Hayato halted, visibly displeased.
However, after seeing the serious look on Takeshi's face, he swallowed the words at the tip of his tongue and shook his head in disdain.
"Tsk! He's not that strong anyway. If you want him, he's all yours."
"That's really..."
Takeshi flashed a broad smile.
"Thanks!"
As he spoke, he stepped forward casually. With a quick flick of the baseball bat in his hand, it transformed into a razor-sharp longsword.
In truth...
Though Takeshi is usually all smiles and jokes, the sting of his last two defeats still weighed heavily on his heart.
Without strength, you can't protect your friends.
This thought troubled him deeply.
So, no matter how grueling the training was, he pushed through, completing well beyond what was required.
Now, having mastered the sword techniques of the pirate world, his power had transformed.
Not only had he reached the cusp of the Iron Cutting level, but he could even go toe-to-toe with his Pokémon, the level 25 Arrogant Swallow.
Though perhaps not as flashy as Kyouya, who defeated his Onix...
He was still confident in facing a mysterious white-haired swordsman.
As Takeshi displayed his swordsmanship, Squalo's eyes narrowed.
His left hand shifted downward, and with a sharp swing, his sword sliced through the air, sending gusts of wind in both directions.
With a raspy voice, Squalo growled:
"Kid, do you even know what you're doing!?"
"Yeah," Takeshi replied in a deep voice, smiling.
"If you're as strong as you seem, you'll be the perfect test to see if all my hard work was worth it."
"What an arrogant brat!"
Hearing Takeshi's words, Squalo's expression shifted instantly.
Known for his bad temper, a fire of fury sparked within him.
"Haha..."
An ugly laugh escaped from deep in his throat.
He lowered his sword, pointing its tip directly at Takeshi.
"Kid, don't say I didn't warn you! If you come at me, you're as good as dead!"
But...
Takeshi only laughed at the threat.
"Haha, now I'm really looking forward to this!"
After all...
If the opponent isn't strong, then there's no point in fighting, right?
Whoosh!
With a flash of cold steel, Takeshi made the first move, his silhouette blurring as he slashed toward Squalo's sword.
"Huh!? I didn't expect this kid to know his way around a sword!" Squalo's eyes flickered with seriousness at Takeshi's form and speed.
The clash of swords was imminent!
Meanwhile, the boy who had escaped Squalo's grip hurried over to Tsuna's side.
"Sawada Tsunayoshi-sama!? You're Sawada Tsunayoshi-sama, right!?"
The boy, panicked, pulled a photograph from his pocket.
In the picture were young Tsuna and Nana. Upon closer inspection, one corner of the photo had been cut off.
Under Tsuna's small form, a pair of large hands held him up, lifting him to the same height as Nana.
After a quick glance at the photo, the boy confirmed that he wasn't mistaken.
The blue flames above his head flared even brighter.
He frantically introduced himself:
"Tsuna-sama, I'm a member of the Vongola External Advisory Organization! My name is Basil!"
"Please, you must get out of here! Squalo is an opponent you can't handle!"
Basil's words came out in a rushed, old-fashioned manner.
But...
Despite the urgency in Basil's voice, Tsuna and Hayato remained calm.
They merely looked at him curiously.
"Vongola's External Advisors?"
"Does the Vongola family really have a department like that?" Tsuna asked, turning to Hayato, who was more familiar with the mafia world.
When asked, Hayato looked a bit sheepish.
Though he came from the mafia, that was largely due to his parents, who were unaffiliated members of the Vongola family and had garnered some fame.
His parents had always hoped he would become a brilliant pianist.
As a result, Hayato wasn't very familiar with Vongola's internal structure.
Scratching his cheek in confusion, he stammered, "Uh... maybe... there is such a department."
"Mmm."
Seeing that Hayato wasn't much help, Tsuna wisely dropped the subject.
'It was a shame Reborn was out, or they could've asked him.'
