"Shin'o Academy of Spiritual Arts."
"Registration Office," "Turn left ahead."
A wooden sign stood in the middle of the road.
Uzumaki Naruto stared at the words and took a deep breath.
Ahead was not so perilous place; it was rely a school for training "Shinigami." Failing the assessnt would not bring punishnt, and there was always the opportunity to reapply next year.
However... Naruto did not have any fond mories of "schools."
The last ti he had contact with a "school" was three years ago.
At that ti, he was still in another world, attending a "Ninja Academy" in a village called "Konoha."
He was the despised "dead last." No one wanted to be his friend, and not a single teacher liked him.
Of course, this wasn't limited to the school; his situation was the sa throughout the entire village of Konoha.
Even shops and convenience stores did not welco him or do business with him—except for "Ichiraku Ran," the only shop willing to serve him.
So, Naruto didn't like schools.
But he had an unavoidable reason to enroll this ti.
This place, different from Konoha, was another world, a place called "Soul Society," where souls reside after death.
Although he had not experienced the "Soul Burial" that other souls ntioned, Naruto had no difficulty understanding the fact: "Coming here ant I was already dead."
Death strikes fear into the living.
Yet Naruto did not find it hard to accept.
He quickly grew fond of this place—where there was no inexplicable scolding or malicious targeting of him alone. Shops welcod his business, and many people were willing to befriend him.
Most importantly, in Soul Society, souls return after death, which ant he was finally in the sa world as his parents.
The only bad news was that the place of birth for souls in Soul Society is not fixed.
There are 360 districts in Rukongai, and the probability of being born in the sa district is only one in 360.
Naruto had searched his district for three years without finding his parents.
Therefore... he had to beco a Shinigami.
He had to beco an extraordinary person like a "Captain," with a squad of people helping him search, or have his na spread throughout Soul Society.
In that way, he would surely find his parents.
Uzumaki Naruto walked through the school gates with the crowd and filled out the registration form.
Under the guidance of an upperclassman in a blue and white school uniform, he entered a gymnasium.
Once the number of people reached 200, the gym doors closed.
"Reiatsu is the essence of a Shinigami." A formally dressed Shinigami, wearing a black uniform with a sword at his waist, began to introduce to this batch of examinees, "Only souls capable of possessing reiatsu are eligible to study at Shin'o Academy of Spiritual Arts."
"Co forward in the order I call."
"The rest wait."
The test was simple.
Each person only needed to place their hand on a crystal ball, and based on the light it emitted, the Shinigami would announce a different "rank."
Most would receive the cold "unqualified."
Those who passed were often at the unimpressive "seventeenth" or "eighteenth" rank, which did not please the Shinigami.
Only a few received the "eleventh" or "twelfth" rank, and the Shinigami's expression would soften slightly.
Clearly, the smaller the rank number, the better.
Naruto, having arrived late, was at the end of the line.
Watching one "unqualified" after another, with the occasional "qualified" in between, he couldn't help but clench his fists, making his fingertips red and his knuckles stand out.
He recognized many people ahead.
So were acquaintances he had interacted with, with mixed outcos; these individuals either failed the assessnt or barely passed with ranks like "eighteenth" or "nineteenth."
Others were well-known figures.
One woman, who could barely use spiritual power to alter basic spiritual particles and "turn soil into sand," only received a "twelfth" rank.
It was all about talent.
But...
Naruto found it hard to believe he had any "talent."
If I had that thing back in the ninja academy, I wouldn't have been disliked. I would definitely be like Uchiha Sasuke, who, even with a perpetually sour expression, was loved by teachers and classmates alike.
Twentieth rank!
I need at least twentieth rank!
To be able to enroll smoothly.
Soon, the Shinigami called his na, "Uzumaki Naruto."
Naruto walked over with heavy steps.
Like everyone before him, he placed his hand on the crystal ball.
