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

Chapter 280, Question 278: Can aid also be delayed?
As everyone knows, in the world of death...

There are only three possibilities when you suddenly can't sense your opponent's spiritual pressure during a battle.

One possibility is that the other party is dead; if they are dead, they naturally have no spiritual pressure.
One possibility is that the other party is alive but has blocked their senses; Higashino Shuichi does not possess this special ability.
Another possibility is that the other person's spiritual pressure suddenly increases to a level that is beyond one's reach, in which case one will not be able to sense the other person's spiritual pressure.

In the future of the original storyline, Aizen, in his complete Hogyoku form, was fortunate enough to experience it once on Ichigo Kurosaki.

Now, Xiao Long Kufang is even more fortunate, as he experiences almost the same feelings as Aizen back then.

Rounding up, Xiao Long Kufang can be considered to have obtained a limited-time trial card for Aizen.

Although this trial card may be severely underwhelming.

"It seems you still don't understand. Giving you the opportunity to watch the performance with me was an act of pity."

Since you don't even want this pity
I'll grant your wish~

Shuichi Higashino's figure reappeared in the Shadow Realm.

Looking at Higashino Shuichi, who had reappeared with not a speck of dust on his clothes, Xiao Long Ku Fang felt his heart sink to the bottom.

It seems that Higashino Shuichi has come here this time truly to represent Lord Aizen and punish their king.
The fact that a single, direct Cero was enough to make the decision to kill him means that Higashino Shuichi must have already obtained Aizen's permission before coming here.

Otherwise, even though he was nearly killed multiple times by the former Espada No. 2, Barragan, Higashino Shuichi never truly tried to kill Barragan.
(Higashino Shuichi: Are you being polite? I didn't want to kill you! It was just that I couldn't beat you at that time!)

Shawn Cuffon didn't think he had done anything wrong; he felt he had guessed the whole truth.

Therefore, for the sake of the king he truly served, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, Shonon Cuffon resolutely chose to sacrifice himself here.

"My lord, I will do everything in my power to help you stop Higashino Shuichi!"
Please also note the disappearance of Edorad Leonis and me!

Return to Hueco Mundo and find Ilford Granz. Given his relationship with Szayelaporro Granz, he can surely provide you with a safe space!

Shawn Cuffon didn't know if his words would reach Grimmjow's ears.

But he hoped Grimmjow could hear him.

Because this is Grimmjow's best option in this situation.

As the head of all Grimmjow's subordinates, Shorelon Cuffon was quite certain that this would be the last time he would advise Grimmjow.

Hopefully, the sacrifice of him and Edorad Lyonys will buy enough time for their king, Grimmjow!
A tragic emotion flashed across Xiaolong Kufang's face, followed by an unwavering determination in his eyes.

"Sever him! Five-jawed insect!"

Insect-like exoskeleton armor instantly covered Xiaolong Kufang's upper body, the tail of the scissor bug appeared on his braid, and the mask on his face expanded from the left half to his chin.

Both arms and hands simultaneously transform into long, sharp blades shaped like bones.

A sharp sonic boom echoed through the dark shadow realm.

Instead of using a spinning top, Xiao Long Kufang opted for the most basic sprint.

A simple burst of power brought him to Higashino Shuichi's side in the blink of an eye.

Claw strike!

Straight thrust!

Sweep!

Xiao Long Kufang used his terrifying blade to launch a series of attacks on Higashino Shuichi.

If Higashino Shuichi makes even the slightest mistake, giving his blade a chance to slash him, Xiao Long Kufang is confident that he can leave Higashino Shuichi with a huge, troublesome wound.

But not Higashino Shuichi.

He did not give Xiaolong Cuffon any unrealistic fantasies.

With every strike and every burst of spiritual pressure, Higashino Shuichi perfectly blocked Xiao Long Kufang's attacks.

And from beginning to end, Higashino Shuichi never retreated a single step.

Ring!

Xiao Long Kufang finally caught a moment when Higashino Shuichi made a "mistake" and used the Xiangzhuan technique to instantly adjust his position to be behind Higashino Shuichi.

The sharp blades in both hands stabbed fiercely towards Higashino Shuichi's back.

Shuichi Higashino's arrogance prevented him from using the Shinigami's Shikai and Bankai.

This is my only chance to turn things around!
At least that's what Shawn Cuffon thinks.

