"Tsunayoshi Sawada!"
Yamamoto appeared before Tsuna in a flash of Shunpo, his face filled with rage like a volcano on the verge of eruption. He was clearly forcing himself to suppress his emotions. Even though he knew Tsuna was an outsider, Tsuna had already done more than enough.
After a long moment, Yamamoto finally regained control. He sheathed his Zanpakutō and once again became the old man leaning on a cane.
"Old Man Yamamoto, to be honest, I don't have any personal conflict of interest with Aizen. If you're still upset, we can spar in a couple of days," Tsuna said.
"Hmph! Brat Sawada, you've got a bit of strength and already you're talking big?" Yamamoto rarely addressed people like this—his anger hadn't fully subsided.
That said, Yamamoto did acknowledge Tsuna's strength. Although he hadn't been present at Sōkyoku Hill, he had sensed the Reiatsu fluctuations during Tsuna's battle with Starrk. He had to admit—this young brat had already surpassed most of the captains of the Seireitei.
"Whether I'm talking big or not, you'll find out in a couple of days." Tsuna remained completely unconcerned by Yamamoto's anger. "Besides, because of your lieutenant, visiting the First Division was already on my schedule."
Yamamoto's narrowed eyes opened slightly. Only now did he recall—this brat had once been assassinated by Chōjirō Sasakibe. And before that incident, he had already defeated Unohana Retsu, the strongest in the Seireitei aside from Yamamoto himself.
Damn that Aizen. In his anger, even he had become irrational.
Yamamoto exhaled deeply, calming himself. "Regardless, on behalf of the Seireitei, I thank you for your assistance. As for your visit—I will be waiting in the First Division."
"Old man, what are you talking about?"
A figure suddenly jumped out from Yamamoto's shadow—it was none other than Kyoraku Shunsui, who had been too afraid to show himself since Aizen regained consciousness.
Kyoraku had been hiding nearby, waiting for a chance to ambush Aizen. But until Aizen escaped, he never found an opening.
"Oh? Captain Kyoraku finally decided to come out?" Tsuna asked with a grin. "I was wondering where you went—turns out you were hiding in the shadows."
Seeing Tsuna's knowingly teasing expression, Kyoraku realized he was being mocked. He scratched his head awkwardly. "Well… I just couldn't find a good opportunity to take Aizen down."
"Really? Not even when Captain Unohana and Captain Zaraki were attacking together?" Tsuna's grin widened.
Under the overwhelming pressure of Unohana Retsu and Zaraki Kenpachi's relentless assault, Kyoraku should have been able to land a sneak attack. One strike would have been enough for them to severely injure Aizen.
But he never made a move.
"Well… the risk felt too high."
Kyoraku couldn't be sure whether Aizen was still using Kyōka Suigetsu. If he rushed in recklessly and ended up getting cut down by Unohana and Zaraki instead, that would've been disastrous.
"Useless disciple! And you still dare say that!" Yamamoto snapped, even more furious now. "You knew in advance that something was wrong with Aizen, and this is the result?!"
"More than half of the Gotei 13 captains were severely injured—where was your brain? Where were your countermeasures? Don't tell me you've spent the past two days doing nothing but drinking!"
It had been a long time since Kyoraku had seen Yamamoto this angry. He shrank his neck and muttered in defense, "Kyōka Suigetsu's ability is just too powerful…"
"Hmph! It's powerful, yet I was able to devise a countermeasure in a short time! And what about those who weren't affected by Kyōka Suigetsu? Why didn't you cooperate with them?"
"With such negligence, how can I entrust the future of the Seireitei to you?!"
The first half was manageable—but the latter nearly scared Kyoraku out of his wits.
Hand over the Seireitei to him?!
Aside from handling all of Soul Society's affairs, he'd also have to deal with those short-sighted fools. Where would he even find time to drink and enjoy himself?
Being Captain-Commander? No thanks.
"Teacher, you're still in great health. We'll just continue fighting by your side…" Kyoraku said with a forced grin.
"Hmph!" Yamamoto was clearly dissatisfied. This disciple of his was far too lazy.
As for Ukitake, his condition was too special. The fact that Ukitake could fight normally was thanks to Tsuna. Yamamoto did not want the fate of the Seireitei to be influenced by an outsider.
In the end, Kyoraku was still the only choice.
Yamamoto struck his cane against the ground. "Stop wasting time. Go rescue the wounded and handle the aftermath!"
