Graduation Season

"You're taking the captains and vice-captains too lightly. They're monsters, each and every one of them! I'm confident, but not arrogant enough to think I can replace them." Iba raised his head and looked up at the sky. A One Piece pirate who didn't want to become Hokage wasn't a good Bleach. He had never shied away from his ambitions, but he also knew his own limits. Even if those positions were vacant right now, it still wouldn't be his turn to fill them. But Iba wasn't discouraged. He had patience, and he firmly believed that one day, he would become one of those thirteen.

"So you want to temper yourself in Squad 11?"

"Yes! There's no better place to temper myself than Squad 11, which fights on the front lines."

"Then I'll wish you success in advance. If you get hurt someday, come find me. I'll treat you."

"Can't you say something more auspicious? If possible, I don't want to go to Squad 4, and I'll reserve judgment on your medical skills for now."

"Your words aren't any nicer! And you said earlier that captains and vice-captains were all monsters. Can I take that to mean that your mother... Mrs. Iba, is a monster in your eyes?"

"Huh!? How can you interpret it that way? You're clearly taking it out of context..."

"Next time I see your aunt, I'll repeat those exact words to her."

"..."

As the two traded jabs back and forth, the teacher hosting the ceremony soon announced that the graduation ceremony was about to begin. In the center of Training Ground One, this year's graduating Sixth-Year Students stood in neat square formations. A crowd had already gathered around them, and more people continued to arrive. Before long, every student in the academy had come, surrounding the area layer upon layer until it was impossible to squeeze through.

After the host gave a few bland opening remarks, he invited up the most important figures of the day. The moment the four captains stepped onto the stage, the crowd surged forward, everyone trying to squeeze to the front. The chaotic scene looked just like a fan meet-and-greet.

At the front stood an elderly bald man with his eyes lowered, appearing gentle and kindly. The right side of his head bore a cross-shaped scar. He had long white eyebrows and a carefully groomed white beard that reached his waist, tied with a purple cord. He wore a Shinigami Uniform beneath a First Division captain's haori, his hands clasped around a wooden cane.

Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto!

The founder of the Gotei 13, the Captain Commander, and captain of the First Division. He was also the founder and First Principal of the Shinigami Academy. He possessed absolute authority within the Soul Society and served as the Gotei 13's highest commander. His life was nearly synonymous with the history of the Soul Society itself, and he was known as the strongest Bleach in the Soul Society.

A transcendent captain-class powerhouse who had brought Zankensoki, the four major Shinigami skills, to their ultimate limits. Most terrifying of all was his Zanpakuto—Ryūjin Jakka! It possessed the greatest attack power and Power Level of all Zanpakuto in the Soul Society. It was also the strongest and oldest fire-type blade! After Bankai, its power could gradually evaporate every drop of water in the Soul Society. It was a Zanpakuto capable of destroying the entire Soul Society.

The three captains behind him were Squad 4 captain Retsu Unohana, Eighth Division captain Shunsui Kyōraku, and Squad 11 captain, the 10th Kenpachi—Kijō Kenpachi.

"Kids these days sure are enthusiastic! But being this lively... will make the old man angry. Right, Captain Unohana?" Listening to the shouts and screams from the crowd, the middle-aged-looking Shunsui Kyōraku tugged at the straw hat atop his head and asked the silent Retsu Unohana beside him.

Shunsui Kyōraku had a scruffy beard, two ornate hairpins in his hair, and a flashy pink floral coat over his captain's haori... he looked remarkably flamboyant. In short, this was a man with stories—perhaps plenty of tales to tell.

Retsu Unohana ignored him and continued gazing quietly ahead. Having been shut down by his senior, Shunsui Kyōraku shrugged and looked to the other side. Kijō Kenpachi was aimlessly scanning the crowd, wearing the same uninterested expression.

"Honestly, why did Ukitake have to fall ill today? Why did he have to ask me to fill in for him?" Shunsui Kyōraku sighed. Someone who hated work as much as he did only wanted to find a shady spot, lie down, and take a nice nap.

Bang! Bang!

The Captain Commander slammed his cane against the ground twice. Only once the venue had fallen silent did he open his eyes and say slowly, "Today is the day you graduate, and also the first day of your lives as Shinigami... Next, I'll just say a few words..."

"Blah blah... blah blah..."

"Why did I have to attend a ceremony like this?" Shunsui Kyōraku lamented. As the first Shinigami Academy graduate to become a captain, and one of the Captain Commander's beloved disciples, he knew the old man's peculiar hobby all too well. Every graduation season at the Shinigami Academy, rain or shine, the old man would personally attend. For nearly two thousand years, he had never missed a single one, all for the sake of delivering a grand graduation speech.

At that moment, Shunsui Kyōraku finally understood why Ukitake had suddenly fallen ill, why Captain Unohana wore such a lifeless expression, and why Kijō Kenpachi was... well, that guy didn't count!

