No Cheat in Bleach ? Watch me help Aizen then.-Chapter 102: Shihōin Yoruichi: Rebellion

Seireitei. The Noble District. The Kuchiki Clan—one of the Five Great Noble Houses.

In the center of the courtyard, a newlywed youth swung his Zanpakutō with unwavering focus.

"The blade must be aligned. Back straight. Hands firm. Legs grounded!"

"Byakuya, have you forgotten how I taught you to train?"

An elder, draped in the white haori of a captain, stood beside him, expression stern and commanding.

"I haven't forgotten, Grandfather!"

Byakuya gritted his teeth and kept swinging.

How many times had he cut the air today?

A thousand? Ten thousand?

He'd lost count.

Ever since the Kasadōri incident five years ago, his grandfather, Kuchiki Ginrei, had doubled down on his training.

Byakuya's father, Kuchiki Sōjun, though talented, was physically frail and unsuited for captain-level combat. Thus, Ginrei had placed all his hopes on his grandson.

"Enough for today. Swordsmanship practice ends here. Now—we begin Zanpakutō Release training."

Ginrei wasn't concerned with how Byakuya felt. From his perspective, all he saw was a Soul Society cloaked in ominous clouds.

In just one day—four captains and five lieutenants were incapacitated. Even the aloof Kidō Corps had lost a vice-chief, and their Grand Kidō Chief was suspected of treason.

Not to mention Urahara Kisuke, now imprisoned and stripped of his Twelfth Division captaincy.

Worse still, Shihōin Yoruichi—Head of the Shihōin Clan, Second Division Captain—was acting in open defiance.

Half of Soul Society's high-level combat strength was effectively gone.

If even captains could no longer protect themselves, then what of his grandson—a young soul still far from Bankai?

And just as Ginrei prepared to demonstrate battle techniques using Shikai, the last thing he wanted to hear—a prophecy he had feared—came true.

"Father! Bad news! Shihōin Yoruichi has gone rogue!"

Kuchiki Sōjun burst into the courtyard, too flustered to even dodge his son's swinging blade.

"She attacked the Maggot's Nest, didn't she?" Ginrei asked gravely.

"Yes. She freed Urahara Kisuke and Grand Kidō Chief Hōrinmaru."

"The Head-Captain's response?"

"Captain Nagatsuki of the Tenth has already been dispatched—but..."

Sōjun hesitated, dry-mouthed.

"But what?" Ginrei's frown deepened. A bad feeling gnawed at his instincts. "Don't tell me Urahara freed those Hollowfied captains and lieutenants as well."

That line alone sealed Kisuke's fate in Ginrei's mind.

No matter what doubts or loose ends remained—from the moment Yoruichi broke into the Maggot's Nest to free Kisuke and Hōrinmaru, Kisuke had crossed a line.

To the vast majority of Soul Society's Shinigami—he was now a traitor, and a premeditated one at that.

Ginrei's thoughts turned back to the horrors of five years ago. That night, even non-captain Hollowfied Shinigami, empowered by the Makyo Blades, had nearly bathed Seireitei in blood.

And now, if Kisuke unleashed five captain-level Hollowfied souls and four lieutenant-level on top of it—and added his own strength, Yoruichi's, and Hōrinmaru's...

How many would survive the night?

But the next words from Sōjun gave him pause.

"He didn't free all of them..."

"Then how many?"

"Just one."

Ginrei's eyes narrowed.

"Ōtoribashi Rōjirō? Hirako Shinji? Aikawa Love? Or Muguruma Kensei?"

Kisuke had overestimated himself, Ginrei thought. Did he truly believe one rampaging Hollowfied captain could change anything?

But Sōjun's next answer made Ginrei's eyes widen.

"None of those. He freed Higashi Shuuichi—former Fourth Division lieutenant, and most recently, vice-captain of the Eleventh. And... he retained his sanity."

"What?! Impossible!"

Ginrei's voice thundered.

Hollowfication always stripped away reason—left only the beast behind. That had been the lesson from the Kasadōri incident.

Why was Higashi Shuuichi the exception?

"What are the Head-Captain's orders?"

After a stunned pause, Ginrei returned to focus.

He knew Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni had to have acted swiftly.

"All captains are to immediately mobilize. Yoruichi, Kisuke, and Hōrinmaru are to be captured before they cause more damage. Lethal force is authorized if necessary."

At the same time, elsewhere in Seireitei—

Inside the Fourth Division barracks, vice-captain Yamada Seinosuke relayed the same orders to his captain, Unohana Retsu.

Her response was calm and composed.

"Yamada, remind me—what is the role of the Fourth Division?"

"...To heal the wounded."

"Then let us prepare for casualties."

Unohana remained kneeling, unmoved.

This incident was laced with too many oddities—the timing, the process, the outcome.

She would not be used as someone's pawn.

And besides—if it was him, he wouldn't let this spiral into full-scale war.