No Cheat in Bleach ? Watch me help Aizen then.-Chapter 107: When in Doubt, Resort to Moral Leverage

In the World of the Living, they had finally found a place to settle down. After Urahara Kisuke finished his usual clinking and clanking with spiritual mechanisms, Higashi Shuuichi—though having released his Dual Bankai, still remained in a residual Bankai state—followed Yoruichi Shihouin into the facility.

To his surprise, what looked like a small, unimposing house on the surface concealed a vast underground chamber of over ten thousand cubic meters.

"They've got tech like this in Soul Society?"

Standing in the open space below, Shuuichi crouched down and gently placed the unconscious Kisaragi Shuusuke—drained from the battle—on the simulated soil beneath. A light press confirmed it: artificial terrain.

"Technically speaking, yes. It's Soul Society tech... just not our Soul Society's. It came from the other side."

Kisuke followed in behind him. With him were Tessai Tsukabishi and the Hollowfied Shinigami they'd carried here—Hirako Shinji and the others. Matsumoto Rangiku brought up the rear.

"The West Research Bureau?"

Shuuichi hadn't forgotten. It was because of that division's head developer, Kapu Holmes, that he'd resolved to descend into Hell.

"Remember the trophy you swiped off the battlefield? The one you took from Mayuri a month ago? This tech was reverse-engineered from the gem inside it."

Kisuke said it casually, almost too casually.

"I see."

Shuuichi recalled that gem well—Mayuri had told him it could open interdimensional rifts. What he hadn't expected was that Kisuke had managed to crack its underlying technology in just a few years.

No wonder Mayuri had looked sour when he returned it—it meant Kisuke had beaten him to it.

"So, Kisuke, what's the plan now?"

Yoruichi spoke up, glancing at the unconscious Vizards sprawled across the floor—Souls twisted into partial Hollows, their fates uncertain. A rare note of worry colored her expression.

They'd just burned every bridge with Soul Society.

"We stay underground, help Shinji and the others recover. Best case scenario: we help them gain full control over their inner Hollows. That way, we can prove to Soul Society that Hollowfication can be controlled.

"After that... the next step is exposing Aizen Sōsuke's crimes."

He didn't say anything further.

Shuuichi understood—he wasn't someone who would be included in the next part of the plan. Only Yoruichi was likely to be privy to that.

"So, Kisuke... you're saying you can help us suppress Hollowfication? Without using this Zanpakutō embedded in my chest?"

It was a question Shuuichi already knew the answer to—but from his current position, it had to be asked.

"Assuming nothing goes wrong, yes."

The more Kisuke used the Hōgyoku to stabilize the Vizards, the more convinced he became: Aizen must have a Hōgyoku of his own. If Aizen could cause it, then Kisuke could counter it.

"Then I'll leave it to you."

As if finally releasing a breath he'd been holding for hours, Shuuichi's shoulders slumped.

Bankai, released.

A crushing wave of exhaustion slammed into his consciousness. The body that had moments ago held firm now shattered—blood spilling freely from within, limbs numb and fading.

He could barely feel his own existence... until Rangiku rushed to cradle him in her arms.

"Shuuichi-sama..."

Her voice trembled. She had never seen him like this—broken, bloodied. Vulnerable.

It hurt to see him this way.

She knew everything now—Kisuke had brought her fully into the plan. She knew what Shuuichi had faced alone: an onslaught of countless Captain-class Shinigami.

Outnumbered. Abandoned. Alone.

He had told her, trying to reassure her: If I live, I've already won.

"One more thing... controlling Hollowfication... does my body... need to be intact...?"

His words came faint, fragmented. freeωebnovēl.c૦m

Yoruichi's brow furrowed. "Shuuichi... don't tell me—"

Kisuke, catching on, looked at him with new respect. Even weakened to this degree, Shuuichi was still thinking three steps ahead.

"It's not necessary, no."

"Then... Rangiku... remove... Semibasa... from my chest..."

Rangiku's eyes went wide. She shook her head violently.

She knew what that meant.

Thanks to Kisuke, she was no longer the clueless subordinate—she understood the significance of the Semibasa, the spiritual artifact embedded in Shuuichi's chest.

It suppressed his Hollowification. As long as it remained, he was spared the pain and madness the Vizards had endured.

"You don't have to risk this, Shuuichi-sama! Once Captain Muguruma wakes up, we can—"

She clutched him tighter, tearful, trembling.

But Shuuichi remained firm.

"We've got time to kill anyway. Besides, I trust Kisuke. If he says he can do it... then he can..."

A heavy silence fell over the room.

Shuuichi, who knew the true plot, knew Kisuke wasn't lying. With the Hōgyoku, Kisuke could indeed stabilize them.

But this wasn't just trust—it was calculated leverage.

Look, I believe in you. So if you dare experiment on me while I'm unconscious, what does that make you?

A subtle, invisible shackle—moral leverage.

Maybe it wouldn't mean much to someone like Kisuke... but Yoruichi?

She was a different story.

"Don't worry, Shuuichi-kun. You got us this far—now let us take it from here. I promise... when you wake up, everything will be okay."

As expected, Yoruichi was moved by his resolve. She made her vow without hesitation.

And of course, Kisuke had to follow.

"Yeah. We've got it from here, Shuuichi."

"And me too, Shuuichi-sama! I'll take care of you—no matter what!"

Rangiku, seeing that the others had agreed, relented and made her own promise.

Only Tessai stood awkwardly aside, an outsider to this tight-knit bond. He didn't know Shuuichi personally—couldn't share in the emotion.

But Shuuichi felt peace. He had needed Yoruichi's assurance most of all. Without it, he couldn't afford to pass out—not with Kisuke's curiosity and the risk of becoming lab meat.

He'd even taken the time before leaving Soul Society to retrieve Makyou Tōraika, his other Zanpakutō, from his hidden chamber and entrusted it to Rangiku.

Without Yoruichi's vow, he wouldn't have dared to fall unconscious.

Rangiku's hand trembled as she grasped the hilt of Semibasa, pulling it slowly from his chest.

In that instant, a flood of volatile Hollow energy and negative emotion tore through Shuuichi's weakened body.

It took less than a second.

He, now devoid of resistance, was completely engulfed by the Hollow within.

But Kisuke remained calm. Stepping forward, he drew out his own Hōgyoku and placed it against Shuuichi's chest.

Soothing the raging tide within, he gently pacified the Hollow's wrath—because Shuuichi's body, having spent everything, no longer had the strength to contain it on its own.

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