No Cheat in Bleach ? Watch me help Aizen then.
Chapter 138: "A Fictional Future—Let’s Start as a Captain"

Chapter 138 - "A Fictional Future—Let’s Start as a Captain"

The sky was blue. The air, damp. The reishi in the atmosphere, rich and heavy.

Higashi Shuuichi stood in the middle of unfamiliar streets, surrounded by buildings and bustling souls, his expression momentarily distant.

Had he... returned to Soul Society?

His Zanpakutō had reverted to its sealed state, and the backlash from his Bankai: Kuroniku was mysteriously gone. No pain, no fatigue.

But where was that man—Akitsuki, the one whose strange gray eyes had triggered this shift?

Clearly, Shuuichi had been caught up in that man's power... but there was no sign of that signature green hair anywhere.

"Hey! Yeah, you there!"

A voice called from behind. Shuuichi turned.

A Rukongai civilian he didn't recognize waved at him impatiently.

"You new? Don't just stand around like an idiot—go get yourself registered at the spirit census station! The Shinigami will assign you housing."

The civilian added, "Since the Karakura Town war, we've had a flood of new souls. Not enough housing to go around. If you don't register now, you'll either have to build your own or live on the streets!"

"Karakura Town war...?"

The words hit Shuuichi like a shockwave.

That name didn't belong to his era. And yet...

So that's what Akitsuki meant by 'I bet it all on the future'.

He'd sent Shuuichi forward in time—after the Karakura Town battle had already concluded. Which meant...

He'd missed everything.

And if this was right after that conflict, then next up was the Thousand-Year Blood War.

Shit.

Couldn't Akitsuki have sent him a few years further into the future?

Still, given Shuuichi's current power, surviving the Blood War wasn't impossible. He'd just have to lay low—keep his head down, avoid provoking any of those insane Quincy monsters. Let Ichigo and Squad Zero handle Yhwach.

Afterwards, with the right maneuvering, maybe he could even claim a captain's seat in the rebuilt Gotei 13.

As for Akitsuki—if the guy didn't show his face again, then fine. Shuuichi wasn't chasing ghosts.

Resolved, Shuuichi smiled faintly. If he'd jumped a century into the future, what had become of Kisaragi Shuusuke, Matsumoto Rangiku, or Tsunomasa Sayako?

Had Gin still fallen to Aizen's blade? Had his interventions changed anything?

"Thanks, friend."

He nodded to the Rukongai civilian and flash-stepped toward Seireitei.

After the Karakura War, Visoreds probably still weren't officially recognized. Opening a Garganta from Soul Society would stir the hornet's nest. His best bet was to find Mayuri Kurotsuchi and request a sanctioned travel permit back to the World of the Living.

But when Shuuichi reached the edge of Seireitei—where Mayuri had left him a hidden access point long ago—the wall was fortified, seamless. No cracks. No secret entrance.

He knew one step past this point would alert every sensor in the citadel.

"Did Mayuri remove the backdoor after I vanished...?"

Possibly. Which meant... time for a workaround.

He sought out Yoshima Osamu's old residence—an ally from his time in Soul Society.

But that, too, had changed.

Not only was the home unrecognizable, but no one even knew the name Yoshima Osamu.

Nor had anyone heard of Higashi Shuuichi.

Maybe that was expected, given the century that had passed. But something didn't sit right.

Because in this version of the Karakura conflict, not only had Yamamoto Genryūsai died, but so had Kenpachi Zaraki.

That shouldn't have happened.

Even with Shuuichi's interference, he knew Aizen's limits. This divergence was too extreme.

And it wasn't just them—Urahara Kisuke had also died.

That, more than anything, was impossible.

This wasn't the real future.

This was a fabricated timeline.

"So that's what he meant... betting everything on the future."

If Akitsuki's power could kill him inside a fictional future and still impact reality...

Then this wasn't just a dream.

Shuuichi didn't need to escape this world—he could exploit it.

One week later, alarms blared across Seireitei.

Barriers rose high above the sky, enclosing the White City.

"Who are you?!"

At the Western Gate—Hakutōmon—a familiar voice roared.

Ikkotsu Sanzanbō, one of the few gatekeepers who survived Aizen's rebellion, knelt under immense pressure.

