The Alchemist in Bleach

"Thank you for your help. Please deliver the older one to Shihouin's house and the younger one to the academy dormitory. Thank you for your help." After saying that, Urahara bowed again.

Ichiro gave Urahara a disdainful look, thinking he was just a freeloader.

"Just take mine to the Fourth Division. Take the smaller ones back to their dorms, just like Urahara."

"The Fourth Division?" Captain Hikifune looked at Ichiro curiously. "Have you decided to go to the Fourth Division? Won't you reconsider? With your talent, if you come to our Twelfth Division, the captain's position will be yours in less than two years."

"Thank you for your kindness, Captain Yezhou, but I value life more than research."

"Really? That's a shame~ By the way, don't rush off. Since you're already here, let me give you two little ones a little gift and treat you to a meal." Before Urahara Kazuichiro could refuse, she continued, "This will enhance your strength. You'll be the first people in the entire Soul Society to witness and enjoy this. Look forward to it. Consider it my investment in you two little geniuses in advance."

After saying that, he turned and walked out without giving the two a chance to refute him.

Ichiro and Urahara exchanged a glance, and they immediately understood the price to pay.

This banquet likely has an experimental element to it. It's easy to get in touch with them; as fellow researchers, they can certainly offer more advice.

Of course, although it was an experiment, they didn't think it was dangerous. The reason was simple: she didn't dare, even though she was the captain of the 12th Division.

Urahara is not a member of the Shihōin family, yet he was able to set up a research laboratory there, indicating that their relationship was clearly unusual. Ichirō is even more so.

In less than six years, Captain Unohana violated the rules and used Bankai no less than ten times for him!

Only two of them involved murder; the rest were for educational purposes!

Anyone who dares to touch Ichiro under these circumstances is incredibly reckless, after all, Captain Unohana's actions also carry a certain meaning...

The strongest Shinigami in Soul Society at present, Captain-Commander Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni, tacitly approves of her actions!

This is the greatest deterrent!

Although the Zero Division is said to be stronger than the entire Gotei 13 in the original work, Ichiro does not believe that this includes the Captain-Commander.

Looking at the entire Bleach series, we can draw a simple conclusion: whether Soul Society is in chaos or not depends on the Captain-Commander!

Don't you see how all bosses devise ways to prevent the captain from making a move before they start anything? This is a clear example of that.

Moreover, Bankai, just by keeping it activated and still, can slowly evaporate the moisture in Soul Society, which is an entire world!

Especially now, not long after the battle with the Quincy, the memory of the Captain-Commander's all-out effort is still vivid! The damage caused back then has not yet been fully recovered, so naturally no one dares to provoke them.

Therefore, Urahara Kazuichiro stayed there, briefly familiarizing himself with the computer while quietly waiting for Captain Hikifune Kiryu.

Ichiro still had some expectations for this. He didn't know much about Hikifune Kiryu, only that after joining the Zero Division in later years, his title was Valley King, which was related to food.

But it's obvious that this food must have other effects, such as increasing spiritual pressure, and by a large margin!

Otherwise, he wouldn't deserve the title of Valley King. After all, Ichiro himself can concoct potions that directly increase spiritual pressure, although the effects are weak and there are many limitations, but the function is the same.

So Ichiro was actually quite looking forward to it, because his biggest weakness right now is spiritual pressure, which is of great reference value to his research.

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

Chapter Sixty-Eight: Captain Yifu's Cooking

A moment later, Captain Hikifune walked in, carrying two rice balls. Ichiro and Urahara exchanged surprised glances. Although their strength was far inferior to Captain Hikifune's, they could clearly sense that Captain Hikifune had become much weaker.

Captain Yifu placed the rice ball on the table beside him and introduced it to the two of them: "This food is made with something I invented called 'Temporary Soul.' Eating it will greatly increase your spiritual pressure level."

Originally, the 'temporary soul' could only be used to increase my spiritual pressure, but now, after being processed using a special method, it will have an effect on anyone who consumes it. The drawback is that it consumes too much of my energy. How about it? Try it and tell me how you feel.

Ichiro and Urahara exchanged another glance. From the description, it was somewhat similar to their Mimicry Shikai, but not quite the same. Mimicry Shikai constructs a second spiritual pressure source unconsciously, while Captain Hikifune constructs a "temporary soul." Since it is a soul, it can naturally possess consciousness.

Considering Captain Yifu's current state, it wasn't hard for the two to guess that Captain Yifu's own body must have been used during the production process!

