Stealing the Spotlight

"Urahara Kisuke, Shihoin Yoruichi, and Diezuka Hiroe, come over here for the test immediately!"

Hearing the teacher's voice, the students in the arena silently cleared a path. Under the gaze of the crowd, the three of them lined up and arrived in front of the testing machine.

"The heir to the high-ranking noble Urahara family, and the heir to the Five Great Noble Families' Heavenly Gifted Soldier, the Shihoin clan—I wonder what their spirit power levels are. I'm so excited!"

"And that Diezuka Hiroe, a commoner taken in as a closed-door disciple by the Head Captain. I want to see what he's actually capable of!"

Voices filled with admiration for Urahara and Yoruichi drifted from the crowd, but when it came to Hiroe, the tone turned into resentment. It made him feel a bit awkward, as if he had only become a closed-door disciple through connections.

"Don't mind them. There are geniuses among commoners, too—like you," Yoruichi said, offering Hiroe some comfort.

"It's fine. They'll shut up soon enough!"

"Oh?" Yoruichi suddenly grew interested, turned her head, and whispered, "Not holding back this time?"

"The old man said I could let loose a bit this time; it won't be an issue."

Soon, the three arrived at the testing machine. Though called a machine, it looked more like a prop: a hexagonal, dried-up pond with five bamboo segments standing from inside to out, and a pedestal placed in front of it.

The Spirit Pool—this was the tool used to test a Soul Reaper's spirit power level. It had remained unchanged since ancient times and was rumored to be a spiritual tool bestowed by the Soul King.

However, Hiroe knew that was nonsense. This thing had appeared alongside the Shino Academy for the purpose of setting a baseline for joining the Gotei 13, which was why Hiroe called it a machine.

Following the order, Urahara went up first. As he placed his hand on the pedestal, the pond in front of him changed instantly.

Clear water began to surge from the pond, instantly submerging the first bamboo segment, followed quickly by the second and third.

The spirit power levels detectable by the Spirit Pool were divided into six grades; the number of bamboo segments submerged indicated the test-taker's level.

If the entire Spirit Pool were filled, it meant the spirit power had reached the sixth grade, which was the level of most lieutenants in the Gotei 13.

Soon, the water representing Urahara's level surged past the fourth segment and slowly reached the fifth.

That solitary bamboo segment acted like a wall, holding back the surging water and causing it to rise only slowly.

The water reached one-third of the way up the fifth segment.

One-half.

It reached the top. Come on, push a little harder, you're almost over the fifth segment!

The teacher in charge of the test had already stood up, muttering encouragement to Urahara as if that could somehow force the water over the segment.

Unfortunately, although the water was faintly higher than the segment, it did not submerge it, meaning Urahara's spirit power level was grade five.

"Grade five full! Spirit power level grade five full!" the teacher shouted excitedly. Starting from grade five, the levels were divided into 'low,' 'half,' and 'full' based on whether the water reached one-third, one-half, or the top of the segment.

Even for someone of high-ranking noble birth, having such a high spirit power level at this age was extremely rare; calling him a genius was no exaggeration at all.

"As expected of a high-ranking noble!"

"Idiot, this result wouldn't even lose out among the Five Great Noble Families. This guy is a genius!"

Amidst the constant praise, Urahara smiled and high-fived Hiroe and Yoruichi. Although he acted indifferent, Hiroe knew the guy was feeling a bit smug; the high-five was proof enough.

"Alright, my turn!" Yoruichi said, rolling her shoulders as she walked toward the Spirit Pool, looking more like she was heading into a fight than a test.

After the Spirit Pool returned to its dry state, Yoruichi placed her hand gently on the pedestal.

Just like with Urahara, the water quickly surged past the fourth segment and began its journey of breakthrough.

Half.

Full!

The teacher in charge stood up once again. Hiroe, watching from behind, felt helpless. If he knew he was going to stand up again, why did he sit down in the first place?

But this time, the teacher wasn't muttering to himself; his originally fair face was flushed red, as if he were the one being tested.

"It passed! Grade six, spirit power level grade six!" he roared as if releasing pent-up energy. The teacher looked at Yoruichi with excitement and shouted, "Lady Yoruichi, you can apply for graduation right now!"

Yoruichi shook her head, returned to the two of them, and gave them both an enthusiastic high-five.

There was almost no discussion this time. It wasn't that they thought Yoruichi achieving such a result was a matter of course, but rather that they were stunned by her grade six spirit power.

