The ground was empty. The chairs too. Only silence remained.
Hirata stared at the announcer, waiting for his name so he could finally go home.
Hirata (thinking): "Bruh… just do it quickly and free me."
Five minutes later—
"Alright, Hirata. Come forward for your test. Your examiner will be arriving shortly."
"Finally."
Hirata stood up, grabbed his katana, and jumped down to the arena.
Boom.
Dust spread across the ground.
A shadow appeared within the fog—a tall figure wearing a mask.
As the fog slowly cleared, Hirata and the examiner faced each other.
"3… 2… 1… Start!"
The examiner rushed forward and launched a direct thrust.
Hirata easily dodged.
With a smirk, he said, "Too easy. So, what's your energy?"
But the examiner didn't respond. Instead, he channeled wind energy into his blade.
"I expected that much," Hirata said calmly. "But what are you going to do now? Blast it?"
A flicker of tension crossed the examiner's face. He jumped backward.
Examiner (thinking):"Hirata is sharp… He's predicting my moves before I execute them. And that abnormal energy… Soul Energy. Why hasn't he used it yet?"
Hirata let out a creepy laugh.
"You might be stronger than the last guy… but you're way dumber. Thinking this much in the middle of a fight? That's dangerous."
Examiner (thinking):"Wait… what did he do?"
Hirata tilted his head.
"You're wondering what I did, right? Let me ask you this… when was the last time you infused your own energy into your katana?"
The examiner looked down.
His blade was glowing with wind energy.
"…Wait. That's not mine."
"Wind blast."
Startled, the examiner threw his katana toward Hirata.
As the blade neared—
BOOM!
An explosion erupted.
When the dust cleared, Hirata stood unharmed.
The examiner was on the ground.
"What… was that?" he muttered. "I threw the sword at him… so why did I get hit?"
In an instant—
Hirata appeared right in front of him.
"His father's technique…" the examiner realized.
Hirata raised his hand.
"Wait… is he going to use that?"
"Soul Pressure."
An overwhelming force crushed down.
The examiner's body froze. He couldn't move.
"You lost," Hirata said calmly. "That's why I said—thinking too much during a fight is dangerous. While you were thinking… I was already finishing my plan."
"The test is over."
A while later—
The examiner sat on a bench, eyes filled with frustration.
After a moment, he stood and approached Hirata.
Hirata was drinking water, tying his shoes, ready to leave.
"Hey… can we talk?"
Hirata turned. "Oh, you. Yeah, sure."
They sat down with cold drinks.
"So," Hirata said, "what do you want to ask? Actually—what's your name first?"
"Krisha Kirad."
"I see. So, what's your question, sir?"
"…How did you defeat me so easily?"
Hirata leaned back slightly.
"Because I deceived you from the start. Every movement. Every word. All planned. I made you follow my flow."
Krisha fell silent, shocked.
"Anything else?"
"N-no… you can go."
"Alright."
Hirata stood up and walked away.
Krisha (thinking):"This kid is dangerous… just like his father."
On his way home—
Hirata (thinking):"Tomorrow is team selection day… Should Shikai and I form a duo… or add more members?"
After a pause—
"Yeah… adding more people might be better."