The Alchemist in Bleach

However, since Ichiro said that, it must be something quite important, so she nodded and said, "Let's talk in the office."

After saying that, she pushed open the door and went inside. As for Ichiro's habits, she naturally didn't care. Anyway, it was probably just some special training on swordsmanship, something he'd only be enthusiastic about for a short time and would give up on soon. There was no need to care. In any case, she had already given up on it long ago.

That way he won't be thinking about wasting her swordsmanship all day long!

Sitting down, the captain looked at Ichiro and Sekai standing in front of the desk and said, "Speak, what do you need my approval for? It's not about upgrading the lab again, is it? Let me tell you, that's impossible. The team doesn't have much funding. Your current lab is enough to carry out the return research. Don't try to scam funding from here again."

"Cough~ How can that be called deception? I made a legitimate application, okay? And this time it wasn't about deception... ugh~ applying for funding, it was about something else."

"What else could you possibly have to do? The big tasks are all handled by me and Seinosuke, and the smaller tasks have all been distributed to the fourth seat and below. What other work do you have to do?"

"Ahem~ What are you saying? There's still research work to be done." Seeing the captain's eyebrows furrow, Ichiro quickly added, "And emergency care work too!"

"You wouldn't give up on your research, so you're here to quit your emergency care job? This isn't like you. Did something happen?"

"Hasn't the Technology Development Bureau been established? I want to focus my energy on research, so I want World to take over the team's affairs. World's level of expertise is no lower than mine."

"..." The captain looked at Ichiro speechlessly, "Serving you in your daily life, assisting you in your research, helping you train, helping you mentor students, helping you in battle, and now you want me to do your job? How can you have the nerve to do that?"

"......Holy crap, am I that bad?" After the captain finished scolding him, Ichiro looked at the world around him in disbelief.

"This is what the world should do."

"......."X2

Ichiro stared at the world speechlessly. So this is real? Good grief, this makes him look like a complete scumbag, although realistically he's pretty much one...

"No, you could at least complain a little! If I have to hand over my work to you, I'll feel really bad!"

"...You still want to give her the job?" The team leader pressed his brow in exasperation.

"Um... but my job can't just be left unattended, can it?"

"Actually, Captain, there's not much to do. It just takes ten more minutes, and it's about the same as what I usually do."

"......."X2

Ichiro and the captain looked at the world speechlessly. No, is it really that good?

To be honest, Ichiro is now almost reluctant to hand over his work to the world...

"Alright, you guys go back. I'll find someone to do Ichiro's work. It's not much anyway. As for first aid, with me and Seinosuke here, it shouldn't be a problem. You can help if we really encounter one. Under normal circumstances, apart from the Eleventh Division, there shouldn't be anyone who needs first aid. Go back and focus on your research."

"Um, thank you, Captain."

"Get lost! Oh, right, world."

"Ok?"

"From now on, be tougher on him and dare to say no! If he has any objections, just tell me."

"I understand, thank you, Captain."

"Go ahead. Oh, by the way, you two come with me to the 13th Division tomorrow morning to see if you have any ideas about Ukitake's illness. We've managed to find some time there."

"understood."

After saying that, Ichiro and Sekai left the captain's office and headed to the Fourth Division's library to prepare for tomorrow's treatment.

"Hmmm, world... From now on, maybe I should do something? Thinking about it now, doing that really isn't very human... even though I'm Death now..."

"The captain just said that I should have the courage to say no, so I'm sorry, Lord Ichiro, but I can't do that!"

Ichiro: "..."

I'm not well-educated, don't try to fool me. Is this what the captain means?

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Chapter 182 Transcendental Transformation

Jushiro Ukitake, one of the Captain-Commander's favorite students, is the eldest son of the Ukitake family, a lower-ranking noble family. He has seven siblings, and the family basically relies on him for support. Yes, this is the situation for most lower-ranking nobles. He was born with a lung disease, and when he was a child, his hair turned completely white within three days due to a lung disease attack.

In his early years, in order to cure his illness, he had a high-level energy transplanted into his body to prolong his life. However, this also weakened his body. His already strong lung disease, coupled with the suppression of the energy source in his body, caused him to need to rest for many years. For this reason, the Thirteenth Division specially built a quiet courtyard for him.

This was all the information Ichiro had gathered. The Captain-Commander and the others hadn't said much about the energy source, but it was likely the Soul King's right arm. In that case, things were rather troublesome...

Ichiro and Sekai followed Captain Shiba Kaien, the vice-captain of the Thirteenth Division, through the courtyard of Ukitake, a garden specially built for him. They looked at the surrounding scenery while brainstorming medical plans.

Actually, Ichiro had been preparing for this ever since he returned, but one thing after another kept everyone busy, so it was delayed until today.

