The Alchemist in Bleach

But here lies the first point of doubt: the Shinigami of the Thirteenth Division are stronger than those of the non-Thirteenth Division.

Secondly, it is only for important members, which seems to be exclusive to important people. However, after statistics, Ichiro found that this funeral ceremony is not exclusive to important people, but rather to ordinary people!

This procession of the dead appears to be a mix of combatants and non-combatants, but if you look beyond this facade, you'll find that almost all the noble reapers who died in battle did not undergo a procession of the dead!

Of course, part of the reason is that there are not many noble Shinigami in the Thirteen Divisions; most are commoner Shinigami. And these few noble Shinigami are not restricted from leaving the division like ordinary Shinigami; they have various ways to leave the Thirteen Divisions.

Although the regulations state that there is no such thing as leaving the Thirteenth Team, one can be promoted to other departments, just like Kiyonosuke, who was transferred to the Central Pharmacy as the general agent.

Unlike Team Thirteen, other departments are not allowed to withdraw.

Of course, even with such rigorous selection, over this long period of time, there will always be a few noble Grim Reapers who die in battle, but none of them will have a funeral procession. Some of these Grim Reapers hold important positions; at least, when commoner Grim Reapers of the same rank die in battle, a funeral procession is held.

Normally, this wouldn't seem unusual, especially in an aristocratic society where it would be perfectly normal. But, Ichiro himself had his suspicions.

As the saying goes, everyone is a fool in the eyes of a fool.

With preconceived notions, Ichiro was filled with skepticism about everything related to the funeral ceremony.

His intuition told him that this thing was probably related to the chains of hell he had seen between worlds when he resurrected the captain.

After all, Hell is a rather mysterious place even for the Seireitei...

Not long after, the group arrived at the funeral site. Ichiro, accompanied by his friend who was just a minor character, followed the captain to the front. Then, he slightly pushed up the bridge of his nose with his right hand, revealing a pair of glasses.

This scene made the captain and the others frown. They knew a little about this move. When Ichiro wore glasses, his calculation and analytical abilities would be greatly enhanced. Under normal circumstances, Ichiro rarely used this move.

Because this puts a lot of strain on the brain, but now...

However, everyone just glanced at the captain and, seeing that he didn't say anything, watched silently without taking the lead. Past experience told them that Ichiro rarely did anything pointless; they would just wait and see.

Soon, as several people carrying torches appeared, the funeral procession officially began. The slightly lax procession instantly became serious, including Ichiro, who had been skeptical of the ceremony.

Despite his doubts about the ceremony, one thing remained unchanged: his respect for Aikawa Rao, the respect of a comrade-in-arms!

This is also the fundamental reason why Ichiro wanted to analyze the team funeral ceremony; he could not tolerate his comrades being used inexplicably after their sacrifice.

Unfortunately, even with the aid of hints to enhance his analytical abilities, Ichiro made no discovery until Aikawa Raibu was completely burned to ashes, as if it were just a simple cremation ceremony.

As for the power of hell, he was completely unaware of it.

However, for some reason, a gloomy feeling inexplicably rose in Ichiro's heart, making him feel a little suffocated, which made Ichiro even more vigilant.

With his current strength, no sense would sound an alarm without reason. However, this could be another big problem, and possibly even more troublesome than Yhwach. At least, Yhwach's existence was confirmed in the original work, and he ultimately failed, while this one was not mentioned at all in the original work.

And that it could make him feel somewhat oppressed even now is rather unbelievable...

However, Ichiro has one advantage: he knows how to let go.

Since we don't understand it now, let's put it aside for now. Who knows when we'll find an important clue (wait for the Hell Chapter update). There's no need to rush.

And so, Ichiro's life returned to its normal cycle: training—work—experiment—sleep—training, until one day, someone approached him, carrying the promise he had made to Central 46...

"Are you sure? Didn't I explain it clearly to you? The effect of seizing the heavens is to change the level of life, thereby gaining a longer life. Therefore, this will also cause a dramatic change in your strength. Are you really sure you want to give it up? Forgive me for being blunt, but if you do this, those old fogies will kill you."

"I'm sure. I don't need the Heavenly Sword. I just want you to save one person for me."

"Hiss... This isn't as simple as it sounds..." Ichiro gasped, frowning. This matter was far from simple...

The reason why those old fogies in the Central 46 Chambers agreed to Ichiro's conditions so easily was not only because they were wary of him, but more importantly, because they wanted to finalize the matter directly and then take this opportunity to let their people also control the Heavenly Gate!

