The Alchemist in Bleach

Unfortunately, that's no longer possible.

With a sigh, Ichiro strode into the Fifth Division, greeting everyone along the way, before heading into the captain's office.

"Huh? You're here so early?" Ichiro asked in surprise when he saw his friend, who was already working.

"There's no other way~ I have to perform well so I can secure my position as vice-captain!" The extra's best friend raised her delicate white fist and said firmly.

"Tsk~ I really envy you guys, having this kind of opportunity to strive. Unlike me, sigh~ I have everything~"

"..." The extra's best friend fell silent, lowered her head, and started working. Is this even human language?

Ichiro chuckled and sat down to deal with his work. There wasn't much to do in the Fifth Division, at least compared to the Fourth Division, especially after the "Skynet" network was established in Rukongai, there was even less to do.

After all, the guardians of death in the mortal realm are generally quite strict, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, they can generally protect the mortal realm very well.

Therefore, the work of the Fifth Division is actually linked to that of the other divisions. As long as they don't cause any trouble, there will be very little work here; otherwise, there will be a lot.

"By the way, Ichiro, are you free tonight?" After a while, the extra's best friend looked up and asked as if she remembered something.

"Tonight? No, not tonight. I have an experiment to do tonight. What's wrong?"

"It's nothing, my family just wanted to invite you to dinner to thank you."

"Thank me? Thank you for what?" Ichiro looked at his supporting actress best friend with a puzzled expression.

"Because you made me the vice-captain!"

"This is your own ability, not my achievement."

"Speaking of all this..." The extra's best friend smiled helplessly, "Don't I know? If it weren't for you, how could I have become the vice-captain? There are so many Grim Reapers who are more suitable than me. Besides, the position of vice-captain is different from that of a seat officer. It's not something you can get just by having the ability. It depends on connections."

"Okay, then let's do it tomorrow. I should be free tomorrow."

"Okay, I'll go back and tell them."

……

Actually, what Mob's best friend said wasn't wrong. Even if she now possesses a powerful Shikai, if Ichiro isn't the captain of the Fifth Division, then the position of vice-captain is basically irrelevant to her.

Because most captains choose their vice-captains from people they know well. For example, when Shunsui became the Captain-Commander in the original work, he brought his adjutant from the 8th Division, Nanao Ise, with him and appointed her as the vice-captain.

So if it weren't for Ichiro, she probably wouldn't have gotten the vice-captain position.

……

"Ugh~~~"

In the evening, Ichiro, who had worked all day, stood at the entrance of the Fifth Division, stretched lazily in the sunset, which made his supporting actress friend laugh.

"Is it really that tiring?"

"The intensity wasn't too high, but it was mentally exhausting. I haven't worked for such a long time in a long time. Before, I basically slept-eat-experiment-eat-sleep-eat-experiment. Working for such a long time all at once is quite a shock."

Ichiro clicked his tongue and said with some emotion.

Extra's best friend: "...Could you please say less of these enviable things?"

"Haha~ Jealous? That's right, your suffering is my source of joy!" With that, Ichiro let out a long sigh of relief, looking relaxed. "Phew~ Much better~"

"I'm starting to regret recommending myself as your vice-captain... How could I have forgotten this habit of yours? Can I still back out now?"

"Heh~ You think you can escape after falling into my trap? Do you think you can?"

The extra's best friend looked at Ichiro with a smile, her eyes sparkling: "That's true, otherwise why would it be called a 'scam'?"

Unfortunately, Ichiro's mind was already focused on the evening's experiment, and he didn't notice his friend's unusual behavior.

"I still have experiments to do, I'm leaving now, see you tomorrow~ Bye~" The two reached a fork in the road, and Ichiro waved to his friend, who was playing a minor role, and walked into the fork.

"Okay, see you tomorrow, bye~" Watching Ichiro's departing figure, the extra's best friend bit her lip. One day, she would be strong enough to stand by Ichiro's side and walk the same path as him!

"What are you looking at?"

"Huh?!" Just as the extra's best friend was lost in thought, looking in the direction Ichiro had left, a voice suddenly rang out beside her, startling her.

"Phew~ What is it~ Lily of the Valley, you scared me to death~" Upon seeing that it was Lily of the Valley, the extra's best friend gasped for breath, patting her chest to catch her breath while pouting and complaining.

"You're the one who scared me, aren't you? How did you become the vice-captain of the Fifth Division in just one day? Hmm?" Suzuran looked at her extra best friend with a deep gaze.

The extra's best friend guiltily turned her head away and stammered, "I... I just want to be the vice-captain. That's what my family wants me to be. Yes, that's right! I just want to be the vice-captain!"

"Nonsense! You're just trying to sneak away! Why didn't you sign up when Captain Unohana was selecting assistants before you wanted to be the vice-captain? You treacherous cat!"

"How dare you say that to me? Didn't you run away too?"

"I don't!"

"You have!"

"I don't!"

"You..." The extra's best friend suddenly stopped mid-sentence, looked quietly at Linglan, and then said, "Isn't this kind of thing boring?"

"...Yes, it is a bit..."

"I know a newly opened cosmetics shop, shall we go check it out?"

'You think you can just move on like this? How naive!'

"Great, I've almost run out of mine!"

.......

Just as the two women inexplicably reconciled (perhaps), Ichiro on the other side quickly rushed back to his laboratory in the Fourth Division. He had been holding back his experiment on the Philosopher's Stone for a long time, and he couldn't wait any longer!

