As the sun set, Hachihara, who had happily spent another day shopping in the commercial district, returned to her dormitory and immediately shared the snacks she had just bought with her companions; this had become her habit.
Although her expenses were higher than before, the joy she gained was many times greater.
“Takashi! Ichigo! Rindō! I’m back, come see what I bought… Eh?”
She knocked on the door of Room 001.
Hachihara’s gaze passed over Rindō, who opened the door, and turned to the room, her cheerful expression freezing.
This was because Takashi was tinkering with some bottles and jars, while Ichigo stood beside him, holding his Zanpakutō and gesturing as if planning to harm himself, his face conflicted.
“What are you doing?”
Unintentionally, the Kansai dialect she had picked up from others slipped out.
“Nothing much, just trying to earn some extra money, but the product we’re selling has run into a small problem, though it’s not a big deal and will be resolved soon… So, Ichigo, why are you still standing there? Hurry up and get to it, my potions and energy are limited.”
Faced with Takashi’s urging, Ichigo wished he could pick up his Zangetsu and cleave him.
“You came up with the plan, so why am I the one being experimented on?!”
“Because I’m also the one solving the problem.”
“…You’d better actually solve the problem.”
“Of course, although I’m not a scientist, I have confidence in myself.”
To be precise, he had confidence in the Compound Potion.
Takashi’s business plan had encountered a small problem.
The main issue was with the hot spring water.
Kirinji Tenjirō’s Kaidō technique was truly the strongest in Soul Society; the hot springs he created countless years ago were still so miraculous, but this miraculous quality could only be experienced by soaking in them.
Once the hot spring water was removed from the pool, its effects drastically decreased.
When poured on a wound, it could only stop bleeding.
Takashi speculated that the hot spring water was like formalin, requiring cooperation with other equipment and agents to maximize its effect.
And he happened to have the Compound Potion gifted by the Machine Soul.
Previously, he had always activated it directly, allowing the potion to be instantly absorbed by the body; this time, he tried to extract the potion separately and succeeded easily.
One dose was 100 milliliters.
Two hundred milliliters a day.
Takashi mixed the materialized potion into the hot spring water, and sure enough, the two produced a wonderful chemical reaction, with effects comparable to soaking in a hot spring.
At this point, things became much simpler.
It was merely a matter of adjusting the ratio.
Compressing the proportion of the potion as much as possible while ensuring its efficacy would not be too poor.
After all, the potion’s daily output was limited.
Unlike the endless supply of hot spring water.
On another note, running back and forth was also quite troublesome; although Takashi didn’t feel bad about Ichigo’s physical exertion, he also hoped to stock up more at once to save time and energy.
Earning extra money was one thing, but it must never affect daily training.
This was the bottom line.
After listening for a while, Hachihara also understood the situation and curiously watched Ichigo pour a teacup of water onto the wound on his hand.
After more than half an hour, the wound healed.
“It worked!”
“No, it failed.”
Takashi shook his head.
“The effect is too poor.”
“Huh?”
Hachihara wanted to say that ordinary wound medicine wasn’t that effective, but seeing Ichigo and Rindō also wearing expressions of deep agreement, she couldn’t help but be stunned.
“According to the current ratio, we can produce at most thirty portions per day, each 100 milliliters. If we want to strengthen the effect and make the wound visibly heal, I’m afraid even ten portions wouldn’t be enough.”
Although taking the luxury route wasn’t impossible…
“By the way, can this be drunk?”
Hachihara suddenly asked.
“I don’t know, how about…”
Takashi’s gaze turned to Ichigo.
The latter, with a dark face, sternly refused: “Don’t even think about it! I wouldn’t drink it even if I died!”
Five minutes later.
Ichigo clutched his stomach and quickly ran into the restroom.
“I didn’t expect drinking it would cause diarrhea.”
Seeing this scene, Takashi pondered.
Hachihara and Rindō, who were beside him, fell silent.
If they hadn’t expected it, they also hadn’t expected Takashi to be able to persuade Ichigo to throw caution to the wind and drink the medicine with just one sentence: “You wouldn’t want people to keep sacrificing themselves to protect humanity in places you can’t see, would you?”
“Ichigo is too kind.”
Hachihara felt conflicted.
“That’s right.”
Takashi nodded slightly, but there was no hint of disdain on his face.
“But he’s not a fool, and I don’t treat him like a fool, which is why he’s willing to stick with it to the end.”
“Alas, I guess this is a failure then.”
“No… it’s a success.”
Hachihara’s disappointment didn’t last too long; almost as soon as she finished speaking, Ichigo returned.
And seeing his figure, Takashi couldn’t help but curve his lips into a smile.
Although Ichigo’s face was sullen, he still raised his hand, which now only bore a faint scar on the back, and said unhappily: “I’ll grudgingly admit your crooked trick worked, but I don’t want to experience that again.”
“There’s no need to try again, but how does diarrhea cause wounds to heal quickly? What’s the principle? Is it expelling necrotic spiritual pressure?”
“Who knows, but won’t wound medicine with such a side effect greatly reduce its price?”
“Indeed.”
Takashi agreed with Ichigo’s point.
