Summary : This is not the final chapter in our Vaira arc. I hope you don't all hate me too much for that. But I do have a wonderful announcement. There will NOT be a break between Vaira and Future arc. Please look forward to continued weekly updates.
"Whew~just in time... Thanks! You saved me." Yamamoto told the disciplinary prefect as he began to breathe a little easier now. "You would mess up the discipline if you died on school grounds. If you want to die, go outside to do it." Hibari responded. The baseball player chuckled, "What's that about?" Hibari was still weak from both taking that poison and blood loss; he ended up leaning against the wall unexpectedly. "Oi! Are you all right?" Yamamoto asked his upperclassmen. "About what?" Hibari refused to admit something was wrong. "Player sub! I'll take over from here on." he assured him. Hibari glanced at him but nodded. He would need a minute to regather his strength and there were no cameras where he was so a certain princess wouldn't see him being weak.
"Thanks, Octopus head." Ryohei thanked Gokudera. "You're going to be giddy for a while. I need to go now. I have to go save the others. Here, take care of the stupid cow." he asked the boxer. "In that case, take our rings along too. The chances of you running into Sawada first are higher." Ryohei said, offering him the rings. "Got it." Gokudera said, getting ready to take off towards his boss. "One more thing. I'd like to save Lussuria too." Ryohei asked his friend. "Wha?" Gokudera pondered for a moment. "Oh well...I'm sure the boss would do the same." he agreed.
Xanxus was breathing hard. "How could I lose to your fake zero point breakthrough... from a scummy fake like you..." He mumbled more to himself. Tsuna stood his ground. "Fuck... Fuck... YOU FUCKING BASTARD!" he screamed and more scars appeared on his face and body.
Tsuna's eyes widened and so did Sakura's. She instantly understood now. The reason she was so attracted to Hibari and Xanxus was because these two boys made her feel weak. Feeling weak wasn't something the princess was used to and that's why she was pulled by them. She wanted to be on equal footing with them. Reborn looked up at her. He too noticed it and smiled because it seemed like she knew too. What an interesting quirk the princess had.
'Gimme a break... the wound is bleeding again?" Yamamoto asked as he put his hand on his side to create pressure to stop the bleeding. "Who's there?" A silver-haired boy came around the corner of the building. "Gokudera?!" Yamamoto said surprised. "Ya-yamamoto?" Gokudera responded just as surprised. "You're all right too?" Gokudera asked his friend as he ran towards him. "Yeah, Hibari didn't want people dying on the school grounds so he came to save me." Yamamoto explained as he ran to meet his friend half way. "What, you too? That guy wants us to owe him a debit. I wonder what he's up to... It doesn't feel right..."
"Well, that guy looks like he'd been beaten up pretty bad, from the way he was moving." Yamamoto tried to reason with this friend. "Hibari?" "He even gave me custody of his ring. So who else hasn't been saved yet?" He asked. "The stupid cow and lawn-head are fine." Gokudera assured him as he held up both the lighting and sun ring. "So, that means the only one left is..." "The mist!" Both of them looked over at the gym. "That girl." "Yeah in the gym."
"How dare you... low life scum. Unforgivable." Xanxus got up. "Xa-Xanxus's face..." The brown haired boy stared at him. "They're old scars?" Shamal pointed out. Xanxus began to super charge his guns "YOU'RE FUCKING DEAD!" The flames around Xanxus were painted a different darker orange than originally. "What a guy... After all this, he can still increase the intensity of his flame." Reborn commented. "Is that guy's power bottomless?" the camo baby questioned. "That's his fury!" Someone else commented. "This...This voice..." The brown haired boy commented, turning around.
There they were all greeted with a really messed up and beaten Squallo who was restrained in a wheelchair and had two guards with guns pointed to his head. Dino was also there. Sakura lit up and went to the end of the spectator box. "Dino-san," she smiled. She then saw the two guards there. "Kai! Bai!" She said happy to see them as well. "Princess." they both bowed their heads to her.
"We have to hurry. The thirty minute limit on the poison is almost up!" Gokudera panicked as he beat on the gym door. "Gokudera are you alright? You look really pale." Yamamoto pointed out. "As if you can talk! Aren't you also pressing on your wound and sucking it up?" Gokudera taunted back. "We're both beaten pretty badly huh?" Yamamoto laughed it off. "Geez" Gokudera commented as he finally got the doors open.
