“Then tell me, what will my future be like?”
He wanted to hear exactly how Vongola intended to deceive him.
Vongola even feigned a squinting look as if calculating: "I know you will encounter a strange person in the future, someone who will bring a turning point to your life. After that, you will meet many people with eccentric personalities; some will hold goodwill toward you, while others will hold malice, but as long as your will remains firm, everything can be resolved."
“You will encounter many happy things in the future, but you will also face dilemmas that seem impossible to solve, you will carry many responsibilities on your shoulders; these are all tests for you.”
It was no different from saying nothing at all.
However." Vongola's tone shifted, he looked deeply at Sawada Tsunayoshi, his eyes harboring emotions that he couldn't understand. "No matter what happens, choose to believe in yourself. Believe in your heart; you are the only one who can make the decision.
Only you, your footing rests upon you.
Sawada Tsunayoshi couldn't put his thoughts into words; was it moved, or was it trepidation, that someone could trust him so much?
Neither. His heart was left with nothing but peace.
“Who are you?” Sawada Tsunayoshi desperately wanted to know the answer. He wanted to know who Vongola really was, why he possessed such immense power, capable of throwing all of his emotions into chaos.
“Who I am isn't important. You'll find out one day, I can tell you that day won't be far off.”
Let's not talk about that. We're here to have fun today, so how can we stop playing? There are still so many activities waiting for us.
Just like that, they played for another afternoon. At first, Sawada Tsunayoshi was still thinking about the Vongola, but he soon immersed himself in the games, eventually becoming so exhausted that he fell asleep. Even in his sleep, he was still clutching the Vongola's clothes tightly.
".. Who?" Sawada Tsunayoshi murmured with his eyes closed.
Who are you, exactly?
Vongola gave a light chuckle and held Sawada Tsunayoshi firmly on his back. They walked against the crowd, as the weight on his back gradually lightened, Vongola finally straightened his back, finding himself completely alone.
The slender figure stood in place, as a tall figure stepped out from beside him: "What, can't bear to let go?"
Vongola was not surprised at all, admitting candidly, "Yes, a little bit."
A tall figure: "Do you regret it?"
Vongola raised an eyebrow. "Regret what? Reborn, why have you suddenly become so melancholy? No matter the circumstances, I only have one answer: I never regret anything."
“Whether it's meeting you or inheriting Vongola, I have no regrets.”
When Sawada Tsunayoshi woke up, he was in the hospital; he had been rescued by the passing Yamamoto and Hibari Kyoya, his mother had not arrived yet.
Afterward, he lived his life just as he always had.
Until one day, a strange infant appeared by his side, saying he would train him to become the Vongola Leader and inherit a great Mafia family.
From then on, Sawada Tsunayoshi's life became colorful and magnificent; his wingless angel descended by his side, he also learned of his identity as Vongola.
A long, long time later, one day, the mature Vongola Tenth Generation set down his teacup: "It seems the time has come."
The young him, he is coming.
Chapter 107: Epilogue 3
Under the gaze of the entire world, the Tenth Generation Vongola was finally about to ascend to the position of Leader, when this news broke, the Hidden World was shocked.
When the behemoth known as Vongola begins to operate, its efficiency is beyond anything anyone could imagine.
Zola, who was serving as the contact, had not slept for eighteen hours, but she was not tired at all; instead, she was full of energy.
Because this special day was just that joyful, never mind eighteen hours without sleep—even thirty-six hours would be nothing; she was very happy.
Moreover, I heard that Arash has been awake for almost 48 hours, transforming into a Charizard breathing fire everywhere, striving to make every single detail perfect.
Since his boss was working so hard, what else could the subordinates do but close their eyes and keep working?
Soon, the appointed day arrived, celebrities from all walks of life gathered together. Even the Mayor of Italy arrived in high spirits, showing no sign of any impropriety in a public official attending a Mafia boss's succession ceremony.
In fact, the gifts they sent were even more precious than those from certain great families.
