The Alchemist in Bleach

After all, although the Grim Reaper has a long lifespan, it still has its limits. Moreover, the stronger one is, the longer one's lifespan is. Someone with average strength like him, even if he doesn't die in battle, won't live for very long.

But he did not; he survived numerous battles, large and small, since the establishment of the Thirteenth Squad.

There was no pretense regarding his strength; he was indeed just an average person. The document specifically noted that the captain had personally tested him, and the result was truly mediocre.

He's just very good at hiding and has a bit of luck.

Ichiro quickly skimmed through the thick stack of his biography, frowned, and slumped back in his chair.

I have absolutely no clue.

After reading the whole thing, Ichiro could only think of two words—outrageous!

That's absolutely outrageous!

His luck was frightening. For example, in a battle against the Hollows Gillian, a Cero grazed past him, turning his teammates behind him to ashes, while he was merely blown away by the shockwave.

Do you think this is over?

Do not!

But the most outrageous things are yet to come!

Several other Grim Reapers were also thrown out. One of them was killed by the shockwave, another died after hitting his head on rubble while tumbling, and most of the rest were injured. Only he was unharmed!

While others were either killed or injured in the explosion, this guy only got covered in dust!

Such outrageous things happened countless times in his life!

He had just gotten injured, and a teammate was on the verge of death due to a shortage of medical supplies when he arrived, just in time for the medical supplies to be delivered.

Life is like it's been given a cheat code!

Overall, aside from the outrageous luck, there seems to be nothing special, except for this...

Ichiro tapped his index finger on the document, which stated that because he had lived for so long, almost all of his relatives and friends had died, and he had experienced life and death again and again, so he no longer wanted to experience it.

So he volunteered to go to the mortal world to stay for a long time, and it has been more than 400 years since then!

Four hundred years, almost all of which have been spent in the present world, which is very suspicious.

Or rather, what Ichiro suspected was not the matter itself, but the person himself!

What does four hundred years mean?

Most Chinese dynasties did not last for four hundred years. Only the Xia, Shang, Zhou, and Han dynasties lasted longer than four hundred years. With such a long period of time spent abroad, it would be difficult to guarantee his loyalty to the Soul Society.

After all, he had almost no connection with Soul Society!

Therefore, Ichiro strongly suspects that this Shinigami is likely an alternate identity of Aizen. Perhaps he wasn't the original one, but after he went to the human world, he might have become one!

Because the captain's test for him was before he was stationed in the mortal world for an extended period.

But this is just a guess, a guess without any evidence. If it's an alternate account, then what's the point? And what's the purpose of taking it back now?

With his level of strength, the only thing that's good is his luck. What makes him worth replacing?

There are too many suspicious points here.

Furthermore, the biggest question is the Seireitei's reaction speed!

From discovery to punishment, this series of information transmissions was as fast as if it were on steroids, reaching the Central 46 Chamber at lightning speed, and then Ichiro was quickly convicted!

This scene reminded Ichiro of the swift verdict handed down against Rukia by the Central 46 in the original story.

However, in the original story, Aizen killed all the members of the Central 46 under the order of Kyoka Suigetsu.

Ichiro didn't believe that Aizen would dare to take action against the Central 46 in his current state.

"Crack~"

After thinking for a long time without any clue, Ichiro slammed the file on the table.

"What's wrong?" The extra's best friend, who had just returned, frowned slightly and asked with concern.

"It's nothing, I'm just a little frustrated because I can't find any clues. Did you get the medical report back?" Ichiro said, rubbing his hair.

“Here it is.” The extra’s best friend handed the medical report to Ichiro and then explained, “According to the records from the Fourth Division, he comes back to participate in almost every medical examination, so his medical reports are all recent.”

"Oh, I forgot to mention earlier, do you have his medical report from four hundred years ago?" Ichiro asked casually as he flipped through the pages.

"Four hundred years ago? Uh, no, that's too long ago. Maybe a few years ago."

"Really? Then you can make another trip tomorrow and bring all of them... never mind, I'll just pick them up myself tomorrow."

"Ichiro, do you suspect he was switched at birth?"

"Well, after all, there aren't any Shinigami in Seireitei who are particularly familiar with him, are there?"

“Well…that’s true. If it really was switched, you really wouldn’t be able to find out without checking the medical records. But what’s the point?” The extra’s best friend pondered for a moment and asked the most untenable part of this conjecture.

Ichiro shrugged, indicating that he didn't know either.

Not long after, Ichiro threw Koichi Sanaya's medical examination report on the table, still finding nothing. His physique was nothing special, and even excluding the factor of spiritual pressure, he was not suitable for Hollowfication.

Furthermore, due to his advanced age, spiritual pressure medicine would be ineffective against him, and would only hasten his death, unless he were to use the Heaven-Seizing Technique to reshape his life form.

However, even Ichiro would need a long time to prepare for the Heaven-Slaying Technique on a Shinigami who is very old and has weak spiritual pressure. It's not that he looks down on Aizen.

But Ichiro doesn't believe that anyone in the Soul Society besides him can use the Heaven-Stealing Technique like that!

There are very few who can even use the Heaven-Slaying Technique.