So if Ichiro agrees to his request, then things will get complicated with Central 46, not to mention the person they need to rescue will also be a problem...

Ichiro glanced at Kuchiki Byakuya, who was wearing a white captain's haori and a silver-white brocade veil that only the heirs of the Kuchiki family could wear, with a troubled expression, and rubbed his temples.

Kuchiki Byakuya, the new captain of the Sixth Division, is also the current head of the Kuchiki family. Kuchiki Ginrin took advantage of this change of leadership to pass the position to him. Compared to Kuchiki Kyoga, Kuchiki Byakuya's succession was much simpler. Firstly, he was of legitimate birth, and secondly, his talent was exceptional, comparable to Yoruichi Shihouin, who defected from Soul Society.

Furthermore, due to the drastic changes in the Rukongai, he met his wife Hisana from the original story more than ten years earlier than expected. The two quickly fell in love, and the moment he became the head of the family, he decisively married Hisana, causing considerable controversy.

After all, the head of the Kuchiki family, the most prestigious of the four noble families, actually married a woman from Rukongai, and she was mentally ill at that!

But what's done is done, the marriage is already arranged, you can't go back on your word, can you?

That would be even more embarrassing!

Therefore, Ichiro was well aware of the uproar that would ensue if he saved Kuchiki Hisa. Many nobles were hoping for her death to completely erase the stain on the Kuchiki family.

But......

Looking at Kuchiki Byakuya's cold face, Ichiro sighed heavily: "I know, brother-in-law, oops~ no, Byakuya, you can arrange when it's appropriate. I'll secretly go and treat him first. Your family's doctors should be able to find out the specifics of his condition. Just give me a copy."

Seeing Ichiro blurt it out, Byakuya narrowed his eyes: "Did you already know that Hisana had a younger sister?"

"Huh? What sister? Does Hishima have a sister?"

“I’ve looked up the term ‘brother-in-law’.”

"...That was all a joke, just kidding!"

"I hope so!" After saying that, Byakuya turned and left coldly. "I will take care of your medical condition. Thank you for your help."

"Tch, we've known each other for so many years, what's there to say?"

Yes, Ichiro has known Byakuya for several years, having met him through Yoruichi. He even taught Byakuya his Kido techniques, which is why he habitually called him "brother-in-law" just now...

"But I didn't expect that this guy would actually be a siscon now..." Ichiro muttered in surprise as he watched Byakuya's departing figure. He thought that Byakuya only became a siscon after Hisana's death, since the two sisters looked so alike, and Rukia had not been found yet.

"Hado No. 4: White Lightning!"

As soon as Ichiro finished speaking, a white bolt of lightning suddenly pierced through the office door and shot straight onto Ichiro's desk, scattering papers everywhere. Behind the papers was Ichiro's slightly dazed gaze.

"You damn Byakuya, you bastard! My files! Do you know how long I've been working on them, you bastard!" Coming to his senses, looking at the destroyed files, Ichiro instantly transformed into a telegraph operator, uttering beautiful phrases one after another.

This startled his friend, who was about to hand him a spare file.

"Um, Ichiro, I have a copy here~"

"*****, huh? Really?" Ichiro looked at his supporting actress best friend with surprise, as if he had seen a savior.

"Yes, but these are from the previous batch. I haven't had time to back them up yet."

"..." Ichiro stared silently at the results of his morning's hard work on the table. "What's the point of backing up all that stuff..."

Now, he misses the days when he worked on a computer at the Technology Development Bureau...

"Sigh~" Ichiro slumped into his chair as if his soul had been ripped out, staring blankly at the ceiling. He had to do it all over again; he was exhausted...

The extra's best friend smiled and, amidst Ichiro's despairing gaze, placed the documents back on Ichiro's desk. She wanted to share the burden with Ichiro, but the captain had said that his work in the Fifth Division had to be handled by him personally, and even though she was his vice-captain, she couldn't do it for him.

She had no reason to disobey the captain's instructions. Firstly, she respected the captain greatly, and the captain was still training her, which was a great kindness to her. Secondly, Ichiro respected the captain very much; to Ichiro, the captain was like his mother.

Therefore, it is very important to establish a good relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law in advance!

Ichiro stared at the ceiling for a while, then jumped up from his chair, sighed, and, amidst the gloating expression of his supporting actress friend, began to frown and work on the documents.