Therefore, Ichiro actually had quite a few treatment options in mind, but since he hadn't actually examined Ukitake's condition, he didn't dare to make any definitive statements. The data on paper from the captain's side alone couldn't reveal much.

Throughout the journey, Shiba Kaien occasionally glanced at Ichiro, a hint of curiosity flashing in his eyes.

Ichiro's reputation in Soul Society is quite high. Putting aside everything else, his title as the number one support character in Soul Society is extremely well-known. Anyone with the title of "number one" is never an easy character. Moreover, Ichiro has other "number one" titles, such as number one in Kaido and number one in Kido. In addition, he has only graduated a few years ago, which makes him even more eye-catching.

Therefore, based on Ichiro's series of impressive titles, he had some expectations for this treatment, but only a little. Over the years, he had been disappointed many times.

Soon, the four arrived at Yuqian Hall, where Captain Chunshui Fuzhu was already waiting for them.

After a brief greeting, Ichiro walked over to Ukitake, put his right hand on Ukitake's shoulder, and got straight to business.

"Captain Ukitake, you might feel a little unwell later, please bear with it."

"Don't worry, I understand. Thank you for your help."

"Of course."

After saying that, Ichiro closed his eyes and began to focus on sensing Ukitake's physical condition.

Upon sensing Ichiro entering his body, Ukitake frowned. The feeling wasn't pleasant, but he could bear it; it wasn't the first time, after all.

While the Grim Reaper may have other ways to examine patients, there is no doubt that using spiritual perception is the fastest, most direct, and most accurate. Therefore, they judge minor illnesses by observation, but for serious illnesses, they mainly rely on spiritual perception. Ichiro's Seven Reicho is a weakened version of this ability.

The Captain-Commander watched this scene intently, afraid that Ichiro might show a bad expression. In terms of the ability to recover, Ichiro, who invented the resurrection technique, is now undoubtedly the number one. If even he shakes his head, then Ukitake's illness may really be incurable...

On the other side, Ichiro, on whom high hopes were placed, focused intently on checking Ukitake's condition through his spiritual senses probing into Ukitake's body. After a while, amidst the disappointed and almost desperate looks of everyone, he frowned.

Ukitake's situation is much more serious than Ichiro had previously thought!

Prior to this, based on the diagnostic data from the captain and the others, Ichiro believed that the high-level energy source, namely the right arm of the Spirit King, had not eradicated his lung disease but had suppressed it, thus saving Ukitake's life. However, because the energy level was too high, it also put great pressure on his body, resulting in his body becoming abnormally weak due to the combined effects of the lung disease and the energy source.

But now it seems that this is not the case, because Ukitake's lung disease has long been cured!

Yes, Ukitake's lung disease is cured, so much so that there is no trace of lung disease left in his body.

The treatment method is a bit... outrageous...

To treat lung disease, they removed the entire lung, and that way the lung disease would be gone. Hmm, that makes sense, what a load of rubbish!

No wonder others couldn't cure it; this wasn't a lung disease at all. Fu Zhu's condition was entirely caused by the abnormally high level of energy in the Spirit King's right arm. The reason others didn't notice this was because the Spirit King's power constructed a virtual lung, preventing Fu Zhu from dying as a result.

However, it was precisely because of this that the captain and his team were unable to effectively treat Ukitake. Of course, that was the captain and his team. As for Ichiro, it wasn't simple, but it wasn't impossible either. After all, Ichiro had extensive experience in both lung reconstruction and dealing with the power of the Soul King. It's just that...

Ichiro slowly opened his eyes, looked at the solemn-looking crowd, and was stunned. He hadn't even said anything yet, so why did they all look like he was about to die?

"Ichiro... Ukitake... how is he?" After hesitating for a moment, the captain finally asked, his hands gripping his cane tightly, his mind highly focused.

"It's a bit complicated. There are two treatment options. It's up to you which one you choose."

"Really? I understand. Thank you for your hard work... Wait, two treatment options? There are indeed two treatment options. Isn't it too late to cure him?" The captain sighed habitually at first, then immediately realized what was happening. With a quick step, he suddenly appeared in front of Ichiro, staring intently at him. The others were stunned for a moment, then stared intently at Ichiro, their eyes full of anticipation.

"Um..." Ichiro looked at the excited captain and everyone else, thought for a moment, and nodded after confirming that he hadn't said anything wrong. "There are two options. I don't think I said it's untreatable, did I?"

"Then what was with that serious look on your face just now..." The captain looked at Ichiro speechlessly.

"Um... I was just a little shocked. Captain Ukitake's condition is a little different from what I expected. All the previous treatment plans have been overturned. But it is indeed curable, so don't worry."

Everyone: "..."

"Let's put this matter aside for now. What are the specifics of these two options?" After this incident, the captain regained his composure, slowly walked back to his original position, and asked in a deep voice.

