Chapter 12 – 12 ⥤ That Bill is a Little…

Aizen surveyed the scene, uncertain of what exactly had transpired with Akira. However, one thing was clear: if he didn’t soon return from his sacrificial state, the entire Shin’ō Academy men’s dormitory would be uprooted.

A heavy heartbeat, like rumbling thunder, synchronized with the earth’s pulse. Fierce winds howled, walls trembled and crumbled — it was as if the Earth itself was turning over.

Heavy Reiatsu erupted layer by layer, reminiscent of magma bursting from the earth’s crust. Endless waves of heat rolled within the hurricane, engulfing everything around.

Within seconds, Akira’s room had been completely destroyed, leaving only a few intact wooden boards. The destructive force showed no signs of stopping, expanding like a hurricane to envelop the entire men’s dormitory area.

The violent commotion quickly drew the attention of students and teachers. Shinigami stationed at the Shin’ō Academy arrived immediately, all staring in shock at the student standing at the hurricane’s center.

Despite their limited understanding, they attempted to approach Akira, trying to awaken the dazed young man.

As they crossed the shattered floor, another extremely heavy Reiatsu suddenly bore down on them.

Boom—

The thick Reiatsu crashed down, causing the earth to tremble under its unbearable weight. With each attempt to approach, the resistance grew more enormous, as if the air itself had become increasingly viscous.

“What on earth is happening to this kid?” One Shinigami gritted out, “Such immense Reiatsu — even a Lieutenant might not match it, right?”

“Damn it, we can’t get close. Let’s evacuate the nearby students before any casualties occur…”

The stationed Shinigami suddenly realized that when they moved away from Akira, the pressure on their bodies abruptly lightened, as if it had never existed. On edge, they didn’t think too deeply and pinned all the anomalies and problems on this strange student.

After all, the culprit responsible for the current scene was standing right there. Taking on a bit more blame seemed only natural.

From the shadows, Aizen observed the squad members’ departure, his face a mask of calm indifference. His earlier intervention served a single purpose: to prevent these impulsive individuals from meddling with Akira. Nothing more.

His penetrating gaze returned to the hurricane’s epicenter, eyes brimming with intrigue.

‘Communicating with Asauchi through a sacrifice ritual, imprinting the soul’s essence, forging the nascent Zanpakutō — your approach is unparalleled… Fascinating.’

Aizen realized, with sudden clarity, that his initial greeting at enrollment had not been misplaced after all.

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In the vast, empty world, Akira found himself staring blankly at his surroundings.

“Is this my Zanpakutō’s inner world?”

Drawing from his understanding of Zanpakutō and his experience watching anime in his previous life, he expected someone resembling him to appear. This doppelgänger would claim to be his Zanpakutō and ramble about kings and steeds, ultimately explaining their difference was instinct.

So Akira waited, anticipating the arrival of this character.

After several minutes of foolishly squatting in place, he realized the danger of relying too heavily on past experiences.

“Looks like the Zanpakutō isn’t coming.” He muttered, standing up and scanning his surroundings, “Are other people’s Zanpakutō inner worlds as abstract as mine?”

As his gaze wandered, a familiar scene came into view — a place he had called home for several years. Memories flooded back: being beaten bloody over a bit of water, fighting vicious wild dogs for a rotten fried fish.

This was the 76th District of East Rukongai, Sakahone.

Rukongai comprised four main sections — East, South, West, and North — each divided into 80 districts, totaling 320. As the district numbers increased, so did the harshness of the environment. The 80th district was often barren and famine-stricken, with souls battling for survival. Sakahone, ranked just before it, was scarcely better.

Akira had struggled there for a long time before reaching his turning point. He remembered it vividly.

That day, Nanao’s smile was as beautiful as a flower.

Walking slowly along the familiar path, his eyes fell upon a solemn and magnificent shrine. Quickening his pace to confirm his suspicions, he entered.

Inside, instead of the familiar statue of the One-Eyed Great Deity, he encountered a figure both strange and familiar — a statue that looked exactly like him.

“I’ve been enshrined as a deity?” He gasped, bewildered. Even with his intelligence, he struggled to comprehend the scene before him.

Could it be that when he communicated with Asauchi through sacrificial methods, the essence of his Zanpakutō had already changed?

As Akira tried to make sense of the situation and reached out to touch the statue, the entire world began to collapse.

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With a moment of dizziness, Akira returned to the Shin’ō Academy.

His eyes met a pair filled with countless bloodshot veins. He instinctively stepped back, suddenly realizing that below those eyes was an extremely haggard and pale face.

“T-Teacher Uruoi?”

“Ah, you’re still alive. That’s great.” Uruoi said expressionlessly, his words as lifeless as a dried-up corpse, “Now it’s time to calculate the bill.”

Akira’s heart skipped a beat.

“The entire men’s dormitory was shattered by the commotion you caused. Not counting the damaged land, just the buildings alone amount to a loss of ₭389,654. Considering you’re a student, I’ll round off the small change. Let’s make it ₭390,000.”

“₭390,000?! You might as well kill me!” Akira’s eyes widened in disbelief, “And rounding up? You old fox, were you a swindler in your past life?!”

Uruoi understood his meaning, but this kid had tormented him to the point of physical and mental collapse recently. He had no desire to explain further.

“The loss is what it is. If you have any questions, you can discuss it with the headmaster.” He sighed, “Also, let me tell you one more thing. The headmaster is temporarily away on a mission, so the Captain-Commander is taking over the position for now. After all, he founded the Shin’ō Academy. He wouldn’t be at ease if just anyone was put in charge of managing it. So, that’s all I have to say. You’d better take care of yourself.”

Uruoi sighed long and deep once again, his figure hunched as he walked away.

Akira took a deep breath, his gaze falling on a certain shadow in the ruins. The person hiding in the shadows felt their heart skip a beat.

However, before they could react, a familiar wail echoed throughout the ruins.

“Sōsuke, save me—”

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep