Chapter 19: Instant Step, Instant Fall
"1000—ten bamboo reiatsu!"
The crimson numbers, paired with the cold, mechanical voice from the reiatsu testing device, struck like an invisible hammer straight into everyone's soul.
The massive examination hall plunged into an eerie, unnatural silence.
Everyone stared at the screen in utter disbelief.
"Is this a joke? A wounded-but-unyielding—no, a drunkard—has ten bamboo reiatsu? In the entire history of the Shin'ō Academy, this has probably never happened before."
"I heard Captain Hitsugaya graduated with nine bamboo and was called a peerless genius. So what do we call ten bamboo?"
"Super genius? Or… absolute peerless monster genius?"
"Oh my god—we're in the same year as this freak. How are we supposed to shine as geniuses now? How are we supposed to leave our own legends in the academy?"
The vast testing grounds erupted into chaos in an instant. Some even wailed in despair.
Being in the same era as a genius already dims everyone else. Being in the same era as someone with ten bamboo reiatsu? It was like all the stars had gone dark.
"Ten bamboo reiatsu… that surpasses even the boundary of peerless genius. We might as well call him a freak of nature," Shunsui Kyōraku muttered, still unable to calm the shock in his heart.
"Looks like my thousand-year vintage is safe."
Shunsui instinctively reached for the sake gourd at his waist.
His hand grasped empty air.
"You damn brat—give me back my sake right now!"
"What bullshit intel—if I'd known you had this kind of power, I wouldn't have bothered racking my brain trying to help you. I'm losing hair over this!"
Shunsui exploded in frustration, but Nanao Ise's murderous glare instantly made him swallow every angry word.
Watching Kuroha chug the sake glug glug glug, Shunsui's face was full of bitterness. All he could do now was pray the kid left a few drops for him to taste.
"No way… I personally tested him. He was only three bamboo," Renji muttered in disbelief.
Beside him, Aizen quickly concealed his shock and spoke with his usual calm smile:
"Just now, everyone saw—the machine first showed seven bamboo, then suddenly jumped to ten. Perhaps there's a malfunction."
"I've studied these devices a little. If we adjust it, we can retest."
Aizen maintained his gentle smile as he walked toward the damaged testing machine.
Right now, he desperately hoped this was all just equipment failure. After all, his plans were at a critical stage. A ten-bamboo reiatsu variable joining the Gotei 13 would be an unacceptable uncertainty.
But the moment Aizen's pale finger touched the machine—
It was the final straw.
The already battered device collapsed completely—reduced to a heap of scrap metal.
Aizen's composed smile froze instantly. For a brief moment, he looked genuinely disheveled.
"Ahem… Captain Aizen, looks like even you can't fix it," Shunsui said with a dry cough.
"Regardless—whether Shiba Kuroha has seven bamboo or ten, it's more than enough to pass."
Shunsui shot Nanao a meaningful glance.
For him, the top priority right now was completing the task Yamamoto had given him. Seven or ten bamboo didn't matter. What mattered was getting that sake back from the drunkard afterward.
"Shiba Kuroha—tentatively seven bamboo reiatsu, excellent grade. Exempt from the written spiritual arts test," Nanao announced.
She didn't know what deal Kyōraku had made with Yamamoto. But as lieutenant, her first duty was to protect her captain. Right now, she just wanted this farce to end quickly.
Unfortunately, that hope was clearly too optimistic.
The moment she finished speaking, Kuroha staggered to his feet.
"Test? When does the test start? I need a sip to wake up… and don't forget—I'm teaming up with my wife. Her name's… something like Rukia-something."
Kuroha took another swig, swaying as he stumbled toward Rukia.
Completely oblivious that his "big brother-in-law" behind him had turned black as coal.
Especially since he kept calling her "wife" nonstop but couldn't even remember her full name. This was probably the legendary level of drunk where you forget who your own wife is.
"Captain Kuchiki, please stay calm," Shunsui said, head throbbing.
He had planned to gloss over the whole thing—but seeing Byakuya's face darken like a storm cloud, that hope died instantly.
"You're dead. How dare you tarnish a noble's honor!"
Byakuya moved—face cold as frost.
To the outside world, Rukia Kuchiki was merely a replacement for Hisana. But only Byakuya understood the true depth of that bond.
Now—watching Rukia's name and honor repeatedly sullied—he could no longer tolerate it.
Whoosh!
In one step, Byakuya unleashed Shunpo—appearing like a phantom right in front of Kuroha.
His hand shot out toward the sake gourd, intending to smash it first.
Seeing this, everyone's nerves snapped taut. Shunsui wanted to intervene—
But he found Aizen and Gin subtly (yet unmistakably) blocking his path.
Under these circumstances, he couldn't act.
Earlier, even a seated officer like Renji had failed to take the gourd and been sent flying. This time, the one acting was the captain of the Sixth Division—head of the Kuchiki family.
Even without going all out, dealing with an academy applicant should be child's play.
"Ah—big brother-in-law? Why are you here? I'm looking for my wife. You want the sake too? Sorry—it's already gone."
Kuroha remained completely clueless.
At least—to outsiders—it looked like nothing made sense.
But in the next instant—his unsteady steps flickered.
Shunpo!
The bizarre scene made every captain's pupils contract sharply.
They all recognized it instantly: Kuroha had just vanished—using Shunpo—powered by drunken instinct.
What they could never have imagined was that a student who hadn't even graduated from the academy would know Shunpo… And could use it to slip away right in front of a captain.
That level of skill was terrifying.
BANG!
A heavy crash rang out, snapping everyone back to reality.
They hurriedly followed the sound.
The first thing they saw left them completely dumbfounded.
Even Shunpo… can trip.
--------------------------
Support us on patreon (+Gain access to 100 chapters in advance)
patreon.com/inkroxx