"Senior Gaoyu, what are you spacing out for?"
A voice suddenly rang out.
Gaoyu turned to look and saw only a red-haired man. He wore black clothes resembling a kimono, and even had a sword at his waist.
A sword?!
Gaoyu's eyes widened. It wasn't just the red-haired man who had a sword; many people around him did too. No, every single person had a sword at their waist!
What...
Had he transmigrated? To ancient Japan? Otherwise, why would everyone be dressed so strangely and carrying a sword?
In his astonishment, Gaoyu also noticed a line of text on the redhead's chest, around where his heart—or perhaps his soul—would be.
"Star Chaser: You who chase the stars in the sky can cross classes and limits."
?
What... was that?
In an instant, a flood of information and memories seemed to surge into Gaoyu's mind.
Only then did he understand what had happened.
He had actually transmigrated?
He had come to the world of Bleach and arrived in Seireitei as a Soul Reaper. It was more than forty years before the story began, when Kuchiki Rukia and Renji Abarai had yet to graduate!
That was right. His current identity was Gaoyu Kouun, an ordinary Soul Reaper in the Fifth Division, and the person beside him was none other than the future Vice-Captain of the Sixth Division, Renji Abarai!
Renji was currently a fifth-year student at Shino Academy, with only one year left before graduation.
Since he was a Class 1 student and had caught the eye of Fifth Division Captain Sosuke Aizen, he was already destined to join the Gotei 13 as a Soul Reaper, even before graduating.
So, whenever the divisions were short-staffed, the school sometimes sent students to "intern" early.
For instance, Renji was currently patrolling Seireitei with Gaoyu.
After transmigrating, Gaoyu had also gained a cheat: the "Superpower System." It let him acquire superpowers.
The way to gain a superpower was simple: make friends with someone. Each person represented a superpower.
These powers weren't the abilities of their Zanpakuto. They came from each person's traits, their past, and even their future experiences.
For example, Renji Abarai's ability was "Star Chaser." It represented Renji's desire to rise above his station and face Rukia, who had now become a noble.
It also represented his desire to grow stronger, step by step, despite being a stray dog, until he could speak to nobles as an equal.
If Renji Abarai's favorability toward him reached sixty, Gaoyu could use this ability once. If it reached eighty, he could use it without restriction.
A favorability of sixty meant they were friends. Eighty meant they were close confidants. At one hundred...
Their bond would have surpassed the heavens!
Gaoyu checked and saw that his favorability with Renji Abarai was already over sixty. That meant he could use "Star Chaser" once.
That was great.
Information about the ability flooded into his mind. Gaoyu browsed through it as he caught up with Renji.
"Senior Gaoyu, you've been graduated for almost five years now, right?" Renji suddenly asked.
Gaoyu searched through the memories in his mind, then nodded. "Yeah. When you were a first-year, I was already a sixth-year."
He checked and saw that he had graduated in the same class as Hizaki Shūhei. After graduation, he had joined the Fifth Division, where he had remained for four years.
His original self hadn't been especially talented as a Soul Reaper. Even after more than four years since graduation, he was still an ordinary Soul Reaper with practically no particular strengths.
It was clear that even ten years from now, his position wouldn't change much.
Thinking about it, he felt a little miserable.
A Soul Reaper like him would surely be cannon fodder in the Thousand-Year Blood War, the kind of ultimate grunt who wouldn't even waste much of the enemy's time.
Fortunately, he had a cheat now. Without it, he would have had to consider sneaking away when the war started.
The Gotei 13 didn't allow members to leave, but if he fled during wartime, maybe no one would notice.
But now that he had a cheat, everything would be fine.
"Four years, and you still haven't even become a low-ranking seated officer?" Renji looked somewhat disappointed, yet also excited, as he clenched his fist.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Gaoyu was a little speechless. Wasn't Renji saying he was useless?
Still, he reassured him. "I'm the one who couldn't become a seated officer after four years, not you. With your talent, becoming a Vice-Captain would be a piece of cake."
"Huh?"
Renji stared at Gaoyu in surprise. "Seriously? That's a Vice-Captain!"
"You're not scared just because I mentioned Vice-Captain, are you?" Gaoyu patted Renji's shoulder.
"If you want to see Rukia again, that level of determination won't be enough."
Unexpectedly, Renji's face turned bright red, and he stared at Gaoyu, flustered.
"W-w-who said I wanted to see Rukia again?!"
"Who told you that?"
"Huh?" Gaoyu froze, then realized that Rukia had been adopted into the Kuchiki Family as a daughter after he had already graduated. Renji had never told him about Rukia, either.
But he soon spoke earnestly. "Renji, do you think I don't have my own sources?"
"I graduated from Shino Academy, after all. Isn't it perfectly normal for me to know what's going on there? Besides..."
"Just look at how gloomy you are every day. I don't need to look into anything to know you're thinking about someone."
"Hm? Am I gloomy? Is it really that obvious?" Renji pointed at himself in surprise and couldn't help saying, "I always thought Kira was the gloomy one. He wasn't like that before..."
"After enrolling, you were exposed to an environment completely different from Rukongai. It's only natural that you'd change." Gaoyu continued walking with Renji and said, "If you can adapt to your current environment, then with your talent, you'll soon become a powerful Soul Reaper. When that happens, don't forget to look out for me, haha."
They were almost at Shino Academy by then. After exchanging a few more words, they fell silent and put on serious expressions as they returned to the school.
Renji Abarai naturally had to head back to the dormitory, while Gaoyu needed to go to the teacher's office and grade Renji's "internship" this time.
Before you continue