Bleach: No cheat codes, he joined Aizen's side.

Chapter 160, Section 158: Aizen First, Barragan Next
Figures darted across the scorched earth.

Black, a symbol of death and aging, flickered continuously in the space, and spirit beings kept emerging, using their bodies to extinguish the light.

Unlike his previous battle with Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni, facing Higashino Shuichi, no matter how much Barragan didn't want to admit it, he had to acknowledge in his actions that Higashino Shuichi was more troublesome than Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni.

Because Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni was unaware of Barragan's specific abilities and their strength, and because Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni preferred a straightforward approach and didn't mince words, Barragan treated Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni like he usually treated his prey in Hueco Mundo—he wanted to torture him slowly and thoroughly to find more enjoyment in the process.

However, it was different for Shuichi Higashino. Although because of him, he went to Hueco Mundo far less often than the two Shinigami who joined later, he would inevitably be found by himself every time, and then the two of them would beat him up.

This resulted in Higashino Shuichi being very familiar with his own moves.

Conversely, Barragan was also very clear about what abilities Higashino Shuichi possessed.

Therefore, at the start of his battle with Higashino Shuichi, Barragan did not choose the same passive approach he had used when fighting Yamamoto.

He is well aware of the drawbacks of his aging ability after so many years of fighting.

Both the speed of generation and the speed of production are factors beyond his control.

However, in general, Barragán only needs to consider one factor that affects speed.

To defeat him by exploiting the speed at which his aging abilities develop, the first requirement is to far surpass him in spiritual pressure.

And Barragán has only ever seen one such Grim Reaper or Hollow so far.

That was Koyat Stark.

Even Aizen Sousuke, Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni, or that stinky monk who initially defeated him, none of them could match him in terms of pure spiritual pressure.

This is one of the few things a Hollow can be proud of in front of a Shinigami before mastering the Resurrección ability.

Clearly, Shuichi Higashino, a Shinigami whose spiritual pressure is not even half that of Aizen, does not have the ability to exploit this loophole.

Therefore, rather than defeating Higashino Shuichi, Barragan was more worried about how to keep Higashino Shuichi around.

If his past attacks on Higashino Shuichi were indeed not taken too seriously because of Aizen's existence, then...

This time, Barragan truly intended to kill Higashino Shuichi.

Therefore, contrary to his usual style, he chose a playing style that made it easier for him to resemble Shuichi Higashino.

Hand-to-hand combat!
Only in this way, through close contact, did Barragan believe he had a chance to let this slippery Higashino Shuichi eat his aging ability.

Otherwise, given Higashino Shuichi's personality, he would have shamelessly turned and run away after realizing he was outmatched.

This is not Barragan's imagination, but a bloody reality that has occurred to Barragan several times in the past.

What Barragan didn't expect was that Higashino Shuichi could actually come up with such a method as sacrificing spirit beings.

For a moment, the two were actually locked in a stalemate in mid-air.

"Hmph, the idea is quite good, but Higashino Shuichi, if I remember correctly, the number of these gadgets you have is limited, right?"

How much inventory do you actually have left to use in this war of attrition?!

Another axe blow came down, and yet another group of spirit beings suddenly appeared out of nowhere, blocking Higashino Shuichi's sighing light composed of the aura of aging that symbolized death.

"That's enough for you."

Confidence was also written on Shuichi Higashino's face.

"However, what you said does make some sense. If we keep going like this, it will definitely never end."

"I overestimated you, Barragan. I originally thought you would have grown somewhat in the more than ten years since I left Hueco Mundo, but now it seems..."

At this point, a mocking sneer appeared on Higashino Shuichi's face again.

This seemed to be a precise guess of Barragán's minefield. He was used to teasing and mocking his prey in this way, so how could he tolerate Higashino Shuichi's blatant mockery?

"Don't get too cocky, Higashino Shuichi. If I wanted to kill you now, it would be as easy as it used to be!"

Before he finished speaking, Barragan used his Resonance Technique and reappeared in front of Higashino Shuichi.

The raindrops hit the giant axe he held high in his hand, and vanished instantly, as if entering some forbidden zone.

He's anxious, he's anxious!

Unfortunately, Higashino Shuichi knew Barragan's personality inside and out, so Barragan's axe didn't even touch the hem of Higashino Shuichi's clothes.

