone for many years. By the time I realized what was happening, my body was completely worn out. The meager income I earned by risking my life was not even enough to cover the initial stages of treatment, and it even drained my family's savings.

As a result, Aoji refused treatment.

It was at that time that Aoshi understood a principle.

He actually thought he could take a break when he got old and worked endlessly for it, but he ignored the fact that every second of his life now is the youngest he is, and he will never be younger than today, or even now.

The doctor said he only had two months to live, but he held on for two and a half years, a number that seems very vital.

Throughout the entire process, Aoshi never gave up on his life.

At this moment, it's just a matter of starting over.

Standing up, Aoshi reached for the door. Although he had already used his spiritual pressure to confirm that no one was around, he still pushed the door open and quickly checked again.

Hmm, as expected, no one's here.