Itachi Rebirth: A Shinigami Tale

The crowd was silent as they watched Eiji's body fall to the ground. The announcer had no words as he waited for Eiji to possibly stand back up and continue fighting.

'So it takes more to push you to your limit and use those eyes again…' Aizen's grin slowly vanishes as he is disappointed he did not get to see Itachi use his eye technique.

"His zanpakuto reverted back to its sealed state. This match is over." Byakuya comments.

The crowd and announcer spend a few more moments waiting for a possible response from Eiji. The silence is broken by the announcer.

"I DON'T BELIEVE. I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! SIXTH YEAR HIDEKI EIJI, WHO HAD HIS SHIKAI WAS TAKEN DOWN BY UCHIHA ITACHI! LADIES AND GENTLEMAN! THE WINNER OF THE FIRST SHINO ACADEMY TOURNAMENT IS FIRST YEAR UCHIHA ITACHI!"

"I cant believe there are two such talents in the academy. One who has already awakened his Shikai this early, and another who beat him regardless." Aizen says with a smile.

"Indeed" Even the silent Byakuya spoke up. It was indeed rare to find such a talent at the academy.

"He has such an advanced proficiency in Kido, Hakuda and Hiho." Soi Fon commented.

'I should definitely recruit this student early. I doubt there is much the academy can teach him at this point.' She thought to herself before turning to the headmaster.

The audience cheers as Itachi stands in the middle of the arena looking around. He was a bit uncomfortable with the situation as he stood there. A couple of medical shinigami run into the ring and pick up Eiji to take him away.

After waiting for the cheering to die down, the headmaster gets up from his seat. He jumps down into the arena and walks to Itachi with a medal in his hand. He puts the medal on Itachi.

"Congratulations Uchiha. Meet me in my office after you have your injuries checked." The headmaster says to Itachi.

"Thank you headmaster, I will." Itachi replies as the headmaster leaves the arena. He was a bit surprised. 'I wonder what the headmaster has in mind.' he thought to himself before leaving with some of the medic.

He makes his way over to the infirmary. He notices Itsuki and Taro were both there and sitting up. Daiyu and Kenta were both at Taro's side. They watched as Itachi entered. They looked at him with some respect in their eyes. This first year student had not only won the tournament, but he had defeated a student who had already awakened his Zanpakuto. They had seen the sixth-year get carried in earlier. He was still unconscious.

Itachi sat down and allowed the medic to heal his arm with kido. "The worst injuries are to your arms. I was able to heal most of the burns and stop the bleeding. But there is still a slight fracture in your arm. However, it's nothing one or two days of rest wouldnt recover. Just wear this temporary sling for today.

Itachi wore the sling and looked at his fully bandaged arm. 'Shikai, what a powerful weapon. Not only did it break my asauchi, it managed to injure my arm to this extent even after I blocked the attack using bakudo. I should be more careful. However, I managed to overcome it without using doujutsu…. It seems I have to elevate my strength further.

"Alright that should be everything. Take care for a few days, alright?" The medic said to Itachi as he packed up his supplies.

"Thank you very much. By the way, how is Eiji?" Itachi asked.

"He should wake up very soon. He is quite the sturdy fellow. He only suffered some mild injuries on his body with the biggest being where you kicked him to knock him out. Anyway, take care of yourself and congratulations on winning." The medic replied before leaving.

Taro and Itsuki made their way towards Itachi who was sitting down.

"Itachi, you did it!!!" Itsuki congratulated him.

"Congratulations, Itachi" Taro followed up. Daiyu and Kenta also congratulated him and they began their conversation.

"Itachi, your skills should definitely allow you to graduate early. You should take this opportunity and speak to the headmaster about it." Taro suggested.

"Really, you can graduate while still in your first year?" Itsuki questioned.

"Yeah, don't you remember Ounabara talking about it, although it's incredibly rare, it's possible to graduate while still in your first year. Captain Ichimaru of the third division graduated in his first year. There was also Hitsugaya, Toushiro who joined the 10th squad. He also graduated in a single year."

"Amazing, so Itachi will be able to graduate early." Itsuki replied.

"That's right. It is difficult but definitely possible. My family on the other hand will most likely pull me out by next year, based on my growth". Taro said with slight excitement.

"What?! You can do that?" Itsuki questioned.

"The great noble families have a lot of influence, so they are able to do it." Taro replied. Eiji woke up as the group continued their conversation. Itachi notices Eiji waking up and walks over. Eiji slowly gets up and looks at Itachi.

