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

Chapter 74. Dragon

On another nameless island in the vast ocean, numerous Grim Reapers completed a tacit cooperation without prior communication.

All the attacks were focused on the unidentified creature in the center.

"Success!"

"Damu, I've avenged you!"

The joyful mood spread quickly among the crowd, but it came to an abrupt end when it reached Shuichi Higashino.

"Is it really that simple?"

Higashino Shuichi could not sense the spiritual pressure emanating from the unknown creature amidst the thick smoke caused by the numerous chain explosions.

It may seem that they have been eliminated, but Higashino Shuichi will never let his guard down when it comes to this creature called "Dragon".

This is because "dragons" are not products of their Soul Society, or more accurately, "dragons" are not creatures controlled by the East District of Soul Society.

It comes from the other half of this planet, Soul Society West District.

Dragons are the general term used by the West Bureau of Soul Society to refer to dangerous creatures in their region.

In theory, only when the East and West are combined can it be called a complete Soul Society.

But in reality, it's not entirely like that.

Because in the Great Spirit Book Corridor, which is said to record everything in the Soul Society, there are only scattered records about the West Section.

No matter how hard Higashino Shuichi searched his memories, he couldn't recall anything about the West Shore Bureau from the Bleach anime and manga he had watched in his previous life.

Even Yhwach, the future Quincy King who claimed to be omniscient and omnipotent, seemed to have never had any thoughts about this West Commander whom he had never met.

Higashino Shuichi only happened to come across a record about "dragons" when he was reading with Aizen in the Great Spirit Book Corridor. It said that dragons were creatures similar to Hollows, but the two were not entirely the same.

It's just that simple sentence.

Adhering to the principle that the fewer words one speaks, the bigger the matter becomes, Higashino Shuichi kept this saying firmly in mind.

Unexpectedly, it actually came in handy.

As the smoke cleared, the spot where the dragon had stood was empty except for a transparent, triangular pyramid-shaped gemstone, which floated quietly in the air, refracting the sunlight to create a dazzling array of colors.

Higashino Shuichi remembered that the gem was originally set in the center of the dragon's trident-shaped head.

The cheers grew even louder.

One of the audacious Death Knights even leaped from the ground, attempting to seize the floating triangular gem.

"Crack!"

Suddenly, a dark shadow descended from the sky without any warning.

"Taro!"

Death cried out in alarm, but it was too late.

The Grim Reaper, who was trying to grab the gem, had no time to dodge.

"The best strategist uses unconventional tactics and lightning strikes!"

A streak of lightning flashed across the sky, and Higashino Shuichi shielded the dragon and the Grim Reaper with his own body, his eyes fixed on the dragon falling from the heavens.

"Binding Spell Number Seventy-Three: Ice - Mountain-Shattering Crystal!"

An inverted triangular cone-shaped defensive array began to take shape, with ice crystals adhering to the surface and slowing down everything around it.

Although all of this was done by Higashino Shuichi in a moment of quick thinking and action, he was prepared.

But it's still too late.

With his spiritual pressure restricted by 80%, he was ultimately unable to reach his peak.

Two large, flat hands, one above and one below, firmly held the inverted crystal that was trying to close.

Then the head, which looked like a tuning fork, peeked in and split into countless tendrils like a celestial maiden scattering flowers, attempting to kill both Higashino Shuichi and the Death God's Seat Officer inside.

"I won't let you succeed! You bastard! Sting all enemies! Suzume-bachi!" Soi Fon's Zanpakuto transformed into a bee-tail-like fingertip on her right middle finger, followed by Yoruichi Shihouin, who inherited the name "Shunpo" and moved with ghostly speed.

As the dragon split its head apart, Soi Fon arrived at the top of the mountain crystal created by Shuichi Higashino.

The movements suddenly became sluggish.

"Does Lord Shuichi's ability mean he can't distinguish between friend and foe?"

This was Soi Fon's first time fighting alongside Shuichi Higashino, and a fleeting question crossed her mind.

Then came a flying stab, which the dragon, whose target was completely focused on the inside of the inverted crystal, had no chance to react.

Black butterfly patterns appear on the struck areas of the dragon's body; this is the bee pattern.

If Soi Fon hits the area marked with a honeycomb pattern with Suzumebatsu again, the enemy will die instantly.

Unless this enemy's spiritual pressure is significantly higher than Soi Fon's.

Clearly, the dragon before them was far inferior to Soi Fon in terms of spiritual pressure, but it was undoubtedly intelligent.

Despite lacking language abilities, just like ordinary Hollows and even Gillian, it possesses intelligence far exceeding that of these Hollows.

The feeling that Higashino Shuichi had was like
A broken mask.

呲!
The purplish-black blood fell like rain.

That was because the dragon decisively abandoned a part of its body, including the part of its body that had been hit by Soi Fon, in order to escape the influence of Higashino Shuichi's Ice Reversal Crystal.

It instinctively sensed the presence of death from that place.

"Lord Shuichi, you didn't...!"

Soi Fon was about to check on Higashino Shuichi when she fell directly into his arms because he had released Akira Toyama.

The crimson glow is the most beautiful color.

Another unlucky fellow was caught in mid-air by Higashino Shuichi's Binding Spell Number Thirty-Seven, Hanging Star.

"It's alright, Aya."

Shuichi Higashino held Soi Fon in one arm, but his gaze was fixed on Ryu, who was roaring in pain because he had forcibly abandoned a part of his body.

From any perspective, this dragon, whose spiritual pressure hasn't even reached the Adjuchas level, is already far beyond what's expected given its current performance.

"This should be a good experimental subject."

Higashino Shuichi thought to himself.

Whether it's throwing it at Mayuri Kurotsuchi as a bargaining chip for further courting, or at Aizen, it's a good option.

"A wall of iron sand, a pagoda in the shape of a monk, the gleaming iron glowing, because of its resolve, it ultimately falls silent! The Seventy-Five Binding Paths, Fire - Five Iron Pillars Piercing!"

Facing a dragon that lacks the super-fast regeneration abilities of a high-level Hollow, the dragon, now reduced to a mangled body, is nothing more than a lamb to the slaughter in Higashino's eyes.

Therefore, he didn't bother to remove the restrictions on himself, but instead signaled to the other Shinigami around him to buy him time, and then finished chanting the advanced binding spell.

Five red-hot iron pillars descended from the sky. The wounded dragon wanted to escape, but with most of its body missing, it could no longer fend off the attacks of the Grim Reapers as easily as before.

Not to mention there was another venomous snake that had attacked once and then remained hidden, waiting to strike again, watching it.

"Shoot him! Sharpshooter!"

The familiar silver spear struck again, and this time, the trapped dragon could only watch helplessly as it pierced its body.

However, the scene of the dragon being suppressed by five iron pillars, as expected, did not occur.

A flash of light shot out from the other side of the sea, creating two huge waves that split into two, each tens of meters high.

The five iron pillars that Higashino Shuichi had placed were instantly pierced and destroyed.

"It's not that simple after all."

Higashino Shuichi sighed and turned to look in the direction from which the flash had come.

(End of this chapter)