As a transmigrator, Chigusa Rin naturally possessed a cheat of his own.
Whether one called it a system, an innate talent, a golden finger, or even a portable old master, the name hardly mattered.
In the end, it was simply an ability that greatly increased his chances of surviving in this world.
His unique gift was the ability to perceive the pulse of life itself.
Perhaps because he had died surrounded by the plants he painstakingly cultivated in his previous life, his affinity for the life force of vegetation was exceptionally profound.
That ability became his greatest source of support during the difficult days after arriving in Soul Society and being adopted.
Thinking of his parents in this life, a trace of sorrow quietly flashed across Chigusa Rin’s eyes.
Soul Society often felt less like a permanent home and more like a place where souls paused along the endless cycle of reincarnation.
Souls entered Soul Society after death, lived out their existence, and eventually returned to the Human World through the cycle of rebirth.
Those blessed with spiritual power, however, could become Shinigami and remain in Soul Society for far longer than ordinary souls.
Because of this cycle, aside from the noble families whose bloodlines were preserved across generations, almost no ordinary souls living in Rukongai were able to conceive children naturally.
Most families were formed by adopting wandering souls instead.
In that regard, Chigusa considered himself extremely fortunate.
Not long after arriving in Soul Society, he was adopted by a kind-hearted couple.
They lived in one of the central districts of Rukongai, far from the lawless outer districts such as Zaraki, yet also distant from the areas surrounding Seireitei where Shinigami frequently came and went.
The couple operated a medicinal herb shop, allowing them to enjoy a relatively comfortable life compared to most residents of Rukongai.
Their livelihood revolved around purchasing seeds, cultivating medicinal herbs, and selling the mature plants.
Herbs capable of treating external injuries were especially popular, providing the family with a stable income.
Another unique aspect of Soul Society was that ordinary souls without spiritual power did not require food to survive.
By absorbing Reishi from the atmosphere, they could continue living indefinitely.
Those possessing spiritual power were different.
They still needed to eat.
Even before Chigusa could properly speak after his transmigration, he constantly cried for food, quickly allowing his adoptive parents to realize that he possessed spiritual power.
Fortunately, the couple had accumulated decent savings.
Otherwise, they might never have been able to support another child with spiritual power, since food was considered a relatively precious commodity in Rukongai.
Fortunately, after Chigusa discovered his own unique ability, such concerns gradually disappeared.
He could clearly perceive life force.
The vitality of ordinary souls resembled small oil lamps flickering gently in the darkness.
The medicinal herbs growing in the fields, however, radiated an entirely different brilliance within his perception, filling him with genuine joy whenever he approached them.
After learning about his adoptive parents’ work, Chigusa voluntarily took over much of the cultivation.
Initially, the couple worried that he was too young.
Those concerns soon vanished.
Under Chigusa’s careful care, both the yield and quality of their medicinal herbs increased dramatically, astonishing the couple and making them realize that they had unknowingly adopted an extraordinary child.
Life should have continued peacefully like that.
In fact, Chigusa only discovered that he had transmigrated into the world of Bleach after hearing others casually mention the Shinigami.
Even after realizing the truth, he remained surprisingly calm.
At the time, he simply regarded becoming a Shinigami as choosing a future profession.
Nothing more.
Unfortunately, peaceful lives do not always receive peaceful endings.
Around the time his body reached the equivalent of fifteen years of age, his adoptive parents encouraged him to participate in the entrance examination for Shin’ō Academy.
According to them, if he became a Shinigami, the family could relocate to a better district and receive more land for cultivating medicinal herbs.
Chigusa had little interest in moving somewhere nicer.
The prospect of obtaining more farmland, however, tempted him greatly.
Yet before he even had the chance to inquire about the academy’s entrance examination, tragedy struck.
Several Hollows invaded their district.
Although Hollow attacks were not unheard of, they normally occurred in the more dangerous outer districts like Zaraki.
Incidents in peaceful central districts were exceedingly rare.
Even worse, when the attack began, his family happened to be working in an open herb field without any shelter nearby.
