The Alchemist in Bleach

.......

Squad 13

"...That's roughly what happened, but remember to keep the same story to everyone: she's missing and hasn't been found." After explaining everything to Haiyan in one breath, Ichiro breathed a sigh of relief and took a sip of tea from the table.

“Even Uncle Yixin was forced to that extent... those guys!” A murderous glint flashed in Haiyan’s eyes.

Even the usually mild-mannered Kaien showed such obvious murderous intent, which shows how much of a blow this incident has been to the Shiba family.

"Don't do anything reckless. You can take revenge on the Shiba family anytime. Right now, you should focus on preparing for the Captain-Commander's interview. They won't be able to attack you again anytime soon, so seize this opportunity to further strengthen your forces and don't let Isshin's sacrifice go to waste."

"Hiss~~ Huff~~~" Taking a deep breath and then slowly exhaling, Haiyan calmed herself down and forced a smile, saying, "I understand, thank you, Ichiro."

"You're welcome~ I'll handle those people, but you'll have to do me a favor too."

"Why... Oh, I see. If you help, then there's no problem. If there's anything I can do to help, just say so. As long as it's within my, no, within the Shiba family, I will never refuse!"

"Relax, it's not that serious. Now that you've become the captain of the 10th Division, the position of vice-captain will be vacant, right? I'd like to recommend someone to you. Given that they are all at the same level, I hope you'll give her a second consideration."

"...Captain Ichiro, I still have to pass the test..."

"Well, you're definitely good enough to pass."

"...Alright, if I really become the captain of the 10th Division, I will recommend her to Captain Ukitake. Is that girl Rukia?"

"Huh? Did I just say that?"

"No... the only one who could make you speak up personally is her..."

"Um, although it is indeed her, I'm still very curious, why are you so sure it's her?" Ichiro looked at Kaien curiously. Rukia's current reputation is only that of the most beautiful Zanpakuto in Soul Society, a mere decorative title.

Although she is strong in combat, she has not experienced much actual combat because of Byakuya, so others are not very clear about Rukia's combat abilities. Even her excellent management skills have been affected by the fact that the Fifth Division has always been at the bottom of the rankings.

"Huh, Captain Ichiro, you don't know?" Haiyan looked at Ichiro in surprise.

"Um, what should I know?" Ichiro frowned, tilted his head slightly, and looked at Kaien with a puzzled expression.

"You really don't know? There are rumors going around that you two are..."

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Chapter 304 Old Master, Let's Start the War!

"You really don't know? Everyone's saying Rukia is your disciple..."

“Disciple…” Ichiro blinked and asked curiously, “Why would you think that? I just taught her some swordsmanship, some Kido, some Hakuda, some Shunpo, and some methods for handling official business.”

“That’s all…” Haiyan sighed, rubbing her forehead, and asked, “Besides you, is there anyone else teaching her?”

"Yes, I occasionally give her some pointers when I have free time, but not much time because she's quite busy. And then there's Byakuya."

"Hmm, Vice Captain Feiyun didn't teach much. Byakuya is her brother-in-law. So why aren't you her master, since you taught the most? Isn't that the same for you and Captain Unohana? Is this a tradition of your sect?" Kaien looked at Ichiro, who was deep in thought, with curiosity.

"Huh? What you said makes sense to me." After a moment of thought, Ichiro looked up, his big eyes filled with confusion as he looked at Kaien, and said, "But, the captain isn't my master."

"Huh?"

"Yes, she said I wasn't worthy to be her disciple and that I insulted her swordsmanship! You be the judge, where is my swordsmanship lacking?"

Looking at the indignant Ichiro, Kaiyan's lips twitched. How could this guy have the nerve to say that?

Anyone with even a basic understanding of swordsmanship would recognize your swordsmanship as true swordsmanship. Not purging you of your own kind is already being lenient!

Haiyan shook her head and stopped talking about it.

“I understand. As long as she is capable enough, I will definitely recommend her.”

"Okay, if there's nothing else, I'll head back now. I still have a lot of things to take care of."

"Okay, I'll see you off."

