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

Chapter 201, 199. A Desolate Past, A Major Crisis?
The entire Soul Society was in complete chaos.

Most Shinigami probably haven't even been able to establish a basic connection with their Zanpakuto, let alone deal with the physical form of their Zanpakuto.

Of course, there were also some brilliant minds who realized that this was a shortcut that could help them quickly master Bankai.

These people were so excited that they wouldn't allow anyone else to help them; they wanted to defeat their own Zanpakuto themselves.

Then, without exception, these people were all defeated one by one by their own Zanpakuto entities, which were actually controlled by others.

Fortunately, this time, the support from the captains was timely enough to prevent these Zanpakuto from successfully devouring their masters in large numbers.

Otherwise, this would be another historic event that would severely damage the entire Soul Society.

Of course, some people don't think that way.

For example, the current head of the Kuchiki family, Kuchiki Byakuya.

After leaving the ceremony for the succession of the chief agent, he did not choose to rush to the barracks of the various divisions of Seireitei to provide support, but instead chose to return to his own Kuchiki family's residence.

And there she met her father’s older sister, who was also her aunt, Kuchiki Shizakura.

"Auntie, where is Uncle now?"

Kuchiki Byakuya, who was usually very polite to his aunt, skipped the formalities this time and went straight to the point.

"Byakuya? Shouldn't you be at the ceremony for the succession of the general agent of the Shin-O Medicine Institute right now?"

Why did you suddenly come back?

Kuchiki Shizaki folded the clothes in her hands, looked up at Kuchiki Byakuya, and asked.

"That's not important. What's important is, Aunt, tell me the truth, does my uncle, Kuchiki Higashi, actually possess Bankai?"

Kuchiki Byakuya stood opposite Kuchiki Shizaki and questioned her.

Upon hearing this, Kuchiki Shizaki fell silent.

"As expected, it was him, wasn't it?"

Sometimes, silence is the best answer. Kuchiki Byakuya gave a bitter smile; the worst had still happened.

"What do you mean 'It really was him'? Byakuya, the fact that Hibiki has mastered Bankai is a secret!"
It's a secret that your grandfather, my father Kuchiki Ginrei, specifically instructed me and your father to keep hidden before he died!

"I don't care how you found out about this, you'd better keep it a secret from Xianghe, just like I did!"

Kuchiki Shisei had a vague, uneasy feeling.

"what?
Grandpa and Father both knew?
Why."

Kuchiki Byakuya never expected that he could get such amazing information from his aunt, but that's not important anymore. What's important is...
"This isn't the time to talk about that, Aunt. Tell me, can Uncle Xianghe's Bankai ability make a Shinigami's Zanpakuto materialize?!"

Although he was already fairly certain about the matter, Byakuya Kuchiki couldn't help but ask Shizaki Kuchiki for a final confirmation.

Perhaps, deep down, there was still a sliver of hope hidden in his heart?

Unfortunately, Kuchiki Shizaki shattered his last illusion.

"How did you know that, Byakuya?"

Kuchiki Shisakura's voice trembled slightly.

Kuchiki Byakuya has already said all this; if she still doesn't realize something, then she wouldn't deserve to be a member of the five great noble families.

"Today, just now, the entire Soul Society has fallen into chaos!"
The cause of this unprecedented riot was that the vast majority of the Shinigami's Zanpakuto had materialized and launched attacks on their respective masters!

"Impossible! Byakuya, this is absolutely impossible! Hibiki, Hibiki, he could never do such a thing!"

Why are you so sure?

"Because Xianghe promised your grandfather that he would never act impulsively."

Kuchiki Shizaki bit her lip and told Kuchiki Byakuya about a past event that Kuchiki Byakuya was unaware of.

It turns out that Kuchiki Kyoga had already mastered Bankai decades ago.

At that time, he had only been married to Kuchiki Shio for a short time and had only recently joined the First Division.

Originally, after seeing Kuchiki Kyouga's Zanpakuto Bankai ability, Kuchiki Ginrin wanted to take the initiative to find Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni and explain everything.

Because Kuchiki Ginrin was very clear that Kuchiki Kyouga's Bankai ability, taken out alone, might not be very threatening, but if Kuchiki Kyouga intended to expand it to all Shinigami, then it would be an unprecedented disaster for the entire Soul Society!

Ginryu Kuchiki did not want that to happen, nor did she want her Kuchiki family to bear such a sin, as this would have been detrimental to the Kuchiki family's situation in Soul Society at the time.

