Chapter 7: The Powerful Improved Version
Unohana Retsu took the material list. As the captain of the Fourth Division (Medical Corps), she immediately discerned the authenticity of the formula upon seeing the annotations behind each type of material.
Unohana Retsu had three purposes for coming here: first, to judge Su Xiao's intentions; second, to confirm Su Xiao's abilities; and third, after confirming the first two points, she would be responsible for negotiating with Su Xiao.
For a researcher like Su Xiao, if he were truly recruited into the Soul Society, he would normally be handed over to the Twelfth Division (Technical Development Corps) under the jurisdiction of Nemu Kurotsuchi. However, Su Xiao was producing potions, so it was perfectly reasonable for Unohana Retsu to oversee him instead.
Or rather, once Unohana Retsu confirmed Su Xiao's abilities, she had come to "snatch him away." The Thirteen Court Guard Squads appeared to be a unified whole, but in reality, each division had different functions.
The Second Division was the Punishment Force, mainly handling internal affairs of the Soul Society, with a captain named Soi Fon. The Third Division was the Support Force, rarely going out to execute orders on its own. The Fourth and Fifth Divisions were the Medical Corps and Rescue Corps, often working together.
It was worth noting that Sosuke Aizen was the captain of the Fifth Division (Rescue Corps), and he held high prestige within the Soul Society. After all, when Soul Reapers encountered danger, it was the Fifth Division that rescued them.
Do not underestimate the Rescue Corps; it was a very powerful division. As for the Sixth through Tenth Divisions, they were responsible for internal Soul Society affairs, respectively: the Noble Exclusive Division, the Inner Court Guard Division, the Intelligence Division, the Prison Division, and the Patrol Security Division.
As for the Eleventh Division, this division was quite interesting. Or rather, this division was full of brutes. Since its founding, eight captains had died, and the current captain was the Eleventh Kenpachi, Kenpachi Zaraki.
There was a saying circulating in the Soul Society: to become the captain of the Eleventh Division, one must at least become the current Kenpachi, otherwise, they couldn't command respect. As for the Eleventh Division's function, there was no need to guess—it was the combat-exclusive division, with the highest casualty rate among all divisions.
The title of Kenpachi was not easily earned. Each generation of Kenpachi was essentially the strongest captain among the Thirteen Divisions, aside from the Captain-Commander.
Interestingly, Unohana Retsu, this gentle and mature woman, was actually the first-generation Kenpachi!
Therefore, Unohana Retsu was by no means someone to be trifled with. Her combat prowess ranked among the top of the captains. Now, she seemed to have laid down her sword and turned to saving lives.
"Only these materials?"
Unohana Retsu folded the list in her hand, tucked it into her sleeve, and then looked at Su Xiao with a smile. Su Xiao also wore a smile.
Both of them were smiling as they looked at each other. Under normal circumstances, the atmosphere in the room should have been quite pleasant. However, Matsumoto Rangiku, sitting to the side, felt something was wrong, very wrong.
Cold sweat trickled down Matsumoto Rangiku's cheeks. Although the other two were both smiling, she always had a feeling that they might suddenly erupt at any moment and start fighting in the next second.
"I only need these."
Su Xiao was still locking eyes with Unohana Retsu. He sensed a dense blood aura on this woman, a blood aura that couldn't be obtained by killing just a few hundred or a few thousand people.
"In that case, I'll go prepare first. I'll wait for your good news later. If you encounter any difficulties, you can come find me at the Fourth Division's barracks."
Unohana Retsu stood up.
"Rangiku, your complexion doesn't look good. Would you like to come to the Fourth Division for a check-up?"
"Uh... no need, thank you, Captain Retsu."
Matsumoto Rangiku had something she didn't say: the reason her complexion was so terrible was entirely because of the eerie feeling that the two of you might start fighting at any moment.
Unohana Retsu and Matsumoto Rangiku left. Su Xiao gently rubbed his forehead. Unohana Retsu was very difficult to deal with. He would try to minimize contact with her. If he wasn't mistaken, he would ultimately be assigned to either the Fourth Division or the Twelfth Division.