"No need, you should prepare properly first. Although the chances are slim, it would be fun if you messed up the assessment." Ichiro, who had stood up, stopped Kaien, who was about to see him off, and said with a smile.

"Ha~" Haiyan laughed and shook her head. "Alright, take care then."

"Ah."

After saying that, Ichiro left the 13th Division and went to the 1st Division to report on the matter. Apart from Urahara's situation and Isshin's true condition, Ichiro told them everything else. Only in this way could he attract the attention of the Captain-Commander.

As expected, when Ichiro said that Las Noches had sent two Vastodes (actually three, but one was killed by Minotaur), three Adjuchas, and hundreds of Gillian, the Captain-Commander's expression instantly turned serious.

That's Vastod!

He's stronger than most captains... stronger than most of the previous captains!

Now two have appeared at once, and most importantly, both of these Vastodes are artificially created. This is even more terrifying—replicable Captain-class Vastodes…

Thinking of this, the Captain-Commander frowned. After pondering for a while, he instructed Chojiro behind him, "Go and gather the other captains together to discuss a plan for a full-scale attack on Hueco Mundo!"

"!" Upon hearing this, Chojiro was startled. He immediately bowed and quickly left the office to inform the other captains to launch a full-scale war against Hueco Mundo...

What a crazy plan!

"Ichiro, what do you think of this?" After Chojiro left, the Captain-Commander placed his hands on the table and looked at Ichiro with deep eyes.

"A full-scale war? To be honest, I don't really agree. The timing isn't right yet. The first to be affected is the invisible empire that is still lurking in the shadows! If they make their move when we are fighting the fiercest, we could instantly fall into an abyss of no return!"

"Secondly, we must also consider the issue of spiritual balance. Admittedly, when we Shinigami kill Hollows, we are purifying them, allowing the fallen souls to regain their intelligence and be guided to the Soul Society. However, the Shinigami who are devoured by Hollows are truly dead."

"In the end, those nobles will not agree to such a crazy plan; there is no benefit to it."

“I know all that you’re saying, but we don’t have time. It’s certainly not easy for them to manufacture Vastodes, but it shouldn’t be too difficult either, otherwise they wouldn’t have sent out two at once. If we drag this out any longer, the consequences will be unimaginable.”

Ichiro nodded in agreement; that was indeed the case…

Even if we drag this out, it's not that we can't fight. With the Captain-Commander's current strength, if he were to unleash his full power, it's no exaggeration to say that the combined strength of the entire Hueco Mundo wouldn't be enough for him!

After the Infinity Stones became available, although their effect on spiritual pressure, which requires accumulation, was generally limited, their functionality was a different story. For example, the advanced method of "Rejuvenation of a Withered Tree" allowed for more and more ages to be reverted at once, eventually allowing for a complete reversion to the body's peak period!

Both physical strength and potential!

Of course, the cost has also increased accordingly; the Ghostly Technique of "Rejuvenating a Withered Tree" will not be effective on the Captain for hundreds of years.

But who cares!

Although the extremely long cooldown period dashed the original idea of ​​maintaining peak performance indefinitely, it resulted in the acquisition of an exceptionally powerful combatant, which is well worth it for the Seireitei, which is currently facing numerous challenges.

But this is based on the Captain-Commander going all out, and the Captain-Commander is currently going all out...

I reckon completely destroying Hueco Mundo shouldn't be a problem...

So, things have come full circle. The captain can only be a stabilizing force, akin to a nuclear weapon, with more deterrent significance than practical value.

Of course, this was actually Ichiro's intention. If he had easily killed Aizen, wouldn't that mean Ichiro would have to storm the Soul King Palace alone? And fight the Shinigami, including the Captain-Commander, all by himself?

This is too risky. It would be better to strengthen the position of the chief commander. Anyway, as long as we keep things in check, controlling the chief commander is a piece of cake.

Of course, Ichiro had another option: to reveal his entire plan and persuade the Captain-Commander. But that was nothing short of wishful thinking.

Ichiro felt it was easier to confront the Captain-Commander head-on than to try to outmaneuver him mentally.