Fortunately, these documents had just been processed, and I still had some recollection of them. Most of them just needed to be rewritten. Before long, Ichiro finished some of the more urgent documents and handed them to his friend, who was playing a minor role.

"Have these delivered to Captain Senjumaru of the Ninth Division and Captain Shiba of the Tenth Division, and let them make a decision as soon as possible."

"Yes."

The extra's best friend took the document and quickly walked out.

In this job change, in addition to Senjumaru taking over the position of the Ninth Division, something else happened that surprised many people: Shiba Isshin, the head of the Shiba family's branch family, successfully challenged the captain of the Tenth Division in a head-on confrontation and officially became the captain of the Tenth Division!

The power it displayed in that battle served as a wake-up call to some of the treacherous nobles in Seireitei. Even a fallen camel is bigger than a horse; the Shiba family, no matter how much it has declined, is not so easy to deal with, including the four great noble families!

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Chapter 279 Master and Disciple Dancing on the Edge of the Abyss

Isshin's sudden emergence has made people start to question the Shiba family's motives. If they had just shown their skills with Isshin, they would never have dared to push him so hard, let alone drive him out of Seireitei.

However, if the Shiba family has other motives, another question arises: the current head of the Shiba family, Shiba Kaien, is so decadent that everyone can see it. If it's an act, then it's too convincing.

If there is no other purpose, then it can only mean that there is infighting within the Shiba family!

Of course, this reason is even more far-fetched. The Shiba family is one of the few noble families where the main family and the branch families are relatively harmonious. Rather than believing that they are fighting amongst themselves, we should think about why the Shiba family left Seireitei.

However, none of this had anything to do with Ichiro. He was just a commoner, and the affairs of the nobles were none of his concern. He continued his daily routine of being beaten, his daily work, and his daily experiments, all as usual.

A week later, Ichiro received a message from the Captain-Commander...

"Captain-Commander? Didn't you heal your arm, Captain-Commander? What could possibly be wrong?" The extra's best friend looked at Ichiro curiously. Nothing major had happened in the Thirteenth Squad lately.

“No, there’s one more thing…” After saying that, Ichiro got up, draped the captain’s haori over his shoulders, and walked straight outside. “I’m going out for a bit. I’ll leave the team’s affairs to you for now.”

"Hmm." The extra's best friend nodded, but didn't say anything. She had a clear understanding of her position; she was just a newly appointed deputy captain. Knowing certain things would not benefit her or her family.

On the other side, Ichiro was rushing towards the First Division.

After this incident, there are only three things that matter most to Ichiro: first, to avenge Suzuran; second, to heal the Captain-Commander's severed arm and, at the same time, to modify it and DIY the strongest left arm for the Captain-Commander!

The former was successfully completed, while the latter was only half completed, namely the restoration of the severed arm. In the end, the Captain-Commander still could not get Ichiro to do anything to his left arm.

And this last thing is to accept Urahara's legacy, well, no, he's not dead yet, so it can't be called a legacy. To be precise, it's something he left behind, something rather dangerous.

Not long after, Ichiro arrived at the First Division and, led by Chojiro, went to the Captain-Commander's office.

"Captain."

"Okay, just a moment." The captain looked up at Ichiro, then lowered his head to continue working, but he did so much faster.

Ichiro nodded, not disturbing the Captain-Commander, and silently stood aside, waiting for the Captain-Commander to finish his work.

Not long after, the captain put down the documents in his hand and stood up. Of course, it wasn't that the matter was over. As the first team that coordinated the entire thirteen teams, they were relatively busier. However, compared to this matter, it was just a little team work.

"Let's go."

Ichiro, leaning against the wall, nodded and followed behind the captain. To his astonishment, the office wall suddenly cracked open, revealing a dark passageway.

"This is....."

"Keep up, haven't you seen the secret passage before?" The captain turned and called to Ichiro, then bent over and walked forward.

"I've seen secret passages before, but I've never seen one with spatial power..." Ichiro muttered to himself, then stepped forward to catch up. "By the way, isn't the use of spatial Kido forbidden in the Seireitei?"

"You are not allowed to disrupt the spatial order of the Seireitei, otherwise do you think your storage equipment will still be usable?"

"Well, you're right."

As he walked through the dark passage, Ichiro examined the Kido runes on the walls, planning to build one himself when he returned to the underground base.

"Huh? Isn't Chojiro-senpai coming?" After taking a few steps, Ichiro turned back in confusion and asked.

"No, the fewer people who know about this, the better."