The Alchemist in Bleach

What happened next completely stunned Barragán...

"Boom~"

When the death ray touched Ichiro's left hand, it did not directly decay Ichiro as he had expected, nor was it rebounded by some means. Instead, it directly scattered into countless spiritual particles!

Yes, it dispersed directly into countless spiritual particles!

To be honest, he would be surprised if he were to be countered by some means, but he could still accept it. After all, even his power of death has some things that cannot be corrupted by human hands, such as space and time.

The power of death is strong, but it is not invincible.

However, what Barragán didn't know was that something even more surprising was yet to come...

Hahaha~~~

After Ichiro decomposed the death ray, he finally couldn't help but burst into laughter. Finally! He had been planning for decades, and according to the plan, it should have taken him another ten years or so to succeed.

After all, this was his estimate of the time it would take for Barragan to fully control the power of death. He also knew roughly that if Barragan couldn't fully control the power of death, then he probably wouldn't use his full strength when facing him.

Even this time, Ichiro didn't expect that Barragan would be the one to meet Kuchiki Hibiki. So he just casually tested Barragan to see if he would use his full strength. As it turned out, reality is often so dramatic.

He had already given up, but Barragan actually made a move!

"Hahaha~ Haaha~" Ichiro let out a long sigh, releasing some of his excitement. He smiled at Barragan, slightly retracting his left hand and raising it as if to let it float. "Do you know alchemy? Not the kind of Szayelaporro, but another kind of alchemy. That kind of alchemy mainly consists of three parts: analysis, decomposition, and... reconstruction!"

"Boom~"

As soon as he finished speaking, to Barragan's horrified gaze, a black spiritual pressure suddenly rose from Ichiro's left palm!

That was...

Barragán's Death Force!

"How about that? Surprised? This is the real deal, you know. Don't believe me? Look~"

As he spoke, Ichiro glanced at the Hueco Mundo reinforcements rushing towards them. They were much closer than the Starks, so although their strength was slightly inferior, their rescue speed was actually faster. However, no one could have imagined that this speed would ultimately lead to their demise...

With a gentle clench of his left hand, Ichiro caused the black spiritual pressure to ripple outwards!

"Death Ripple!"

The black spiritual pressure ripples turned to ashes as they swept towards the Hollow!

It decays instantly, without even stopping!

This scene greatly surprised Ichiro. This power was indeed formidable, proving that his painstaking planning was worthwhile.

However, compared to Ichiro's joy, Barragan's expression was much uglier. An even stronger death energy swirled around his body, raising his defensive strength to another level, before he said, "Was this your plan from the beginning?"

"Clap clap~" Ichiro clapped his hands, which were not very dusty, and said with a smile, "No, in the first battle with you, I was not confident that I could break down your death power. As for my purpose at that time... I'm not afraid to tell you now, but I think you have guessed a little. I just wanted to lure you into using your death power, and then use the spatial ghost path to transfer it into your body and destroy you directly."

"That's all..." Although he had suspected it beforehand, hearing Ichiro say it still made Barragan feel incredibly annoyed. He felt like he had been underestimated...

"Deconstructing and reconstructing your Death Power was a plan I came up with after my alchemy skills improved further after returning to Soul Society. It was originally intended to begin formally in ten years, because that should be the time when you have almost completely mastered the Death Power. I just didn't expect the surprise to come so quickly."

As he spoke, Ichiro smiled again, and at the same time, he slowly drew the Eight Thousand Flows Sword and the Southern Saint from his waist.

However, compared to Ichiro's joy, Barragan felt even more distressed, because his estimate of when he would fully master the power of death was also about ten years away...

This not only means that Ichiro has a keen eye, but also that their every move is likely under Ichiro's surveillance!

The former is alright, but the latter is chilling...

Startled, Ichiro's actions completely drew his attention back to the battlefield. Watching Ichiro slowly draw his sword, Barragan's vigilance immediately rose to its highest level!

However, to his surprise, Ichiro stopped moving again and looked down at the location of Kuchiki Hibiki.

The soul fire in Barragan's eyes flickered as he kept a watchful eye on Ichiro while looking down.

What puzzled him was that Kuchiki Hibiki was only slowly breaking through the binding spells that were binding him. This was not unusual, since Kuchiki Hibiki was currently seriously injured and it was normal for him to struggle more.

But why is Ichiro so surprised?

Barragan didn't understand, but that didn't stop him from keeping it in mind. The hardest thing for a person is to admit their own shortcomings, and Barragan had a deep understanding of this. He knew very well that he was a fighter, and it was more reliable to leave research to Szayelaporro, or even Aizen.

Ichiro looked down at Kuchiki Kyoga with suspicion and uncertainty. There was nothing wrong with him breaking free of his binding spell; it wasn't a very strong spell to begin with. What concerned Ichiro was the aura emanating from Kuchiki Kyoga now…

That's the fluctuation of the Hogyoku...

There are only two possibilities in this situation: one, he possesses a Hōgyoku (a type of magical artifact).

But that's impossible. Given Ichiro's understanding of the Hogyoku, it's impossible that he only noticed its fluctuations now. Moreover, Ichiro's Kido Mark had already covered every corner of Kuchiki Kyoga's body in the previous attack. If it was truly hidden inside his body like Rukia's, he couldn't possibly have failed to detect it.

So, only one last possibility remains...

Kuchiki Echoes... that's the Hogyoku...

A humanoid Hogyoku!

'A humanoid Hogyoku... Isn't that just the Little Spirit King?! What on earth is Urahara doing? And why is it triggering now? The condition... could it be the death of his Zanpakuto, Muramasa?'

Ichiro's mind raced. He frowned, glanced at Stark who was about to arrive, sighed, and finally sheathed the twin swords he had half-drawn.

