The Alchemist in Bleach

Stark lazily raised his hand in response to his future teammate. He'd seen this scene far too many times over the years. Ironically, no one had ever disagreed with Aizen's display of power, including this newly appointed Espada beside him.

"Kamui, the 20th Espada, is relatively young, but his strength is extremely powerful. He is a natural Arrancar, and his strength is not much worse than Stark's."

Kamui didn't say anything, he just nodded coldly.

"Barragan Ruizon, the 30th Espada, the former king of Hueco Mundo. I think your Quincy intelligence should also contain some information about him. I won't go into details about his strength."

"!!!"

Longxian stared at Barragan in shock. Of course he knew about the King of Hueco Mundo. Originally, the information within his clan was just a legend, and it was uncertain whether he existed. However, after cooperating with the Shinigami, their information was supplemented, confirming Barragan's existence and clarifying that Barragan was indeed the King of Hueco Mundo, and that he even had several Vasto Lordes under his command, making him extremely powerful!

This is why Ryuken was so shocked. On one hand, he was surprised that such a person was also under Aizen's command and serving him. On the other hand, he was shocked that the legendary King of Hueco Mundo was actually only the 30th Espada...

Just how strong are the first and second place teams?

Thinking about it, Longxian's gaze towards Stark and Kamui became more solemn.

Aizen, taking in Ryugen's expression, smiled with satisfaction. This was exactly the effect he wanted. Of course, it wasn't an exaggeration; Kamui's strength was indeed formidable!

"The 40th Espada, Tia Harribel, is currently the only female Hollow among the Espada."

“The 50th Espada, Ulquiorra Cifer. The five Espada following them are also very powerful, each possessing strength comparable to the 13th Division Captain. However, compared to these five, they are undoubtedly much weaker, and they also have many other commitments, so they couldn't come today. If you join us, I will hold a separate welcoming ceremony for you and reintroduce them to you.”

Aizen wore a faint smile as he quietly looked at Ryugen, awaiting his answer.

Long Xian didn't agree immediately, but remained silent for a moment. Firstly, this was no small matter; a slight misstep could bring annihilation to the Quincy. Secondly, it required him to cooperate with Hollow...

I still can't quite get over it...

His dislike for the Quincy's work doesn't mean he's going to oppose them.

However, he also knew in his heart that Aizen had shown him all this, and now he only had two paths to choose from: one, death, and two, joining them and taking a gamble!

No matter which path they take, they probably won't survive as Quincy!

But what can be done about it?

In the eyes of the strong, there is never a place for the weak.

Taking a deep breath, Long Xian calmed down. He picked up the black tea on the table, took a sip, frowned, and realized it was cold.

With a sigh, Ryuken put down his tea before looking at Aizen and asking with a puzzled expression, "I'm curious, my power, and that of us Quincy, is far inferior to yours. Is it worth it for you to come all this way?"

"Of course it's worth it! You may not be strong enough now, but your future is worth looking forward to! Of the Espada behind me and the others, only Tia and Ulquiorra might not be your match, but how old are you? If I give you enough time and resources, your future is definitely worth looking forward to! So, are you satisfied with this statement?"

"Do you value me? What if it's just me joining you, but not the Quincy behind me?" Longxian asked tentatively.

Of course he knew that such words were meaningless. Once he attacked the Seireitei, if he failed, the Seireitei would not care about these things. He, Ishida Ryūgen, was the successor of the Extinction Master family, and he could not escape that fact. He would still be implicated.

"It doesn't matter!" Aizen was extremely magnanimous, not caring much about Ryugen's betting on both sides. "I know what you're worried about, but even if only you join us, it's enough. In fact, we have someone on our side in a similar situation to you."

"Ok?"

“Kamui, the 20th Espada.” Aizen looked at Kamui, who had white hair and dark skin, behind him and said, “Besides being the 20th Espada, Kamui has another identity: the son of Tenshin Ichiro, the captain of the 5th Division.”

"!!!" Ryuken stared at Kamui in shock, even more shocked than when he first learned of Barragan's identity. How could a Death God have a Hollow son?

