No Cheat in Bleach ? Watch me help Aizen then.
Chapter 134: Prelude to the Final Battle for Osaka Prefecture

Chapter 134 - Prelude to the Final Battle for Osaka Prefecture

"Why are you here?"

Shiba Kaien's voice was low, strained from the pain of the still-healing wound left by a Fullbringer's attack. His hand pressed tightly over his side as he spoke, eyes locking onto Higashi Shuuichi, who had just shed the artificial Gigai disguise of Musashi Kojirou.

There was no hostility in Kaien's tone—at least not that Shuuichi could detect. If anything, he thought he caught a hint of... relief?

"We tracked down some technologies that leaked from the Soul Society. That trail led us here to the World of the Living."

Shuuichi carefully avoided mentioning Kyōraku Shunsui—he didn't trust the Captain-Commander to admit he'd ever made secret contact with so-called 'traitors.'

"Technology leaked from Soul Society... I knew there had to be more to all this!"

Kaien gritted his teeth and forced himself upright against the bedframe, his voice hardening as he pieced things together.

"But the humans we encountered—surely they aren't Shinigami? I never saw them use Kido, and they had no Zanpakuto. Their spiritual pressure was weak, yet they unleashed bizarre abilities."

Ayasegawa Yumichika stepped forward, standing just behind Shuuichi.

"They're not Shinigami," Shuuichi confirmed with a shake of his head. "They call themselves Fullbringers. The power they wield—Fullbring—lets them manipulate the souls of objects around them. It's a power that, under certain conditions, allows them to ignore spiritual pressure disparities."

"Fullbring..."

Kaien muttered the name with a furrowed brow, the word sounding both familiar and alien. He hadn't taken up his position as heir of the Shiba Clan yet and hadn't been privy to many of Soul Society's buried secrets. But he silently vowed that, if he returned alive, he'd start digging.

"Knowing how dangerous this was, I forged a warning in the name of Yoruichi Shihōin to try and steer your team clear," Shuuichi added. "Also... I owe both you, Yumichika, and Ikkaku an apology. I used you to test the limits of the Fullbringers' powers."

He bowed deeply to the two Eleventh Division Shinigami.

"Hah! That's nothing!" Ikkaku slapped his chest with a grin. "What I wanna know is—when do we get a proper fight again? Last time, and the time before that, sure, I lost—but I've got a new idea! Next round's mine!"

Yumichika, for his part, looked visibly more impressed. A rogue Shinigami, marked as a traitor by Soul Society, not only aided them but apologized sincerely? It was unheard of. In Seireitei, such humility from someone of Shuuichi's power would've been laughable. Here, it made an impact.

"To be honest," Yumichika muttered, "those Fullbringers should've been your allies. Not enemies."

Kaien interrupted, "Shuuichi... did you learn anything about a Shinigami named Yokozawa Takatsuna?"

He didn't mince words. As the Shiba Clan's successor, Kaien had never once bought into the Forty-Six Chambers' narrative about Kisuke Urahara's grand betrayal. Nor did he believe high-ranking captains like Higashi Shuuichi and the others truly defected without cause.

Shuuichi shook his head, visibly disappointed. "I'm sorry. No trace of him."

Kaien offered a half-smile, self-mocking. "I suppose it was too much to ask. You've already been cast out by Soul Society. It wasn't right of me to lean on you further."

"What about you?" Shuuichi asked. "From what I've seen, you're down to three active Shinigami in your investigation team. What's the plan?"

Yumichika turned to look at Kaien as well, concern on his face.

Retreat seemed like the only logical choice—report back to Soul Society while they still could.

But Kaien didn't flinch. This was his first major mission since joining Squad Thirteen, and he wasn't going to return with his tail between his legs.

"We should be asking you, Shuuichi. What are your next steps? If you need backup, we'll provide it."

Shuuichi frowned, feigning concern, though inside he was thrilled. "To be blunt, I think your safest move is to return to Soul Society now."

Kaien countered, "You're preparing for something major, aren't you? You'll need to drop your disguises. Let me act as your shield. I'll delay any Shinigami who try to interfere."

