The Alchemist in Bleach

"That's true."

After they finished speaking, there was a long silence. In the long corridor, only the sound of their unhurried footsteps echoed.

A moment later, the captain stopped in front of a wall. Ichiro looked at the fork in the road on his left and asked curiously, "Are we here? Or are we going to have to go through walls again?"

"Whoosh~"

Before Ichiro could answer, the wall suddenly cracked open, revealing a gloomy laboratory. Ichiro raised an eyebrow, a hint of surprise in his eyes.

He knew a little about this lab; it was Urahara's secret lab, which he could roughly tell from its style. He wasn't sure of the exact location, but he had a guess about its general area...

Rukongai...

How long have they walked before arriving in Rukongai?

Ichiro began to re-examine the Kido runes on the wall; they were quite interesting.

"Let's go, stop looking. I'll give you a copy later if you want." The captain glanced at Ichiro, who was still observing, and stepped into the laboratory.

"No need for that. I'm studying the Ghost Path now just to enjoy the process; the result isn't important."

"..." Upon hearing this, the captain glanced at Ichiro silently, said nothing, ignored the corpses soaking in the many jars, and continued walking forward.

Ichiro, however, looked much more serious after he walked in. Human experimentation...

This is a forbidden zone that Ichiro has always tried his best to avoid, except when researching the return path...

Of course, his principles only applied to himself; what others did was none of his business, as long as their origins were legitimate. As the head jailer of the Worm's Nest, Urahara naturally didn't need to worry about the source of his wealth.

However, this chaotic scene still cast a shadow over Ichiro's heart...

While examining the strangely shaped corpses inside the jar, Ichiro followed the Captain-Commander inside.

The laboratory wasn't too messy; many things were neatly arranged, and the few scattered documents and manuscripts showed that they were Urahara's habitual placements. In other words, the place had been well preserved.

"To ensure you can take over more easily, I didn't allow them to search this place. You might need to do the cleanup afterwards," the captain explained, noticing Ichiro's gaze.

"Yes, I understand. But judging from the level of order, it seems that Urahara is aware of your thoughts, Captain-Commander."

"That's not surprising. Urahara is a smart man. He knows exactly what he wants, what he can do, and what he can't do. Unfortunately, he knows all too well what he wants..."

Upon hearing this, Ichiro fell silent. This was actually one of the biggest points of disagreement between him and Urahara. Ichiro also had his own desires, or rather, wishes and ideals. However, for Ichiro, ideals would give way to emotions and life, while Urahara would not.

He knows exactly what he wants, so he will steadfastly move in that direction. Even if he seems to compromise at times, he is simply changing his approach to continue towards his goal.

A while later, the two stopped at the end of the laboratory. Although he had been mentally prepared, he was still somewhat shocked when he actually saw it.

Before the two of them was a huge green jar, and inside the jar was a little boy soaking in it!

This little boy possesses an extremely complex spiritual pressure, representing the powers of Hollow, Quincy, Shinigami, and Fullbring, just like the protagonist of Bleach, Ichigo Kurosaki. However, unlike Ichigo Kurosaki, who was born naturally through a series of coincidences and possessed these qualities from birth, this boy's situation was artificially created by Urahara.

They also have another name...

Candidate for King of Spirit!

In other words, it is a substitute that can take the place of the Spirit King at critical moments to prevent the world from collapsing!

The Spirit King Candidate is different from the simulated Spirit King like the Moon Spirit. The Spirit King Candidate is merely a substitute for the Spirit King, while the simulated Spirit King can be considered a member of the same race or companion as the Spirit King. He cannot replace the Spirit King as the wedge of the world.

Furthermore, from a technical standpoint, creating a Spirit King candidate is simpler and can be mass-produced, while creating a simulated Spirit King is different. Even if Ichiro successfully created the Moon Spirit, it would be impossible for him to create another one now.

"Do you think it will work?" Captain-Commander asked Ichiro, looking at the little boy in the jar.

Ichiro glanced at the Captain-Commander's slightly trembling hand and could tell that the Captain-Commander was not in a good mood. This was partly because his decision at this moment posed a huge challenge to the rules of the Seireitei, something he had always protected.

Secondly, the Captain-Commander has grown old after all. The "Rejuvenation of a Withered Tree" technique can only change his physical body, but it is powerless to change his mind. The Captain-Commander of today is no longer the ruthless sword demon who killed without hesitation.

