The Name Uchiha

By the time Uchiha Yato returned to the Shin'ō Academy dormitories, it was already afternoon.

The room was still neat and clean. It looked as though someone had specifically come to tidy it.

The boy lay down on his bed, feeling somewhat weary.

"Scarlet Eye." He called out his Soul-Cutter Sword's name.

"I want to see you."

The next moment, space twisted, and Yato appeared within his inner world.

This place seemed to have changed somewhat.

The already dim sky had become even darker. Flame-like crimson poured forth from the enormous stone monument, turning into a sea of blood that flooded the earth.

"Honestly, every time I come here, I'm a little taken aback."

Yato pulled a pebble from his pocket and tossed it toward the distant darkness as if skipping stones.

"My inner world is actually this gloomy?"

The pebble fell into the sea of blood, sending up a splash.

"But now that I'm here today, things seem even worse." He sighed, his expression complicated.

"Has my mood really gotten this bad? It's almost flooded this whole world with a sea of blood."

"It's actually not so bad." Scarlet Eye stamped her foot, making a tapping sound.

"Isn't there still somewhere to stand?"

"You really know how to make the best of a bad situation."

Yato paused, apology flashing through his dark eyes.

"I'm sorry. I still wavered."

"Fifty-three students... Aside from Watanabe Hideki's group, Aizen Sosuke killed the rest too."

"Probably for Hollowfication experiments on Soul Reapers? I didn't ask, and he didn't say."

"When he suddenly appeared, I had no choice but to go along with him. But now that I've followed Aizen Sosuke, I can't avoid getting blood on my hands."

"I was prepared for it, but I still wavered—perhaps exposing Aizen directly to the Seireitei would have been the better choice?"

"After thinking it over and over, I still rejected that possibility."

Uchiha Yato's handsome face gradually calmed.

As he confided his feelings to Scarlet Eye, the emotion called "wavering" vanished from his inner world.

Yet the sea of blood beneath his feet did not recede. Instead, it suddenly roiled and boiled, growing ever more violent, like flames about to erupt.

"I need Aizen. I need the Hōgyoku. I need the secret of Hollowfication. I need... the Opposing Force."

"When I obtain everything, the one who ascends the throne in the sky will not be Aizen Sosuke, but me!"

"I will rewrite this world with my will."

He turned his head, his tone gentle.

"No matter what happens, you'll stay by my side, right?"

The girl in crimson armor gently stroked Yato's face, as though she were cradling the most precious jewel in the world.

"You and I are one forever... Whether you create a world and become its king, or are imprisoned in Muken."

"Looks like even if I'm in purgatory, I can still walk with a blade in hand." Yato smiled freely, returning to his usual expression.

"In a few hours, the sea of blood here should recede. Otherwise, you'd be living here alone in all this dampness. How disgusting would that be?"

After saying that, he leaped down from the top of the stone monument.

There were many ways to leave one's inner world. Falling at extreme speed was one of them.

The Kamui Dimension-like inner world was left with only the girl once more.

"What an idiot..."

Scarlet Eye hugged her knees as she sat at the edge of the enormous tombstone, looking down at the boundless sea of blood.

"There isn't a single blade that doesn't thirst for blood."

For the rare occasion, Uchiha Yato did not train for several days in a row.

During his seven-day trip to Hueco Mundo, he had first fled with Harribel, then clashed with Aizen Sosuke. Though it had been a one-sided crushing, it had still drained quite a bit of his strength and Reiatsu.

So, he deliberately took leave and spent several days at Junrinan in West District 1, a famous vacation spot in Rukongai.

Yato had a rather pleasant time, because he discovered that he received special treatment in Junrinan.

He got discounts when staying at tea houses, shopkeepers gave him extras when he visited cooked-food stalls, and whenever he encountered children on the street, he received admiring looks.

—Uchiha Yato was gradually becoming famous.

The reason was obvious.

Many things that had happened in Hueco Mundo recently had spread throughout Soul Society.

The deaths of fifty-three students, the sudden hunt by Menos Grande, the special review and reforms implemented by Shin'ō Academy...

And most astonishing of all, Scarlet Eye, the Soul-Cutter Sword of Shin'ō Academy prodigy Uchiha Yato, was an extremely rare Multi-Stage Release type!

The news caused quite a stir.

In Soul Society, Soul-Cutter Swords were a crucial part of a Soul Reaper's combat ability.

Kidō type, direct-attack type, elemental-control type, biological-manifestation type...

There were all kinds of types, and each could produce top-tier experts. Strictly speaking, there was no difference in superiority.

Yet there were always one or two types that could be called extraordinary from birth.

For example, the Dual type, which could barely be classified as a minor category.

Eighth Division Captain Shunsui Kyōraku's Katen Kyōkotsu and Thirteenth Division Captain Jushiro Ukitake's Sōgyo no Kotowari were the only paired Soul-Cutter Swords in Soul Society today.

And rarer still than the Dual type was the Multi-Stage Release type!

In Soul Society's recorded history, Soul-Cutter Swords capable of multiple releases, gaining new abilities with every Shikai, were said to appear only once in a thousand years.

The last time one appeared was at the very founding of the Gotei 13.

And with the death of that first-generation captain, this type of Soul-Cutter Sword had vanished for a long time.

But now, Uchiha Yato's sudden rise had filled that gap.

Scarlet Eye, a Multi-Stage Release Soul-Cutter Sword, was the only one in existence!

That title was far more impressive than "Shin'ō Academy genius."

Many Rukongai residents, and even many Soul Reapers, believed that if Uchiha Yato did not die young, he would inevitably become a captain-class figure someday.

Of course, fame could bring convenience, but it could also bring annoyance.

After the initial novelty wore off, Yato grew tired of the overly attentive gazes around him. He ended his vacation early and returned to the Seireitei.

Shin'ō Academy had changed as well.

Three years ago, Moritora Shiba had died in Hueco Mundo, and now more than fifty students had lost their lives. Headmaster Hasegawa had borne tremendous pressure.

Central 46 had even issued a harsh question—was the current Shin'ō Academy truly capable of training qualified Soul Reapers?

After much wrangling, maneuvering, and compromise, the academy completed reforms in certain areas.

For example, it increased class hours for Responded, gave greater weight to grades in emergency-response specialties, and stipulated that additional protection forces had to be deployed for practical training exercises in Hueco Mundo...

Uchiha Yato rather approved of these reforms. Though Shin'ō Academy was a place for training fighters, it was ultimately still a different kind of school, and proper protection was only right.

In the days that followed, Uchiha Yato once again immersed himself in training. Combat duels, Kidō practice, supplementing his basic knowledge... These studies once more filled his time.

During that time, many Seated Officers from the Gotei 13 came to the academy and silently observed Yato from afar. They occasionally chatted with him too, seemingly intending to recruit him into their own divisions upon graduation.

Yato simply let things take their course, showing no particular desire for any specific division.

And so, time quickly passed amid his training.

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