Today, Natsuro was fully dressed, his Zanpakutō strapped to his back. After preparing a small pack of belongings, he stepped out of his dorm and headed toward class.
Today was a slightly special day, it was the day Class A would accompany some upperclassmen on an internship.
He wasn't sure why first-years were being sent on an internship, but since that was the official arrangement, he had no choice but to go along with it.
On the way to class, Natsuro spotted Rukia standing idly in her usual white top and red skirt.
"Waiting for Renji?" Natsuro walked over and asked.
"Huh? Oh, Natsuro. Yeah," Rukia nodded.
Soon, Rukia noticed how neatly dressed he was and that he had his gear packed, prompting her to ask, "Where are you going?"
"Our class is heading to the Human World with some upperclassmen for internship training. Didn't Renji tell you?" Natsuro asked, surprised. This had been announced just the day before.
"He didn't…" Rukia squinted, her eyes glinting dangerously, as if someone was about to get into serious trouble.
"But why is it only your class that gets to go on an internship? That's so unfair!" she exclaimed in frustration.
"I don't know either. Rukia, could you do me a favor?" Natsuro asked suddenly.
"Huh? What kind of favor?" Rukia looked puzzled as to why he would ask her for help, but decided to at least hear him out first.
"Could you help me check whether, in previous years, first-year students were ever sent on internships with the upperclassmen?" Natsuro asked.
"Eh?" Rukia was stunned. That seemed like a weird thing to investigate…
Still, it wasn't difficult, so she nodded and agreed.
"Thanks," Natsuro replied with a nod.
This whole idea of first-years going on internships did strike him as odd. Why first-years? It would've made more sense if it were fifth-years nearing graduation.
And to make things more suspicious, this internship announcement came immediately after the 5th Division's captain and lieutenant visited the academy.
Natsuro couldn't help but wonder if the two were connected.
"No problem! I don't know why you want to investigate this, but we're friends, right? Friends help each other!" Rukia said cheerfully.
"Friends, huh?" Natsuro nodded without denying it.
"By the way, Rukia… do you know the names of the 5th Division's captain and lieutenant who visited two days ago?" Natsuro asked. He'd been too focused on training and had missed a lot of information.
"You mean you seriously don't know their names?!" Rukia looked at him like he was from another planet.
"Was I supposed to?" Natsuro replied, a little speechless, though remembering the academy's general obsession with the Gotei 13, he began to understand her reaction.
After a pause, Rukia seemed to come to a realization. "Ah… I forgot. You want to join the Kidō Corps, so I guess you're not really familiar with the Gotei 13."
Natsuro was slightly taken aback.
Who said I wanted to join the Kidō Corps?
Then he recalled how he came across to others, rarely drawing his sword, excelling at Kidō, it was no wonder people assumed he intended to go that route.
He didn't know or particularly care who was famous in the Kidō Corps anyway, so he let it slide.
"The 5th Division's captain is Aizen Sōsuke , and the lieutenant is Gin Ichimaru," Rukia answered directly.
Natsuro's pupils contracted.
Those names, Gin Ichimaru was concerning enough, but Aizen…
Wasn't that the name of Bleach's final boss? (The protagonist hasn't seen the Thousand-Year Blood War arc.)
Natsuro exhaled deeply.
No wonder he hadn't been able to see through the man. Here he thought that after surviving the Naruto world, his soul was absurdly overpowered, yet he couldn't even read the aura of a mere squad captain?
Turns out, this wasn't just any captain, he was the mastermind hiding within the Gotei 13.
In that case, it wasn't strange that Natsuro, not yet at full strength, couldn't see through Aizen.
As for Gin Ichimaru, he remembered that he would also become a captain later. Even now, Gin probably already had that level of strength.
So, everything made sense now.
"Rukia, Natsuro? What are you two doing just standing there?" At that moment, Renji stepped out of the classroom and saw them, calling out.
"Renji! Are you guys really going on an internship with the upperclassmen?" Rukia glared at him, demanding answers.
"Yeah! We're going to the Human World today for some simulated Hollow combat training!" Renji said proudly, then turned to Natsuro.
"I was waiting for you in class, but I guess you're already here. Let's head over to the meeting spot," Renji said.
"Okay," Natsuro nodded.
"Hey! Did you even hear me?! Only your class gets to go on an internship, that's totally unfair! And seriously, how did you even get into Class A?!" Rukia shouted, looking like she was about to karate-chop Renji.
"There's nothing unfair about it. It's called strength, real skill," Renji smirked smugly at her.
Though, to be fair, Rukia's height was indeed a bit of a handicap, she barely came up to Renji's shoulder, and given her age, she probably wouldn't be growing any taller.
By then, the other students from Class A had gathered, so Renji couldn't stick around to argue. He waved goodbye and turned to join the group, calling over his shoulder, "See you later! Just wait till we get back, I'll show you the real power gap! Better look forward to it!"
"Idiot! I'M the one who's going to show you the difference in power!" Rukia shouted, fuming.
Then, watching Renji and Natsuro walk away, she spaced out for a moment.
Natsuro yawned.
She didn't react like this when I told her earlier…
Looking at Renji, he couldn't help but think,
Yeah, these two are totally childhood friends, bickering constantly. So… does that make the future protagonist a third wheel?
Eh, he didn't feel like thinking too deeply about it.
At the meeting point, three upperclassmen, two male and one female, were already waiting.
"Let's start with a quick introduction. I'm Shūhei Hisagi, from the sixth-year class," said the one who appeared to be the leader.
"I'm Hotaru Kanisawa," said the girl plainly.
"I'm Aoga."
Then Shūhei continued, "We'll be your supervisors for this internship."