"Binding Spell Number Eighty-One: Severing the Void!"

"boom!"

The broken incantation blocked the incoming Cero, and in that instant, Stark had already arrived from another direction, slowly approaching him from one direction each with Barragan.

Clearly, the two were planning to take this opportunity to keep Ichiro there.

Especially Barragán!

Ichiro's growth rate and methods were truly terrifying to him!

Ichiro sighed again: "I was originally planning to show Your Majesty the secret sword technique that combines the power of death, but it seems I won't have the chance this time. Maybe next time."

"Next time? You mean...?"

"Crack~"

Barragán was halfway through his sentence when Ichiro snapped his fingers, and the surroundings fell into complete silence!

Forbidden Technique: Time Stop!

Time stop is one of the forbidden techniques of the Seireitei because its use not only causes enormous destruction but also disrupts the order of time. Therefore, the use of this technique is strictly prohibited in the Seireitei. Of course, this is Hueco Mundo, so as long as it is not used frequently, it is fine.

Of course, the latter part is nonsense. Time-stopping is a forbidden technique that is very difficult to use. Even Ichiro can only use it once or twice in a short period of time. If there are several powerful people in the vicinity as they are now, the consumption will be even greater.

Therefore, after Ichiro held on for a while, he quickly moved to Kuchiki Kyoga's side below. He saw that Kuchiki Kyoga's injuries had begun to heal with the help of the Hōgyoku, and he had broken free of half of the Binding Path.

Seeing this, Ichiro placed his right hand directly on Kuchiki Hiyori's head, which had already broken free, and applied a slight force.

Instantly, a large amount of golden flames, guided by Ichiro, broke through the effects of time stop and flowed throughout Kuchiki Kyouga's body. At the same time, Ichiro also stopped his Hogyoku transformation, although he did not know what Urahara's plan was.

But what could he do? He was also very curious about the humanoid Hogyoku.

Therefore, Ichiro directly stopped Kuchiki Kyoga's premature Hogyoku transformation, then took a few steps back and lifted the time stop.

"Thank you for your kind gift, gentlemen. See you later." Waving to Stark and Barragan in the sky, Ichiro then unleashed a black maw behind him, swallowing him whole!

"boom!"

At the same time, almost the instant Ichiro finished speaking, a Cero struck the spot where Ichiro was standing.

Unfortunately, Stark was a step too slow; when the dust settled, Ichiro's figure had already vanished.

"boom!"

Immediately afterwards, the flames on Kuchiki Hibiki's body surged and formed a huge swastika!

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Chapter 244 The Seal of Divine Fire

Standing before the rotten wood Echoing River, enveloped in golden flames, Stark and Barragan both fell silent.

The mission failed...

Moreover, Tenshin Ichiro's power far exceeded their expectations...

The power to manipulate time...

Stark glanced at the area still crumbling under the forbidden spell's influence and the unaffected areas, a chill running down his spine. If this time-stopping effect were to affect any part of his body, then…

The result was not hard to imagine; instantly, Stark's fear of Ichiro intensified.

"This mission... should be considered a success, right?" Barragan, having released his Resurrection Blade, leaned on his axe, looking somewhat conflicted at Kuchiki Hibiki, who was firmly sealed by Ichiro's golden flames.

Aizen only tasked him with rescuing Kuchiki Kyoga to prevent him from being taken back or killed by Ichiro. Although he is now sealed away, he should have completed his mission... right?

Stark glanced sideways at his extremely prideful companion beside him, somewhat speechless. You call this a mission success? However, he was currently preoccupied with Ichiro, this troublesome enemy, and didn't have time to deal with Barragan, so he casually agreed, "Yeah, more or less, I guess so."

Barragán: "......."

Stark's undisguised perfunctory tone left Barragan speechless, but he knew his argument was untenable, so he didn't continue and instead stared silently at the golden pillar of fire before him.

This was the first time they had ever encountered such a troublesome seal...

"So, what do you think? Can Szayelaporro break this seal?"

Barragan shook his head decisively: "This is not his area of ​​expertise. It would be better to let Aizen handle it."

Stark glanced at Barragan with surprise, then nodded slightly; he thought so too.

......

On the other side, Ichiro, who was running around in the dark alley, seemed a little silent. Kuchiki Kyoga's experience made him feel fortunate that he had met good teammates and good teachers.

Ichiro knew very well that his current dominance in Seireitei was largely due to his captain.

Without the captain, he wouldn't have been able to progress so quickly in his early studies of the Dao, and naturally, he wouldn't have been able to accelerate his learning of the Kido by analogy. Without the captain, he wouldn't have mastered the Eight Thousand Streams Sword, and he might have died at the hands of the Great Hollow.

Most importantly, if he hadn't met the captain, given his impulsive and reckless nature, he would have defected from Soul Society long ago.

From this perspective, he is not much different from Kuchiki Hibiki, except that Kuchiki Hibiki is in a reckless state for a long time and enters a calm sage mode only occasionally.

Ichiro, on the other hand, is the opposite of Kuchiki Kyoga. He spends most of his time in a calm, wise mode, and only occasionally goes into a reckless state.

However, this difference doesn't have a significant impact; ultimately, both could lead to direct defection.

After all, many of Ichiro's studies challenged the bottom line of the Seireitei. In the early days, he relied entirely on the captain's support; otherwise, no matter how talented he was, he wouldn't have achieved what he has today.

No, let alone today's achievements, he would probably be no different from the current state of Xiu Mu Xiang He, just like everyone else, being schemed against and manipulated, and in the end, he could only end up in a miserable state...

Therefore, despite completing the task assigned by the Captain-Commander, Ichiro's expression wasn't too good, not to mention, after witnessing Kuchiki Kyoga's transformation into the Hogyoku...