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

Chapter 76. The Awakening of Thought

An unnamed island in the vast ocean.

The remaining four were on the verge of exchanging blows.

Once Shuichi Higashino released his spiritual pressure restrictions, this battle became unavoidable.

Or rather, from Higashino Shuichi's perspective, it was impossible for him to do nothing and let the two people from the West Bureau come and go as they pleased.

"Wow, this is getting interesting."

Garp Holmes sensed the spiritual pressure emanating from Higashino Shuichi in his full state. His tone remained confident, but the seriousness in his eyes was unmistakable.

"Hado #63, Fire Thunder Roar Cannon!"

Once he enters a real battle state, Higashino Shuichi will stop wasting time talking nonsense with his opponent.

Having taken the first strike, it was now his turn to test the mettle of the man who dared to use the name "Garp."

You should know that this name carries considerable weight in another world.

"Magic Number 51, Silver Mirror Shield!"

Facing Higashino Shuichi's attack, Garp stretched out his left hand, and a silvery liquid instantly formed a medieval light armor shield in front of him.

The Thunder Roar Cannon, enhanced by Higashino Shuichi's Zanpakuto ability, struck the shield, sending sparks flying and creating a deafening explosion, yet it failed to leave any mark on the shield.

Compared to the Silver Mirror Shield created by Trompo Takne, which Soi Fon used to create countless cracks with her Wind King Fist (which Soi Fon will call her Thunder King Fist from now on) when her spiritual pressure was restricted, this is a far cry from the one created when Soi Fon used Wind King Fist (which is called Thunder King Fist from now on).

Clearly, the mirror shield that Garp created is much stronger.

and
Higashino Shuichi frowned. He saw that while Garp was using the Silver Mirror Shield to block his probing attack, he leaned forward and his right hand seemed to be grabbing the Silver Mirror Shield that he had created.

"Spell No. 24, Holy Lance Throw!"

A pristine silver spear appeared in Garp's left hand, and then, with a throwing motion, it flew towards Higashino Shuichi's body like a bullet.

Therefore, the magic of the West Bureau should correspond to the Kido of the East Bureau, and so on. The magic numbers should also be similar to Kido numbers, with lower numbers indicating weaker power. Since the difference in spiritual pressure between me and Garp is not significant, it's just a magic number 24.
In an instant, Higashino Shuichi made his own judgment.

Sever the Holy Lance, then charge in and, at close range, unleash a combination of high-level Binding and Destruction techniques.

"Fuzhao!"

Just as planned, Higashino Shuichi's Zanpakuto struck the Holy Spear. Just as Higashino Shuichi was about to use his Shunpo stance and rush to Garp's side, he was about to make a quick move.

"Still too young,"

Across from him, Holmes chuckled softly, a plume of black smoke billowing from his pipe.
"Magic ID 109, Synergy, Holy Lance - Silver Mirror Shield!"

Before the words had even faded, the black smoke from the pipe transformed into a jet-black chain, forming a bridge in the air between the Holy Lance and the silver mirror shield in Karp Holmes's hand.

In an instant, the Holy Spear, which Higashino Shuichi had thought he could easily cut in half with a single strike, became as if it had been infused with an iron wall, becoming indestructible.

In the blink of an eye, before Higashino Shuichi could even react, the Holy Spear pierced through his right shoulder.

"While I don't have any feelings for you yet, young man, you'd better slink back home with your tail between your legs."

Before Karp Holmes could finish his victory speech, his expression froze.

Because he witnessed something that shouldn't have happened to Death.

"Super speed regeneration?"

Higashino Shuichi's body, which had just been pierced by the Holy Lance, was rapidly recovering.

To this, Higashino Shuichi could not possibly answer Karp Holmes. The initial probing was almost over, and Higashino Shuichi felt it was time to get down to business.

"Tracing the origins of military strategy, Bankai! A smile concealing a dagger!"

Abandoning defense for ultimate offense, nothing is more suitable for this fighting style than the slashing techniques learned from Retsu Unohana.

This time, no matter what tricks Karp Holmes used, Higashino Shuichi took them all.

Soon, Karp Holmes discovered the problem.

In this state, Higashino Shuichi is like a hedgehog; no matter what attack hurts him, he will definitely retaliate with an equal attack.

If it were just that, it wouldn't be difficult to exchange injuries, but Shuichi Higashino has a bug-like ability similar to super-speed regeneration, which makes things quite difficult for Garp.

Fortunately, after a long struggle, Higashino Shuichi's gradually weakening stamina was still keenly noticed by Garp.

"I knew it! No one has a flawless ability. Young man, I've seen through your weakness!"

Garp, having once again blocked Higashino Shuichi's slash with his Silver Mirror Shield, stretched out his right arm, which was covered in scars from the recent battle, towards the sky.

"Liberation code 1647, the uncanny valley!"

Mountains and rivers rise, a dark curtain obscures the sky, and nameless wails echo in the valley.

Rain, trees, rocks—everything that Higashino Shuichi could see and nothing else constantly transformed into invisible spiritual pressure, ravaging his body.

