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

Chapter 189, Section 187: Here's your chance, give it a try!

It was late at night when Higashino Shuichi left Koizumi Izakaya.

The Grim Reapers had all left the hall, leaving only a few drunken Rukongai civilians still babbling incoherently at their respective tables.

Rukia had already finished get off work, and the izakaya owner seemed to know something, treating Higashino Shuichi and Ichimaru Gin, who was also dressed casually, with utmost respect.

They didn't even let Higashino Shuichi and Ichimaru Gin pay for the drinks.

Watching Gin Ichimaru walk alone back towards Seireitei, Shuichi Higashino paused for a moment before turning and leaving in another direction.

The notorious villains of the South Rukongai want to join the Sword Hunters. As the leader of the Sword Hunters, Higashino Shuichi has the responsibility and obligation to investigate their strength, background, and loyalty.

After that, no matter who asked, I always gave the same answer.

But it is clear that tonight, and even tomorrow, among the great villains of South Rukongai, there will not be a single one who is qualified.

Because an Arrancar attacked them, Higashino Shuichi naturally used this incident as a test for them.

However, these villains truly disappointed Higashino Shuichi, as not one of them survived the attack of that broken-faced creature.

"So, recently, not only in Soul Society, but also in Hueco Mundo, there have been frequent incidents of Shinigami dying?"

Standing inside the rebuilt Hueco Mundo, Higashino Shuichi looked at Aizen and said.

Outside the room, the current Espada No. 2, Halibel, and her three subordinates were on guard to ensure that no unauthorized personnel would accidentally enter.

"It was just some low-ranking Gillian who were killed, but it is still a considerable loss for Hueco Mundo right now."

Aizen glanced through the information compiled by Gin Ichimaru that Higashino Shuichi had given him, which he had rewritten and copied, and nodded in response.

It was indeed at his behest that Gin Ichimaru did this. It was mainly because seven years ago, in order to see what kind of person Shuichi Higashino was, and to give Shuichi Higashino a big gift, and at the same time to reorganize the entire Hueco Mundo into a force that was more obedient to his arrangements, Aizen personally designed and destroyed a small portion of Hueco Mundo's fighting force at that time.

To this end, he even went on a killing spree in Soul Society to barely maintain stability on both sides.

Therefore, in Hueco Mundo, which is now recovering, the Gillian, who were previously considered insignificant, have become especially important.

The unexpected disappearance of some Gillian is how Aizen came to his attention.

After a period of investigation, Gin Ichimaru finally narrowed down his target to an inconspicuous izakaya in Rukongai.

However, it now seems that this izakaya is not as simple as the other residents of Soul Society imagined.

"Is it reasonable that an izakaya that has been established for less than seven years is already more popular in the first ward of South Rukongai than some long-established shops that have been in business for hundreds of years?"

Aizen snorted coldly as he reviewed the documents.

"Whether it's reasonable or not is secondary. The main point is that this izakaya has a special offer: any Shinigami who has ever shed blood for Soul Society can enjoy the privilege of drinking one ring (the currency unit of Soul Society) of alcohol at this izakaya, as long as they can prove themselves."
What's the difference between this and free?

Hideichi Higashino pointed out something that he felt was very unreasonable.

In the real world, this behavior is generally called patriotism, but in Soul Society, Shuichi Higashino prefers to describe it as either treachery or theft.

Because how many Shinigami have shed blood for Soul Society in the ranks of Shinigami?

He hadn't counted, but in this world where Higashino Shuichi was involved, it's safe to say that at least half of the Grim Reapers, if not eighty percent.

Not to mention, in order to differentiate the level of contribution of these people, Koizumi Izakaya thoughtfully set up an annual limit and a frequency system for these Grim Reapers.

Those who have shed blood for Soul Society earlier or more often will receive different levels of preferential treatment. For example, they may receive a new sake with their own name, or they may be able to pack a corresponding value of sake from Koizumi Izakaya each time they wish to take it home.

