The Alchemist in Bleach

"I'm just worried about something going wrong."

Upon hearing this, Ichiro glanced at the old man beside him. Who would have thought that this kind-faced old man was actually the Sword Demon who was feared a thousand years ago?

"what happened?"

"It's nothing, it's just that I feel you've changed, Captain. You're much kinder than before."

"Is that so? I think my blade is even sharper now!"

"Perhaps it's because there are more things to protect now?"

The captain paused for a moment, then smiled, his gentle gaze fixed on the boy wielding his sword in the training ground: "Perhaps."

"Therefore, Captain, no matter who it is, we can no longer be careless. Senhao is not in a position to withstand any more trouble right now."

"It's not your place to lecture me, kid. Once you've finished recording, get lost! Don't bring your bad habits to Senhao!"

"Tsk~ Used and then discarded, what a jerk! Tsk!"

"Um?!"

"call out!"

The captain glared at him, and without him saying a word, Ichiro used Shunpo to instantly escape!

"Hmph! You brat!" The captain snorted coldly at the spot where Ichiro had disappeared, then turned stern and walked toward Mori Hiro to correct his sword-wielding movements.

......

On the other side, after leaving the First Division, Ichiro strolled down the street toward the Fifth Division.

After six months of development, the effects of the turmoil have long since faded, and the Seireitei has gradually returned to its former tranquility. All things have become undercurrents, and secrets flow beneath the surface of the Seireitei.

The past six months have been the most relaxed six months for Ichiro. Although he has the added task of dealing with the Fifth Division, he has successfully gotten rid of the troublesome positions of Alchemy Department Head and Riding Team Captain.

Only the director of the Kido Research Bureau, who had nothing to do, the third seat of the Fourth Division whose affairs were taken over by the world, and the captain of the Fifth Division were left behind.

Strangely enough, after taking on the task of the Fifth Division, Ichiro spent less time on research, but his progress was faster, and he didn't seem as tired as before.

Well, of course, the fast progress is just Ichiro's illusion.

Actually, it's much slower than before. After all, many research projects have been cut, and the main focus is now on the Philosopher's Stone. With the assistance of the Hogyoku, there's progress almost every day.

Unfortunately, the current progress still relies on the power of the Hogyoku, which is clearly not what Ichiro wants.

Ichiro thought it was a brilliant idea to use the power of the Hogyoku to repair the spiritual structure of the Philosopher's Stone, since it was his idea.

Ichiro was not satisfied with just using it; he wanted to know not only what it was, but also why it was!

The key to Ichiro's Philosopher's Stone plan is to study the reasons why the Hogyoku can complete the structure of the spirit particles and the way its power operates. Otherwise, if he puts his hopes on the Hogyoku, what if it can no longer complete its structure at some point in the future? Wouldn't that be a disaster?

Only what you have in your own hands is truly secure!

Unfortunately, there has been no progress so far. The power of the Hogyoku is like a black box, completely blocking Ichiro's view.

Fortunately, the Fifth Division's situation allows Ichiro to clear his head; otherwise, he'd be even more frustrated by this utterly bewildered feeling...

"Woo~"

As Ichiro leisurely stepped into the Fifth Division, the sudden sounding of the alarm made him frown. This was...

Level 1 distress signal!

"team leader!"

"Another Hollow has appeared in the present world?"

"Yeah, this is the third wave today," the extra's best friend said, frowning.

The invasion of the mortal realm by the Hollows is a very rare occurrence in this era. After all, one of the reasons why the Soul King divided the world into three realms was to protect humanity and prevent them from being devoured by the Hollows without restraint.

The spirit particle balance mechanism was most likely set up by the Spirit King specifically to further protect humanity, because only in this way would the Grim Reaper protect humanity and prevent the spirit particles from becoming unbalanced.

Therefore, in this day and age, only low-level Hollows and such minions frequently appear in the mortal world, and even then, only in places with strong spiritual energy. They look down on ordinary places, let alone stronger Hollows.

So, someone must be up to something here!

"**, take a small team and come with me to the real world to see what's going on." Ichiro made a decisive decision, deciding to personally go to the real world to see what the reason was.

"Understood!" The extra's best friend nodded, then looked at the two teams following her, "Feng, you guys are more mobile, come with us. The rest of you, disperse!"

"Yes, Vice Captain Feiyun!"

While his friend, who was playing a minor role, was arranging manpower, Ichiro wasn't idle either. He pressed the pattern on his left wrist with his right hand and connected with Soi Fon.

"Hello?" Soi Fon's delighted voice came through the phone after the call connected.

"it's me."

"Tch~ Ichiro... what do you want?"

"..." I'm so sorry it wasn't Yoruichi!

Ichiro rolled his eyes at Soi Fon's disdainful attitude. If the situation weren't so urgent, he would have had a good chat with this girl!

"I'm going to the mortal world. During my absence, activate the Soul Society's 'Heavenly Eye' in the Seireitei to closely monitor all of the Seireitei's movements!"

"Activate the Heavenly Eye? Is it really necessary?" Soi Fon frowned.

The Heavenly Eye is a surveillance system that Ichiro built himself when he was in the Riten Corps. It monitors the entire Soul Society 24/7 without discrimination!

Yes, the entire Soul Society!

It's not just Seireitei!

This was also the reason why those old men were so vehemently opposed at the time. But as the saying goes, Seireitei is an aristocratic society. So, even though the Central 46 Chambers strongly opposed it, the Shihouin family still overruled their objections and allowed Ichiro to build this system.

