No Cheat in Bleach ? Watch me help Aizen then.-Chapter 104: Red Side: Shuuichi. Blue Side: Zaraki, Soi Fon, Yachiru, Ginrei.

Chapter 104 - Red Side: Shuuichi. Blue Side: Zaraki, Soi Fon, Yachiru, Ginrei.

The sky above Soul Society tonight was cloaked in dense clouds, the moonlight veiled and the summer breeze whispering through the darkness.

Unrestrained spiritual pressure pulsed through the air. The first to arrive was a man with a cute little girl perched on his shoulder.

"That way, Ken-chan! Over there~!"

The man couldn't sense reiatsu. He relied entirely on the girl to guide him.

Upon spotting Higashi Shuuichi sitting alone on the edge of the bridge, a mask on his face and a short blade plunged into his chest, the man grew visibly excited.

"Didn't expect to see you like this, Shuuichi!"

"Neither did I, Captain Zaraki. Especially not someone as notoriously directionless as you getting here so quickly."

Shuuichi placed a hand on the hilt of his Zanpakutō. Freshly unsealed, the blade throbbed with a ravenous thirst for release.

He'd considered it—betraying them now. Selling out Urahara and the others to Aizen in exchange for his life. Maybe Aizen would appreciate the gesture.

But one glance at his current state made that choice meaningless.

Even if Aizen did seize Urahara and got his hands on the incomplete Hōgyoku—so what? Without Orihime Inoue's future "Rejection Power," there was no way to complete the fusion.

Would Aizen, stuck with a half-finished Hōgyoku, really burn all of Soul Society just to protect Higashi Shuuichi?

Highly unlikely.

So when Zaraki Kenpachi yelled for another glorious, bloody battle—Shuuichi didn't hesitate. He leapt from the bridge, touched down lightly, and—

Fuzan.

The clash of spiritual pressure sent the river between them surging into the air like a curtain of water.

"Advance, Heibutsusha. The art of war lies in cunning! Kaze!"

A breeze coiled around Shuuichi's form, wrapping his blade and body in translucent wind—then vanished.

This wasn't the playful sparring of their last encounter. Shuuichi wasn't pulling punches.

His ability, Kaze, only made his attacks visually invisible—it didn't mask the reiatsu signature. Useless against most.

But against someone like Zaraki, who couldn't sense reiatsu at all?

It was borderline cheating.

Wind: Moon-Slicing Fang.

Blood sprayed. Zaraki dodged purely on instinct, his battle-hardened senses barely keeping him intact.

But far from discouraged, Kenpachi was elated.

"Yes! More, Shuuichi!"

He laughed wildly, lunging forward.

Shuuichi's reiatsu surged again—behind Zaraki this time.

"Ken-chan!"

Yachiru's warning rang out—but too late.

Zaraki twisted, slashing wildly. Steel met steel—Shuuichi's wind was scattered, his form revealed.

"So your trick can be disrupted after all!"

Grinning, Zaraki looked downright ecstatic.

Had Unohana Retsu been here, she'd have sighed in disappointment—Kenpachi's spiritual pressure had dropped again.

In search of worthy foes, Zaraki had long since begun sealing his own reiatsu. Though still stronger than most captains, against a partially Hollowfied Shuuichi—whose spiritual ceiling had been shattered—Zaraki no longer loomed as impossibly tall.

"Asekiru."

As blades locked, Shuuichi whispered.

Zaraki's body froze—briefly.

Just long enough for Shuuichi to slam his palm into Zaraki's abdomen.

"Hadō #63: Raikōhō – Fire Variant."

Flame and thunder exploded. Zaraki flew back, body crashing through rubble, skidding hundreds of meters.

"Ken-chan!!"

Yachiru screamed, but Shuuichi barely glanced her way.

No finishing blow. He didn't need to—because someone else had closed in on him, silently, swiftly.

"Sting All Enemies to Death. Suzumebachi!"

The golden tip of a finger stopped just short of Shuuichi's chest.

"Why, Shuuichi-sama?!"

"Why ask?" he answered softly. "Look at me. There's no other path left. Soul Society has no place for a Hollowfied Shinigami."

He lazily swung his sword—Soi Fon nimbly dodged.

"You're wrong! You're still conscious! You're not like the others!"

She bit her lip, breath trembling.

"What difference does it make?" Shuuichi forced a bitter smile. "To Central 46, to the nobles—I am a Hollow. Hollow equals threat. Threat equals eradication. Isn't that why you're here?"

"I'll explain it! To the Head-Captain! To Central 46! They'll understand!"

"And Yoruichi?"

That single name made Soi Fon freeze.

She didn't know how to answer. The moment she heard that Yoruichi had turned traitor—along with Shuuichi appearing openly in Seireitei in Hollow form—her thoughts had shattered.

She'd rushed here without thinking, desperate, confused, afraid.

