Bleach: Reborn as Hinamori

Time flies, and it's been a hundred years since I was reincarnated into the world of Bleach.

The main events that occurred during this time were the infiltration of the Royal Special Forces by the Vizard Girls and the infamous "Soul Disappearance Incident", Aizen-sama conducting experiments with the squad captains, and the others fleeing to the human world. The past arc was packed with intense events, and the rumors have been buzzing all the way out here.

But I couldn't intervene due to my lack of strength and limited range of action. What a waste...

"—Do you know, Shiro-chan? Watermelon seeds taste like chocolate."

"What's chocolate?"

"The taste."

"What!?"

While playing with Shiro-chan, I reflect on these days of self-improvement.

My self-enhancement is going smoothly. I've been torturing and training my spiritual organs to increase my spiritual power, and in this century, I've grown to a level where everyone else looks like plankton. This is at least as strong as Ichigo in the early Soul Society arc, meaning I've definitely surpassed the third-seat officers in terms of spiritual pressure.

By the way, in Aizen-sama's camp, Gin graduated from the Spiritual Arts Academy in just one year and then instantly killed the third seat of the Fifth Division. I have that kind of strength... though I can't say it out loud, but if I'm on par with him, who was called the greatest genius in history, that would be incredibly satisfying.

However, if the Gotei 13 were to find out, my stylish "The vice-captain was that strong?" betrayal plan would just become a mundane "He was always strong from the start" revelation, completely ruining the impact. That's why I'm risking my life to hide my spiritual pressure.

Since then, I've tried various other methods and should now be able to conceal my power to the point where it matches that of ordinary people. In peacetime, there's no way anyone would notice.

I'm fully prepared to become a Shinigami. This area, the first district of West Rukongai, "Junrin-an," is one of the districts closest to the Soul Society, and thanks to the gatekeeper brother who guards one of the Soul Gates, I've been able to learn a lot about Zanpakuto, Hakuda, and Shikai. Mainly from that connection.

"You've really gotten strong, Momo. A student who can use Kidō at your age is a rare find. You'll definitely get into the Spiritual Arts Academy!"

"Finally, you've decided to take the exam. Well, I'm the one who taught you, but aside from Zanpakuto, there's nothing left to learn at the Academy..."

"Thank you so much, Kuukaku-san!"

That's right. That one-armed fireworks artist is my older sister figure. She suffered a severe injury that cost her an arm and had to retire from the Guard Corps. Rather than let her Shinigami skills go to waste, I asked Shiba Kuukaku-san if she could become my Kidō master!

From there, it was heaven. Well, the training was hell, and I had to constantly stay on edge to hide my true spiritual pressure, but the Kidō lessons were so much fun they made it all worth it. After all, I had been reincarnated into the Bleach world and obtained the soul of the genius Hinamori-chan, yet I had been unable to practice Kidō for decades. Despite the short period leading up to the Spiritual Arts Academy exam, I managed to master the intermediate Kidō incantation techniques, which made me very happy. I even sneaked a peek at the Kidō books from the Shiba family at night and memorized a few techniques with numbers in the 60s and 70s, which are way beyond my level. Hehe.

However, being able to stay at the Shiba family's main residence might be useful for various strategies against Aizen-sama. After all, the Shiba family is one of the Five Great Noble Families. And the Five Great Noble Families...

And so, my apprenticeship progressed smoothly...

"—Alright, I'm off to the exam, Shiro-chan!"

"Here, take this handkerchief. You'll need it to wipe your tears if you fail."

"Don't give me something unlucky!"

And finally, the year came when the original Hinamori-chan and Rukia, a major character in Bleach, enrolled in the academy.

In the original story, those two were referred to as the 2066th class, but I confirmed this when I heard the names of the 69 students passing through the Seireitei Gate. Since Hitsugaya became a sixth-year student in the year when Renji and the others were first-year students, I should be able to adjust the enrollment year by working backward from there to make them classmates.

I don't know how Rukia and the others entered the Soul Society, but I assume that the original Hinamori-chan relied on Kuukaku to knock on the gates of the Spiritual Arts Academy. So I'll have to rely on her connections again.

"—Excuse me!"

Finally, the first step. Wait for me, Shiro-chan. I'll do my best for the best "Hinamori!"

"... Hmm, I feel a chill..."

***

This school was founded over two thousand years ago by an old mountain hermit and was originally called the Soul Reaper Academy. It's said to have been a brutal training ground for Soul Reapers where many deaths occurred in the past. It has a dark and mysterious history.

It's a six-year curriculum, but there's a skip-grade system for monsters like Gin and Shiro-chan who occasionally appear, so they can be quickly enrolled in the Gotei 13 and put to work. I have to be careful not to let my guard down and get noticed by this system while enjoying my carefree student life.

Probably the only time I can freely interact with Renji and the others is while I'm a Spiritual Arts Academy student. I want to spend the next six years here to implant my fake abilities into their minds, so please don't let me graduate immediately after enrollment.

