Bleach: No cheat codes, he joined Aizen's side.

Chapter 343, Section 341: All's Fair in War
Kuchiki Byakuya finally arrived at the dungeon where someone was sealed before setting off.

Kuchiki Kyouga, in terms of seniority, should be Kuchiki Byakuya's uncle.

"This is the current situation in Soul Society. We have lost too many combat troops."

The entire Soul Society can no longer withstand any major upheaval.

Kuchiki Byakuya knew this was a difficult thing to talk about, but he had to face reality.

That's Kuchiki Kyoga's Zanpakuto ability, which is very useful when dealing with Shinigami.

Otherwise, when Kuchiki Kyouga took the first captain's remains back to Soul Society, he wouldn't have been so relentlessly judged guilty by the Central Chamber 46.

At that time, most nobles were still afraid of the power of the Rotting Wood River.

"Heh. Is this your opinion, or the opinion of those noble gentlemen?"

Kuchiki Hibiki raised his head and said with a cold smile.

From the day he was sealed away by Byakuya Kuchiki, from the day he watched his wife being driven away by Byakuya and never allowed to visit him again, Kuchiki Kyoga no longer considered himself a member of the nobility.

He is a commoner from Rukongai, he was, and he is now.

Now, his back, arms, and legs are all nailed with iron chains.

His Zanpakuto was also sealed.

It can be said that Byakuya Kuchiki showed no mercy to Kyoga Kuchiki.

In Byakuya Kuchiki's view, this was correct.

An excellent head of a family should prioritize the family's interests when faced with a conflict between personal and family interests.

At that time, the existence of Kuchiki Hibiki had seriously affected the Kuchiki family's status among the nobility.

If Kuchiki Byakuya hadn't done that, those wavering individuals, and even some nobles who were originally loyal to the Kuchiki family, would have sided with the Tsunayashiro family, which still existed at that time, because of Kuchiki Hibiki.

Even after the Tsunayoshiro family was completely massacred by Higashino Shuichi in one night, there was still the Shihouin family in Soul Society who inherited the Tsunayoshiro family's legacy.

For the sake of the Kuchiki family, Byakuya Kuchiki had to do this.

And now, the same is true for surrendering, or even "condescending" to come here to ask for Kuchiki Hibiki's help.

If the Kuchiki family can perform well in this war against Aizen Sousuke.

Then the Kuchiki family's status will rise accordingly.

It wouldn't be impossible for them to surpass the Shihōin family in one fell swoop.

"It belongs to those nobles, and it also belongs to me."

This choice is the best way to preserve the Soul Society's fighting strength.

Otherwise, Soul Society will be defeated one by one by the enemy.

By the time everything has happened, it's too late.

Kuchiki Byakuya slowly began to speak.

He even mentioned a name that made Kuchiki Hibiki's heart clench.

That was the name of Kuchiki Byakuya's aunt, who was also Kuchiki Hibiki's wife.

"Let me tell you, Byakuya, this time I'm agreeing to your request not for your Kuchiki family, nor for this damned Soul Society."

"I only want her!"

The rotten wood echoed the river, and the river believed it.

Compared to the nobles in Soul Society, Aizen Sousuke, who framed so many Shinigami, was certainly less like a good person.

This is a world where everyone is trying to be the worst.

However, in Kuchiki Kyouga's mind, Aizen Sousuke was simply worse than those noble lords in Soul Society who were all talk and no action.

So Kuchiki Kyoga left the Kuchiki family's residence with Kuchiki Byakuya.

Dragging his broken and exhausted body, he reunited with Hitsugaya Toshiro, the new captain of the Ninth Division who had rushed over and taken over the duties of Tosen Kaname.

The three captain-level Shinigami then engaged Gin Ichimaru in battle at the west gate of Seireitei.

Divine Sharpshooter, God-Slaying Sharpshooter.
These abilities were originally Gin Ichimaru's Zanpakuto abilities, and Byakuya Kuchiki and the others, except for the new captain Toshiro Hitsugaya, were very clear about and familiar with them.

After all, both Byakuya Kuchiki and Kyoga Kuchiki had experienced the dark period when they were overshadowed by Shuichi Higashino.

Gin Ichimaru used all of these abilities when he fought against Shuichi Higashino.

This time, Byakuya Kuchiki has big ambitions and wants to capture Gin Ichimaru alive.

That's why such a large-scale three-person team was formed.

Otherwise, based on Byakuya Kuchiki's judgment, he alone, along with Toshiro Hitsugaya, would be enough to corner Gin Ichimaru.