It was a dangerous offer—but it was sincere.

He knew full well that Shuuichi and his team, as Visoreds, were marked. And he also knew that even the Shiba Clan had little say in the current political landscape. But to delay the Gotei long enough for Shuuichi to strike? That he could manage.

Shuuichi didn't answer immediately. He weighed Kaien's words in silence, unsure if he could trust them—or maybe just unwilling to hope. But Kaien didn't press him. He knew trust would take more than words.

After a long pause, Shuuichi finally nodded. "Then I'll count on you, Kaien. We'll need a few more days."

Kaien's lips curled into a satisfied smile. "Understood. But if you find Yokozawa Takatsuna—please, leave him to us."

"You have my word," Shuuichi said.

Before departing, he cast one more healing Kaidō spell on Kaien, Ikkaku, and Yumichika. Then he stepped out of the safehouse.

There were still seven captured Fullbringers to secure inside his pocket dimension—and, eventually, to deliver to Mayuri Kurotsuchi in the Seireitei.

But something unexpected awaited him back in that underground sanctum.

Kiryuu Kousuke—was confronting the Bakuyaōtō.

"I'm sorry, Shuuichi-kun," Sayako Domasha murmured beside him. "I gave him permission."

She didn't know—she couldn't know—how long Shuuichi had waited for this moment. How often he'd dropped hints. How many times he'd nearly forced the cursed blade into Kousuke's hands himself.

Because only he, Higashi Shuuichi, a traveler from another world, knew the truth.

The Bakuyaōtō "Raika" was born for Kiryuu Kousuke. Their resonance was perfect.

There was no real danger.

"You don't have to apologize, Sayako. I trust you. Just like you trust me. If you gave him the chance, it means he wanted it. That's all I need to know."

And with that, Shuuichi turned away.

Mastering a Bakuyaōtō was a solitary trial—no one could help.

But he had other problems to deal with.

Thanks to the intel he gathered through his Musashi Kojirou persona—and Kaien's reports—Shuuichi had confirmed the final targets in Osaka.

Four Fullbringers remained:

Johann Novasavic, a hybrid cleric who allegedly raised the dead in public;

Satou Takeo, a general transferred in from Tokyo Prefecture with a rumored feat of defeating tens of thousands single-handed;

Yuuki Seisui, a ronin who had challenged and defeated all thirty-three dojos in Osaka without loss;

And a final, nameless Fullbringer, who performed a phoenix-like resurrection before a crowd, then vanished.

"I want the last one!" Muguruma Kensei shouted the moment Shuuichi shared the intel. "The mystery guy's gotta be the strongest—I've got a score to settle!"

Shuuichi nodded with a chuckle. He never expected Kensei to win—he just hoped he'd stall long enough.

If the last Fullbringers hadn't grouped near the central cathedral, Shuuichi would've kept executing his plan solo. But the enemy had begun consolidating. The time for subtlety was over.

Four Fullbringers left.

With Kaien buying time against Soul Society's reinforcements, and Kensei creating a distraction, Shuuichi could go all in.

He wasn't leaving anyone behind.

Not this time.

Not even if Jesus himself came down.

As dusk fell and the churchgoers trickled out of the central cathedral, Shuuichi finished placing the last of Urahara Kisuke's reiatsu-concealing barriers around the area.

Kaien's cover was useful—but Shuuichi never left things to chance.

Let the Fullbringers gather. He would trap them all in one final sweep.

Unlike Urahara's later exploits, this wasn't a fake Karakura Town. But for now, this small district around the cathedral was his battlefield.

"It's go time, Shuuichi!" Kensei called from the edge of the barrier, Zanpakuto reversed in hand, eyes alight with bloodlust. "I've been suffocating in this fake body. Let's tear it all down."

Standing beside him in the guise of Musashi Kojirou, Shuuichi said nothing.

He just stepped forward, lowered his stance, and placed his right hand on the hilt at his waist.

Nukitsuke.

The slash, forged from raw spiritual pressure, screamed through the evening air, shearing the iron cross clean off the cathedral roof.

The roar of falling steel echoed like a funeral bell.

The final battle for Osaka Prefecture had begun.