"Professor Katori, please stay here for the night," Madarame Ichirō said. "I'm in charge of this market. Now that you're here, I must certainly offer you the best hospitality."
"There's no need. I have other matters to attend to, but definitely next time," Sora replied, declining Madarame Ichirō's invitation.
"These pieces of porcelain of yours, why are they all deity statues? Do statues sell so well here?" Sora had just noticed that the porcelain in the crate consisted of sculpted deity figures.
Moreover, there was a wide variety of them. Sora even saw a porcelain statue of the deity worshipped at the shrine where they were staying.
"Oh, that... To be honest, I don't understand why either. The Hanakare District has an unusually large number of faiths. Every so often, a new belief emerges, one after another, so we get a lot of orders for custom deity statues!" Madarame Ichirō explained.
"Is it only like this in the Hanakare District?" Sora asked curiously.
"Not anymore. This phenomenon has spread to the areas surrounding the Hanakare District. We get orders for custom deity statues from other regions too. The crate of statues you recovered was actually cargo being shipped elsewhere," Madarame Ichirō said.
"I wonder if the two are connected..." Sora thought to himself.
He suddenly recalled Urahara Kisuke mentioning that Reigai were active in the Rukongai. Perhaps the anomaly in the Hanakare District was related to them.
But there wasn't enough information at the moment to make an accurate judgment.
Sora and Komamura Sajin left the market.
"Are you the Professor of that market manager?" Komamura Sajin asked.
"I am a swordsmanship instructor at the Shin'ō Spiritual Arts Academy. That Madarame Ichirō also attended the academy, and I taught him for a period of time," Sora said.
"The Shin'ō Spiritual Arts Academy!" Komamura Sajin was stunned.
The name of the academy was known by everyone in the Rukongai. Those who could study there had a great chance of becoming a Shinigami.
Komamura Sajin had naturally heard of the academy and very much wanted to enroll and become a Shinigami.
"So you are a Professor at the Shin'ō Academy. No wonder he was so respectful to you." Komamura Sajin's tone held a trace of envy. "I wonder if the academy would accept a student like me..."
"You want to go to the academy? But it seems the academy has never enrolled a student from the Werewolf Clan..." Sora said after a moment of recollection.
Sora's words made Komamura Sajin's expression darken.
"So there's no chance... It seems I can't become a Shinigami."
"There may not be a precedent, but that isn't the only way to become a Shinigami..." Sora said.
If Komamura Sajin wanted to become a Shinigami directly, he wouldn't even need to ask anyone else. There were three captains waiting back at the shrine!
Komamura Sajin's strength was already at the level of a seated officer. If he just asked, Yamamoto and the others would surely agree.
However, Sora first wanted to coax Komamura Sajin into joining the Katori Dojo.
Sora smiled slightly and continued, "You can come train at my dojo. Afterward, whether you want to go to the academy or become a Shinigami directly, I can give you a recommendation. I still have that much influence."
Komamura Sajin was slightly taken aback. "You have a dojo?"
Sora listed his disciples' achievements: "The Katori Dojo has already produced many excellent Shinigami. The current Vice-Captain of the 2nd Division, the 6th Seat of the 3rd Division, the 12th Seat of the 5th Division, the 16th Seat of the 9th Division, and the 7th Seat of the 11th Division are all my disciples."
Three years after their graduation, Hirako Shinji and the others had all become seated officers.
Azashiro Kana and Kotsubaki Jin'emon had been promoted the fastest, both becoming high-ranking seated officers.
Their promotion speed was also closely related to the duties of their respective divisions.
The 3rd Division is a support squad, and the 11th Division is the combat squad. These two divisions deployed the most Shinigami in the Quincy extermination war and also suffered the greatest losses, thus having many vacancies for seated officers.
The 5th and 9th Divisions were not as short-staffed, and internal adjustments were slower. Therefore, the less experienced Hirako Shinji and Muguruma Kensei were not promoted as quickly.
Komamura Sajin was deeply impressed. Katori Sora's disciples included a Vice-Captain and seated officers!
"Your teaching ability is admirable! To have a Professor like you to guide the way is a supreme honor!"
Komamura Sajin bowed down in a dogeza posture. "Professor Katori, please accept me as your student! I, Komamura Sajin, will be forever loyal to you!"
Komamura Sajin was unwilling to miss this opportunity. It was rare to meet such a skilled Professor who didn't discriminate against the Werewolf Clan.
He had to consider that this might be his only chance in this lifetime to become a Shinigami!
"Very well, I accept you as my disciple. However, once you enter my school, you must respect your Professor and elders, and never commit an act of betrayal. As long as you are loyal to the school and diligent in your training, I will teach you the way of the sword and help you become a Shinigami!" Sora said sternly.
"Yes, Professor! I will not fail to live up to your expectations!" Komamura Sajin said respectfully.
[Successfully recruited Komamura Sajin as a direct disciple]
[Komamura Sajin's Affinity Level has increased. Current Affinity Level is Undying Loyalty]
Sora was slightly startled. This was the first time he had seen this Affinity Level.
He glanced at the note on the panel.
[Undying Loyalty: A special Affinity Level for the Werewolf Clan. If you fulfill your promise, Komamura Sajin will never betray you.]
"The promise... that would be teaching him kendo and helping him become a Shinigami," Sora thought to himself.
"Get up. Let's head back quickly. I'll cook up something good to celebrate you joining the school."
"Yes!"
Sora remembered that Komamura Sajin was being pursued by the Werewolf Clan and asked, "Sajin, we didn't have a master-disciple relationship before, so I didn't pry too much. But now you are my student, and there are some things I should know. You're still in some trouble, aren't you? I actually saw you before at an izakaya in the Suzuka District."
Komamura Sajin had no intention of hiding it and explained the situation. "A while ago, to save a woman from being harassed, I injured a noble. Later, the noble couldn't find me, so he had his clan send people to capture me..."
"A noble, you say..." Sora stroked his chin and continued to ask, "Do you know the family name of the noble you injured?"
Komamura Sajin nodded. "I know his name. He called himself Awanokado Tomoya."
"Awanokado Tomoya?" Sora marveled at how small the world was. "He was a classmate of that Madarame Ichirō just now!"
Sora had a rather deep impression of Awanokado Tomoya.
This student had been punished at the academy for harassing female classmates.
During a swordsmanship competition, he had even tried to harass Azashiro Kana, only to be brutally beaten by her.
Komamura Sajin frowned. "Then was he also a student you taught?"
"He didn't choose the advanced swordsmanship class..." Sora shook his head. "But don't have high expectations for the character of my students from the academy. The academy doesn't consider character in its admissions."
"I will talk to Awanokado Tomoya about your matter. That guy hasn't changed his ways even after graduating. It's time he was taught a lesson!"
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