Graduation
Karakura First High School.
The school was exceptionally lively today. Students were dressed in full school uniforms, with confetti pinned to their chests, and everyone's face was beaming with the smiles of youth.
Besides the students, many middle-aged people, dressed in formal attire, also attended; they were the students' parents.
Today is the graduation day for the senior students at this school.
Tsuna leaned against the protective wire mesh on the roof of the school building, looking down at the surging crowds. The Karakura Town seemed like yesterday.
After the battle with Yhwach, and after careful consideration, Tsuna and his friends did not restore Karakura Town to its original state. Instead, they preserved some of the ruined houses, artificially creating the epicenter of a disaster.
Then, all the residents of Karakura Town in London were teleported back to the Karakura Town stadium for resettlement. With the technological support of the Department of Research and Development, everyone who woke up would only think that they were lucky and had just escaped an earthquake.
As for the residents whose houses were destroyed, the Soul Society and Urahara Kisuke, through a company set up by Yukio, carried out a series of subsidized reconstruction works.
Masa excitedly asked Urahara to include her house in the disaster's impact area so that she could rebuild a house—the kind of house she described after having a daughter-in-law.
Ichigo and Orihime's resistance was forcefully suppressed by Masa. As for Isshin, he was cheering for Masa's decision and it was good enough that he didn't help.
As for the exams that all of Karakura Town missed, they were all given make-up exams, and the graduation ceremony was held after the exams.
"Everyone is enjoying the joy of graduation, why are you standing here all alone?" A black cat walked gracefully across the protective netting; it was this cat who spoke.
"What brings you here? Shouldn't you be hanging out with the shopkeeper?" Tsuna didn't even look up, knowing it was Yoruichi had arrived.
"What are you talking about? Does Yoruichi following me mean she's just hanging out with me?" The rooftop door opened, and Urahara Kisuke appeared before Tsuna in a formal kimono. The black cat that Yoruichi had transformed into leaped into Urahara's arms.
What brings you here?
Tsuna looked at the pair and had a bad feeling. The battle with Yhwach had just ended, and these two traders between the World of the Living and Karakura Town should be very busy. How could they possibly have time to appear in front of him, especially Urahara Kisuke, who didn't even wear that little green hat anymore.
With a flick of his small folding fan, Urahara covered half his face and said smugly, "We heard that the Sawada couple didn't have time to come back, so Yoruichi and I had to attend in their place so you wouldn't feel lonely."
Tsuna chuckled in exasperation. He knew these two were up to no good; they were there to be his elders. Yoruichi, even more arrogant, jumped onto his shoulder and stroked his head with her cat paws, saying, "Don't get so touched you'll shed tears~"
Fine, let Yoruichi have their fun on graduation day.
"How is the Soul King?" Taking advantage of Urahara's arrival, Tsuna inquired about the situation in the other worlds.
"The Soul King Palace is already under reconstruction. The divine generals who sacrificed themselves earlier have been resurrected and have temporarily returned to the Spirit Soul King Palace Soul King Palace to guard its reconstruction."
"What about the Seireitei and the Rukongai?" Tsuna continued to ask.
"Everything is gradually returning to normal. It's worth mentioning that Captain-Commander Kyōraku has established a new Patrol Squad, all of whom are at the super- Captain-level."
"You mean Kyōraku is planning to gradually have the current captain step down?"
Tsuna had a pretty good idea of what was going on. Many of the Vice-Captain had already mastered the power of Bankai, and it would be a waste of their power to have captains who could Beyond Bankai continue to manage the trivial matters of the squads.
"It's about training new talent. The Vice-Captain has been promoted to captain, and the original captain's responsibilities have been upgraded. He'll be in charge of inspecting the West Bureau and the other two realms. It's basically a sinecure, which will also make it easier for them to steadily Beyond Bankai."
Tsuna knew that Urano hadn't finished speaking. Sending the captains who possessed Beyond Bankai to patrol the Three Worlds was actually to guard against an even greater crisis.
"The Seireitei is also entering a period of great reshuffling." Tsuna sighed, looking up at the sky. Just like their school, it was time for new people to replace the old.
"The Soul Society is undergoing rapid changes; aren't you going to go and see it?" Uraen narrowed his eyes, clearly harboring some wicked scheme.
"Stop! Just tell Kyōraku to stay in his position and not to get any bad ideas."
Tsuna knew what Kyōraku was thinking, and unfortunately, he was also a lazybones. After Yhwach was defeated, his nerves, which had been on edge for ten years, could finally relax a little.
Just as Tsuna and the others were chatting, the rooftop door suddenly slammed open, and Tatsuki stormed in, looking furious. After greeting Urahara, he said to Tsuna, "Tsuna, honestly, what time is it and you're still hiding here!"
Without any resistance, Tsuna was grabbed by the hand and dragged downstairs by Tatsuki. The graduation ceremony was in the gymnasium, and students and parents were going in.
Tsuna inevitably has to face the issue of getting along with his father-in-law. In the eyes of the Arisawa family, since the Sawada couple cannot be present due to work, they should take on the responsibility of being Tsuna's family.
Urahara, however, showed absolutely no awareness of being Tsuna's parent and naturally sidled up near the Kurosaki couple and the Ishida couple.