“So we won’t sell it as wound medicine.”
At these words, Ichigo, Hachihara, and Rindō were all slightly startled.
…
Ōmaeda, who had just returned from patrolling Rukongai, felt uncomfortable all over.
“Honestly, that captain of ours just opens her mouth and assigns so many strange work methods for me to lead people to practice while investigating, it’s really too willful. If you ask me, no one will ever marry her…”
Suddenly spotting someone ahead, Ōmaeda quickly shut his mouth.
He only relaxed after seeing who it was, then put on his Lieutenant demeanor and swaggered over.
“What are you two brats doing here? The dormitory isn’t in this direction.”
“Ichigo and I came to the commercial district to sell some things.”
Takashi pointed to Ichigo, who had a strange expression beside him.
“Is that so… Wait, selling things, not buying things? With your financial standing, what could you possibly be selling? Don’t get involved in any shady business. Even if Captain Aizen doesn’t get angry, this Ōmaeda won’t stand by and do nothing!”
“Thank you for your concern. This guy’s family ran a hospital when he was alive, and they have a family herbal recipe. Although it only has trivial functions like regulating the stomach and intestines, balancing gut flora, suppressing liver and stomach fire, and alleviating mental anxiety, I thought it might have a market, so I tried making some to sell.”
“Did you hit a wall?”
Ōmaeda was delighted.
He wouldn’t genuinely feel this way about others, but the two brats in front of him were geniuses, future Captain successors, and it wasn’t easy to get a laugh out of them.
“Yes.”
Ignoring Ichigo’s almost uncontainable expression, Takashi sighed.
“I don’t know why, but after drinking that medicine, one can’t help but want to go to the restroom, and some spiritual power also drains away. Additionally, all injuries on the body disappear along with it.”
“Wait… what did you say?”
Ōmaeda keenly caught some information.
“All injuries on the body disappear along with it?”
“Although I don’t understand the principle, it’s indeed true.”
Takashi raised an eyebrow.
“What? Are you interested in this laxative?”
“How could I be… A mere laxative. My family is in the jewelry business; it’s too unfitting for me.”
Ōmaeda cleared his throat, then changed the subject.
“But then again, we did fight side-by-side, and you saved my life. As a wealthy person, I can’t be worse than a commoner in terms of gratitude, so this wound medicine… No, this laxative, sell it to me.”
“It just so happens that the Second Division has been working very hard these past few days, and everyone hasn’t been eating well, so their stomachs might be very uncomfortable. It could come in handy.”
“This is a win-win situation.”
“Indeed, that would be excellent.”
Takashi readily agreed.
Then the two parties began to discuss how to trade.
Ōmaeda wanted to buy out the prescription, but Takashi refused without hesitation.
So he severely cut the price.
Five thousand kan per portion, equivalent to five thousand Japanese yen.
“That’s absolutely impossible. The cost of acquiring the materials alone is more than that. I’ll compromise, fifty thousand.”
“???”
Ōmaeda wanted to ask, are you compromising by stepping on my head?
“Ten thousand! I’ll buy a lot, and I might even sell it to other Divisions, so your profits will be huge then.”
“In that case, why don’t we find a few more distributors and let you bid against each other?”
Takashi looked as if he had just realized something.
Ōmaeda secretly cursed his miscalculation and quickly shouted: “Twenty thousand, and I want exclusive distribution! This is the price, take it or leave it! Don’t forget, I’m from the Onmitsukidō, and I have the right to seal off your operation!”
“You’re not playing fair, but never mind, it’s just a laxative business, no need to be so petty. We’ll do as you say. How do we deliver?”
“Wait for my notification. I’ll send someone to the Spirit Arts Academy to find you. I want one hundred portions for the first batch. If the effect is good, I’ll place another order. Any problems?”
“No problem, then, a pleasure working with you.”
Takashi and Ōmaeda shook hands with smiles on their faces.
The two parted ways.
After walking out of Ōmaeda’s line of sight, Ichigo, who had been silent, let out a long sigh.
“That was close, I thought that guy would see through us.”
“How could he? He’s quite happy right now.”
Takashi’s tone was calm, devoid of the helplessness he’d shown earlier when his medicine hit a wall and was then haggled down.
Ichigo almost laughed in exasperation.
“That’s right, we made the healing medicine into a laxative, thinking it wouldn’t sell. But then, when we sold it as a laxative, some people felt like they’d found a great bargain, discovered a new use, and couldn’t wait to get their hands on it.”
“A hundred portions, made with hot spring water and the medicine you concocted yourself, almost no cost. In just three days, two million will be in hand, which is equivalent to a Captain-level Shinigami’s monthly salary. And this is just the beginning; once he tastes the sweetness, he’ll definitely place orders continuously, surpassing a Captain in no time.”
“I never thought we’d initially achieve the financial freedom you talked about like this…”
Everything that happened today truly refreshed Ichigo’s worldview.
He also genuinely admired Takashi’s mind.
“Um, Takashi…”
“Speak.”
“Do you think I still have a chance to become as eloquent as you?”
“…”
Takashi stopped, his gaze scanning Ichigo up and down.
“Do you believe you can reincarnate into the ninja world?”