"Level Six!?"
"Good grief, that red-haired kid's spiritual pressure is incredible!?"
"Why are you still calling him a red-haired kid? Aren't you afraid he'll come after you?"
"With talent like that, as long as nothing goes wrong, he's sure to become a lieutenant someday. He might even become a captain."
"I remember the current lieutenant of the 13th Division, Kaien Shiba, also had Level Six spiritual pressure when he took the entrance exam. He was a recognized prodigy."
"You can't help but envy that kind of talent."
"Shouldn't Gilgamesh be the truly impressive one? No matter how talented they are, they're still just his followers, aren't they?"
"Yeah, Gilgamesh is the one who's truly impressive. He actually managed to recognize their talent."
"Noble families probably have tools for measuring spiritual pressure. It's no surprise he could tell. He was just born into a good family, with a strong foundation. He won from the starting line."
Renji Abarai couldn't believe his spiritual pressure had reached Level Six. Ignoring the exclamations and discussion around him, he hurried over to Gilgamesh, his face alight with anticipation and excitement.
He looked just like a child who'd gotten a perfect score on an exam and rushed home hoping for a reward from his parents.
Gilgamesh smiled faintly and readily praised him. "Renji, you have excellent talent."
Then Gilgamesh turned to Rukia, who was watching expectantly, and added, "The same goes for you, Rukia. You two really are my right and left hands."
Renji and Rukia were overjoyed by Gilgamesh's praise, their faces breaking into satisfied smiles.
They were also proud that Gilgamesh considered them his right and left hands.
The spiritual pressure test continued.
Meanwhile, at the 10th Division barracks in Seireitei.
Isshin Shiba, the current captain of the 10th Division, sat at his desk, reluctantly working through a mountain of paperwork and sighing from time to time.
Nearby, the current lieutenant of the 10th Division, Rangiku Matsumoto, stood with her arms crossed, glaring at Isshin.
Whenever Isshin sighed, Rangiku would urge him on. "Captain, don't stop. You still have five stacks of paperwork to get through."
She knew her captain all too well. The moment he got a chance, he'd slack off and dump his paperwork on her.
She'd finally caught him this time, and she was determined to make Isshin finish all the work he'd been putting off.
Looking at the two mountain-sized stacks of paperwork waiting to be handled, Isshin felt like dying. He wanted to throw his head back and howl.
Suddenly, a terrifying spiritual pressure flashed and vanished.
Rangiku felt it, and her pupils contracted sharply. She murmured, "Captain-level spiritual pressure? Which captain released that?"
As she spoke, Rangiku instinctively looked toward Isshin.
The moment she did, anger flared across her face.
Isshin had disappeared, and his teasing voice drifted into her ears at just the right moment. "Rangiku-chan, I'm going to check things out. You're only a lieutenant, so don't go—it's too dangerous. Stay here and help me with my paperwork."
"Aaah! Captain Shiba, honestly!!!"
Rangiku was at her wit's end, her curvy figure trembling with frustration.
Meanwhile, at the 13th Division barracks.
Jushiro Ukitake took a sip of tea and apologized. "Kaien, I'm sorry to trouble you with handling the division's affairs again."
Kaien Shiba, the current lieutenant of the 13th Division, also took a sip of tea and waved a hand lightly. "Captain Ukitake, if you called me here just to say that, you don't need to. It's my job."
With that, Kaien rose to his feet. "If there's nothing else, I'll be going."
Ukitake parted his lips, about to say something.
But before he could speak, he felt Yoruichi Shihouin's terrifying spiritual pressure flash and vanish.
Kaien and Ukitake's expressions changed at the same time, and they turned to look toward where the spiritual pressure had appeared.
Ukitake couldn't help asking, "Is that... Shin'o Academy?"
His brows furrowed as he continued, "I remember today's the Shin'o Academy entrance exam. Could that spiritual pressure have come from one of the examinees?"
"That can't be right. The spiritual pressure only lasted an instant, but it was clearly at captain level."
Then Ukitake seemed to think of something and mused aloud, "Could it be a child of one of the Four Great Noble Clans?"
"Their children are born with extraordinary spiritual pressure, so it's possible."
"But I haven't heard of any children from the Four Great Noble Clans taking this year's Shin'o Academy entrance exam."
Kaien spoke up. "There's no point guessing from here. Shin'o Academy isn't far away. I'll go take a look."
As he spoke, Kaien used Flash Step and raced toward Shin'o Academy.
Ukitake wanted to go with him, but his illness had worsened recently, and he'd been confined to bed. He was feeling a little better today, but still wasn't up to it.
So Ukitake could only watch Kaien leave, coughing several times.
At the same time, that fleeting captain-level spiritual pressure stirred Seireitei into action.
The divisions farther from Shin'o Academy hadn't sensed the brief burst of spiritual pressure, but they soon received reports from their members at the exam site.
The reports stated, "A candidate with what appears to be captain-level spiritual pressure has appeared."
In Seireitei, anything involving a captain was a major matter. Before long, the divisions were all in motion.
At Shin'o Academy, at the Kidō talent test.
The spiritual pressure test had ended, and the second round, the Kidō talent test, was now underway.
Zanjutsu, Hohō, Hakuda, and Kidō were the four skills every Soul Reaper had to master, so candidates were naturally tested for their talent in them.
The Hakuda talent test was already covered by the swordsmanship talent test.
There was no test for Flash Step talent.
Flash Step placed too much demand on the body, and its techniques were too difficult for candidates. Even many ordinary Soul Reapers who had already graduated had only learned the basics of Flash Step.
The Kidō talent test now underway was actually a test of each candidate's ability to control their spiritual energy.
Specifically, they had to release their spiritual energy and shape it into a figure according to the instructions.
The figures varied in difficulty, and candidates could choose one based on their abilities.
Unlike the spiritual pressure test, which allowed only one attempt, the Kidō talent test allowed three. The candidate's best result would count.
After the chief examiner finished explaining the test, he was about to announce its start.
But just then, someone cried out in alarm.
"Good grief, that's a lieutenant's armband!"
"A lieutenant's here—the lieutenant of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads!"
"I know him! He's a renowned prodigy in Seireitei, the lieutenant of the 13th Division—Kaien Shiba!!!"
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