“P-Please, spare me!”
The Black man pinned beneath the man’s foot, Cornell Stokes—better known by his nickname “Cottonmouth”—begged for his life.
“Are you kidding me?”
The gunman looked extremely displeased.
He raised the pistol in his right hand and pointed it at Cottonmouth’s forehead.
“You chose destruction, and now you’re choosing surrender?
I’m not nearly kind enough to let you off that easily!”
“Please, let me go!”
“Die!”
Flames suddenly ignited around the man’s pistol.
The muzzle in particular began glowing with an expanding orange light, swelling from the inside out as if it were about to erupt at any moment.
Just then…
“Xanxus, that’s enough.”
As the calm voice rang out, several hundred people suddenly appeared at the other end of the street.
At the forefront was Tsunayoshi Sawada, his orange hair and orange eyes visible beneath his cloak.
Behind him stood the remaining members of the Vongola Family.
Of course, they hadn’t teleported.
Mukuro had simply used his illusions to distort the senses of everyone around them, making the group effectively disappear from other people’s perception.
The reason for doing this was to prevent the enemies from bypassing Xanxus and going after the other members.
After all, how could a chaotic group battle compare to the spectacle of one person standing alone against everyone?
Whether it was to demonstrate their strength before taking control of the American underworld or to shock and amaze outsiders, having a single person confront the enemy head-on and crush them overwhelmingly was undoubtedly the most effective approach.
Xanxus glanced at Tsunayoshi, clicked his tongue in annoyance, put away his pistol, and silently returned to the Vongola Family.
He was the adopted son of the Ninth Boss, the leader of the Varia assassination squad, and also a candidate for the position of Tenth Boss.
He believed in ruling through absolute strength and ruthless methods.
He had always been dissatisfied with Tsunayoshi’s softer approach and harbored ambitions of replacing him.
But no matter how much Xanxus disliked Tsunayoshi or how different their philosophies were, those were internal family conflicts.
When facing an external enemy, they were completely united.
After all, putting aside all external factors, Xanxus genuinely acknowledged Tsunayoshi’s abilities as a leader.
…
Tsunayoshi nodded slightly before looking toward Cornell.
This strange man had displayed astonishing fighting skills during the previous battle, along with an incredibly powerful bite capable of deforming metal.
He had also been the only person capable of causing Xanxus even the slightest bit of trouble.
Tsunayoshi once again gave him a choice.
“Will you submit, or will you be destroyed?”
Earlier, following Tsunayoshi’s orders, the Savage Gang leader had delivered the declaration to the leaders of the two remaining major gangs in the area.
And, unsurprisingly, they had chosen destruction.
Of course, they meant the destruction of this Vongola Family that had appeared from nowhere.
But now…
“We submit!”
Everyone made their decision instantly, without the slightest hesitation.
The bystanders who witnessed this scene were left with their heads buzzing.
They all knew that Harlem was about to undergo a complete change.
“Since you’ve chosen to submit, then you must strictly follow the Vongola Family’s rules.”
“What you can do and what you cannot do will be explained to you shortly.”
After saying this, Tsunayoshi raised his head and looked into the distance.
One police car after another came speeding toward them, sirens flashing.
“Our objective has been achieved.
We’re leaving!”
Tsunayoshi gave the order.
The family members behind him automatically cleared a path as he calmly walked away.
The police cars screeched to a halt on the other side of the gang members lying all over the street.
One by one, police officers wearing bulletproof vests and carrying rifles rushed out.
Thanks to the chaos in Harlem, the local police were equipped with significantly heavier firepower than officers in other districts.
They even possessed heavy weapons such as machine guns.
“Nobody move!”
A Black female police officer raised her pistol and pointed it at the departing Vongola Family.
But no one paid her any attention.
Everyone continued walking away at a leisurely pace.
The female officer’s expression became extremely ugly.
She immediately ordered, “Prepare to fire!
Everyone…”
The police officers switched off their weapon safeties and carefully took aim.
They were waiting for the command to fire so they could turn the enemy into a sieve of bullets.
But the order never came.
Confused, they looked toward the female officer.
She was staring ahead in shock.
Following her gaze, they saw that at the very back of the Vongola Family stood a handsome man holding a trident.
He was facing them.
“Silence.”
The man raised his right index finger and placed it against his lips.
A sinister smile appeared on his face.
Purple flames burned within his blood-red eyes, each marked with the number “Six.”
Everyone’s breathing stopped for a moment.
It was as though something had suddenly squeezed their hearts.
But they quickly recovered.
“F-Fire?”
“There’s fire burning inside that man’s eyes!”
“Am I seeing things?”
“No, you’re not.
I see it too.”
Having a number appear in someone’s eyes could perhaps be explained away as colored contact lenses.
But burning flames?
That couldn’t possibly be explained by contact lenses.
Suddenly, the number in the man’s eyes changed.
Six became one.
In an instant, thick fog rose across the brightly sunlit street, so dense that one couldn’t even see their own hand in front of their face.
The fog completely enveloped everyone.
“Let’s get along well from now on.”
Mukuro softly spoke these words.
Then he turned around and followed the others.
“Stay alert!”
The female officer finally recovered and immediately issued orders.
She desperately wanted to lead her people forward, but the fog had swallowed everything.
They couldn’t see a thing, rendering their firearms useless.
And the strange ability the enemy had displayed made her extremely wary.
She didn’t dare approach recklessly.
“Whoosh…”
A gust of wind swept through the street, carrying the fog away.
The street was completely empty.
There was nothing left.
The police officers stared at one another, feeling as though they had just experienced a dream.
But looking at the chaotic battlefield left behind by the gunfight, they knew it hadn’t been a dream.
“This is serious.”
The female officer stared in the direction the Vongola Family had disappeared, her expression solemn.
…
“Tsk, tsk.
As expected of Mukuro.
That guy really knows how to show off!”
Leon was sitting on the subway heading toward Midtown.
But his consciousness remained focused on what was happening in Harlem, allowing him to witness the entire process.
Tsunayoshi had displayed overwhelming strength to the outside world while simultaneously maintaining an effortless demeanor.
This let outsiders understand that the Vongola Family was extremely powerful without revealing exactly how powerful they truly were.
They could only fill in the gaps with their own imaginations.
Their perceived level of intimidation skyrocketed.
And it directly earned Leon 1,600 Wish Points.
Yes.
Only 1,600.
Even though the Vongola Family had put on such an impressive display, they had only earned him 1,600 Wish Points.
Because of the way Wish Points were generated, the stronger the displayed strength and the more intense the emotions it triggered, the greater the amount of Wish Points gained.
But everyone present had been ordinary people.
No matter how intense their emotions were, they could only contribute tiny decimal amounts.
If Luke and Cottonmouth hadn’t been present, Leon might not even have obtained a thousand.
But this was only the beginning.
Now that the Vongola Family had taken control of Harlem, they were destined to interact with other criminal organizations and street-level heroes.
Kingpin, the Hand, the Defenders…
All of them would cross paths with the Vongola Family in the days to come.
The strength the Vongola Family had displayed today would also attract the attention of official organizations.
S.H.I.E.L.D., the military, Hydra…
As these major forces became involved and powerful individuals appeared one after another, Leon’s harvest would continue to grow.
“There’s going to be a good show coming up.”
A smile appeared at the corner of Leon’s mouth.