To be precise, it should be the soul!

In other words, these two rice balls were actually made using a special method with the "temporary soul" and the soul of Captain Heifu.

As for the specific techniques used and why they achieve this effect, it's not something that can be determined simply by observation; further analysis is required, which is a pity...

This has a bad influence...

This is all the information we have at the moment. To find out more, besides further analysis and research, we can only take it in and use the reverse reasoning method to figure it out. We can't completely deduce it, but we can understand the general principle, since Captain Yizhou didn't take any precautions against them in this regard.

The reason is the same as Ichiro and the others: confidence!

They believe that even if someone else gets the technology, they won't be able to do it as well as they do!

On the contrary, one can benefit more from the research results of others. Scientific research cannot be done by one person working hard alone.

Even so, Urahara found it difficult to eat it. It would have been better if he hadn't known, but he did know that this thing contained part of Captain Hikifune's body...

This is definitely a big challenge for him!

However, it was different for Ichiro. He viewed Soul Society from a different perspective. Everything in Soul Society was made up of spirit particles, and due to the special environment of Soul Society, souls had become physical, which further intensified Ichiro's idea.

The so-called body, or rather the soul, is nothing more than a collection of spiritual particles. For Ichiro, with the world at his fingertips, he could easily create a whole bunch of these things. And the pile he made two years ago, it has to be said, still has lingering effects…

So for Ichiro, it wasn't life; the true soul in his eyes was spirit, the wisp of spirituality that gave birth to consciousness!

Apart from that, most things in Soul Society looked no different from the food Ichiro usually ate—well, except for the filthy stuff, even though the basic particles were the same…

Therefore, Ichiro simply sensed the missing part of Captain Hikifune and, without hesitation, bit down on it, leaving Urahara stunned.

Swallowing hard, glancing at Ichiro, Urahara hesitated for a moment before finally gritting his teeth, picking up the rice ball, closing his eyes, and taking a bite!

Of course, all the unease was before he ate it. Once the rice ball entered his mouth, Urahara's researcher's spirit instantly awakened, and he began to concentrate on analyzing the rice ball's effects.

First of all, it's amazing. When he was eating it, it was just a rice ball, but after he swallowed it, it suddenly turned into a huge amount of spiritual power, rapidly increasing his spiritual pressure. The ghostly techniques involved were very interesting. Moreover, in his perception, these ghostly techniques seemed to be changing.

The spiritual energy fused too quickly, extremely quickly, so much so that even after eating the entire rice ball, Urahara was still unable to confirm his conjecture.

On the other hand, Ichiro's feelings were quite different. From Urahara's perspective, all the changes revolved around the Kido techniques. In fact, that was not wrong, as Ichiro also sensed these Kido techniques.

But he didn't focus on that. Instead, he paid attention to the changes in the spiritual structure after swallowing the rice ball. It was a special spiritual structure, a path that Ichiro had never imagined!

Ichiro had researched spiritual food and potions that directly increase spiritual pressure; on the contrary, he had done a lot of research. But whether it was spiritual food or potions, they all had one thing in common.

That means adding water.

Simply put, it's like a big vat. Spiritual pressure is the water inside, and the spirit body is the vat. So-called cultivation is like adding water to the vat. When it's full, you repair the vat, then add water again, repair the vat again, and so on.

Ichiro's spiritual food potion is to instantly refill the water after repairing the tank, and then continue repairing the tank.

The spirit food of the boat-dragging captain is to replenish water and repair the tank at the same time, and repair it to a great height in one go!

Because both the soul and her body are temporarily spiritual entities, and from the perspective of spiritual particle structure, they are quite similar, the benefits to the spiritual entity are naturally greater.

This opened up a new avenue for Ichiro: perhaps he could start with the spirits, and in this regard, without any modesty, the current captain of the Hikifune was no match for him!

"How is it? Is there anything that needs improvement?" Captain Yizhou asked after the two men had been thinking for a while.

"Tsk~ Well, how should I put it~" Urahara stroked his chin, "There's some barrier in the fusion of spiritual energy. It seems the conversion between your spiritual pressure and the 'temporary soul's' spiritual pressure wasn't handled well, and then..."

Urahara explained to Captain Hikifune the shortcomings he had discovered in various aspects of Kido, and Captain Hikifune nodded from time to time while taking notes in a small notebook that he had pulled out from somewhere.

After Urahara finished speaking, Captain Hikifune naturally turned his gaze to Ichiro, his eyes filled with a hint of anticipation.

