"Kōe Shihouin! I'm going to kill you!"
At the graduation ceremony, Shikaon Susumu shouted with bared teeth and eyes wide with fury, raising his Zanpakutō high as he charged toward Kōe not far away. Just moments ago, he had been kicked out of Squad 1. It hadn't even been ten minutes since he joined! And the reason was simply a single sentence from Kōe: "Squad 1 can have me, or him, but not both!"
In truth, when Kōe said those words, everyone in the crowd sneered. Squad 1 had always been strictly impartial. Even Yamamoto's last disciple couldn't blatantly ostracize someone like that, especially when the person being targeted was a young Shinigami with boundless potential.
Even Urahara and Yoruichi wondered if Kōe had gone mad with anger. Although they knew he would stop Susumu from joining Squad 1, neither of them expected him to do it this way. Underhanded methods rarely succeeded in the Seireitei, let alone putting it directly on the table. It would be a miracle if it worked.
"Then as you wish."
Yet Sasakibe Chōjirō's response exceeded everyone's expectations. *Did we hear that wrong?* Even when Sasakibe pointed at Susumu and told him to choose another squad, the crowd still hadn't fully processed it.
In fact, even Shikaon Susumu himself hadn't reacted. In his eyes, Kōe's words were nothing more than the desperate howling of a sore loser. He assumed the Captain-Commander would be thoroughly disappointed in Kōe this time, and that he would step up to replace him as the new successor.
'But why did Sasakibe Chōjirō say "Then leave the squad"?' Susumu thought frantically. 'Why was he pointing at me? I just joined Squad 1 and got kicked out?'
A multitude of questions flashed through Susumu's mind. By the time he recovered his senses, he was met with the pitying gazes of the crowd and Kōe's blatantly mocking smile. He hadn't misheard. Squad 1 really did make a choice between him and Kōe, and he was the one who had been discarded!
The shock of his dream coming true only to turn to ash in an instant drove Susumu completely mad. He threw all laws and bans to the wind. He was going to kill that bastard waving at him with a smile—he had to!
Susumu wasn't the only one who felt Kōe had gone too far. In truth, most of the Lieutenants present were frowning at Kōe. But disliking his behavior didn't mean they would tolerate Susumu's actions. Harming a colleague without cause within the Seireitei was an ironclad rule.
The one who intervened was Squad 5 Lieutenant Nishikido Yumi, a slender woman with long brown hair. Just as Susumu was about to slash Kōe, she accurately knocked the Zanpakutō from his hand barehanded, then knocked him unconscious with a swift chop to the neck.
"I assume the Captain-Commander will hear about this, right, Sasakibe?"
"This is an internal resolution of Squad 1. Naturally, the Captain-Commander will know."
"..."
Sasakibe's single sentence left the Squad 2 Lieutenant beside him completely speechless. Squad member selection was an internal matter for each division. Even Squad 2, which was in charge of punishment, had no right to interfere.
"Then our Squad 5 will take this man!" Nishikido Yumi interjected, speaking bluntly. "Lieutenant Sasakibe shouldn't have any objections, right?"
"Then Squad 5 had better train him well. Don't let a good seedling go astray."
The three Lieutenants in the center were locked in a tense standoff, while the other ten harbored their own hidden agendas. Yamamoto might be the authority of Squad 1, but Squad 1 could never be his private property.
Was Kōe Shihouin's nonsense today an accident, or did Yamamoto intentionally orchestrate it from behind the scenes? Did Yamamoto, who had remained indifferent for a thousand years, want to fight for power now? If so, the Seireitei was likely about to undergo a massive upheaval.
During the subsequent new member selection, even the rookies who joined their desired squads weren't very excited. The Lieutenants were entirely distracted. Because of Kōe's actions, the graduation ceremony ended on a rather sour note.
In the Shihōin clan's study, only the current clan head and Yoruichi, who had just finished her Shin'ō Academy career, were present.
"Yoruichi, do you think Kōe Shihouin was truly jealous of that young man this time?"
"Jealousy? That kind of emotion could never appear in him!" Yoruichi said firmly.
"Falling from grace to rock bottom, people change, especially the youth," the clan head cautioned softly, his resonant voice returning. "Keep your guard up around him from now on!"
Yoruichi wanted to retort, but her father wasn't wrong. Based on the results, Kōe had fallen, and this blatant ostracization was indeed absurd.
But for some reason, she still felt Kōe would rise again. She even had the absurd thought that Kōe had done all of this intentionally. But she would keep these thoughts to herself for now. She believed that one day, Kōe would personally prove himself.
Meanwhile, in the Squad 4 Captain's quarters, Captain Unohana Retsu was listening to her Lieutenant's report.
"That boy used to run over here quite a bit," Unohana said with a smiling, squinted gaze. "To think he's already graduated from the Shin'ō Academy in the blink of an eye. Time really does fly!"
"Captain, that shouldn't be the point of focus here!"
"Our Squad 4 only needs to do our duty. However, to think so many people joined Squad 4 this time. You can continue going to the next recruitment!"
"..."
In the Squad 8 barracks, two Captains sat cross-legged facing each other.