The Philosopher's Stone is different from the pseudo-Philosopher's Stone that Ichiro created with his life in his second life. The one Ichiro is making now is the one that best embodies the characteristics of the legendary Philosopher's Stone.

That is, the Philosopher's Stone, which grants its holder immortality and even eternal life!

The reason Ichiro had this crazy idea was mainly because he had discovered a special spirit particle structure while researching the Dream System built using the power of the Spirit King. This structure could almost complete any spirit particle structure.

And that is the hope for eternal life!

Humans die because there is a limit to the number of times cells can divide. With each division, cells age and eventually die. The situation of the Grim Reaper is similar; the spiritual structure gradually becomes incomplete and eventually dissipates into spiritual particles with the death of the Grim Reaper.

If this spiritual particle structure can be completed, giving it the ability to truly complete all spiritual particle structures, then immortality and eternal life will no longer be just empty talk!

Unfortunately, this thing is very difficult to make. Ichiro and his team have been researching it for so many years without making any progress. However, they have improved the speed of making the Hogyoku much more and perfected it a lot.

Originally, Ichiro planned to continue his research slowly. He figured he had plenty of time and would eventually succeed. After all, while the result was important, the process was also a valuable asset.

That was his original thought, until...

The conversation with Aizen at Hueco Mundo a few days ago gave Ichiro some new inspiration. Since he couldn't complete it, or even find a clue to complete it, why not try the Hogyoku?

The true power of the Hogyoku is to construct the imagination of the holder or the life form nearby; as long as this possibility truly exists, it can succeed.

So, what would happen if we used the power of the Hogyoku on this?

Success goes without saying; it allows for further experimentation with the various powers of the Philosopher's Stone. Even if it fails, it's still a gain, at least knowing that this path is blocked and that such a complete solution doesn't exist. He can then stop in time and focus his energy elsewhere.

However, as things stand, Ichiro still feels there is a great chance. Don't ask, it's just a man's (the protagonist's) intuition!

"Haven't the Moon Spirit and the World arrived yet?"

"Om~"

A drone hovered beside Ichiro, emitting Chi's voice.

"Yes, they also need to organize some documents."

Ichiro nodded, then walked towards the experimental table, while looking through some Hogyoku data that Satoshi had brought up for him.

Arriving at the experimental table, Ichiro looked at the materials on it and fell into deep thought. To use the Hōgyoku to perfect that special spiritual particle structure, he first had to make a Hōgyoku, and it had to be a perfect Hōgyoku, not a flawed one.

With current technology, only incomplete Hōgyoku can be made. This applies to him, Aizen, and Urahara alike. A complete Hōgyoku can only be made by fusing two incomplete Hōgyoku, just like Aizen did in the original story.

However, the Hogyoku produced in this way will completely spiral out of control...

Therefore, which option to choose is also a question...

------------

Chapter 277 The Philosopher's Stone Begins to Take Shape!

After a moment's thought, Ichiro decided to make a Hōgyoku piece first to try it out, just in case it could be completed without a full Hōgyoku.

Thinking it over, Ichiro put on gloves, placed his hands on a pile of high-spiritual-energy materials on the lab table, and slowly closed his eyes.

Analysis complete!

Decomposition complete!

The forging is complete, begin!

Under Ichiro's control, the scattered spiritual particles began to combine in an orderly manner, forming a blue-black crystal, which is the Hogyoku!

However, unlike a normal Hōgyoku, inside this Hōgyoku, one can vaguely see a ring of golden runes floating up and down.

This is a technique specifically designed to restrain the consciousness of the Hogyoku. When the evil nature of the Hogyoku's autonomous consciousness cannot be neutralized, this is the only way to do it, which is also the fundamental reason why Ichiro hesitated to synthesize the complete Hogyoku.

This technique currently lacks the ability to restrain a complete Hogyoku.

"Three seconds faster again... Suddenly I feel like the value of the Hogyoku has decreased a lot." Zhixuan stopped to the side, scanned the Hogyoku, and couldn't help but complain.

"Haha~ This is what happens when you're skilled in alchemy. Who knows how many more you'll be able to do in the future~ Alright, deploy the field and begin the experiment."

"understand!"

After speaking, the disc-shaped drone controlled by Zhi opened a hatch and released the special substance sealed inside the drone, making it float in the middle of the field on the experimental platform. Then, the scanned spiritual particle structure was projected in real time in front of it.

Ichiro's ten fingers flew, outlining halos of light that formed a peculiar demonic path.

This Kido was designed specifically for the Hogyoku after Yue Ling returned, based on Ichiro's ideas. Its function is simple: to maximize the Hogyoku's ability to manifest wishes, while making it more controllable.

While the power of the Hogyoku is wondrous, it is far too uncontrollable, especially for Ichiro's. After the evil essence of the Hogyoku consciousness was bound, this power became even more uncontrollable. Originally, there was the Hogyoku consciousness to guide it, although the direction might not have been ideal.

But at least there is still a direction. After the consciousness of the Hogyoku was restricted, the Hogyoku's power began to be used at will. How many thoughts can a person have?

One second you might want to see black stockings, the next second you might want to see white stockings, and the next second you might want both!

Ichiro once conducted an experiment where he placed the Hogyoku, which sealed away evil consciousness, with a rabbit. In less than ten seconds, the rabbit frantically evolved into a disgusting pile of flesh!

It was decorated with all sorts of organs and limbs. Then, perhaps sensing someone's thoughts, the rabbit developed intelligence and began to think. Then, death suddenly came!

In that instant, looking at Ichiro outside the isolation window, it fantasized that it possessed immense power, enabling it to live freely and rule the world!