"Ahem~ Urahara has covered most of the Kido techniques. Now let me talk about another aspect. Captain, you need to add your spiritual pressure when making this kind of dish, right?"

"Yes."

"This is a highlight, but also a drawback. The addition of your high-quality spiritual pressure quickly assimilated the temporary soul's spiritual pressure level, making the effect even more outstanding."

"Isn't this good?"

"It's good that it's up to this point, but there are two drawbacks. First, the energy expenditure is enormous, as your current state demonstrates. Second, the spiritual pressure gained in this way is very 'unfamiliar'."

"Unfamiliar?" The boat captain frowned.

"Yes, it's unfamiliar. Although all sudden increases in power require a period of adaptation, such an increase in spiritual pressure requires an even longer adaptation period because your personal will is too strong! My suggestion is to use your temporary soul to make the dishes entirely."

Captain Yezhou frowned even more: "But in that case, the improvement effect will be minimal."

However, Ichiro shook his head and said, "Captain, there's a saying in the work I did before I died: talking about power without considering the yield is just being a scoundrel!"

"You mean... to increase the amount of temporary souls? But that's not right!" Hikifune immediately objected. As the inventor, she knew more about temporary souls than Ichiro. "Temporary souls are essentially replicas of fixed Shinigami, and they take too long to form."

"That's right, then why don't you just develop a universal version?"

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

Chapter Sixty-Nine: The Lantern Festival

At noon, Ichiro and Urahara bid farewell to the enthusiastic captain of the boat and resolutely rushed back to the school. It was too terrifying; the researchers above were too terrifying!

They arrived at the 12th Division around 8 a.m., ate their rice balls around 9 a.m., and the discussion continued until noon...

If they hadn't been so adamant, they might still be inside.

It's not that they don't want to communicate with Captain Hikifune. As one of the top researchers in Soul Society, Captain Hikifune's talent is unparalleled. But the premise is communication, not one-sided giving.

The boat captain is doing something different from their field, so even though the boat captain isn't hiding anything, they still can't understand it. On the contrary, they've been putting in so much effort but haven't seen any results, which is really frustrating...

So around noon, the two of them discussed it and resolutely went out.

After returning to school, the two went to ask the teacher for leave, and then walked towards the classroom.

When they arrived at the classroom, they discovered that this afternoon was a free class... Helpless, the two exchanged a helpless glance and turned to walk towards the classroom reserved for free classes.

.......

Upon entering the classroom, I saw Ichiro jumping around in front of Yoruichi, her ponytail bouncing with her, and a bright smile on her face.

"What are you talking about? You seem to be having a lot of fun."

"Hehe~" Ichio turned around with a smile, showing her new hairstyle to the two of them, "Look, twin ponytails!"

"..." Ichiro looked at her two pigtails, one above the other, and his lips twitched. He said angrily, "Don't insult pigtails! Pigtails are supposed to be like this, extending down from the sides, not like this. That's heresy!"

"Hmph! Anyway, I have two ponytails, so what's it to you? This is called twin ponytails!" Ichio stuck out her tongue and skipped over to Yoruichi's back.

Just as Ichiro was about to try out a new trick and teach Ichio a lesson, their teacher, Yamada, walked in. Helpless, he could only glare at Ichio, who was hiding behind Yoruichi, and prepare to start class.

Although their progress has long exceeded the graduation standards of the Shinigami Academy, there are still many courses worth taking, including practical combat training courses such as hand-to-hand combat and swordsmanship.

Students pair up freely, while the teacher observes and explains their opinions. Although their skill level may not be as high as the students', it is common knowledge that the brain and the hands and feet are two independent entities.

A third-party perspective can reveal many shortcomings. In addition, teachers who have been observing for many years may lack practical skills, but their observation skills are definitely not bad. Therefore, these practical lessons are still very meaningful for them.

After the teacher came in and said a few words, she let everyone form groups freely. As usual, Urahara Yoruichi was in one group, and Ichiro Ichio was in another, which was just enough. However, today there was a slight change...

I saw Yixu staring at a lone girl not far away, seemingly wanting to go and help her.

'Isolation, huh... the downside of free grouping...' Ichiro stepped forward, looked at the girl with the same expression, and said, 'You want to help her? I remember you two don't seem to get along very well, do you?'

"No, it's just a few minor conflicts. She originally had teammates, but you guys weren't around for a month, so I teamed up with other people in the class. Later, I don't know how, she gradually got excluded."