The Alchemist in Bleach

In a flash, Rukia drew a circle on the ground with her sleeve and then quickly retreated.

"boom!"

A huge ice pillar rose up instantly!

In the center of the ice pillar stood Byakuya, dressed in a white haori, but alas...

"Bang~"

The ice pillar shattered, and Byakuya emerged unharmed. He brushed the ice shards off his body and said, "Your speed has increased quite a bit. It seems that bastard Tenshin Ichiro really put you through endless trials! Do you still want to fight? You have no chance of winning, even if you use Absolute Zero."

"Whether it works or not, we'll have to try to find out!"

Absolute zero!

"puff!"

Just as Rukia unleashed Absolute Zero, Byakuya instantly appeared beside her and knocked her unconscious with a chop to the neck!

"Click~"

Byakuya casually crushed the ice that had wrapped his left hand, bent down slightly, caught Rukia, and held her unconscious in his arms. Then he looked at Renji, who had rushed back, and asked, "Is everything alright?"

Byakuya's gaze lingered for a moment on the bloodstains on Renji's hand.

Renji nodded and then explained, "This is his blood. That guy seems to be special; he can actually become Hollowfied."

"Hollowfication? Is it that Urahara guy again? Let's go back first, and settle the score with him later."

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

Chapter 335 Title Conferment!

three minutes ago

"Hey~"

Renji used Shunpo to catch up with Ichigo and appeared directly in front of him. He placed his left hand on his Zanpakuto and looked coldly at Ichigo, unleashing a massive spiritual pressure that rushed towards him without restraint!

"For Rukia's safety, please die, human."

As Ichigo felt Renji's powerful spiritual pressure and chilling killing intent, he once again gained a deeper understanding of Rukia's words.

Death, indeed, is neither a righteous force nor a protector of humanity...

Without any hesitation, Ichigo first shielded Inoue behind him, then drew his Zanpakuto from his back and raised it high, gathering black spiritual pressure as he did so!

"Crescent Moon ~ Sky Slash!"

"boom!"

'Hmm? Black spiritual pressure?'

Renji frowned as he watched the black crescent moon fly toward him. This was... the power of a Hollow. How could Rukia be involved with such a thing?

Shinigami plus Hollow, that's Hollowfication, a taboo in Soul Society...

Not to mention, it's in a special place like Karakura Town...

Urahara?

Hopefully, we haven't been outmaneuvered. But thinking about it, that's probably impossible. It's unlikely that someone could manipulate the power of the void so freely without that guy's help.

Thinking about it, Renji sighed, then casually crushed the black crescent moon that had circled around to attack him from the side!

"boom!"

"Still... not strong enough~"

Ichigo stared in shock at what he saw; his full power was actually...

"call out!"

Suddenly, a gentle breeze carried a strand of red hair across my face. Wait, red hair?

Ichigo's pupils contracted!

when?

After casually crushing the black crescent moon, Renji had already silently appeared beside him using Shunpo!

"I refuse to slay the shield with my lone heavens!"

At this critical moment, Inoue's previously charged attack was finally released successfully. Although it was a little late, it turned out to be a lucky coincidence. This attack actually attracted Renji's attention, giving Ichigo some time to dodge.

"boom!"

"what?"

History seemed to be repeating itself. Renji once again reached out and crushed the slash, but this time, he was injured!

In a human with very weak spiritual pressure!

"What... is going on..." Renji looked at the wound on his palm with a puzzled expression.

Logically speaking, Inoue's spiritual pressure shouldn't have caused him any harm. That slash just now, in terms of both momentum and spiritual power, couldn't compare to Ichigo's Getsuga Tenshou, yet he was still injured by the latter.

"Interesting, you might get in the way~" Before Ichigo, who had retreated to the other side, could launch another attack, he instantly appeared next to Inoue, who had not retreated far!

"Three days..."

"Pfft~"

"boom!"

"Inoue!!"

Before Inoue could even put up a defense, he was kicked away by Renji and slammed into the wall!

As blood splattered everywhere, he also lost consciousness.

Seeing this, Ichigo's eyes widened in fury, and he roared in anger. At the same time, he screamed in his mind: 'Hey! I know you're here! Kill him! I'll give you everything I have! Whatever you want!'

When Ichigo roared in his heart, the world seemed to fall silent. Everything stopped, from the dust stirred up by the breeze to the blood flowing over the inoue. Ichigo's consciousness sank into the spiritual world.

Spiritual world

White Ichigo rose from the high-rise building with a faint smile, and a hint of satisfaction flashed in his eyes as he looked at Ichigo, who had quickly entered the mental state.

"Oh? Everything? I can help you, but is it worth it? You don't seem to have a very close relationship with that girl, do you? Is it worth giving your all? What about your sister... Youzi and Xiali?"