"Sometimes the answer's simple, Soi Fon. Just ask yourself one question."

"W-what is it?"

"Even if we're wrong... will you still walk with us?"

She faltered. No answer came.

"Then treat me as an enemy. Only that way will you still have the choice to make again later."

He pointed his blade at her.

"I won't hold back. If you don't fight with the intent to kill, your hesitation will get you killed."

Lightning sparked.

"Hadō #4: Byakurai."

The bolt tore through her chest, narrowly missing her heart. Paralysis rippled through her limbs.

Shuuichi's words echoed again:

"Fight me as your enemy, or you'll die."

Was he still the man she once knew?

Soi Fon's body plummeted—caught at the last moment by Yachiru, who had been quietly observing the entire time.

Kaidō glowed in her hands.

Shuuichi had no time to reflect. Zaraki was back.

"Not enough! Not enough, Shuuichi! MORE!"

Blades clashed again, a storm of steel.

Zaraki hadn't slowed one bit, despite being struck earlier. Shuuichi watched, slightly in awe.

This man... was a monster.

As the battle dragged on, Zaraki adapted. Learned. Grew.

Shuuichi's Shikai wouldn't cut it anymore.

Time to end it.

Fire: Moon-Slicing Fang!

A sweeping strike forced Zaraki back.

"Bakudō #39: Enkōsen!"

A fan-shaped shield blocked Soi Fon's renewed assault.

Shuuichi's spiritual pressure surged.

"Root of Tactics... Bankai. Laughing Blade Beneath the Smile!"

"Bankai?!"

Zaraki's grin grew wide. He loved his instincts.

Yes—Shuuichi had been a perfect choice for Eleventh's lieutenant.

Zaraki leapt, a heavy upward swing ready.

Normally, Shuuichi would parry it.

But this time—he didn't. He rushed into it.

Is his Bankai messing with his head? Zaraki wondered.

Then he understood.

Too late.

An invisible strike—separate from the one Shuuichi had telegraphed—slashed his body, nearly severing his right arm.

Blood gushed. He crashed to the ground.

"Captain Zaraki!"

Soi Fon gasped. Shuuichi, wounded but regenerating, stood unharmed.

She froze. This wasn't the Shuuichi she knew.

No one in Soul Society really knew his Bankai.

Not Unohana. Not even those from his time in Squad 4.

He had never revealed it—until now.

"Must it end like this, Shuuichi-sama?"

"There's no other way, Soi Fon," he replied, facing her. "Besides, you can't kill me."

"Too confident!"

She vanished with Shunpo, reappearing behind him.

"Bakudō #30: Shitotsu Sansen!"

She aimed to pin him with kidō.

But... she forgot. He was her teacher.

"Do you know the essence of kidō?"

He stood in front of her—no sign of the spell.

"It's simply the manipulation of reishi in specific patterns. And if you know the structure intimately..."

He waved a finger.

"You can cancel it with perfect symmetry. We call that Anti-Kidō Nullification."

"Sting all enemies to death—Suzumebachi!"

She struck.

"Usele—"

Two slashes struck his back.

Yachiru had released her Zanpakutō—

"Come out! Sanpo Kenjū!"

Two summoned beasts flanked her.

One, a tall, horned skeletal creature with a glaive. The other, a squat, hairy ogre with cleavers.

They slashed Shuuichi together.

Two invisible counterattacks tore into them—deep gashes.

Still, Soi Fon's second mark landed.

But she, too, was injured by the backlash.

"No second mark?"

Shuuichi noted it. Curious.

He fired off a Raikōhō—forcing distance.

"Your ability reflects raw damage, but not side effects," Yachiru giggled.

"So I've been figured out, huh?" Shuuichi muttered.

Kenpachi's brains must've all gone to Yachiru.

"If you're exposed, it's not as scary anymore~!"

As Yachiru taunted, Soi Fon reappeared behind Shuuichi.

But he felt it coming.

He was about to counter—

When a massive spiritual pressure surged into the sky.

A strike—sharp, swift, precise.

Shuuichi countered with Asekiru and Moon-Slicing Fang.

It worked... barely.

But the pressure—it reminded him.

Zaraki wasn't just any opponent. He grew stronger every time he got hurt.

If this kept going, Shuuichi was just grinding XP for a damn raid boss.

And then he realized something terrifying.

He had been fighting instinctively for far too long.

No kidō. No Shunpo. Not even his go-to techniques.

It was like he'd been lulled into a script.

Another slash. He broke free with a scream—Moon-Slicing Fang and Shunpo launched him away.

He panted.

Why had no other captains shown up?

Where was Yachiru? Wait—no. She was here.

Something was wrong.

CRACK.

Another slash nearly cleaved him in two.

He couldn't even block?

Impossible.

He'd thought he could block—but why?

What had he forgotten?

He didn't know.

Not anymore.