At once, a murmur spread through the first-years, many of them whispering in surprise, seemingly impressed by the names.
Renji was also confused and turned to Izuru.
Izuru sighed but still explained, "It's not all three of them, it's the one in the middle: Shūhei. He's the first person in years to be confirmed for the Gotei 13 before even graduating. Word is, he's guaranteed to become a seated officer."
Then Izuru added with a smirk, "Though, they say he failed the academy's entrance exam twice before getting in. So technically, since I passed on my first try, I might be more talented than he is."
He overheard but didn't care much about that.
This internship was organized into three-person teams. Natsuro looked down at his number and then up at the two unfamiliar classmates who had the same number.
Meanwhile, the three students he knew: Izuru, Renji, and Momo had ended up in the same group.
The reasoning behind that grouping was a bit too obvious. After all, those three were known to be among the most talented in Class A, and strong candidates for the Gotei 13 in the future.
"So… I've been completely underestimated?" Natsuro looked at the number in his hand. But he didn't really mind. It wasn't important to him.
Soon after the teams were formed, the sixth-year students laid out the rules for the internship.
There were more sixth-years participating than just the three leading them, the others had already gone ahead to the Human World, where they had selected a suitable area, surrounded it, and set up a barrier.
The first-years would be training within that barrier, using simulated Hollows for combat practice.
"Although the sixth-years chose a safe location, real combat is never guaranteed to be risk-free, understand?" said Shūhei, who didn't wait for the first-years to respond before continuing: "Alright, let's go!"
Natsuro wasn't particularly interested in Shūhei's warning. What caught his attention was the Dimensional Gate behind them.
Through that gate, they would travel from the Soul Society to the Human World.
A kind of spatial treasure, perhaps?
Before long, he passed through the gate with the others and arrived in the Human World.
It was nighttime there, and he could clearly feel the barrier above them…
It felt fragile.
But more than that, Natsuro turned to look at one particular location, nothing seemed to be there, but with his heart's eye, he saw it clearly...
A massive Hollow stood there, nearly the size of a building, completely invisible to normal senses.
And it was a real Hollow, not a simulated one. The difference in aura and presence was overwhelming.
Natsuro had already located the fake Hollows hidden in the shadows. To be honest, they were even weaker than lesser Hollows, only good for basic training.
Maybe he misunderstood, and those simulated Hollows were specifically chosen to match the skill level of the first-years.
Still, this internship was clearly about to go sideways.
"Captain," Natsuro suddenly called out to Shūhei.
"What is it?" Shūhei frowned. They hadn't even started the training and there were already problems? This batch of students was weak...
"Captain, I have very sharp spiritual perception. There's a real Hollow over there," Natsuro said, pointing in the direction of the cloaked Hollow. "It's about the size of a building."
"Huh?" Shūhei was startled. He stared hard at the spot but saw nothing.
He began to doubt Natsuro's words… but what if he wasn't lying?
If there really was a building-sized Hollow, then this was far beyond what any of them could handle.
"Hey, where? I don't see anything. You just scared of fighting or something?" said Aoga, irritated that he couldn't see anything either.
Shūhei frowned deeply, then pulled out his communicator, trying to contact the sixth-years who were stationed on rooftops as observers.
But no matter how loudly he called, there was no response.
Combined with Natsuro's warning, a heavy sense of dread settled over the group.
"M-Maybe it's just a signal issue…" Aoga said, scratching his head nervously.
Shūhei ignored him and stared at Natsuro again. "Are you absolutely sure?!"
Natsuro nodded.
Shūhei took a deep breath and shouted, "First-years, this internship is canceled! Everyone, fall back immediately!"
Just then, the massive Hollow must have realized it had been spotted. It dropped its invisibility and charged toward them.
"It's real…! And I couldn't sense a thing…" Shūhei's eyes widened in shock.
And then, chaos erupted.
"Everyone, run! Get as far away from the Hollow as you can! You, go alert the Soul Society for backup!" Shūhei yelled, drawing his Zanpakutō and charging straight at the creature.
He had to hold it off, or the internship would end in a massacre.
Natsuro watched the scene unfold.
His two assigned teammates had already bolted.
…So had Shūhei's two fellow sixth-years.
In the end, people with Shūhei's kind of bravery were rare.
Natsuro looked at the massive Hollow. He could take it down quietly, right then and there. But something about the situation felt too coincidental.
Right after the Aizen visited, there was suddenly an internship and during the internship, a stealth-capable Hollow appeared?
Natsuro couldn't help but suspect that this whole thing had been orchestrated. And if so… why?
He glanced at Shūhei, then thought of Renji, Izuru, and Momo all of whom, in the future, became vice-captains.
Especially Momo, she was supposed to become Aizen's lieutenant.
So Natsuro wanted to see who would be sent to provide backup.
If it was Aizen…
Well, that would make things very interesting.
Soon, Natsuro saw that three others hadn't fled... Renji, Momo, and Izuru.
After a moment's thought he made his way toward the battlefield, not to fight, but because he knew Kaidō (healing Kidō). Playing the role of a medic wouldn't draw too much attention from the final boss.
More importantly, he needed to remind Shūhei not to mention that Natsuro was the one who detected the Hollow when being questioned later.
As for the other two sixth-years, their ranks weren't high enough to be questioned closely.
Even if Natsuro was exposed, it probably wouldn't matter much.
Being perceptive could be chalked up to a special talent, not enough to attract serious scrutiny. Probably?
And even if he was completely exposed, it was fine.
Aizen hadn't started his betrayal yet. He wouldn't make any bold moves this early.
Besides, he wasn't afraid of Aizen. He just wanted a peaceful place to train.
If push came to shove?
Well… he could always flip the table.
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Currently on Chapter 469 - Seclusion