The gym was a mess and the pole that was holding the ring up was already knocked down. "The pole! What the hell happened to it? Where's Dokuro?" Gokudera demanded as he took in the situation. "Over here~" Bel teased as he held a knife to the female illusionist. Her arms were bound and she was dangling off the ground with both Bel and Viper next to her.
"Would you like to hand over the rings you're holding? Otherwise, I'll peel the skin off her bones, and kill her in the most gruesome way possible." Bel warned them. "Fuck you! You'd think we'd fall for that cheap trick?" Gokudera stood his ground. "Who do you think I am? We're the assassin squad, Varia, you know? When it comes to killing...We don't bluff." Bel said calmly as he lightly pressed the knife against Chrome's cheek. "Stop! I don't trust you... Even if we hand over the rings, you have no intention of letting Dokuro go. Isn't that right?" Gokudera asked, trusting his mafia upbringing. "It's up to you to believe me or not, but If you keep dallying she'll die from the poison before I skin her anyways." Bel made them understand the reality of their situation. "Damn..." "No choice then..." Yamamoto stepped up.
"Looks like we have no choice but to hand over the rings... Apart from the mist ring you have, Gokudera and I have the remaining rings." Yamamoto said holding up two rings. "Oi! Are you crazy?" Gokudera yelled, losing all composure. "But, we're not accepting such a one-sided deal. First, cure the girl's poison in exchange for the rain and cloud rings. Once you've done that we will trust you and exchange the remaining rings for the girl." Yamamoto bargained. Gokudera continued to stare at his classmate in shock. "Oi, Oi, do you actually know who has the upper hand here?" Bel questioned, not amused. "Well... it's fine, Bel. We'll still come out even." Viper commented. "That's true too." Bel gave off his signature laugh. "Damn, you Yamamoto. Do you have any idea what you're saying?" Gokudera started to doubt his friend. "Don't approach within reach of your sword. Just stand where you are now and roll the rings over." Bel warned. "Whenever you're ready." Yamamoto was calm.
"Uwa~ The cheek... OH well, whatever." Bell said. "Then, one, two...three." On three Bel pushed the mist ring into Chrome's watch meeting Yamamoto's side of the agreement. "Here." Yamamoto said tossing the cloud and rain ring on the floor except he purposely lost his footing in some of the rubble then kicked his sword right into Bel's left shoulder. Bel screamed out in shock and surprise. "What!" Viper questioned not paying attention. "He kicked his sword?" Gokudera said surprised. Yamamoto was well trained and moved to grab his sword and hold it against Viper's neck. "Don't move." It looked like the two Vongola guardians had the advantage. But they didn't. Instead they had all been caught in Viper's illusion and they were back to square one again.
"Impossible! I don't believe it. You're still alive? Squalo!" The brown-haired boy said quite surprised to see the living body of the man who was supposed to be eaten by a shark. "On the day of the rain battle, The princess and I had the same idea to sneak men into the basement... they, my men, were supposed to rescue Yamamoto. But the one who fell into the water tank was Squalo." Dino explained. We barely got to him in time, but he was already on the verge of death... somehow, thanks to Sakura-hime, we managed to find skilled doctors and a hospital with advanced facilities, where he underwent major surgery... "Some...something like that... That's why Master Dino didn't come to the mist battle. And why Sakura-sama was late." The brown haired boy put everything together. Dino glanced over at Squalo. "Because I'm sure we can force some information out of this guy. Isn't that right Sakura-hime?" Sakura nodded her head. She had agreed to help rescue and fund the saving of the swordsman's life.
One of the Cervello twins landed next to the specter box. "You're Squalo!" she said, surprised. The group turned their attention to her. "Hey little lady. It's rather impossible for this guy to enter the field now, isn't it?" Shamal asked her. "I understand. Accepted. But, all of you must enter the observation box." she commanded. "This is good...That fury will make you stronger." Squalo finally spoke. Dino and Sakura both whipped their attention to him. "That fury is the strength that'll turn your ambition into reality. That fury is what inspired me to follow you." he continued.
Tsunayoshi and Xanxus's fight continued at speeds that seemed inhumane. Xanxus's scars darkened his face and Tsuna's flames glowed brighter. As they went head to head, Tsuna was able to lay a solid punch on the Varia leader's face . The man took the hit but his fury continued to push the man to become stronger. Growls and grunts were exchanged between the two leaders. Tsunayoshi continued to push the Varia leader. He got in close and was able to start pushing the man down. "What are you going to do with that!" Xanxus yelled. The Vaira leader started a counterattack pulling out his guns again. "Die!" he yelled as he charged them with two powerful blasts of flames. Tsunayoshi put his hands in his unusual square shape preparing to absorb the flames again. But Xanxus's flames were too strong. Instead Tsunayoshi took the safe choice and dodged the attack.
