Togo Ki, disregarding the shock, instantly used Shunpo to appear before Ito Makoto. He wanted to see just who this genius with Fifth-Grade spiritual pressure truly was!
"You're Ito Makoto?"
Togo Ki glanced at Ito Makoto's thin-as-paper file, then amiably patted Ito Makoto's shoulder:
"Truly, the younger generation is formidable! The future of Soul Society rests on you young people!"
Togo Ki first showered Ito Makoto with praise, then changed the subject.
"Ito, my boy, after graduation, are you interested in joining the Sixth Division? The Sixth Division is the Gotei Thirteenth Division's specialized unit for guarding nobles, with almost half of its members being nobles. As long as you're willing to join the Sixth Division, I'm willing to play matchmaker and arrange for you to marry a junior from my clan. This is your best opportunity to change your status!"
Hearing this, how could Ito Makoto not understand? This old man wanted to recruit him into the Sixth Division. However, it was normal; the Sixth Division was also known as the Noble Division and was inextricably linked with the Central 46, which held power.
Togo Ki represented the interests of the Central 46. If Ito Makoto truly was an exceptionally talented Rukongai resident, then joining the Sixth Division and marrying a noblewoman, as he suggested, was indeed the best shortcut to change one's fate.
But Ito Makoto was a Crossing with a God's-eye view. If he remembered correctly, this current batch of Central 46 members and their close associates were all going to be wiped out by Aizen Sōusuke before the plot even began.
Running over and foolishly joining them now, wouldn't that be like sticking his neck out to collide with Kyōka Suigetsu?
"Lord Yano, thank you for your kindness, but I've only passed the spiritual pressure assessment and haven't yet taken the subsequent exams. I still don't know the results, so I'm afraid I might disappoint your high expectations!"
Ito Makoto feigned humility and played coy with him.
"Hahaha, it's fine. With your spiritual pressure aptitude, even if you score zero on all subsequent assessments, you'll still be admitted to the academy. How about this: whenever you've made up your mind, you can come to the Sixth Division barracks to find me. I'll always be there. You go take your exam first!"
"Lord Yano, then I shall proceed to the next assessment."
Ito Makoto bowed to Togo Ki and then walked straight towards the examination hall for the second stage.
Togo Ki watched Ito Makoto's departing back with a slight smile, a glint flashing in his eyes. Being an old fox, how could he not detect the rejection in Ito Makoto's words?
But he simply took it as the arrogance befitting a genius with Captain-level potential. Yet, it didn't matter; time would teach this genius how to choose.
He believed that this young man named Ito Makoto would ultimately follow the path he had laid out. Because for a Rukongai commoner like him, this was the fastest shortcut to class ascension.
Unfortunately, Ito Makoto couldn't read minds and didn't know that this old man had concocted such a grand drama in his head.
He stepped through a thick, ancient-looking wooden door painted red and walked down a long corridor.
At the end of the corridor were four rooms.
Ito Makoto entered the first room. It was spacious, filled with various protective gear, and in a corner sat a young man, bored and yawning, covering his mouth. Seeing Ito Makoto arrive, he finally perked up a little.
"Ha, my name is... Togo Ki. I'm the examiner for this Hakuda round. All you need to do is knock me down..."
As he spoke, Togo Ki remained seated on the stool in the corner and didn't get up.
"What are you standing around for?! Come on, attack!"
Seeing Ito Makoto not move, Togo Ki, sitting on the wooden stool, hooked his finger at Ito Makoto, clearly bored.
"Then... alright!"
Ito Makoto, seeing that he still had no intention of getting up, had no choice but to rush forward as he was told, launching a direct punch towards Togo Ki's face.
Although Ito Makoto didn't use Shunpo, with the boost of his Fifth-Grade spiritual pressure, his speed was already at its peak!
By the time Togo Ki, who had been sitting calmly in his chair, realized that this examinee seemed a little different from the others, it was already too late.
"This isn't... right!"
"Bang!"
A heavy punch landed squarely on Togo Ki's face. The poor Hakuda examiner was sent flying with a bloody nose, a large bruise appearing on his face, and to make matters worse, his backside was directly embedded into the wooden wall.
This was actually Ito Makoto holding back. At first, he saw Togo Ki looking so confident and thought his Hakuda was incredibly strong. But he just took a punch from Ito Makoto to the face without any defense. If he hadn't forcefully pulled back some of his strength at the last moment, it wouldn't have been as simple as just a bloody nose.
This person's standard felt even weaker than the Giant Hollow he had killed in the residential area that day.
"If you don't have the strength, why are you acting like such a big shot?!"
A moment later, Togo Ki, clutching his nose, shakily signed the assessment form.
"Ito Makoto, Hakuda 100 points!"
Soon after, Ito Makoto arrived at the second room. This room was lively, with many examinees who had entered the second stage earlier waiting in line. This room, like the first, was spacious and resembled a dojo. The only difference was that this room contained several wooden racks, on which rested specialized Kenpachi.
Clearly, this room was for assessing Zanjutsu, one of the four Shinigami arts: Zanjutsu, Hakuda, Kidō, and Shunpo.
Currently, the one sparring in the center was the blonde, big-breasted loli, Matsumoto Rangiku.
"Thump, thump, thump!"
At this moment, Matsumoto Rangiku, still a small loli, had her Kenpachi knocked out of her hand by the examiner in just a few moves. The examiner then wrote down with flourish on the assessment sheet in his hand:
"Matsumoto Rangiku, Zanjutsu 70 points!"
It was then that Ito Makoto noticed that the Zanjutsu examiner had an upright posture, narrow eyes, and a gleaming bald head.
"Madarame Ikkaku!"
How could Ronan not recognize this person? It was none other than Madarame Ikkaku, the Third Seat of the Eleventh Division, who had a significant role in the original story.
Next, four more people took the assessment, and three of them were defeated with a single strike, while only one managed to block one strike.
However, Madarame Ikkaku gave all of them 60 points.
Soon it was Hisagi Shuuhei's turn.
"Examinee, Hisagi Shuuhei, reporting! Teacher, please be careful!"
The young Hisagi bowed politely to Madarame Ikkaku.
"Heh, kid, less talk, more action!"
Madarame Ikkaku chuckled strangely, beckoning Hisagi with his Kenpachi.
Hisagi Shuuhei, holding his Kenpachi, raised it over his head and swung at Madarame Ikkaku. Madarame lightly lifted his right hand, pushing Hisagi back.
What seemed like a casual, effortless strike actually numbed Hisagi's hands, his Kenpachi almost slipping from his grasp.
"Hmm? A bit interesting!"
Seeing that his single strike failed to dislodge the Kenpachi from a young boy's hand, Madarame Ikkaku immediately became interested.
After a few more exchanges, Hisagi Shuuhei managed to block four strikes before his Kenpachi was finally knocked out of his hand.
"Hisagi Shuuhei, Zanjutsu 80 points!"
Madarame Ikkaku wrote down the score and then gave Hisagi Shuuhei an approving look.
"Hey, kid, I like you. Join the Eleventh Division after graduation!"
Madarame Ikkaku had just finished speaking when Hisagi Shuuhei's small face first showed a hint of struggle, then became incredibly resolute:
"Thank you, Examiner, but I... have already decided to join the Ninth Division!"
"Tch, suit yourself!"
Madarame Ikkaku mumbled, then said no more, directly calling the next examinee to begin the test.
Through his observation, Ito Makoto found that none of the scores given by Madarame Ikkaku seemed to be below sixty points. It appeared that so far, all examinees had passed the Zanjutsu assessment.
Soon, it was Ito Makoto's turn to be assessed.