No Cheat in Bleach ? Watch me help Aizen then.-Chapter 53: A Thousand Days to Raise the Bee, One Moment to Use It

Chapter 53 - A Thousand Days to Raise the Bee, One Moment to Use It

In these turbulent times, such a scandalous incident left even Kasajirō Mayu with no outlet for his fury other than venting on Yunoi Yōgaku and Higashi Shuuichi.

Not only could he not publicize what had occurred, he had to work actively to minimize its impact.

He'd been forced to swallow his broken teeth with blood and pretend nothing ever happened.

Mayu's delayed arrival was due to personally overseeing the emergency evacuation of all Makyou-tō users and manufacturing equipment to the ancestral Kasajō-ji estate—the Kasajirō clan's true origin.

He also had to pacify the old elders of the Kasajō-ji line and ensure their lips stayed sealed.

After all, their ancestral land was the one place the Gotei 13 wouldn't dare set foot lightly.

Any wrong step, and the Gotei would find itself standing against all the noble houses of Soul Society.

That way, even if the "escaped Shinigami" had leaked the truth about the Makyou-tō, so long as the Gotei couldn't obtain physical evidence—no discovery of weapon or traitor in the act—they'd be powerless to act against the Kasajirō.

What Mayu didn't know, however, was that no Shinigami left that secret workshop alive last night.

The one Shinigami listed as "missing"? Disintegrated into spiritons by Higashi Shuuichi, and sealed inside Tōgen, his inner realm.

Which made Mayu's final furious order—"Track down the traitor and flay them a thousand times"—a complete impossibility.

"Well... technically, I'm a traitor too," Shuuichi mused as he walked away from the Kasajirō estate with a bounce in his step. "I just haven't run."

His next destination: Squad 2.

"Oh? You're saying Squad 4's Vice-Captain, Higashi Shuuichi, came here asking for me?"

In the darkened Maggot's Nest, Urahara Kisuke looked up from his unknown experiment as Soi Fon—still young and not fully grown—delivered the message.

At this point, Soi Fon had officially inherited the "Sui-Feng" title from the near-extinct Fon family, mastered Shikai, and earned her seat among the ranked officers of Squad 2.

"Yes, Shuuichi-sama said he had something important to discuss with you!" she replied, cheeks faintly red, breathing a little heavily.

Clearly, her shunpo still wasn't perfect—she'd dashed here at full speed just to deliver the message.

After all, this was a rare order, directly from Shuuichi-sama—she had to execute it flawlessly!

"I see. Let him wait in my quarters," Urahara said with a warm smile. "I've still got a few things to finish up here."

Once Soi Fon had left, Urahara tilted his head and chuckled to himself.

He hadn't had much contact with Shuuichi—only that one encounter twenty years ago. Why now?

Could it be...?

No, that didn't add up. If Shuuichi had somehow found out about the weapon Kisuke had secretly extracted during their first meeting, he'd have come for answers long ago.

"You're hesitating over a mere vice-captain, Kisuke?" sneered a blue-haired Shinigami working across from him, never looking up from his own research.

"He's no ordinary vice-captain, Nemu," Kisuke replied calmly, smiling faintly.

"Tch. Well, finish up or not—I'll complete this alone if I have to."

Kisuke chuckled again, unfazed by the scientist's usual grumpiness, and returned to work. "Let him wait. He's got patience."

An hour later, Shuuichi was finally greeted by the Third Seat of Squad 2—Captain of the Detention Unit, Kisuke Urahara himself.

"Long time no see, Third Seat Urahara!"

Shuuichi had wanted to use a more familiar tone, but recalled that they'd only ever met once. Best not to overstep.

Urahara, the hermit he was, rarely left the Maggot's Nest.

"Vice-Captain Higashi, indeed it's been a while. If I recall correctly, you were just a Third Seat back then."

"Time flies. Hard to believe it's been twenty years already."

"It really does, doesn't it?"

"I heard you like tinkering with gadgets and curiosities?"

"Little things. Nothing worth mentioning."

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The two of them bantered, sounding cordial—but every word was calculated, every sentence hollow.

Both were waiting to see who'd make the first move.

In the end, the one with less pressure—Urahara—had the upper hand.

Shuuichi knew he couldn't drag it on any longer. If Urahara didn't break the ice, then he would just play along.

"Actually, I came to request your help with something."

"Oh? By all means, Vice-Captain—speak freely."

With that, Shuuichi donned special gloves and pulled a blade from his case—the Makyou-tō, Raika, that he had oh-so-"righteously" acquired the night before.

"This blade... I wonder if you, or perhaps your Captain Yoruichi-sama, might recognize its make?"

He stared into Urahara's eyes.

"...I'm afraid not," Kisuke frowned, examining the blade intently. "It's unfamiliar to me."

Oh, sure. Keep pretending.

Shuuichi didn't believe him for a second. But he wouldn't call him out. If Kisuke wanted to play dumb, so be it.

"Pity," Shuuichi said, voice full of regret. "This blade has a complicated origin. For various reasons, I can't exactly hand it off to Squad 12 and let Hikifune-taichō analyze it."

"But I've heard there's someone here in the Maggot's Nest with quite the aptitude for research. Someone named Kurotsuchi Mayuri. I wonder—might I borrow him?"

"You mean... Mayuri?"

The room fell momentarily still—until Kisuke smiled again, eyes glinting. "Did Soi Fon tell you about him?"

Shuuichi only returned a meaningful smile.

There's a saying—raise the bee for a thousand days, use her for one.

Time to let Soi Fon take the fall.