Bleach: The Strongest Shinigami

"Lord Kisaragi, I can only accompany you this far."

In front of the Shin'ō Academy, a young woman dressed in a white kimono and scarlet hakama was bidding farewell to a reluctant young man.

"From here on, you'll have to walk your own path." The young woman's smile was radiant, seemingly looking forward to the days ahead.

"Well, well, Nanao, those words are quite heartless." The young man scoffed, "After all, I am your head priest!"

"Yes, yes, Head Priest." Nanao Ise coaxed gently, "During your time at the Academy, please — pretty please — don't cause any trouble. There are many students from upper-class noble families, even from the Five Great Noble Houses. If you were to offend them, given our status, we might quickly find ourselves on the execution grounds!"

For once, the young man didn't contradict the young woman. Instead, he nodded lightly and replied with a smile, "I understand, Nanao."

This reaction momentarily stunned her, but she soon smiled, waved goodbye, and left the vicinity of the Academy.

Today was entrance day for Shin'ō Academy, and many young men like him were present, including some dressed in luxurious noble attire.

This is the Soul Society, the world of the Shinigami.

His name is Akira Kisaragi, the head priest of the Sakahone Shrine in the Rukongai district, also known as the Kannushi.

He couldn't quite remember how long it had been since he crossed over to this world. The initial period of struggle for food ended when he joined the shrine. Then, leveraging his understanding and familiarity with the role of a spiritual medium, he climbed step by step to the top of the shrine, becoming the Head Priest.

Although the Sakahone Shrine consisted of only him and Nanao, this didn't diminish his status in Rukongai. As the sole Head Priest for several nearby districts, Akira wielded considerable authority.

He personally handled rituals, exorcisms, and prayers, with Nanao as his assistant. However, in certain special situations — such as encounters with villains, rebels, unrest, or even Hollows infiltrating Rukongai — she had to take the lead.

Akira, after all, lacked systematic training and had no combat experience. Even with his innate talent, he couldn't translate it into sufficient fighting power.

To address this vulnerability, Nanao, after careful deliberation, decided to send him to the Academy for training. Though this might cause the Sakahone Shrine to lose some prestige, she prioritized the future of both the shrine and its head priest.

Akira, however, harbored no grand ambitions, nor did he wish to enter the troublesome vortex of the Seireitei. His sole desire was to protect his small domain.

Admittedly, this desire seemed quite luxurious in such a dangerous world. Yet, he believed he still had a glimmer of hope.

For a year ago, his cheat code had already arrived.

〈 Check-in System 〉

As the name suggests, one only needs to check-in to continuously grow stronger, requiring less effort compared to the self-discipline of traditional training.

However, when Akira delved deeper into understanding this cheat code, he discovered it was a complete disappointment.

Daily, monthly, and yearly check-ins — the current three types of check-ins could only be described as progressively worse.

On the first day of check-in, he received a high-quality broom that swept the floor smoothly, clean and efficient. The second day's reward was two stone lanterns, perfect for placing at the shrine's entrance, emphasizing "upright illumination".

The third day's check-in reward was a set of high-quality miko attire, which he gave to Nanao, significantly increasing the young woman's favor. This one was marginally useful.

After that, the check-in rewards were mostly miscellaneous junk. Occasionally, he would encounter items that could improve his life, but useful items were few and far between.

These included, but weren't limited to, Genryūsai's secret recipe for baked sweet potatoes, high-quality konpeitō, sweet dried persimmons, and bound volumes of "Seireitei Communication".

This situation persisted until the first monthly check-in.

〈 First Monthly Check-in Successful! 〉

〈 Obtained Exclusive Trait: Reishi Affinity! 〉

〈 Reishi Affinity: Reishi sees you as a friend, highly compatible with you, doubling your Reiryoku (Spiritual Power) training speed! 〉

Benefiting from this new trait, Akira began to train in earnest. Although he still lagged behind the true prodigies, he stood out among ordinary civilians.

Through his diligent efforts and the continuous rewards from check-ins, Akira's status panel had reached a relatively "luxurious" level by the eve of his Academy entrance.

〈 Name: Akira Kisaragi 〉

〈 Identity: Sakahone Shrine Head Priest, Rukongai Commoner, Shin'ō Academy First-Year Student 〉

〈 Reiatsu: Level 10 〉

〈 Zanjutsu: Level 10 〉

〈 Hakuda: Level 10 〉

〈 Hohō: Level 10 〉

〈 Kidō: Level 10 〉

〈 Exclusive Trait: Reishi Affinity 〉

This simple yet comprehensive status panel clearly indicated his current strength.

Based on his calculations and deductions, Akira's current power level was equivalent to that of a standard Shinigami in any Division of the Gotei 13.

Despite the passage of time blurring his memory of the Bleach world's details, he knew that a squad member-level existence barely qualified as cannon fodder. Moreover, his current strength might not even match Nanao's.

Nevertheless, this level was more than sufficient to secure his entry into the Academy — and even land him a spot in the elite class. One could only attribute this success to his Reishi Affinity trait.

As Nanao's silhouette faded into the distance, Akira set aside his jumbled thoughts and fixed his gaze upon the Academy's grand and imposing entrance.

〈 Location Check-in: Shin'ō Academy! 〉

〈 Obtained Exclusive Trait: Danger Instinct! 〉

〈 Danger Instinct: You have an innate, extraordinary sensitivity to danger, especially when facing life-threatening crises 〉

The sudden acquisition of this trait caused his senses to heighten dramatically, sharpening his perception of the world around him.

Lurking dangers made his hair stand on end, and his entire being tensed. His weakness made him acutely aware of potential threats, as if the world itself harbored malice towards him.

A gentle voice broke through his unease from behind.

"Excuse me, are you also a new student at the Academy?"

Akira turned to see a young man wearing the same blue and white academy uniform. The stranger had a warm, sunshine-like smile, short brown hair with a slight curl, brown eyes, and a somewhat thin frame that gave an impression of frailty.

"Yes, I'm Akira Kisaragi."

Upon hearing his introduction, the gentle and refined young man's lips curved slightly upward as he spoke softly.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Sōsuke, Sōsuke Aizen..."

⤫⤬⤫

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T/N: Some explanations of terms to make it easier for everyone to understand. I will be using the original terms and will always provide explanations if necessary. (◕‿◕)

Reishi — Spirit Particles

Reiryoku — Spiritual Power

Reiatsu — Spiritual Pressure

Zanjutsu — Zanpakutō Oriented Swordsmanship

Hakuda — Shinigami Hand-to-Hand Combat

Hohō — Step Method or Movement Technique

Kidō — Demon/Spirit Way, Spell Technique; Hadō (Path of Destruction) for direct attacks, Bakudō (Binding Spell) for battle support, and Kaidō (Healing Spiritual Arts) for Healing Spells

Shin'ō Academy — Spiritual Arts Academy

Five Noble Families — It's already noticeable that the events of this story take place many years before the original Bleach and Ichigo timeline. At this time, the Shiba family was still in power.