Although nobles were superior to commoners in talent and spirit power, grade six meant lieutenant-level in the Gotei 13—a rank that placed one in the top thirty of the Seireitei.

Even for someone from the Five Great Noble Families, it was truly exaggerated.

That was also why the teacher had just asked if Yoruichi wanted to graduate immediately. A grade six spirit power meant one could apply for graduation at any time and choose whichever division they wished to join; the academy had nothing left to teach such a monster.

However, there were still those with dissenting opinions, such as Kao Susumu.

In his view, at the same age, he—a commoner—had gone from having no spirit power to grade four, which was far stronger than these nobles who were born with inherent spirit power.

"So what if it's grade six? That's all the high-ranking nobles and the Five Great Noble Families amount to."

This undisguised contempt instantly incited the dissatisfaction of the other noble students. They had held back earlier because they hadn't outperformed him, but now, Kao Susumu's words had instantly ignited the powder keg in their hearts.

"Shut your filthy mouth, commoner!"

"A commoner is just a commoner—not only base, but stupid!"

"Even though nobles are born with spirit power, and high-ranking nobles and the Five Great Noble Families can reach grade four or five, reaching grade six right now is an achievement never heard of before!"

"Grade six is a level you commoners will never reach in your entire lives!"

Meanwhile, Hiroe walked toward the Spirit Pool, swinging his arms. A young man from a mid-ranking noble family pointed at him and said, "You're called a genius just like them, but keep your eyes wide open and watch closely, commoner. Your limit is grade four!"

"Indeed, the jump from level four to five is immense, let alone the even harder level six." Another youth shook his head, sneering, "It's a pity those foolish commoners don't realize that."

The Spirit Pool returned to dryness once more. Diezuka Hiroe, as if he hadn't heard the voices behind him, placed his hand on the pedestal with an expressionless face.

The instructor in charge of the test did not stand up this time, because he had been so shocked by the sight before him that his mouth hung wide open, leaving him frozen in a half-risen, awkward crouch.

At this moment, the water in the Spirit Pool had already surpassed the fifth bamboo segment, and unlike Urahara and the others before him, it showed no signs of losing momentum, continuing to rise rapidly.

The hunched-over instructor desperately wanted to say something, but his gaping mouth refused to close, allowing only strange, unintelligible noises to escape.

At this rate, the Spirit Pool is going to overflow! The instructor watched the water level approach the one-third mark, thinking to himself, As expected of the Head Captain's disciple, he's going to reach the heavens!

Just as he was about to cheer for the first student in the history of the Spiritual Arts Academy to reach the maximum spiritual power level upon enrollment, the astonishingly rising water suddenly stopped? No warning, no preparation, it just stopped like that?

The instructor collapsed back into his chair, coughing violently. The feeling of falling from the clouds to the bottom of the abyss in an instant was an indescribable, agonizing discomfort!

"Level, level six!"

The entire venue fell into absolute silence. The noble youth who had just mocked Diezuka Hiroe even shrank to the back of the crowd; the slap to his face was simply too stinging.

As for Kao Susumu, he gritted his teeth and stared fixedly at Diezuka Hiroe in the distance. As a fellow commoner, he was unwilling to be overshadowed like this.

I must work hard and also become a disciple of the Head Captain! Kao clenched his fists and swore to himself, ignoring Diezuka Hiroe's own efforts and attributing all his achievements to Yamamoto.

"Thanks!"

Diezuka Hiroe said with a smile, indicating that he would return to Yoruichi and Urahara after graduation, while ignoring the palms they held out, rejecting the cringey high-five celebration.

"Are you trying to provoke us?"

"No, no, no!" Diezuka Hiroe wagged his finger and said cheekily, "I'm teaching you the correct way to show off."

Yoruichi was speechless for a moment. After exchanging a glance with Urahara, they both gave him a thumbs-up. Well played, big brother!

"Don't be like that. I'm only doing this once; the future stage belongs to you two."

Tch! The two of them waved their hands in unison. That statement sounded as if Diezuka Hiroe would actually be able to keep a low profile from now on. Besides, they had realized during the spiritual power test that this Spirit Pool was not something that could be fooled by Kido or other tricks!

Diezuka Hiroe smiled without explaining. He meant what he said; perhaps a true genius could never stay low-key, but what if, in the eyes of others, he wasn't a true genius at all?