But it is clear that, in terms of results alone...

At least this time, Byakuya Kuchiki miscalculated.

Gin Ichimaru's divine spear is still the same divine spear, and the God-Slaying Spear is indeed still the same God-Slaying Spear.

The only thing missing was the ash that swirled around the blade of Gin Ichimaru's Zanpakuto; it wasn't Gin Ichimaru's original power.

More like.
"The Zanpakuto ability of Matsumoto Rangiku, former lieutenant of the 10th Division"

Kuchiki Byakuya suddenly remembered that after Aizen Sousuke's defection, there had been rumors that Matsumoto Rangiku's Zanpakuto ability had disappeared.

It is said that Matsumoto Rangiku is now unable to use her Zanpakuto to perform any Zanpakuto release operations.

Even if she were to release her Zanpakuto into its Shikai form, Matsumoto Rangiku might not be able to do so in her current state.

Did Gin Ichimaru use some special method to absorb the power from Rangiku Matsumoto?
Kuchiki Byakuya could only come up with this one reasonable explanation.

After all, Byakuya Kuchiki is currently just a captain of the Sixth Division who has seen a little bit of the world.

For example, Gin Ichimaru once separated a part of his soul to save Rangiku Matsumoto, who was still young at the time, so that Rangiku would not die so quickly.

Even if Byakuya Kuchiki had a hundred times the foresight, he couldn't have imagined something like this.

Even if he had heard about it, Byakuya Kuchiki would not have believed that there were such foolish Shinigami in this world unless he saw it with his own eyes.

He actually sacrificed a part of his pure soul for an ordinary little girl.

If Gin Ichimaru could hear Byakuya Kuchiki's thoughts, he would surely tell the latter.

"No, that's just because you don't understand what Rangiku means to me!"

That is, when Gin Ichimaru had lost the desire to explore the value and meaning of life, the appearance of Rangiku Matsumoto rekindled Gin Ichimaru's desire to live.

It seems that at that time, for Gin Ichimaru, protecting this poor girl who shared his plight and ensuring she could eat a few delicious persimmons every day was his greatest pursuit.

Of course, it is still the same now.

Gin Ichimaru knew that Aizen, now that he had obtained the complete Hogyoku, was no longer the Aizen who could have been easily killed according to the original plan.

Therefore, he needs new power.

This time, what he targeted was the part of Matsumoto Rangiku's soul that originally belonged to him.

Gin Ichimaru succeeded, but what he got in Hueco Mundo wasn't an opportunity to get close to Aizen. Instead, he was "exiled" to Soul Society by Aizen to be used as a pawn to control Aizen.

Aizen's reasoning was that he was very strong and had the ability to hold back most of the Shinigami's fighting power in Soul Society.

This reason is usually a compliment, but in Gin Ichimaru's case, it is unequivocally derogatory.

So even if it's amazing, it's not enough?
"But if I successfully complete this mission, I might be able to gain Aizen's trust further."

Gin Ichimaru could only console himself with this thought.

Little did he know that he could never gain even a shred of Aizen's trust.

Because from the very beginning, Aizen was very clear about Ichimaru Gin's purpose in approaching him.

However, it must be said that Aizen still takes good care of Gin Ichimaru, the little guy he has raised for so many years and who is about to become a fully-fledged member.

Aizen knew that if he went with Higashino Shuichi to deal with Urahara Kisuke, compared to the previous Hueco Mundo Espada, very few would survive in the end.

It's not that Aizen didn't trust Higashino Shuichi, but rather that he trusted Urahara Kisuke too much.

He was certain that with Kisuke Urahara's abilities, dealing with some minor figures would be a piece of cake.

Gin Ichimaru falls into the category of "miscellaneous" characters as defined by Aizen.

In fact, after Gin Ichimaru retrieved the part of his own soul from Rangiku Matsumoto and completed his own soul, his strength would be among the top-ranking captain-level Shinigami even within the current Gotei 13.

The difficulty lies in the fact that Aizen's comparisons are with Shinigami of the same caliber as Shuichi Higashino, Kisuke Urahara, Yhwach, and the members of the Zero Division.

Compared to these beings, Gin Ichimaru is still a little bit behind.

That's why Aizen gave Gin Ichimaru such a seemingly reasonable task, so that Gin wouldn't have to get involved in the war in the real world with him.

Before setting this task, Aizen didn't expect Gintoki Ichimaru to delay for much longer.

