As the sun set, Yayahara Kumanaru, having spent another happy day shopping, returned to the dorm. The first thing she did was share her snacks with her friends, a habit she had developed.
She was spending more money than before, but she was also many times happier.
"Shigū! Ichigo! Rindo! I'm ba— huh?"
She knocked and opened the door to Room 001.
Yayahara's gaze went past Rindo Itaru, who had opened the door, and her happy expression froze.
Shigū Takeru was fiddling with a bunch of bottles and vials. Ichigo was standing nearby, holding his Zanpakutō with a look of pure agony, as if contemplating self-harm.
"What are you guys doin'?"
In her shock, she'd slipped into a Kansai dialect she'd picked up from somewhere.
"Nothing. Just trying to make some extra cash. We've run into a small problem with the product... but it's not a big deal. It'll be solved soon... So, Brother Kurosaki, what are you spacing out for? Get to it. My potions and my energy are limited."
At Takeru's urging, Ichigo looked like he wanted to cleave him in two with Zangetsu.
"This was your plan! Why am I the test subject!?"
"Because I'm the one solving the problem."
"...You'd better actually be able to solve it."
"Of course. I'm no scientist, but I have confidence in myself."
To be precise, he had confidence in his 「Compound Potion」.
Takeru's business plan had hit a snag.
The problem was the spring water. Kirinji Tenjirō's healing arts were truly the best in the Soul Society. The spring he'd built ages ago was magical, but only when you were in it.
Once removed, the water's effect dropped dramatically.
Poured on a wound, it could only stop the bleeding.
Takeru surmised that the spring water was like formalin; it needed to be combined with other reagents to be effective.
And as it happened, he had the 「Compound Potion」 from the [Machine Spirit].
He'd always just "activated" it, letting his body absorb it instantly. This time, he tried to extract the potion itself, and it worked easily.
One "use" was about 100ml.
That meant 200ml per day.
Takeru mixed the manifested potion with the spring water. As expected, they had a strange chemical reaction. The effect was now comparable to soaking in the spring itself.
From there, it was simple.
It was just a matter of adjusting the ratio.
He needed to use as little of the potion as possible while ensuring the effect wasn't too diluted.
After all, his daily potion supply was limited.
The spring water was not.
On the other hand, running back and forth was a pain. While Takeru wasn't worried about Ichigo's stamina, he wanted to stock up as much as possible at one time to save energy.
Making money was fine, but it could not interfere with his daily training.
That was the bottom line.
Yayahara listened for a while and finally understood. She watched curiously as Ichigo poured a teacup of the mixture onto a cut on the back of his hand.
Half an hour later, the wound was healed.
"It worked!" she cheered.
"No, it failed," Takeru shook his head. "The effect is too weak."
"Huh?"
Yayahara wanted to say that no normal medicine worked that fast, but she saw that Ichigo and Rindo Itaru both looked like they agreed with Takeru. She was baffled.
"At the current ratio, we can produce thirty 100ml doses a day, tops. If we want to strengthen it, to make the wound heal before our eyes... we'd be lucky to make ten."
Takeru fell into thought. Going the "luxury goods" route wasn't out of the question...
"By the way, can you drink it?" Yayahara suddenly asked.
"I don't know. Maybe..." Takeru's gaze shifted to Ichigo.
Ichigo's face darkened as he refused emphatically. "Don't even think about it! I'd rather die!"
Five minutes later.
Ichigo was clutching his stomach, sprinting for the bathroom.
"I didn't expect it to cause diarrhea," Takeru noted, watching him go.
Yayahara and Rindo Itaru were silent.
What they hadn't expected was that Takeru could actually persuade Ichigo to drink the "medicine" with a single line: "You don't want people to keep sacrificing themselves in places you can't see, do you?"
"Ichigo... is too kind," Yayahara said, her feelings complicated.
"He is," Takeru nodded, his face showing no sign of mockery.
"But he's not an idiot. And I don't treat him like one. That's why he's willing to go along with this."
"Sigh. Well, I guess this is a failure."
"No... it's a success."
Yayahara's disappointment didn't last. Just as she spoke, Ichigo returned.
Seeing him, Takeru's lips curled into a smile.
Ichigo's face was sour, but he held up his hand, which now only bore a faint scar. "I'll admit your crazy trick worked. But I am never going through that again."
"No need. But... diarrhea makes wounds heal faster? What's the principle? Does it... excrete the 'dead' Reiatsu?"
"Who knows? But a healing potion with that side effect is going to take a major price cut, right?"
"Indeed," Takeru agreed.
"So, we won't sell it as a healing potion."
At those words, Ichigo, Yayahara, and Rindo Itaru all paused.
...
Ōmaeda, just back from his patrol in the Rukongai, felt sore and uncomfortable all over.
