The Alchemist in Bleach

A mix of emotions churned within Rukia. She was still just a young girl; making a decision was incredibly difficult...

Ichiro and the others understood this as well, so they both watched Rukia quietly, waiting for her decision. Although it was difficult, ultimately, she had to overcome this on her own.

Renji and the others standing beside Rukia also looked at her with concern, not saying anything to interfere with her choice. After all, this opportunity was really too important for them, these homeless children, and they didn't want Rukia to miss this opportunity because of their own situation.

Time passed second by second. Rukia pursed her lips and finally made a preliminary decision. She breathed a sigh of relief, but just as she was about to speak, she was interrupted by a voice coming from Ichiro. She looked at Ichiro with a puzzled expression.

"Beep beep~ Beep beep beep~"

"What is this?" Byakuya asked, looking at the wrist from which Ichiro's voice came from.

"News about those old men in Room 46... Shh~ Don't speak yet!" Ichiro put his index finger to his lips, making a shushing gesture, and then answered the call. "What's up?"

"Where are you now?" An aged voice came through the phone after the call connected.

Byakuya raised an eyebrow, and Ichiro also glanced at Byakuya. That voice belonged to the sage of the Kuchiki family!

"Rukousai, what's up?"

What are you doing in Rukongai?

"It seems I don't need to report to you what I do, right? If you have any opinions about my work, please give suggestions to the chief commander."

"Hmph~ Don't be so arrogant! Don't think I don't know what you're up to! You'd better think this through, this matter concerns the honor of the Kuchiki family and the nobility! You know that kid, it's not hard to understand what he'll do if he finds out, and then I'm afraid you'll be in a very awkward position!"

"Heh~ Threatening me? Are you sure you dare embarrass me?" Ichiro sneered, his eyes gradually turning sharp. "You'd better get your facts straight. Right now, I'm the stronger one! I obey your orders only because I hate trouble, and also because of Captain Unohana. But if you really treat me like a dog, believe me, I'll bite you to death. Want to bet? Woof~"

"Hmph! Don't give me that! How many times do you intend to use the same trick? If you wanted to turn on me, would you have waited until now? In short, don't get involved in this matter, and everyone will be able to handle it later."

"That's your business. I'm just fulfilling my promise to you." Ichiro wasn't embarrassed after being exposed. His cold expression vanished instantly, replaced by a nonchalant smile.

"What do you mean?"

"Do you remember the promise I made to you before? The promise that would seize the heavens."

"Of course I remember, it was made by our Kuchiki family... Wait, you're fulfilling this promise?! Byakuya gave the Heavenly Stealing to Hisana?!" The Kuchiki family sage asked incredulously.

"No, that's not true. It would be extremely difficult for Duotian to extend the life of a dying person. I can only do it once. I won't do such a losing deal. Byakuya gave me the opportunity to treat the patient instead of Duotian."

"Phew~ That's good~" Hearing that the Heaven-Slaying Technique hadn't been used on Hishima, the sage of the Kuchiki family breathed a sigh of relief. As long as it wasn't used on her, that was fine. But then, the sage of the Kuchiki family discovered the problem...

"Wait, what did you say?"

"To put it simply, Duotian is gone. In return, I need to heal Feizhen's body. Right now, this is part of the treatment. You can discuss other matters privately; it has little to do with me. Now, let's talk about the important thing you contacted me about."

"Byakuya! I know, I'll handle it. The reason I'm notifying you is to inform you that, after a collective discussion within the Central 46, it has been decided to place you under a 50-year confinement! You are not allowed to leave the Soul Society for the next 50 years!"

"???" Ichiro asked, bewildered. "What the hell?! What's going on? Why am I being imprisoned? And for fifty years? Didn't you guys scold me this morning about what happened yesterday?"

"Do you really think that a few scoldings will solve everything? Do you know how many motions to execute you we've rejected since yesterday until this morning because of that decision?"

Ichiro was stunned for a moment, then realized that it was true. Such a big thing, just scolding him seemed too lenient. After all, he had offended almost, no, he had offended all the nobles and forces of the Seireitei!

We're all seasoned veterans, everyone has their own shady dealings, right?

Anyone else would have been dead eight hundred times over. Ichiro is still alive purely because of his own strength. Execution? Ichiro would probably be the one executing the Central 46!

If the 46th Chamber is gone, you can choose another one, but if Ichiro is gone, then it's really gone, and the loss to the Seireitei would be too great.

"Fine, you're right. But why is it imprisonment?" This is what Ichiro still doesn't understand. This execution seems to have nothing to do with what he did.

"Do you remember you went to the real world yesterday?"

"Well, what happened?"

"So you and Vice Captain Feiyun came back alone, not with the team, right?"

"Yes, we went to other places to gather intelligence at the time."

"A Grim Reaper has gone missing in the direction you're heading! We just received the report!"

"!" Ichiro's pupils contracted slightly. What was going on? "You suspect I did it?"

"Although you have no motive, you are suspected. With the instigation of certain individuals, we are worried that you will eventually turn against us. Therefore, after discussion, we have decided to sentence you to fifty years of imprisonment, during which you will not be allowed to leave the Soul Society. Captain-Commander Yamamoto and Captain Unohana have also agreed to this."

"Really? I understand. By the way, may I ask, how strong is the missing Grim Reaper?"

"generally."

"Understood, I will stay in Soul Society. But what if, fifty years from now, when I'm finally released from confinement, I've disappeared again as a Shinigami? Will I be imprisoned again?"

"No, by then we will have solved the problem."

With a sneer, Ichiro hung up the call.

He knew that the sage of the Kuchiki family had another reason for not telling him: his trip to the human world to see Urahara had most likely been leaked.

