Enrollment

(A quick aside: I see many are still hung up on the Fullmetal Alchemist elements. Let me clarify: the first forty chapters utilize FMA-style alchemy. That was established early on, and I cannot change it now. However, from chapter forty onwards, those elements are phased out. The alchemy appearing later is built upon the Soul Reaper system. These are the main points of contention, and I can't update the synopsis for another five days... Sorry for the trouble.)

Tenshin Ichiro, sixty-four years old, a freshman at Shino Academy and a tragic double-transmigrator.

In his first life, he was an office worker on the Blue Star. He had already bought a car and a house and was just about to start dating when, during a holiday, he binged 40 episodes of Fullmetal Alchemist and died of sudden cardiac arrest, transmigrating into the world of FMA.

In his second life, he learned his lesson. He cultivated healthy habits from a young age and worked hard to master alchemy. He eventually passed the exam and became a glorious State Alchemist. As far as a "salted fish" life goes, that could be considered complete.

However, perhaps it was a curse; in his third year as a State Alchemist, a gunpowder experiment suddenly spiraled out of control. With a bang, he kicked the bucket again.

When he woke up, he had already appeared in the Rukongai with a new name: Tenshin Ichiro.

He had forgotten the memories of his life before this one; all that remained in his mind were the memories of nearly twenty years of wandering the Rukongai.

Ichiro was quite lucky. In this life, he possessed the aptitude for this world's supernatural power system—Reiryoku. Although it was a bit weak, it still set him apart from the other residents of the Rukongai.

Thus, under the meager resource supply of the Rukongai, Ichiro spent nearly forty years finally passing the entrance exam to officially become a first-year student at Shino Academy!

Adjusting his white school uniform, Ichiro flashed a confident smile at the mirror. "I'm still as handsome as ever!"

Walking along the academy path, Ichiro, like other students born in the Rukongai, curiously turned his head to look at the scenery like a bumpkin, drawing frequent looks of disgust from the elegant nobles nearby.

Other students, feeling these gazes, shrank their heads out of self-consciousness and stopped looking around, but Ichiro ignored everyone's eyes and continued to examine the academy.

After all, even excluding the forty-plus monotonous years in the Soul Society, Ichiro had already lived for several decades. To lose face, one must first have face to lose!

"Hmm? Is it really this fair?" Looking at the class list on the bulletin board, a flash of surprise crossed Ichiro's eyes.

The freshman class assignments were not based on entrance exam scores. The proof was that Ichiro, who took forty years to get in, was in the same class as Yoruichi Shihouin and Kisuke Urahara—two individuals who would later become powerful captain-level figures.

Of course, it was predictable that this situation wouldn't last, as it wasn't conducive to the rational distribution of resources. There would likely be placement exams later, but by then, Ichiro was confident he could catch up to the others!

Ichiro's class was Year 1, Class 3, with a total of 30 students. It wasn't a large number; any more, and the teachers for the four major subjects—Zanpakuto, Hakuda, Shunpo, and Kido—wouldn't be enough.

Walking into the classroom, Ichiro's gaze lingered on Kisuke Urahara and Yoruichi for a moment. Then, while carefully observing the other background characters who never appeared in the original work, he headed toward his seat: the second to last one by the window.

The back row by the window—the hometown of kings!

Before long, the classroom was full. The students gathered in twos and threes to chat, clearly divided into three factions: Seireitei nobles, Rukongai thugs, and the duo of Kisuke Urahara and Tenshin Ichiro.

Although Kisuke Urahara was a down-and-out noble who had played with Yoruichi since childhood (or so it was guessed), the term "down-and-out" already said a lot.

Therefore, he lacked the etiquette of the nobles, but he wasn't overly reckless either. If one had to describe him, he was a gentleman unconstrained by etiquette—a point on which Ichiro was much the same.

Having been a State Alchemist for a few years in his second life, he was barely a low-level official and had a decent social standing. He had learned many manners, and while the world was different and the etiquette varied, the temperament he had cultivated remained unaffected.

Thus, in this small space, the two exchanged a glance and smiled at each other without saying a word, yet Urahara took note of Ichiro, who hailed from the Rukongai.

Soon, when the teacher walked in, the classroom fell silent. Even the rowdiest Rukongai thugs sat obediently in their seats like little chicks.

Because the moment this teacher entered, he released his full Reiatsu!

For these greenhorns who had just started their training, the pressure was immense.

Seeing everyone quiet down, the teacher smiled slightly, withdrew his Reiatsu, and said, "Welcome to Shino Academy. Please take care of me for the next six years."

After speaking, he bowed slightly to the group. The nobles stood up and returned the gesture, while those like Ichiro from the Rukongai mimicked the nobles, performed a somewhat substandard bow, and sat down.

The rest was nothing worth mentioning. It was impossible to start lessons on the first day; they simply did brief self-introductions, handed out books, and introduced some of the academy's rules.

Next was the school-wide assembly to listen to the speech by the Head Captain of the 13th Division, Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni. This was one of the few opportunities for Shino Academy students to see the Head Captain.

For other students, this was a supreme honor, but for Ichiro, aside from a flicker of excitement at the first glance, he felt nothing else. To be honest, the Head Captain's speech didn't contain anything of substance—it was all social pleasantries. Tenshin Ichiro had heard such things for two lifetimes and was long since used to them.

After the speech ended, the teacher introduced the general facilities of the academy and then dismissed them. That was all for the morning; the afternoon was left for them to explore the campus freely, with formal classes starting tomorrow.

Yes, Shino Academy only held classes in the morning and afternoon; evening self-study was non-existent. Having a long lifespan makes one willful...

However, this made Ichiro understand why there were so many "fodder" characters in the original work. With this schedule, how much could one learn in six years? Aside from geniuses, everyone else was just fodder.

But considering the system of the Seireitei, it made sense. They couldn't possibly delegate too much power to ordinary people.

And in the Soul Society, while not entirely accurate, strength was roughly equivalent to power!

As such, this situation was understandable. But none of this concerned Ichiro. After dismissal, he declined invitations from others and headed straight to the library. He needed to look up some information, which would determine his growth rate at the academy!

"Whoa~~" Pushing open the library doors, Ichiro couldn't help but gasp. The books here far exceeded his imagination. He had spent plenty of time in the national library in his previous life, but in terms of sheer volume, it couldn't compare to this!

And this was just for students!

Filled with wonder, Ichiro walked closer and, after seeing the guides posted on the bookshelves, understood why there were so many books here.

Eighty percent of these were about Kido!

Although the core power of a Soul Reaper consisted of the four categories—Zanpakuto, Hakuda, Shunpo, and Kido—the first three were more practical for combat, but in terms of versatility, they were far inferior to Kido.

Take swordsmanship, for example: there were thousands of styles, but most people could only learn one or two schools. Squad 4 Captain Unohana's Yachiru had carved her way to the top with nothing but a blade!

The same was true for Hakuda and Shunpo; high-end techniques were all kept under lock and key.

Kido was different. Its general content alone was vast and profound, enough for a Soul Reaper to spend a lifetime studying it!

Many Soul Reapers could only ever touch upon Kido in their entire lives.

Therefore, it was normal to have so much material. However, Ichiro's goal today wasn't Kido, but the more fundamental Reishi theory...

That night, his roommate hadn't returned yet. Ichiro used chalk to draw a circle on the floor and then inscribed complex symbols inside it!

That's right, although the principle was temporarily unclear, this was Ichiro's golden finger: alchemy inherited from the FMA world!