All of these are charged as part of the process!
That means it's free!
If it weren't for the fact that there aren't many Grim Reapers who actually enjoy drinking, and most of them are just there for the spectacle, then even Shuichi Higashino wouldn't know how much wealth the owner of Koizumi Izakaya had to allow him to lavish money like this.

Therefore, considering the suspicious points about Koizumi Izakaya itself, Higashino Shuichi has reason to suspect that the reason why Koizumi Izakaya sets so many conditions is simply to accurately target its demographic.

The group of people he's looking for must be within one or a few of the many zones he's drawn up.

In other words, as long as we know which range of preferential policies Ukitake Sama and his group enjoy, then Higashino Shuichi can follow the clues to find the commonalities among Ukitake Sama and his group, as well as the reasons why these people were being targeted.

The good news is that for a Grim Reaper like Higashino Shuichi, obtaining this information is not a difficult task.

The bad news is that the scope is quite broad, and they are all lucky individuals who shone brightly in the Gotei 13 before Higashino Shuichi defected to the human world.

"So, Shuichi, is that all you've seen?"

However, after listening to Higashino Shuichi's speech, Aizen closed the documents in his hand and looked at the new throne that Szayelaporro had specially made for him.

People are often blinded by appearances, thus losing the opportunity to step back and see the whole picture.

Although Shuichi Higashino often displays exceptional intelligence and is undoubtedly one of the best among all the Shinigami, Aizen discovered that Higashino still makes the same mistakes.

But that's fine too, at least this way he can maintain his usual high-class demeanor in front of Higashino Shuichi.

Little did he know that after learning from Aizen the real reason why Gin Ichimaru went to Koizumi Izakaya to investigate, Shuichi Higashino had already vaguely guessed part of the truth.

However, he couldn't appear too clever in front of Aizen. He had to leave Aizen some room to maneuver. Otherwise, he would have summoned Aizen in the middle of the night without giving him a chance to show off. Higashino Shuichi felt that even if Aizen didn't say it, he would definitely make a big fuss about it in his mind.

Things are different now. Before Gin Ichimaru joined Aizen's camp, Shuichi Higashino could strengthen his relationship with Aizen by frequently interacting with him.

Now, due to their identities and the fact that Gin Ichimaru is caught in the middle, it is very difficult for Shuichi Higashino to meet Aizen.

As a result, the two of them now only meet when there is a major event, and for ordinary matters, they communicate directly through special means of contact.

Therefore, even with such a big event happening in Hueco Mundo recently, if it weren't for the coincidence of meeting Gin Ichimaru, Shuichi Higashino wouldn't have heard a single word about it.

"Is there anything else I haven't discovered, Lord Aizen?"

Shuichi Higashino frowned, a puzzled expression on his face. Very good.

This was Aizen's assessment of Higashino Shuichi's expression at that moment.

As always, Shuichi Higashino's handling of these non-combat details is not good enough.

This fits Aizen's stereotype of Higashino Shuichi.

However, he was also happy to train and guide Higashino Shuichi.

“Although Gin didn’t write it in this document, Shuichi, you should also think about why Gin, who has clearly focused on this izakaya, hasn’t identified any other suspects.”

Higashino Shuichi feigned sudden realization.

"Lord Aizen, do you mean that Gin tracked down the culprit all the way to this izakaya, and then lost track of him? Is that right?"

"To be precise, it's not about tracking the murderer, but about tracking the captured Kyrians."

We marked all the Kylians, but they still disappeared in that place.

Do you know what this means, Shuichi?

"This means that either that person has the means to discover and understand the markings that you, Lord Aizen, personally set up;

Or perhaps he used some method to completely hide those Kyrians.”

This was Higashino Shuichi's original speculation.

Furthermore, Higashino Shuichi didn't even present such a multiple-choice question; instead, he directly eliminated the first option.

After all, if that person really had the ability to remove Aizen's carefully laid markings, then that person might as well not do such petty theft. They could just pick any captain of the Gotei 13 and deal with them.