"Uchiha, good fight. I can't believe I lost despite awakening my Zanpakuto." Eiji said, slightly ashamed. He worked hard to awaken his zanpakuto yet he still lost to a first year.

"How are your injuries?" Itachi inquired.

"Just superficial. I should be fine by tomorrow. How about yourself." Eiji said, looking towards Itachi's right arm. "Sorry, I didn't mean to be so heavy handed, but you were really strong and I had to go all out." Eiji apologizes.

"It's alright. It should heal soon" Itachi replies.

"Wow, I can't believe you managed to awaken your Zanpakuto so early. I thought it generally takes years." Taro Interrupted.

"Well, I just got lucky" Eiji smiled and replied.

"Wow, I wish I had your luck then" Taro Snided.

"Then are you going to be graduating this year as well?" Itsuki asked.

"Yes, I spent six years properly learning all the fundamentals, It shouldn't take anyone longer than 6 to be able to graduate. Besides I don't have anything left to learn. It's time to join the Gotei 13." Eiji said with an expectant look in his eye.

"Did you have a specific squad in mind?" Taro asked.

"Well, I am hoping to join the 10th squad. But normally it's difficult to choose your squad."

"Well with your talent, I am sure you would be able to choose your own squad. News of your ability to awaken your zanpakuto will have already spread. So I am sure that you will be eyed by all the squads, so your choice will be taken into account." Taro replied. As a member of the noble families, he knew more about the inner workings of the Gotei 13 and the academy's interaction.

"Oh, then I hope I get accepted". Eiji said.

Taro nodded but didn't say anything further. He knew if Eiji requested to join squad 10, they would definitely accept him.

Itachi was also a bit curious, he had some information about the squads, but he hadn't made a concrete decision on which squad to join. 'So it looks like if you don't show enough skill or potential to stand out, you would be placed in a random squad.'

Itachi asked Taro a few more questions before he bid his farewells and left the infirmary. The others tried to persuade Itachi to rest a bit more, but were unsuccessful in doing so. He had already been treated and he still had to meet with the headmaster.

'In terms of joining a squad, the 2nd division works best with my previous experience. But for whichever one I join, I need to avoid the fifth division.'. Itachi thought to himself as he made his way over.

Itachi arrives at the headmaster's office and just as he is about to knock on the door, a voice calls out to him from inside.

"Come in Uchiha." It was the voice of Ounabara. Itachi walks in and closes the door behind him. He sees the headmaster and Ounabara in the room. To Itachi's surprise, Captain Soi Fon was also in the room. The headmaster signals for Itachi to take a seat.

"Itachi, how is your arm?" The headmaster asked first as Itachi sat down.

"I was told it would be healed fully in a few days." Itachi replied.

"Itachi, Ounabara has told me a lot about you and your accomplishments in class. You scored perfectly on all of your tests and learned how to use kido as soon as it was demonstrated. I was also told about the field exercise incident from Captain Aizen. You took down an incredibly strong hollow while saving a barrier corpsman and classmates from it.

I feel as though there isn't anything the academy would be able to teach you. It would only be an hindrance to your growth if you were to remain here. I believe with someone of your talent the best experience would be to join a squad and polish your skills further."

The headmaster reaches to a drawer in his desk and pulls out a paper. He hands the paper to Itachi. Itachi looks at the paper and reads the words on it. 'The Shino Academy certifies that Uchiha Itachi has successfully completed the Shinigami Training Course and is herewith awarded this certificate of training.'

Itachi was a bit surprised. "This...?"

"Captain Soi suggested that there is no longer any need for delay. It's best for you to graduate as early as possible."

Soi Fon nodded.

"Congratulations, you deserved it." Ounabara adds in.

"Thank you sensei." Itachi replies back. He was still slightly surprised that the captain of the second squad would assist in his early graduation. 'If I recall, the 2nd Division is responsible for assassinations, policing, scouting, and message couriers.'

"One more thing." The headmaster says as he reaches under his desk and takes out a neatly folded black robe.

"Since you're no longer a student, you'll be given this standard shinigami shihakusho." The headmaster hands Itachi the robe.

"I have nothing left for you Uchiha. I'll hand you off to Captain Soi Fon now." The headmaster gestures to Soi Fon who was standing in the corner of the room watching.

Soi Fon steps up and looks at Itachi with a cold gaze. Itachi stands up from his seat and meets her gaze.

"Uchiha Itachi. Now that you're officially a shinigami, how would you like to join the second division as part of the executive militia?