Compared to the mad scientist of the Twelfth Division, Su Xiao felt that Unohana Retsu was more troublesome. However, things had progressed smoothly so far. He had at least entered the Soul Society and had the opportunity to climb the ranks.
After thinking it over, Su Xiao realized that aside from the danger of dealing with Unohana Retsu, joining the Fourth Division was actually a good choice. First, the Fourth Division was the Medical Corps, which made it convenient for him to hide his combat strength. He was a researcher and medical personnel. Even if those Soul Reapers had the thickest faces, they wouldn't send him into battle.
Given the current situation, Su Xiao wasn't very interested in fighting Hollows. On the contrary, killing Soul Reapers yielded higher rewards: Zanpakuto + Bio Energy + Treasure Chest + World Source, killing multiple birds with one stone.
The efficiency of hunting Soul Reapers in the Human World or the Rukon District was too low, so Su Xiao directly entered the Soul Society, where there were the most Soul Reapers, and he could choose his targets freely.
Thinking of this, Su Xiao shook his head. He was now a friendly and easygoing researcher. Those matters could be considered later.
After Unohana Retsu left, Su Xiao received a large number of prompts.
[Hunter has joined the Soul Society (Soul Reaper Faction).]
[You have become a temporary member of the Fourth Division.]
[Faction reputation pending activation. If the Hunter becomes a full member of the Fourth Division, Soul Society reputation will be activated. The Hunter can use Soul Society reputation to exchange items at the Sixth Division (Noble Exclusive Division).]
...
The Sixth Division could be considered the most special of the thirteen divisions. Nominally, they were the "Noble Exclusive Division," but in reality, they controlled supplies, finances, etc. All expenditures of the Soul Society were managed by the Sixth Division, and its captain was Byakuya Kuchiki.
Byakuya Kuchiki was usually stern and unsmiling, but no one wanted to provoke him. Not to mention his noble status, this guy was in charge of the money. Whoever provoked him would be in trouble. Even the sinister Nemu Kurotsuchi was unwilling to provoke him.
Offending Byakuya Kuchiki meant that Nemu Kurotsuchi's research team would face funding problems. It was well known that the Twelfth Division (Research Corps) was perpetually in a state of deficit. Without the Sixth Division's support, they might not even be able to make ends meet, let alone conduct research.
The Fourth Division's efficiency was quite good. In less than two hours, a Soul Reaper delivered a large amount of materials and equipment. The equipment was relatively simple, all essential items for potion preparation.
Five hours later, the first batch of materials was complete. With these materials, Su Xiao certainly couldn't immediately produce the Ancient Secret Medicine (Spirit Particle Improved Version). He first needed to determine the properties of these materials.
The next day at dawn, Su Xiao, who hadn't slept all night, was finally ready. All kinds of materials had been processed, and semi-solid spirit particles had condensed into a piece the size of a dragon's eye.
The preparation began. The process wasn't as smooth as imagined. After failing more than fifty times, Su Xiao finally concocted a potion he was satisfied with.
Su Xiao shook a test tube in his hand. Inside was a light green liquid, looking warm and full of vitality. Faint white specks of light could be seen flickering within the solution.
[Ancient Secret Medicine (Improved Version)]
Origin: Bleach
Quality: Purple ~ Gold
Type: Recovery Item / Permanent Enhancement Potion
Effect: After drinking, rapidly recovers 21% Health Points (due to high spirit particle content, the effect is increased by 4 times for Soul Reapers, Hollows, and Arrancars), and permanently increases spiritual pressure by 0.2% (can increase total spiritual pressure by up to 3%; if spiritual pressure is too strong, this potion can only recover Health Points and cannot provide permanent enhancement).
Tip: Soul Reapers, Hollows, and Arrancars can drink once every 10 hours. If consumed within less than 10 hours, they will bear significant risks.
Description: A potion exclusively improved for Soul Reapers, Hollows, and Arrancars.
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