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

Chapter 87, Section 86. A combined strategy, blossoming on a tree!
The sinners in hell are immortal; this is an ironclad rule of hell.

Therefore, the graduation test that Kenpachi Kuruyashiki gave to Shuichi Higashino was simply to have Shuichi Higashino defeat Yukisa Ikeda and successfully carve a divine mark on his body.

Now that Higashino Shuichi has accomplished this, Kuruyashiki Kenpachi will naturally help Higashino Shuichi handle the aftermath.

He's just some insignificant Ikeda Kosuke and a few ancient Hollows.

They were all just souls that perished under the mouths of Kenpachi Kuchiyashiki's Zanpakuto Shikai ability.

"With your spiritual pressure, you've achieved this much. You'd be more than qualified to be a captain when you get back."

Higashino Shuichi did not tell Kuruyashiki Kenpachi why he was still a vice-captain.

Therefore, the latter always believed that Higashino Shuichi was simply no match for the other captains of the Gotei 13.

According to Kenpachi Kuruyashiki, that was possible.

After such a period of special training, Kenpachi Kuruyashiki felt that Higashino Shuichi should have no problem challenging a relatively weak captain after returning.

"I will try my best, Captain Kuruyashiki!"

Higashino Shuichi replied with immense gratitude.

"Well, you can go back anytime now. If you stay here any longer, there's nothing more I can teach you. You've already reached the limit of your spiritual pressure."

Kenpachi Kuruyashiki became increasingly satisfied with Shuichi Higashino.

It's a pity he's already in Hell. Otherwise, if he were still in Soul Society, he would definitely want to recruit Shuichi Higashino into his Eleventh Division.

Of course, Kenpachi Kuruyashiki didn't know that a Kenpachi had already done the same thing, but was rejected by another Kenpachi.

"Got it, Captain!"

Higashino Shuichi bowed to Kuruyashiki Kenpachi once again.

It's no exaggeration to say that the progress he made studying under Kenpachi Kuruyashiki has far surpassed the sum of what Shuichi Higashino has made over the past few decades.

The ability to train continuously without considering the consequences is far superior to the kind of clandestine practice of the past.

If in the past Higashino Shuichi might have been just a mid-to-low-level captain with flashy skills, now he can definitely compete with those captains who are decent in ability.

At least, if he were to encounter Karp Holmes, the development team leader from the West Coast Bureau, again, Higashino Shuichi would definitely not show that pathetic state.

"Crossing to the other shore of this world, the world is still in samsara!"

With his left hand grasping the Worldly Beauty, Higashino once again opened the gate to that other world.

After Higashino Shuichi completely passed through and returned to Soul Society, Kuruyashiki Kenpachi looked at the spot where Higashino Shuichi had disappeared, a slightly amused smile on his lips.

"I hope that next time we meet, Shuichi-kun, you can bring me some surprises~"

Kenpachi Kuruyashiki had a premonition that a Shinigami like Shuichi Higashino, with a clear goal and willing to completely accept a monotonous life and work day and night for that goal, would emerge.

The upper limit of spiritual pressure can only restrain him temporarily, but it will never become a permanent obstacle for him.

Perhaps, the next time the two of them meet, I will have to look up to him.

On the other side, the blinding sunlight and fresh air swept away the suffocating feeling that had lingered in the hellish atmosphere that had long plagued him.

Shuichi Higashino has finally returned to the Soul Society he has been away from for so long.

However, the place they returned to was not their own home, as they had expected.

However, this was not a big deal. After simply using the Kido to create a barrier to conceal his vision, Higashino Shuichi sank into his inner world.

Ten years later, his Zanpakuto finally called him again.

In my inner world, the environment here has undergone earth-shattering changes.

Originally, Higashino Shuichi should have appeared in an antique-style study, surrounded by bookshelves filled with books, with a low desk at the back, and a straw mat behind it. The man, wearing a white cloak and exuding a scholarly air, should have sat there elegantly, waiting for him to speak.

The previous two experiences were the same, but this time was different.

Higashino Shuichi appeared outside the bookstore, surrounded by the familiar gray haze. Before his body could adjust to the dryness of Soul Society, he was once again pulled back into this suffocating feeling.

If Higashino Shuichi hadn't been absolutely certain that this was his inner world, and that the faint spiritual connection between his Zanpakuto and the house was in that small thatched hut in front of him, he would have suspected that he had returned to hell.

Is this how it is outside, or did it become like this because I went to hell?

Higashino Shuichi couldn't understand it, because he hadn't tried to leave the bookstore on the previous two occasions either.

Pushing open the door, his Zanpakuto was still in that familiar spot.

Higashino Shuichi looked around and breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Fortunately, nothing inside has changed.

Otherwise, Higashino Shuichi might really have to consider the environment in which he unlocks the Bankai ability of his Zanpakuto in the future.

