Hollowfication

The moment he saw Byakuran, Tsuna immediately went on alert. Based on how the previous True Funeral Wreaths had behaved, their leader Byakuran could only mean trouble.

Byakuran was still lounging in his chair like he was on vacation, his gaze drifting toward the sky as if he didn't consider Tsuna worth noticing at all.

Tsuna quietly shifted his footing. In his mind, staying on this rooftop with Byakuran was far less safe than going downstairs to endure a few taunts from Hibari. As long as he didn't violate Namimori's discipline, Hibari was safe.

Without warning, Tsuna's heart tightened. On instinct, he rolled to the side. Clink. A palm-sized needle carved with a dragon pattern embedded itself exactly where he'd been standing.

Killing intent. Tsuna could feel it. The lazy figure before him radiated a murderous aura completely at odds with his appearance.

Thanks to the combat instincts he'd honed fighting Hollows, Tsuna managed to avoid Byakuran's first strike.

"Not bad, young Vongola."

Byakuran stretched lazily, crossing his legs as he sat up, propping his chin on his hands like he was settling in to watch a show.

Tsuna caught the phrase sharply. "Young Vongola." That meant this Byakuran was different from the others below. This Byakuran knew he wasn't the original Sawada Tsunayoshi.

"What do you know?" Tsuna asked, his expression grave.

"About what? The younger you? Or the smaller you?" Byakuran asked with evident amusement.

So this Byakuran hadn't mistaken him for the Sawada Tsunayoshi from Reborn!. And with clearer reasoning than the others, could it be—

"Are you my Zanpakuto?" Tsuna asked. He hadn't forgotten why he'd come here. He'd never met his Zanpakuto before; it wouldn't be strange if its spirit took the form of Byakuran.

At Tsuna's question, Byakuran burst into wild laughter, as if he'd heard the funniest joke in the world. It took him a while to calm down. Then, with undisguised contempt, he said, "Young Vongola, congratulations on pissing me off. How dare you lump me together with him!"

Byakuran's killing intent surged. He jabbed a finger toward Tsuna, and a long white serpent shot forward, swift and fierce.

There was no way the current Sawada Tsunayoshi could dodge that speed. But just before Byakuran struck, Tsuna felt a strange premonition—a sense of exactly when Byakuran would attack. That inexplicable feeling let him move early, barely evading the strike.

Now Tsuna could see what the white serpent was: a long dragon. Byakuran's Box Weapon. White Dragon!

This White Dragon had its own will. Unlike the needle, which only attacked once, the White Dragon kept pursuing Tsuna after missing. Lambo, still in Tsuna's arms, thought it was a game and kept cheering him on.

Rip. The hem of Tsuna's shirt was torn through by the White Dragon. If this kept up, it wouldn't be his clothes getting pierced—it would be his body.

On the lower floors, Tsuna could hope for help from the corresponding Guardian. But here on the rooftop, facing Byakuran, the one who matched him was none other than Sawada Tsunayoshi himself.

That meant Tsuna couldn't count on anyone else to save him. And Lambo in his arms would be lucky not to cause trouble. With the White Dragon and Byakuran watching from a distance, if this continued, they'd both be killed.

Tsuna's eyes flicked to the door they'd come through. Given Byakuran's behavior, letting him leave was out of the question. But at least—Tsuna glanced at Lambo—he couldn't let Lambo share this danger.

Relying on that inexplicable feeling, Tsuna chose the least damaging option. A tactical roll, taking a hit from the White Dragon on his left arm, then grabbing Lambo and hurling him toward the still-open stairwell door.

"Run, Lambo! Find Hibari-senpai—he'll protect you!" Tsuna shouted.

Hibari Kyoya might be harsh with his words, but deep down he cared most about the weak. Lambo would be safe with him.

"Distracted while fighting me?"

Byakuran's voice came from behind. A searing heat ignited the entire space. Tsuna turned to see a massive Flame Pressure gathering in Byakuran's right hand. That move looked just like the final clash between him and the original Sawada Tsunayoshi.

Help me, that strange feeling! Tsuna screamed internally. But his instincts told him Byakuran's attack had him completely locked down. There was no chance to escape.

Was this the end?

Tsuna watched as Byakuran thrust his hand forward. A super-rotating pillar of flame hurtled toward him. He had no way out—only waiting to be swallowed and shredded by that terrifying spiral fire.

The real world.

A torrent of white liquid gushed from Tsuna's seven orifices, rapidly covering his face and upper body. A Hollow mask completely enveloped Tsuna, with purple hair visible behind it. Strange patterns appeared on his torso. Tsuna's upper body had Hollowfied.

A piercing scream tore from Tsuna's throat. Kukaku Shiba, watching nearby, strained to maintain the strange mark on his finger. This wasn't his first time seeing a Hollowfied monster—he could keep his composure.

But soon, Kukaku's shocked expression changed. His Bakudō #99: Seal was actually loosening?

As the white liquid spread further, the restraints binding Tsuna's arms shattered instantly. Tsuna was free. White liquid covered his entire body. A hole opened in his chest. Sawada Tsunayoshi had fully Hollowfied.

