No Cheat in Bleach ? Watch me help Aizen then.-Chapter 82: Learn What Makes a Great Boss

Does Hell have daytime?

Apparently not.

The pitch-black gloom, like a sea of ink, was eternal.

Higashi Shuuichi's fist thundered forward. The towering ancient Menos before him froze mid-charge. Then cracks. Then shattering. Gone.

"Choked Flow."

That was the name of the technique—a fruit of his relentless training under Kuryashiki Kenpachi.

Compared to the rough, self-taught hakuda techniques Shuuichi had developed on his own, Kuryashiki's combat method was brutal, efficient, and clean.

He didn't even need to touch his opponent. Just through his control of reiatsu and reishi, he could seize control of the opponent's spirit particles and rupture them from within.

For a Shinigami or a Hollow, having your reishi seized was no different than having your throat crushed.

And so, Kuryashiki called it: Choked Flow.

The success of the technique—its range and impact—depended entirely on Shuuichi's mastery of spiritual control and the difference in spiritual pressure between him and his target.

For Kuryashiki, there were no limits. He could use it at will, against any Sinner in Hell.

But Shuuichi wasn't there yet. He could only affect enemies with comparable reiatsu, and even then, only succeeded about half the time.

"That's enough for today. You did well, Shuuichi!"

The sound of clapping echoed from behind.

Kuryashiki Kenpachi.

Ever since that day, when he had tricked—cough, recruited—Shuuichi as his final disciple and spiritual heir, he'd attached himself like a shadow, subjecting Shuuichi to a relentless hell-train schedule.

Not for nothing.

Kuryashiki had two goals:

First, for Shuuichi to return to the Soul Society and confront Ichijō Sōya—to find out what exactly happened that led to the man being thrown into Muken.

And second, to send Shuuichi to Hueco Mundo to search for his old comrade: the long-missing former Expedition Corps captain, Ashido.

Kuryashiki believed—no, knew—Ashido hadn't just died somewhere in the desert like a no-name Hollow. Even after two centuries, he refused to believe it.

"Understood, Captain!"

Shuuichi responded with the energy of a soldier on parade, rushing back toward Kuryashiki Kenpachi.

Time flowed differently in Hell. Monotony and fullness intertwined.

With no sunrises or sunsets, his routine was brutally simple: wake up, cut things, collapse, repeat.

Over and over.

If not for the visible leaps in his power, Shuuichi suspected he'd have gone numb long ago.

But compared to his past training under Aizen and Unohana, Kuryashiki's boot camp had two unbeatable advantages:

First: Endless sparring partners.

At his current level, Shuuichi probably didn't rank even in the top twenty of Soul Society and Hueco Mundo's combined power chart. But that was only because the Captain-level tier was so absurdly deep.

There were few beings in any realm who could truly match him.

And those who could? Didn't have time to play with him.

But in Hell?

Hell was tailor-made for this.

Every Sinner locked here was, by baseline, Captain-class. Their daily lives consisted of nothing but killing and being killed. Only those like Kuryashiki Kenpachi—at the very top—could ignore that cycle.

Second: No restraints.

Here, Shuuichi could go all out.

No worrying about filing reports to Central 46.

No fear of accidentally killing his sparring partner.

No anxiety that, if he used up his trump cards, he'd be jumped by some random mob.

When he thought of that, Shuuichi always found himself inwardly cursing his two "bosses": Aizen Sōsuke and Unohana Retsu.

Aizen was content to sit back and observe, letting Shuuichi grind himself down to the bone. Aside from giving him a boost back when he was weak and useless, the man never lifted a finger.

Unohana, meanwhile, was full of twisted quirks. She taught him swordsmanship with deadly earnestness, but trained like a maniac—always seeming one breath away from murdering him just to see if he'd get up.

Compared to that?

Kuryashiki Kenpachi was the gold standard.

If Shuuichi fell, he lifted him up.

If Shuuichi starved, he fed him.

When Shuuichi was confused, he explained.

When Shuuichi doubted, he encouraged.

It was so wholesome it gave Shuuichi emotional whiplash.

He'd never experienced this kind of... support before.

"Without realizing it, you've trained under me for quite some time now..."

Kuryashiki said, his tone wistful.

Shuuichi understood immediately.

All things must end.

This stint in Hell—it was drawing to a close.

Kuryashiki wasn't the kind of man to wait around forever. Their bond was strong, but not that strong.

Hell was vast. Even Kuryashiki, after centuries, hadn't seen its edge.

But Hell was also small. Small enough that the number of Sinners had nearly reached critical mass.

"Captain, thank you for everything you've done for me!"

Shuuichi bowed deeply.

If anyone deserved that gesture, it was him.

Kuryashiki smiled.

Still the clever kid.

"I found the one you asked about—the Sinner skilled in Kidō. Name's Ikeda Yukisuke. Back in the day, he was a tyrant in North Rukongai's 78th District. Slaughtered entire zones until no one dared step foot in them. Even the 10th Division Captain at the time couldn't handle him."

"Shame some no-name brat took him out with a basic Asauchi."

"Don't know if he's the one you want revenge on, but I can tell you this: he's strong enough to test what you've learned."

Shuuichi's eyes flashed.

"Then please lead the way, Captain. I won't disappoint you."

He'd waited a long time for this.

And now?

It was time to hunt.