Upon entering the bookstore, Higashino Shuichi stood before the man who had materialized from his Zanpakuto.

"I wasn't really sure if doing this would get your approval, but after coming out of hell and being called upon by you, I've figured it out," Higashino Shuichi said, looking at the man sitting opposite him.

The man smiled, simply looking at Higashino Shuichi, waiting for what would happen next.

"I previously thought that the unlocking condition was that I needed to be the core executor of the plan, and that the plan had to be wide-ranging, involve a large number of people, and have a significant impact."

However, this time your call made me realize that the key point is not those things, but whether I have used strategy to truly enhance my own strength.

If it works, you acknowledge that it was indeed used correctly; if not, then the strategy is worthless in your eyes, right?

Higashino Hideichi then shared his analysis.

Unfortunately, the man opposite him didn't seem to intend to answer the question. Instead, he asked in return, "So, Shuichi-kun, do you know why we called you in this time?"

Higashino Shuichi suppressed his urge to beat up the riddle-solving man opposite him.

He's just like Aizen Sousuke.

"By taking advantage of the situation, one can achieve great things with little effort; like a wild goose gradually approaching land, its feathers can be used as ornaments."

Higashino Shuichi could only be thankful that he hadn't forgotten Sun Tzu's Art of War, which he used to read almost every day in his previous life.

Otherwise, he would lose face if he couldn't even pass the test of his own Zanpakuto.

"Although I haven't officially used the results yet, the outcome is already obvious."

The power of Hell is similar to Quincy and Fullbring; they all belong to a combat system not constructed by the Soul King, are not bound by spiritual pressure rules, and are almost rule-based abilities.

Therefore, even though my current strength is limited by the spiritual pressure limit, preventing me from reaching a higher level, I can still use the power of hell to unleash combat power far exceeding my own strength in a short period of time.

This is the strategy of combining forces, like flowers blooming on a tree!

"It seems you're already quite familiar with this process, Shuichi-kun."

The man stood up from the straw mat, and his Zanpakuto appeared out of thin air in his hand.

This time, however, the Zanpakuto, which should have been a fiery red like a raging flame, had a third of its tip turn grayish-black.

"This is?"

Even Higashino Shuichi, who considered himself to have seen a lot in the Soul Society after spending hundreds of years there, couldn't figure out what was going on.

"Accept this power."

But the man opposite him didn't seem willing to explain further for Higashino Shuichi.

Higashino Shuichi frowned, and following the instructions, drew his Zanpakuto. The two swords then clashed in mid-air.

Soon, the tip of Higashino Shuichi's Zanpakuto was also stained grayish-black.

At the same time, a strange message flooded into his mind.

That was information about Ikeda Yukisa's Zanpakuto's Bankai ability.

Real names, new liberation slogans, effects—it's all there.

"What does it mean?"

Higashino Shuichi couldn't understand.

"This tree originally had no flowers, yet the tree has flowers. Where do the flowers come from? Fragrance lies beneath the knife."

The man casually recited a line of poetry, and Higashino Hideki understood instantly.

The ability to make flowers bloom on trees requires the use of new power to strengthen oneself, but this power cannot be created out of thin air. Therefore, his Zanpakuto directly stole a portion of the authority from Seiya Basa, transferring Ikeda Yukisa, who should have been linked with Seiya Basa, to his Zanpakuto.

In other words, his Zanpakuto is essentially like having a back door secretly opened in Hell through the medium of Ikeda Kosuke.

Even if Higashino Shuichi returns Seiya Basha to his own possession, he can still indirectly connect with Hell by borrowing Ikeda Kosuke's Zanpakuto abilities.

Essentially, it's not much different from using Seimei-hasa, except that if you were to use Seimei-hasa, it would be impossible to enhance Ikeda Kousuke's Zanpakuto abilities.

In the past, Maki Kurato also gave up his own Zanpakuto's Bankai in exchange for Ikeda Kousa's Zanpakuto's Bankai.

But Higashino Shuichi's "Flowers Bloom on Trees" is different; it is more direct and can be considered a forced appropriation.

The "Flowering Tree" ability allows Ikeda Yukisa's Zanpakuto power to be directly applied to Higashino Shuichi, unlike Maki Kurato who had to first sacrifice his own Zanpakuto Bankai ability.

However, with Higashino Shuichi's current spiritual pressure, the strain on his body from using both Bankai would definitely be explosive. How long he could withstand it without collapsing is a complete unknown.

But without a doubt, this will be the strongest trump card that Higashino Shuichi has so far.

Because of the special power of Hell, which is almost like a rule, even top-tier powerhouses like Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni or Aizen Sosuke would suffer serious injuries if they were to be attacked by it carelessly.

In other words, after hundreds of years of struggle, Higashino Shuichi has finally gained the capital to intervene in the highest-level battles.

Even if the time during which this threat may be very short.

(End of this chapter)