"Our little junior brother really never plays by the rules. I really want to call him over for a drink!" Kyōraku Shunsui laughed loudly. "But I guess he won't have the time today."
"Honestly, look at the time, and you're still talking about this." Ukitake Jūshirō held his head, looking utterly helpless.
"What are you worrying over nothing for!" Shunsui tilted his head back to take a sip of sake, continuing, "For Sasakibe to allow Kōe to cause such a scene, Old Man Yama must have tacitly approved it."
"It's exactly because our teacher tacitly approved it that I'm worried. I don't know what his intentions are."
"If Old Man Yama wanted power, he would have acted long ago. Why go through all this unnecessary trouble? So I reckon the reason still lies with our little junior brother!" Shunsui replied seriously.
Ukitake thought about it. That was indeed true. If Shunsui's guess was correct, Yamamoto likely wanted to hide Kōe. But everyone had seen the test results. Kōe hadn't grown in six years, which wasn't something you could achieve just by slacking off on training.
Then there was only one possibility: Yamamoto used some method to deceive the Spirit Pool. But could such a thing really be done?
Ukitake Jūshirō wasn't the only one thinking about the Spirit Pool. Urahara Kisuke, who had just joined Squad 12, was also asking the plump, purple-haired woman in front of him. She was the creator of the Spirit Pool, Squad 12 Captain Hikifune Kirio.
"The Spirit Pool is a tool for testing Reiryoku levels, which is to say, Reiryoku purity. The method involves breaking down a minuscule amount of Reiryoku to achieve the same effect as the lowest level of Reiryoku, and finally expressing it in a quantitative form through the Spirit Pool."
"Then is there a way to deceive the Spirit Pool? For example, by controlling the input of Reiryoku?" Urahara continued asking.
"Theoretically, it's possible, but I've never seen anyone capable of doing it." Seeing Urahara still had doubts, Kirio explained in more detail.
Simply put, the Spirit Pool actually relies on a Shinigami's unconscious Reiryoku defense for its testing. To prevent artificial control of the level, the attack from the Spirit Pool's handrest is so weak it's imperceptible, and the Reiryoku triggered for autonomous defense is reduced to an absolute limit. Regardless of purity, the minimum Reiryoku the body can release is just that amount. Kirio called it 'unit Reiryoku'.
With this premise, to deceive the Spirit Pool, one must first consciously control the body's self-defense mechanism, while also having the ability to further break down and reduce the unit Reiryoku.
These two requirements were each harder than the last. The former might be achievable by a few top-tier Shinigami, but the latter couldn't even be done by Hikifune Kirio, who had the deepest research and most proficient control over Reiryoku.
Looking at it this way, Kōe had either grown to an unimaginable level, or he had simply fallen. However, that guy always brought surprises; maybe this time would be the same? Urahara thought to himself, the smile on his lips deepening.
"Is that all? I understand! You can step out first!" Squad 5 Captain Hirako Shinji said, waving his hand.
"Yes!" Nishikido Yumi bowed and left the Captain's quarters, but right now, she had another place to go.
A few minutes later, Yumi arrived at a barrack and knocked on the door. After receiving permission, she slid the door open and entered.
The owner of the room was a man who gave off a comfortable feeling at first glance. With black-framed glasses, a gentle smile always hung on his face, and his curly brown hair added a hint of lethargy to his mild demeanor. He was the 3rd Seat of Squad 5, Aizen Sōsuke.
"You look like you have something on your mind, Lieutenant?"
"Just call me Yumi. That Shikaon Susumu is indeed quite good; I brought him into the squad." Yumi thought for a moment and decided to tell Aizen about today's events. "However, some unpleasant things also happened today."
Aizen poured Yumi a cup of tea and quietly listened as she recounted the farce from earlier today.
"It seems that Kōe Shihouin truly considers himself the crown prince of Squad 1," Aizen teased with a smile.
"Tell me about it! And Sasakibe actually agreed to it. I really don't know what he was thinking!" Yumi said, feeling angrier the more she spoke, and directly downed the tea in her cup in one gulp.
"Perhaps the Captain-Commander agreed to it as well." Seeing Yumi's heavy expression, Aizen smoothly shifted the topic. "If I had been there, I might not have stepped in to save Kōe Shihouin. I would have let him suffer a bit to teach him a lesson."
"I reckon everyone present thought the same, which is why I was the only one who acted in the end. Just as you said, Susumu is a good seedling. It would be a real pity for him to be punished over something like this."
"Stepping in at the very last moment, that boy must have been terrified, wasn't he?"
"Not at all! He probably knew Sasakibe would save him, so he acted completely unfazed!" Yumi replied with a pout, then immediately asked, "Say, you don't think the Captain-Commander wants to hand the future of Squad 1 over to Kōe Shihouin, do you?"
"We will see what kind of punishment he receives next. That will represent the Captain-Commander's true stance!" Aizen replied nonchalantly, staring at the tea in his cup, as if he had thought of something.
Not just Aizen, but countless eyes in the Seireitei were currently focused on Squad 1, waiting to see how Yamamoto would deal with Kōe.
And as news of Kōe's specific punishment spread the next day, an invisible storm officially expanded from Squad 1 across the Seireitei. Like a signal, a massive upheaval was likely soon to arrive.
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