Hollowfication

The instant Tsuna saw Byakuran, he immediately went on guard. Judging by the behavior of those True Funeral Wreaths earlier, their leader Byakuran could only mean trouble.

Byakuran was still sprawled in his chair like he was lazily vacationing. His gaze drifted back to the sky, as though Tsuna did not exist.

Tsuna quietly shifted his footing. In his eyes, staying on the rooftop with Byakuran was far less safe than going downstairs to endure a few taunts from Hibari. As long as one did not violate Namimori's discipline, Hibari was safe.

For no apparent reason, Tsuna's heart tightened. On instinct, he rolled away on the spot. With a clang, a palm-sized long needle carved in the shape of a dragon nailed itself into the spot where he had been standing.

Killing intent. Tsuna could feel it—the lazy figure before him radiated killing intent completely at odds with his appearance.

Thankfully, the time he had spent fighting Hollows had cultivated exceptional combat instincts in Tsuna, preventing Byakuran from succeeding in one strike.

"Not bad, young Vongola."

Byakuran stretched lazily, then sat up with one leg crossed over the other. He propped his chin on both hands, looking as though he were watching a show.

Tsuna keenly noticed Byakuran's words: "young Vongola." In other words, this Byakuran was different from the others below. He knew Tsuna was not the original Sawada Tsunayoshi.

"What do you know?" Tsuna asked gravely.

"What do you mean? The younger you? Or the smaller you?" Byakuran asked with interest.

Sure enough, this Byakuran had not mistaken him for the Sawada Tsunayoshi from Reborn! Furthermore, this Byakuran possessed much clearer rationality. Could it be...?

"Are you my Zanpakuto?" Tsuna asked. He had not forgotten why he had come in here. He had never seen his Zanpakuto before, so it would not be strange for its spirit to take Byakuran's form.

Upon hearing Tsuna's question, Byakuran seemed to have heard the greatest joke in the world. He burst into unrestrained laughter and only returned to normal after quite a while. With a face full of disdain, he said to Tsuna, "Young Vongola, congratulations. You've angered me. How dare you associate me with him!"

Byakuran's killing intent intensified. He angrily pointed in Tsuna's direction, and a long white creature shot toward him, swift and vicious.

That speed was something the current Sawada Tsunayoshi could not possibly dodge. Yet just before Byakuran attacked, Tsuna felt something inexplicable. He somehow knew Byakuran would launch a sudden attack. Because of that strange sensation, Tsuna moved in advance and narrowly evaded Byakuran's strike.

Only then did Tsuna see clearly what that white creature was. It had the shape of a long dragon—it was Byakuran's Box Weapon, the White Dragon!

The White Dragon possessed its own consciousness. Unlike the long needle from before, which had only one attack, the White Dragon continued pursuing Tsuna after missing its first strike. Meanwhile, Lambo, still on Tsuna's body, thought Tsuna was playing a game and kept cheering him on.

With a sizzling sound, the White Dragon pierced through the hem of Tsuna's clothes. If this continued, it would no longer be his clothes getting pierced, but his body.

On the previous floors, Tsuna could still hope that a Guardian of the corresponding attribute would appear to help. But here on the rooftop, he was facing Byakuran directly. And the person matched with Byakuran was Sawada Tsunayoshi, wasn't he?

That meant Tsuna had no way to count on anyone else to save him. He would be lucky enough if Lambo in his arms did not make things worse. Besides the White Dragon, Byakuran was also watching him hungrily from afar. If this continued, both of them would be killed by Byakuran.

Tsuna caught sight of the door they had entered through. Considering Byakuran's actions just now, letting him leave was impossible. But at the very least—Tsuna looked at Lambo—he could not let Lambo take this risk with him.

Relying on that inexplicable feeling, Tsuna chose the option that would minimize his injuries. With a tactical roll, he took one of the White Dragon's attacks head-on with his left arm, then grabbed Lambo and threw him toward the still-open door leading to the stairs.

"Run, Lambo! Go find Hibari-senpai! He'll protect you!" Tsuna shouted.

Hibari Kyoya might never spare anyone with his words, but in truth, he cared most about the weak. If Lambo went to him like this, Hibari would definitely protect him.

"You dare lose focus while fighting me?"

Byakuran's voice came from behind him. A fierce burning sensation ignited the entire space. Tsuna turned around to see a massive Flame Pressure already condensed in Byakuran's right hand. Why did that move look so much like the one he and the original Sawada Tsunayoshi had used in their final clash?

Help me, strange feeling! Tsuna screamed frantically inside, but his instincts told him that Byakuran's move had completely locked him down. There was no chance of escape.

Was this the end?

Tsuna watched as Byakuran held out his hand. An immensely powerful spiraling pillar of fire came roaring toward him. He had no way to resist, only wait to be swallowed and shredded by those terrifying spiraling flames.

The real world.

A large amount of white liquid poured from Tsuna's seven orifices, rapidly covering his face and upper body. A Hollow mask completely covered him. Behind the mask was purple hair, strange patterns appeared across his upper body, and Tsuna's upper body had already undergone Hollowfication.

A shrill cry tore from Tsuna's throat. Seeing this, Kukaku Shiba increased his efforts to maintain the strange seal formed by his fingers. This was not the first time he had seen a Hollowfied monster, and he could remain calm.