Ichiro nodded, and with a wave of his right hand, a radiant light condensed in the air into a human model. However, this human model did not have lungs; instead, it had a dazzling energy source, from which bright lines extended and covered its entire body.

Ichiro pointed to the model and said, "The first option is to replace all the limbs below the head with new ones. I have the corresponding technology and rich experience in this area, so don't worry, it will definitely fit your current body."

"...It's a bit horrifying, but why do this?" The captain didn't look at Ichiro with the same fear as the others. He had heard some of Retsu's words about Ichiro's crazy month-long period. What he cared about was Ukitake's condition.

"It's very simple. Captain Ukitake is not sick at all. His congenital lung disease has long been cured. After all, he doesn't have lungs anymore, so the lung disease is naturally impossible."

"But Captain Ukitake's symptoms are lung disease, so why is that?"

"Good question!" Ichiro pointed sharply at Shiba Kaien, who had asked the question, and explained, "The root of the problem lies in the spirit... oops~ energy source."

Everyone: "..."

Since you know what that is, don't keep it a secret... Is there anyone here who doesn't know?

However, none of them exposed Ichiro; instead, they watched him quietly, because they were also very curious about what Ichiro was saying.

"The reason for this goes back to when Captain Ukitake was seriously ill and on the verge of death. I don't know the specifics of that incident, but I made a rough judgment based on Captain Ukitake's condition, so please don't mind if it's wrong."

Ukitake nodded; this matter wouldn't have a significant impact.

"Captain Ukitake at that time, or his family, must have found this energy source and tried to use this almost omnipotent power to cure Captain Ukitake. In fact, they succeeded. Captain Ukitake did not die from his serious illness, but lived on. In fact, from that moment on, Captain Ukitake's lung disease was completely cured, because his lungs had been swallowed and digested by that energy source."

If a human body suddenly loses an organ, it will undoubtedly die eventually. Therefore, the energy source used its almost omnipotent power to replace Captain Ukitake's missing lung! This sustained Captain Ukitake's life, which is why I say that Captain Ukitake's illness has been cured.

So what about Captain Ukitake's symptoms, which are highly similar to, or even identical to, lung disease? The reason lies in his energy source!

Ichiro pointed to the light source on the model's chest with his right hand and said, "Although it used its almost omnipotent power to simulate the function of Captain Ukitake's lungs, it's important to note that this energy source is only a part of the body. It has no thinking ability; you could simply understand it as mentally challenged. Therefore, it only recognizes the lung that Captain Ukitake had a disease, and naturally, it simulated that lung with the disease!"

Everyone stared at Ichiro in shock, firstly at the bizarre situation, and secondly at just how much Ichiro knew about the Spirit King.

The captain was the first to come to his senses and said, "If that's the case, then there shouldn't be a need to reshape the entire body, right? Just let that energy source simulate a normal lung, that should be easy for you."

“Yes, it’s very simple, but Captain Ukitake’s problem isn’t just lung disease.” Ichiro’s face showed a hint of helplessness as he pointed to the light on the model and said, “Look at this, these lights are all over Captain Ukitake’s body. This is another important reason why his body is weak. The extremely high energy level has brought him a very strong burden!”

This is the most crucial issue. If this isn't resolved, Captain Ukitake's fate will never be saved...

Upon hearing Ichiro's deep voice, the Captain-Commander's expression shifted. He gave Ukitake a deep look, closed his eyes to think for a moment—or perhaps not—but that wasn't important. What mattered was that he seemed to have made a decision. He looked at Ichiro seriously and asked, "Can you remove it without harming Jushiro?"

Ichiro nodded and said confidently, "Of course, this is the second stage of the first plan: after the body has fully recovered, we will extract the energy source and then build the lungs."

"What about the head?" Shiba Kaien asked from the side. "According to your model, the light formed by spiritual power has penetrated not only the body but also the head. However, the modifications you mentioned earlier do not seem to include the head."

"Yes, this is the final step. To be honest, forging a head wouldn't be too difficult for me, especially since it's a replica. But the key issue is that it's very dangerous. There's a high possibility that another personality with Captain Ukitake's traits will emerge. So, I chose another method."

"What method?"

Ichiro smiled mysteriously and said, "Do you all know about Transcendental Modification?"

Upon hearing this, the Captain-Commander, Captain, and Shiba Kaien's pupils constricted sharply as they stared at Ichiro in disbelief. Meanwhile, Kyoraku and Ukitake looked at everyone with blank expressions. What exactly was this Transcendental Modification? It seemed quite important.

Of course it's important. The so-called Transcendental Transformation is a ritual that Zero Squad members undergo upon joining the squad. It uses the power of the Soul King to construct new bones, which is not only the key to the Soul King Palace, but also allows their strength to undergo a dramatic transformation!