The Alchemist in Bleach

The two returned to the Fourth Division after haggling, ultimately ending in Ichiro's complete defeat. Not only did he fail to gain any time, but the impatient captain also took another half hour to practice sword Zen...

Standing at the entrance to the Fourth Division, Ichiro looked up at the sky and sighed deeply. "It's so painful!"

However, he had no objection to the captain's arrangement, because the captain was right; his current state of mind was somewhat mismatched with his rapidly expanding power.

After all, he's a player who relies on both natural talent and performance-enhancing drugs...

In recent years, we have indeed been too eager for quick success and instant benefits. Everything should be done in moderation; too much of anything is as bad as too little. Now is the time to take some time to reflect and mature.

Even if the Philosopher's Stone were forged right now, so what?

Can you really guarantee that something unknown and newly invented will be the same as the one you envisioned?

Therefore, it's better to focus on the present and solve what we can see first. After all these years, a few more years won't make a difference. Slow and steady wins the race.

Therefore, Ichiro sent a message to Tsukirei and the others saying that the research on the Philosopher's Stone was not urgent, and then walked towards the team while thinking about the candidate for the vice-captain of the Fifth Division.

The Fifth Division now has a vice-captain, but his strength is just average. Anyway, this person doesn't even have a name in the original work, and Ichiro has a general understanding of him. He's a typical slacker who doesn't seek merit but only avoids mistakes.

Ichiro wouldn't even look down on someone like that; he himself couldn't even make a living!

If I can't get ahead, neither can you!

Therefore, the vice-captain will definitely need to be re-elected. Although this will have some impact on the subsequent handover of work, it is still necessary.

Generally speaking, once a new captain takes office, unless the original vice-captain is exceptionally outstanding, a new captain will be chosen, as the captain feels more comfortable with their own selection.

Of course, the initial reason was simply that usually, the team captains were the vice-captains...

If the skill level meets the requirements.

However, choosing this person... is a bit tricky...

Although the position of vice-captain is not something that needs to be competed for like other positions, but can be directly assigned by the captain, it is still a vice-captain position, and some ability is still required.

I don't expect you to master Bankai like those weirdos in the original work, but at least you should know Shikai, right? And it wouldn't be right if you were too weak.

There aren't many suitable people, since Ichiro's social circle is mainly concentrated in the Second and Fourth Divisions. It's practically impossible to recruit anyone from the Second Division, and the higher-ups don't allow it either, because many members of the Second Division are members of the Onmitsukido, and it's impossible to have them all dispersed into the Thirteenth Division.

That leaves only the Fourth Division...

Among the Fourth Division, Satoshi and Moon Spirit are definitely out of the question. Their minds are not fully developed. Satoshi's emotional module has significant problems, making him prone to silly antics. Moon Spirit herself has difficulty expressing her emotions; she doesn't care about anything unrelated to Ichiro. Of course, when she does care...

As for the world... never mind, I'm too embarrassed to bother her with this anymore, she's already done so much for him.

Besides those few who have close ties with Ichiro, there are also several members in the Fourth Division who have a good relationship with him, such as Suzuran and Tensei, whose abilities are definitely sufficient.

But... Suzuran won't do. The best way to refuse is to create distance. If the other person still doesn't give up after Ichiro expresses his feelings, this is the only way.

As for Tiancheng...

To be honest, Ichiro has not yet been freed from his suspicions. To this day, he remains the third suspect in the Lantern Festival incident that night, and the most suspicious one at that!

So he couldn't do it either, and then, that was it...

There's no one here...

"Here? Yes, the fact that you asked that question shows you've actually been listening. Here's how it is..."

As Ichiro walked along the road, deep in thought, he suddenly heard Seinosuke's voice coming from the house next to him, and his eyes lit up immediately!

Just as he was about to step inside, he suddenly looked at his empty hands, shook his head, and started walking outside. How could he ask someone for a favor without bringing a gift?

