Having mastered Shunpo, Kaiser was honestly quite pleased.
He didn't need to study Zanjutsu, Hakuda was just icing on the cake for him, and Kidō came to him with ease. For these three core combat arts, Kaiser basically didn't need to spend much thought—just a bit of time on Kidō was enough. Zanjutsu and Hakuda required almost no effort at all.
But Shunpo—that was the one technique that would noticeably enhance his overall combat ability.
After all, whether it was the three Sacred Gears or the two Orga Lux weapons, using them required close-range combat.
And a high-speed movement technique like Shunpo obviously provided tremendous support in close-quarters battles. The more proficient, the better.
Once he became a Shinigami, fighting with a Zanpakutō would become the norm, so mastering Shunpo was absolutely necessary.
As long as your speed was high enough, you could gain an overwhelming advantage in battle.
Speed gave you the edge when you had the upper hand, and the ability to escape when you didn't. It basically handed you complete control over the flow of a fight.
If you were fast enough to completely outpace your opponent—defeating them in an instant was hardly difficult.
With that in mind, Kaiser had already decided to make Shunpo his primary training focus moving forward.
After all, it wasn't like he had anything else that demanded his full attention, right?
"Right now, Renji Abarai is still a newly enrolled student at Shin'ō Academy. That means the actual events of the original story are still decades away."
"After entering a fantasy world, you can only return to the Fantasy Library once you've reached a major timeline milestone within that world."
"If nothing goes wrong, that key moment should be sometime after the main plot officially begins."
In other words, for this life experience, Kaiser would very likely have to remain in this world for several decades.
Decades...
He hadn't even lived for thirty years in total up until now.
He might be stuck in this world for a period longer than his entire life so far. How could he not find something meaningful to do?
"The Soul Society is also quite backward. Even with the existence of the Shinigami Research and Development Institute, technological development is basically nonexistent."
"No phones, no computers, no internet—barely even any televisions. There's practically nothing in terms of entertainment."
"To spend decades here, I really do need to find something to keep myself occupied."
Shin'ō Academy had a six-year curriculum. Even if he spent the full six years here, he'd still have several decades left to kill.
"Alright then. My primary focus will be Shunpo. Secondary focus will be Kidō. As for Hakuda... I'll go easy on that one."
Kaiser finished his mental plan.
"Shup!"
The next second, Kaiser activated Shunpo. His figure vanished, reappearing atop a building within Shin'ō Academy like he had teleported.
"Shup!" "Shup!" "Shup!"...
With each use of Shunpo, Kaiser's entire body seemed to shift instantaneously, flashing forward.
"Hm?"
Suddenly, Kaiser halted his steps, landing in a courtyard.
"What's going on?"
He was surprised to find some commotion within Shin'ō Academy.
One student after another emerged from various corners and places, looking excited. They were running in the same direction, noisily chattering amongst themselves, saying who-knows-what.
"Let's go see."
Instead of using Shunpo again, Kaiser followed in the direction those students were heading, strolling forward.
Before long, Kaiser arrived at the main gate of Shin'ō Academy.
There was already a massive gathering of students—not just new first-years, but students from the other five grade levels as well.
They were whispering to each other, huddled in groups before the gate. The crowd grew larger and larger, and the atmosphere became increasingly lively and bustling.
"What exactly is going on?"
Kaiser muttered to himself—then spotted a familiar face in the crowd.
That bright red hair stood out even among the masses—it was impossible not to notice.
So Kaiser walked directly over.
"Hey, Abarai."
He patted the other boy on the shoulder, prompting him to turn around.
"Who—?"
Renji Abarai had been in the middle of chatting with someone and seemed a little annoyed at being interrupted. He turned around, then froze.
"It's you?"
"A-Ah, Kaiser-kun!?"
The one who exclaimed in surprise wasn't Renji Abarai, of course.
It was the person Renji had just been talking with.
A boy and girl, standing side by side.
The boy had yellow hair, with the left side grown long enough to cover one eye. His visible right eye was blue. His entire presence gave off a gloomy, melancholic aura.
The girl was petite, with big brown eyes and a lovely, delicate face—she looked rather frail.
As soon as the two saw Kaiser, they both displayed a mix of shock and tension. It was as if a celebrity had suddenly appeared on the street and spoken to them—completely unexpected.