However, before Kuchiki Ginrin could tell Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni about this, the Kasumi Oji family rebellion, which shocked the entire Soul Society and even had a far-reaching impact on the future course of Soul Society history, occurred.

It was because of that incident that Kuchiki Ginrei realized that there was an uncontrollable noble force within Seireitei attempting to overturn the existing order.

This is very disadvantageous for the Kuchiki family, who tend to maintain the status quo.

Therefore, after careful consideration, Kuchiki Ginrin decided to secretly conceal Kuchiki Kyouga's Bankai ability and ordered him not to use it without her permission.

The main concern is that even Kuchiki Ginrei is uncertain about Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni's true stance, given his excessive demands for compromise from the Kasumi family.

If Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni ultimately chooses to stand on the other side, then Kuchiki Kyouga will be the Kuchiki family's final means of upholding justice and maintaining the stability of Soul Society.

It was precisely for this reason that, in a past conflict deliberately instigated by other nobles, in order to prevent the somewhat impulsive Kuchiki Hibiki from getting involved, Kuchiki Ginrei chose to actively participate and ultimately took on the task of capturing a traitor from Soul Society. Kuchiki Shiori had forgotten the traitor's name, because that Shinigami was unimportant, just an ordinary Shinigami, yet even such a Shinigami could ultimately inflict severe injuries on the dignified Sixth Division Captain, Kuchiki Ginrei, ultimately leading to his death.

There are many doubts about this.

Even at the end, the Central 46 Chambers explained that the tragedy was caused by the severe internal injuries inflicted on Kuchiki Ginrin by another defector, former 11th Division Vice-Captain Higashino Shuichi.

But neither Kuchiki Shisakura, nor Kuchiki Hibiki, nor even Kuchiki Sojun, who was still alive at the time, believed such a conclusion.

But what can you do if you don't believe it?
All the evidence was there, and the Grim Reaper who was being hunted by Kuchiki Ginryo admitted it, and was eventually hanged by the Double Punishment.

The Seireitei gave Kuchiki Ginrin the utmost respect she deserved. For the sake of stability in Soul Society, the then-head of the Kuchiki family, Kuchiki Sojun, chose to endure.

But no one could have imagined that this period of forbearance would last forever.

Kuchiki Sōjun never learned the truth about his father's death before he passed away.

Kuchiki Byakuya's face was gloomy. He hadn't expected that there would be so many hidden secrets behind this matter, and that even his grandfather and father were involved.

More importantly, although his aunt didn't mention it at all, Kuchiki Byakuya knew very well that Kuchiki Shizaki was practically saying the surname outright.

Gang Midai.
Even more terrifying was that when Byakuya Kuchiki calmed down and carefully reviewed everything that had happened in Soul Society since the Kasumi clan's rebellion, he saw a vast net covering the entire Soul Society.

The Kasumi family, which was originally second only to the five great noble families and showed signs of becoming the sixth great noble family, fell from power.

The Kabuto family, one of the five great noble families, had no power to begin with and was not worth mentioning.
The Shihōin family, one of the five noble families, lost its voice in the Central 46 Chambers due to the open betrayal of the former head of the family, Shihōin Yoruichi. It is said that Shihōin Yushirō Sakimune, the younger brother of the current head of the family, would have been reduced to a low-ranking family if it weren't for the strong support of the Second Division Captain Soi Fon and the Ōmaeda family.
The Shiba family, one of the last five noble families, is even less of a concern. They were already disliked by the other nobles, and now their pillar is the head of a branch family. The current head, Shiba Kaien, hasn't even mastered Bankai yet, and the family members were almost entirely wiped out in the last attack by the former Hueco Mundo lord, Barragan. They have truly disgraced the five noble families.
After looking around, it seems that the only noble family in the entire Soul Society capable of rivaling the Tsunayo family is the Kuchiki family.

If Kuchiki Byakuya were thinking, what if...
He said that the deaths of his grandfather and father were all the work of the Tsunayo family.
Furthermore, the Tsunayo family specifically recalled Higashino Shuichi, a Shinigami who harbored deep resentment towards the Gotei 13, from the human world, and ordered him to form a sword-hunting group to fight against the Gotei 13.
This is an unprecedented crisis for the Kuchiki family!
Kuchiki Shizaki had no idea what Kuchiki Byakuya thought after she finished recounting what she knew about the past, but she had eyes and she could see that Kuchiki Byakuya's lips had turned pale.