In the blink of an eye, Ichiro returned from around a corner, empty-handed when he left, but carrying a bag of fruit in each hand when he came back. Needless to say, given how quickly it happened, it was all done using alchemy.

Carrying the fruit, Ichiro didn't go straight in, but stood quietly at the door waiting, while a class was still going on inside.

After a while, the class finally ended. The team members and Seinosuke were still packing up their notes when Ichiro knocked on the door: "Vice-Captain Seinosuke?"

Upon hearing this address, Seinosuke glanced at the fruit in Ichiro's hand, then continued to bury himself in organizing his notes, saying, "Don't call me vice-captain anymore. The current vice-captain of the Fourth Division is Isane. If you need anything, go to her. I can't help you."

"Look at what you're saying! In my heart, you'll always be the vice-captain!"

"...Stop disgusting me, just tell me what you want to say."

"Can't I come to see you if I have nothing else to do?"

"..." Seinosuke was speechless for a moment, then took the fruit from Ichiro's hand and said indifferently, "Alright, I've received the fruit. Now, what is it? I still need to go to the Shin-O Medical Center to hand over my work."

"Ahem~ Well, well, I recently became the acting captain of the Fifth Division, right? But I don't think the previous vice-captain was very capable, and we can't find a suitable replacement. You've been the vice-captain for so many years, what do you think..."

“Change the vice-captain, he can do… Oh, I see~” Kiyosuke shook his head, looked at Ichiro and sighed. He knew Ichiro well, he probably didn’t want a slacker as vice-captain. If the vice-captain was a slacker, how could he, as captain, be a slacker?

Having dealt with him for so many years, he was very clear about Ichiro's thoughts.

"You want me to introduce suitable candidates, right? No problem, I'll draft a list for you later, including those from various squads."

"Um, what I mean is, you should be my vice-captain."

"..." Upon hearing this, Seinosuke froze, immediately throwing the fruit on the table at Ichiro, "Get out!"

"Hey~ Be careful not to break it~" Ichiro quickly caught the fruit and said to Kiyonosuke, "Please help me out. What's the point of serving those nobles? It's much better to stay in the Thirteenth Division."

Kiyosuke glanced at Ichiro sideways and said firmly, "If you want me to help you find someone to introduce you to, that's fine. But if you want to keep making me work for you, don't even think about it! I've been waiting for this opportunity to get rid of you, do you think I'd give it up?"

"Yes!" Ichiro said shamelessly and with unusual firmness, "I believe in the bond between us! I also believe in your character! You are the kind of person who values ​​relationships, you certainly wouldn't bear to see me go to the Fifth Division alone!"

"I'm sorry, but I can't bear to do it."

"Hmph~~" Hearing this, the team members sitting below watching the show finally couldn't hold back and burst out laughing.

Ichiro glanced at them, then continued to pester Kiyonosuke without a care.

"Give up. If I had even the slightest desire to stay in Squad 13, Ichiro wouldn't have become the vice-captain. I'm not like you, Ichiro."

Seeing the bitterness on Kiyonosuke's face, Ichiro fell silent. He dropped his nonchalant expression, sighed, and said heavily, "Sigh~ Alright, I understand. I'll go look for more people. Oh, and remember to give me the list."

"Hmm, don't worry about that. Um, the fruit..."

Ichiro glanced at the fruit in his hand, then at Seinosuke, and sneered, "You haven't even finished the job, what are you giving me! I'm not giving you anything!"

With that, Ichiro turned and left the house.

Watching Ichiro's departing figure, Seinosuke sighed. The Seireitei was ultimately still ruled by nobles, so he had to seize this opportunity!

After all, he's really different from Ichiro; he has a whole family behind him.

On the other side, after Ichiro left the house, he wandered around the team for a while before sitting down at the edge of a training ground. He looked up at the sky quietly and sighed.

This is why he lived a secluded life in Rukongai and rarely spoke to anyone.

Ichiro knew very well that he and the people from Rukongai were not from the same world. He was confident that he would eventually enter the Seireitei, and even if he did poorly, he could still become a vice-captain.

