"That's wonderful! I knew you'd pass!"
The old man who had brought Natsuro was full of energy, his eyes sparkling with joy.
And the fact that the Shinigami had not just said Natsuro was qualified, but excellent, meant that as long as he studied diligently at the academy, he'd very likely graduate and become a respectable Shinigami.
Of course, this had little to do with the old man directly, whatever happened from here on out was Natsuro's own business.
But after living for so long, sometimes people just sought something to boast about.
And Natsuro's success would be a source of pride and bragging rights for the old man.
"Thank you for taking care of me these past two days," Natsuro expressed his gratitude. Even from his perspective, the old man's motives were obvious, but the help he'd given was undeniable, and that was enough.
"Oh, it was nothing. I just provided a temporary place to stay," the old man said with a smile. After all, this young man was a future Shinigami, he had to maintain a good attitude and not offend him.
After some polite conversation, the old man left with a satisfied expression.
Natsuro then joined the group of students who had passed the exam, waiting for the Shinigami to come and give further instructions.
Eventually, the long round of aptitude testing came to an end. He had taken the opportunity to roughly gauge how many people had passed, there were not a lot, but not a few either.
Compared to the number of examinees, those who passed were about one in a hundred.
This reminded him of the selection process for the ninja academy back in Naruto. It wasn't something just anyone could get into, talent was essential.
The ninja academy had fewer people, but also fewer applicants. So in the end, it was more or less the same. It just felt more dramatic here due to the sheer number of participants.
After all, the Soul Society was far larger than Konoha. Take District 56 of West Rukongai, where Natsuro had appeared. It already illustrated the scale well. And 56 wasn't the end, there were 80 districts in each direction.
That made 320 districts total: North, South, East, and West. In terms of size, this would be equivalent to several entire nations in the Naruto world.
And each district had multiple applicants. District 56 wasn't just Natsuro but only he had passed.
And the closer to the center, the more people participated…
So the sheer numbers weren't that surprising. The Shinigami overseeing the exams seemed used to this scale and remained calm.
Soon, under the guidance of academy staff, the accepted candidates received their school uniforms.
If the black garments of the Shinigami resembled samurai robes, then the student uniforms were even more so.They didn't have the iconic haori (captain's cloak), just white shitagi (undershirt robes) and blue hakama pants.
After receiving their uniforms, the students were each assigned a private dormitory.
Because Natsuro had matched the spiritual energy level of the red-haired boy during his test, he received an "Excellent" rating. Naturally, that red-haired boy was also rated Excellent.
It seemed students with Excellent ratings were grouped into the same dormitory area.
Natsuro glanced over and, to his surprise, found that the red-haired punk-looking guy was actually his next-door neighbor.
"Hey there, I'm Renji Abarai. Let's look out for each other," Renji greeted, having noticed Natsuro as well.
He remembered Natsuro had come from one of the outer districts. That alone made him stand out, let alone achieving an Excellent rating, which was nearly unheard of for anyone from the outer regions. Most of the successful candidates were from the central districts or noble families.
Renji had seen how friendly Natsuro was with the old man earlier, which had caught his attention.
"I'm Natsuro Shindōkawa. No need for formalities, let's just learn together and help each other improve," Natsuro replied, glancing at Renji.
"Heh, fair enough, fair enough," Renji laughed, scratching his head.
With that, the two of them entered their rooms.
"A bit barebones," Natsuro muttered, glancing around his dorm. He shook his head, but didn't really mind.
Having lived alone on mountaintops before, external conditions meant little to him.
And besides, even if it was simple, it was still better than sharing a room with multiple people.
Inside the room was just a bed, still wrapped in plastic along with its bedding.The uniforms had to be collected individually, probably because everyone's size was different.
There was also a desk with a few books and a class schedule.
When he saw the books, his eyes lit up. Books meant knowledge, even if they only covered basics, that was more than enough for him.
He eagerly flipped one open... and then felt slightly disappointed.
They didn't even count as foundational cultivation texts, just a general introduction to the cultivation system.
Still, he read them carefully. He quickly finished the entire book. For him, speed-reading while absorbing every key point was second nature.
From this, Natsuro got a rough understanding of the world's power system.
As students of the Spiritual Arts Academy, they were essentially Shinigami cadets.
Shinigami were those who wore the black uniforms called shihakushō and were responsible for eliminating Hollows and maintaining order in the Seireitei.
However, their actual responsibilities weren't discussed in detail in these materials.
Also, not everyone who entered the Academy would graduate successfully. They had to go through internships, and only those who passed them would become official Shinigami.
That said, becoming a Shinigami wasn't the only path. Those with talent in Kidō could join the Kidō Corps, though their status seemed lower than that of Shinigami.
The techniques taught at the Shin'ō Academy consisted of three other main modules...
Hakuda: Essentially unarmed combat, martial arts using fists and body. Similar to taijutsu in the Naruto world.
Zanjutsu (Sword Techniques): A system unique to the Shinigami. The academy would temporarily loan each student an Asauchi, a nameless, base-form Zanpakutō. Students would use this to train in Zanjutsu. Upon graduation and becoming official Shinigami, their Asauchi would often evolve into a true Zanpakutō.
According to the materials, the Asauchi could "evolve" through Shikai and Bankai, which would awaken the sword's unique powers and transform it into a true Zanpakutō.
How this "evolution" worked wasn't explained, but it likely had to do with bonding over time. Natsuro recalled something about Zanpakutō having true names.