The moment he heard that, Kyoraku vanished in a flash.
Although there were no fatalities this time, many were injured. The price paid was far from small.
After listening for a bit, Tsuna lost interest and walked over to where Hiyori and the others were.
Because Lisa had been struck down and was unable to help, Hiyori and Mashiro had been completely tangled into a ball.
Even though they couldn't move, the two were still struggling. If they rolled a bit further, they'd fall off Sōkyoku Hill entirely.
Tsuna couldn't bear to watch anymore.
He loaded a special bullet infused with pure Storm Attribute Dying Will Flame into the Skull Launcher. A gentle yet refined flame sprayed onto the tangled mass. Under the decomposition effect of the Storm Attribute, Elastic Love quickly dissolved.
"Ha… I'm alive again!"
"Thank you, Tsuna…"
After dealing with them, Tsuna walked over to Uryū and patted his shoulder.
"Get up. How long are you planning to sleep?"
"Hm?" Uryū sat up groggily. "Is it over?"
"You managed to fall asleep in that short time?"
"No choice. My opponent's massage technique was just too professional."
Uryū deliberately avoided mentioning Hao Inoue, but the Cero he had been hit with truly lacked power. He had been playing dead—and ended up actually falling asleep.
"Get up and help. Carry Lisa to Orihime. I'll go pick Ichigo up," Tsuna said.
And yes—"pick up" was the right word. The underground space beneath Sōkyoku Hill had been completely wrecked by Ichigo and Gin Ichimaru. It looked like a garbage dump.
Following spiritual threads, Tsuna located Ichigo. After moving aside rubble, he found him lying there, staring blankly at the ceiling.
"What are you thinking about?"
Tsuna smacked his forehead lightly, snapping him back to reality.
Ichigo looked him over, then said casually, "Nothing. Just thinking about that fight. That guy… he was strong."
"What, did Ulquiorra shake you that much already?" Tsuna teased.
"If Zangetsu hadn't taken over just now, I wouldn't have been able to stop him."
Ichigo didn't bother hiding anything.
Then he shook his head, slapped himself hard across the face, and his eyes became resolute again.
"What am I even thinking? Rukia's been rescued. I won't need to fight monsters like that anymore."
For Ichigo, the drive to grow stronger had always been about repaying Rukia. Now that she was safe, he figured dealing with Hollows in Karakura Town wouldn't require that much power. No more life-or-death training.
Then he noticed Tsuna struggling to hold back laughter.
Confused—and annoyed—Ichigo punched him in the stomach. "What are you laughing at?!"
"Haha…" Tsuna finally stopped laughing. "Ichigo, I hate to break it to you, but there are going to be more and more opponents like that. You can't stop getting stronger. So that slap you just gave yourself? Totally pointless."
"Why?" Ichigo frowned. "Rukia's already saved."
"Because someone wants to return this world to its primordial chaos." Tsuna paused. "You can think of it as… destroying the world."
Ichigo's expression turned serious.
"…Is that what you've been carrying this whole time?"
Only now did he understand why Tsuna kept pushing himself—learning Bankai, practicing Resurrección, pursuing even greater power.
"It's not that heavy," Tsuna replied. "It's something everyone in the Three Realms will have to face. I just got ahead a bit—ow! Ichigo, you idiot!"
Before he could finish, Ichigo punched him again and grabbed his collar.
"You're the idiot! You should've told me earlier! You said this is something everyone has to face!"
Tsuna smiled. He didn't get angry. This was exactly because Ichigo was his friend.
"Alright, alright. Just don't stop moving forward. Keep getting stronger, okay?" Tsuna gently pried Ichigo's hand off.
"Why didn't you tell me sooner? If the world's at stake, we should prepare as early as possible!"
Tsuna sighed. "It's not that I didn't want to teach you. I asked your dad and mom—they didn't want you involved. They wanted you to live a normal life."
"You idiot! If it's a crisis for everyone, why listen to that unreliable old man?!"
Ichigo instinctively ignored Masaki. He moved behind Tsuna, locked his arm around his neck, and started drilling his fist into Tsuna's head.
"Alright, alright! There's still time!" Tsuna broke free. "Anyway, Uncle Isshin will be coming in a couple of days. Take your complaints out on him."
"My old man? Coming to Soul Society? Why?"
"Why else? A man who left home returning to visit family, obviously. Idiot!"
And with that, Tsuna ran off.
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