The Alchemist in Bleach

Under Inoue's questioning gaze, Rukia smiled again, but this time she didn't continue teasing Ichigo. Instead, she sat down to eat.

Inoue tilted his head in confusion, gave up thinking, and sat down to eat as well.

……

On the rooftop of a building not far away, Yhwach, clad in a black cloak, sensed Ichigo's presence and smiled with satisfaction.

"Rest well, and later you'll have to show off your training results~ Hasward, it's me."

"Your Majesty, what are your orders?"

"The Seireitei's monitoring of Karakura Town will be blocked for... three days."

“Three days?” Haschward frowned and said, “If it’s only three days, the Seireitei will definitely notice something is wrong.”

"It's alright. What we need is for them to realize something's wrong. They've been preparing for this for so long; it's time to make their move."

Hasward's eyes narrowed: "Yes, Your Majesty!"

……

Time passed slowly, and around three o'clock, an invisible barrier quietly enveloped the entire Karakura Town! From beginning to end, no one in Karakura Town noticed anything amiss, including Ichiro and his group...

Yhwach, still standing on the rooftop, looked expectantly in Ichigo's direction after sensing the barrier fall. He extended his right hand from his cloak and gently crushed a pill.

"Alright, let me see how much you've grown lately... *chirp*"

"Tear~"

In the realm of spiritual vision, a huge gash suddenly appeared above Karakura Town with a tearing sound!

A pair of scarlet eyes slowly emerged from behind the dark rift, and countless lower-level voids surged out from it, swarming towards the humans below like locusts!

"!!!"

When that huge opening appeared in the sky, an immense pressure, as large as mountains and seas, fell straight down!

Under this pressure, Ichigo felt as if the bones and muscles in his body were about to be crushed, making a creaking sound!

Even without Rukia's prompting, Ichigo knew what had happened. He gasped for breath, barely managing to recover, then glanced at the enormous gash outside the window, a flicker of fear crossing his eyes. His intuition told him that facing that behemoth...

He will die!

Rukia, though anxious, didn't rush off. Instead, she looked at Ichigo with worry. This battle was too dangerous; death could truly be a possibility at any moment. While she wasn't as rigid as the Captain-Commander, believing that Shinigami matters were none of human concern, she didn't want anyone else involved in this life-or-death battle, especially Ichigo, whom she had dragged into this supernatural world...

Therefore, she did not actively remind Ichigo to fight this time, nor did she go ahead herself, because she knew that, given Ichigo's character, as long as she made a move, Ichigo would definitely follow.

Therefore, she needs to wait for Ichigo to make his decision...

Although she felt that Ichigo's decision wouldn't change much, she still knew him well enough, despite having spent a considerable amount of time with him—he was a...idiot...

Sure enough, the next second...

"Teacher, I'm not feeling well and would like to go to the infirmary," Ichigo said, standing up with a strong voice.

The older teacher adjusted his glasses. Over the past two weeks, he'd gotten somewhat used to it; young people, after all, romance was normal. But was it really this brazen now? Yesterday he at least pretended to be weak, but today he wasn't even bothering to pretend anymore…

However, given Ichigo's past excellent performance and the fact that he hadn't fallen behind in his studies, he figured, "Let him go. Consider it a break." With that thought, the old teacher's gaze fell on Rukia, and the eyes of the class quickly followed her. If nothing unexpected happened...

"Teacher, I'm not feeling well either, I'd like to go to the infirmary."

Everyone was shocked!

Something unexpected happened!

Rukia didn't stand up; it was Ishida who stood up!

Holy crap! Is this really that exciting? Is this the world of good students?

"...You're sick too~ What illness is it that makes you all so energetic? But never mind." The old teacher waved his hand, not wanting to pursue the matter, and said to Rukia, who was about to stand up, "No need to say anything, you go too, Rukia."

Rukia: ......

Rukia didn't say anything, but silently stood up and walked out of the classroom with the two of them. However, this time they did not go to the infirmary, but ran straight to the rooftop.

Hearing the hurried footsteps outside the classroom door, the old teacher shook his head. These young people, so impatient. Back in their day… oh wait, I almost forgot, he's been single his whole life, unlike back then…

I should never have let them go!

........

On the other side, the three people who came to the rooftop looked at the densely packed voids in the sky, their faces extremely grim.

"Ishida... never mind, do your best. In this situation, there's no point in asking for too much. But I hope you can restrain yourself a little. You need to understand one thing: you didn't just kill a Hollow, you killed a person!"

Ichigo looked at Ishida and sighed. In this situation, there was no way he could hold back.

“To correct you, it’s not one person, but two, or even more,” Rukia said, putting on her gloves.

"More than two? What do you mean?" Ichigo frowned and looked at Rukia along with Ishida.

"Didn't I tell you? We Shinigami aren't righteous; we're merely maintaining world order and preventing its destruction. We're here to protect the world we live in. So, if the spiritual energy becomes unbalanced... the Seireitei will choose to purge the souls of the Rukongai to forcibly restore spiritual energy balance!"

"!!!! How could this be..." Ichigo was stunned. Even though he was somewhat prepared, he was still surprised. No wonder Rukia said that they, the Shinigami, were not the forces of justice...