"Byakuya, is this matter serious?"
Xianghe should know the consequences of doing this; he certainly wouldn't leave any evidence against him so easily.

Kuchiki Shisei clutched her clothes tightly to her chest, looking somewhat bewildered.

"It's not a question of whether it's serious or not, but whether someone wants it to be serious or not."

Byakuya Kuchiki's mind was racing. As the successor of the Kuchiki family, who had received elite education from a young age, Byakuya's youth and inexperience were evident compared to seasoned veterans like Shuichi Higashino and Shunsui Kyoraku. However, if he were only considered as the head of the family, Byakuya Kuchiki, who had been in charge for over a decade, was undoubtedly qualified.

Meanwhile, Higashino Shuichi, who had received orders from Tsunayoshiro Shinbara and arrived at the Tsunayoshiro residence, was also being questioned by Tsunayoshiro Shinbara.

"Tell me your opinion on this matter."

Tsunayoshiro Kambara got straight to the point.

"Lord Kanbara, on the surface, this matter seems to be about offending the pride of our Sword Hunters. We held such a grand ceremony for the succession of the chief steward, and even invited so many captains and vice-captains of the Gotei 13 to participate. Theoretically, we Sword Hunters should be responsible for the safety of the ceremony, and also bear some responsibility for the safety of the entire Seireitei."

"That's impossible, Shuichi. With the current number of your Sword Hunters, it would be good enough if you could protect the ceremony site."

Tsunayoshi Shinbara shook his head.

"That being said, Lord Kambara, the vast number of Soul Reapers and nobles of Seireitei, and even the commoners of Rukongai, do not care about these things."

In retrospect, this was indeed a major defeat for our Sword Hunters.

Higashino Shuichi explained calmly.

This is a calculated strategy; even knowing the other party's purpose, they are powerless to stop it.

However, Higashino Shuichi didn't care about any of that. Whether the Sword Hunters had a good reputation or not was not important to him. All Higashino Shuichi needed was a team like the Sword Hunters that he could control in Soul Society.

"Commoners of Rukongai? Do they even deserve to know such things?"

"Tsunayoshiro Shinbara said with some displeasure."

Higashino Shuichi smiled calmly, "Speaking of which, I've never actually seen it at Lord Kanbara's house before. But I think after this incident, Lord Kanbara might take some time to check out that magazine, 'Seireitei Newsletter,' founded by Captain Tosen Kaname of the Ninth Division."
I heard that the magazine is selling very well not only in Seireitei, but also in the lower-volume sections of Rukongai!

"..." Tsunayoshiro Kanbara hesitated for a moment, but ultimately didn't say what he had initially wanted to say. "So, Shuichi, your opinion is that this incident is aimed at our Tsunayoshiro family?"

"I don't know, Lord Kambara. It's possible that this was just a coincidence."

“哼！哪里有什么巧合？你现在赶紧替我前往一趟西流魂街5区、21区、43区、59区，南流魂街4区、17区.”

Tsunayoshiro snorted coldly, then rattled off more than a dozen place names to Higashino Hideichi in one breath.

Higashino Hideichi frowned slightly. He could guess that these places were probably the real reason why Tsunayoshiro Kanbara had held such a grand ceremony for Yamada Seinosuke's succession as general manager. However, wasn't the number of places a bit too many?

"Lord Kanbara, what are these places?"

“I sent some Shinigami over before to set up some special things for me in these places, but as you can see now, it’s not just the Shinigami of the Gotei 13 who have been affected, but also the Shinigami I sent over.”

Now they've asked me for help. I was originally going to send some of my reserve Shinigami to assist them, but after your analysis, I think it's better if you lead your Sword Hunters to help. But Shuichi, remember this: if we encounter the mastermind behind this incident, I want him alive!

"Tsunayoshiro Shinbara sighed and said."

There were some things he really didn't want Higashino Hideaki to know so soon, but the situation was beyond his control. He only had Higashino Hideaki as a particularly useful card to play, and Higashino Hideaki had never done anything particularly outrageous in the past. He had always been diligent and conscientious in doing things for him, so he had no choice but to make this decision.

"Is that so? I understand, Lord Kanbara, leave it to me!"

Higashino Shuichi immediately made a guarantee to Tsunayoshiro Kanbara.

He hadn't expected that this matter would bring him such benefits.

Has he finally been able to uncover the real, behind-the-scenes maneuvers of Tsunayoshiro Kanbara?

(End of this chapter)