After the entrance test, Reborn visited Yamamoto’s home to teach him the way to escape his slump.
“In truth, your swordsmanship is already excellent as it is.”
Yamamoto blinked.
“Then why did I feel like I was getting worse back then?”
“Because your body is failing to keep up with your skill.
Without solving that, your swordsmanship won’t improve no matter what you do.”
The hitman simply explained which made the boy fall silent.
Now that he reflected over it, his body had started feeling heavier during matches.
His movements felt sluggish, his body couldn’t keep up with what his mind wanted to do, and even his stamina had noticeably worsened.
“Your mental wall only made things worse which made your strikes full of distractions.
You also overtrained yourself trying to break through it.
All that accumulated strain eventually led to your injury.”
Yamamoto scratched his cheek awkwardly.
“…Yeah.
That actually sounds exactly right.”
“Now that you’ve overcome that mental block, it’s time to strengthen your body enough to properly support your swordsmanship.”
The boy grinned brightly.
“So basically… I just need to take better care of my body?”
Reborn smirked faintly beneath his fedora.
“Exactly.”
And thus, that was how Yamamoto Takeshi ended up joining the Body Improvement Club.
His reason was simple—to become physically stronger to improve his kendo, and someday win nationals.
The moment Yamamoto entered the gym—
“WELCOME, YOUNG MAN!!”
Goda dramatically grabbed Yamamoto’s shoulders, tears streaming down his face.
“Another youth seeking self-improvement through muscles!”
Yamamoto laughed.
“Nice to meet you!”
Meanwhile, Goda suddenly turned toward Tsuna and tightly grabbed both of his hands.
“Tsuna…”
His eyes sparkled emotionally.
“You truly are the savior of our club!”
Tsuna sweatdropped instantly.
“Again, I didn’t really do much…”
“NO!”
Goda shouted passionately.
“You brought us Rekka, then Gokudera, and now Yamamoto!”
He pointed dramatically toward the heavens.
“At this rate, our club budget may finally rise from the dead!”
The other gym bros cried emotionally in the background.
“Our glorious era is returning…”
“The age of muscles is upon us…”
Tsuna stared blankly.
Now that he thought about it, before he joined, this club barely had any members outside Goda and the seniors.
Maybe it’s because we keep wearing gym uniforms everywhere…
but if I continue bringing friends here, wouldn’t Goda actually become rich someday?
Tsuna was amazed by that.
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“It seems like Tsuna-kun made another new friend.”
Kyoko smiled gently while watching Tsuna’s group through the classroom window.
Outside, Yamamoto and Gokudera were loudly arguing again while Rekka laughed so hard he nearly fell over.
“I wonder if he’ll join our study group too.”
Kyoko asked curiously as Mutsumi quietly followed her gaze.
Tsuna had really changed lately.
The lonely boy she used to drag into the library now constantly had people surrounding him.
And strangely, Mutsumi felt a small tightness inside her chest.
“…Mutsumi?”
Kyoko tilted her head curiously.
“You okay?”
“Eh?”
Mutsumi quickly looked away.
“Y-Yeah.
I’m fine.”
From the hallway, Hirukawa-sensei silently observed everything with narrowed eyes.
Yes… Keep making friends, Sawada!
Get distracted and forget about Mutsumi!
A faint, creepy smile slowly formed on his face.
At the end of the day, Mutsumi’s study group gained another member.
Unfortunately, that member possessed academic ability roughly equal to Rekka’s, which meant disaster.
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At the student committee meeting, the room assignments were currently being discussed.
“What!?
One of the committees got assigned to the VIP Room?
Isn’t that strange…?”
A representative from one of the many committees complained.
The VIP Room was one of the best rooms in the entire school.
It was fully furnished with top-quality furniture and air-conditioned.
Most importantly, it was quiet, clean, and comfortable.
“That room… belongs to the Disciplinary Committee now.”
A girl whispered fearfully, causing the atmosphere to instantly stiffen.
“Do you have any objections?”
A cold, razor-sharp voice sliced through the room.
The girl who spoke immediately bowed her head in panic.
“N-No!
I’m sorry!”
Kyoya Hibari smiled faintly.
“Then continue.”
Mutsumi, serving as the school’s student council secretary, quietly took note from the side.
Her eyes drifted slightly toward Kyoya Hibari—the most infamous senior in the entire school.