Either way, Zanjutsu, and Zanpakutō as a whole, were unique and central to this world's cultivation system.
Hohō: A footwork technique. Early on, not much of it would be taught, since it required a solid foundation in spirit energy control. Essentially, it involved channeling spiritual energy into the legs for high-speed movement.
At higher levels, it could appear as teleportation to the naked eye.
He was familiar with this too, it resembled the technique from Naruto where chakra was focused into the legs to increase speed. After learning to walk on trees and water, ninja could perform similar bursts of speed. Sasuke had clearly used this during the Chūnin Exams.
Though the two anime expressed these abilities differently, they likely functioned in similar ways.
He figured the difference likely stemmed from the nature of chakra versus spiritual energy. The two were fundamentally different forces, so even if the techniques were similar, the resulting effects would differ drastically.
The final part of the system, Kidō, was divided into three categories: Hadō (The Path of Destruction), Bakudō (The Way of Binding) and Kaidō (Healing Spiritual Arts).
These three categories felt incredibly familiar to Natsuro, as they closely mirrored abilities from Naruto with Hadō resembled offensive ninjutsu, Bakudō similar to sealing techniques and Kaidō, like medical ninjutsu.
"As expected, all methods trace back to the same origins. Even in different worlds with vastly different cultivation systems, the fundamentals are strikingly similar," Natsuro mused as he looked over the class schedule and course rules.
Overall, the system resembled a university. Students could choose certain fields as majors and others as electives, so long as they were able to pass the final internship.
For Natsuro, the path forward was obvious. Hakuda (unarmed combat) would be an elective. He would only take the minimum required number of classes.
When it came to hand-to-hand combat, Natsuro believed even those legendary captain-level Shinigami might not be a match for him, much less the academy instructors. So, he saw no reason to waste time there.
Zanjutsu (swordsmanship), however, would start as a major. He wanted to understand the unique aspects of this world's sword techniques.
Later, he'd likely relegate it to an elective as well. After all, familiarity and bonding with a sword didn't require staying in class.
While swordsmanship wasn't his strongest skill, he was no amateur either. The academy likely had little to offer him at his level.
That left Hohō and Kidō. Since Shunpō was taught less frequently due to its high prerequisites, and both it and Kidō couldn't be mastered through intuition alone, he decided to make both of them his major focus.
As for the specific types of Kidō: Hadō, Bakudō, and Kaidō. Natsuro wanted to study all of them.
Right now, he lacked the understanding of this world's system that would normally trigger his "Human Sage Arts" ability, the power that let him instantly grasp and apply techniques just by observing them.
Which was understandable. If you didn't even comprehend the basic principles of Shinigami power, how could you expect to tap into such a "cheat" ability?
However, the enhanced learning capacity that came with Human Sage Arts still worked. Even if the school added a few more branches of Kidō, he would have no trouble learning them all.
Having settled on his path, Natsuro didn't waste any more time. He tidied up his room a bit.
"Gula~"
Umbreon suddenly popped into view, curling up on the freshly made bedding.
"Stay inside the room and don't wander around," Natsuro reminded. He knew Umbreon didn't have to hide in the pocket space all the time. That might have been due to Kaguya's presence within it.
After all, Kaguya had spent over a thousand years alone. It was no surprise she disliked confined, solitary spaces.
Umbreon nodded obediently, then began happily running around the dorm room, for who knows what reason.
Natsuro shook his head and sat down cross-legged again. He still needed to continue absorbing spiritual energy to fill the vast void within himself.
More importantly, he had to keep sensing and understanding the nature of spiritual energy to master it.
No matter what type of power it was, precise control always brought major benefits. Even though he wasn't yet sure how to cultivate here, he could still train using whatever methods he could think of.
And so, as he opened his eyes again, it was already the next day.
He was used to this kind of state. Back in Naruto, he'd often spend days at a time meditating alone atop a mountain.
The only reason he woke up this time after just one day was… because classes were starting and he was a bit hungry.
"Without the ability to go without food, this is going to take some getting used to," he muttered.
Just then, there was a knock at the door.
"One moment."
Natsuro glanced at Umbreon, who had already vanished into its pocket space.
He opened the door to find Renji standing there, looking a little confused.
"Morning, Natsuro. Want to grab breakfast together? I heard they provide three free meals a day here! Way better than District 78, I was practically starving back there," Renji said with a big grin.
"…Sure." Natsuro was a little speechless, but after a full day of training, he was indeed hungry, and curious what kind of food souls ate.
But instead of heading straight to the cafeteria, Renji knocked on another door. Out stepped a blond-haired young man.
"This is Kira Izuru. I met him on the way to the Academy," Renji introduced.
Natsuro exchanged greetings with Kira, and the group headed off together toward the dining hall. Waiting there was a girl whom he had seen earlier, it was the female lead, Rukia.
Upon seeing her, Renji excitedly introduced Naturo to Rukia. As for Kira, he already knew her since they'd arrived together.
"Rukia, huh?" Natsuro greeted her politely, then silently mulled over the situation.
It was Rukia. But he remembered her full name was Rukia Kuchiki, and Kuchiki was a noble surname.
But… looking at Renji, if they were childhood friends, then Rukia couldn't have been born into nobility, right? So what was the story there?
He thought it over for a bit before letting it go. It had nothing to do with him anyway.
His purpose in this world wasn't to follow the anime's main plot, but to study the power system and find his own future path.
Whatever happened in the anime storyline didn't concern him.
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Currently on Chapter 465 - The Price of Bankai