This Woman Finally Became Stupid

"..." Ichiro was no idiot. If he really reached out to grab her now, it would truly be over. Never mind that he lacked the ability; even if he had it, he couldn't use it.

However, this reaction from the Mental World made Ichiro breathe a slight sigh of relief. Since she was sulking, it meant there was still room for negotiation.

After weighing his words, Ichiro spoke: "You and I are two sides of the same coin. You know many things about me, so you should understand that what happened before was not my intention, but a rash action under Absolute Reason. I can guarantee that I will never use the Absolute Reason technique again, and I can even discard the Mimicry Zanpakuto."

"And what about Alchemy?"

"No." Ichiro refused without a moment's hesitation.

"Heh~"

"..." After a moment of silence, Ichiro sighed. "You know very well how important Alchemy is to me. I can agree to anything else—I can even make time to practice Zanjutsu, which I'm not good at—but Alchemy is non-negotiable."

The World was silent for a moment, then asked with a hint of resentment: "Why? Alchemy can decompose and reconstruct Reishi, and I can do that too, even better!"

"But you can only decompose and convert things into Reishi. Reishi is merely the basic substance that makes up the Soul Society, not the living world. I am pursuing Absolute Truth, not the relative truth limited to the Soul Society!"

"Absolute Truth can never be grasped!"

"I know, but that is my dream for now."

"Hmph! Then use your Alchemy to forge a Zanpakuto that suits your fancy! Why come to me? Just decompose me; it wouldn't be the first time you've done it."

The World gave a soft huff and shifted her body, turning her back to Ichiro.

Ichiro was stunned for a moment, then his furrowed brows relaxed as he said, "So that's what you're still angry about... But you're mistaken about one thing. I have never decomposed a Zanpakuto. I only decomposed Asauchi; there is a difference between them and a Zanpakuto."

The World tilted her head slightly, seemingly interested in the topic, though she tried to hide it. It didn't escape Ichiro, who had been watching her closely. A smile flashed across his face as he continued.

"An Asauchi is just a special weapon, but a Zanpakuto is different. A fully formed Zanpakuto consists of three parts: the blade, the spirit, and the independent consciousness. As my other half, don't you think that sounds a lot like the elements of a forbidden transmutation?"

The World frowned slightly. While Ichiro was right that she was his other half, she didn't possess all his information; she only knew a small part, so some of her memories were not very clear.

Ichiro shook his head and explained, "The three elements of Human Transmutation are body, soul, and spirit. The blade equals the body, the spirit equals the soul, and the Zanpakuto's consciousness equals the spirit. Do you understand now?"

"!!" The World forgot about her sulking and stared at Ichiro in shock. She knew enough to understand what Human Transmutation represented, and of course, she knew it was one of the things Ichiro planned to research in the future.

"So, did you get your wish? Do you want me to congratulate you?" Sensing her state was off, the World immediately put on a cold face and retorted.

Ichiro, however, had no time to worry about her mood swings. Instead, he said with lingering fear, "Congratulations? Heh~ I should feel fortunate. Now is not the time for Human Transmutation. I don't know if seeing the 'Gate' is just a side effect of that transmutation array, or if one sees it whenever they attempt Human Transmutation. If it's the latter..."

"Isn't that a good thing? The Gate of Truth you want could be yours."

"..." Ichiro looked deeply at the World until she felt uncomfortable, then said, "Alchemy demands equivalent exchange. If I were to transmute one Zanpakuto into another, I would only need to fill in some Reishi to complete the exchange. But what would I have to pay to see the 'Truth'?"

"No matter how much I see, I would lose what is most important to me. And to me, nothing is more important than you."

The World looked up at Ichiro in surprise, bit her lip, and said, "That's not what you said just now! You said you couldn't give up Alchemy!"

"Let me correct that. I never meant that your abilities and Alchemy are equivalent. I meant you, World. You are my other half; you are the one who understands me best in this world, so you should know what I lack the most..."

The corners of the World's mouth curled up, but she immediately put on a cold face and turned away from Ichiro: "I don't know! I'm just a Zanpakuto!"

"...A Zanpakuto, huh... That is exactly why I cannot lose Alchemy, because I need Human Transmutation! No matter how strong a weightlifter is, he cannot lift himse—"

"Enough! Get out!"

With the World's sharp cry, Ichiro's figure instantly vanished from the Mental World.

"Hiss~"

As soon as his consciousness returned, an overwhelming wave of pain surged through him. Even with all his years of training, Ichiro couldn't help but gasp. This was, in the truest sense, a shattering of bones!

After gasping for a while and making a negligible contribution to the warming of the Soul Society, Ichiro waved away the school medic who was trying to provide first aid. At this rate, it would take until the next century to heal!

The medic hesitated and stepped back. While he trusted Ichiro's skill in Kaido, he was currently suffering from severe injuries. As the saying goes, a doctor cannot... well, geniuses are the exception.

Watching Ichiro become full of life amidst a flash of light, the medic's mouth twitched. A man who was on the verge of death a moment ago had almost fully recovered in an instant. Was this medical ability on par with the Captain of Squad 4?

Why are you still hanging around school?

Wouldn't it be better to become a Lieutenant and reach the peak of your life?

Shaking his head, the medic began to pack his things to head elsewhere. There were many others waiting for his help, and with Ichiro here, the next head of the Shihoin Clan should be fine.

The facts proved him right. As Ichiro took over the medical treatment for Urahara and Yoruichi, their auras recovered rapidly. Before long, their injuries were mostly healed.

After all, having been guided by two masters of Kaido in the Soul Society, the only gap between Ichiro and them now was their unique secret techniques, such as the Hot Spring Demon's springs or a Captain's Shikai.

In the mental space, after Ichiro left, the World remained in the same position, sitting on the ground with her arms wrapped around her knees. Unlike before, however, the sky was filled with light particles drifting like snowflakes, and the World rested her delicate chin on her knees, smiling foolishly.

"Alchemy exists for the World... hehe... Alchemy exists for the World, it doesn't replace the World, hehehehe..."