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

Chapter 78, Section 77: Your Hellish Cheat Code Has Arrived (5k-word long chapter)

Back in Soul Society, all the Shinigami who had personally participated in the events that occurred in the human world were given a gag order.

And no one knows what the higher-ups in the Central 46th Bureau were thinking. The deaths of several Grim Reapers were just glossed over so lightly.

Higashino Shuichi also heard that the captain of the 13th Division, Ukitake Jushiro, had been to the Central 46 Chambers, but the final result seemed to be less than ideal.

After leaving the Central 46th Chamber, Jushiro Ukitake locked himself in the small captain's room called Amegando.

Another pitiful captain whose heart is full of justice, but who is ruthlessly slapped in the face by reality.

Higashino Hideichi felt a deep sense of regret, but he wouldn't try to change anything.

After returning from the mortal world, apart from continuing to teach the members of the Fourth Division about Kido, Kuodo, and pharmacology, his daily life seemed to have returned to normal.

The sword training, which has been reduced to once a week and was harshly criticized by Shuichi Higashino as "the Queen of Unohana's Whip," has been reduced to once a week.

Almost every day, Kisaragi Shusuke and Matsumoto Rangiku would give private lessons after school.

In addition, he would occasionally visit the Second Division to spar with Soi Fon, catch up with Mayuri Kurotsuchi in the Maggot Nest, and ask the latter to help him study the triangular pyramid gem that Shuichi Higashino had casually obtained from that battlefield in the human world.

Everything seemed unchanged from before.

But only Higashino Shuichi himself knew that it took nearly five months of effort.

He finally managed to extract some information about the most mysterious of the five noble families from Yoruichi Shihouin, the captain of the Second Division, through indirect means.

The Kabuto family is specifically responsible for guarding and monitoring Hell. Apart from that, they are not responsible for any affairs within the Soul Society, nor do they participate in them.

Even within the Central 46, the highest authority in Soul Society, they have never been seen.

Their existence is similar to that of the Zero Division, except that one is responsible only to the Soul King, and the other is responsible only to Hell.

At this very moment, taking advantage of the warm spring weather, Higashino Shuichi visited the home of the former 10th Division Captain, Maki Kurato, located in the Seireitei.

"I'm so sorry, Higashino-kun, I hope you didn't find this amusing~"

Kneeling opposite Higashino Hideichi was Maki Kurato's widow, a young woman with a beautiful figure and outstanding looks, and a typical Yamato Nadeshiko personality.

"I should be the one apologizing. My sudden visit has caused you trouble, Mrs. Maki."

This sentence is Higashino Shuichi's true feeling.

The culprit who caused Maki Kurato's widow to be in this predicament is none other than Higashino Shuichi himself.

Despite residing in the Seireitei and having served as the captain of the 10th Division for such a long time, Maki Kurato's house has become visibly "simple" in less than a year since his death.

The empty room even had faint echoes.

Higashino Shuichi knew that Maki Kurato was originally a commoner from Rukongai. It was only after becoming the captain of the 10th Division that he married his current noblewoman from among the lower-ranking nobles in Seireitei.

Therefore, it's unlikely that Maki Kurō left much of a legacy in Seireitei.

Therefore, with just one glance, Higashino Shuichi could understand the current situation of Maki Kurato's widow.

It's nothing more than some people trying to take advantage of the situation.

After chatting with Maki Kurō's widow for a while, Higashino Hideichi understood his purpose and, with her permission, went to Maki Kurō's former rest room.

Higashino Shuichi had already gone to the Tenth Division's captain's rest room under various pretexts, but found nothing, so he could only try his luck here.

Fortunately, Higashino Shuichi was lucky this time. He found a seal filled with strange black patterns in one of Maki Kurano's clothes.

The moment Higashino Shuichi touched it with his right hand.

A scene he had never seen before flashed into his mind.

The dark shrine, the dim candlelight, the somber figures—it seemed as if all evil had gathered there. Just by looking at this image, Higashino Shuichi felt a chill run down his spine.

