No Cheat in Bleach ? Watch me help Aizen then.-Chapter 59: An Incomplete Bankai

The timeline shifts back to the day after Higashi Shuuichi acquired the Soul King's fingernail fragment.

Just as he returned from the Kasadōji estate, his Zanpakutō reached out to him on its own.

He sank into his inner world.

A classical, serene study came into view. Ancient bamboo scrolls filled shelves along the walls. At the far end of the room, a middle-aged man clad in a white cloak, with a pale jade pendant hanging at his waist, sat cross-legged on a straw mat, reading a half-unrolled scroll.

This wasn't Shuuichi's first time here.

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Back when he first achieved Captain-level reiatsu, he had eagerly tried to manifest his Zanpakutō's spirit. But rather than summoning the spirit outward, he himself had been dragged into this inner world.

And there, he had undergone the most inhuman torment of his life.

Because time in his inner world flowed differently, and because the version of him that existed here was just a projection of his conscious self, his Zanpakutō's spirit proceeded to kill him one thousand times—using a different method each time.

Only after running out of ways to kill, did the one-sided massacre finally end in his complete and utter defeat.

That time, the Zanpakutō spirit hadn't revealed its true name. It merely offered mild praise for how Shuuichi had conducted himself in Soul Society... then gave him permission to use one aspect of its Bankai—a limited release under the name:

"A Blade Hidden in a Smile."

The ability allowed Shuuichi to absorb an incoming attack and automatically retaliate with an equivalent, unavoidable strike.

His verdict on the power?

"Useless."

Because if the enemy's attack was too strong, he might not survive to counter.

If it was too weak, even a guaranteed return hit was meaningless.

Unavoidable didn't mean unblockable, or unbreakable.

So after receiving this crippled Bankai, Shuuichi had never once tried using it.

Still, it made him suspect that the true unlocking of his Zanpakutō's power might be linked not to raw power—but to his actions in the real world.

After all, this "Blade Hidden in a Smile" echoed exactly how he operated—smiling, deceiving, hiding blades in plain sight.

He'd tried many approaches, but his Zanpakutō had remained silent.

Until now.

After orchestrating a massive multi-faction scheme and obtaining the Soul King's fragment through sheer manipulation, his Zanpakutō finally responded.

"You look like you already know why I brought you in."

The man, back turned, spoke calmly. As if everything was already within his grasp.

"If I'm right... it's because my recent actions align with the path of the Art of War."

Shuuichi wasn't stupid. The moment his blade contacted him, he'd begun to piece it together.

His mistake before hadn't been wrong logic, just too small a stage. Not enough to earn his Zanpakutō's respect.

"Then, do you know which stratagem?"

The man spoke slowly, unrolling the scroll in his hands.

Shuuichi closed his eyes, and a familiar text from his previous life surfaced in his mind—The 36 Stratagems.

"Borrowing the Corpse to Resurrect the Soul."

"'Useful ones must not be borrowed; useless ones, seek to borrow; and if you can use the useless, then do so.'"

"I could've just taken the Soul King's fragment and begged Aizen to fuse it into my body. But that would've used up his trust—and I wasn't sure he even had his eye on Rangiku.

Under Kyōka Suigetsu, there was no need to take unnecessary risks.

That is: Do not borrow the useful."

"The Kasadōji clan wanted to solve the Makyou Blade issue. Aizen wanted to run Hollowfication trials. Yamamoto wanted to investigate the blade.

All of that had nothing to do with me getting the fragment.

But I used them anyway—to achieve my goal, and without raising Aizen's suspicion.

That is: Seek to borrow the useless.

**Combined, they form the tactic: 'Borrowing the Corpse to Resurrect the Soul.'""

Shuuichi opened his eyes. The entire plot now felt crystal clear in his mind.

And at that moment, the man—the Zanpakutō spirit—turned to face him.

"Well then, from today forward, you may borrow from me the technique: Borrowing the Corpse to Resurrect the Soul."

"And your true name?"

Shuuichi didn't forget the most important part—knowing your Zanpakutō's name was the key to true Bankai.

"You want to know my name?"

The man gave a wry smile.

"Who doesn't?"

Shuuichi replied without hesitation.

"You have two choices."

"First, earn my complete approval—and gain access to the entire Art of War."

As he spoke, the man rose from the straw mat.

Gone was the laid-back scholar.

In his hand appeared a blazing crimson Zanpakutō, its spine lined with eighteen pairs of wing-shaped scales—the same blade Shuuichi had seen once before.

There was no doubt in his mind: this was his true, fully-unleashed Bankai.

"Second: Defeat me in combat—and I'll give you my name."

"Advance, Strategist! The Good Strategist Uses Cunning!"

Shuuichi's response was a lightning-quick dash, blade slicing forward like thunder.

He'd been waiting for this moment.

This time, he'd wipe away the shame of last time.

At the very least, this time... he wouldn't die a thousand deaths.

And the result?

It was a victory.

Kind of.

Shuuichi didn't die a thousand times.

He only died nine hundred and ninety-nine.

"Heh... Ha... Hahaha...!"

Flung unceremoniously back into the real world, Shuuichi collapsed onto his bed and laughed—loud and unrestrained.

He should've guessed it long ago.

His Zanpakutō had always been too powerful for someone with "average" spiritual aptitude.

His Reiatsu was inherited from the original host of his soul. But his soul—his true self, his blade—had come from another world entirely.

That legacy—that knowledge and cunning—was his greatest weapon.

And his blade... was just getting started.