True Funeral Wreaths Attack Namimori

"Wahhh, stupid Tsuna, it's so scary." Whether it was from the fall earlier, Lambo was scared, tears and snot smearing all over Tsunayoshi as he cried.

"It's okay, trust Gokudera."

Tsunayoshi comforted Lambo while running toward the stairs at the end of the hallway—the only path forward. He climbed the stairs to the second floor.

As soon as he reached the second floor, Tsunayoshi saw another classroom door swing open. On high alert, he stared at the doorway, only for a tall, black-haired man to step out yawning.

"What's all that noise?" The black-haired man noticed Tsunayoshi nearby and called out happily, "Tsuna?"

"Yamamoto Takeshi?" Tsunayoshi was already numb; he wouldn't be surprised if even more extra people showed up here.

"Since when are you so formal?" Yamamoto said with a chuckle.

"Um, Yamamoto, down below—"

Before Tsunayoshi could finish, Yamamoto's expression turned sharp. He pulled a bamboo sword from his baseball bag behind him, and the moment it left the bag, it transformed into a sharp longsword, the blade sweeping upward from below.

Shigure Soen Ryu, Defensive Form Second Style, Reverse Rainstorm!

A blue curtain of rain covered the entire hallway, followed by three impact sounds striking against it. Yamamoto calmly slashed down, knocking the foreign objects off the rain screen—three small nautilus shells rolled into the corner of the wall.

Yamamoto stared gravely at the other end of the corridor, where a blue-haired, barefoot girl floated in midair. Her face was puffed up with anger, as if annoyed that her sneak attack had failed.

Having been through this before, Tsunayoshi recognized her at once—the Rain of the True Funeral Wreaths, Lily of the Valley.

"Tsuna, you go first. I've got something to handle here." Yamamoto flicked his long blade stylishly, leaving his back to Tsunayoshi.

"I understand. Be careful."

"Go kick her ass, Yamamoto!!!" Lambo perked up again, cheering him on.

Tsunayoshi carried Lambo and continued climbing to the third floor. It was eerily quiet here, as if nothing was wrong, but Tsunayoshi still moved cautiously, afraid an enemy might pop out from anywhere.

After carefully checking the entire floor, Tsunayoshi relaxed a little. No one was here. It seemed he had time to sort out his current situation—what was this chaotic inner world all about?

Just as Tsunayoshi reached the corner of another staircase, a ghostly voice sounded beside him.

"I've been waiting for you, Vongola..."

Tsunayoshi turned his head and nearly had his soul scared out of him. He thought he wasn't afraid of ghosts anymore, but this guy—messy dark green hair, a decaying aura radiating from his whole body, a huge scar across his face, clutching a tattered rabbit plushie like a walking corpse—was utterly sinister. The sudden appearance was genuinely terrifying.

Lambo hid behind Tsunayoshi's neck, crying and cursing at the same time.

The Sun of the True Funeral Wreaths, Daisy.

Daisy's chest ignited with Sun Flames as he stepped step by step toward Tsunayoshi. Tsunayoshi could only back away step by step. He had no combat ability at all, and could only hope someone else would block this Funeral Wreath.

"LIMIT!!!"

The nearby window and door shattered with a bang. A fist wrapped in bandages slammed solidly into Daisy's face, sending him flying and tumbling. The one who appeared was a hot-blooded youth with gray hair and a crew cut—Ryohei Sasagawa.

"Ryohei-nii!" Tsunayoshi was overjoyed. Having someone block the way was a relief; otherwise, he really had no idea how to fight hand-to-hand while carrying Lambo.

"Run like crazy!"

Tsunayoshi understood Ryohei's meaning. He cheered Ryohei on and left the floor. Honestly, Tsunayoshi wanted to stay and watch the fight—if only he weren't carrying Lambo, if only he had power himself.

The clash between an explosive, burst-style fighting method and an ultra-long-endurance fighting style—what sparks would fly? It was something to look forward to.

Tsunayoshi reluctantly glanced back at Ryohei's back and stepped up to the next floor. The moment his foot touched the ground, the entire world began to warp.

The originally straight school hallway twisted and distorted. Illusion. Tsunayoshi realized immediately. Fortunately, thanks to his Fullbring, he had some resistance to illusions, so he didn't suffer mental pressure in this bizarre world.

Lambo, curled up in Tsunayoshi's arms, already had his eyes spinning like pinwheels, on the verge of foaming at the mouth.

A ding echoed through the space, and the twisted world seemed to snap back to normal. Tsunayoshi looked toward the center of the hallway—a one-eyed girl in a dark green uniform stood there, holding a trident.

"BOSS," she called out timidly.

"Chrome?"

Tsunayoshi hurried over. Having someone he knew around was reassuring. From the looks of it, Chrome had used her illusion to stop the enemy illusionist's ability.

If he wasn't mistaken, the enemy on this floor was the Mist attribute holder of the True Funeral Wreaths—Wolf Poison.