Zola had already received many prominent figures, the smile on her face never once faltered, nor did her movements ever slip up. She had seen countless important people today, to the point where she was becoming somewhat numb to it all.
Her partner, Andre, reminded her, "The next one is the Millefiore family; we need to give it one hundred percent of our focus."
Zola felt a surge of spirit; both she and Andre had only recently joined Vongola, they had only reached this position because they were exceptionally talented.
They realized that the leader of this family, Byakuran, was a character not to be trifled with, he even had a rift with the Vongola.
The two of them grew nervous.
They felt that a tough battle was ahead, it just so happened that one person was in complete agreement with them: Otos, the head of the Deak Family.
The Deak Family used to be quite prominent decades ago because their business was very profitable: trafficking human organs.
However, over these years, they have fared even worse than some small gangs of a dozen people; why? Because, of course, their business was difficult to conduct and they failed to make any money.
For a family head who has experienced a decline from prosperity to ruin, nothing could be more miserable than this, so it was only natural that he harbored a deep hatred for Sawada Tsunayoshi.
It was precisely because of him and those lunatics around him that their business couldn't continue, so today he had gathered the full strength of his clan to assassinate Sawada Tsunayoshi on the spot.
The entire clan was scattered around the banquet, waiting for him to smash his glass as a signal to launch the attack, but even this wasn't enough; he felt he should find more allies.
He had been hiding in Africa and other places for the past few years and had only recently returned. Upon his return, he immediately began inquiring about Sawada Tsunayoshi's enemies, including but not limited to: Byakuran, the Varia group, the Simon Family, Avenger Prison, the Black Organization, the Port Mafia, the Jujutsu High Council.
Having obtained the results, Otos laughed for a long time. As expected, Sawada Tsunayoshi was just not a likable person. Look at how many enemies he had made. It was easy enough to explain the others as being for power and profit, but what exactly is the Jujutsu High Council? What on earth is a Mafia doing interfering in the affairs of the Jujutsu world?
So Otos contacted Gojo Satoru, the head of the Gojo Clan, the two of them planned to cause a massive scene at the succession ceremony.
Gojo Satoru expressed that he would definitely prepare thoroughly, even planned to invite his religious friend to come along.
Before coming, Otos had not only contacted Gojo Satoru, but also reached out to the Black Organization's codename member Bourbon, the Port Mafia's Leader Dazai Osamu; he planned to coordinate with the remaining local organizations right there at the banquet.
Otos approached Byakuran. The moment he saw Byakuran, he felt that this young man was quite sinister, with purple eyes that spoke of indescribable schemes.
This person clearly seemed like someone who disliked Sawada Tsunayoshi; after some cryptic conversation, the two formed an alliance.
Upon hearing that Varia had arrived, Otos hurriedly took his leave to find the next ally, while Byakuran waved goodbye with a smile.
After the others had walked far away, he let out a helpless sigh and pouted slightly. "How annoying, I have such a good relationship with little Tsunayoshi, how could he have misunderstood that?"
Forget it, forget it. Having one more gift to give Sawada Tsunayoshi doesn't seem so bad after all.
But before giving it to Sawada Tsunayoshi, I should play an escape room game with him first, right? It's time to educate them about the beautiful friendship between me and Sawada Tsunayoshi.
Byakuran was delighted.
Coincidentally, Squalo held down Xanxus, who was looking to make a move, only bared his teeth in explanation after that damn dog had left.
The gift for that brat can include one more person.
That piece of trash started off by asking why, if they both share Vongola blood, Sawada Tsunayoshi can inherit the family while Xanxus cannot. He added that you, being raised by the Ninth Generation, have much more legitimate Vongola blood than that man's distant lineage.
You have been in contact with the family for much longer, I believe the Ninth Generation has a very large capacity for forgiveness. It was merely the Cradle Incident; couldn't you just act a little spoiled to resolve it? You two are father and son by blood; how could you possibly hold a grudge overnight?