At that moment, Shunsui Kyōraku remembered the nightmare that had once dominated all Seireitei Shinigami for over a thousand years—the Captain Commander's speeches, which lasted more than two hours!

"Well! The terror that has made Seireitei's fresh blood fear for a thousand years... it's time for you fledglings to experience it for yourselves!" As someone who had suffered through it himself, Shunsui Kyōraku delightedly watched the spectacle with the mindset of, If I suffered, don't expect to have it easy either. And sure enough, with that change in perspective, the Captain Commander's words no longer seemed quite so grating!

"Is the Captain Commander's speech different every year?" Duke quietly asked Iba beside him. He had watched previous graduation ceremonies from afar, and whenever he saw that the Captain Commander's speech was long and tedious, he would leave. He had never paid much attention to the actual content.

"Actually, every graduation speech over the past six years has been different..." Iba's face filled with excitement as he said admiringly, "As expected of the Captain Commander of the Gotei 13. He's truly amazing!"

"Is that really so amazing?" Duke rolled his eyes. Kid, you're too innocent. How could the busy Captain Commander possibly have time to prepare speeches? Someone must have handled that clerical work for him long ago. That was what leaders did—just sign their names. If something came up, the secretary... the vice-captain handled it. If nothing came up, handle the vice-captain... ahem!

"Think about it. The Shinigami Academy has existed for almost two thousand years. If the Captain Commander's speech is different every time... what does that mean...? And he gives every one of them without a script." Iba's admiration immediately became boundless.

"So impressive!" Duke was shocked too. What shocked him wasn't the Captain Commander delivering unscripted speeches for two thousand years, but the vice-captain who had written speech drafts for two thousand years. First Division vice-captain Sasakibe Chojiro truly hid his talents well. When Kurosaki Ichigo took him down in one move in the future, it must have been because all that writing had hollowed out his body. That had to be it!

With his sharp hearing, Shunsui Kyōraku caught Duke and Iba's conversation below and secretly laughed. What did these two rookies know? The old man only had six speech drafts in total, cycling through them every six years. Of course they had never heard a repeat.

And so, two hours passed... Just as everyone had lost all will to live, the Captain Commander finally ended today's speech in a hoarse voice.

"Long live! It's finally over! Long live the Captain Commander!"

"Waaah... I want to go home! I miss my mom!"

"Hahahaha..."

"This is bad, Yamada-kun has gone crazy..."

"Ah! Someone wet themselves..."

The crowd erupted into noisy chaos. On the platform, Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto saw the students weeping tears of joy, sincere tears streaming down their faces, and nodded in satisfaction. Taking time out every year to attend the graduation ceremony truly is a wise decision. After hearing my speech, everyone must love the Seireitei even more. Look at them throwing themselves into the Gotei 13 with such passion. Now I can rest easy!

"Iba, you were right. The Captain Commander is... truly amazing!" Duke forced himself to stand straight, steadying his still-wobbling legs.

"What did you say...? I can't hear you. I think I just saw Grandma... I was talking to her! How strange. Why did she turn into you when I turned around? Huh, what happened to everyone?" Iba came back to his senses and looked around at the many miserable states of the people nearby, completely puzzled.

"Nothing..." Duke's lips twitched as he advised, "If you see your grandmother again next time, give her my regards. And... if you can avoid talking to her, try not to. If you really have to, keep it brief."

"Okay, I'll greet her for you next time. Come to think of it, every time I hear the Captain Commander's speech, I see Grandma... That's so disrespectful!" Iba was deeply disappointed that he hadn't heard the entire speech and felt ashamed of letting his mind wander.

"You'll definitely become an incredible man. I mean it, Iba!" Duke gave him a thumbs-up, though his lips were still pale. For six straight years, Iba had hovered at death's door and survived every time. His vitality rivaled a cockroach's. For that alone, Duke would bow to no wall—only to him.

"Ah! What exactly happened..." Iba still hadn't recovered and remained utterly confused.

After the Captain Commander finished his tear-jerking speech, the graduating Sixth-Year Students followed the four captains, led by Shinigami from the various divisions, to the closed Training Ground No. 7. There, they would submit applications to join the divisions they favored and undergo each division's assessment. If successful, they would become honorable Shinigami today. If they failed, they had two paths: return to the academy to repeat the year and wait until next year, or be sent directly out of the Seireitei and back to Rukongai. Of course, unless one's talent was appallingly poor or one was a worthless layabout, the second outcome generally wouldn't happen. At least, Duke had never heard of anyone being sent back to Rukongai. Naturally, noble heirs who loafed around and waited for death were outside those rules. They came to the academy merely to earn a diploma; they would never risk their lives to become Shinigami. The Soul Society had other professions besides being a Shinigami. Just like the human world, the vast Soul Society lacked none of the three hundred and sixty trades. If one did well enough, even entering Central 46 was not impossible.

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