  We describe a direct gradiometer using optical pumping with opposite circular
polarization in two $^{87}$Rb atomic ensembles within a single multipass cell.
A far-detuned probe laser undergoes a near-zero paramagnetic Faraday rotation
due to the intrinsic subtraction of two contributions exceeding 3.5 rad from
the highly-polarized ensembles. We develop analysis methods for the direct
gradiometer signal and measure a gradiometer sensitivity of $10.1$
fT/cm$\sqrt{\mathrm{Hz}}$. We also demonstrate that our multipass design, in
addition to increasing the optical depth, provides a fundamental advantage due
to the significantly reduced effect of atomic diffusion on the spin noise
time-correlation, in excellent agreement with theoretical estimate.