However, his attack missed its target.

All that remained of Higashino Shuichi was a fleeting image.

"Sorry, I can also do whistling."

The real Higashino Shuichi had already become intangible, appearing behind Xiao Long Kufang with a skull mask on his face.

Then, with just a light slash, he easily pierced through the armor covering Xiaolong Kufang's body.

That's a heavy armor that can withstand even a typical captain-level Grim Reaper's attack several or even ten times.

Compared to Shuichi Higashino, they were as fragile as paper, utterly vulnerable.

"The gap is still too big."

A bitter smile played on Xiaolong Kufang's lips.

The gap between him and the current Shuichi Higashino is probably so vast that there seems to be no end in sight.

Even so, he did not give up.

As long as there is even the slightest chance, he will buy time for his king.

The moment his body was pierced by Higashino Shuichi's Zanpakuto.

Under Xiaolong Kufang's control, countless spiritual pressures gathered wildly towards the center of his body.

This stance looks a lot like a Cero.

However, it is even faster, more disorderly, and more chaotic than Cero.

Higashino Shuichi understood that this move also had a very tragic name: self-destruction.

In the long years that Shuichi Higashino lived in the world of Bleach, very few Hollows could achieve this level of skill.

The self-destruction signifies that this Hollow, despite still possessing sufficient strength to resist, has chosen to give up the struggle and only seek to inflict as much damage as possible on the enemy.

Bang!
A massive explosion rose throughout the entire Shadow Realm.

Shaun Cuffon's decision was very decisive.

So much so that Higashino Shuichi didn't even have time to control Xiaolong Kufang.

Blood splattered everywhere.

Xiao Long Kufang succeeded; he did indeed injure Higashino Shuichi, not only tearing off a layer of skin from Higashino Shuichi's right hand that was holding the knife.

The entire front of Higashino Shuichi's body also suffered extensive damage in the explosion.
But Xiao Long Ku Fang also failed, because Higashino Hideyoshi used the healing technique he had learned from Kirinji Tenjiro in less than ten seconds to heal himself.

Are you hurt?
Like an injury.

However, this does not prevent Xiao Long Kufang from becoming an enemy that Higashino Shuichi feels he needs to respect.

At least his loyalty to Grimmjow is beyond question. "What a pity."

Higashino Shuichi shook his head.

It's a pity that Grimmjow isn't the real protagonist; otherwise, a loyal underling like Shonon Cuffon would surely have shone brightly.

With a wave of his hand, Higashino Shuichi brushed away the dust and mist within the Shadow Domain, and then glanced at the Shadow Domain he had separated on the other side.

Inside, Nemuru and the Arrancar Edorad Riones are still locked in fierce combat.

Furthermore, Nemuru is subtly at a disadvantage.

Although she inherited many of Higashino Shuichi's abilities, this gave Nemu a natural advantage in combat.

However, a core problem that has been troubling Yinmeng has not been resolved as a result.

That is Nemu's spiritual pressure, which is far from reaching the captain level.

Therefore, Nemu will need some time to defeat Edrad Riones, an Arrancar who, in the original storyline, could force Ikkaku Madarame to use his Bankai and was forced to completely destroy his Zanpakuto in order to defeat him.

As for whether or not we will lose?

They definitely won't lose.

After all, Higashino Shuichi had secretly given Nemuru a little boost by lending her a portion of the endless spiritual pressure power representing "support" from the Spirit King's left leg.

Even if she can't beat him, Nemuru can wear down Edorad Riones.

In contrast, consider the modern-day Ginmai Town outside.

Because the battle in the Shadow Realm was completely one-sided, coupled with the fact that Higashino Shuichi didn't have much of a wicked sense of humor, and Xiao Long Kufang's decisiveness.

So the actual time spent was not long, less than ten minutes at most.

However, the situation has changed from a back-and-forth exchange at the beginning to one of Halibel applying pressure unilaterally.

The reason is simple: Halibel pulled out a powerful weapon against Quincy that Higashino Shuichi had never seen before: the Divine Mirror Shield.

It was a series of freely moving spiritual shields formed around the body by the power of the void.

The effect is also very simple and straightforward.

They specifically searched for the Quincy's Sacred Annihilation Arrow, and then precisely monitored and defended against it.

The main strategy is to exploit the Quincy's lack of offensive capabilities; the fight is basically just one Holy Arrow changing its form repeatedly.

