The next day...
As the orange-colored sun slowly lit up the city, a small restaurant in a quiet alleyway opened its door, and Tsuna walked out before immediately closing it behind him.
He didn't bother to lock it since it was really safe here in Japan.
However...
"Phew... This is heavy..."
He muttered as he glanced at the weight buckle on his chest, having just increased its weight today.
It might not look like he was wearing anything beneath his training suit, but that was because he was using a transformation jutsu to cover it up.
This way, he could train his chakra control by maintaining the transformation throughout the day while also training his physical body at the same time.
Basically, he was killing two birds with one stone.
"It's quite early," Tsuna said, checking the watch on his hand.
He realized it was early in the morning, and he still had a few hours to complete his morning routine. Tsuna began stretching while muttering, "I might need to make something to keep me awake for today's match..."
He knew that with the added weight, he would be spending a considerable amount of stamina during his morning run. As he thought about making something before heading to the gymnasium, an idea struck him.
"That's right, I could make that..."
Tsuna smiled as he started running, his shouts waking up the neighbors.
As Tsuna continued his morning routine, the city bustled with more activities. The sun slowly rose up in the sky, brightening the city and signaling the start of their activities.
It was the last day of the final league before they moved on to the playoffs in Kanagawa early in autumn. The gymnasium hosting the final league for the Interhigh was crowded with people eager to watch.
The members of Totsuki's Basketball Club walked through the corridor, heading towards their locker room.
Usually, it was just the five of them, but today, they had a new addition.
"Fufu, I heard we're playing against that Generation of whatever member today..."
Rindo chuckled, her eyes filled with clear intrigue as she glanced at the players in the locker room.
Sakamoto adjusted his glasses and sighed, "I've told you countless times, it's the Generation of Miracles..."
"Ah, right. He's their ace, isn't he?"
"Yeah, he's the real deal..."
Sato and Aoki nodded, remembering the infamous Daiki Aomine, known for his monstrous skills.
Rindo didn't seem to care as she observed Tsuna, who appeared to be sweating profusely. She tilted her head in confusion, "Tsuna, why are you sweating so much?"
"I ran with quite a heavy load this morning..."
"Heavy? What do you mean?"
Tsuna's response only added to her confusion, prompting her to blink in puzzlement.
"Hmm?"
Sakamoto also noticed this and nervously adjusted his glasses, "Ito-kun, are you sure you're okay?"
As their key player to face off against the Ace of the Generation of Miracles, Sakamoto was naturally concerned about Tsuna's well-being.
Without Tsuna, Sakamoto knew they'd be in serious trouble.
"...I'm fine, but I'm not sure about Marui."
Tsuna just shrugged his shoulders and replied as he took off his training suit, casually showing off his godly sculpted body.
"T-Tsuna, please be considerate..."
Rindo's face flushed red as she covered her face with her hand while still peeking while Tsuna just rolled his eyes at her.
"Marui?"
"Oh? That's right, I haven't heard him say anything..."
"Yeah, he's been strangely quiet."
Still, Tsuna's words made them all confused as they all turned to a corner and blinked their eyes, taking a moment to react to what they saw.
"...?"
Marui was lying down, looking quite pale with his eyes rolled up, showing only the whites. Sakamoto exclaimed worriedly, "...M-Marui!?"
"M-Marui! Are you dead!?"
"Please, Marui! Don't be dead yet, or else we can't play board games in your room anymore!"
Aoki and Sato, snapping back to reality, immediately ran to Marui, trying to wake him up with tears streaming down their faces.
However...
"In... m-my room again? Y-you're k-killing me!"
Marui mumbled before his soul seemed to leave his body.
He recalled how loud these two were in his room last night, making it impossible for him to sleep. And just as he finally closed his eyes, they woke him up, saying it was time to go for the Interhigh.
He was truly on his last breath!
"No!!"
"Marui!"
Aoki and Sato loudly exclaimed as they held Marui tightly.
"..."
Sakamoto felt his mouth twitching as he suddenly felt bad for Marui, who had to live under the same roof as these two.
Though he was still worried about the game, he couldn't care less about Marui being half-dead or whatever—they had to play no matter what.
Furrowing his eyebrows, he asked, "Should we just make him stand on the court?"
"...That's certainly a good way to torture someone," Tsuna sighed as he walked toward Marui, holding a jar of mysterious food.
"Don't worry, though. I've got a better way."
He chuckled, his expression contorting into a weird smirk, sending a shiver down everyone's spine.
Whatever Tsuna had in the jar, each piece glowed with a bright red coating that looked fiery and dangerous.
"...What is that?"
"Huh? Popcorn?"
The strangely dangerous aura emanating from the jar made Sakamoto nervously swallow his saliva while Rindo looked intrigued.
Tiny green bits of lime zest dotted the kernels, adding a spooky touch. The popcorn looked sharp and intense with its bright red color, appearing absolutely hazardous.
"It's my special snack for training, Sriracha Lime Popcorn. It's not just spicy, it's burning spicy. Kekeke..."
"Open his mouth..."
Tsuna slowly instructed Sato and Aoki, who blinked in confusion at the next words, "...and hold him down."
"...!"
Marui suddenly awoke at those suspicious words, his eyes snapping open and darting around.
However, it was too late as Sato held him down and Aoki forcefully pried his mouth open.
"Hmmmm!"
Marui let out a garbled noise with his mouth open, struggling to escape as Tsuna's face drew closer.
"Look at him go keke..."
"Kekeke... I didn't know you were this adorable, Marui."
He could see a cold smirk on Tsuna's face, making his heart race as Sato and Aoki chuckled evilly.
"Don't worry, Marui. It only hurts the first time..." Tsuna whispered softly.
"Hmm!! Hmm!!"
Marui struggled even more furiously, but the food was shoved into his open mouth, and Tsuna forcefully made him swallow it.
The next second, Marui felt a burning sensation hitting his throat, making his saliva flow uncontrollably.
His mouth overflowed with saliva, and the burning sensation spread down to his stomach, then throughout his whole body, causing him to twitch furiously.
"...What the hell?"
Everyone stared at Marui, who was twitching before suddenly going quiet speechlessly. Rindo turned to Tsuna with a wary expression and asked, "Tsuna, is he okay?"
"He's fine," Tsuna shrugged casually.
He offered the jar of his special snack, popping some into his mouth. "Go ahead, grab some. It'll be helpful..."
"..."
Everyone just rolled their eyes at him upon hearing those words.
Who would dare to try it out after witnessing what happened to Marui?
Tsuna shook his head and set the jar back on the bench, "You're going to take it after knowing what it'll do..."
"Anyway, let's go..."
He finished changing and slowly made his way out.
"Arghhh...!"
Just as everyone was unsure of what to do, a beastly scream reverberated. They all turned to see Marui, whose eyes were now red.
He slowly rose from his position, looking completely energized... and angered.
"Ito, you bastard!"
Tsuna just chuckled as the Totsuki players hesitantly took a bite of the popcorn. They then felt a burning sensation throughout their bodies before following Tsuna onto the court.
They felt like defeating Too Academy today!
---
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