The Ideal is to Join the Retirement Squad

Soul Society, Shino Academy.

At this moment, the Main Hall of Shino Academy was packed with a vast number of students and teachers, all dressed in academy uniforms.

Today was the annual graduation ceremony of Shino Academy. As one of this year's graduates, Nanye Cheng stood among the crowd, waiting for the proceedings to begin.

"Yoru Machi, which division are you planning to join later?" The person asking was a man with narrow eyes, a fierce expression, and a head as shiny and smooth as a steel ball.

Because the light reflecting off his bald head was so blinding, almost no one else dared to stand near them, save for Yumichika Ayasegawa, who was close friends with Ikkaku Madarame.

"Didn't I tell you back when we were still in Shino Academy? My ideal choice is the Fourth Division. If that doesn't work out, then I'll join the Thirteenth Division. In any case, there is absolutely no way I'm going to be as brain-dead as you two and join the Eleventh Division!"

The Gotei 13 is one of the most important pillars of Soul Society, a special force dedicated to maintaining order between Soul Society and the Human World. Souls who manage to join the Gotei 13 are essentially securing a stable career within the system, and only then are they qualified to be called "Soul Reapers."

Shino Academy is the institution in Seireitei responsible for training Soul Reapers. Souls from Rukongai who possess decent aptitude and strong Reiryoku generally enroll here to study the "Zanpakuto, Kidō, Hoho, and Hakuda" of a Soul Reaper, eventually becoming apprentices.

After their studies conclude, representatives from each division of the Gotei 13 arrive every year to recruit new members.

Beings living in Soul Society, whether they are ordinary souls or Soul Reapers, are essentially Spirit Bodies, and generally do not have the concept of a lifespan limit.

However, being a Spirit Body does not mean one cannot die. For the impoverished residents of Rukongai, becoming a Soul Reaper in the Gotei 13 might be a stable government job, but a career involving a blade is almost always accompanied by an extremely high mortality rate.

It is precisely for this reason that every year on graduation day at Shino Academy, the divisions of the Gotei 13 that are short on manpower come here to scout for recruits.

Inside the spacious hall, the graduates bustled about, casting their eyes around at the banners representing the various divisions, beginning to rack their brains over their future paths.

While landing a job within the system immediately upon graduation might seem like a good thing, most Shino Academy graduates are well aware that joining the Gotei 13 carries a high risk; one wrong move and you'll end up being cremated on the spot.

Therefore, when choosing a division, the students of Shino Academy are exceptionally cautious. After all, once a division is chosen, it is nearly impossible for an ordinary Soul Reaper to transfer to another one halfway through their career.

There is no such thing as absolute fairness in this world, and regardless of where one goes, class disparities always exist.

Being neither from the Four Great Noble Clans nor having any connections, they are currently nothing more than Small Fry. Being able to land a job within the system is already a blessing; they have no room to be picky.

At the very least, compared to the ordinary souls in Rukongai who have to skip at least two meals a day, the work of the Gotei 13, while dangerous, offers benefits that are considered quite decent.

"No way! You're actually planning to join the Fourth or Thirteenth Division? I thought you were joking before. You're so good at Zanpakuto, Kidō, Hoho, and Hakuda, yet you want to go to the medical team or the purification squad? That's ridiculous! Why not join the Eleventh Division with me and Yumichika? The Eleventh Division is a combat division; hot-blooded battle is the romance of a man. With your strength, are you planning to go to the medical or purification squads just to retire early?"

Yoru Machi, Ikkaku Madarame, and Yumichika Ayasegawa had met back in Rukongai.

Due to the chaotic order of Rukongai, Yoru Machi had once had a conflict with the two of them, which resulted in a fight.

It was because of that battle that Yoru Machi forged a friendship with them, and they eventually came to Shino Academy together.

Ikkaku was a man of integrity who admired few people. Back in Rukongai, he had always been a top dog, until he met Yoru Machi and another man named Kenpachi.

The fight with Yoru Machi was fine; although he lost in the end, he had at least been beaten down after a fairly even match.

But when facing that man named Kenpachi, Ikkaku had been crushed without any ability to fight back!

Later, Ikkaku heard that Kenpachi had gone to Seireitei and become a Soul Reaper of the Gotei 13. To follow him, Ikkaku had agreed without hesitation when Yoru Machi suggested coming to Shino Academy, even bringing his best friend Yumichika along.

"Who's joking with you? Why do you think I've been practicing Kaidō all this time? It's to become an excellent medical ninja... er, I mean, an excellent member of a healing division. A guy like you with nothing but muscles in his head wouldn't understand. Individual rampages are just hero-worship, whereas my ideal is to become a dedicated logistics worker."

As he said this, Yoru Machi wore an expression that was both sacred and burdened with a heavy mission. If someone unfamiliar with him were to see this, they might even be moved by his spirit.

However, Ikkaku and Yumichika had known Yoru Machi for years. Seeing him put on this act, they couldn't help but chime in with their own complaints.

Ikkaku: "You guy, you're just afraid of trouble, aren't you?"

Yumichika: "No, I think he's just afraid of dying... Sometimes I really don't understand. Yoru Machi's strength is clearly among the best of this graduating class. Yet in every assessment, he always suppresses his scores to the middle or lower tier. Isn't it better to stand out because of your excellence? Or are you afraid of something?"

Compared to the muscle-brained Ikkaku, Yumichika was definitely the intellectual type. He had noticed this ever since they entered Shino Academy.

As for the "Zanpakuto, Kidō, Hoho, and Hakuda" of a Soul Reaper, setting aside the others, Yumichika—having sparred with Yoru Machi—knew that Yoru Machi's swordsmanship had already reached an incredibly high level. Yet, in every exam, his displayed results were always below the average line.

When Yumichika and Ikkaku asked him why, Yoru Machi would always say things they couldn't understand and found completely bizarre.

For example, things like "If you aren't the protagonist, never show off your presence," or "If you're too outstanding, you might get targeted by a research fanatic," and other such nonsense.

At first, Yumichika thought Yoru Machi had enemies in Seireitei. But after many years at Shino Academy, everything had remained calm, and no one had ever come to cause trouble for Yoru Machi. Yumichika began to think that Yoru Machi was simply suffering from a persecution complex.

But this wasn't surprising; after all, how many people who have lived in Rukongai have perfectly normal personalities?

Yoru Machi had impressive strength, and his looks were the only ones Yumichika had ever seen that could rival his own. It was only normal for him to have a few quirks.