He was the teacher of countless Grim Reapers, and the deep bond between them had long since melted his frozen heart. Therefore, it was impossible for him not to be moved when he saw this scene.

However, for the sake of Seireitei and Soul Society, he needed to sacrifice his own feelings...

"Sigh," Ichiro sighed, "It's a pity, I can't..."

Yes, it's a pity.

The Captain-Commander had long had the idea of ​​creating a candidate for Soul King, since the Zero Division, which was responsible for guarding the Soul King, had acted somewhat out of line in recent years, and no one knew if they would do anything reckless.

However, the impact of this matter was ultimately too great, and he still had some trust in the monks and others. After all, a broken world would not benefit anyone, so he was able to keep it under wraps and not let Ichiro directly conduct research, but instead secretly guided Urahara to carry out experiments.

But now, the situation is different. Yhwach is about to make a comeback, and the Captain-Commander knows very well that his target is the Soul King!

Therefore, the selection of the Spirit King candidate must be put on the agenda!

This is why Ichiro said he was disappointed. Although Urahara followed the Captain-Commander's guidance and secretly conducted this experiment, it was clear that he had not mastered the technology very well. The Spirit King he created was at best a composite of four powers and could not yet fuse the power of the Spirit King.

Even a monk's naming wouldn't be enough to make him the new Spirit King.

How can I not feel regret?

Even more regrettably, he and the captain had to get their hands dirty and personally complete the research...

"Haha~ Kisuke Urahara... what a wicked guy. Is that your influence?" The Captain-Commander glanced at Ichiro out of the corner of his eye.

Ichiro shrugged helplessly and said innocently, "This has nothing to do with me, that guy was born that way."

With Urahara's talent and abundant resources, creating a mere Spirit King candidate would be no challenge for him at all. After all, he understands the power of the Spirit King much better than he did in the original story. In the original story, even in the resource-scarce present world, he was able to create two Spirit King candidates by gradually intercepting human souls. Now, in the resource-rich Seireitei, how could he not do it?

He simply discovered the Commander-in-Chief's plan, and then, taking advantage of the situation, used the opportunity to conduct extensive human experiments on the prisoners in the Worm Nest to refine his research, such as etherealization...

Ichiro walked up to a jar and stared at the Hollow soaking inside. On the Hollow's body, one could still detect some residual Shinigami spiritual pressure.

Although Urahara took this opportunity to complete a lot of his own research, he was ultimately outmaneuvered, even though his willingness to take the bait played a part.

But that's how he and Ichiro are sometimes; if you lead them to do something bad, they'll hold it against you, and they'll do it even without your guidance.

Therefore, Urahara did not actually complete the research on the Soul King candidate, but instead created an embryo to annoy them.

Don't you want to maintain your sense of superiority?

Okay, either continue to maintain your aloofness and let all your previous efforts go to waste, or obediently get into the water and let everyone get dirty together!

And what will the captain-in-chief choose?

The answer is self-evident...

"Shall we continue?" Ichiro shifted his gaze from the Shinigami who had turned into a Hollow and looked at the Captain-Commander.

The captain paused for a moment, then sighed heavily, appearing even older. His voice was unusually firm as he said, "Continue the research! Whatever you need, I can provide it, even the spirits of Rukongai!"

Ichiro gave the Captain-Commander a deep look, then turned his gaze to the little boy in the jar and said calmly, "No need for that. Just prepare some death row inmates for me. They can use the Fourth Division's passage. This matter can't be blown out of proportion, or the nobles will cause an uproar."

"I don't understand the research, but is that enough?"

"That's enough. His problem right now is just integration. Besides, it's a kind of atonement. This plan was ultimately started because of us. I hope he can live a more normal life in the future."

"Atonement?" The captain looked at Ichiro with a puzzled expression.

"His current situation is simply that the powers within him cannot be integrated. There are two methods: one, human intervention to directly adjust him and allow the various powers within him to slowly integrate, but the price for this is that he will end up like that person in the Spirit King Palace; two, to revive his consciousness, teach him to master his own powers, and allow him to slowly integrate them on his own so that he can live a good life from now on. Captain, which one do you choose?"

Ichiro calmly looked at the Captain-Commander. In fact, the Soul King candidate was not necessarily necessary. He had already started planning for the Soul King Wedge. The Soul King candidate was just a safety net. So the second option was sufficient, and there was basically no risk.