From the perspective of the residents of Rukongai, the Grim Reaper might still be evil...

"Nothing is impossible. You need to know that although we are protecting humanity, it is unjust. There's no time to waste." With that, Rukia punched Ichigo into his Shinigami form.

"Dong Dong~"

Just as Ichigo transformed into a Shinigami, there was a sudden knock on the rooftop door, and the three of them stared intently at it.

"Open the door, it's me!"

"Inoue?" Hearing the lurking voice behind the door, the three exchanged surprised glances, and Ichigo stepped forward to open the door.

"Inoue, what brings you here?" Ichigo asked curiously as he opened the door.

Inoue didn't rush to answer. Instead, she glanced at Ichigo, who was being held by Rukia, and a knowing look flashed in her eyes. Just as she had guessed.

"I'll keep an eye on your body so you can fight with peace of mind."

"This is too dangerous, no..." Ichigo sighed halfway through his sentence, looking at Inoue's determined eyes. "Alright, then I'll leave it to you."

Inoue nodded, took Ichigo's body from Rukia, gently placed it on the ground, and then looked at the three of them, saying, "Make sure you come back safely!"

"Don't worry!" Ichigo swung his large cleaver, the white cloth ribbon fluttering in the wind, and said confidently, "Let's go!"

"Hmm, Shirayuki~"

"Don't tell me what to do!"

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh~~~"

In the blink of an eye, the three of them vanished from the rooftop!

"If there is a God, please bless them~" Inoue knelt before Ichigo's body lying on the ground, his hands clasped in front of his chest, silently praying for the three of them.

"God? I don't know if God exists, but I do know that you can't help them much like this. You need power."

"You are..." Upon seeing the middle-aged man who had suddenly appeared, Inoue immediately stood up, blocking Ichigo's path. At the same time, a sense of powerlessness welled up within her. Indeed, she needed power... otherwise, she couldn't even protect Ichigo...

.......

"cut!"

On the other hand, the three of them acted separately because there were too many fakes. Although it would be safer to concentrate, it would be too inefficient.

Ichigo slashed down another low-level Hollow with a single strike. Looking at the endless stream of Hollows rushing towards him, he frowned deeply. He had to deal with the source—that guy!

"Crescent Moon~~ Sky Slash!!!"

A silvery-white crescent moon streaked across the sky!

However, he wasn't aiming for those crimson eyes in the sky. He wasn't stupid; he couldn't handle that kind of opponent. His target was the surging tide of lower-level Void beings. Although he was very unwilling to accept that, he could only place his hopes on the shopkeeper and the others. Only they had a chance of dealing with that kind of being.

However, what Ichigo didn't know was that the shopkeeper he was hoping for was currently clearing out the countless lower-level Hollows with Yoruichi. Other powerful Shinigami in Karakura Town were also clearing out the lower-level Hollows, turning a deaf ear to the big guy in the sky, as if he didn't exist.

Didn't they see it?

Of course not, they can't go, they dare not go...

Whenever they were about to go and deal with the Hollow that was supporting the Black Cavity, an exceptionally terrifying killing intent would always envelop them!

This made them realize that this was a scheme set up by some big shot, and anyone who dared to make a move would be killed!

Although it's very frustrating, what can I do?

In this world, if you're not strong enough, that's just how it is...

Of course, there is another option, such as...

He could vent his anger on someone even weaker, like Shinji Hirako or Ulquiorra right now...

Just like in the original work, Hirako stood in the air wearing a suit jacket with the shirt off, his tie fluttering wildly in the whistling air currents.

At this moment, he was coldly looking at Ulquiorra standing on the ground, and smiled coldly: "It seems that Urahara is sometimes quite reliable. Arrancar... Hey, that Arrancar, your master is Aizen Sōsekisuke, right?"

"So what if it is, and so what if it isn't? Will it change what you're planning to do later?"

"No, but based on your answer, I'll consider how you'll die."

"Heh~ Quite the boaster~"

"Clang~"

No sooner had he finished speaking than Uruchiora appeared in front of Hirako with a "thud" and slashed down with his sword!

Unfortunately, Hirako blocked this sudden attack. Although he looked down on Ulquiorra on the surface, it didn't mean he really looked down on him. After all, his spiritual pressure level was there. Even a pig would be incredibly powerful with that kind of spiritual pressure!

Not to mention that what they gave him was a broken mask.

"Ha~ Is this the 'sound reverberation' you've been boasting about? With such a loud noise, do you think you're fighting a deaf person?"

"Hiss~~"

Hirako drew his Zanpakuto, turned his body, and silently appeared behind Ulquiorra with a Shunpo, then slashed down with his sword!

Unfortunately, Ulquiorra was protected by steel armor, and his Zanpakuto only drew a series of sparks on his back without causing any injury.

"Boom~"

Uruciola instantly moved away from Hirako, and after their initial exchange, the two resumed their standoff.

Hirako's expression turned serious. His strike, though not at full power, was still quite powerful, yet it hadn't caused any damage whatsoever...

Is this the defensive capability of the broken steel skin?