His adoptive parents were devoured one after another while desperately protecting him.
As he fled beneath their protection, Chigusa helplessly sensed the vibrant life force within them disappear in an instant.
That feeling of life being abruptly extinguished left an unforgettable scar upon his heart.
Unfortunately, a Hollow was far faster than an ordinary soul.
The monster caught him effortlessly within its massive hand before letting out a greedy laugh.
“What a delicious little snack.”
Its enormous jaws slowly opened as foul saliva dripped toward him.
Just as Chigusa believed he was about to die for the second time, several figures clad in black Shihakushō suddenly appeared.
Drawing their Zanpakutō, they chanted Kidō incantations while unleashing brilliant spiritual techniques that instantly illuminated the battlefield.
For a brief moment, Chigusa stood completely frozen.
The dazzling radiance of Kidō filled his vision.
Even more astonishing, the life force possessed by those Shinigami was hundreds of times greater than that of ordinary souls.
The overwhelming vitality flowing from their bodies and the magnificence of their Kidō became deeply engraved within his memory.
Only afterward did Chigusa truly understand.
Those people were Shinigami.
They were fundamentally different from ordinary souls.
It was only then that he realized how greatly he had misunderstood the true nature of the Gotei Thirteen.
Soon afterward, he entered Shin’ō Academy and participated in its entrance examination.
The good news was that he truly possessed spiritual power.
The bad news was that his Spiritual Pressure measured only Level Twelve.
At the time, he knew nothing about what that number represented.
Now, after five years at Shin’ō Academy, he understood perfectly.
A Level Twelve Spiritual Pressure meant his potential would likely peak at the level of an ordinary middle-ranking seated officer within the Gotei Thirteen.
After recalling more details about Bleach from his previous life, that realization felt almost like the heavens collapsing.
The power hierarchy in this world became absurdly exaggerated in its later stages.
Fortunately, Spiritual Pressure was not entirely fixed.
For Chigusa, every time he successfully cultivated outstanding medicinal herbs or spiritual plants, the abundant life force they accumulated would nourish him in return, gradually strengthening his own Spiritual Pressure.
During his five years at Shin’ō Academy, he had steadily raised his Spiritual Pressure from Level Twelve to Level Nine.
Naturally, he had never revealed this secret to anyone.
Not even Ise Nanao.
The academy’s records were never updated with absolute precision anyway.
Unless someone entered as an astonishing genius, very few instructors paid much attention to a student’s Spiritual Pressure after enrollment.
Ordinary students could improve through years of training, albeit at a painfully slow pace.
Even so, the foundation established at birth largely determined one’s ultimate ceiling.
Geniuses were different from the very beginning.
Nanao was one of those geniuses.
She had entered Shin’ō Academy with Level Nine Spiritual Pressure and had already reached Level Eight through her own efforts.
Realizing that years of painstaking cultivation had only allowed him to catch up to someone else’s starting point was certainly not a pleasant feeling.
Fortunately, Chigusa had never been the type to compare himself with others.
He preferred walking at his own pace.
Suppressing the grief stirred by memories of his adoptive parents, he quietly made his way toward one of Shin’ō Academy’s secluded corners.
The academy occupied an enormous area, filled with quiet places that few students ever visited.
There, Chigusa had secretly cultivated a small flower garden.
Most of the seeds had been purchased by Nanao at his request.
The excuse was simple enough.
Since he intended to join the Fourth Division after graduation, studying medicinal plants and pharmacology in advance seemed perfectly reasonable.
Speaking of that, Nanao had originally wanted to learn both medical treatment and Kaidō alongside him.
Unfortunately, talent could not be forced.
Although she could perform several basic Kaidō techniques, their effectiveness was mediocre compared to Chigusa’s remarkable aptitude.
As for pharmacology, she could do little more than memorize textbooks by heart.
In the end, it was Chigusa who persuaded her to abandon those subjects and focus instead on the talents in which she truly excelled.
Back then, it had taken him quite a long time to finally convince her.