The graduation ceremony proceeded smoothly. Amidst the school's blessings for the future, the students received their graduation photos and certificates, officially marking the end of Tsuna and his friends' high school life.
At the Kurosaki Residence, a barbecue party is being held to celebrate Ichigo and his friends' graduation and the reconstruction of the Kurosaki Residence. Their friends from the World of the Living have all come.
Urahara goes without saying; he came over for a free meal right after the graduation ceremony. All members of Xcution were present, Nozomi Kujō, who was stationed in Karakura Town.
One circle worth mentioning is that of the group of girls, with Orihime Inoue being a major focus of attention within that circle.
Because the Kurosaki Residence has been rebuilt, the layout of the house has been rearranged according to Masaki Kurosaki's wishes, and the two largest rooms in the house are given to her partner to live in.
In other words, Orihime will be sharing a room with Ichigo today, making Orihime the focus of all the girls' attention.
The various provocative questions left Orihime feeling utterly overwhelmed, and she could only turn to her friend for help.
"Tatsuki, how did you and Tsuna get along back then?" Orihime's face was flushed and teary, all because she was shy.
"Our uncle and aunt aren't home, so things will be much simpler." Tatsuki said with a relaxed expression as he sipped his juice.
Orihime lay slumped on the table, utterly dejected. That was the problem. If it were just her and Ichigo, it would be fine, but her parents and two younger sisters were at home. She couldn't imagine how her family would look at her the next day.
Surprisingly, Dohane Aura and Nozomi Kujō were sitting next to her, got along very well. Perhaps it was because they had both been taken advantage of in the past, and the two quickly became friends.
"Aura, what's made you happy lately?" Nozomi Kujō clearly noticed that Dohane Aura always had a smile on her face.
"I may have found the direction for my Fullbring. This time, the Three Worlds joined forces to fight against the Quincy, which has given me a lot to think about."
As Dohane Aura, who travels between the Three Worlds connecting their respective intelligence, witnessed the determination of the Three Worlds to protect their homeland, and her usually calm heart was deeply touched at that moment.
"I want my Fullbring to contribute to protecting this world..."
Just as the barbecue party was in full swing, the gate to the Kurosaki Residence's courtyard was pushed open.
Hey! Everyone's here!
"Renji? Rukia? What brings you here?" Ichigo quickly put down the clips he was holding and went to greet them.
"On behalf of Soul Society, I congratulate you on your graduation." Rukia handed over a very ornate and expensive-looking gift box. The box had many layers and was filled with high-quality pastries from Seireitei.
"Welcome, welcome! You two are captains now?"
Kurosaki Isshin, as the master, also came over. He was somewhat dazed when he saw the Captain's Haori on Renji and Rukia. The power of the Seireitei was changing too fast. The captains of his era had almost all been replaced.
Ichigo then belatedly realized the difference between Renji and Rukia, "It seems we shouldn't be the ones congratulating us; we should be celebrating that you've both become captains."
As they walked towards the courtyard, they chatted, and Renji loudly announced to those around them, "The leadership transition meeting of the Gotei 13 is about to be held, everyone must come to the banquet!"
Amidst the surrounding jubilation, Urahara, carrying a drink, sat down next to Tsuna, who was trying to keep a low profile in the corner. "Everyone's celebrating, why are you sitting here alone? That's not like you."
"Heh!" Tsuna glared at Urahara with dead fish eyes. Don't think he didn't know what Kyōraku was up to at this so-called leadership transition banquet. He had already decided that he would absolutely not set foot in Soul Society anytime soon.
"What are your plans after graduation?" Urahara continued to ask.
"Tatsuki and I will probably go to the West for a while and come back before the start of the semester." With the Sawada couple not around, Tsuna brought Tatsuki there this time to discuss their engagement.
"Rukia and Renji have already taken over as captains, and Kyōraku has handed over the Patrol Squad's duties. We will keep a close eye on the changes in the Three Worlds, and we will call you back immediately if there are any problems." Urahara unusually serious.
Tsuna knew what Urahara was worried about. The Soul King had told them that the Three Worlds were about to face a great crisis, and that there was another dimension outside the Three Worlds that was watching them with predatory intent.
Unfortunately, Tsuna didn't know when or what would happen in Hell, so the Seireitei had to form Patrol Squad to keep a close eye on the situation in the Three Worlds.
This is a routine task with an unknown time dimension and an unknown outcome.
"Tsuna, Manager, what are you two doing huddled here?" Ichigo excitedly walked over, pulling the two of them back together. "The meat is ready, come and dig in!"
All the party attendees were present, and everyone raised their glasses in celebration.
At this joyous moment, unbeknownst to everyone, in a dark alley in Karakura Town, a trace of black spiritual pressure quietly appeared—the very remnant spiritual pressure of Urahara Yhwach been searching for.
Yhwach's consciousness still lingered within his spiritual pressure. He had no intention of making a comeback; all he felt was deep disappointment in the Soul King. He wanted to see what kind of future the Soul King had chosen.
The black smoke gradually faded, merging into the air of Karakura Town and disappearing without a trace.
(PS: The Thousand-Year Blood War Arc has come to an end. There is only one last arc left. Originally, the Hell arc was planned to be about the first Gotei 13 encountering the protagonists in Hell, but now I really want to finish it as soon as possible and make it a short story.)