Shinigami Xiazhuo Still Fell Short

Shisui Uchiha's final burst of vitality did not last long. His aura soon withered again.

Only when he realized he had truly reached the end of his life did he regain his composure. In the most sincere tone, he pleaded, "Please, tell me you weren't telling the truth."

Shazo remained silent. "..."

Memories from before death had already begun surfacing in Shisui Uchiha's mind. Flashes of insight came one after another, and he finally understood why the other party would not answer.

He used honorifics as he asked again, "I understand. Everything you said was true. Could you tell me how you knew?"

Hearing such a polite question, Shazo finally spoke, giving an ambiguous answer. "Just assume I can see the future."

Shisui Uchiha believed him. With difficulty, he uttered his final words: "The future? If I could see the future too, then... that would be... nice..."

Seeing that Shisui could no longer speak, Shazo asked the true final question. "Do you want me to dispose of your body so it won't fall into Shimura Danzō's hands?"

Shisui Uchiha barely opened his mouth and said almost soundlessly, "Thank you."

Then, he died.

A fake death.

Shazo raised an eyebrow, drew a small knife, and gently cut off a tiny piece of flesh to store away. Then he clapped his hands together.

[Wood Style: Root Burial]

Roots rose from the ground one after another, wrapping around Shisui Uchiha by the water. The roots fused together into a coffin, after which even more roots emerged, layering themselves around it and pouring in surging Yang Release chakra.

At the same time, following the data in Five Spirits Battle True Interpretation, Shazo induced a qualitative change in Yin Release chakra and sent it into Shisui Uchiha's brain, stimulating waves of ocular power.

None of this would produce a healing effect. Instead, it poured powerful vitality into Shisui Uchiha—far exceeding the life force he was losing—and forcibly maintained his life.

It was like not plugging a broken bottle, but attaching an external water tank instead. As long as the rate of water flowing in exceeded the rate of leakage, the bottle would always contain water.

This way, Shisui Uchiha would not die, but he would grow weaker and weaker over time, looking incomparably miserable.

Shazo did not need Shisui Uchiha's combat strength. What he needed was Shisui's miserable appearance, to awaken the sympathy, fear, and anger of the Konoha Ninja.

The anger of twenty thousand Konoha Ninja was the strongest force in the Ninja World today.

Shazo quickly sealed the coffin. The excess roots rapidly withdrew into the ground, restoring the earth to its smooth state.

Over the layer of fresh soil turned up by the roots, newly sprouted grass and plants grew wildly, soon covering every trace.

Shazo carried Shisui Uchiha's coffin on his back, picked up the Root ninja's corpse, took a slight detour, and threw the body into the upper reaches of the Naka River.

After returning home, Shazo placed the coffin in his completely soundproof basement. Then, as though nothing had happened, he washed up and went to bed.

What the hell was this? Why did something always happen whenever it was time for the dream reunion, forcing him to rush back just to sleep?

Bleach World, Seireitei, Central Spirit Arts Academy.

The captains of the Seireitei's Thirteen Divisions, led by the Head Captain, were attending the academy's recruitment assembly. But to their deep disappointment, none of the newcomers were particularly gifted prospective Death Gods.

The captains soon left, but their departure did not dampen the prospective Death Gods' excitement.

Some of the prospective Death Gods came from noble families and had known the captains for a long time. Even when surrounded and observed by the captains, they remained unfazed.

Most Death Gods were dead souls from Soul Society, and their understanding of Seireitei was nearly nonexistent. They did not recognize the captain-class Death Gods wearing haori with numbers on their backs.

These newcomers were all absolutely exhilarated, chattering away as they showed off the scraps of information they knew.

Shazo mingled among the newcomers. His clothes had already been changed into a black Shinigami uniform, but he had yet to receive the Asauchi that only Death Gods could possess.

Shazo did not care about a Zanpakuto. What excited him was thinking about how he could learn Kido after becoming a student—even merely seeing Kido materials would do.

As long as there were materials, he could share that knowledge with every version of himself and no longer be nothing more than a pure accessory.

After the school term officially began, Shazo discovered that the academy taught Death God knowledge in stages.

Among the four major skill systems—swordsmanship, movement techniques, Hakuda, and Kido—lower-level students could only learn swordsmanship and Hakuda.

First-year students in particular had to first learn how to transform from Living Souls into Death Gods and become genuine Death God students before they could continue learning true Death God knowledge and skills.

Of all the courses, Kido was regarded as the most difficult. Only Death God students in their fourth year or above could study Kido.

Disappointed, Shazo could only suppress his impatience and carefully study how to become a Death God, along with all kinds of knowledge related to Death Gods.

The dull and exhausting first year quickly passed. Shazo successfully transformed himself into a Death God, becoming an official Death God student and receiving a student number.

In the second month after officially receiving his Asauchi, it was time for the dream reunion.

The moment Naruto Shazo woke up, he heard the usually shy and quiet Shinigami Xiazhuo become the first to speak.

He scratched his chin and said, "Everyone, I've successfully entered Central Spirit Arts Academy. It's just that lower-year students can't learn Kido yet, so you'll all have to wait a little longer."

Naruto Shazo immediately grew interested and asked, "If you're not learning Kido, what have you learned?"

Shinigami Xiazhuo said, "I've just become a second-year student. I learned how to transform from a Living Soul into a Death God, the procedures for dealing with the souls of the dead, and how to travel between the World of the Living and Soul Society."

"Oh, right. I also learned how to enter a living person's mind. Apparently, it can be used to investigate whether a Hollow is lurking within a living person's soul."

Shinigami Xiazhuo rolled his eyes and complained, "I really don't know which genius came up with that method. The human heart changes in countless unpredictable ways, but its strength can hardly contain either a Hollow or a Death God."

"If a Hollow could lurk within a living person's mind, that person would definitely be a terrifying lunatic. It would already be extremely dangerous for a Death God to enter such a mind, and if they encountered a Hollow on top of that, they would die without a doubt."

"I heard that this idiotic method of investigation was eliminated centuries ago, yet Central Spirit Arts Academy never revised its curriculum."

Star Trek Shazo could not help laughing. "Haha, a supernatural regime that has endured for who knew how many millennia has a horrifying degree of class rigidity. It's perfectly normal for old-fashioned bureaucrats like this to appear."

Naruto Shazo and Demon Xiazhuo perked up, slapping their hands onto the Bronze Long Table with loud bangs.

"Quick, hurry up and share the Death God knowledge!"

Everyone placed their hands on the Bronze Long Table. Memories, skills, and power were shared through the Bronze Long Table.

But none of the Shazos had expected that the main source of information and power this time would still be Naruto Shazo, rather than the Shazo who had already become a Death God.

Shinigami Xiazhuo was clearly still a little short.