The two remained silent for a while, then the captain sighed, got up, and walked towards the conference room.

"Let's go, the two of us won't come to any conclusions."

"Ah."

Ichiro responded and followed the Captain-Commander toward the conference room, pondering countermeasures against Aizen.

Judging by the timeline, Yhwach's awakening should have occurred within the last few decades, and Aizen's war potential should have been largely exploited, so he should launch an attack in the next few years.

I wonder if these two will bump into each other~

.......

After a while, all the captains except for the 10th Division arrived. The Captain-Commander sat at the head of the table, and the others stood in order of their division numbers. As the door closed, the meeting officially began!

(I'll discuss all the team captains in a separate chapter later; there are some changes from the original work.)

"Boom~"

As usual, the meeting began with the Captain-Commander's staff, which was wrapped around his Zanpakuto Ryujin Jakka, colliding with the ground.

"Chojiro should have already covered this topic with everyone, but I'll elaborate a bit more. The captain of the 10th Division, Shiba Isshin, has gone missing and is suspected of being killed in battle. One of the forces that made the move is Las Noches, the ruler of Hueco Mundo. According to Captain Tenshin's intelligence, Captain Shiba deployed two Vastodes, three Adjuchas, and hundreds of Gillian to ambush him!"

"!!!"

Upon hearing this, everyone stared at the Captain-Commander in shock. What a joke! Two Vasto Lordes? The Seireitei's records of Vasto Lordes throughout history numbered less than ten!

Moreover, many of them were killed or sealed. Where did Hueco Mundo get so many fighting forces?

They believed that there must be many Vastodes in Hueco Mundo, at least ten, but even if there were ten, even if they were all gathered in one force, it would be impossible for them to use two Vastodes to ambush a captain.

If you win, great; if you lose, you'll suffer a huge loss!

Putting themselves in their shoes, Team 13 would never trade two captains for one Vastod, because it's not worth it.

So what if you succeed in changing it?

If any losses are incurred, your combat strength will be greatly reduced, and your power may collapse at any time. Take the Thirteenth Team for example. In the past few years, if it weren't for the Captain-General as the pillar of stability, they would have become tools of the nobles long ago. How could they have achieved their current glory?

Unless you are 100% certain that you can absolutely kill the other party!

But at their level, in situations where it's not a direct battle and there's nowhere to retreat, it's not easy for anyone to die, and it's difficult to turn the tables—that's a fact, after all, it's one against two. But if you want to run, you'll most likely be able to escape.

not to mention!

The fact that the other side could ambush the 10th Division Captain, who had no missions in the human world, so precisely is absolutely impossible without the intervention of the Seireitei!

In other words, the opponent sent out this lineup knowing Shiba Isshin's strength. Besides being confident in their own combat power, it also shows that the opponent, Vasto Lorde, has a lot of combat power reserves!

"As you all think, the enemy's Vastod forces should be quite abundant, because they are artificially created Hollows. You heard me right, artificially created Vastods. As for the specifics, Captain Tenshin will show you the intelligence he has gathered." Seeing the incredulous expressions on everyone's faces, the Captain-Commander explained calmly, then turned his gaze to Ichiro.

"Ahem~" Under everyone's gaze, Ichiro coughed lightly and slowly walked to the center to look at everyone. However, he did not directly tell them the information he had found. "I won't go into details. No amount of empty talk can compare to you seeing that battle with your own eyes. As usual, watch first, and I will answer any questions you may have later."

As he spoke, Ichiro clapped his hands together with a "snap," then slowly opened them, with strands of golden spiritual energy connecting his palms. Then, he suddenly closed them, and a mysterious power suddenly emerged, causing three light screens to open in the center of the conference room.

The light screen displayed the battle that took place three days ago!

.......

"How is it? Any questions?" Ichiro asked calmly, his hands in his pockets.

Everyone looked at each other, but no one spoke. It wasn't that they had no questions, but rather that they had too many questions and didn't know where to begin. In the end, it was Kiryu Hikifune, the captain of the 12th Division, who raised his hand first and asked.

"Was that a time-based ghost technique you just used? Did you develop it?"