Kaien Shiba didn't like noisy places, so he stayed alone in a corner to rest with his eyes closed.
However, a burst of exclamations from the crowd ahead made him frown.
"I hope this ends soon..." Kaien Shiba sighed.
But the next shout made him pause.
"Sixth Class Spiritual Power!"
"Soul King above! Another genius with Sixth Class Spiritual Power!"
"This year is full of geniuses. We haven't seen a scene like this in a long time!"
"There's another freshman on my level?" Kaien Shiba got interested. "It seems the grading test won't be so boring after all."
He glanced outside.
The one undergoing the Spiritual Pressure test was a man with spiky hair.
"Is that him? I hope he doesn't disappoint me."
Half an hour later, all the freshmen had finished their Spiritual Pressure tests.
The freshmen who wanted to skip grades followed Riko Shirai to the side of the arena for the grading test.
On the other side, the judging teachers were also in place.
In addition to the heads of various departments, even Director Kotetsu had come.
Originally, Director Kotetsu wouldn't participate in the freshman grading test, but since a special guest arrived today, she tagged along.
"Is that a Shinigami Captain?"
"Does a Captain watch the grading tests too? That makes me a bit nervous..."
Some freshmen from the Rukongai didn't recognize Sora Katori, but they recognized the Captain's haori he was wearing.
"That is Captain Katori of the 12th Division. You guys are lucky today. It's rare for a Captain to come and watch the grading matches."
"Perform well. If Captain Katori takes a liking to you, you might join the 12th Division right after graduation!"
Riko Shirai introduced him to the freshmen.
"Captain Katori is looking over here. He really came to watch my performance!"
Seeing the eager freshmen, Kaien Shiba laughed secretly.
He had made a deal with Captain Katori.
As long as he took first place in this test, Captain Katori would accept him as a disciple!
After the test officially began, Kaien Shiba was the first to jump onto the arena.
He wanted to seize the opportunity to become a disciple and planned to show off his strength properly.
He wouldn't leave the arena until he had defeated all his opponents!
"Ken, I'm going up first, okay?"
Below the arena, Yachiru Kusajishi was talking to Zaraki Ken.
Yachiru was also participating in this grading test; otherwise, she wouldn't be assigned to the same grade as her companion.
"Whatever." Zaraki Ken didn't have much interest in bullying freshmen.
"Here I come!" Yachiru jumped onto the arena.
"You must be the strongest one here, right? If I beat you, I should be able to get into the same class as Ken."
Kaien Shiba looked at the little kid in front of him and his eye twitched.
This grading test was prepared for freshmen who wanted to skip grades!
But this little kid, whose Spiritual Pressure fluctuation was clearly weak, had come to participate.
"With a foundation like yours, skipping grades isn't necessarily a good thing. Being a Shinigami isn't that simple!"
Kaien Shiba sighed, planning to end the fight quickly to give her a reality check.
The moment the referee announced the start of the test, Kaien Shiba suddenly swung his wooden sword.
The education Kaien received in the Shiba family was designed to train the next head of the clan. He had no obvious shortcomings in swordsmanship, hand-to-hand combat, flash steps, or Kidō.
Even a formal Shinigami soldier would have trouble blocking his strike.
The wooden sword arrived instantly, accompanied by the sound of tearing air.
However, Kaien Shiba's sure-hit strike swung at empty air.
Yachiru Kusajishi had silently disappeared right from under his eyes!
"She dodged it!"
Kaien Shiba's eyes went wide. He actually hadn't seen clearly how she avoided the slash.
"Her Spiritual Pressure disappeared."
Kaien Shiba's heart sank. This unassuming opponent had such a strong ability to hide her Spiritual Pressure that even his spiritual senses couldn't detect her location.
"Are you looking for me?"
A giggling sound came from behind his right side.
Kaien Shiba turned his head and saw Yachiru Kusajishi actually stepping on his wooden sword, crouching right on top of it.
"H-How is that possible!"
Kaien Shiba's pupils suddenly dilated. He couldn't believe it. She was standing right on his sword, yet he hadn't sensed her Spiritual Pressure at all.
"Bakudō #61. Rikujōkōrō!"
Kaien Shiba displayed extraordinary Kidō skills, releasing the #61 Binding Spell without an incantation.
Six bars of Reishi light condensed in the air, locking Yachiru Kusajishi in place.
"Is this Kidō?"
Yachiru Kusajishi looked like a curious baby, reaching out to grab one of the Reishi bars.
Snap—
Those small hands, which looked like they would struggle to hold an egg, directly snapped the Reishi bar.
"She just snapped it???"
Kaien Shiba was dumbfounded.
This was the #61 Bakudō he had released!
Even if skipping the incantation weakened its power, it wasn't something that could be easily snapped. Even he would find it hard to do that.
"You don't seem to be able to beat me~"
Yachiru Kusajishi jumped up and knocked him on the head.
Bonk—!
Kaien Shiba's eyes rolled back, and he collapsed.
"Hiss—what happened? Kaien Shiba lost just like that?"
"Wasn't he a Sixth Class Spiritual Power..."
The freshmen couldn't believe that Kaien Shiba had been defeated so simply.
The teachers at the judge's table were also discussing it.
"What class is that girl's Spiritual Power?"
"Let me check... it's Twentieth Class!"
"Twentieth Class defeated Sixth Class?!"
"Could it be... the Spiritual Pressure testing crystal is faulty?"
The teacher who spoke remembered that the testing crystal was a test product from the Department of Research and Development and glanced cautiously at Sora.
"There's nothing wrong with the testing crystal," Sora chuckled.
"Yachiru's situation is quite special. Her Spiritual Pressure can't be judged by normal standards."
Yachiru Kusajishi's true identity was a materialized Bankai. Although she couldn't unleash her true strength yet, she wasn't someone the current Kaien Shiba could defeat.
"She must be the new disciple Captain Katori accepted, right?"
Director Kotetsu smiled.
Sora had just told her that his newly accepted disciples were enrolling.
"She is one of them. The other one is on the arena now."
After Yachiru Kusajishi knocked out Kaien Shiba, no one else was willing to challenge her, so she didn't stay in the arena and jumped down.
Next, Zaraki Ken stepped onto the arena.
Zaraki Ken rested his wooden sword on his shoulder:
"All of you, come up here together!"
Standing on the arena, he looked like a fierce god.
...
In his daze, Kaien Shiba heard a somewhat familiar voice.
"Captain Katori's new disciple is like a beast!"
"I'll leave these two unruly disciples to the teachers. They lack some common sense, so please pay extra attention to their general education classes."
"Understood, understood. Captain Katori can rest assured!"
Captain Katori accepted someone else as a disciple!
Kaien Shiba woke up with a start.
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