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

Chapter 322, Section 320: The Pre-emptive Planning at the Spirit King's Palace

We need to go back to when Higashino Shuichi had just defeated Yhwach.

After all, it was Yhwach's corpse, and Higashino Shuichi couldn't be so presumptuous as to keep it by his side forever.

Therefore, before heading out to recruit soldiers, Higashino Shuichi still took the time to return to the Spirit King Palace.

Furthermore, because Higashino Shuichi had already initially acquired some of Yhwach's omniscience and omnipotence, coupled with Higashino Shuichi's own extremely high spiritual pressure.

To endow oneself with the characteristics of "flying" and "breaking" is a piece of cake.

Having already visited the Spirit King Palace twice, Higashino Shuichi knew very well that going to the Spirit King Palace was not as troublesome as he had imagined.

As long as one's spiritual power is strong enough, one can fly high into the sky and tear apart the barrier protecting the Spirit King Palace.

That's exactly what Yhwach did in the original storyline.

Aizen Sousuke could also be fused with the Hogyoku, but he was too proud to admit his mistake and always wanted to be more elegant and dignified.

Therefore, in the original story, Aizen never managed to visit the Soul King Palace, which he longed for, until his death.

Of course, Aizen Sousuke in this timeline also completely inherited this flaw.

However, Higashino Shuichi is a common man, and he can always flexibly choose whether or not to save face.

Especially when he's in a hurry, convenience is far more important than saving face.

Instead of going to Shiba Kukaku again and asking him to make a big firework for me again.

It's better to take matters into your own hands.

In the end, it won't be me who suffers the most headaches.

However, Higashino Shuichi didn't think that stinky monk from Squad Zero would be a headache.

After all, I'm going to the Spirit King's Palace this time to bring him a big gift.

"You want Yhwach's body?"

They entered the main hall of Hyosube Ichibei, that stinky monk, with great familiarity.

Like a street vendor, Higashino Shuichi casually tossed Yhwach's body on the ground and then spoke in a tone that suggested he was waiting for you to haggle over the price.

Yhwabach?

Hyosube Ichibei looked at the man's corpse on the ground, which had been drained of blood, and a rare look of confusion appeared on his face.

He knew that Yhwach was not dead; the Soul King had told him this long ago.

Yhwach is about to awaken from his slumber, regain his power, and wreak havoc in Soul Society, Hueco Mundo, and the human world.

Hyosube Ichibei also knew about this, after all, this was the future that the Soul King had foreseen long ago.

King Rei had told Hyonshube Ichibei this fact long ago.

But what Hyosubu Ichibei couldn't understand was that at this point in time, shouldn't Yhwach still be asleep?
Even the slightest accident caused him to wake up prematurely.

As a Shinigami (death god), Higashino Shuichi had little contact with Quincy in the hundreds of years between his birth and his last return to Soul Society within the Soul King's Palace. The only family that could have leaked information, the Ishida family, was also the cause of Urahara Kisuke, causing Higashino Shuichi to miss the opportunity to learn the truth.

So how did Higashino Shuichi learn about the Wandenreich, and how did he prepare to take down Yhwach?
Yes, as someone who has been following Higashino Shuichi for a long time, Hyosube Ichibei doesn't believe that Higashino Shuichi, a guy who only acts for personal gain, would choose to deal with such a powerful enemy as Yhwach because of a last-minute decision.

Given Higashino Shuichi's personality, he must have made preparations long ago.

Perhaps his previous training at the Soul King Palace to unleash his Shinigami powers and develop his Zanpakuto's Bankai was all in preparation for his next encounter with Yhwach.

So the question is, where did Higashino Shuichi find out about this secret information?

Surely it couldn't have been Kisuke Urahara who revealed it on his own initiative?

Kisuke Urahara is not that kind of talkative person.

Looking at Yhwach's corpse before him, Hyosube Ichibei was filled with a multitude of questions.

But no matter how many questions arise, they cannot obscure the fact that Yhwach was indeed killed.

"what do you want from me?"

After pondering for a while, Hyosube Ichibei still asked the same question.

The situation is getting a little complicated now.

