No Cheat in Bleach ? Watch me help Aizen then.-Chapter 54: Yamamoto... You’re Getting Old

Seireitei, within Urahara Kisuke's quarters in Squad Two.

The atmosphere was... not great.

To Urahara, lending Mayuri Kurotsuchi wasn't an issue. As things stood, Mayuri was still confined to the Maggot's Nest. Even if he lent him out, it was only within the limits of that confinement.

So when Higashi Shuuichi made the request, Urahara didn't refuse.

But what followed left even him shaken.

The Kasajirō Clan, a high-ranking noble house, secretly developing such an abominable weapon?

Dozens of them already manufactured?

And they were still hunting down Shinigami to refine it further?!

The weight of the situation surpassed Urahara's expectations.

Back then, when he discovered something odd about the Makyou-tō Raika, he'd casually mentioned it to Yoruichi. The contact was brief, and he'd dismissed the blade as one of many cursed weapons—nothing he hadn't seen before. The Ise family, for instance, owned the Yagami no Ken, a cursed sword that condemned any man who married into the family to an early grave.

Compared to that, a blade like Raika, which merely drained spiritual energy, seemed almost... gentle.

But after hearing Shuuichi's full account, Urahara realized he may have made a grave mistake.

This weapon—this Makyou-tō—not only devoured a wielder's spirit power but corroded their very soul.

If the user's Reiryoku was insufficient, it could swallow them whole.

Thankfully, he'd told Yoruichi about it. And Yoruichi, in turn, had informed Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto.

Urahara remembered—Yoruichi had once mentioned that the Captain-Commander had uncovered something, and even instructed her to keep a close eye on Higashi Shuuichi.

Still, because of Shuuichi's position and power, Yoruichi hadn't assigned anyone from Squad Two to surveil him. She merely trailed him on her own, occasionally, in secret.

Once she discovered Shuuichi was working for the Kasajirō, even that quiet observation faded.

Her opinion of him had grown... complicated.

But those were details Yoruichi had never relayed to Urahara.

All he knew was that Yamamoto had been watching.

Could this all have been part of the Captain-Commander's plan?

Urahara wasn't sure—but it didn't matter. With the evidence Shuuichi now provided, he immediately brought him along to Squad One.

And Shuuichi?

He was bewildered.

The Captain-Commander was involved in this too?

Were the undercover Shinigami actually placed by Yamamoto?

Turned out... yes.

Just as he'd guessed—only the mastermind wasn't Urahara, it had always been Yamamoto.

Yamamoto had secretly begun his investigation into the Kasajirō clan twenty years ago.

He was the most powerful Shinigami in Soul Society's history, and held supreme command over the Gotei 13—yet his blind loyalty to the absurd noble hierarchy kept him from confronting Kasajirō openly.

Couple that with Yunoi Yōgaku's brutal internal security, and all of Yamamoto's undercover agents were sent in... but none ever returned.

His only possible breakthrough had been Higashi Shuuichi.

But Yamamoto couldn't read his intentions. If he made the wrong move and alerted him too soon, everything could fall apart.

So the investigation dragged.

But now, Shuuichi had come forth—bearing news of two undercover Shinigami confirmed dead, one, Kisaragi Kinto, corrupted beyond saving, and Raika, the Makyou-tō itself, as physical evidence.

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Yamamoto was suspicious, but... it made a strange kind of sense.

He'd already heard from Retsu Unohana of Shuuichi's ambitions. His vow—"fight to the bitter end"—had impressed even her.

With Unohana's implicit endorsement, Yamamoto had allowed Shuuichi to remain active. He didn't take aggressive action—only asked Yoruichi to monitor him.

But that was all.

Now, Yamamoto had both the proof and the witness. He could've moved immediately.

Instead, he delayed.

He sent Yoruichi and Squad Two to conduct a quiet raid on the secret workshops Shuuichi had disclosed.

Just like Mayu had predicted, Yamamoto wanted them caught red-handed.

And just as expected, the operation turned up nothing.

Even after likely alerting the Kasajirō family, Yamamoto didn't order an assault. He only increased covert surveillance—no arrests, no exposure.

The masquerade continued.

"The songs still play, the dancers still dance," Shuuichi murmured. "So that's it. Yamamoto... you really are old."

By the time he learned this, Shuuichi had already spent several days laying low in East Rukongai. He kept his distance from the chaos.

If this had been Yamamoto in his prime, he wouldn't have cared about nobility. No need for evidence—mere suspicion would have been enough to crush Kasajirō.

But that Yamamoto no longer existed.

The current Yamamoto, drained of the will to defy the system, was a weathered mountain—cracked and crumbling.

After replying to a message from Yunoi about his ongoing "investigation" in Kengiku District, Shuuichi sat atop a rooftop, eyes drifting to the distant silver-haired boy and tangerine-haired girl.

There was no way the Kasajirō hadn't noticed the raids.

Right now, both Mayu and Yunoi were likely panicking.

With the Makyou-tō exposed, they had only two choices:

Abandon decades of effort...

Or double down—push the Makyou-tō into a form that could shake Soul Society to its core.

But the latter? Was it even possible?

"Lord Aizen... I'd say Yunoi Yōgaku will be more than eager to drink the 'nectar' you're about to serve him."

Shuuichi laughed, low and sharp.

"You've made quite the stir."

Beside him, Aizen Sōsuke stepped into view, gaze falling on the same two teens.

He didn't answer Shuuichi's question directly—but the tone in his voice betrayed his satisfaction.

Shuuichi stood, stretching slightly.

"It's a shame... I really couldn't do better than this," he said playfully. "But speaking of those two, I've been watching them for hours now. That silver-haired boy never leaves her side. Wherever he goes, she's with him. Like shadows."

"Oh?" Aizen's eyes narrowed. "So close?"

Hands tucked in his sleeves, Aizen watched them a moment longer—expression unreadable.