Experiment Complete!

Once he had sorted out his ideas, Ichiro immediately got to work. First, he didn't need to worry about the spiritual body—the soul's vessel. Thanks to the unique properties of Soul Society, he had figured that part out long ago.

His current body could be called a spiritual body. No matter how much it resembled a physical body, it was still a spiritual body, not a body from the World of the Living. So he didn't need to consider that part of the process.

Memories were just as simple. He could fill them in gradually. The most difficult part was the most important one: the spirit!

In other words, the spirit from the three elements of Human Transmutation!

In Ichiro's view, it was one of the defining traits of an independent life!

Although Zanpakuto techniques covered this area, Ichiro had to analyze it himself. He couldn't use Alchemy to extract it, because if his deduction was correct,

he might get to see the Gate of Truth ahead of time!

And he didn't have a Philosopher's Stone to pay the toll.

So he could only analyze it himself, then cultivate a new spirit. Fortunately, he had already gained some experience analyzing Asauchi and had done some research in this area. He wasn't starting from scratch, which saved him a lot of effort.

And so, Ichiro plunged once more into an endless cycle of research and experiments.

As the days went by, the Zanpakuto Demon Dragon gradually shed its idiotic nature through Ichiro's repeated experiments.

Day after day passed. Ichiro grew more and more accustomed to conducting research without Alchemy, and his technique became increasingly polished. At last, after a week, he successfully extracted the spirit from the Zanpakuto Demon Dragon!

Then, in the second week, he successfully cultivated it in its initial form!

The main reason for his rapid progress was that he had benefited from the work of those who came before him. Asauchi already had the ability to cultivate an independent soul. After a Soul Reaper spent a long time infusing one with spiritual pressure, a brand-new soul would grow within it.

Although each Soul Reaper only got one chance, that wasn't a problem for Ichiro. He only needed the underlying principles of the technique, and he wasn't going to cultivate this spirit using the same method anyway.

At this point, Ichiro was truly only one step away from his final experiment!

During his earlier experiments, Ichiro had discovered that Zanpakuto were actually no different from humans. Humans consisted of three major systems: the physical body, the spiritual body, and the mind. In the same way, Zanpakuto consisted of the blade, the spiritual body, and consciousness.

With that in mind, Ichiro began searching for that special structure.

At last, after tireless effort, he completed all his preliminary research a week later!

The moment he finished, the sudden release of tension sent Ichiro collapsing to the floor. He swore that once this was over, he would get himself a computer!

Even if there weren't any around now, he'd persuade others to put their backs into researching one. He remembered that Soul Society had computers as far back as he could recall from the original story. Given the current era, even if they didn't have any yet, they should have the conditions needed to develop them.

Doing calculations by hand was just too damn painful.

And that was with his current calculations being fairly simple. If he had to do the calculations by hand when they got more complicated in the future, he'd really go insane.

And so, amid his wandering thoughts, Ichiro fell into a deep sleep. When the captain came to bring him food and found him, he paused in surprise, then turned and left. A while later, he returned with a blanket and gently draped it over Ichiro before quietly slipping out again.

Ichiro slept for a full three days!

That showed just how tightly wound he'd been after going crazy with work for the past two months.

When he woke up, Ichiro smiled and touched the blanket on top of him. He was just about to get up and begin the final experiment when a loud rumbling stopped him.

"Grrrrr..."

His stomach was empty.

"Swish~"

Just as Ichiro was about to get up and go find something to eat, the door swished open. The captain walked in carrying a food box.

"You're awake? How's the research going?" he asked, opening the food box and taking out the meal inside, kept warm with Kido.

"The research is complete. There's only one last step left. I'll be done soon."

"Then congratulations. Eat first; I'll get going. Remember to come tell me when you're finished."

"Mm. Take care, Captain."

After watching the captain leave the warehouse, Ichiro bent over his food again.

"Hah~"

Once he'd eaten his fill, Ichiro let out a long breath. After clearing away the dishes, his expression changed. The relaxed look faded as he stood up solemnly and walked to the middle of the warehouse. He cleared the space, took a few deep breaths, then focused and began carving a Transmutation Circle into the floor.

A Human Transmutation Circle!

These two months of hard work had all been for this day!

Strictly speaking, a Transmutation Circle for Reishi Alchemy might have worked too. Based on what Ichiro had learned in his first life, Human Transmutation was only a side effect of a Human Transmutation Circle. Its real purpose was to let the practitioner see the Gate.

So if he wanted to perform Human Transmutation, he might not need this particular circle. But Ichiro also didn't know whether the act of Human Transmutation itself would make someone see the Gate of Truth. He'd never tried it, and he didn't dare.

But now it didn't matter. He wanted to see the Gate of Truth!

Only then could he maximize the effects of this Human Transmutation!

Make it as perfect as possible!

After finishing the circle, Ichiro stood up and inspected it carefully twice. Once he was sure there were no mistakes, he slowly placed the various elements needed for a human into the circle, one by one.

This, too, was for the sake of a perfect transmutation!

In theory, because of Soul Society's unique nature, Reishi alone should have been enough. But Ichiro didn't want to introduce any variables, so he had prepared these processed materials, striving for perfection!

Once every step was complete, Ichiro took several more deep breaths. He unfastened the Zanpakuto World from his waist and held it up in front of him, looking it over. Then he smiled and said softly, "Just wait, World. Soon, we'll finally be able to meet properly!"

Then he gently placed the Zanpakuto in the middle of the Transmutation Circle!

Next, he stepped out of the circle and pressed both hands to the floor, immersing his mind in it.

Analysis of the Zanpakuto's physical and spiritual essence complete!

Decomposition complete!

Reconstruction complete!

As the final step was completed, a great burst of white light and powerful spiritual pressure spread out from the circle, illuminating the dark room—and Ichiro's excited face.

"It worked!"

Huh? There's another spiritual pressure? Did the experiment succeed?

Not far away, the captain and Kiyonosuke were treating a patient when they both looked toward the warehouse. They exchanged a glance, and the captain let go of the patient's hand.

"I'll leave things here to you. I'm going over there."

"Yes, Captain."

On the other side, as the white light faded, a graceful figure dressed in court robes appeared. Tears streamed down her face as she said,

"Lord Ichiro, you shouldn't have gone this far for World..."