The scene that Lord Soul King described to Hyosube Ichibei, in which the members of the Zero Division and Yhwach's personal guard almost perished together, now seems unlikely to happen again.

He himself would not die at the hands of Yhwach.

But this may not necessarily be a good thing.

Hyosube Ichibei was never afraid of sacrifice.

His abilities almost guaranteed that he would never truly die.

Hyosube Ichibei was worried that everything that would happen in Soul Society next would be completely out of the Soul King's control.

Especially in the years when Higashino Hideaki first rose to fame in Soul Society, Hyosube Ichibei discovered that the Soul King's instructions were not only becoming increasingly vague, but also increasingly prone to errors.

As a result, in recent times, King Rei has rarely directly told Hyosube Ichibei his will and thoughts.

Hyosube Ichibei's desire to immediately consult the Soul King's opinion has become a troublesome matter.

But in the end, since Yhwach has already been killed by Higashino Shuichi, as the leader of the Zero Division and the Soul King's representative, he has a duty to properly collect Yhwach's body.

To prevent Higashino Shuichi from turning around and giving Yhwach's body to any of Aizen Sousuke, Urahara Kisuke, or Kurotsuchi Mayuri for research.

Hyosube Ichibei knew very well that with the research abilities of these three people, if they were given some time to study diligently, they might actually be able to discover something from Yhwach's corpse.

And Higashino Shuichi happens to have a theoretically decent relationship with all three of them.

Hyobu Ichibei had to be wary of this move.

To Hyobu Ichibei's surprise, Higashino Shuichi, who always refused to take advantage of any opportunity, did not try to extort money from him this time, even though he had Yhwach's corpse in his possession.

Higashino Shuichi had only asked him for a "small favor".

"I don't have any other requests. I just want you, Monk, and the other members of the Zero Division to turn a blind eye to everything that happens in the Soul Society and the human world for the next five years, just like you did in the past!"

It's obvious from what Higashino Hideichi said that anyone with common sense could guess that he was about to pull off something big.

However, Hyosube Ichibei still felt somewhat uneasy. After all, for so many years, their Zero Division's principle had been to let people cause as much trouble as they wanted, as long as it didn't affect the Soul King's grand plan, no matter how badly the Soul Society or the human world was destroyed.

To put it bluntly, even if all the Shinigami in Soul Society were killed, it wouldn't concern the members of the Zero Division at all.

The purpose of the Zero Division is to fulfill the Soul King's will; nothing else matters to them.

The most recent message that King Rei conveyed to Ichibei Hyōsuke was to find a replacement body that could continue to serve as a wedge for maintaining stability in the Three Realms, a body that was nearing its end after years of abuse.

Judging from this metric alone, Hyosube Ichibei knew that, having Yhwach's corpse in hand, they had already completed the task assigned to them by the Soul King ahead of schedule and even exceeded expectations.

After all, Yhwach was originally the Soul King's favorite "successor".

Aizen Sousuke and those guys like Higashino Shuichi were just inferior substitutes used as a precaution or in an emergency.

Hyosube Ichibei even knew that Higashino Shuichi had secretly arranged for Yujima Oshi to work with the Shinigami Yamada Seinosuke in Soul Society to develop a cheaper alternative.

The products from those laboratories may not be of high quality, but their production volume is guaranteed, making them the best choice for emergency use.

However, none of this was enough to dispel Hyosube Ichibei's concerns.
"What big commotion are you planning to cause this time?"

Based on his appreciation of Higashino Shuichi's past achievements, Hyosube Ichibei felt it was better not to agree too easily.

He had thought that Higashino Shuichi would try to deceive him a little more, but Higashino Shuichi was surprisingly frank and told him all his plans.

"Would it be considered a big deal to go to the real world and take down Kisuke Urahara, that eyesore?"

Higashino Shuichi smiled and looked at Hyosube Ichibei as he spoke.

Meanwhile, Higashino Shuichi was also secretly accumulating power, his spiritual pressure ready to erupt at any moment.

If Hyosube Ichibei shows any intention to attack him, even with just a glance or a slight movement, Higashino Shuichi will strike first.