兜麻
The eerie scene quickly disappeared, but through his memories, Higashino Shuichi discovered an inconspicuous detail.

That is the figure with its back to itself in the picture, and the decoration hanging from the brim of its hat is, without a doubt, a symbol of the fifth most mysterious noble family in Soul Society.

Sure enough.

From the day Higashino Shuichi witnessed Maki Kurato's bizarre Bankai and the strange scene after he killed the latter, he had a suspicion in his mind.

In the original story, the reason why things in Hell began to interfere with Soul Society was because after the Thousand-Year Blood War, Soul Society lost a large number of high-level combatants.

According to the setting of the Bleach world, Shinigami with too much spiritual pressure cannot return to the earth as spiritual particles after death like other weaker Shinigami. Instead, they are sent to Hell to undergo repeated punishments in order to cleanse themselves of their sins.

Furthermore, a group of deeply sinful people will be given new powers and become so-called "sinful people." These sinful people will fight, be ravaged, killed, and resurrected in hell, experiencing a true living hell.

Therefore, when Yamamoto, Unohana Retsu, and other fallen Shinigami entered Hell, Hell, which was already close to full capacity, became unbalanced.

This is what gave those wicked people in Hell the opportunity to come to Soul Society.

However, at this point in time, the power within Hell has clearly not yet reached that critical point in the future, so the power of Hell should not appear in Soul Society.

In response, Higashino Hideaki only thought of one possibility: that the legendary fifth noble family was behind it all.

Indeed, only the Kabuto family, which had been responsible for monitoring and guarding Hell since the Five Noble Families attacked the Spirit King hundreds of years ago, had the ability and opportunity to draw out the power of Hell.

Looking at the seal in his hand, Higashino Shuichi knew that he now only had one choice.

Take a gamble.

He was betting that the Kabuto family, like the Zero Division, didn't care about the fate of Soul Society and only cared about what they were protecting.

That way, everything Higashino Shuichi had done in Soul Society wouldn't become his death warrant.

Despite the fact that the Kabuto family has not taken any action so far, Higashino Shuichi is 90% confident in his judgment.

But even after he left the Maki Kurani family's house and stepped into the Kabuto family's territory, his heart remained uneasy.

There was no other reason than that Higashino Shuichi knew all too well that what he had done so far was enough to make him die hundreds of times over at Shuangji Hill.

There was only silence around him; all he could hear was the crunching of fallen leaves under his feet and his own breathing.

Pushing open the door, the interior was covered in dust, and it looked as if no one had lived there for a long time.

But Higashino Shuichi knew that these were just appearances.

Because the seal in his hand was making a joyful, gurgling sound.

That was something that had never happened before at the Makizō family's house.

The feeling that Higashino Shuichi had was similar to those demons released by Maki Kurato's Bankai.

Following the vague guidance provided by the seal, Higashino Shuichi quickly found the entrance to a basement.

Pulling up the heavy handle sends dust flying.

The choking caused Higashino Shuichi to cough several times.

Clearly, this place hasn't been opened for a long time.

"Hado #20, Shiten-kyu!"

A ball of light appeared in Higashino Shuichi's right palm, instantly illuminating the passage leading underground.

Higashino Shuichi found it hard to imagine what kind of mentality led him to initially create this Kido Shinigami, classifying it as a Hadokaku and assigning it a number like 20, which wasn't a low-level designation.

It was clearly only meant to provide illumination.

In terms of destructive power, it may not even be as good as White Thunder No. 4.

As he continued downhill, Higashino Shuichi soon reached the end, where a tightly closed door stood before him.

Along his journey, there were several unlocked rooms. Higashino Shuichi pushed open the doors of each one, and without exception, they were all filled with white bones kneeling on prayer mats.

When was the last time that Hidekazu Higashino saw such a complete skeleton?
Higashino Shuichi recalled that it was probably a few years ago when he went to Hueco Mundo to find Szayelaporro, and Barragan approached him again, and the two had a sparring session.