Look at how decisive you all are. With live ammunition, how could you possibly lose to the Tenth Generation's team? If you had just challenged them directly, who knows what little tricks they used to win last time.
It's getting hard, my fists are getting hard.
It's getting hot, the weapons are getting hot.
If this person hadn't been so incredibly foolish, the members of Varia would have considered his every word a provocation, each sentence stepping right on Xanxus's nerves. If Squalo hadn't desperately held him back, this person would have been shot through by a bullet the moment he spoke his first sentence.
Bell chuckled, his teeth flashing with a chilling, bone-white light. "Before handing him over, the Prince wants to play with him. Lately, the Prince's aim hasn't been quite good enough; he needs a moving target to practice on."
Who would believe him? If his aim is bad, then whose is good?
However, everyone agreed with his clumsy rhetoric and wanted to get involved, as Otos's words were far too provocative.
Next was the trip to the Simon Family. The Leader, Kurari Enma, looked like a somewhat weak and delicate young boy, roughly the same age as Sawada Tsunayoshi.
Otos gave a speech, saying that at the same age, there was no reason why Sawada Tsunayoshi could inherit the Vongola family while you only had this much; he said you should pull Sawada Tsunayoshi down in public and let everyone see the prowess of the Simon Family.
He said that Kurari Enma was much more hardworking than that guy Sawada Tsunayoshi, who relied on his ancestors. He claimed that since the other person had a background, you, a young man with nothing to his name, must fight your way to the top just like in a shonen manga.
Others just have a good father. Even though you don't have a good father, you can follow me, it's not like I can't act as your father.
Kurari Enma fell silent.
Kurari Enma nodded.
Kurari Enma decided that he would not make his move at his good friend's banquet, but instead, he would take this person to the Simon Family after the banquet to torture them for a while before handing them over to Vongola.
Otos still didn't realize how popular he was, being targeted by three different parties—oh, perhaps even more.
For him, these forces were enough; he didn't dare touch Avenger Prison.
He was so happy at the thought of what Sawada Tsunayoshi's ceremony would turn into that he couldn't hide his joyful smile.
Dino gently swirled his wine glass, leaning in to whisper into the ear of Hibari Kyoya, who was standing beside him in a slim-fit black suit, "What on earth is he so happy about? Does he not realize he's caught in an illusion?"
How could they possibly allow anyone to disrupt his junior's succession ceremony? Even Reborn is being tolerant, but he won't allow even the slightest flaw to appear at the banquet.
Otherwise, he would have been shot dead the moment he tried to strike up a conversation.
There is no place in the world more secure than this right now.
Hibari Kyoya let out a cold snort. "Just insignificant insects."
Dino let out a silent "wow," Kyoya was in quite a temper.
The banquet began, the entire hall fell silent, everyone gazing together at the closed, magnificent doors, waiting for the Vongola Tenth Generation to walk out from there.
The doors creaked open.
First of all, what caught everyone's eye was the cloak on the youth's back, which symbolized the Vongola First; it was adorned with magnificent gemstones held in place by fine threads, as the hem fluttered, the clicking of his soles against the floor injected a touch of vitality into the banquet.
The Vongola Tenth Generation had a pair of gentle eyes, but now, only determination and calmness remained within them. He walked through the crowd with composure, the Vongola Ring on his hand shimmering with brilliant light.
His cheeks, which once had baby fat, had become lean, his pace was composed. His slender body was wrapped in a specially tailored suit, every movement carried the aura of a superior.
Sawada Tsunayoshi had only one goal, that was the seat at the very front.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the seven Guardians lined up one after another behind him, until they reached the front of the high seat.
Sawada Tsunayoshi turned around, looked straight ahead, solemnly announced, "Let the banquet begin."
The Guardians stood behind him like a high wall.
The era of the Vongola Tenth Generation has arrived, the era of Sawada Tsunayoshi has arrived.
As for the mid-way comedy, that clown named Otos was currently being fought over.
Byakuran grabbed his collar: "I found him; he's mine to deal with."