The Alchemist in Bleach

At first, Ichiro watched with great interest. These micro-management skills were a difference in experience, not talent that could be overcome. But as time went by, Ichiro's brows slowly furrowed, and a long-standing question began to take shape.

Treating all injuries with the same method is inefficient...

Captain Unohana had been observing Ichiro. She had a good impression of this incredibly talented newcomer, so when she noticed Ichiro's expression, she stopped what she was doing and asked, "Ichiro, is there something you're wondering about? It's okay, just ask."

"Well, then I'll ask you, Captain. Why don't we categorize the recovery methods? We use the same recovery method for all our injuries, but the techniques differ depending on the specific injury. Why don't we modify and categorize the recovery methods?"

"Like Bakudo and Hado?"

"Yes, just like these two, I have studied the incantations of the Hado and Bakudo. Their essence is a kind of ritual for the world. Early Kido was divided into two types: Kido without incantation and Kido that required incantation. The power of the two is vastly different. In subsequent development, they were gradually summarized into the Kido we know today."

“I know what you mean, but it’s different. We can no longer sense new incantations. The Fourth and Twelfth Divisions are currently researching this. I’m glad you thought of this, but unfortunately, this path is not feasible.” Captain Unohana sighed.

'Unable to sense the new incantation? Is it because of the Spirit King?' Ichiro's eyes flickered; it seemed he had received some good news…

"No, Captain, that conclusion is not necessarily true! I'm not sure if we can sense new chants, but we can make use of the existing ones."

"The existing chant text?"

"Yes, I analyzed all the incantations below number sixty in the school's collection, and found a group of entries with different wording but similar functions. I listed them separately and found that they could slightly amplify the power of all demonic paths. Then there were some entries with special significance..."

"Wait, that's all for today's lesson. We'll continue next weekend. Ichiro, come with me." Before Ichiro could finish speaking, Unohana interrupted him, ending the lesson early and leading Ichiro deeper into the barracks.

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Chapter Sixteen: The Humble Teacher

Ichiro briefly recounted what had happened a week ago to them, omitting some details, but just letting them know that the Dao was going to undergo reforms.

"You're really... a pervert!" Urahara shook his head after hearing this and couldn't help but sigh again.

The others nodded silently in agreement. They were all repeat students, so wasn't the difference in talent a bit too great...?

"Wait, doesn't this mean we'll have to memorize even more chants from now on?!" Suddenly, Ichiro glared fiercely at Ichiro, as if he wanted to tear him to pieces!

"Why are you looking at me? It's not like I'm the only one who thought of this. The captain and the others have been researching it for a while now."

"Wait a minute, wouldn't that be bad for Lily of the Valley? If it requires chanting?"

Upon hearing this, Yoruichi, like Ichio, looked at Suzuran with worry in her eyes.

"Swish~"

'It's alright, I can still use my Zanpakuto.'

"Don't be so nervous, it won't have a big impact. The initial scope of the return path numbering is based on classification, which means that the existing return path techniques will be classified and organized. So even if you only know the current return path, the impact will not be significant. Not to mention that you also have a healing-type Zanpakuto, which is already better than most return paths."

"Zizi~"

As he spoke, Shiro flipped through the notebook, and then a flash of light appeared, several pages of notes appeared in Ichiro's hand. He handed them to Suzuran Tsuki and said...

"These are some of my insights on the Way of Return. You should find them useful. If you learn these, even if a chanting-style Way of Return appears, you can choose to use it by completely abandoning the chanting method, although it is not as good as the complete chanting."

"Shhh~"

Linglan Yue did not take the paper, but quickly began writing on the notebook, her urgency was palpable.

"No need! This is too precious, I cannot accept it. I appreciate your kindness."

After reading it, Ichiro glanced at Suzuran Tsuki, put the paper on the table, and said, "Take it. It's not something valuable, but it comes at a price. If you accept this, you'll have to choose the Fourth Division when you graduate, or the captain will kill me."

"Just accept it. It's really not important to this guy. With his talent, he might become outdated in a while," Urahara added, trying to persuade him.

After hesitating for a moment, Linglan Yue finally succumbed to everyone's persuasion, bowed to Ichiro, accepted the gift, and kept this kindness firmly in her heart.

Urahara wanted to say something more, but the bell rang, so he had no choice but to swallow his words and sit back down. This was Kido class, so Ichiro, as usual, opened his notebook and began his research.

Just then, a note was tossed over. Ichiro paused, glanced at Urahara sitting next to him, opened it, and read:

I remember you said that in your time there was something called sign language. You could teach her that, so that communication would be easier.

Ichiro stared blankly at the note, then looked at Urahara, then at the note again, then at Yoruichi, hesitated for a moment, and wrote on it:

Why are you so interested in her? Don't tell me you fell in love at first sight.

Urahara: What are you thinking? I'm doing this for your own good. You should teach her more, and her communication skills will improve. You have too few friends.

Ichiro: It's better to have quality friends than quantity. Besides, my Fourth Division has good interpersonal relationships, so don't try to set me up with random people. She's not my type.

Urahara: Hmm? Didn't you say before that petite girls are cute?

Ichiro: Yeah, but the key point is, cuteness is worthless compared to sexiness. I prefer "older" women! I'm a SP, thank you!

Urahara: She's still young, she has room to grow in the future!

Ichiro: No, no, no! According to my research, it's already set in stone, and its growth rate won't be too high.

Urahara: Oh? You've researched this too? Cough, I remember now, I have a friend who's quite interested in this. Tell me more about it.

Ichiro: Making friends out of thin air, is that even possible?

……

While the two were engrossed in their conversation, they didn't notice that the whole class was watching them as they kept writing and passing notes, having a great time!

Seeing Urahara Kazuro still engrossed in their own world, the teacher's lips twitched. He inhaled and exhaled, then said in a deep voice, "Tenshin, Urahara, keep your movements down and don't disturb the other students!"

“Um… okay, teacher.” x 2

Looking at their humble teacher, Ichiro and Urahara both shrank back, making the object much smaller. Ichiro, whose train of thought had been interrupted, stared into deep thought at the newly filled note in his hand. After a long while, he wrote down a question and handed it to Urahara.

Ichiro: What were we discussing at the beginning?

Urahara glanced at the topics above, somewhat bewildered, and began to ponder...

What did I just say was open?

Urahara: I remember now, teaching her sign language is too inconvenient for her to communicate by writing.

Ichiro: It's no use. Learning sign language takes time. You and she both need time, but she doesn't have time. She can't learn Kido. She should be able to advance quickly and graduate at lightning speed. The Fourth Division is the place that suits her best.

Urahara: That doesn't matter. Sign language can still be used in the Fourth Division.

Ichiro: There's no need. There are only two possibilities for her situation. One is that she didn't use it for a long time before she died, which caused her to forget how to speak. However, judging from her situation, that's not the case. So there's only one left: a congenital physical defect. We just need to solve that problem.

Urahara: ...This is not an easy question.

Ichiro: No, it's actually not difficult. My alchemy will be able to do this in the future. In addition to this method, the return path can also be finely adjusted. It's just a matter of vocal organs. It's a big problem in the real world, but here, it's a piece of cake.

Urahara: Is that the point? You just gave up such a good opportunity to get to know a girl? Wait... you don't actually like Captain Unohana, do you?

Ichiro: ...What are you thinking? I'm not used to this kind of thing. Let it happen naturally. It's still early.

……

On the podium, the teacher looked at the two still shameless individuals and sighed. He couldn't do anything about them... Oh well, at least they weren't affecting the other students, so he'd just let them be...

With another sigh, the teacher continued explaining some points to note in the practice of the Ghost Path.