Therefore, to avoid excessive sadness when parting, he always kept his distance from most of the people around him.

I thought that once I got to Seireitei and joined the 13th Division, this kind of situation would decrease considerably, but unexpectedly, it turned out to be about the same.

The simplest point is the issue of lifespan...

Although Ichiro has the Ninety-Nine Returns of the Heavenly Revelation to allow others to break through the lifespan limit and gain a longer life, people have a network of relationships that are intertwined and construct this entire world!

He is neither capable nor able to do such a thing. A world where everyone attains immortality is a terrifying world.

Therefore, Ichiro felt it was necessary for him to prepare himself mentally in advance.

In the future, there will be many more people like Kiyonosuke who have different choices.

......

"Hey~ what are you thinking about?"

Just as Ichiro was immersed in sadness, a sweet voice suddenly rang out behind him.

Holy crap!

The sudden sound made Ichiro instinctively throw a punch!

"Hmm? Whew~"

Fortunately, Ichiro reacted in time and quickly stopped his punch, looking at his still grinning best friend with an annoyed expression: "Why didn't you dodge? Aren't you afraid of getting hit? This punch of mine has decades of internal energy, you can't block it!"

The extra's best friend shrugged nonchalantly and said in a simple-minded way, "I believe you won't hurt me, Ichiro!"

"......"

Ichiro stared speechlessly at his friend, who was playing a minor role. He felt that this girl was getting sillier and sillier as she got older. Although she was silly before, it was mostly because of her background. Simply put, she was a reclusive noble lady who suddenly came to live the life of a commoner, which is why she seemed silly in everything.

But she's not actually stupid.

But now... Ichiro feels she's really stupid...

"Feiyun, you'd better not trust me so much. Everyone makes mistakes... Uh, what's wrong with you?" Halfway through his sentence, Ichiro saw his friend, who was playing a minor role, suddenly puff out her cheeks in anger and asked curiously.

"What else! Didn't you promise me you'd call me by my name? Humph!"

'That's it?' Ichiro looked at his friend, who had suddenly turned her head to the side, speechless for a moment, then sighed and said again, '**You'd better not have too much trust in me. Everyone makes mistakes.'

"It's okay, I believe you."

The extra's best friend smiled and sat down next to Ichiro, looking at him curiously, and asked, "What were you worrying about just now?"

"I had some worries, but seeing you made me feel much better."

"Really?" the extra's best friend said with some surprise.

"Well, if even you can live so happily, what reason do I have to continue being sentimental? Wouldn't that make me even less than you?"

"...Although I feel like you're insulting me, thank you anyway. I liked hearing that."

"What words? How could they have such a powerful appeal?"

"It's just that you said I felt much better, hehe~ This proves that my cultivation results are effective!" The extra's best friend proudly raised her head, using a smug tone to cover up her true thoughts.

"Cultivation? What kind of cultivation is this?"

"When the team leader was giving us a lecture, he mentioned that it's important to keep patients in a good mood during treatment. So I did some special training to make myself more beautiful and charming, so my patients will be happier when they see me. How about that? It works, right?"

"It's effective, but may I ask you, beautiful and charming Miss **, how much time do you spend on getting ready every day?"

"Hmm, it takes an hour. It'll definitely be faster once you get the hang of it!"

"Don't you think an hour a day would be more effective for studying? Just a friendly reminder, the name of the 89th reply is 'The Art of Preserving Youth,' you haven't forgotten, have you?"

"...Huh? Huh!!!" The extra's best friend stared blankly at Ichiro; she had forgotten...

The art of preserving youth can keep the body in optimal condition. Of course, with a sequence number as high as eighty-nine, it cannot be a simple beauty channel. This channel can prevent any injury or illness from worsening to the greatest extent possible, and can buy patients more time for treatment.

At the same time, it is also the lower level of the Ninety-Nine Return to Heaven, involving profound knowledge of conditioning.