In the Soul Society, where the body transforms into spirit particles and returns to the earth upon death, seeing so many skeletons at once is truly astonishing and perplexing.

Composing himself, Higashino instinctively doubled his fingers together as if to knock, but after thinking about it, he ultimately decided to push the door open and enter.

Even if his original intention was to ask for help, he already possessed strength beyond that of an average captain. Even in the current Soul Society, he was one of the top Shinigami. There was absolutely no need for him to lower himself as he did in front of Aizen.

"You're here~"

The voice that spoke sounded like that of a young girl, a nightingale's voice that seemed completely out of place in this lifeless, secluded room.

Looking around, Higashino Shuichi saw a figure kneeling on a futon at the far end of the room.

Hunched and thin. Five blue-faced ghostly figures clung to her body, their half-foot-long fangs occasionally piercing into the girl's flesh, their surface covered in crimson blood.

Laughter and playfulness—they treated the girl's body as their dining table.

If this were a member of the Kabuto family, one of the five noble families, even someone like Shuichi Higashino, who considered himself to be quite hard-hearted, would be moved.

"Do you know who I am?"

Higashino Shuichi placed one hand on his Zanpakuto at his waist, warily scanning his surroundings.

The girl's tragic experience, aside from initially evoking a sliver of sympathy in him, only made him more cautious.

"do not know."

The girl looked at the unknown statue in front of her and said...

"But they know that you have gained their approval, that you have the key to hell, and that's why you've come here."

After hearing this, Higashino Shuichi narrowed his eyes.

He guessed that the "seals" the girl was referring to were the seals he had obtained from Maki Kurama.

Because he found this place under the guidance of some unseen force.

"Is this the key to hell?"

Higashino Hideichi raised the seal in his hand, feigning ignorance.

The key was definitely not a seal, otherwise there would be no reason for the Tibetan man not to carry such an important item with him.

As expected, the girl opposite him shook her head slightly, with a very small movement, accompanied by a soft moan.

Even for a girl, performing such a move would be extremely difficult.

"It's a fragment of that person, you should know that very well, because it doesn't belong to you."

Higashino Shuichi almost instinctively wanted to draw his sword.

The fragment of the Spirit King's fingernail was one of his most important secrets to date, and he never expected that it would be revealed by a girl like this.

"If I'm not mistaken, you're waiting for me? Why?"

Higashino Shuichi held back, because he still had many questions.

"Hell is almost full. If we don't find a solution soon, not only Hell, but also Soul Society, Hueco Mundo, and the Human World will all collapse."

The girl seemed frighteningly naive, and didn't seem worried about why Higashino Shuichi had found this place.

"What does that have to do with me? What can I do about it?"

When Higashino Shuichi asked this question, he already had part of the answer in his mind.

Based on the previous situation of Maki Kuranosuke, a bold idea formed in his mind.

No, to be more precise, it was the bold idea of ​​the Touma family.

Do you know what hell is?

Instead of answering Higashino Shuichi's question directly, the girl asked a question that seemed completely unrelated.

"When ordinary Shinigami or Hollows die, their spiritual particles return directly to Soul Society. However, Shinigami or Hollows with excessively strong spiritual pressure cannot return in this way and are instead sent to Hell."

"That's what I'm saying," Higashino Shuichi replied.

This is not from Soul Society textbooks; most Shinigami shouldn't even know the word "Hell."

However, from the very beginning, Higashino Shuichi was led astray by the girl's confident tone.

When the girl first mentioned the word "hell," and Higashino Shuichi didn't ask what "hell" meant, he had already lost the initiative.

Even if Higashino Shuichi realized this later, it was too late.

Therefore, he simply spoke frankly and openly.

"However, due to the nature of Hell, these Grim Reapers do not perish in Hell. Some of the most sinful Grim Reapers even gain new powers so that they can experience the pain of endless reincarnation in Hell."

The girl's tone revealed sorrow and endless grief.

