"Miyako Shiba, huh?"
In the Soul Society, Natsuro quietly repeated the name, though it didn't strike any familiar chord.
If he were well-versed in the plot of Bleach, he would definitely know who that person was. Even someone only vaguely familiar with the story would recognize that surname.
Unfortunately, he had never been particularly knowledgeable about Bleach to begin with, and after all these years, he had forgotten everything.
"Where is this…?"
Natsuro looked around. He seemed to be in a rather rundown street. The clothes worn by the people passing by were rough and plain, mostly coarse hemp garments.
The pedestrians, however, didn't seem at all surprised by his sudden appearance. They were clearly used to souls materializing like this.
Just then, a sturdy, warmhearted man approached Natsuro.
"New here?"
"Yes," Natsuro nodded.
"Then come with me. This is District 56 of West Rukongai," the man explained briefly. He told Natsuro that most souls, once they undergo Konso (Soul Burial), end up in the Rukongai.
The specific district one ended up in depended mostly on luck, the closer to the center, the better the law and order. The farther out… The worse the conditions.
District 56, where Natsuro had appeared, was one of the farther ones. While there were districts beyond it, there was no point in comparing who had it worse.
Natsuro nodded as he followed the man and asked curiously, "So, where are we going now?"
"Of course, we're heading to see the village elder of District 56. He still holds a bit of authority around here. If you're lucky, he'll help you find a job or maybe even help you start a new family," the man said.
"Start a new family?" Natsuro was surprised.
"Yeah. There's no need to feel too attached to your previous life. In fact, in the Soul Society, most people can't retain memories of their past lives for long… So in a way, this place becomes your new life," the man explained.
"Our memories… fade too?" Natsuro asked.
"I'm not really sure. I can't remember anything from my past life. I've asked around, and most people say the same. We only recall things from after we got to the Soul Society. So I figure your memories slowly fade after you arrive here," the man said, scratching his head.
"Hmm, pretty sound reasoning." Natsuro nodded.
The man chuckled proudly, then led Natsuro to a rather shabby-looking house and knocked on the door.
"Who is it?" came an elderly voice from inside.
"It's me, Shoushi. We got a newcomer in our district today, so I brought him over," the sturdy man, Shoushi shouted.
"Oh… Hold on a moment."
After a while, the door creaked open, and out came an old man who looked to be in his seventies or eighties. Clearly aged.
"This is the new arrival?" the elder's eyes fell on Natsuro.
"Yes. I'm Natsuro Shindōkawa. I was brought here today by a Shinigami through Konso," Natsuro said.
"Good, good. Being brought in through Konso is a good sign," the old man replied with a smile.
Natsuro was a bit surprised and couldn't help asking, "Are there people who arrive here not through Konso?"
"Of course. And that's considered an ill omen," the elder answered vaguely, then chose not to elaborate.
At that moment, the sturdy man said, "Alright, I've delivered him. I'll be heading off, I still have a family to support. Old man, take care of yourself... And you, good luck surviving here."
"Thank you very much," Natsuro said sincerely.
"Haha, no need to be polite." The man waved and walked away.
After he left, the old man headed back inside, and Natsuro naturally followed.
"Hmm… This is a bit troublesome. Looks like no families around here are in need of a new member," the elder muttered to himself.
"I don't think I need to be placed in a family," Natsuro offered.
"That won't do. Time flows very slowly in the Soul Society. Living alone would be too lonely and miserable," the elder immediately shot the idea down.
"Actually, the Shinigami who performed the Konso for me gave me some advice," Natsuro said, a bit helpless, using the Shinigami's name as leverage.
Sure enough, the old man's eyes widened in surprise. It was the first time he had heard of a Shinigami giving advice during a Konso.
"Let's hear it," the old man said, a bit skeptical, thinking he might be bluffing.
"She told me that the Shin'ō Spiritual Arts Academy is about to begin recruiting and advised me not to miss the opportunity," Natsuro recited Miyako's words verbatim.
"The Shin'ō Academy?!" The elder's eyes widened even more. He stared at Natsuro and started to believe him, after all, how would a newcomer possibly know about the Shin'ō Academy unless they were told by a Shinigami?
"Now that you mention it, the Shin'ō Academy really is about to begin its talent testing. Your spiritual aptitude…" The elder looked at him. Since a Shinigami had given him a recommendation, his talent must be extraordinary.
"Probably pretty decent?" Natsuro said, somewhat unsure. He then slowly gathered spiritual energy into his palm, forming a glowing orb of spirit power.
"Hm…" The old man leaned in, peering at the light with his clouded eyes. Then he said, "I see… No wonder you caught the attention of a Shinigami."
Natsuro dispelled the orb.
"In that case, you can stay at my place for the next two days. The entrance testing for the Shin'ō Academy begins then. If you pass, you'll be able to live at the Academy from then on," the elder said with a hint of envy.
Back in his youth, he had also dreamed of entering the Shin'ō Academy, but unfortunately...
He just didn't have the talent. So his life had been wasted away in this district.
"Then I'll humbly accept," Natsuro agreed without hesitation.
The old man was about to show him to a room when Natsuro spoke up again.
"Excuse me, could you tell me more about the Shin'ō Spiritual Arts Academy? The Shinigami who guided me only told me not to miss this opportunity but didn't explain what kind of school it is." Natsuro scratched his head awkwardly.
"Of course." The elder perked up. After all, if someone from their district made it to the Shinigami ranks, it would bring pride to the whole area. It's very rare for someone from a backwater district to become a Shinigami.