"It's a pity, but being able to die in my Valley of Uncanny Things can serve as a medal on your tombstone."

Standing outside the terrain that had been transformed out of thin air, Karp Holmes mourned for Higashino Shuichi inside.

To date, no dragon has survived in his Valley of Terror, and he believes that the same is true for Shuichi Higashino.

Even though the latter possesses a bizarre regenerative ability unlike that of a normal Grim Reaper, his stamina is not limitless. "It seems you're a cold-blooded Grim Reaper,"

On the other side, the white-bearded Trombotakne looked at the female Grim Reaper who was fighting him to a standstill with a smile.

"No, Mr. Xiu Yi will not lose!"

Soi Fon said firmly.

Trombotakne shook her head, marveling at the naiveté of the female Grim Reaper before her.

She had no idea what kind of monster her companion was facing—it was none other than Sherlock Holmes, one of the strongest captains in the West Side in recent centuries.

He could have easily been the captain of the Saber Team, but he chose to take over as the captain of the development team simply because he enjoyed research.

But as if in response to Soi Fon's expectations, five dragon roars echoed within the gloomy Valley of Terror.

In the true collapse of the sky and the cracking of the earth, sunlight shone through the blasted-open dark clouds onto Higashino Shuichi, who stood firmly on the ground, relying on his Zanpakuto.

"The Ninety-Nineth Stage of Destruction: The Five Dragons Annihilate!"

Gasping for breath, Higashino Shuichi squinted one eye and looked up at the somewhat surprised Karp Holmes in mid-air.

He almost fell into the hands of the captain of the Western Garrison this time.

"Wow, this is incredible! Are all the deputy captains in your Eastern Sub-Bureau as capable as you?"

Facing the somewhat weakened Higashino Shuichi, Garp Holmes chose not to continue fighting, because he sensed an exceptionally powerful spiritual pressure had arrived on the battlefield.

The owner of that spiritual pressure figure landed in front of Higashino Shuichi, first expressing gratitude to Higashino Shuichi with an apologetic look, and then turning to look at Garp Holmes.

"This pointless battle can end now."

The voice was weak, but the tone was unforgiving and did not tolerate rejection.

"Oh? Is that so? That's what I was thinking too. Trompo, let's take the dragon and go~"

Seeing the number thirteen on the captain's haori, and knowing he wouldn't gain any advantage, Karp Holmes didn't waste any words. He simply lingered his gaze on Higashino Shuichi for a moment longer.
"I still admire you, young man. If you can't make it in the East Sub-bureau, why not come and check out our West Sub-bureau? I have high hopes for you!"

He saw something called ambition in Higashino Shuichi's eyes.

With such strength, he was relegated to the position of vice-captain.

Karp instinctively felt that Higashino would definitely do something big the next day.

Jushiro Ukitake made no comment on Karp Holmes's blatant attempt to poach him, but simply swung his sword as Trombotakne turned around with the dragon.

The dragon that started this conflict transformed into spirit particles and returned to the earth.

"You people can leave, but it has to stay here."

"I speak calmly," said Jushiro Ukitake.

"Captain Holmes!"

Trombotakne turned around angrily, but was stopped by Garp.

"Hahaha, very good, everyone from the Eastern Sub-Bureau. I'll remember you!"

Having said that, Garp, carrying Trombotakne, flew back eastward without a second thought.

To Garp, that dragon was just an experimental dragon.

While the experimental data is important, it's far from enough to warrant him antagonizing a captain from the Eastern Sub-Bureau who possesses terrifying spiritual pressure and whose strength is unknown.

Meanwhile, Higashino Shuichi remained kneeling, watching Karp Holmes' departing figure.

Two high-intensity battles within a year made him realize a problem.

That is, although he has now raised his spiritual pressure limit to more than twice its original level and has found a way to further increase his spiritual pressure limit in the future, none of his Zanpakuto abilities are suitable for direct, high-intensity combat. They are all tricky abilities. Once the enemy sees through them, his actual combat power will be infinitely reduced.

Even with the infinite regeneration brought by the Spirit King's nails, it's all for naught without sufficient physical strength.

Both Unohana Retsu that night and Karp Holmes today taught Higashino Shuichi a heavy lesson in this regard.

Neither slashing techniques nor free-fighting can change his predicament in a short period of time.

As for the Ghost Path, the top-level Ghost Path techniques he currently possesses are too limited and difficult to play a significant role in actual combat.

"I didn't originally intend to take such a risk so early."

Higashino Shuichi looked up at the sky.

A few months ago, he looked in that direction in the same way, and at that time, he warned himself not to covet that place.

But in less than a year, he has decided to ignore his own warnings.

Because Karp Holmes had already shown Higashino Shuichi through his actions that in this world, deadly dangers never come in an orderly fashion.

A seemingly relaxing picnic could very well be the end of one's life.

Lady Luck will smile upon him once, but not twice.

The idea of ​​always waiting for the safest opportunity to gain power is beautiful, but it's like a bubble that bursts at the slightest touch.

(End of this chapter)