"The intention was good, but what are the consequences?"

"The consequence is that the sins in hell accumulate more and more, and if no way is found to release them, one day, the balance of hell will be destroyed by the system it created itself."

The girl continued, picking up where Higashino Shuichi left off.

"So, your Kabuto family came up with a method to release the sins in Hell through the bodies of Shinigami, allowing them to return to Soul Society, thereby reducing the sins in Hell, right?"

Higashino Shuichi stared at the back of the figure at the very back and voiced his speculation.

He trembled at the sight of that figure's back and knew he had guessed correctly.

In response, Shuichi Higashino had to admit that the person who first came up with this idea in the Kabuto family was definitely a genius.

What if the spiritual pressure is too strong to be directly broken down?
No problem, just add a funnel called Death, and break it down in batches, little by little.

However, the Kabuto family member who proposed this idea may have forgotten the most important point: how could an ordinary Shinigami withstand that level of spiritual pressure and the sins that have been tempered in hell?
And who among the powerful Grim Reapers who are capable of enduring such a difficult and thankless task would be willing to do it?

This is probably the fundamental reason why the Kabuto family has declined to its current state, and why so many skeletons remain in so many of the rooms in front of it.

They must have initially wanted to achieve this grand dream with the help of their own family members, until they realized something was wrong and it was too late, forcing them to seek help from outsiders.

Whether Maki Kurato was the first or not, Higashino Shuichi was not sure, but he was certain that Maki Kurato would definitely not be the last.

Because, Shuichi Higashino himself will take over this baton.

“I can help your Douma family continue this business, but I have one condition.”

"."

The room suddenly fell silent, with only a few demons, oblivious to the atmosphere, snarling and baring their teeth at Higashino.

The girl probably didn't expect the process to go so smoothly. Back then, she had to use a lot of persuasion to convince Maki Kurama to accept the job.

Only those Grim Reapers from humble backgrounds are easy to fool.

To her surprise, Higashino Shuichi was so decisive that she even doubted her own ears.

"It's reasonable to have conditions, but are you sure you understand what you're agreeing to?"

Rationally speaking, the girl knew she shouldn't have asked that question, but emotionally, she couldn't bear to see Higashino Shuichi unwittingly get himself involved.

The best outcome would be, like Maki Kurato before him, to accept the job only after being prepared to die.

“I am very clear about this, so my conditions are also very demanding.”

"Since you say that the man's fragment is the key, then I think there must also be a lock needed to get to Hell. After all, you couldn't just randomly pick a Shinigami or Hollow sent to Hell and guide them out, right?"

Shuichi Higashino is very clear about his current needs.
"Give me that lock, and I will fulfill the dream of your Douma family."

What Higashino Shuichi wanted was a ticket to freely travel to and from hell.

The infinite regenerative ability granted to him by the Spirit King's fingernail fragment lock is his source of confidence.

He wants the power of Hell, and he also wants the power of the Soul Society captains from all the past generations.

He refused to believe that once he revealed his status as the current vice-captain of Soul Society, he wouldn't be able to find many kind-hearted people in Hell willing to teach him!
Aizen, who was obsessed with perfecting the Hogyoku, and Unohana Retsu, who was focused on swordsmanship, were no longer enough to satisfy Shuichi Higashino's appetite!

He needs a new teacher to impart new skills to him!

The girl hesitated only slightly before agreeing to Higashino Shuichi's request.

Because the lock that can open the gates to hell is none other than the Zanpakuto passed down through generations of Kabuto, Zemi Basa.

“Hold her hand, call her name, and you will open the gates to hell for yourself.”

As the true master of this world, the girl can close the gates of hell that have been opened at any time.

Therefore, she was not worried that Higashino Shuichi would commit an unforgivable crime with this knife.

Higashino Shuichi did not go to the trouble of asking the girl if she would lock him up on the other side of hell for this reason.

Just as the girl trusted him unconditionally, he reciprocated with the same trust.

(End of this chapter)