As night fell, Ito Makoto lay resting on the tatami mat in a clean and tidy guest room.
He was staying in a private room specially prepared for him by San Hana-bāba, while Iwasaki Eri was staying in the same room as San Hana-bāba.
As for the other long-term residents, they did not receive this treatment.
Ito Makoto looked at the tiny, sand-like particle in his hand, shimmering with blue light. Combined with Tōsen Kaname's actions during the day, it was clear that this item was closely related to Aizen Sōsuke's experiment.
"Could this be..."
...
Fifth Division barracks.
Inside the Vice-Captain's private room, Aizen Sōsuke was lighting an oil lamp and writing something at his desk.
"Whoosh!"
Suddenly, another person appeared in the room: a dark-skinned man with long dreadlocks, none other than Tōsen Kaname, who was then the Fifth Seat of the Ninth Division.
"Lord Aizen, the lost Hollow seems to have entered the residential area of Rukongai and has not been seen since. It's suspected that the lost fragment of the Hōgyoku was obtained by a Rukongai resident!"
Upon hearing this, Aizen smiled calmly, seemingly unconcerned about the lost Hōgyoku fragment.
"No matter, it's just an unstable, defective product. At most, it can only be used once and poses no threat to us. We can just make a new one later."
Listening to Aizen's lighthearted words, Tōsen Kaname's heart finally settled, and he vanished from the spot with a flash.
Seven days later, Ito Makoto left early, as today was the monthly enrollment assessment for the Spiritual Arts Academy.
At this time, a petite figure was already standing at the entrance of their residence, waiting for a long time. Upon closer inspection, it was Iwasaki Eri.
The girl was holding a package in her hands, and as she saw Ito Makoto approaching, her face flushed, as if returning to the state when they first met:
"Makoto-kun, this is... a robe I sewed for you with the fabric I earned by working for San Hana-bāba these past few days..."
Looking at the girl's pretty face, flushed like a sunset, Ito Makoto let out a wry smile. Having lived two lives, how could he not understand Iwasaki Eri's feelings?
However, his goal was to reach the pinnacle and seek transcendence, so he naturally wouldn't stop for a beautiful little flower by the roadside.
He took the package from Iwasaki Eri's hand, then smiled slightly and said softly:
"Thank you for your gift, I like it very much. Take care of yourself, farewell, Miss Eri!"
Iwasaki Eri, who had countless words prepared in her mind, suddenly found herself speechless as she looked at the man she had only known for a few days but who had deeply captivated her.
She could only watch Ito Makoto's gradually receding back and say:
"Makoto-kun, have a safe journey!"
Ito Makoto did not look back, merely waved his hand behind him as a farewell gesture.
He did not notice that the girl's eyes behind him were already moist.
...
"This is Seireitei? It's indeed much grander than in the anime!"
Looking at the magnificent and imposing castle before him, Ito Makoto couldn't help but exclaiming.
The splendor of Seireitei formed a stark contrast with the ubiquitous low-rise houses in Rukongai, as if the two should not be products of the same world.
"Indeed, every world is the same!"
Seireitei is located in the center of Soul Society, serving as Soul Society's political and military headquarters, and also the residence of many nobles and Shinigami.
Ito Makoto walked to the Seireitei's East Gate, Qingryu Gate, and found that many young figures were already lining up at the entrance. Clearly, these people were also participating in the Spiritual Arts Academy's entrance examination today.
After queuing for a while, it was finally Ito Makoto's turn. He handed his identification card to Jidanbō, the burly man nearly ten meters tall with twin axes at his waist, for inspection before being allowed into the city.
Following the guidance of the main group, Ito Makoto quickly arrived at his destination, the Spiritual Arts Academy.
Ito Makoto joined the large group of applicants and queued up again. Everyone submitted their identification cards one by one. Ito Makoto handed both San Hana-bāba's and his own identification cards to the Shinigami sitting at the desk by the entrance for registration.
Ito Makoto looked at the long queue in front of him and immediately grumbled:
"How long is this queue going to be!"
Just as Ito Makoto was struggling with the seemingly endless queue in front of him, a burly middle-aged man in a soul reaper uniform, wearing sunglasses and with a spiky hairstyle, suddenly walked out from the side.
"You, you, you, and you, come with me!"
The middle-aged man called out several people from the queue, including Ito Makoto, and led them directly through a side door into the Spiritual Arts Academy.
"You few, because you possess tokens, you have the opportunity to take the assessment early. But don't rejoice too soon; if your own talent is insufficient, you still won't pass the assessment!"
The middle-aged man looked at them impatiently, muttering incessantly.
"The higher-ups are really something, always making me look after you 'connected' people. It's so annoying!"
Ito Makoto immediately understood that this middle-aged man must be Oda You, whom San Hana-bāba had mentioned.
"It seems that the 'tributes' in Rukongai are not being distributed fairly. Otherwise, this Oda You wouldn't be so resentful."
Ito Makoto and the others listened to Oda You's complaints all the way, then followed him into a large hall.
Inside the hall, many applicants for the entrance exam were already waiting. These people, like Ito Makoto and the others, clearly had recommendation letters, or were simply connected to certain nobles in Seireitei, which allowed them to participate in the first batch of assessments.
Because those without connections were still queuing outside the main gate.
Ito Makoto looked up and saw four special machines arranged in parallel in front of all the queues. Each machine had a half-person-tall scale attached to it, and behind the scale were energy-storing crystals for spiritual pressure.
"These are spiritual pressure measuring instruments made by the Technological Development Bureau. You just need to hold the handle on the instrument to easily measure your spiritual power. Spiritual power is divided into twenty ranks, and you must reach within the ninth rank to be qualified for the next test! Oh, why am I telling you all this? I doubt any of you will make it to the next round."
Oda You crossed his arms, scanning Ito Makoto and the others with a hint of disdain. After all, based on his past experience with these 'connected' individuals who came with recommendation letters, very few were able to pass the first assessment.
At the same time, these applicants, arranged in four columns, were constantly whispering, clearly very nervous, because most people who participated in the Spiritual Arts Academy assessment failed at the first stage. It was clear that everyone participating in the assessment was more or less nervous, except for Ito Makoto!
"Silence! Anyone who dares to make noise again will be disqualified from the exam!"
Perhaps due to the excessive noise, the two Shinigami guards standing nearby simultaneously shouted to stop them.
Immediately, the examination hall became completely silent!
Not long after, a figure completely wrapped in a white robe slowly walked out from the portal behind them.