"He dodged it?" Colonnello yelled out in shock. "If Tsuna received that level of flame and failed to absorb it, it'd go right through him." Reborn explained. "No...no way." The brown-haired boy yelled.
"FUCKING DIE!" Xanxus yelled again as he launched himself again. Tsuna was watching Xanxus. There was something strange going on. He closed his eyes for a moment. "Tsuna! What are you doing?" Dino yelled. The boy snapped open his eyes. Xanxus threw up his guns and he and Tsunayoshi grabbed each other's hands. Flames clashing with flames and they stood their ground.
"He intends to receive that flame?" The camo baby asked. "But, trapped in that pose, not even his zero point breakthrough is..." The brown-haired boy yelled. "It's the end." Squalo said. Sakura on the other hand couldn't look away from the exchange of the flames. Something about them was oddly beautiful. The princess couldn't help but stare and feel a strange tingling to the flames. Reborn looked over at her. It wasn't impossible and it wouldn't be surprising if they too were a keeper of orange flames. Reborn smiled a little to himself as he looked at the princess.
The Vongola kids yelled at Tsunayoshi's name hoping he was okay. Squalo on the other hand smirked. The funneled smoke began to clear. Standing tall and proud was the Varia leader Xanxus. "No..no way..." The brown haired boy muttered. The perverted doctor looked shocked. "Xanxus..." Sakura muttered his name. "The outcome was expected." Squalo said proudly. "Don't all panic at the same time. Look at his hands." Reborn was calm. "Hands..." Shamal muttered. Everyone turned their attention to Xanxus's hands. "That's..." Dino's eyes widened.
Xanxus's hands were frozen in solid crystal flame. "They're frozen!?" The camo baby yelled. Everyone exchanged shocked expressions. "This phenomenon... im...Impossible... It's the same as that time!" Squalo yelled.
The smoke cleared a little more and Tsunayoshi was spotted staring at his hands. "This is..." he muttered. "Tsuna!" The camo baby yelled his name. "I see... This is probably the zero point breakthrough that the first boss came up with." Reborn explained. Everyone turned their attention to the sharply dressed baby.
"Since the dying will condition is reversed, it could also create the reverse state of the dying will flame." Reborn explained. "I see. The opposite of flame is coldness!" Shamal clicked everything together. "But that's not just ordinary coldness." Dino pointed out. "It froze Xanxus's flame...it's as if the purpose of the technique was really for..." Shamal tried to understand. "It's a technique created to seal off the dying will flame." Reborn finalized. "This is impossible." Xanxus put his crystalized hand up to his face as he took in what happened to him. "HOW DARE YOU!!" He yelled.
Back at the gym...
Viper and Bell were reminding Gokudera and Yamamoto their position and how the Varia in this situation had the upper hand. "And we're back to the starting point. Come on now, hand over all the rings besides the rain and mist." Bell yelled. "If you don't, the girl will be skinned alive." Viper released snakes and began to tightly squeeze Chrome. "I'll rip her limbs out too." "You bastard!" Gokudera yelled. "Stop it..." Yamamoto muttered. "It looks like you still don't understand. The fact that you can see my illusions means you have no bargaining power whatsoever." Viper reminded them. "What?" the snakes appeared around Gokudera's arm. "What?" they tightened their grip. "Shit..." The snakes went towards Yamamoto this time. "The two of you will die here as well by the power of your own imagination." Viper sealed their fate. Both boys began yelling, scared and freaking out.
"Hayato! Yamamoto!" Shamal yelled their names. "This is no good! There's nothing they can do to fight it!" Dino yelled. Sakura frowned on the screen; it looked like they were fighting against nothing but she knew the powers of illusions and the effects it has on one person. Sakura wasn't the only one lost in her thoughts. Colonello too was lost in his thoughts as he had a focused eye on the screen.
"MAXIMUM CANNON!" Ryohei yelled, destroyed the entire wall and blasted Viper's illusions away from the other two ring users. "From outside?" Bell guarded his face. Viper was blasted back. There was nothing but debris surrounding the middle schoolers. "You guys all right?" Gokudera yelled out. "Yeah Dokuro is okay too!" Yamamoto coughed out. "What the heck... The gym blew up..." Yamamoto tried to understand. "Where'd those guys go?" Gokudera asked, looking around for the two Varia members. "Wa-wait that explosion just now was you?" Yamamoto asked, looking past Gokudera. "It's you!" Gokudera turned around and saw... "Well I hate being the slow one." Ryohei appeared holding his destroyed right hand.