Although Urahara and Yoruichi were labeled as defectors, everyone knew that it was just a title. The Shihouin family was still around. If you arrest their former head, do you want to die?

However, the Seireitei couldn't just let those captains and vice-captains wander aimlessly in the human world, so there were some people keeping watch over them in the vicinity of their residences.

All of these factors combined are the reasons why Ichiro was sentenced to fifty years in prison.

However, Ichiro didn't care about that. Anyway, he had no reason to leave Soul Society, and it couldn't hold him back. He could leave whenever he wanted.

What Ichiro truly cared about was the missing Grim Reaper...

Was it Aizen's doing, or the Wandenreich, or some other force?

"Thinking about that missing Grim Reaper?" Byakuya knew Ichiro quite well, so he immediately knew what Ichiro was thinking.

"Hmm, no rush. We don't have much information yet. Let's deal with Rukia first." Ichiro said, looking at Rukia.

"Hiss~ Huff~" Taking a deep breath to regain her composure, Rukia looked at Byakuya and said, "I don't need your care or compensation, I understand. However, I want to see my sister. We don't need to go to Seireitei, just stay in Rukongai!"

"Don't worry. You and that red-haired guy, Renji, right? You both have spiritual power, so you can go to the Shinigami Academy to train as Shinigami. That way, you can see Hishin anytime. Ichiro will also settle the others in Rukongai No. 1. You don't need to worry."

"???" Ichiro looked completely bewildered. "Why do I have to do this? I'm just a doctor!"

"Isn't this part of the treatment?"

"..." Ichiro looked at Byakuya speechlessly, but didn't say anything. It was indeed inconvenient for Byakuya to make arrangements. He had a lot of troubles right now, and getting involved with him would probably lead to a terrible death. If it was Ichiro who made the arrangements, some people would have to think more about the consequences before taking action.

"We'd like to stay in Rukongai for a while now. I'm not ready yet, is that alright?"

Byakuya's expression turned somber, showing a hint of disappointment. However, he knew that it was unrealistic to expect Rukia to accept him so quickly. Finding Rukia was already a huge achievement, and from now on, they could only take it slowly and not hope for more.

"of course can!"

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Chapter 287 Chicken Soup from a Legend

"Of course!" Although he was a little disappointed that Rukia wouldn't go back to the Kuchiki family with him, he figured that since they had found her, everything would be fine from now on, so he agreed immediately.

"Very good, is there anything else you need to pack?"

"Us? Can we go too?" Renji looked at Ichiro in surprise. "Won't we cause trouble?"

"It's nothing. I'm just taking a few people to Rukongai No. 1. You're not much of a problem."

Renji and his friends: "..."

Although this sounds very wrong, it seems to be the truth. These homeless children who do petty theft every day would die without anyone caring, so how could they be considered troublesome?

Not to mention, the person in front of you is a genuine Rukongai hero!

"We have nothing to pack, so we can leave now."

"Alright, let's go up then." Ichiro pointed at the demonic dragon and said casually.

"..." Rukia stared blankly at the ferocious dragon, somewhat bewildered. "Go, that one?"

"This guy is pretty fast, otherwise do you think you could have walked over there?"

"Uh, shouldn't it be like this normally?" Renji, looking at the ferocious dragon, swallowed hard and asked with some fear.

Ichiro rolled his eyes: "Dream on! Do you think our two captains are free to stroll around with you guys? Don't worry, this guy is very docile, right?"

As he spoke, Ichiro nodded toward the demon dragon.

"Awoo~" The dragon nodded its head in agreement.

Unfortunately, its enormous size combined with its ferocious face makes it less cute and more terrifying...

Therefore, Rukia and the others became even more frightened and involuntarily took a step back.

Seeing this, Ichiro looked at the dragon with a puzzled expression. It was quite cute. Was there something wrong with his taste? Should he change it?

Dragon: "???"

The dragon looked at Ichiro with a puzzled expression. It felt that Ichiro's eyes were a little strange today.

"Won't it really eat us?" One of Rukia's companions hid behind Renji, looking timidly at the dragon with a somewhat evasive gaze.

"Don't worry, this guy's a vegetarian, right, Demon Dragon?"

"???" The demonic dragon looked at Ichiro in confusion. A vegetarian? It, the demonic dragon, is a carnivore!!!

"Awoo~" the dragon roared and nodded.

"Don't worry, this form of the dragon has no offensive power..." Byakuya looked at the dragon's enormous size, paused for a moment, and then changed his words, "It doesn't have much combat power, let's go."

With that, he instantly flashed onto the dragon's back, demonstrating for Rukia and the others. However, he forgot one thing...

"What are you doing?" Ichiro asked, looking at Byakuya who had moved onto the back of the dragon with a puzzled expression.

"Let's set an example for them so they can feel at ease."

"Then hurry up and come down after you've finished the demonstration. You don't expect me to carry them all up by myself, do you?"

"..." Byakuya paused for a moment, then said, "Isn't there any other way to get them up here?"

He had just finished showing off and now he had to go down in such a sorry state. How embarrassing! Especially in front of Rukia. This first impression was absolutely terrible.

Ichiro rolled his eyes and said irritably, "You wish! It's true that the Demon Dragon form was developed as a mount, but it's also the mount of the Grim Reaper, which is my mount. Do you think I would design something so utterly uncool? Get down here and bring your men."

With that, Ichiro walked up behind Rukia's three friends, put his arm around them, and amidst their horrified screams, he led them towards the dragon.

Seeing this, Byakuya sighed, shifted his feet, moved behind Renji and Rukia, grabbed Renji by the back of his collar, and shoved him away violently.

"Ichiro, catch him!"

"Ahhhhh!!!!"

"Stop yelling, it's all over now." Ichiro said irritably, looking at Renji, who was being held in one hand and flailing his limbs in mid-air.