He directly changed his pre-selected enemy target from Kisuke Urahara to the entire Zero Squad.

In any case, these people are people that Higashino Shuichi has to deal with sooner or later.

He simply doesn't want to repeat the mistakes that Yhwach and Aizen made in the original storyline.
That is, to simultaneously attract the hatred of several different groups of people.

In that case, you might end up getting into trouble in some unknown ditch.

Therefore, Higashino Shuichi used the pretext of gifting Yhwach's corpse to launch a tactic of befriending distant states while attacking nearby ones.

However, Higashino Shuichi was also prepared to turn against the Zero Squad.

His words just now were actually a test.

Higashino Shuichi wanted to use this method to see how the Soul King behind the Zero Division would react to his plan to kill Urahara Kisuke.

The reason why Higashino Shuichi did this was because during his time with Urahara Kisuke, he had suspected that Urahara Kisuke had the shadow of the Soul King's assistance.

But that was just a guess; what Higashino Shuichi wanted was a definite answer.

If Hyosube Ichibei, the undisputed agent of the Soul King's will, were to actually attack him because of his intention to harm Urahara Kisuke, then the relationship between Urahara Kisuke and the Soul King would be quite obvious.

To be honest, deep down, Higashino Shuichi actually hoped that Hyosube Ichibei would take action against him.

That way, he could convince himself to be more cautious about Kisuke Urahara's actions.

Instead of being somewhat rushed like this.

However, the battle ultimately did not take place. Hyosube Ichibei, who had not been able to contact the Soul King for a long time, had no idea what kind of strategic identity Urahara Kisuke held.

In his eyes, Kisuke Urahara was nothing more than a useful pawn on the Soul King's chessboard.

His status is comparable to that of Shuichi Higashino.

No, now that Higashino Shuichi has killed Yhwach, Urahara Kisuke's status is probably not even as high as Higashino Shuichi's.

If that's the case, why should he care about the life or death of a single piece?
If Higashino Shuichi said he was going to kill Aizen Sousuke, Hyosube Ichibei might have to think twice.

But Kisuke Urahara?
"as you wish!"

Four simple words for Higashino Shuichi.

Then, Hyōsuke Ichibei had no further questions and closed the door to see his guest out.

Higashino Shuichi also left the Spirit King Palace.

Overall, the whole process went incredibly smoothly. There may have been some tense moments, but nothing tense happened.

But for Higashino Shuichi, everything went too smoothly this time at the Spirit King Palace.

As a result, when Higashino Shuichi was preparing to return to the Unseen Empire from the Spirit King Palace, he inexplicably lost his composure.

This is actually a common problem among people like Shuichi Higashino.

It is often only when there are some twists and turns in the middle that Higashino Shuichi and his colleagues believe that there is no problem with a matter.

Conversely, if things go too smoothly, people like Higashino Shuichi will only develop a deep-seated sense of unease, wondering if someone is plotting against them.

At this moment, Higashino Shuichi was in such a strange state.

It would be a great thing if we could avoid conflict with the members of Squad Zero at this time.

But Higashino Shuichi just felt uncomfortable everywhere.

Therefore, the moment Higashino Shuichi had one foot on the land of Soul Society and the other foot into the Shadow World, he suddenly stopped and turned his gaze into the distance.

To be honest, in his original plan, he didn't intend to involve that guy at this stage, because he had just tricked him a while ago.

Even though they are close friends, that guy might not take it to heart, but given the chance, he will definitely get his revenge.

After all, that guy is the kind of person who doesn't like to suffer losses.

Furthermore, given that guy's obsession with Urahara Kisuke, he might forcefully interfere when Higashino Shuichi is dealing with Urahara Kisuke, thus giving Urahara Kisuke a glimmer of hope.

However, Higashino Shuichi's inner unease still overcame his worries about that guy.

"No matter what, we have a revolutionary friendship that has gone through many ups and downs and we have been through countless trials and tribulations together."

"You wouldn't want to cause me trouble at a time like this, would you, Aizen Sousuke?"

Higashino Shuichi thought to himself.

(End of this chapter)