Just by seeing Barragan's figure disappear from his spot, Higashino knew that Barragan was coming again. Therefore, Higashino took a small step back in advance, and the moment Barragan appeared, a group of Spirit Particles rushed to appear where Higashino had been.

However, as Higashino Shuichi said, this time, blocking the attack was just the beginning of the counterattack.

"Tracing the origins of military strategy, Bankai, self-inflicted injury, and blossoming on a tree!"

This time, Ikeda Yukimura, far away in hell, did not cry and complain as he had done before.

Because during this period, he experienced the darkest time since he came to hell.

Because his physical strength was forcibly drained, he was no longer the Ikeda Yukimura who could fight a group of ancient Hollows to the end of time, but a miserable soul who was chased by different Hollows every day.

In other words, there is no real concept of death in hell; otherwise, the total number of deaths during Ikeda Yukimura's time would be an astronomical figure that would deter anyone from even approaching it.

Of course, none of the above are the most important. The most important thing is that Ikeda Yukimura's spiritual pressure has been drained to a very low level.

Having experienced the previous times, Ikeda Yukimura knew very well that after his power was completely borrowed this time, his spiritual pressure would be further reduced.

And there's a very high probability that it will be reduced to below the entry threshold for hell.

When that moment comes, Hell, which absolutely does not tolerate idlers, will mercilessly kick him out of Hell and reclaim the Hellic power that has become one with him.

So, what will happen when he, who has already died once in Soul Society, is stripped of his Hell powers and banished back to Soul Society?

Without a doubt, his body would collapse, and he would inevitably have to fulfill his original mission: to return the spirit particles that made up his body to the Soul Society.

By then, Ikeda Yukimura's life would truly be coming to an end. However, although he understood and could articulate the道理 (principles/reasoning), Higashino Shuichi, who intended to borrow his power, was unaware of this.
"The screams of hell, the burning of sins, the endless pain, the endless fate, the double swastika, and the haunting of evil spirits!"

In front of Barragán, Hideichi Higashino performed his Double Bankai in one go.

Dark, ghostly figures coiled around his body, and at the same time, similar ghostly figures appeared one after another on the vast expanse of scorched earth beneath the feet of Higashino Shuichi and Barragan.

They are the armor, weapons, and add-ons of Higashino Shuichi's Spirit Particle soldiers!

“Byregan, you know what? I once consulted Stark, and I asked him, ‘How did you defeat Byregan?’”

Do you know how Stark answered me?

Beneath the ghostly figure greedily gnawing at itself, a few white teeth peeked from Higashino Shuichi's lips.

He said, 'There's no special technique involved; it's just a matter of using a lot of Cero to blast you away.'

And I said, "What a coincidence! What he can do, I think I can do too!"

After saying that, Higashino Hideaki waved his hand, activating another Bankai ability of his Zanpakuto.

Tracing the origins of military strategy, it's like reviving a dead body!

In an instant, countless Gigai, whether on the edge of the battlefield or on the ground, in places that could be seen or not, turned into demons and swung their Zanpakuto, which were almost ornamental, at Barragan.

Countless demonic forces rushed towards Baregang.

At times like this, there's no need to resort to inefficient methods like using different demonic arts to deal with different enemy abilities or states.

Higashino had only one requirement for them: to maintain a continuous and uninterrupted bombardment of Barragan with advanced demonic arts.

Meanwhile, Higashino Shuichi himself, with the protection of the multiple layers of ghost shadows on his body and Ikeda Yukimura's Bankai ability, completely enhanced himself in all aspects and began the second phase of their close-quarters battle with Barragan once again.

This approach was actually inspired by Yuki Kurato, the former captain of the 10th Division whom he had personally killed.

During his battle with Yuki Kurato, Higashino Shuichi witnessed firsthand that even though he had defeated Yuki Kurato, the ghostly figures attached to him stood guard in front of him with even greater seriousness, protecting him from death.

Fortunately, Higashino Shuichi's gamble paid off. The layers of ghostly shadows on his body were indeed working hard to help him resist Barragan's aging, which allowed Higashino Shuichi to fearlessly display his swordsmanship skills in front of Barragan.

Unfortunately, Higashino Shuichi saw in his mind the image of Ikeda Yukimura in hell, whose body was beginning to collapse.

This also means that the time Higashino Shuichi will be able to maintain his dual Bankai will be far shorter than he expected.

Therefore, Higashino Shuichi needs to choose a more efficient way to solve the Barragan problem.