The Shinigami glanced over indifferently, while the upperclassman prepared to record an "eighteenth," "nineteenth," or "unqualified."
But at that mont, sothing unprecedented happened.
The crystal ball burst into an intense, dazzling light.
Blinding and scorching.
The recording upperclassman's eyes widened, his brush dropped, staining the floor without him noticing.
The previously indifferent Shinigami jumped up, energized, and exclaid, "F... Fifth rank!"
The gymnasium erupted.
This group of souls, who had not yet beco Shinigamis or even students, didn't understand what "fifth rank" ant, but the fact that over a hundred people before them hadn't scored above "tenth rank" proved how extraordinary this ranking was.
The Shinigami's intense reaction further highlighted its significance.
That inconspicuous blond boy...
Was he really this exceptional?
"Assessnt suspended." The Shinigami quickly cald down and instructed a nearby student, "I'll take this... Uzumaki Naruto outside."
"Maintain order."
The student straightened up and responded, "Yes."
The Shinigami grabbed Naruto's wrist and flashed outside the gymnasium.
"Fifth rank... does that an I'm talented?" The rushing wind and strong centrifugal force pulled Naruto back to clarity, and he asked.
The Shinigami chuckled, "Talented?"
"That's an understatent."
"Your abilities are unlike those unpolished gems yet to shine."
"We're here."
They stopped in front of a room, and the Shinigami knocked respectfully.
A voice inside said, "Co in."
The Shinigami opened the door, unable to contain his excitent as he stepped in, "Dean Hakou, a genius erged in the new student entrance exam, fifth rank of spiritual power!"
Inside, a cheerful and kind-faced middle-aged man stood up, "Fifth rank?"
"Uzumaki Naruto." The Shinigami gently pulled Naruto inside and repeated the result, "Fifth rank of spiritual power, I saw it myself."
Then he turned to Naruto with a grin, "This is the Dean of the Shin'o Academy of Spiritual Arts, Hakou Ikki."
"Are you confused about your talent?"
Naruto nodded.
The Shinigami continued, "Fifth rank of spiritual power ans that with simple training at the Shin'o Academy of Spiritual Arts, you can easily reach the Dean's rank."
Naruto was stunned.
The Dean's rank?
The Dean must be an incredible figure.
He thought of the only comparison he had...
Who was the principal of the Konoha Ninja Academy? Wasn't it the Third Hokage?
Could he beco soone as remarkable as the Third Hokage?
The Shinigami chuckled, "You need at least twentieth rank of spiritual power to barely beco a Shinigami."
"Tenth rank, reaching tenth rank of spiritual power can make you a low-ranked Lieutenant, like ."
"Above eighth rank, you can beco a high-ranking Lieutenant, like Dean Hakou."
"Before becoming the Dean, he was a sixth rank spiritual power, serving as the third seat of the Ninth Division."
"And the fifth rank of spiritual power already ets the requirents for a vice-captain."
At this point, the Shinigami paused, his deep gaze on Naruto filled with satisfaction.
"But this still doesn't fully explain your talent."
"In nearly a hundred years, not only has no student enrolled with fifth rank of spiritual power, but even graduates with over eighth rank of spiritual power have been very few."
"Even the current captains of the Third Division, Ōtoribashi Rōjūrō, and the Ninth Division, Muguruma Kensei, were only at sixth rank when they graduated."
Naruto, engrossed, condensed this long speech into a simple question: "So, I'm a genius?"
Hakou Ichi laughed heartily, "You're not just a genius; you're a once-in-a-century genius."
"And you're quite young too."
"No wonder they brought you to see ."
Naruto didn't respond, just looked at the two people celebrating him.
Deep in his ear, a "crack" sound echoed.
Sothing within him broke.
It seed... to be biased.
~~~
I can't find a Dean (only the Principal which is the Captain-Commander) Shin'o Academy on Bleach, nor is there a person nad Hakou Ikki in Bleach.
波岗一喜, はこういっき, Hakou Ikki
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