"You two are... Izuru Kira and Momo Hinamori, right?"
Only then did Kaiser realize that the two people standing beside Renji were also familiar faces.
Izuru Kira and Momo Hinamori—like him and Renji Abarai, they were outstanding first-year students who had been selected for Class One at the beginning of the term.
In other words, these two were also his classmates.
Back during the first Kidō class, those two familiar-looking students—one blond-haired boy, one black-haired girl—they had been these two.
Moreover, like Renji Abarai, they were destined to join the Gotei 13 and become Lieutenants in the future.
"You were chatting?" Kaiser looked at the three of them and said, "Sorry, I didn't notice. Hope I didn't interrupt."
Hearing that, Izuru Kira and Momo Hinamori seemed a little overwhelmed.
"No, not at all! We were just casually talking."
"Y-Yeah! It wasn't anything that couldn't be interrupted!"
The two of them spoke to Kaiser with exaggerated politeness—perhaps even a bit of awe. Their behavior was so tense, they seemed to be walking on eggshells.
No helping it. The one standing before them was the famed prodigy—the student with the highest Spiritual Pressure in the entire history of Shin'ō Academy, believed to be a future Captain-level powerhouse, someone destined to shoulder the future of the Soul Society.
Even though they were classmates, neither of them had ever spoken with Kaiser before—not even been this close to him. And now he suddenly approached them of his own accord. Naturally, they were nervous.
"What're you guys so nervous for?" Kaiser laughed. "Relax, I'm just a new student like you. I'm from Rukongai too—not one of those Seireitei nobles. No need to be so tense."
"Yeah, Kira, Hinamori—why are you so nervous?" Renji Abarai finally snapped out of it and acted more normally, his tone a bit brash. "It's not like the guy's got three arms or two heads—why're you freaking out?"
Hearing that, Izuru Kira and Momo Hinamori let out slightly embarrassed laughs.
They might say that, but this was the most talked-about figure in the entire school—even the instructors wouldn't dare scold him. They were always smiling and accommodating around him. Even the headmaster had checked on him several times in public. How could they not be nervous?
Only Renji Abarai, who had repeatedly challenged Kaiser and repeatedly lost during Kendō class, could treat him with such casualness.
"Anyway." Kaiser saw that the two weren't responding further, so he stopped pressing and returned to the main topic. "So what's going on here? Why is it so crowded?"
He pointed to the ever-growing crowd ahead. People were still arriving from all directions, joining the assembly.
Unfortunately, he'd asked the wrong people.
"How would I know? I just got here too!"
Renji Abarai answered.
"Me too. Just arrived," Izuru Kira added.
Only Momo Hinamori seemed to have been here for a while already. When she saw Kaiser look her way, she quickly said, "I asked someone already—they said a Captain from the Gotei 13 is coming to inspect Shin'ō Academy!"
As soon as she said this, Kaiser narrowed his eyes.
"A Captain from the Gotei 13... here to inspect?"
In his mind, memories of the original storyline flashed by—and so did the image of a certain individual.
"————"
In that instant, the entire crowd suddenly went silent.
Renji Abarai, Izuru Kira, and Momo Hinamori all turned to look toward the academy gates, simultaneously holding their breath.
Kaiser lifted his gaze and looked over.
"Tock..."
A faint footstep echoed—crisp and clear in the sudden stillness.
Two Shinigami entered from outside Shin'ō Academy, stepping into everyone's field of vision.
One walked in front, the other followed from behind at a slight distance, trailing respectfully.
The man in front had short brown hair, matching brown eyes, a gentle appearance and warm, sunlit eyes. A soft smile rested on his lips, and he wore black-rimmed glasses. Draped over his shoulders was a white Haori with the number "5" stitched on the back.
The one behind had short pale purple hair and thin, nearly closed eyes that made his pupils invisible. A bizarre smile stretched across his face. He was tall and thin, with sunken facial features and a skeletal frame. His left arm bore the Lieutenant's Badge of Division 5.
The moment these two appeared, they instantly dominated the atmosphere and drew the attention of every eye as they walked forward calmly under everyone's gaze.
Seeing them, Kaiser's narrowed eyes gleamed with sharp brilliance.
He had felt it almost immediately.
Felt a pressure that no one else around him could quite detect.
That was... Reiatsu!