[Ding. Host has arrived at 'Shino Academy.' Achievement: Spirit King System commencing activation...]
The abrupt chime in Ren's mind, so distinct from the nightly reminder, made him stumble mid-step. His thoughts ground to a halt, flooded with confusion.
What in the…?
The glitched system is activating?
Hold on. When did I arrive at the Shino Academy? Is this some new, creative malfunction?
As Ren grappled with the sheer improbability of it, the system's voice, now imbued with a new sense of purpose, resonated again.
[Ding. Achievement: Spirit King System activated successfully.]
[As the Host, the future sovereign who will govern the Three Realms, your foundational stage is of paramount importance. The Shino Academy is the premier Soul Reaper training institution of Soul Society, an indispensable cornerstone on your path to the throne.]
[Initial Mission Issued: Enroll as a First-Year Student at the Shino Academy.]
[Mission Reward: Spiritual Pressure Aptitude Enhancement (One Rank).]
…
The repeated notification and the persistent text hovering at the edge of his vision banished any notion of hallucination. This was real. The realization didn't bring elation, but a profound, heavy silence as Ren's mind whirred, trying to process the absurd logic at play.
The system isn't just glitched; its error-correction protocols are based on metaphor? Or terrible, terrible pattern recognition?
Ninja Academy… equals… Shino Academy?
Alright. Fine. So that's how we're playing this? A semantic loophole?
He had just, moments ago, formally decided to abandon all hope in the system, to view it as nothing more than a defective alarm clock. He'd resolved to carve his path in this world with knowledge and grit alone.
He hadn't expected this plot twist.
Dammit. It really is my idiotic system. The activation method is so stupid it's almost brilliant.
A part of him felt vindicated. He knew exploiting a bug was possible; he'd just been looking in the wrong places. The commonality was obvious in retrospect: both were formalized, multi-year academic institutions designed to train the next generation of superhuman combatants for their respective societies. The system had latched onto the most superficial, functional parallel. It fit. It infuriatingly, ridiculously fit.
No. Don't celebrate yet. A surge of caution cooled his rising excitement. What if this is another false positive? The system's reliability score is in the negatives. And these are two entirely separate realities with different fundamental energies. Even if the mission completes and a reward is 'distributed,' will it manifest? Will it be compatible with this body, with chakra?
He couldn't afford premature joy. Everything hinged on actually receiving the promised reward and witnessing a tangible, functional effect. The reason he mentally cursed it as the 'idiotic system' was its sheer abstraction. Ren had to be meticulously cautious.
Furthermore, the power systems were inherently different. Spiritual Pressure was the currency of Bleach; chakra was the lifeblood of the Elemental Nations. Getting a gift didn't mean he could open it; getting the reward didn't guarantee he could use it. A cruel cosmic joke would be receiving a 'Zanpakutō' that was just a mundane, if well-crafted, katana.
Caution. Extreme caution.
Ren focused inwardly on the mission text. 'Become a first-year student at the Shino Academy.' If the pattern holds, the analog here is becoming a first-year student at the Ninja Academy.
He recalled the structure: the Ninja Academy had six grades. Shino Academy had six years of study. The parallel was crude but consistent.
As he continued walking beside Shinku and a still-sulking Kurenai, Ren's attention was wholly consumed by the potential reward.
'Spiritual Pressure Aptitude Enhancement…' he mused, parsing the terms. Spiritual Pressure is the Shinigami's measure of power intensity, graded on a scale of one to twenty. Rank Three and above is Captain-level. 'Aptitude Enhancement'… that implies improving my innate potential, my talent for generating and wielding that specific energy.
The key question was: could that 'energy' translate? If it could… the possibilities made his heart beat faster. He'd have a cheat, a foundation outside the normal bounds of this world's power structure. A slow grin began to spread across his face. "Heheh…"
Kurenai, walking beside him, tilted her head. "Ren, what's so funny?"
"Ahem." Ren cleared his throat, schooling his features into an expression of grave seriousness. "Just contemplating my rightful share of someone's future pocket money. The mere thought brings me profound joy."
Kurenai stared, her expression blank before morphing into a pout. "I never agreed to that!"
"Then I suppose I could just… not attend?" Ren stated with feigned nonchalance. "Then you'd get zero pocket money. A tragic outcome."
"That's so unfair!" she huffed, but the pragmatic part of her mind engaged. "Fine! But half is too much! Only… one-third!"
Ren snapped his fingers. "Deal."
The instant, decisive agreement made Kurenai's eyes widen. She'd been outmaneuvered again! "Ahhh! Hateful Ren, you tricked me!" she cried, raising a small fist to pummel his arm.
The blows were soft, more a flutter than a strike. Ren merely smirked, nodding subtly toward the surrounding families. "People are watching, imouto."
"Mmgh!" Kurenai froze, her face flushing scarlet as she noticed the amused glances. She instantly ceased her attack, ducking behind Shinku's leg to minimize her presence. She settled for shooting Ren a glare that was meant to be fierce but landed squarely in the territory of 'adorably furious,' as if to say, Just you wait!
Ren met her gaze, his own eyes crinkling with silent, unrepentant mirth. His look clearly conveyed: One-third. Remember it.
Kurenai somehow understood the message perfectly. She gritted her teeth. How can this self-proclaimed 'older brother' be so infuriating!?
'This is good…' Shinku thought, observing their squabble with a warm heart. Since his wife's passing, Kurenai had become almost too quiet and mature. He missed her liveliness. Ren's arrival these past two months had slowly coaxed that spirited girl back to the surface. The bickering was a melody he'd missed.
The enrollment formalities were straightforward and swiftly concluded. From that moment, Ren and Kurenai Yūhi were officially first-year students of the Konoha Ninja Academy, assigned to Class 1-B as desk partners.
As Ren accepted his freshly issued student identification scroll, a new, triumphant chime echoed in his mind.
[Ding. Mission: 'Enroll as a First-Year Student' completed. Reward distributing…]
A subtle, profound shift occurred within him. It wasn't a surge of power, but a deepening, an unlocking—like a vessel expanding its capacity or a dormant sense being gently awakened. A comfortable warmth, an intangible clarity, settled into his very bones.
It works!
The confirmation sent a jolt of pure, exhilarating triumph through him. The suppressed excitement broke free, transforming his careful smile into a grin of unbridled, wild possibility.
The bug exploit was not only possible—it was successful.
This meant the precedent was set. The idiotic system's flawed logic was a tool he could wield. Future missions, no matter how Bleach-centric their wording, could potentially be completed by finding their functional equivalents in the Naruto world. He could navigate its demands, subvert its intent, and harvest the rewards.
The Achievement: Spirit King System.
In its world of origin, the title of Spirit King was the ultimate trap—a mutilated, eternal linchpin, a figurehead stripped of all agency, sealed in silent, stagnant majesty. Who in their right mind would aspire to that?
But here, in the world of shinobi and chakra, the context was erased. The dangers of that specific fate were null and void. The system was just a vessel, a broken mechanism dispensing power. His goal was no longer to avoid it, but to harness it completely.
A new, audacious ambition crystallized in Ren's mind, far more thrilling than any barbecue shop dream.
He would climb the ladder this glitched system offered. He would complete every mission, claim every reward, and amass power from a foreign paradigm.
He would, in every sense that mattered in this world, achieve the status of the Spirit King.