Just kidding. It's true that the Secret Service is directly under the Central 46, but first and foremost, it belongs to the Shihōin unit, and then, incidentally, it takes orders from the Central 46. How could they possibly give up something that can greatly enhance their own influence?

Other nobles were also well aware of the terrifying nature of this thing, but they were powerless to stop it. The technology for it had already been developed, and unless they destroyed the Shihōin family and Tenshin Ichirō, even if they stopped it openly, it would still be secretly developed in secret.

So, following the Shihōin family's wishes, they exchanged some benefits to set up this system. Normally, it was kept closed, and it was only turned on when needed. At the same time, the Central 46 Chambers were also informed when it was turned on.

That's how it was established.

It's fair to say that this took a lot of effort.

The Sky Eye system, which was built through numerous compromises, is still shut down, which shows how important it is, and it's no wonder that Soi Fon hesitated.

"I'll start this. I'll confront those old men afterward. Things aren't peaceful in this world lately; I suspect someone's trying to lure us away."

"I understand. I'll make the preparations. You should also get ready; those old men are not easy to deal with."

"Don't worry, I have experience."

After saying that, Ichiro hung up the phone.

"You suspect someone is deliberately trying to lure you out?" Ichiro's friend, who had just finished assigning tasks, frowned and walked over after hearing Ichiro's words.

"I'm not sure, but it's best to make some preparations just in case." With that, Ichiro glanced at the neatly lined-up squad, nodded, and took the lead in walking towards the portal. "By the way, if you have any private things at home, you should have someone put them away."

"Huh?!" The extra's best friend exclaimed in surprise, "How could they find this out?"

"can."

"But, isn't there not enough time?" The extra's best friend glanced at the time. The application to open the interdimensional gate had already been submitted. Calculating the time, they should have been able to successfully locate the portal by the time they arrived. Now there wasn't enough time. After thinking for a moment, the extra's best friend tentatively asked, "Do you know how to use it?"

"Me? What am I supposed to look at? I'm not on the Riding team anymore, I'm not watching."

"That's all."

"Um, if nothing's wrong... um?" Ichiro belatedly turned to his friend, who was only playing a minor role, half-asleep. "Why is everything alright when I don't look? You..."

Upon hearing this, the extra's best friend realized she had let something slip and instinctively turned her head away guiltily.

"...Could it be that you're hiding some of my embarrassing past?!"

"Huh???" The extra's best friend looked at Ichiro in confusion.

"Stop pretending to be innocent! I've seen through you! Of all the things you could learn, you had to imitate that bastard Urahara!" Ichiro pretended to be heartbroken, clutching his chest.

When the extra's best friend realized what was happening, although she felt a little disappointed, she was mostly relieved. There is no such thing as pure friendship between men and women, or rather, once one party has developed feelings for the other, pure friendship is no longer possible. Therefore, the extra's best friend's strategy now is to strengthen her friendship with Ichiro as much as possible, and then, when the time is right, to transform him into someone else!

Turning the tide!

Therefore, it's best to maintain the status quo as much as possible for now.

At the same time, the tension that had been building up between Ichiro and Soi Fon, which had been building up because of their conversation, eased somewhat.

After walking a few steps, Ichiro and his group arrived at the gate. After all, the Fifth Division was a rescue team, and the rescue speed had to be fast. Unfortunately, when Ichiro and his group arrived, the gate was still not open.

"Is it not ready yet?"

"Sorry, it will take a little more time, but it will be ready soon." The Grim Reaper in charge of verifying the documents replied as he took the documents from Ichiro.

"Is it always this slow?" Ichiro asked, frowning as he turned around.

The extra's best friend also looked at Feng. She wasn't quite sure about this either, since there were very few emergencies that required the vice captain to personally go to the rescue.

"This time the speed is considered fast. It's almost open. After all, it hasn't been long since we submitted the application. Our Fifth Division's applications are always processed with priority. If it were other divisions, it would be even slower," Kamiya Kaze explained.

"Is this already considered fast?" Ichiro frowned and muttered to himself, then turned to his best friend, who was playing a minor role, and said, "**, after we come back this time, calculate how many interdimensional gates we need to operate on our own under normal and special circumstances, then write an application and submit it. It's better for us to control these things ourselves."

"That's not difficult, but the trouble is in the maintenance. The Grim Reapers who know how to maintain the interdimensional gates have basically all been recruited by the great nobles. There are not many people in the Thirteenth Squad who know this. I already asked the Technology Development Bureau, and none of them know either."

"It's alright, just apply. It's just a few doors. I'll build a few more as spares, and replace them if they break."

"Uh... I forgot about that... Then it should be fine."

As they were talking, the portal opened, and Ichiro and the others quickly adjusted their stance and rushed inside!

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Chapter 282 Death and Quincy

In the present world, above a city that has begun to show signs of modern urban life, a Grim Reaper and a man in a white suit holding a longbow stand in the sky, solemnly looking at the imposing Hollow not far away—Kirion!

"Damn it! Are all the Shinigami's support efforts this slow?" With that, the Quincy in the white suit drew back his bowstring, and a white spiritual arrow appeared, but he didn't shoot it; instead, he just kept it in place.

"How should I know! I've been a policeman for decades, and this is the first time I've ever asked for help!" Higurashi Kazuto said, his face looking rather grim.

He doesn't care about Sister Li. This isn't some spiritually important place. There are very few low-level Void Realm creatures here. If there are one or two a year, that's considered a high frequency.

As a result, I've had two or three heads almost every week for the past month, and today I even had a huge, unprecedented head of weakness!

Hey!