"To put it simply, the Shin'ō Spiritual Arts Academy is a school that trains future Shinigami. After passing the entrance test, you'll be trained there. Those who complete the training and graduate can join the legendary Gotei 13, the thirteen squads that protect the Spirit King."
As he spoke, a look of reverence appeared on the old man's face.
In the Soul Society, the Spirit King was considered akin to a god, and becoming a Shinigami who served and protected him was an extraordinary honor.
"The Gotei 13… the Spirit King…" Natsuro still had many questions. The elder's explanation was quite superficial, but...
He glanced at him and chose not to press further. The elder probably didn't know much beyond that anyway.
Afterward, the old man prepared a small, rundown room for Natsuro. Naturally, he didn't refuse, he needed a quiet place to absorb spiritual energy.
In the World of the Living, Natsuro had shut off his spiritual energy absorption partway through due to the excessive commotion it was causing. But now, having arrived in the Soul Society...
He could clearly sense that the density of spirit energy here was nothing like in the human world. In fact, he ran his hand along the wall beside him. These walls, he realized, were essentially made of spirit energy.
The entire Soul Society was, in truth, a world composed of spiritual energy.
Here, souls had constant and abundant access to spirit energy at all times…
Which also meant that talent assessments would be far more straightforward. If someone had no aptitude, they simply had none, there was little room for improvement later.
"Interesting..." Natsuro withdrew his hand from the wall, dusted it off, and slightly opened the channel he used to absorb spiritual energy.
Even in the Soul Society, he didn't dare fully open it like he had in the living world. If he did, the resulting disturbance would still be far from subtle.
In the Naruto world, he had only dared reveal his talent after enrolling in the academy, because he was familiar with that story's plot. The academy was, at the very least, a relatively safe space.
But here in Bleach, he didn't know the story well enough. Drawing the attention of powerful figures in the Soul Society right away would definitely not be a good idea.
Right now, his usable strength was limited. It was best not to act too boldly.
He vaguely remembered the powerful figures here were… captains?
Captains, lieutenants, Zanpakutō, Bankai, Shikai...
He'd likely have to relearn all this from scratch.
At that moment, a spatial ripple appeared around him. A small, adorable creature manifested on his shoulder and licked his cheek.
Natsuro playfully teased Umbreon and joked, "According to the old man, you're a bad omen in the Soul Society."
After all, Umbreon had entered the Soul Society without undergoing Konso.
"Gula~" Umbreon responded with a spoiled-sounding whine.
"Remember, don't come out of your pocket dimension when there are people around. I'll come up with a plausible explanation for your appearance later," Natsuro said as he stroked Umbreon's fur, which was still soft and smooth.
Umbreon nodded obediently.
Natsuro then sat cross-legged. He needed not only to absorb spirit energy to replenish himself, but also to carefully study the nature of this new power.
And so, as he "trained," two days quickly passed.
He couldn't help but marvel, his soul was indeed powerful. Even now, it hadn't reached its limit. His spiritual energy was still rising.
However, with his level of control, suppressing the spiritual energy and concealing it completely was easy.
Now he followed the beaming old man to a rather grand-looking academy where a large crowd had already gathered, some dressed in tattered clothes, others in more luxurious garments.
But they were all here for the same reason: to take the entrance exam.
"Do your best, I believe you can pass!" the old man cheered him on. If someone from his district became a Shinigami, it would be a great source of pride. Even though Natsuro had only been here for less than three days, who could deny he was from District 56 of Rukongai?
"I'll do my best." Natsuro replied, his gaze drifting toward two teenagers in ragged clothes nearby.
He wasn't watching them for any particular reason, just that they seemed vaguely familiar to him. And anyone who felt even slightly familiar was likely to be an important character in Bleach.
As for the minor ones? He couldn't remember them at all.
Like how he still remembered the protagonist of the series was Ichigo Kurosaki, and the female lead was Rukia.
"Rukia?" Natsuro glanced at the short girl, then looked at the red-haired boy beside her. Were they childhood friends?
Now that he thought about it, he vaguely recalled that the male and female leads of Bleach didn't end up together…
As he pondered this, the entrance exam for the Shin'ō Spiritual Arts Academy began. It was administered by Shinigami, all dressed in the same style of black warrior garb that Miyako had worn, there didn't seem to be any gender distinction in uniform.
The entrance test was actually very simple. After all, they couldn't expect these pre-enrollment candidates to know any combat techniques.
Skills like Zanjutsu (swordsmanship), Hakuda (hand-to-hand combat), Hohō (step), and Kidō (demon arts) were all taught only after admission.
So the exam focused solely on testing the candidates' spiritual power, to see if they had the aptitude to absorb spirit energy and become Shinigami.
While every soul did possess some spiritual power, the truth was that most souls couldn't control it at all and their power levels were often extremely low.
So, despite the simplicity of the exam, it still eliminated the vast majority of applicants.
And because it was so straightforward and objective, the test was also extremely fair. Regardless of background, if you didn't have talent, you couldn't enter the Shin'ō Academy.
Due to the large number of candidates, the tests weren't conducted one-on-one. This gave him time to observe the spiritual energy levels of those who passed versus those who failed.
When it was his turn, he simply extended his hand and formed a spiritual energy orb roughly on par with the one created by the red-haired boy.
The Shinigami in charge looked at the orb and said in a flat tone...
"Excellent. Next."
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