The Head of the Disciplinary Committee.
The absolute ruler of Namimori High School’s delinquents.
Ever since Hibari took control, violence inside school grounds had vanished completely.
Any violence that existed only existed because Hibari allowed it.
Fortunately, he still hasn’t paid attention to Tsuna’s group…
Mutsumi sighed in relief.
“But still… Isn’t it suspicious for a committee to suddenly take that room?
This hasn’t happened before.
It kinda feels like something shady is going on—”
The same representative continued nervously.
Hibari’s eyes sharpened instantly.
A silent threat filled the room, making the temperature seem to drop.
“The meeting is over.”
Mutsumi quickly interrupted before things escalated further.
“We’ll send the official handouts later.”
Everyone immediately stood up nervously and left the meeting area warily.
Hibari silently rose from his chair, signaling his fellow members.
The student representative who questioned him paled.
“Wait—”
Too late.
He was dragged behind the school.
There, under Hibari’s indifferent gaze, the student was mercilessly beaten down.
“Your mistake…”
One of Hibari’s followers muttered flatly while cracking his knuckles.
“…was opposing Hibari-san’s fangs.”
Across the rooftop, Reborn silently observed everything through Leon’s scanner.
A purple wave energy reflected through the lens.
“Kyoya Hibari…”
Reborn murmured thoughtfully.
“Interesting.”
A small smirk formed beneath his fedora.
“Tsuna’s growth has slowed lately.
To force further improvement, making him face a powerful opponent should work nicely.”
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After school, Tsuna and his friends sat together on a bench outside the building.
“It’s so hot…”
Tsuna groaned weakly beneath the blazing afternoon sun.
It was then, Reborn suddenly appeared beside them.
“Ciaosu.”
“Huh?”
Tsuna immediately stiffened.
“What do you want this time, Reborn?”
Whenever Reborn randomly appeared, trouble usually followed immediately afterward.
“We’re making a secret base.”
“…A secret base?”
Tsuna froze.
It feels strange hearing that… It’s like my inner child is awakening!
Yamamoto’s eyes sparkled brightly.
“A secret base!?
That sounds awesome!”
“Ninjas absolutely need a hidden base!”
Rekka added excitedly.
Gokudera crossed his arms while pretending to act mature.
“Kids…”
Then he smirked proudly.
“…But I can’t deny that our family does need a proper headquarters eventually.
Ultimately, the final decision belongs to Judaime.”
Four pairs of eyes immediately focused on Tsuna.
Tsuna stayed silent briefly.
“…It’s decided.”
Okay.
Maybe I was also a little excited just like them.
This is a secret base we’re talking about, after all!
“Where should we set up our base?
Behind the mountain?”
Yamamoto suggested dreamily.
“HELL NO!”
Gokudera instantly rejected the idea.
Tsuna agreed.
We don’t want to have another AnoHana moment…
“We’ll use the VIP Room.”
Reborn declared casually.
“…!?”
Everyone froze.
“Isn’t that room important or something…?”
Tsuna asked nervously.
Are we even allowed to use such a special room?
“No one actually uses it.”
Reborn explained with a small smile.
“Excellent furniture, good view, perfect location, and most importantly… air-conditioning.”
“AIR-CONDITIONING!?”
Tsuna, Yamamoto, Rekka, and even Gokudera immediately sparkled with interest.
With how unbearably hot the weather had been lately, it sounded heavenly.
“It would also make a perfect study room.”
Gokudera nodded approvingly.
“Not only that, we could turn our study group into an official club like Kyoko wanted.
It could become our clubroom!”
Rekka also agreed.
Hearing all of that, Tsuna was completely convinced.
No, he allowed himself to be convinced.
Thus, they headed toward their future hideout.
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Yamamoto pushed the VIP Room door open.
“Whoa…”
His eyes widened as he looked around the luxurious room.
The sofas looked expensive, the room was spotless, and cool air drifted peacefully through the space.
“We seriously had a room like this?”
Then he froze.
Someone was already inside.
Leaning casually against the sofa was a handsome man with sharp, piercing eyes and black hair framing his composed features.
Kyoya Hibari.
The head of the disciplinary committee slowly turned toward them, his eyes narrowing slightly.
“Who are you?”
Yamamoto immediately stiffened, knowing inwardly who this terrifying person was.
Meanwhile, Gokudera and Rekka stepped forward completely clueless.