The man standing before him wore a Shihakushō, a sheathed emerald-green Zanpakutō at his side, and a spiritual pressure heavy enough to bend the air.

"I've been gone a while," the stranger mused. "Tell me, has Soul Society really grown this weak?"

It was none other than Higashi Shuuichi.

"Gone a while? Name yourself, stranger!"

A white haori dropped between them. The kanji stitched on the back read: Eleven.

A bald head. A confident grin.

Madarame Ikkaku.

"A no-name? Fair. It's been too long, after all. I am Higashi Shuuichi—once a retainer of the Dōma clan, one of the Five Great Noble Houses. And you? What should I call you, 'Kenpachi'?"

"Heh. You heard right. I'm Madarame Ikkaku, but if you like, call me Kenpachi!"

Behind him, Yumichika Ayasegawa appeared, followed by another captain—Hitsugaya Tōshirō of Squad Ten.

"State your purpose, Higashi Shuuichi."

Unlike Ikkaku, Hitsugaya's tone was ice. His glare practically screamed "one wrong word and I'll kill you."

But Shuuichi wasn't fazed.

He'd come here to be seen.

If this fictional world could bleed into reality—if changes here carried over—then he would treat this as a proving ground.

And if that meant exploiting the resources of Squad Zero, so be it.

"I've completed the mission given by the Dōma clan. Now I return to rejoin Soul Society. Simple."

"You expect us to accept that on your word alone?" Hitsugaya snapped. "No one even knows who you are."

Shuuichi shrugged. "My former lords are long dead. You can't verify anything."

Hitsugaya's blade was already halfway unsheathed. "Then you're not stepping one foot inside Seireitei."

"Ikkaku's here, right?" Shuuichi's gaze turned. "Why not settle this the old Eleventh Division way?"

"HAHA! You're challenging me? Let's go, then!"

Ikkaku was already charging.

"No!" Hitsugaya barked. "Now's not the time for your damned traditions!"

But tradition didn't care.

Ikkaku's blade rushed forward—

"Bakudō #75: Gochūtekkan."

Five iron pillars dropped from the sky, pinning Ikkaku in place.

"Hadō #90: Kurohitsugi."

The black coffin rose from the earth, swallowing him whole.

And then, Shuuichi stepped forward, one hand on his hilt, spiritual pressure surging.

"Fuzan."

A single slash.

The coffin split in two. Blood sprayed.

Ikkaku fell—defeated in one strike.

The surrounding Shinigami gasped.

Even Hitsugaya narrowed his eyes. Rage brewed.

"Sit upon the frosted heavens—Hyōrinmaru!"

Icy air burst outward. A crimson ice dragon spiraled into being.

"Ryūsenka!"

Hitsugaya slashed. Everything in its path froze. A tail of ice trailed like a serpent.

Shuuichi leapt into the air, avoiding the arc—

Hitsugaya followed up immediately:

"Ryūsenka: Kekkū!"

The ice tail curved upward, chasing Shuuichi mid-air.

"You're overstepping, young Captain."

"Bakudō #81: Dankū!"

The invisible barrier materialized. Ice crashed against it and shattered into mist.

Shuuichi landed cleanly, pressing off the reishi beneath his feet.

"Fenzukiri!"

He counter-slashed—and was blocked by another blade.

"...Captain-Commander?!"

Hitsugaya turned, stunned.

Kyōraku Shunsui had arrived.

"You're the new Captain-Commander?" Shuuichi asked with a smirk. "The old man's first student, right? Guess that makes you my upperclassman."

Shunsui's face stayed neutral.

"Your name's reached my ears. Higashi Shuuichi, former Dōma clan retainer. If that's true... show me proof. The others need a reason to believe."

"I will. But not here," Shuuichi replied. "I've been somewhere... inhospitable."

And so, with the commotion behind them, Shuuichi followed Shunsui into the depths of Muken, the underground prison beneath Central 46.

There, Shunsui saw it.

The gray ocean.

The wailing ghosts.

The skeletal arms reaching from the abyss.

And the faint gray-black marks of Hell's power on Shuuichi's skin.

It was enough to make even Shunsui consider leaving the man trapped down there forever.

But he held back.

If he could pardon the Visoreds—he could pardon this.

The next day, Seireitei shook with fresh rumors.

The Eleventh Division had a new Captain.

And his name... was Higashi Shuuichi.

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