Muttering to himself, Tsuna decided to believe Basil, who didn't seem hostile.
But as Basil noticed that Tsuna and Hayato didn't seem worried, his anxiety only grew.
He knew a bit about Tsuna.
At this point, Basil could only think that Tsuna and the others hadn't realized the seriousness of the situation.
He quickly pulled out a box engraved with the Vongola emblem from his jacket and handed it to Tsuna. With a serious expression, he pushed Tsuna forward and said:
"Tsuna-sama, you must leave here immediately!"
"Leave the rest of this battle to me!"
"And this box—I was entrusted by the Lord to deliver its contents to you."
"As for how to use it, I believe Mr. Reborn will explain."
"Huh? For me?"
Tsuna blinked in surprise as he took the box.
But when he looked up again, he found Basil standing there, eyes closed and wearing a grim expression.
"My mission is complete!" Basil declared dramatically.
"Now, Tsuna-sama, please leave at once. I will use all my strength to hold off Squalo."
"Uh..." Tsuna pointed awkwardly behind Basil.
"Um, maybe you should take a look behind you?"
"Huh?"
Confused, Basil opened his eyes and turned around.
Then...
He witnessed a sight he would never forget.
Because...
Squalo—the same man who had chased him relentlessly for days, forcing him to the brink of death multiple times—was now lying on the ground with a sword tip pressed against his neck.
...
...
Takeshi stood over him, frowning slightly in confusion. His eyes flickered with curiosity as he blurted out the thought on his mind:
"Why... are you so weak?"
Squalo, faced with his imminent demise: ...? ? ?
Weak?
I'm a member of the Vongola family's assassination unit! In the entire mafia world, who doesn't tremble at the sound of my name!?
Never, not even in his wildest dreams, had Squalo imagined being called weak.
But...
Staring at the blade hovering mere centimeters from his throat, he swallowed hard and croaked:
"Who... are you!?"
He had crossed mountains and seas, defeating renowned swordsmen one after another, yet never had he encountered a young swordsman as formidable as the one standing before him!
No way...
Squalo was indeed powerful.
Even when faced with a human-state Mukuro, he would still prevail with ease.
But fate was cruel today.
His opponent was none other than Takeshi, who had just endured 40 days of hellish training.
A natural talent combined with the best swordsmanship training manual from another world, along with Takeshi's relentless perseverance...
Takeshi's strength had surpassed level 20 and was now at level 25.
As for Squalo, he was barely hovering around level 20.
Though the gap between their levels wasn't immense...
It was Squalo's arrogance at the beginning that cost him his advantage, allowing Takeshi to easily defeat him.
Meanwhile...
Seeing that Squalo seemed to have lost his will to fight, Takeshi casually transformed his sword back into a baseball bat and slung it over his shoulder.
With a bright, sunny smile, he pointed to himself and answered Squalo's question.
"Me?"
"My name's Takeshi Yamamoto, and I'm the Tenth Generation Guardian of the Vongola family!"
Although Takeshi still didn't fully understand what "Vongola" was, he confidently took on the title.
In fact...
None of them—Tsuna included—felt any strong sense of loyalty to Vongola yet.
But that didn't matter.
Vongola was simply the reason they had come together.
And for now, that was enough.
However, upon hearing Takeshi's response, Squalo's expression changed dramatically.
His eyes bulged in disbelief as he stammered:
"W-What!? You're the Guardian of Vongola Decimo!?"
As a member of the Vongola family, Squalo knew all too well what that title meant.
Suddenly, a terrifying realization struck him:
There's someone this powerful among the guardians of that boy from Japan!?
Moreover, the timing of their arrival and saving Basil, who was being hunted...
Could it be that Varia's secret plan has been exposed!?
No!
He had to get this information back to Italy.
A thousand thoughts raced through Squalo's mind.
Seeing that Takeshi had lowered his guard, Squalo no longer cared about preserving his dignity as a swordsman.