"Seriously... that Captain of mine. She just opens her mouth and assigns all these weird, new patrol methods. Forcing me to 'practice' them while I'm on duty. She's so unreasonable! I'm telling you, no one's ever going to marry..."
He suddenly spotted someone up ahead and snapped his mouth shut.
Once he saw who it was, he relaxed, puffing his chest out with his Vice-Captain's authority as he sauntered over.
"What are you two brats doing here? The dorms aren't in this direction."
"Brother Kurosaki and I are here in the business district to sell something," Takeru said, gesturing to Ichigo, who had a strange expression on his face.
"Oh... wait, 'sell' something? Not 'buy'? What could you possibly have to sell? Don't get involved in any shady business. Even if Captain Aizen wouldn't get mad, I, Lord Ōmaeda, will not stand for it!"
"Thanks for your concern. This guy's family owned a hospital when he was alive. He has an old family herbal remedy. It's nothing much... just regulates the stomach, balances gut flora, suppresses 'liver-fire' and 'stomach-fire,' and eases anxiety. But I thought it might have a market, so we made some to sell."
"And you failed, right?" Ōmaeda was clearly enjoying this.
He wouldn't act this way with just anyone, but these two brats were geniuses, future Captain-replacements. The chance to see them fail was rare.
"We did," Takeru sighed, ignoring Ichigo's "I'm-about-to-snap" expression.
"I don't know why, but after you drink it... you really have to go to the bathroom. You lose a little spiritual power, too. And... any wounds on your body just... disappear."
"A weird laxative like that? It'd be weird if you didn't fail."
"Wait... what did you say?"
Ōmaeda's sharp ears had caught something.
"'Any wounds on your body just... disappear'?"
"I don't get the principle, but yeah, that's what it does," Takeru said with a raised eyebrow.
"So? Are you interested in this... laxative?"
"As if... a mere laxative... My family is in the gemstone business! It's beneath me."
Ōmaeda coughed, then immediately changed his tune.
"But, that said, we did fight side-by-side. And you did save my life. A rich man can't be less honorable than a commoner! So this... healing... I mean, this laxative... I'll buy it."
"The 2nd Division has been working hard lately. No one's been eating right. Their stomachs are probably a mess. This... could be just what they need."
"It's a win-win."
"Indeed. That would be for the best," Takeru agreed readily.
The two then began to negotiate.
Ōmaeda wanted to buy the recipe, but Takeru refused without hesitation.
So, Ōmaeda went for a hard bargain on the price.
"Five thousand kan per bottle. That's 5,000 yen."
"Absolutely not. The materials cost more than that. I'll meet you in the middle. 50,000."
"???"
Ōmaeda wanted to ask, 'Are you meeting me in the middle or on top of my head?!'
"10,000! I'm buying in bulk! I might even sell it to other divisions. Think of the profits you'll make!"
"If that's the case, why don't we just find other distributors and let you all bid for it?"
Takeru said, as if the thought had just occurred to him.
Ōmaeda cursed his slip-up. "20,000! And I get exclusive distribution rights! That's my final offer, take it or leave it! And don't forget, I'm Onmitsukidō! I have the right to confiscate your product!"
"You really don't play fair, do you? But fine. It's just a 'laxative' business. No need to split hairs. We have a deal. How do we make the delivery?"
"Wait for my signal. I'll send someone to the Academy. For the first batch, I want one hundred bottles. If the effect is good, I'll order more. Any problems?"
"No problem. A pleasure doing business with you."
Takeru and Ōmaeda shook hands, both smiling.
They parted ways.
Once they were out of Ōmaeda's sight, Ichigo, who had been silent the entire time, let out a huge sigh.
"That was close. I thought for sure he'd see through it."
"No way. He's ecstatic right now," Takeru said, his voice flat. All the previous frustration of a failed salesman was gone.
Ichigo almost laughed.
"Of course he is. We made a healing potion that works like a laxative. We thought we couldn't sell it. But then we sold it as a laxative, and he thinks he's the one who got the steal, discovering its 'secret use.' He can't wait to get his hands on it."
"One hundred bottles. With just spring water and your potion... it's almost zero cost. In three days, that's two million kan. That's a Captain's monthly salary. And this is just the beginning. Once he gets a taste, he'll keep ordering. We'll be richer than a Captain in no time."
"I can't believe... this is your 'financial freedom'..."
Everything that had happened today had completely shattered Ichigo's worldview.
He was genuinely in awe of Takeru's mind.
"Hey, uh... Shigū..."
"Spit it out."
"Do you... do you think I still have a chance... to become as smooth a talker as you?"
"..."
Takeru stopped walking. He looked Ichigo up and down.
"Do you believe you can be reincarnated in the Ninja World?"
"..."
-------
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