Seizing a Name

Soul Society, Eastern Rukongai, District 62, Flower Withers.

Inside the modest house, the middle-aged man spoke at length, now discussing this year's household registration policies in the Withered Flower District, now lamenting how some family's youngest son had gone missing and remained unfound despite a long search, the matter even reaching a certain Soul Reaper.

His name was Nomura Yuji, and he was the "group head" of this area.

In Rukongai, every district had several "group heads" responsible for taxes, household registration management, catching bandits, and similar matters.

Of course, their authority had its limits. They were answerable to Central 46—or rather... they served a certain noble.

Uchiha Yato kept a polite smile on his face as he chatted along with Nomura Yuji.

At last, after Nomura Yuji felt he had laid enough groundwork, he gave a light cough and said seriously,

"Yato, do you know what will happen after you enroll at Shin'ō Academy?"

"I'll study, then become a Soul Reaper." Uchiha Yato feigned surprise. "What else could happen?"

Nomura Yuji spoke in a low voice, reciting the speech he had prepared long ago.

"As a group head, I've seen several young people get into Shin'ō Academy over the years. But the path of a Soul Reaper isn't an easy one..."

"At first, you'll successfully enroll, come into contact with spiritual power and the world of Soul Reapers, keep learning new things, and every day will be a wonderful adventure."

"But gradually, you'll discover that the gap between you and your classmates is growing wider and wider. Leave aside the great figures of the nobility—even many ordinary academy students will surpass you."

"They've received more than a decade, even several decades, of instruction in swordsmanship and theory. They've been immersed in Zankensoki from childhood, with family teachings passed down through generations. Every exam, they take the top spot!"

"You'll think that the clumsy bird has to fly first. You'll keep pushing yourself, hoping hard work can overcome talent. Yet no matter how you train, an insurmountable gulf will remain between you and them."

"Of course, every class has Rukongai students who stand out. But from what I know, their Reiatsu already exceeded the tenth rank when they enrolled, and they were singled out by the academy for focused training from the start!"

"When the graduation assessment comes six years later, you'll be exhausted in body and mind, with no miracle coming to your aid. Even if you barely manage to enter the Gotei 13, you'll die early in battle because you lack the strength."

"Some sixth-year students don't even meet the graduation requirements. They can't enter the Seireitei and can only become guards for nobles..."

Nomura Yuji wore a mournful expression, as if tears were about to fall.

Then, with a slap, he struck his thigh and abruptly brightened.

"But Lord Horiuchi is kindhearted. He has decided to help you!"

"Oh?" Yato asked with great interest. "How?"

"This year, don't report to Shin'ō Academy just yet. I'll take your acceptance notice to Lord Horiuchi." The middle-aged group head smiled warmly. "In return, when you take the exam again in a few years, Lord Horiuchi will provide you with resources, the essentials of Zanjutsu, the secrets of Hakuda... With a noble's support, you'll surely far surpass your peers in Rukongai and gain a much brighter future!"

"You know that the Horiuchi Family is a noble house, with a thousand-year inheritance. Across all eighty districts of Eastern Rukongai, nearly half the opium trade is decided by the Horiuchi family's lords."

"Nobles always keep their word. Their power is immense, and they can accomplish things beyond our imagination. Whether you live well, or live... poorly, depends on a single thought of theirs."

After saying all that in one breath, Nomura Yuji extended his hand, signaling for Yato to hand over his acceptance notice.

He was very confident, because Lord Horiuchi had personally taught him this speech before he set out.

Appeal to his emotions, reason with him, promise great benefits, and mix in a hint of threat.

Nomura Yuji even felt the urge to applaud his own exceptional performance.

Yet he waited for a long time without receiving any response from Yato.

The boy merely shifted his posture, lightly tapping his knee with his fingers as he watched him with a faint, enigmatic smile.

With those eyes darker than the night itself.

For a moment, Nomura Yuji felt as if some beast had viciously torn a bite from his heart.

He suddenly remembered thirty years ago.

Back then, he had still been a hunter, carrying a crudely made musket into the mountains each day to shoot small animals and set traps for birds.

Though poor, his life had still held its own simple pleasures.

Until that twilight, when he encountered the giant wolf revered as the Great Ogre.

"Its claws are sharper than blades, its fangs fiercer than flame, its scar-covered back is like the earth itself, and its face—no one has ever seen its face, because every hunter who faced it head-on became food in its belly."

That was what the old hunters in the village always said.

That twilight, Nomura Yuji died in the wolf's jaws.

Afterward, his soul came to the Soul Society. He became a Plus and was assigned to District 62 of Eastern Rukongai, Flower Withers. By chance, he formed ties with the Horiuchi family and became a group head.

Even now, Nomura Yuji could not remember the giant wolf's face. He only remembered that its eyes had been black—black as ink, black as mist.

Like night looking down from above.

And now, meeting the boy's gaze, Nomura Yuji felt as though he had returned to the final moment before his death.

Residents of Rukongai usually remembered "death" with perfect clarity.

"Ha..." Fortunately, Uchiha Yato suddenly laughed.

The oppressive atmosphere melted away like ice and snow.

But Nomura Yuji did not dare laugh along.

"I suddenly remembered something."

The boy rose to his feet and poured the middle-aged group head a cup of tea.

Steam curled upward, carrying the fragrance of tea.

"More than ten years ago, when I first came to Flower Withers, you were the one who brought me into this house."

"Back then, you asked me what my name was."

"You said you were surprised—'Uchiha? What a strange surname.'"

"Do you remember how I answered?"

"The surname Uchiha may not be common around here... but after spending enough time together, you'll discover that members of the Uchiha Clan usually share two traits."

"First, they're good-looking."

"Second, they're not quite right in the head."

The handsome youth pointed to his own head. There seemed to be amusement in his voice, but his pitch-black eyes remained calm and still, even carrying a chilling coldness.

"You want my academy admission slot? Of course you can have it."

"But you'll have to take it from my corpse."

"He's gone far away. Hmph, it doesn't look like he's heading home." The girl in red Warring States armor leaned by the window and suddenly giggled. "Haha... he actually tripped. He seems really afraid of you~"

"Reiatsu at the twelfth rank is already enough to mentally suppress ordinary souls. At that level of spiritual pressure, it would even be enough to achieve Shikai in the Gotei 13."

Uchiha Yato acted as if nothing had happened. As he sorted through the gifts the middle-aged group head had brought, he sighed.

"Unfortunately, I haven't had a chance all these years to get an Asauchi. If I had a Soul-Cutter Sword in hand, I could..."

...I could learn your name.

The girl and Uchiha Yato understood each other without words, so she naturally knew what he was thinking. She gently shook her head.

"Too hard to get. Unless you go to a higher-numbered district, where it's more chaotic. Maybe there'll be fallen Soul Reapers, with Soul-Cutter Swords left behind. But even that would be difficult. Among so many Soul Reapers, only Kenpachi Zaraki and Ichigo Kurosaki came up through such wild paths."

She lightly bit her lip, concern showing in her expression.

"There's no point thinking about that now. You absolutely can't give up your acceptance slot at Shin'ō Academy. Apply again next year? Hmph! Easy for him to say. If you'd handed him the acceptance notice just now, someone would probably have come to silence you immediately!"

"But that guy was right about one thing. The Horiuchi Family is nobility, and its influence runs deep. They even keep assassins. You didn't do as they wished, Yato. What do we do now..."

"What else can we do?" The boy abruptly stood, stomped his foot with heroic vigor, and declared, "Run! Immediately!"

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