“There’s someone else here?”
“Who’s this guy?”
“You two—wait—!”
Yamamoto tried warning them, but he was too late.
Hibari’s aura instantly sharpened dangerously.
“What are herbivores doing inside the disciplinary committee’s territory?”
Gokudera waved dismissively.
“Oh, so this room already had an owner?
Sorry dude, but this place is ours now.”
Hibari’s expression became glacially cold.
“I hate it the most when herbivores gather in groups before me, especially when they trespass into my territory.”
He said coldly as a tonfa appeared in his hand.
“When I see that…”
A second tonfa slid into his other hand.
“…I feel like biting them to death.”
Gokudera shivered instinctively from those words, but then immediately got angry anyway.
“What did you say, bastard!?”
“What’s going on?”
Tsuna finally arrived at the doorway.
WHOOSH!
A gust of wind sliced toward him instantly to which Tsuna’s sixth sense reacted immediately.
CLANG!
He caught Hibari’s tonfa with his bare hand just before it smashed into his face.
Hibari blinked slightly before slowly smiling amusedly.
“You blocked that?”
“BASTARD!”
Gokudera exploded furiously.
“How dare you attack Judaime!”
He charged forward recklessly.
SMASH.
Hibari’s tonfa slammed into the side of Gokudera’s head with terrifying precision.
“One.”
The silver-haired Italian instantly collapsed unconscious.
“GOKUDERA!”
Yamamoto rushed in next, but Hibari also had the same plan.
Pure athletic instinct barely allowed him to dodge Hibari’s next strike.
“Damn—if I had my sword—!”
“Die.”
THUD.
Hibari’s kick slammed directly into his stomach, launching Yamamoto across the room.
He only stopped when he crashed hard to the wall.
“Two.”
Hibari counted casually.
“Guys!”
Tsuna shouted in worry.
At the same time, Rekka stepped forward seriously.
“Leave this one to me, Tsuna.”
He couldn’t reveal his flames here, but he could still fight normally.
Hibari narrowed his eyes slightly.
“Now I remember… I heard rumors about a group of ants causing trouble outside school lately.”
His gaze sharpened.
“So it was you guys.”
Rekka calmly cracked his knuckles.
“So what if it is?”
Hibari smiled coldly.
“I’ll discipline you hard.
No one inside my school can cause trouble without my permission.”
Rekka threw several iron balls that Hibari casually deflected away.
POOF!
Smoke exploded throughout the room.
“Smokescreen Jutsu!”
The room instantly filled with smoke.
Hibari gazed around him.
“Smoke bombs?
How childish.”
“You’ll regret saying that!”
Rekka attacked through the smoke—
WHOOSH!
“Predictable.”
Hibari countered instantly by striking behind him.
“Substitution Technique!”
His tonfa smashed into an iron ball disguised as Rekka, only for the real Rekka to appear in front of him with a punch.
CLANG!
Hibari effortlessly blocked it with his second tonfa.
“If this is all…”
His other tonfa slammed directly into Rekka’s stomach.
“…then I’m disappointed.”
“AGH—!”
Rekka crumpled painfully, his knee crashing to the floor with his consciousness already slipping away.
But before he could, Tsuna stepped forward.
“We’re sorry for barging in…”
His voice was low yet controlled.
“…but don’t you think you’re going too far?”
Hibari paused briefly.
The atmosphere around Tsuna had changed.
It felt quiet, but heavy and powerful.
Hibari grew even more amused by him.
“You’re the last one.
Starting now, you’re my prey.”
The instant he moved, Tsuna’s sixth sense screamed.
WHOOSH!
A silver blur flashed past his face.
Tsuna jerked backward just in time for the tonfa to graze his cheek instead of smashing directly into his face.
The strike slammed into the wooden wall behind him with a loud crack.
Before Tsuna could steady himself, Hibari was already in front of him again.
CLANG!
CLANG!
CLANG!
His strikes rained down relentlessly, forcing Tsuna to duck and weave continuesly, barely avoiding each strike with his sharp eyes.
One swing brushed past his shoulder hard enough to sting, while another shattered a nearby vase beside his head, its fragments scattering across the floor.
Hibari’s smile widened even more.
“You can even react to that?”
Tsuna gritted his teeth, throwing a punch for a body shot.
Hibari smoothly redirected the attack with a tonfa, immediately countering with a strike toward Tsuna’s side.