Kukaku immediately changed tactics. He leaped back to create distance while firing off two incantationless Kido in quick succession.

Bakudō #61: Six-Rod Light Restraint. Bakudō #62: Hyappo Rankan.

Six trapezoidal beams of light appeared around Tsuna's waist, followed by dozens of white rods flying from Kukaku, stabbing into Tsuna's body at random.

The Hollowfied Tsuna cried out in pain. He twisted and struggled, shattering both the Six-Rod Light Restraint and the Hyappo Rankan. The wounds from the rods oozed white liquid, healing rapidly.

Free now, Tsuna naturally targeted Kukaku, who had just attacked him. In this small pit, Kukaku could fire Kido at Tsuna, and Tsuna could just as quickly reach him.

Kukaku reacted instantly. He Flash Stepped upward while swinging both hands, firing two Hadō in quick succession to slow Tsuna's charge.

Hadō #31: Red Fire Cannon. Hadō #33: Cinder Fall.

Crimson and cerulean fireballs slammed into Tsuna, not dealing much damage but successfully slowing him down.

Whoosh. Kukaku flew out of the pit. From below, a red light bloomed. Kukaku released another incantationless Kido.

Bakudō #88: Dankū!

A transparent barrier sealed the pit. The red light struck Dankū's wall, triggering a violent explosion. The pit collapsed, burying Tsuna under rubble as he tried to surge upward.

"Oh~ That's quite a Cero." Urahara approached, fanning himself.

"Kisuke, don't make light of this. This kid's Hollowfication is far stronger than the ones we've seen before." A puff of smoke cleared, and Yoruichi had transformed from a cat back into human form, fully dressed, walking over.

"Urahara-san, Yoruichi-san, be prepared. Sawada-sensei's Hollowfication is different from anything we've encountered." Kukaku said. As the one who'd fought him, if he hadn't reacted fast enough, he'd have been left at the bottom of that pit.

"Indeed, I must face this seriously." Urahara pressed down on his hat, holding his cane horizontally before him—that was his Zanpakuto, and he was ready for battle.

The arena suddenly fell into an eerily calm stillness. Aside from some drifting dust, there was no change at all. Logically, those rubble couldn't have trapped a Hollow, so why hadn't Sawada Tsunayoshi emerged yet?

"Kisuke, you don't think we saw wrong, do you?" Yoruichi stretched her body and said casually.

"No, that's precisely why we should be on guard."

Urahara's expression grew serious. Based on past experience, most people undergoing Hollowfication lost their reason, and their fighting style became far more brutish. Yet Sawada Tsunayoshi still hadn't appeared—that was exactly what warranted caution.

Suddenly, a series of piercing sounds rang out around them. Strands of long, cyan-green hair-like objects, wreathed in violet flames, formed a birdcage that trapped Urahara, Yoruichi, and Kukaku inside.

"Interesting."

Faced with this sudden change, Urahara pressed his hat down and drew his Zanpakuto. "Awaken, Red Princess!"

The long cyan-green strands launched attacks from the top of the cage toward the three of them. Urahara, Yoruichi, and Kukaku each employed their own methods—Urahara slashed the hair apart with his blade, Yoruichi dodged with agile movements, and Kukaku rapidly shattered them using multiple low-level Bakudō.

More and more cyan-green hair clippings piled up on the ground. Suddenly, these clippings ignited with violet flames, their forms beginning to shift. As the violet fire stretched and twisted, figures of Spike Dragons wreathed in violet flames emerged across the arena.

"Trouble, Kisuke!" Yoruichi shouted.

Urahara Kisuke understood immediately. He flipped his blade and stabbed it into the ground while activating his Zanpakuto's Shikai ability.

"Bind, Red Princess!"

The tip of Red Princess emitted a net-like Reiatsu that trapped all the newly appeared Spike Dragons. Yoruichi and Kukaku quickly used their techniques to eliminate these Velociraptors.

After this exchange, Urahara and the others dared not casually cut down the cyan hair attacking them anymore, instead constantly dodging its strikes.

"Kisuke, we can't let that kid keep playing like this!" Yoruichi said.

"I know. Kukaku, coordinate with me!" Urahara said.

Kukaku Shiba understood immediately, perfectly syncing his words and movements with Urahara's. Bakudō #63: Chain Lock! x2

Sawada Tsunayoshi's Reiatsu underground was far too obvious—they didn't need to waste effort searching for it. The thick, snake-like chains generated by Bakudō #63 drilled directly into the pile of rubble, firmly binding the aberrant Reiatsu within. Urahara and Kukaku pulled together, and a Hollowfied humanoid monster was dragged out from inside.

Kukaku Shiba was shocked to find that this Hollow had become completely different from the one he had seen before.

Cyan-green long hair, a dark-green left arm covered in fine scales, a thick crimson right arm, a bizarre large eye growing from its chest, a blue fish tail extending from its lower back, a pair of pure white wings sprouting from its back, and its entire body bathed in strange lightning. Its mask bore only an inverted blue crown mark beneath its left eye.