"Heh~" Aizen smiled slightly. In Ryugen, he saw his own reflection. He had the same expression when he first learned about this...

A pure-blooded Hollow being the son of a Shinigami—could there be anything more absurd?

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Chapter 297 Prologue: Isshin Disappears!

Five years later, in the laboratory of Ichiro, the Fourth Division of the Seireitei.

"Phew~ Another failure." Ichiro let out a long sigh, casually tossing a crystal-clear gemstone onto the table, declaring the fifty-sixth Philosopher's Stone experiment a failure.

The development of the Philosopher's Stone was more difficult than Ichiro had imagined. It is no wonder that it is the pursuit of countless alchemists in legend. The difficulty is indeed outrageous!

After finding a way to destroy the Hogyoku, his experiments did indeed flourish for a time, with new discoveries almost every day. However, as time went on, Ichiro realized that these discoveries were nothing more than a few insignificant bricks on the path to the Philosopher's Stone.

So far, the only successful experiment in refining the Philosopher's Stone was the one with the Infinity Stones. He was lucky enough to create something that was no less powerful than the Philosopher's Stone. In subsequent experiments, Ichiro was not so lucky.

It's either Deidara's art or a high-purity aggregate of spiritual particles; it's useless except for providing data.

So, from the initial emphasis on using self-suggestion to suppress emotions to the current casualness, Ichiro's attitude towards this experiment has undergone a tremendous change. Casualness is impossible; the experiment still needs to be strictly prohibited, but there's no sense of tension.

At least now, Ichiro won't be as disappointed as before when his experiments fail. His sense of anticipation has long been worn away by the previous experiments.

After the experiment ended, Ichiro sat in a chair and pondered for a while, summarizing the gains and losses of the experiment in his mind, before slowly opening the data collected by Zhi and slowly looking at it.

Although he is still far from the Philosopher's Stone, he believes that as long as he continues to take this step by step, sooner or later he will make it a reality!

If you're lucky, you might even be able to finish it ahead of schedule.

......

The next day, Ichiro walked out of the Fourth Division with his best friend, who was also a minor character, grinning from ear to ear.

He's starting to regret it. Perhaps using the Infinity Stones to help Captain America break through his limits was a mistake...

After years of training, he had already mastered the Sword King mode very well; in other words, he was becoming more and more like a true sword master.

Based on this, Ichiro was already able to fight the captain to a standstill in actual combat training. Although he ultimately lost, at least he didn't suffer as badly as before.

but......

Since the Infinity Stones became officially usable, Ichiro first used them on the Captain so she could continue improving her swordsmanship, and then...

His life ended tragically...

Who is the captain?

That's a master swordsman who maxed out his swordsmanship a thousand years ago!

Others may have reached the tenth level of swordsmanship, but that's because their own strength is only at the tenth level. The captain, however, is only at the tenth level in the Soul Society, and his self-created swordsmanship level is also somewhat empty and unattainable due to practical issues.

But now that Ichiro has used the Infinity Stones to open that door for the Captain, the situation has completely changed...

The captain's swordsmanship improved every single day...

Every time, I manage to reach the current limit ahead of Ichiro's planned timeframe!

There's no way around it; the accumulation over nearly a thousand years is simply too terrifying.

So, Ichiro, who had just managed to exchange a couple of blows with the captain, was once again unilaterally beaten by the captain—no, utterly slashed!

After many years, Ichiro's blood once again filled the training ground!

"Is it really necessary? He was only slashed a few times, so what?"

Ichiro glanced sideways at his friend, who was just a minor character, speechless. How many cuts was that?

"Ha~ I won't argue with a mere woman!"

"Have you forgotten who cut you? Want me to help you remember? I told you, I'm your brain; if there's anything you've forgotten, you can always ask me." (=^^=)

"Ha~ Brain? I don't want a brain like yours that only holds my embarrassing history! Unless you add a formatting function, then I can barely accept it."

"That won't do, I don't want to forget!"