Higashino Shuichi fully believed that he had this ability.

As for that one and only option, Higashino Shuichi actually had his own guess in his heart.

异度空间
This term would probably have been a novel concept a few decades ago.

However, ever since Higashino Shuichi brought back the gem from the West Shrine and gave it to Urahara Kisuke and Kurotsuchi Mayuri to study together, the alternate dimension has become less distant and lofty for many Grim Reapers.

I've heard that even some of the Shinigami from the 13th Division can create a small alternate dimension when they're on missions in the human world, thus preventing their battles with Hollows from having a significant impact on the human world.

However, the shares allocated through this channel are clearly recorded by the Gotei 13.

Even the powerful and arrogant Tsunayoshiro family, one of the five great noble families, must apply to the First Division before they can use the alternate dimension.

Whether Mayuri Kurotsuchi can withstand the pressure from the Tsuna Yayoi family in private is another matter entirely.

So, could the mastermind behind this be the Tsunayo family?
After careful consideration, Higashino Shuichi realized that if it was only directed at him, then it did indeed seem like something the Tsunayo family would do.

After all, the Tsuna-Yashiro family has always adhered to a fundamental principle: while giving themselves preferential treatment, they also continuously smear the Touki-Kari clan.

The goal was to leave no room for reconciliation between Higashino Shuichi and the Gotei 13, forcing Higashino Shuichi to be inextricably bound to the Tsunayo family.

However, this matter does not only involve Shuichi Higashino. For the Tsuna Yayo family, there is absolutely no need to provoke a group of lunatics in Hueco Mundo at this time.

Therefore, Higashino Shuichi looked at Aizen, hoping to get more information from him.

Aizen, who already wanted to guide Higashino Shuichi, naturally wouldn't hide much from him in this regard.
“Even if it’s a hidden space, there will still be traces of spiritual pressure left behind, but Gin Ichimaru didn’t find any similar traces inside or outside that izakaya.”

Therefore, I had Tosen check the Twelfth Division's recent product distribution list, and there was absolutely nothing unusual about it.”

Aizen seemed to deliberately leave things unsaid, wanting to give Shuichi Higashino some room to elaborate.

Higashino Shuichi also understood Aizen's meaning. In this Soul Society, apart from Higashino Shuichi and his group of Shinigami who had close ties with Aizen, it would be almost impossible to perform any spatial manipulation without the help of the Twelfth Division.

So, the culprit really is the Tsunayoshi family?
After all, all the evidence now indicates that the Tsunayo family was the one who ultimately covered for the whole thing.

But looking at the faint smile on Aizen's lips, Higashino Shuichi suddenly realized that he and Aizen had been discussing alternate dimensions here, including some of the new applications of it created by Mayuri Kurotsuchi.

But they all seemed to subconsciously overlook one thing.

That is, the ability to create other dimensions is not limited to the 12th Division. Many of the products that have been developed with different effects and kept strictly confidential are also in Conqueror or other dimensions.

There are also high-end combat forces that have shaped the current power structure of the Soul Society, and original shareholders.

That special gem that Higashino Shuichi intercepted from the enemy at the West Frontier Bureau.

When Higashino Shuichi was preparing to flee to the human world with Urahara Kisuke and others, he did not choose to take the gem with him, but left it to the captain of the Fourth Division, Unohana Retsu.

Later, even though Shuichi Higashino had returned to Soul Society in a normal way, he did not try to get the gem back, but instead chose to let the gem continue to accompany Retsu Unohana.

Even Higashino Shuichi never saw Unohana Retsu wear that gemstone.

Because at this point in his life, he no longer cared about the meager benefits that the gem could bring.

Even if he needs to create an alternate dimension to help him carry out some special activities, Higashino Shuichi has a full range of abilities and tools to choose from.

There is absolutely no need to possess that gem.

So, that gem should still be with Unohana Retsu?
With these questions in mind, Higashino Shuichi seemed to have already seen his future.

(End of this chapter)