"Inoue and I aren't exactly close, but she got hurt because of me! So, I have to save her!"

"Huh?" Haku Ichigo tilted his head in confusion. "Just kidding, you don't... think you have some obligation to help that woman, do you? Hahaha~ What is this? Do you think you're the protagonist of a fantasy novel? Everything revolves around you, and everyone's misfortune is because of you? Hey, hey, hey, you're overly self-conscious, aren't you?"

"Indeed, you might think I'm overly self-centered, but I just want to protect everything around me! I want to protect them! Whether they're my friends or my family! They are what I need to protect! For this, I'm willing to give anything! Because this is what I, Kurosaki Ichigo, am going to do!"

Ichigo said with a firm expression.

However, White Ichigo scoffed, "So, why don't you go protect them yourself? Why are you begging me? Is this what you call protection? Is this the meaning of your existence? Is this how you, Kurosaki Ichigo, protect others? It's laughable~ Before spouting nonsense, think about what you've actually done, you immature little Ichigo~"

After saying that, Bai Yihu ascended into the sky with a mocking smile. Playing around is fine, but the substitute player must not be forgotten!

Ichigo silently watched as White Ichigo ascended into the sky and left the spiritual world. Yeah, he talks about protecting this person and that person, but when a strong enemy appears, he either runs away or begs for help. All he does is talk big...

Behind Ichigo, Zangetsu stood quietly, watching him without saying a word. He believed Ichigo could overcome this predicament because the mental space was still clear and bright; Ichigo's heart was not lost, he simply... lacked time...

However, will he have that much time?

real world

In the mental space, White Ichigo and Ichigo seemed to have been communicating for quite a while, but in reality, it was only a fleeting moment.

Seeing the sudden surge of even stronger Hollow power from Ichigo's body, and the mask rapidly forming on his face, Renji raised an eyebrow, confirming his suspicions.

This guy really was just a pawn...

but……

Thinking of the dangers Rukia might encounter, Renji's eyes flashed with a fierce light. He secretly kept this in mind. He might not be Urahara's match yet, but he was barely qualified to spar with him. Otherwise, his years of hellish training would have been meaningless!

"Hahaha~ After all that trash talking, it's finally my turn!"

"Hmm~ Is that a Hollow's consciousness? Can't you master Hollowfication? Is this what Ichiro-senpai meant by 'substitute fighter'? Interesting. Too bad I'm in a hurry, otherwise I could play with you a little longer~"

"Huh? If you can do it, then give it a try!" With that, White Ichigo held Zangetsu horizontally, the tip pointing at Renji, a wild laugh spreading across his face as he shouted:

"swastika·"

"boom!"

"Crack!"

Unfortunately, just as Renji said, he didn't have time to play now. He was in a hurry, so before Ichigo could unleash his Bankai, he used Shunpo to appear in front of Ichigo and then delivered a powerful headbutt to Ichigo's face with his right hand!

It smashed half of Ichigo's mask to pieces!

This instantly snapped Ichigo out of his mental world, and he stared at Renji with a look of horror on his face!

"puff!"

Immediately afterward, before Ichigo could react, Renji delivered a knee strike to Ichigo's abdomen, causing him to curl up like a shrimp. Then, he chopped Ichigo on the back of the neck with a chop, knocking him unconscious.

"Whoo~~~"

Just as Renji was about to finish Ichigo off, a large amount of black, violent spiritual pressure suddenly rose from Ichigo's body. Renji raised an eyebrow slightly: "So unwilling? Looks like a high-class one~ Very well, I've changed my mind."

With that, Renji dispersed the spirit spear in his hand, slowly drew his Zanpakuto from his waist, and then...

"Pfft~"

Renji plunged his sword into Ichigo's body, stealing Ichigo's Shinigami powers while also completely sealing off the Hollows within him.

He shook the blood off his Zanpakuto, sheathed it, and then walked towards Byakuya.

"Is it all resolved?"

"This is his blood. That guy seems to be special; he can actually become intangible." Renji nodded, subconsciously concealing Inoue's situation for some reason.

"Hollowfication? Looks like this is related to Urahara. I'll have to confront him later."

"Whoosh~" Byakuya sensed Ichigo's slowly fading aura, nodded slightly, raised his hand to open the portal, and carried Rukia inside, with Renji following closely behind.

On the other side, after Byakuya and the others left the human world, Nicholas emerged from the shadows and squatted down to look at the dying Inoue.

"Tsk~ That's ruthless~ Does that guy only have eyes for Rukia? Hellish training... Interesting~" After sighing, Nicholas's right hand floated above Inoue's body, and visible black gas entered Inoue's body, healing her injuries and improving her physical condition.