The Kido talent testing hall.
The Kido talent test was no challenge at all for Gilgamesh.
Setting aside Gilgamesh's own talent, just his permanently active Noble Phantasm, Star of Omniscience, was enough to let him complete the test with ease.
Star of Omniscience possessed many abilities. Its power to see through all things allowed Gilgamesh to grasp the essence of the Kido talent test—that is, the essence of manipulating spiritual power: Reishi.
With everyone watching, Gilgamesh opened his right hand, gathered spiritual power above it, and manipulated it into the pattern for the tenth difficulty level.
The whole process was perfectly smooth, without the slightest hesitation. Everyone was left staring, unable to react for a long time.
Even the examiners present were no exception.
They had overseen many entrance exams. Only a handful of candidates had ever managed the ninth-level pattern, let alone the most difficult, tenth-level one.
They had tried it themselves in private. Although they could complete it, they couldn't do it as smoothly as Gilgamesh.
After all, they had been teaching for decades, even over a century. They had long since mastered the manipulation of spiritual power through practice.
Yet even they couldn't match Gilgamesh. There was no denying that this truly came down to talent.
In the monitoring room.
The captains watched the scene, all of them wearing astonished expressions.
Clearly, they too had been stunned by Gilgamesh's flawless performance.
They knew full well that the tenth-level pattern probably wasn't even Gilgamesh's limit.
But the tenth level was already the highest difficulty, and they couldn't imagine what a harder one would look like.
All they could say was that Gilgamesh's displayed talent for Kido made him the greatest prodigy in Shin'o Academy's history.
Even the former and current Grand Kido Chiefs couldn't compare to Gilgamesh's talent for Kido.
After a brief silence, Retsu Unohana, the Fourth Division Captain, spoke gently. "It seems we really have found a remarkable new talent this time."
"Even I'm tempted by a genius like him."
As she spoke, she looked at Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto and continued, "Captain-Commander, I've never asked you for a recruit before. How about you assign him to me this time?"
The other captains present were taken aback by Unohana's words.
It was true that they had never seen the mild-mannered Unohana actively ask for a recruit.
Normally, they would have given Unohana the courtesy.
But this was a special case. They had no idea how many years they might have to wait before encountering a talent like this again.
Shunsui Kyoraku lightly lifted the brim of his hat and said, "I think a genius like him would be better off in my Squad 8."
"If he joins, I'll teach him everything I know and train him to become the next captain."
Sosuke Aizen gently pushed up his glasses and said, "No, I think he should join my Squad 5. If he does, I'll recommend him for the position of lieutenant right away."
Isshin Shiba, Kaien Shiba, and the other captains also wanted to speak up.
But then Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto firmly struck the ground several times with his cane and said, "The exam isn't over, and he hasn't even enrolled yet. It's too early to discuss which squad he'll join."
Thanks to Yamamoto's authority, the scramble to recruit Gilgamesh was forced to end.
Still, each of them had their own ideas, and they were already thinking about how to win Gilgamesh over afterward.
Byakuya Kuchiki was the most eager of them all. It wasn't Gilgamesh he cared about, but Rukia.
Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto spoke again. "Gilgamesh... yes, he's a promising young man. Does anyone know whose child he is?"
The captains exchanged glances.
They had already been speculating about this in private, but no matter how they looked at it, they couldn't find an answer.
None of the famous nobles in Soul Society shared Gilgamesh's appearance or name.
Even so, they were all convinced Gilgamesh had been born into nobility.
They believed anyone who saw Gilgamesh for the first time would immediately think of the word "noble."
It was as if the word "noble" had been made for Gilgamesh.
So they assumed they simply didn't know the answer, and that someone else might.
Yamamoto's question gave them the perfect chance to find out whether anyone did.
Among the captains, the gazes focused most on Byakuya Kuchiki and Shunsui Kyoraku.
One came from the Four Great Noble Clans, and the other from a high-ranking noble family. They were bound to know more about the nobility than the rest.
Under everyone's gaze, Shunsui Kyoraku spoke first. "I don't know him."
Byakuya Kuchiki furrowed his brows and said, "I don't know him either. At least, as far as I know, no one among the Four Great Noble Clans has a young member like him."
After a pause, Byakuya continued, "Still, he might be a genius deliberately kept hidden by some noble family, or an unacknowledged child kept secret for one reason or another."
Nobles cared most about their family's reputation, yet their social circles were a mess. Almost every family had illegitimate children whose identities went unacknowledged.
Ordinary people and regular Bleach wouldn't know this, but the captains present understood it well.
They, too, began wondering whether Gilgamesh was a hidden genius or an illegitimate child whose identity had been denied.
In their hearts, they leaned more toward the latter.
After all, Gilgamesh's golden hair and red eyes were exceptionally rare. No noble family had anyone with such features.
A bastard rises and takes revenge on his family.
Some of the captains even imagined how the story might unfold.
Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto raised his cane and knocked it again, cutting off the captains' flights of fancy. "All right. Since no one knows, let's leave it at that."
Meanwhile, back in the Kido talent testing hall.
Renji Abarai and Rukia had returned to Gilgamesh's side and told him how they had done on the Kido talent test.
Renji Abarai had been downcast the whole time, his head hanging low.
His test result hadn't been very good, which meant his talent for Kido was poor.
Of course, he didn't care about how good or bad his Kido talent was. He was worried that he might disappoint Gilgamesh.
Gilgamesh saw right through Renji Abarai's thoughts and smiled. "Renji, Kido talent doesn't determine how far you can grow in the future."
"I believe in you. One day, you'll shine in your own way and make the name Renji Abarai resound throughout Soul Society."
Gilgamesh's words crashed through Renji Abarai's mind like a thunderclap. He couldn't help murmuring, "Make the name Renji Abarai resound throughout Soul Society..."
A light gradually kindled in his eyes.
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