The best way to deal with an illusionist was still another illusionist, so Tsunayoshi wanted to get to Chrome's side as fast as possible.

Tsunayoshi rushed up to Chrome, about to speak, when he saw Chrome's face turn hazy. That delicate face transformed into a terrifying vertical pupil. Then, the trident in Chrome's hand stabbed straight through Tsunayoshi's chest. Even Lambo's noisy nature froze in that moment.

Blood dripped drop by drop from Sawada Tsunayoshi's chest. The Chrome in front of him turned into a dark brown demon mask, and the trident became Wolf Poison's arm.

Wolf Poison twisted his arm, pulling it out of Tsunayoshi's chest, bringing with it a still-beating heart. Wolf Poison tilted his head dismissively—so this was the Vongola? Didn't seem all that strong.

But the moment Wolf Poison tilted his head, his mask shattered. A trident was embedded in what had been empty space on his mask.

The Sawada Tsunayoshi who had been stabbed also transformed—the same dark green uniform, deep blue pineapple head. Tsunayoshi had completely turned into another man.

Rokudo Mukuro—like Chrome, the Vongola's Mist Guardian.

"Interesting. Looks like you're not that pathetic after all," Mukuro said.

Wolf Poison in front of Mukuro shifted again, reappearing farther down the hallway. But his mask hadn't been completely destroyed by Mukuro's blow—only cracked in places. The mask was Wolf Poison's true body, but even this much was enough to affect his condition.

Tsunayoshi had watched Mukuro's gambit unfold with his own eyes. He had originally been about to go to Chrome, but after taking two steps, he saw another version of himself running ahead. So Tsunayoshi stopped and observed.

Then he saw Wolf Poison scheme against Tsunayoshi, Mukuro scheme against Wolf Poison, and Wolf Poison barely dodge Mukuro's lethal strike.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi, now isn't the time to deal with you. Let me handle my current business first," Mukuro said to Tsunayoshi.

Tsuna nodded, too lazy to waste words with Rokudo Mukuro. Mukuro's meaning was clear enough—just get out of this floor. Tsuna hugged Lambo and kept charging upward.

The moment he burst onto the next floor, Tsuna ran into the True Funeral Wreaths' Cloud attribute, Kikyo. The man with long, turquoise hair didn't bother with cryptic games like the others. The instant he saw Tsuna, he activated his ability.

Under the amplifying power of Cloud attribute flames, his green hair stretched endlessly, instantly blanketing the entire floor. Then those turquoise strands transformed into a swarm of tiny Velociraptors, surging toward Tsuna in a rapid assault.

Drawing on his accumulated battle experience, Tsuna dodged twice in a row, but the pressure was already crushing. Lambo, still on his back, thought it was a game and kept giggling, cheering him on.

Only Tsuna knew his own suffering. Two more rounds and he really wouldn't hold out. According to how the story should go, the Vongola Cloud Guardian was supposed to stop the True Funeral Wreaths' Cloud attribute. But where the hell was Hibari Kyoya?

Another near miss—the raptor's jaws almost sank into him. Tsuna couldn't hold on any longer and shouted at the top of his lungs: "Hibara-senpai!!!"

Bam! The wall beside him exploded outward. Hibari walked out, yawning, eyes still drowsy. He glanced at Tsuna and said, "Looking a bit ragged, little animal."

Only after speaking did Hibari take in the situation. Forget the whole of Namimori Middle School—just this corridor alone was already a mess of raptors.

Hibari Kyoya, who prided himself on Namimori's discipline, instantly changed his expression. A pair of Floating Cloud Tonfas gripped tightly in his hands, he moved like lightning, smashing two raptors that lunged at him.

"Don't get in my way, little animal!" Hibari said, thoroughly annoyed. Right now, he only wanted to bite to death the bastard who'd turned Namimori into a wreck.

Spikes extended from Hibari's tonfas, wrapped in Cloud attribute flames. He swung them sideways, and another hole tore open, revealing a staircase in front of Tsuna.

Watching Hibari's attack, Tsuna couldn't help twitching at the corner of his mouth. Hibari talked about others disturbing Namimori's discipline, but he himself showed zero mercy when it came to wrecking school property.

Still, Tsuna knew Hibari meant well. He hurriedly muttered a thanks and bolted up the stairs.

This time, the seemingly endless staircase finally reached its end. A door stood before Tsuna. Without hesitation, he pushed it open. What appeared before him was the school rooftop.

Stepping out onto the rooftop, the sky stretched clear for miles. Everything looked so peaceful—nothing like the fierce battle raging inside the school building.

Tsuna's gaze swept around. On the rooftop was only a single lounge chair. In it reclined a man with white hair and white clothes. The man turned his head. Beneath his left eye was the mark of an inverted blue crown.

"I've been waiting for you a long time, young Vongola."

The leader of the True Funeral Wreaths, one of the representatives of the Sky attribute—Byakuran.