But Kukaku Shiba's shocked expression soon changed. The restraints of his Bakudō #99: Seal were actually beginning to loosen?

As the white liquid covered more and more of him, the restraints binding Tsuna's arms immediately shattered. Tsuna regained his freedom. White liquid covered his entire body, a hollow cavity appeared in his chest, and Sawada Tsunayoshi had completely Hollowfied.

Kukaku Shiba immediately changed tactics, swiftly pulling away while launching two incantationless Kido spells in succession.

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

Six trapezoidal beams of light immediately appeared around Tsuna's waist. Then dozens of white rods flew from Kukaku Shiba, haphazardly impaling Tsuna's body.

Hollowfied Tsuna cried out in pain. As he twisted and struggled from side to side, both the Six-Rod Light Restraint and Hyappo Rankan shattered. White liquid also surged from the wounds Hyappo Rankan had pierced into his body, rapidly healing his injuries.

Having regained his freedom, Tsuna naturally fixed his attention on Kukaku Shiba, who had just attacked him. Within this small crater, Kukaku Shiba could rapidly cast Kido against Tsuna, but Tsuna could also swiftly attack Kukaku Shiba.

Kukaku Shiba immediately understood the situation. As he used Flash Step to fly upward, both hands flicked repeatedly, firing two Ways of Destruction directly at Tsuna's face to slow his charge.

Way of Destruction No. 31: Red Fire Cannon, Way of Destruction No. 33: Blue Fire Crash.

Scarlet and azure fireballs struck Tsuna in succession. They did not cause him much damage, but they did accomplish their purpose of reducing his speed.

With a swish, Kukaku Shiba flew out of the crater. From the bottom of the crater, a red glow blossomed, and Kukaku Shiba once again cast Kido without an incantation.

Bakudō #88: Dankū!

A transparent barrier directly covered the crater. The red light struck Dankū's barrier and triggered a violent explosion. The crater collapsed, and rubble buried the charging Tsuna beneath it.

"Oh my, what an impressive Cero." Urahara walked over while fanning himself.

"Kisuke, quit making snide remarks. This kid's Hollowfication is clearly much stronger than those guys from before." A cloud of smoke drifted past, and Yoruichi had already transformed from a cat into a fully dressed human as she walked over.

"Urahara-san, Yoruichi-san, please prepare yourselves. Sawada-sensei's Hollow is clearly different from the ones we encountered before," Kukaku Shiba said. As someone who had fought Tsuna himself, if he had not reacted quickly enough, he would likely have been left at the bottom of that crater.

"We really do need to take this seriously." Urahara pressed down his hat and held his cane horizontally before him. It was his Zanpakuto, and he was already prepared for battle.

The area suddenly became eerily quiet. Aside from a little dust and smoke, nothing changed. By all rights, that rubble could not possibly trap a Hollow. Why had Sawada Tsunayoshi not emerged yet?

"Kisuke, could we have been mistaken?" Yoruichi said casually as she stretched her body.

"No. That's exactly why we need to be more cautious."

Urahara's expression turned serious. Based on past experience, most people who underwent Hollowfication lost their minds, and their fighting style became far more reckless. Yet Sawada Tsunayoshi had not appeared for so long. That was precisely what they needed to guard against.

Suddenly, a series of piercing sounds rang out around them. Strands of turquoise, hair-like objects carrying purple flames rose up, trapping Urahara, Yoruichi, and Tessai within them like a birdcage.

"Interesting."

Facing the sudden change, Urahara pressed down his hat and drew his Zanpakuto. "Awaken, Red Princess!"

The turquoise hair-like strands attacked the three of them from the top of the birdcage. Each of Urahara's group used their own methods. Urahara swung his blade to sever the hair, Yoruichi dodged with her nimble movements, while Tessai rapidly used several low-level Ways of Destruction to blast them apart.

More and more turquoise hair fragments piled up on the ground. These fragments suddenly ignited with purple flames, and their forms began to change. As the purple fire stretched them out, Spike Dragons wreathed in purple flames appeared across the area.

"We've got trouble, Kisuke!" Yoruichi shouted.

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

"Bind them, Red Princess!"

A net-like spiritual pressure spread from Red Princess's tip, trapping all the newly appeared Spike Dragons. Yoruichi and Tessai swiftly used their techniques to eliminate these Velociraptors.

After that, Urahara's group no longer dared to casually cut down the turquoise hair attacking them. They could only keep dodging its assaults.

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

"I know. Tessai, work with me!" Urahara said.

Kukaku Shiba immediately understood, synchronizing his words and movements perfectly with Urahara's. Bakudō #63: Chain Lock! X2

Sawada Tsunayoshi's spiritual pressure underground was far too obvious, so there was no need to search for him. The thick, serpent-like Chains produced by Bakudō #63 bored directly into the rubble, tightly binding the abnormal spiritual pressure inside. Urahara and Tessai pulled together, dragging a Hollowfied humanoid monster out from within.

Kukaku Shiba was shocked to discover that this Hollow was completely different from when he had first seen him.

Turquoise long hair, a dark green left arm covered in fine scales, a thick crimson right arm, a strange giant eye growing from his chest, a blue fish tail extending from his lower back, a pair of pure white wings growing from his back, and bizarre Lightning crackling over his entire body. On his mask, there was only an inverted blue crown mark beneath his left eye.