In Aizen's mind, the battle between him and Kisuke Urahara wouldn't take long at all. As long as Gin Ichimaru could continue, then Gin Ichimaru's mission would be complete.

However, Gin Ichimaru unexpectedly won.

Even though the price was high, Gin Ichimaru lost an eye.

But it was all worth it!
He defeated Byakuya Kuchiki and Kyoga Kuchiki.

Similar scenes occurred in other parts of Seireitei.

When Tosen, the former captain of the Gotei 13 of Soul Society, who had already been declared dead and was about to be cremated, appeared before the Shinigami.

These grim reapers are terrifying.

They didn't understand why Tosen Kaname had appeared.

He couldn't understand how Tosen Kaname's strength had increased so much in just a few days.

All they knew was that they would die if they faced Tosen Kaname in his current form!
"Have you still not been able to contact Chunshui?"

Seated in the barracks of the First Division within the Seireitei, Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni wanted to have Vice-Captain Chojiro Suzaku bring Kyoraku Shunsui over to discuss countermeasures.

However, they were told that Captain Kyoraku had already left Soul Society long ago.

Also leaving with Kyoraku Shunsui were Ukitake Jushiro, captain of the 13th Division; Zaraki Kenpachi, captain of the 11th Division; and Shihouin Yoruichi, the current captain of the 4th Division.

Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni's first reaction upon hearing the news was the same as Kyoraku Shunsui's.

Oh no, this is what they're after!
However, this is not the worst news, after all, it's only Tosen Kaname.

Even if Tosen Kaname becomes stronger, he is not strong enough to make Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni feel a little worried about him.

What truly moved Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni was a message brought to him by the Hell Butterfly.

Kyoraku Shunsui died in battle, Ukitake Jushiro is also nearing his end, and Shihouin Yoruichi might follow in their footsteps.

In this message, Jushiro Ukitake succinctly described to Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto the overall situation in the present world.

And his evaluation of Kisuke Urahara and Yhwach, who had just awakened not long ago.

"Kisuke Urahara possesses extraordinary intelligence and research capabilities. Given time, he will surely reach a height that our 12th Division Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi could never achieve."

Yhwach, on the other hand, completely changed his bad habits from a thousand years ago.

The current Yhwach is not only incredibly strong, but even Kisuke Urahara might not be able to defeat him.

Finally, at the end of the message, on the wings of the Hell Butterfly.

Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni finally saw a string of suggestions left by Ukitake Jushiro.

"Higashino Shuichi?"

For some reason, the image of his battle with Higashino Shuichi on that day suddenly appeared in Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni's mind.

The image of that day resurfaced, showing him being helped by Kenpachi Azuma to the Tsunayo family residence, where he witnessed Higashino Shuichi kill the head of the Tsunayo family.

This is a death god that, once released, is difficult to control.

Before seeing this message, Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni certainly wouldn't have taken the next step, but after reading it...

Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni remained hesitant.

Until that man "arrived as promised".

It is Aizen Sousuke.

When he appeared in Soul Society, it was just as Shuichi Higashino and Kisuke Urahara were locked in a fierce battle, nearing its end.

Those in the know have probably already figured it out.

Aizen had already foreseen the outcome of the battle on the other side, which is why he chose to come to Soul Society in person.

Was he exiled to the Western Suburbs?
Judging from the results, yes.

However, judging from the process, it was Aizen who took the initiative to accept it.

While Higashino Shuichi was scheming against Aizen, wasn't Aizen also scheming against Higashino Shuichi?

Since Higashino Shuichi was willing to use him as a weapon, Aizen felt he shouldn't hold back. He would take advantage of the great opportunity that Urahara Kisuke had created for him, escape the battlefield, and then see through all the hidden cards of Urahara Kisuke and Higashino Shuichi.

A major battle between Shuichi Higashino and Kisuke Urahara is inevitable.

Aizen could see this from Higashino Shuichi's undisguised targeting.

Therefore, this is called "all's fair in war".

Aizen believed that there would be no real winner between Higashino Shuichi and Urahara Kisuke this time, and the most likely outcome would be that Urahara Kisuke would escape again, while Higashino Shuichi would return disappointed.

The power that Kisuke Urahara and Shuichi Higashino used in the final moments was so terrifying that even Aizen felt a chill run down his spine just watching from afar.

If Aizen hadn't been afraid of being discovered by these two when the fight was over, he might have stayed until the very end.

But the difference isn't that much.

At least that's what Aizen thought.

"As for now, I'll play with you guys again!"

Aizen stood in the sky above the Soul Society, a smile playing on his lips.

(End of this chapter)