...To avoid any misunderstanding, let me make it clear that the only problem is my spiritual pressure being discovered by the Spiritual Arts Academy, the Gotei 13, and Shiro-chan. I don't care if the enemy faction from the original story, the Aizen-sama camp, notices me. In fact, I'd rather they take an interest in me and recruit me as soon as possible.

The first opportunity for that is this year... I really don't want to miss it.

"—Now, we will proceed with the provisional award ceremony for Asauchi, followed by the announcement of the first-year students of the 2066th class. Those whose names are called should move to the stage."

Oh, it's started. The new students gathered at the training ground are receiving simple swords from the teachers one by one. I see, they're making them carry swords as soon as possible to get used to their spiritual power. What if I get huge from the spiritual pressure...

Huh? Wait, isn't that the one with the strawberry-blond hair? Look up! Great, we're in the same class, Kira!

If that's the case, then those two must be... Oh, that red pineapple is Renji! Just as I thought, it's the real Renji! Yay! Nice to meet you, Renji!

Rukia... Damn, we're both too short to see each other. But I can tell there's a girl talking to Renji. I want to see her face so badly...!

Hehe, Rukia-chan looks cute with a gloomy expression too... (dark smile)

"—Exam number 027, top seat in the entrance exam. Hinamori Momo."

"Ah, yes!"

While I was staring at the original characters like a fan, my name was called. Thanks to the past exam questions I got from Kuukaku-san, my spiritual pressure and humanity were judged comprehensively, and I secured the top seat! In the original story, I somehow imagined Kira getting it, but in this parallel world, I'm the one who got it.

I immediately took the stage and listened to the teacher's wise words. After being subjected to a Zen-like exchange for about ten minutes, I finally got to receive the Asauchi sword. This sword is the physical form of that sharp-tongued goddess, so Nimaiya-sensei must be pretty sinful...

"—Look at that girl."

"Wow, she's so cute..."

"The top seat and beautiful—she's out of reach."

"I want to get closer to her..."

The careful way I received the Asauchi, making sure not to release any spiritual pressure, probably looked like a delicate maiden being overwhelmed by tension on the stage. After serving as eye candy for teenage boys with Hinamori-chan's official cute face, I sighed in relief that nothing went wrong and hurriedly moved to the classroom.

The first class of the advanced class was, as expected, our trio of future vice-captains. For now, everything is going according to the original story. Lonely Rukia, let's hang out together sometime...

"Um, you're Kira-kun, right? I'm Momo Hinamori, nice to meet you."

"Huh? Are you... the class president? Nice to meet you."

"Y-yes, nice to meet you, Hinamori-kun. Um... I'm happy to get to know you better!"

Hmm, hmm. I'll continue to deepen my friendship with my future vice-captains and master the art of being a bright and sociable Hinamori. Well, the original Hinamori-chan is a clueless girl who doesn't even notice Kira's obvious reactions, so I have to be careful not to accidentally pick up on anything he says.

...I can't wait for the exhilaration of betraying him alongside Aizen-sama, hehe.

From then on, time passed without incident, and I continued to charge down the path of being a popular kid, centered around my usual trio, while enjoying the "Kidō" class—the foundation of the Shinigami's techniques, despite being a bit of a slacker.

"—You who reign supreme, you who bear the name of flesh and blood, of all things, of feathers, and of humanity... Truth and restraint, sinless dreams, dig your claws into the wall!!"

—Hadō Number Thirty-Three: Sōkatsui—

A blazing blue flame shot from my palm and exploded at the center of the target. Ugh, Kidō is so cool. The thrill of actually using techniques I've seen in manga and anime is so exhilarating that I feel like I could be satisfied with this second life.

That said, as a disciple of Kuukaku-san, I've already mastered this level of Kidō, including spell cancellation. Adjusting the power to match the surrounding level is the real challenge.

"You're truly worthy of having studied under the princess of the Shiba family. Your technique is flawless."

"I'm honored... Sensei."

"As always, your Kidō is perfect."

"Amazing, as expected of Hinamori-kun..."

First-year students only learn up to the 30s in Kidō, so my grades are outstanding. However, if I stand out too much, it defeats the purpose of hiding my spiritual pressure, so I deliberately keep my grades average in sword techniques and Hakuda, and my Shunpō is second only to Kira. If I make excuses about being unsure about flash step techniques, I can decline recommendations for skipping grades.

No matter what, in the world of the Shinigami, strength equals spiritual pressure. No matter how skilled one is in Kidō, if their spiritual pressure is average, there's no way they'd be forced to skip a grade like Gin.

I want to keep the title of "master of Kidō" as in the original work, but have the rest of my evaluations be just a little better than average.

...Well, anyway. Tomorrow is finally the day of my first meeting with that man, Aizen-sama.

I've been thinking and preparing for it, but I'll make sure to practice my stylish moves thoroughly so he'll find me interesting.

But because I got too confident with these stylish moves, I'm going to end up in all sorts of trouble from now on...