However, Ichiro didn't say it aloud; he wanted to know what the Captain-Commander was thinking.

"Choose the second one!" the captain said without any hesitation.

“I understand.” Ichiro smiled brightly.

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Chapter 280 I believe in her!

"Choose the second one!"

Hearing the Captain-Commander's words, Ichiro smiled from the bottom of his heart. To be honest, when the Captain-Commander hinted that he could use any means necessary to research the Soul King candidate, he agreed, but he actually had some reservations in his heart.

As a candidate for the Spirit King, he was destined to be nothing more than a substitute, a victim, and a victim whose own will was disregarded, just as the nobles could not accept the Spirit King's power, so they betrayed him, turned him into a human pig, and imprisoned him.

They also could not tolerate the emergence of a new Spirit King, so the fate of the Spirit King candidate was almost predetermined.

Therefore, Ichiro never considered preparing a candidate for Soul King, but instead sought a way to completely solve this problem, because such a thing had seriously violated his principles.

However, as mentioned earlier, if it were Urahara, he would firmly follow his own path and would not compromise on this.

Ichiro is different. He will make certain changes because of his relationship with the Captain-Commander. After all, the Captain-Commander has given him a lot of help. Only sincerity can repay sincerity.

Therefore, Ichiro smiled after receiving the Captain-Commander's reply, knowing that the matter definitely needed to be addressed.

But there are nuances to how to do it.

Undoubtedly, Option Two is the most suitable. Even if Ichiro cannot completely resolve the issue of the Soul King's wedge in the future, given the boy's special characteristics, with just a little guidance, he can also possess great power. At that time, without the Captain-Commander and Ichiro taking action, it is unlikely that anyone can defeat him, and he will not end up like the current Soul King.

"Ichiro, I'm sorry, I made you do the last thing you wanted to do," the Captain-Commander said quietly, gazing at the little boy in the container.

Ichiro, who was looking through experimental data, smiled and said, "What's wrong with that? No one can do what they want forever in this world. Besides, aren't you the same as me?"

Immediately afterwards, Ichiro changed the subject.

"But! If you really feel guilty, then remove me from my position as captain of the Fifth Division..."

"That's impossible! I'll just continue to feel guilty!" Before Ichiro could finish speaking, the Captain-Commander said with unusual determination.

"..." Seeing that the captain-in-chief did not hesitate at all, Ichiro pursed his lips and continued to look at the experimental data, which was expected.

The captain and the captain have put in so much effort to find such a good opportunity, how could they just give it up?

So Ichiro was just saying it casually; his attention was mainly on the experimental data in his hands.

It has to be said that Urahara played this move quite well. These powers seem to be only one step away from being fully integrated, but in reality, this step requires countless bones to build!

Research on the Soul King is never simple. Whether it's the Hogyoku or the creation of a simulated Soul King, the difficulty is extremely high, as is the process of finding a Soul King candidate.

As far as Ichiro knows, there are only two ways to create a Spirit King candidate. One is to piece together a large number of Spirit King fragments and fuse them into a certain creature, so that the Spirit King candidate can automatically fuse and take shape. This is also the method used by Tsuna Yashiro and the monk to reconstruct the Spirit King in the original work.

The second type is like Urahara, who uses Fullbring, or the power of the Soul King, as a guide to unify the power of Shinigami, Hollows, Quincy, and humans.

Forget about the first option. Although Ichiro can directly refine Spirit King fragments using alchemy, the problem is that there aren't enough spirit particles available right now, and whether these replicated Spirit King fragments can form a Spirit King candidate is also a question.

Therefore, Urahara's research can only continue, and continuing the research inevitably means continuing human experiments... and many human experiments at that!

Because Ichiro doesn't know much about this area, and it's different from his area of ​​expertise. Ichiro's expertise is in reconstructing spirit particles. In layman's terms, he usually creates a mold, pours spirit particles into it, and directly casts it into shape.

This kind of piecemeal work falls into his knowledge blind spot... He can do it, but these experimental data alone are not enough. As the saying goes, "What you learn from books is never enough; you must put it into practice to truly understand."

Even if there is data, Ichiro still has to redo the relevant experiments and clarify the entire experimental process. After all, it is a matter of life and death, and he cannot be careless.

"How is it? Is there anything I need to be careful about?"