[Rukongai, West gate]

Even before dawn neared, most of the examinees who succeeded were already standing and waiting for the gate to open.

Gojo, still with his blindfold, was yawning quite exaggeratedly. He had wished to sleep a little more, but Toshiro had been too excited and as such he had been forced to follow him.

Thankfully, it seemed like the instructors had predicted this and didn't wait for long.

Standing in front of the giant gate that loomed in front of them all, Jidanbo slowly raised it above his head.

For the people of Rukongai, it was like the opening of a new world.

Behind the gate, stood the instructors with a smile, "Welcome, to the Seireitei."

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[Seireitei; Shin'o academy.]

The distance from the West gate to the academy had not been that long and it was pretty direct, but it had been an eye-opener for Gojo.

Even though the feeling was still in a feudal era, the difference between the Rukongai and the Seireitei was like the difference between heaven and earth.

Even the air felt cleaner and all the people were overall richer and stronger.

After getting their uniform, a kimono composed of a mix of white and blue were given to the boys and white and red for the girls, they were told that their Asauchi would only be given to them during the first class of Zanjutsu.

The instructor didn't say much about this as everything would be explained once the students joined their respective classes and just proceeded to at least give them the necessary information.

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Once all of this was done, they, as well as all the students in the school, were called to stand in the courtyard to hear the speech of the academy founder.

It was then that Gojo, who had been more or less completely bored out of his mind, focused.

On the podium, with the help of a cane, stood a hunched old man with a very long beard and large eyebrows wearing a black kimono and a white hakama with the number one on it.

"I am Yamamoto Shigekuni Genryusai Captain of the 1st division, captain commander of the Gotei 13, and founder of the Shin'o Academy. To all of you shinigami aspirants, I have one word. Welcome."

The silence fell as everyone was astonished by the living legend standing in front of them. The same went for Gojo, but for a very different reason.

'This old man is a monster.'

For the first time in a long while, Gojo felt cold sweat on his back. No other words could explain what he was seeing.

He had already seen a captain, but compared to the old man standing in front of him, Soi Fon was nothing more than a gentle candlelight, while this man was a veritable inferno.

But was he afraid?

The answer was no. It was all the opposite, he felt exhilarated.

Gojo was strong. He saw himself as the strongest. But he felt no pleasure crushing those far weaker than him.

'Hahaha, this is the best!'

Meanwhile, Yamamoto was continuing his speech, "I will be direct. I created this academy more than two thousand years ago for one simple goal. Form and train the soldiers that will fight for the Soul Society. From this moment on, you guys are soldiers and will be treated as such. As soldiers, you must keep in mind this simple precept."

Yamamoto slowly looked at all of them, his gaze only stopping for a short while on both Toshiro and Gojo. "Do not seek out beauty in battle, nor glory in death. Do not think of your life as your own, and to protect what must be protected, cut down your foe from behind if necessary."

Even as he said this calmly, his Reiatsu covered the entire field, if not the entire school. Even though this aura had no bad intention behind it, it was so heavy that no one doubted he could crush 90% of all the people present if he so wished with just his aura alone.

Gojo was one of the few who could still be standing without feeling short of breath, and he had to say that he quite appreciated those precepts.

Even though the names were different, in essence, Sorcerers and Shinigami weren't all that different. They were neither knights nor heroes. They didn't fight for honor or justice.

They had a simple goal, to exterminate the hollows(curses) and for that, nothing was too dirty.

Sadly, as one of the higher-ups of the jujutsu sorcerers community when he was alive, he knew that realities couldn't be that easy and that all organizations had their parts of darkness and politics.

But this didn't matter.

He had never fought for anyone or a cause in particular. He had never been filled with a sentiment of justice or a need to save the world like some of his students or companions.

At the end of the days, all that mattered was that he needed to be strong, for only the strong could decide their own fate and live the way they wished.

This was the truth when he was alive, and it seemed that this was also the truth in the world of souls.

Meanwhile, Yamamoto, seemingly satisfied with the heavy silence, nodded as he said, "This is all. I will not bore you with a uselessly long speech. Now, follow the instructions and join your homeroom class in order to be introduced to the curriculum you will have this year. I wish you all a good year."

With those words, he turned around and stepped down.

This was how Gojo Satoru's first day in the academy began.