The simple part of the Return Path is the foundational part. Compared to the Binding Path and the Breaking Path, the difficulty of the Return Path increases as you progress.

But this caused the trail to go cold again.

Leaning back in his chair, Ichiro saw the hesitant expression on his friend's face and sighed, saying, "Do you have any ideas? Just say it. Anyway, it's all guessing right now. Maybe you'll guess right."

The extra's best friend hesitated for a moment and then said, "Then I'll talk about Ichiro."

Ichiro nodded.

"Do you think it's possible that this whole incident was just a setup to punish you?"

"Fifty years in prison? But that's practically a formality. If I want to get out, who can find me? And even if they do, who can stop me?"

"But, Ichiro, do you know how?"

"Just kidding, of course I..." Ichiro narrowed his eyes, seemingly lost in thought, "Of course I wouldn't..."

"Yes, Ichiro, your personality is, as you would say, rather Buddhist. So, faced with this punishment, you might do nothing, or even argue with your superiors when they need your support. And that might be exactly what they need."

"So, you mean that this whole incident, including the appearance of the Hollow in the human world, was just to lure me out, and then you anticipated that I would go to Urahara instead of immediately returning to Soul Society, so you took advantage of this gap to attack Koichi Mahaya, and then manipulated things to make the punishment come very quickly, confining me in Soul Society, thus buying yourself time and space?"

"Um... I haven't thought about it in that much detail, but that's roughly the idea. I feel that's the most likely thing."

"All this trouble for? To be honest, I don't really believe it. I don't even trust my own character. Thinking about it more deeply, what if the other party is doing all this just to mislead you into thinking this way, and then cover up their true purpose?"

"Um... I didn't think that much about it, but if we do it this way, wouldn't we be able to keep trapping you indefinitely? What if the other person just wants you to think that they're trying to get you to think that way?"

"..." Ichiro looked at his supporting actress best friend speechlessly, "Isn't that a bit convoluted?"

"It's a loop... but if you really think like that, you can indeed keep going indefinitely."

"Therefore, the most important task now is intelligence gathering!"

"intelligence?"

"Yes, intelligence, the so-called chain of tactics and strategies, is essentially a gap in the amount of information. If I have more information, I can trap you, layer upon layer. Conversely, I may be trapped by you layer upon layer. Therefore, the most urgent task for the Party now is to find enough intelligence."

"This...is it difficult?"

"Yes, so tomorrow you'll coordinate with the Eighth and Thirteenth Divisions to form an investigation team and find more information."

"clear."

"Alright, you can go back first. I'll think about it by myself some more."

"Um, don't you need my help?"

"No need, go back and rest. The captain has training tomorrow morning."

"Okay, then you should get some rest too."

"Um, oh right." Nodding, just as her friend, who was playing a minor role, turned to leave, Ichiro called out to her, "Wait, this is for you."

As he spoke, Ichiro handed a bottle of pills to his friend, who was also a background character.

"What is this?" the extra's best friend asked curiously, looking at the shiny pills inside.

"The new spiritual pressure medicine is much more effective than what you're currently taking. Your current one should be ineffective by now, right?"

"Hmm, it has some effect, but it's negligible. Well then, I'll wait!" Just as the extra's best friend was about to accept it, her expression suddenly changed. Holding the spiritual pressure, she asked Ichiro in surprise, "You mean, this has a big effect on me? On me right now?"

It's important to know that her current spiritual pressure level is quite high, already comparable to the average spiritual pressure level of everyone except the lieutenant of the First Division!

At this level, can you really improve by taking drugs?

"Otherwise, why would I give it to you?" Ichiro smiled and asked in return.

"No way! I can't accept it! It's too precious!" The extra's best friend firmly placed the pills on the table. In this regard, she still had some principles. She could accept ordinary gifts, but this was really too precious.

"It's no use giving it to me if you don't want it. This is custom-made for your situation and only works on you. It's useless for me to take it back. If you don't believe me, you can ask Suzuran to check. She knows about these things." Ichiro said rather shamelessly. "Besides, your strength is also beneficial to me. Take it and work hard to become stronger. That way, I'll have face too. Otherwise, I might fire you!"

"..." The extra's best friend looked at Ichiro helplessly. After a long while, she sighed and took the pills back from the table. "Alright, but I can't just take them for free. I'll treat you to a meal later. Hmm, I'll treat you to a few more meals!"

"Eating again? You're not trying to pick me up, are you?" Ichiro leaned back slightly and said in a joking tone.

"Tch~" The extra's best friend scoffed, took out a mirror, handed it to Ichiro, smiled, and turned to leave, leaving Ichiro somewhat bewildered.

"Am I... being looked down upon because of my looks?"

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

Chapter 289: Beginning the Forging of the Philosopher's Stone!

"Captain, isn't this inappropriate? There are so many people!"

"Stop talking nonsense and pull it out."

In the training ground of the Fourth Division, Ichiro and the captain stood face to face. The captain still had his usual gentle smile on his face, while Ichiro had put on a bitter face. Suzuran, Isane and Mob's best friend on the side were full of anticipation and looked very excited.

This happens about once a week...

"Draw your sword! Or do you intend to fight me bare-handed?"