The screen went back to Xanxus and Tsunayoshi. "Why! It's impossible! How could a scumbag like you master the Vongola's ultimate technique!" Xanxus struggled to understand how Tsunayoshi was able to freeze his hands. "Those scars... "They're proof that you were once consumed by the zero point breakthrough over your entire body." Tsunayoshi avoided Xanxus's question and instead turned the pressure on him. "What?" Colonello questioned. Squalo stayed quiet. "You can no longer ignite the flames on your fists... you have lost, Xanxus." Tsuna continued. "And here i was thinking what else you were going to say! YOU'RE FUCKING KIDDING ME!" Xanxus slammed his frozen fists on his knees, shattering his hands, knees and edges of the crystalized flames. "All this fake rubbish." he yelled, shocked that his hands were still enclosed. "It's useless Xanxus. If you continue doing that, The results will be worse than the scars the ninth boss gave you."
"What?" Shamal questioned. "The ninth boss?" the brown haired boy asked. "Th-then...Xanxus was struck by the ninth's boss's zero point breakthrough?!" the camo baby yelled.
"SHUT THE FUCK UP! I AM THE ONE WHOSE NAME CONTAINS THE DOUBLE X TITLE. I AM XANXUS! Do you think I would submit to a fake like you?! The one who'll win is me! I AM THE FUCKING TENTH BOSS OF THE VONGOLA!" The Varia leader didn't want to give up. He had no intention of letting Tsunayoshi win as he charged out the boy recklessly. Tsunayoshi was unshaken though. As Xanxus got closer he made a simple strong punch in the man's gut forcing him to his knees and coughing up blood. "Let's go." Tsuna asked him, calm and with no flames. He leaned in getting all close and personal with Xanxus. "Zero Point Breakthrough First Edition."
Xanxus screamed out in pain as the frozen flames began to encase him. "Don't do it!" Squalo yelled from the sidelines. "...why...why did you..." Tsuna asked unsure why Xanxus would go through this again. "SHUT THE FUCK UP! Don't repeat the same drivel as that senile old fart!" he yelled. "As the ninth boss...?" Tsuna questioned...
The battle was over. Tsuna's flames glowed brilliantly as he completed the sky ring. On his knees Xanxus still posed defiantly frozen in flames. "This cannot be melted anymore."Tsuna stood proudly. "Something like this..."Shamal was shocked. "That ice has the opposite power of the dying will flame. So it's like a highly negative compressed energy." Reborn explained what Tsuna meant. "Then, the fight..." the brown haired boy asked, looking down at Reborn. "Yes. Tsuna has won." Reborn confirmed. "That's..."Shamal didn't finish his sentence as his shoulders slightly slumped. "That's great!" The brown haired boy yelled. "It's over." Sakura said letting out a sigh didn't know she had been holding in. "Xaxus is...frozen in stasis then..?" Colonello asked Reborn. "Yeah, probably." he agreed.
"Just like he'd been asleep for the last eight years since the 'cradle affair." Reborn turned to meet his friend's eyes. "I see. Now can someone explain the rest?" Colonello questioned. "Go on, it's time you talked Squalo." Dino said, turning his attention to the rain guardian. "What happened after the cradle affair eight years ago?" "like all of you have already guessed. He was frozen by the ninth boss... that's all there is to it." Squalo kept it short and simple but Reborn, Dino and Sakura could all tell there was more but the shark had no intention of sharing.
"OUUII! Let me outta here!" Squalo screamed as much as his voice would let him. "We cannot allow that." one of the cervello said. "According to regulations, the conditions for victory have not yet been met..." The other chimed in. "Screw you! Let me out!" Squalo continued. "Stop it Squalo!" Dino yelled this time. Sakura groaned and stepped away from the two yelling men.
Tsunayoshi was exhausted. His breathing was hard, his clothes bleeding and holding on by threads, his dying will flame was also getting smaller. The boy fell to his knees and had to catch himself. His breathing became harder and harder and it was like everything he wanted to achieve had finally been reached. "Oi!" the camo baby yelled. "That Tsuna... his energy has also reached its limits." Reborn pointed out.