"So, the results of Aizen's earlier talk about conducting specialized research targeting Quincy are this?"

Shuichi Higashino was surprised that Halibel could pull out this thing, but he took it for granted.

After all, because of Higashino Shuichi, Aizen did pay some attention to Quincy and even studied them for a period of time.

Given Aizen's wisdom and talent, coupled with Szayelaporro's genius design, it's not surprising that he was able to create such a completely new skill for Hollows.

This made Higashino Shuichi silently apologize to Aizen in his heart.
He had misunderstood Aizen when he was in the Soul King Palace.

He thought Aizen was truly beyond help by the Soul King's will, to the point that he had completely forgotten about the Quincy!

It now seems that Aizen did take the threat of the Quincy to heart to some extent.

But the exact number is unknown.

"Warrior!"

In the sky, Halibel gazed at Masaki Kurosaki on the ground, which was completely visible to him, and used his Zanpakuto to launch a large number of water cannons at her.

Each water cannon carries terrifyingly high temperatures; even just being splashed with water could give Kurosaki Masaki, a human, a real ordeal.

On the ground, Masaki Kurosaki gritted her teeth, trying to dodge the water cannons while mentally devising a countermeasure.

She hadn't expected the situation to deteriorate so quickly.

The two, who were initially evenly matched, suddenly took a sharp turn for the worse after the Hollow on the other side, named Halibel, pulled out the special spirit shield that had been surrounding him.

No matter how she fired the Holy Annihilation Arrow at Helibel, it was all blocked by the spirit shields surrounding Helibel.

Heliber didn't even need to be distracted again.

As a result, the previously unseen arrows could no longer achieve their intended effect.

Is she really going to just slink away like this?
Masaki Kurosaki glanced at the young Grim Reaper lying on the ground not far away, seemingly lifeless.

No!

If she leaves now, that young Grim Reaper will surely die here!

Her conscience wouldn't allow her to do it!
"Is that the only way I can use it?"

Masaki Kurosaki frowned.

It was a technique she found among her grandparents' belongings, which her grandmother, Mai Kurosaki, had named "The Last Call."

According to her grandmother's somewhat vague description, using that technique should have granted her a very powerful boost.

However, such assistance was likely only available once, so much so that her grandparents never used it until their deaths.

However, this technique is not difficult to master, and Masaki Kurosaki thinks that her parents should be able to master it as well.

Strangely, it seems that her parents never used that technique until their accidental deaths.

So, was it used, or did it fail to prevent the accident from happening, or was it truly never used?

Or perhaps this "final call" simply didn't have the effect her grandmother described?
Masaki Kurosaki had always been skeptical.

But now, facing Halibel, whose abilities completely counter hers, she is already in a state of constant retreat and sees no hope of victory. She has no choice but to give it a try.

"The heart of the south, the eyes of the north, the fingertips of the west, the toes of the east, gather with the wind, scatter with the rain, I call your name in the name of Kurosaki Masaki, please help me!"

Masaki Kurosaki chanted.

If there were any Shinigami friends around Kurosaki Masaki at this moment, they would know that what she was chanting was actually the original chant of the fifty-eighth binding spell in Shinigami's Kido, the "Scratching Toe Chasing Sparrow".

However, at the end of this chant, there is an additional chant, which is a specially modified chant.

Its sole purpose is to allow this chanting to travel regardless of distance, precisely from the mortal world to every corner, and even across space to reach the Soul Society.

This chant doesn't need any additional information; it's enough to simply reach the target to be considered successful.

And that was indeed the case. Higashino Shuichi, who was in the Shadow Realm, received the vague distress message from Kurosaki Masaki the moment she finished chanting.

"Isn't this the gift that I had my Quincy clone, Takuya Kabuto, leave for Mai Kurosaki and her husband?"

Higashino Shuichi was speechless for a long time.

This is because this occurred after Aizen unexpectedly found Mai Kurosaki and her husband, intending to use them as research material.

Higashino Shuichi was afraid that Aizen would cause trouble for the Kurosaki couple again, so he specially prepared these things for the Kurosaki couple.

The purpose was to protect the couple from undeserved misfortune.

Unexpectedly, the Kurosaki Mai couple didn't use it; instead, it was Kurosaki Masaki who used it.

Okay, now the question is, should he help or not?

(End of this chapter)