He swiftly raised his right hand and grabbed his left arm.
Then, with a grimace of pain and a sharp crack, Squalo tore off his left arm and the sword attached to it.
Without hesitation, he pressed a hidden button and hurled it at Takeshi.
"Kid, you win this time!" he shouted.
"But next time, you won't be so lucky!"
"Huh?"
Instinctively, Takeshi caught the severed arm.
But a split second later, a rapid beeping sound emitted from it.
Only then did Takeshi realize that Squalo's left arm was a prosthetic limb!
And this prosthetic wasn't just for show—it had a self-destruct feature like something out of a movie!
Realizing this, Takeshi hurled the arm as far away as he could.
A second later...
BOOM!!!
The explosion was ten times more powerful than anything Hayato had ever managed, and the blast swept out from where Takeshi stood, kicking up a massive cloud of dust.
Seeing the sudden explosion, Tsuna's once calm expression shifted.
He quickly broke away from Basil, who still had questions, and rushed towards the blast's epicenter.
Hayato hurried after him.
...
…
"Takeshi!? Takeshi?! Are you alright!?"
Tsuna swept his hand in front of him, generating enough wind pressure to disperse the smoke and dust clouding his vision.
Just as his shouts faded, a faint cough echoed in response:
"Cough... I'm fine, Tsuna."
As the smoke cleared, Takeshi appeared, walking towards Tsuna.
He looked disheveled—his clothes were riddled with large burn holes, and his face and hair were covered in dust.
But this time, unlike the previous two battles, he hadn't passed out.
In fact, apart from his messy appearance, he seemed completely unharmed.
Still, a hint of apology flickered in Takeshi's eyes. He scratched the back of his head, sheepishly saying:
"Sorry about that, Tsuna."
"I accidentally let the enemy slip away."
"It's fine, really. Don't worry about it."
Tsuna waved his hands in reassurance, letting out a relieved sigh.
As long as Takeshi was safe, everything else was secondary.
And with that, Takeshi's first battle after the training concluded—with him defeating Squalo, although the enemy managed to escape.
After all they'd been through, the group no longer had any interest in strolling around the commercial streets.
Once they cleaned up a bit and came up with an excuse to calm down Kyoko and Haru, they took Basil back to Tsuna's home.
Since the enemy was from Vongola, and all signs pointed to Tsuna being their target...
Tsuna decided he couldn't just sit back and wait to be attacked.
After the grueling training camp, though still kind-hearted, he was no longer the helpless person who would run or rely solely on Reborn when problems arose.
Now, Tsuna was determined to handle challenges on his own!
...
...
On the way back, Tsuna and Hayato took turns asking Basil questions.
Basil answered everything he could.
It didn't take long before Tsuna and Hayato understood the entire situation.
It turned out that something unexpected had happened at Vongola's headquarters in Italy.
The Ninth Generation, who had initially supported Tsuna as the rightful heir to become the Tenth Boss of Vongola, suddenly changed his mind. He instead designated his own son—Xanxus, the leader of the Vongola assassination team—as the Tenth candidate.
Vongola's external advisor realized that things weren't as simple as they seemed.
So, using his authority, the advisor ordered Basil to bring half of the Vongola rings to Japan and deliver them to Tsuna and his guardians.
However...
As soon as Basil arrived in Japan, his movements were exposed, leading to Squalo's pursuit.
...
...
"Vongola... ring?!"
"This is the Vongola symbol Reborn mentioned, right?"
Tsuna picked up half of the ring from the box and held it up toward the sunlight, staring at the gleam that radiated from its center.
Recalling Basil's explanation, his expression shifted, and embarrassment washed over him.
"Ugh..."
"Why do I keep getting dragged into these bizarre battles ever since I met Reborn and Ace-sensei..."
"I have no interest in becoming the Vongola Boss or anything like that!!!!"