"Heh~ See, just as I guessed. You think you can hide your little schemes from me?" Ichiro glanced at his supporting character best friend, chuckled, and quickened his pace toward the Fifth Division.

I'm going to be late.

'Sigh~ If only you could have guessed it...' Watching Ichiro's retreating figure, the extra's best friend sighed softly, then quickly put away her dejected expression and followed closely behind Ichiro.

A short while later, the two arrived at the Fifth Division right on time.

"Phew~ That was close~" After clocking in right on time, Ichiro breathed a long sigh of relief. What a close call!

"If you had taken even three centimeters more steps, we would have arrived by now," the extra's best friend, who was also "dragged down" by Ichiro and could only clock in at the last minute, muttered to herself.

"Captain Tianxin, Vice Captain Feiyun, you've arrived right on time again..." At this moment, Rukia, with an onion-shaped haircut, walked out of the team, holding a document, and silently looked at Ichiro and the others.

"Tsk~ How many times have I told you to call me acting captain! All this 'captain, captain' stuff all the time, what if I actually become captain?"

"Please don't evade my questions. If you continue like this, I will have to report to Captain Unohana."

"..." Ichiro stared silently at Rukia's cold, stern face, clutching his chest in anguish. "Tsk~ Ouch, what happened to you? Give me back the innocent and carefree Rukia!"

“I learned it from you. Didn’t you tell me this before? You told me to watch carefully and learn well. This is my result.”

"...That's not what I meant...Never mind, I'll do it next time."

"Here we go again." Rukia pouted helplessly.

But she couldn't really do anything about it, because Ichiro and the others weren't late or broke any rules. It's just that Team Thirteen was having its annual performance evaluation again, and they were going to be stricter on team discipline. It would be best to arrive early and leave late, and if they could work overtime, that would be even better.

Unfortunately, thanks to Ichiro's "leading by example," the Fifth Division consistently ranked last in these assessments, having to engage in a fierce battle with the Eighth Division every year to vie for the "first" and "second" positions...

Actually, the Fifth Division's assessment wasn't bad. Although there were no early arrivals or "voluntary" overtime, they were basically all on time to clock in and out. Every step was strictly controlled without any gaps, so they managed to balance work and life perfectly, which was a passing grade.

How...

The other teams got caught up in it...

The Fourth Division, which had already begun to work up its sleeve, was firmly in first place. Normally, this wouldn't be a problem, but after the merit system was introduced, the First Division, as the leader of the Thirteen Divisions, would definitely be vying for first place. Her brother's Sixth Division was a noble division.

The nobles, who were particularly concerned about their reputation, also began to compete for the title of number one!

Then the Eleventh Division saw it and thought, "Wow, they want to compete for first place? Then they're going for it too!"

Then, when they started working overtime, the workload of the Fourth Division increased, then the First Division continued to catch up, then the Sixth Division, then the Eleventh Division, and then the Fourth Division again...

The Eleventh Division's unique "overtime" methods created a special, closed loop in this competition...

The result was that the scores of the four teams skyrocketed, and the other squads thought, "Wow, even if we don't compete for first place, we can't be left so far behind, right?"

So what should have been an above-average passing grade turned into one of the worst or second-worst...

In fact, Rukia understood what Ichiro meant by doing this. Their Fifth Division was a rescue team, and the members needed to be in good condition at all times. High-intensity work was completely unfeasible.

However, they are also death gods, and their physical condition is still quite good. If it's just for dealing with the inspection period, then it basically won't have any impact. In fact, with some special food, their condition can even be improved.

Unfortunately, with Ichiro leading the way, this trend couldn't be changed no matter how much she tried to persuade him...

She was still somewhat discouraged by this.

Her enrollment, including joining the team, was smooth sailing. Only her enrollment was due to her own efforts—no, that wasn't even the case!

If Ichiro and the others hadn't taken them directly to the front of Rukongai and arranged special training for her and Renji, they might not have been able to enter the Shinigami Academy...

Then, after enrolling in school, her true "superhuman" journey began!