Otherwise, once Ikeda Yukimura's body collapses and the divine markings engraved on his body disappear, Higashino Shuichi believes that his Bankai ability, Tree Blossoms, will most likely also lose its effect. Only when he goes to Hell again and finds a Shinigami or a Hollow to re-engrave the divine markings will he have a chance to regain the effect.

Thus, with the support of countless demons' demonic powers, Higashino Shuichi revealed his true colors to Barragan for the first time in this formal battle.

Close in and choke the flow!
Higashino Shuichi barely managed to control the surrounding spiritual particles, and Barragan's body was also uncontrollably frozen in place for less than half a second.

Is half a second a short time?
It's short; the time to light a cigarette is far more than half a second.

Is half a second a long time?
It was long enough for Higashino Shuichi, with the full support of Ghost Shadow and taking advantage of his current loan status, to unleash his strongest strike to date at the Battle of Le Guin.

Li Fuzhan!
The next moment, the black hole from the previous life finally manifested as flat entities one after another in the present Soul Society.

Even though the power of this strike was weakened by Barragan's aging ability, it still left countless spatial rifts on the vast expanse of scorched earth in front of Higashino Shuichi.

As for Barragan? One of his arms was also forcibly separated from his body by Higashino Hideo because he couldn't dodge in time.

Looking at the knife that Higashino Shuichi had stabbed, a knife that still made him feel lingering fear.

Barragan finally stopped underestimating Higashino Shuichi. He never expected that Higashino Shuichi would choose the most difficult method and almost succeed!

When exactly did Higashino Shuichi acquire this level of skill?
And with that kind of strength, why would he still be Aizen's lackey?!
Baregan could not understand, nor could he comprehend.

However, he wasn't without any countermeasures. He reached out and grabbed at the sky. Because the Seireitei's barrier had been breached, the coordinates had been exposed, allowing Barragan to open the Black Hole from within.

Higashino Shuichi looked up and subconsciously frowned.

Don't lie to him because he's inexperienced. Before he rushed back from Hueco Mundo, he checked the situation of Barragan and his Arrancar subordinates in Las Noches. So Higashino Shuichi was very sure that there was only Szayelaporro, who was in charge of guarding Las Noches in Hueco Mundo.

Is Baregane trying to bring Szayelaporro over?
Impossible. Due to core interests, Szayelaporro is unlikely to continue working for a boss like Barragán who has no future.

So, besides summoning the Faceless Ones, what else can Barragan do with his Black Hole?
Now it was Higashino Shuichi's turn to be puzzled. However, Higashino Shuichi's consistent style was that even if he was puzzled during a battle, his pre-planned strategy would not change because of it.

Especially now, Barragan is unable to go far for the time being because of his own Lee-Fu-Zhan.

Therefore, Higashino Shuichi made a decisive move and presented Barragan with his second inscription, "Offering of Love," which was named "Rie Fuzhan."

Barragán's inner thoughts on this can probably be summarized in seven words: "Thank you, but don't love me! I don't need it!"

The power of aging surged forth once more like a tide, attempting to corrupt Higashino Shuichi's slash.

But facing Higashino Shuichi in such a state, facing Higashino Shuichi who, despite his aging abilities, still wanted to get close and slash.

Barragán's ability to age is clearly not up to par.

Its rate of decay and corruption in relation to Higashino Shuichi's slashes was far slower than the speed at which the slashes caught up with Barragan's body.

And Barragán had nowhere to escape.

Because not only has his surroundings been sealed off by Higashino Shuichi's Kido using countless demons, but the space destroyed by the Ryou-Fu-Zan technique is also unable to support his use of Soni-Ten for the time being.

Ultimately, however, Higashino Shuichi was unable to end Barragan's life in this way as he had hoped.

His strike was ultimately blocked.

Not by Barragan himself, but by that enormous thing that crashed down from the black cavity.

What's wrong with this world? Has it started to go this crazy?
First, Aizen orchestrated the massacre of the Shiba family, and then Hueco Mundo aided them during the Battle of Barragan.
Yes, what Barragan pulled out of that huge black cavity was none other than Las Noches, which stands atop the Forest of Menreiki and whose status in Hueco Mundo rivals that of the Soul Society!
If Barragan learned anything from his past battles with Higashino Shuichi, then calling for backup when you can't win must have been the best lesson he learned.

(End of this chapter)