Stagnation

The mere mention of Kao Susumu put Yoruichi in a foul mood, and the thought of how he had been eyeing the direction of Squad 1 earlier was truly sickening.

"A guy like that wants to join Squad 1? In his dreams!"

Yoruichi spat out the curse, then turned to Diezuka Hiroe and continued, "You certainly wouldn't allow him into Squad 1, would you? Regardless, I'm never letting him into Squad 2!"

"Big sister, I'm not you! Not to mention that Old Man Yama is still alive and kicking, even if something were to happen, it wouldn't necessarily be my call to make!"

Hiroe looked helpless. Squad 2 was managed by the Shihoin family, so as the future captain of Squad 2 and the future head of the Shihoin clan, Yoruichi had every right to reject anyone she pleased.

Squad 1 was different, however. Only someone recognized by the heads of the Five Great Noble Families, the Central 46, and all the captains could serve as its captain. Therefore, even though Hiroe was the apple of Old Man Yama's eye, whether he could take up the mantle of Squad 1 remained an unknown.

"The old man doesn't even give you any special privileges; how stingy!" Yoruichi mocked, then her eyes darted around as she added, "How about you come to Squad 2 instead?"

"Go there for what? To be your lieutenant?"

"Don't be so rigid! Given our relationship, we'd obviously be equals; we could discuss everything together! Besides, if you're willing to marry into the family, you could even sit as the future head of the Shihoin clan~" Yoruichi blushed even as she said it, cupping her face in a display of coy, maidenly shyness.

"That joke isn't funny at all." Hiroe didn't even notice Yoruichi's current state, assuming she was still just teasing him.

Among the trio, the only one who could choose which division to join was Urahara Kisuke. The other two had their roots firmly planted in the 1st and 2nd Divisions, leaving them no room for such nonsense.

"Urahara Kisuke! Step forward for testing!"

Yoruichi had wanted to continue the conversation with Hiroe, but it was now their turn to be tested. Just like six years ago, Urahara led the way, and Hiroe brought up the rear.

As Urahara began his test, the water in the Spirit Pool rapidly surged past the fifth bamboo node, continuing to fill the remaining space without slowing down, until it finally filled the entire Spirit Pool to the brim.

"Level 6, full!" The proctor smiled, gave a thumbs-up, and continued to call out, "Shihoin Yoruichi! Step forward for testing!"

Like Urahara, Yoruichi's test result was also Level 6 full. However, there was a slight difference between the two: Yoruichi reached the Level 6 full mark slightly faster.

The limit of the Spirit Pool test was Level 6 full, so the students present were all speculating whether Yoruichi had already crossed that boundary. After all, six years ago, Urahara was at Level 5 full, while she was already at Level 6.

Only Hiroe knew that both of them were still at the Level 6 full stage. Furthermore, there was no such thing as a "Level 7" in spiritual power; Level 6 full was the absolute limit of spiritual power levels.

Of course, this did not mean that all top-tier Soul Reapers were identical in spiritual power. The spiritual power level represented, more than anything, the purity of one's spiritual power, and Level 6 full was the purest grade.

To go further, one had to change their approach, focusing on the quality and quantity of spiritual power. Simply put, this process involved compressing spiritual power into a high-density state and utilizing it in daily combat. Naturally, the actual execution was much more difficult; Urahara and Yoruichi were currently stuck at this stage.

This high-density spiritual power was also known as spiritual pressure. Theoretically, there was no upper limit to spiritual pressure, so there were no levels to distinguish it; if one had to categorize it, it would only be divided into the broad labels of captain-class and lieutenant-class.

Next was Hiroe's turn to be tested, though by this point, the crowd had little interest left. Six years ago he was Level 6, and now he was surely Level 6 full. No matter how high he went, it wouldn't show, and the Spirit Pool certainly wouldn't explode from the test.

But just when everyone thought they had guessed the outcome, Hiroe's test result slapped them in the face once again. It wasn't that the Spirit Pool had actually exploded, but that he hadn't reached Level 6 full.

"Level 6... point?" The proctor was afraid he had misread it and rubbed his eyes hard twice. The facts proved he hadn't been mistaken; Hiroe's score was indeed Level 6 point, exactly the same as it had been six years ago!

Could the Spirit Pool be malfunctioning? The proctor wanted to find an excuse for Hiroe, but as the one conducting the test, he knew very well that the Spirit Pool was perfectly fine, and this excuse didn't hold water.

A genius, fallen! the proctor sighed inwardly.

It wasn't just the proctor; the 13th Division lieutenants present thought the same. To have talent that rivaled Yoruichi's, or even slightly surpassed it, only to make zero progress in six years—it was simply inexcusable.

Whispers began to spread among the students. Diezuka Hiroe's limit was Level 6 point; the potential of a commoner was just too low, and other such remarks effectively sealed his fate and passed a death sentence on his future.

"What's wrong with you? You didn't actually stop training for the last six years, did you!"

As soon as Hiroe returned to Yoruichi's side, she hurriedly questioned him. Hiroe couldn't explain it, so he just gave her a wry smile.

"I didn't mean it like that. I meant, have you been living too comfortably? Of course, that's not to say you've fallen!"

Yoruichi wanted to comfort Hiroe, but every word that came out sounded stranger than the last. She scratched her head in a panic, desperate to explain, terrified that Hiroe might misunderstand her.

Just then, a discordant voice rang out. "Yo, isn't this our big genius?" Yoruichi looked toward the sound to see Kao Susumu with his bright red hair.

"Stagnant for six years—such a 'genius' is truly unexpected. I'm afraid I'll never be able to catch up to you~"

"Do you want to die?" Yoruichi glared fiercely at Kao, her right hand clenching into a fist with a crisp crack.

"Oh, oh, oh! How scary!" Kao stepped back with an exaggerated motion, continuing to mock them as he walked away. "Someone's come out to protect our big genius! But it's just a... woman? Our big genius has had his teeth stuck!"

Yoruichi was completely enraged; she wanted to smash that face of Kao Susumu's right now! But just as she lifted her heel, she was held back by Hiroe, who wore a gloomy expression.

"Leave him to me!"

Although his spiritual power level was part of Old Man Yama's plan, having to swallow such a bitter pill made Hiroe extremely unhappy. He was already annoyed, and this stunt by Kao Susumu had completely set him off. It was one thing to disgust him, but to insult Yoruichi? He was going to deal with him! No discussion!

"What are you planning to do?" Yoruichi asked.

"Destroy the thing he wants most!" Seeing Yoruichi's confusion, Hiroe continued, "What do you think is Kao Susumu's greatest wish?"

What was Kao Susumu's wish? Yoruichi had never really thought about it. In her eyes, the man was just a lunatic, and she couldn't fathom what he wanted.

"To enter Squad 1," Urahara, who had been silent until now, provided the answer.

"Exactly. He hasn't just shouted at me once about wanting to join Squad 1 and become Old Man Yama's disciple."

"Heh, him?" Yoruichi sneered. "Does he really think that much of himself?"

"Originally, I thought it would be funny to let him into Squad 1 just to see him as a joke, but since he's pushing his luck, don't blame me for being ruthless!" Hiroe held his hand up like a blade and slashed through the air, his tone icy. "I'll cut off his delusions!"