And so, despite the arrival of a new classmate, Ichiro's study plan remained undisrupted. To him, Suzuran was no different from the others; their paths might cross in the future, but certainly not at school. He couldn't skip grades, while Suzuran could. Curing her aphonia would require a considerable price, leaving her with no choice but to become a genius…

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Chapter Seventeen: The Renaissance

Before we knew it, it was the weekend, the day the team leader was to give a lecture.

After getting dressed, Ichiro greeted Urahara, who was still sleeping, and set off for the Fourth Division.

But sometimes, due to some stupid actions, a lot of trouble will come knocking on your door, like now...

"Is there anything I can help you with, seniors? I have something urgent to attend to."

"Hmph~ Kid, don't play dumb. We heard you bullied Sugo by currying favor with two nobles. We're here to settle this score. We're all from Rukongai, no need to be so ruthless, right?"

That's right, Ichiro got cornered, a classic development...

The newcomer was a sixth-generation student, also from Rukongai. Ichiro had some recollection of him; when he went to consult his teacher about Kido before, he often heard their names: Tensei Shiro, Noyo Katsuragi, and Murakami Shichisuke. They were from the last-ranked Rukongai and were often involved in fights.

Ironically, they were being encouraged by Sugo to say that they were all from Rukongai and needed to unite, but the students they usually bullied were from Rukongai.

Ichiro glanced disdainfully at Sugo, who was standing behind the three, and smiled.

"Binding Spell Four: This Rope." x 4 (Read in one second)

(The gray rope was an early mistranslation.)

In an instant, four ropes formed from spiritual particles bound the four of them together. Then, Ichiro continued chanting.

"Binding Path No. 26: Curved Light".

Amidst the distorted light and shadow, Ichiro's figure vanished from the spot, leaving this place. Normally, he might have been interested in playing with them, but now, it was better to skip it; the captain's side was more important.

A moment later, the rope turned into spiritual particles and disappeared. The four of them broke free of their restraints. However, before Sushou could say anything, the leader of the three men he had found, Tensei Shiro, slapped him across the face!

"Snapped!"

"You dare mess with the second-generation cultivator who has mastered the ability to break the incantation of number 26? Are you tired of living?"

"I...I'm sorry, Boss Tiancheng, I know I was wrong." Xu Xiang lowered his head deeply, not daring to refute.

'Do you really know?' A murderous glint flashed in Tensei Shiro's narrowed eyes. He was all too familiar with this kind of person; after all, he had been through the same thing before. So he wouldn't give Sugo a chance...

"Good to know, get lost!" Tensei Shiro kicked Sugo and left with his two henchmen.

After turning the corner and leaving Sugo's sight, Tensei Shiro's eyes became somewhat gloomy.

"Boss, are we just going to let that guy Sugo go like that?" Murakami Ichisuke took two steps forward and asked in a low voice.

"Do you think that's possible? He can come to us for help because of a conflict in class, but he can use that same thing to cause trouble for us in the future. We can't let him live. We need to find a way to get him back to Rukongai, and then let the brothers..." Tensei Shiro made a throat-slitting gesture, the meaning of which was self-evident.

"Understood, boss. What about Tenshin Ichiro?"

"Let's go find out what he likes later, and go to their classroom together tomorrow to apologize."

"Is this... really necessary, boss?"

Murakami Ichisuke wasn't questioning the act of apologizing, but rather that apologizing in the classroom would greatly affect their evaluation at school.

“We have to do this. Didn’t you see it just now? He broke the incantation of the 26th Kido, and broke the incantation of the 4th Kido four times in one second. Does a Six-Life Rebirth have this kind of ability? Give up. We can’t afford to mess with this kind of monster…” Tensei Shiro touched the huge knife scar on his chest with a deep look in his eyes.

He was once a local tyrant in Rukongai. Although he had long met the requirements for enrollment, he chose not to enroll but instead continued to expand his territory in Rukongai, becoming his own local tyrant!

Until that day...

A man carrying a knife hacked his way from one end of the village to the other, cutting down his hundreds of trusted henchmen single-handedly. He even suffered a cut to his chest and was nearly killed!

He would never forget the disappointed look in that man's eyes as he left...