"Now's our chance!" Lussuria and Levi made their appearance. Reborn looked shocked. "Those guys!" The brown haired yelled. "Time to die!" Lussuria got ready to shove his knee plate into Tsuna's head. "Illusions..." Tsuna muttered. "Muu." Levi yelled as he pulled out his umbrella. "You saw through it very well." Lussuria got a little closer to the boy. "But, it looks like you don't even have the energy to crawl any more." Viper appeared in front of Tsunayoshi. "It's useless... Xanxus has been put to sleep..."Tsunayoshi managed to get out.
"Let's see about that shall we? Instead shall we say that preparations are in good order for the ceremony that will declare our boss the successor to the next Vongola boss. Our boss will once again be revived." Viper said right before he held out all the guardian rings. Tsuna wanted to stand up, to say something... anything but all he could manage to do was look in shock. "Those are!" Shamal yelled. "The guardian rings..." The brown haired boy finished. "How?" Sakura questioned seeing Hibari's ring there. "All Right!" Squalo cheered.
"Do you know why the rings were stored in halves? And, do you know why they can only be awarded to the true successor of the Vongola? That's because the rings themselves have a hidden power." Viper continued. "Hidden...power..." The brown haired boy questioned. "Our boss was locked up after being frozen by the ninth boss's zero point breakthrough. When the ice was melted there were seven burn marks left on the base... I cannot be sure who'd done it, but the evidence was enough to lead me to a hypothesis." Viper finished explaining.
Tsunayoshi looked down at his ring with minimal effort and was able to light it on fire. Viper as well lit all the guardian rings with brilliant flames of their own. "Exactly as I thought." Viper commented. "The rings are on fire!" Colonello yelled. "You better watch this." Viper approached Xanxus's frozen body. The flames began to burrow their way through the ice. "The zero point breakthrough ice!!" Shamal yelled. "It's melting!" Dino was in shock. "When the full set of the seven Vongola rings are passed to the successor, it's said that the rings will grant a great power to the new blood of the Vongola." Viper revealed as he continued to push the flame through the ice.
"To the blood...of Vongola?" Tsunayoshi muttered. Something flew across Tsunayoshi's hands knocking his lit up sky ring out of his hands. "It's about time you return it. This ring belongs to the true successor." Bell made his reappearance. "Belphegor!" Shamal yelled his name. "He's still alive?" the browned hair boy yelled. "We've gotten all the Vongola rings!" Bell yelled at his comrades as he ran over to the others; holding the sky ring on the edge of one of his knives. "We're ready over here, too," Viper said. The ice around Xanxus had melted enough that the man was standing up.
With a loud thump Xanxus hit the ground. The ice was fully melted and the man struggled to move his body. "Welcome back boss!" Bell said, kneeling over him and looking down. "It's time." Viper told him floating over to him. Xanxus opened his eyes with a bit of a glare. "Give me...the rings..." he struggled to say. "Of course! That second-rate imposter doesn't deserve this." Bell said holding up the sky ring on the edge of his knife. "It's rightfully yours, the true progeny of the ninth boss."
"Hold...ha...hold on..." Tsunayoshi could barely keep his eyes open. It was hard for him to catch his breath. "After all, this was meant to be, from the start." Viper said taking the other half of the sky ring from Xanxus's neck. Both Cervello twins appeared near the battle. "Boss!" Gokudera yelled from the distance. "Tsuna! Yamamoto followed behind. Tsuna's family came running down the stairs catching up to him and ready the help out.
Ryohei stood there holding Lambo in his arms. Gokudera and Yamamoto looked the most surprised while Chrome looked ready to battle. Hibari at this moment wasn't seen around, causing the Yakuza Princess to desperately look for her crush. "Looks like everyone and their dog is here to witness the birth of the new boss." Bell taunted as he held up Xanxas's hand to put the completed sky ring on it. The spectators stared in shock and horror. "O, pride of the Vongola grand your successor...Grant the young blood of Vongola with great power!" Viper summoned as Bell put the ring on Xanxus's finger.
The ring began to glow and ignite in flames. The other rings, now attached to the necklace, also began to glow. "This...this is it." Xanxus felt the power of the ring flow into his body. He stood up and held it up to the sky. "This is the power! This limitless power is overflowing through me! This is the proof of the successor to the Vongola! With this, I will become the tenth boss of the Vongola!" Xanxus yelled excited.
But something unexpected happened. The ring rejected Xanxus. Blood came bursting out of his mouth.