The Shino Academy

After the old man finished speaking, he left beneath the students' admiring gazes. Hongjiang felt, though, that they were really looking at Kyoraku Shunsui and Ukitake Jushiro.

Normally, Old Man Yama should have been the person the students admired most. But at the Shino Academy, the status of academy head subtly outranked that of Head Captain, making the students feel that the gap between them and him wasn't all that great.

As for the title of Spiritual Arts Academy head, although the Shino Academy was the only academy for Soul Reapers in Seireitei, given Yamamoto's strength and status, the title was completely unnecessary. It even seemed to diminish his standing.

After all, in Seireitei at the time, the Soul Reapers who could hold important positions were basically all from at least the middle-ranking noble families. The ancient noble families had their own pride and heritage, and to them, the Shino Academy seemed unnecessary—perhaps even a threat to their status.

When Yamamoto first founded the Spiritual Arts Academy, most of the upper-ranking nobles had opposed it. Yamamoto had even proposed unifying all the nobles' secret techniques, so the Shino Academy could become a true cradle for the finest Soul Reapers.

Naturally, the proposal could never have passed. Of course, Yamamoto wasn't naive enough to fight tooth and nail to make it happen. New things required compromise and concessions, and this was the limit he had set for himself—a distant, illusory limit.

In the end, the noble factions, led by the Five Great Noble Families, reached an agreement with Yamamoto. The Shino Academy would teach all the Zanjutsu, Hakuda, Flash Step, and Kido techniques that Soul Reapers were permitted to share.

As for the nobles' unique secret techniques, those were considered personal achievements. Whether to make them public was up to each family, and no one was allowed to interfere.

To establish the academy's status, both sides also agreed that the Shino Academy was the only path into the Gotei 13. This, of course, excluded exceptional talents—and by exceptional talents, they meant the great noble families of Soul Society.

Perhaps it was a compromise, but in Yamamoto's view, it was the best outcome possible at the time.

His original intention hadn't been to weaken the nobles. He believed that, as the academy grew, the nobles who had resisted it would join of their own accord. And the addition of gifted nobles would make the academy even stronger. It was a mutually beneficial arrangement.

And that was exactly what happened. With its excellent atmosphere and large student body, the academy naturally produced far more talent than the noble families working separately.

At first, only lower-ranking nobles and commoners joined. Later, middle-ranking nobles occasionally came to study at the academy. Now, almost all middle-ranking nobles studied there, bringing Yamamoto's hopes one step closer to reality.

But if you thought the academy was already powerful, you were sorely mistaken. As things stood, most of the Gotei 13's top fighters still came from the upper-ranking nobles and the Five Great Noble Families, and hardly any of them had ever studied at the academy.

"Spiritual power level: four!" said a middle-aged Soul Reaper in a black training uniform with a smile. "A commoner, huh? Make sure you study hard from now on!"

Meanwhile, the students around them whispered among themselves in small groups.

"A commoner with level four? Seriously?"

"His name's Kao, right? Kao Susumu?"

"Yeah, that's his name. Impressive. He's probably on par with the heirs of the upper-ranking nobles."

"Just look at that smug face of his. It's irritating!"

After the entrance ceremony came the spiritual power test. Based on the results, the new students would be divided into Jun Class and Yo Class.

Clearly, the blue-eyed, red-haired boy with a commoner background and a spiritual power level of four would be placed in the better Jun Class. This earned him the resentment and jealousy of the noble-born boys present.

Some even shouted things like, "Get lost, you filthy commoner!"

To Kao, those words sounded like praise, making him hold his head even higher.

Almost everyone watched him with either envy or hostility. Kao couldn't help feeling proud. Being the center of attention felt wonderful, unlike anything he'd ever experienced.

Kao held his head high, sweeping his gaze over the crowd like a king surveying his subjects. Then he spotted three people—three people yawning. They were Hongjiang and his two companions.

Kao frowned. Were they pretending to ignore him? He hated the nobles' affected mannerisms and pathetic pride. He'd see what levels they got in a moment!

Hongjiang and the other two had no idea they were being watched. They were chatting lazily.

"Why didn't we go first for the test? We could've slept a little longer."

"Maybe they're testing us in register order, and we're at the end of the list."

"Then why are we at the end?"

"Good question." Hongjiang rolled his eyes and said irritably, "Because we were digging last night, we were late today. Because we were late, we're at the end of the list. And the reason we wanted to finish early and go to sleep was because we were digging last night!"

Yoruichi rarely looked sheepish. She patted Urahara on the shoulder, then poked Hongjiang in the arm and said ingratiatingly, "I know I was wrong. Don't be mad at me~~~"

"Ugh! Talk properly!"

"We've already dug the hole! So what, should we go fill it back in another day?"

"That's actually a great idea!" Urahara suddenly seemed energized. Clenching his right hand into a fist as if making an important decision, he said, "Let's find a time to fill it in."

"Are we giving up on the secret base?"

"Are you mad? Don't take Yoruichi's joke seriously!"

Urahara waved a hand and grinned. "No, no. I just think that base is too far away. We could dig another one somewhere else!"

"Ha! Dig another one?" Hongjiang asked in astonishment, his mouth wide open. "Where?"

"The closer, the better. Like... here?" Urahara pointed at the ground beneath their feet.

"Heh." Hongjiang let out a dry laugh. Digging a secret base beneath the Shino Academy—was Urahara kidding?

Even Yoruichi wouldn't agree to something like that, would she? This was the Shino Academy, one of the most important places in Seireitei!

"That's a great idea, Kisuke!" Yoruichi's eyes lit up. She patted Urahara excitedly and said, "Tonight! Tonight, we'll dig a new base here. This time, I'm definitely laying the floor tiles too!"

All right, Yoruichi agreed with it. She actually agreed!

Hongjiang clutched his head as he watched the two of them enthusiastically discussing the plan, nearly losing his mind. He wanted to pretend he didn't know them—or better yet, cut ties with them completely!

"So, it's a great idea, right, Hongjiang?"

A great idea? Heh. A great way to get themselves killed, maybe.

"This isn't digging a hole anymore, you know?" Hongjiang said helplessly, holding his head. "You're digging your own graves!"

"You mean we should pick somewhere else?"

"I mean we shouldn't dig anywhere at all!" Hongjiang said irritably.

After enduring untold hardship and arguing until he was hoarse, Hongjiang finally managed to suppress Yoruichi and Urahara's crazy idea. When they eventually agreed to leave the secret base alone, he was so moved he nearly burst into tears.

At the same time, it was their turn to take the spiritual power test. All eyes in the crowd were now fixed on the three of them!