THUD!
Tsuna blocked it with his arms, but the impact still forced him backward into a table.
CRASH!
The furniture tipped over behind him.
Tsuna sweated.
For the first time, he couldn’t see any opening lines.
Hibari gave him no room to breathe, fighting like an apex predator.
He was cold and merciless, his attacks sharp and precise without wasting a single movement.
Most importantly, every weak point Tsuna exposed was instantly targeted like Hibari intended to sink his fangs into him until he stopped breathing.
Tsuna narrowly ducked another strike aimed at his head.
Fortunately, he finally saw an opening line connecting to Hibari this time.
He retaliated with a right hook that followed the line he saw.
Until—
WHOOSH!
It was forcefully snapped.
Tsuna widened his eyes, seeing the opening line being broken for the first time.
A split second later—
SMACK!
Hibari’s tonfa slammed into Tsuna’s shoulder.
“Hngh—!”
Tsuna stumbled sideways.
Hibari immediately followed with another strike aimed at his ribs.
Tsuna blocked again.
THUD!
Pain shot through his arm from the impact.
He’s overwhelming me… This is the first time someone has countered my opening line….!
Tsuna could react thanks to his strong physique and sharp eyes, but Hibari’s skill was on another level entirely.
Every attack flowed naturally into the next.
Every movement cornered him further.
Meanwhile, Hibari’s eyes narrowed with growing interest.
“Your body is stronger than mine.
To take all that beating.”
He admitted.
“But your fangs are dull.”
Tsuna clenched his fists.
Damn it, I can’t land a proper hit…
All opening lines were disrupted and broken in the end.
On the other hand, Hibari still looked completely composed.
Tsuna’s breathing slowly grew heavier.
One fatal strike from Hibari…
and this fight would probably end instantly.
Hibari raised his tonfa again as the two of them exchanged rapid blows.
SMASH!
Another tonfa struck Tsuna’s stomach, forcing him to cough violently as the air left his lungs.
Intending to finish him, Hibari struck with his other tonfa toward Tsuna’s face.
Tsuna closed his eyes to brace himself for the pain, but something was even more faster than Hibari’s tonfa.
BANG!
A bullet suddenly struck directly into Tsuna’s forehead.
For a split second, everything froze for Tsuna.
I’m gonna lose…?
I can’t even help my friends?
NO!
FWOOOSH!!
Orange flames abruptly erupted from Tsuna’s forehead.
The atmosphere inside the room instantly changed, the curtains fluttering wildly from Tsuna’s rising pressure.
Hibari retreated as his eyes sharpened with interest.
“That flame…”
Tsuna slowly lifted his head, his eyes burning with determination.
“I WILL DEFEAT HIBARI WITH MY DYING WILL!!”
BOOM!
Tsuna lunged forward so quickly that even Hibari’s eyes couldn’t follow clearly.
CLANG!!
An unstoppable punch collided against Hibari’s crossed tonfas.
The impact forced Hibari backward across the floor.
Tsuna didn’t stop as he immediately followed with another punch.
WHOOSH!
Hibari twisted sideways to avoid it, the fist slamming into the wall behind him instead.
CRACK!
When the wall cracked apart, Hibari couldn’t help but widen his eyes.
That attack just now…
It was terrifyingly powerful and fast.
Reborn smirked from the shadows.
Tsuna’s speed and strength had grown explosively this time.
BOOM!
CLANG!
BAM!
Fists and steel tonfas collided repeatedly throughout the room.
Furniture overturned from the force of their clashes.
A table snapped apart after Tsuna’s punch barely missed Hibari.
Hibari retaliated with sharp counterattacks aimed at Tsuna’s blind spots, but Tsuna powered through them relentlessly.
For the first time, Hibari was being pushed back.
And Hibari loved it.
A grin spread wider across his face.
“This is fun.”
His eyes gleamed sharply as he blocked another powerful punch, his steel tonfa cracking apart.
“You might actually be worth biting to death.”
Tsuna’s flames burned brighter.
“I WON’T LOSE!
NOT AFTER YOU HURT MY FRIENDS!”
They clashed head-on again.
BOOM!!
The shockwave rattled the windows and sent broken furniture sliding across the floor.
The room was rapidly falling apart around them.
But then—
“Times up.”
BANG!
Smoke suddenly exploded throughout the room.
“Retreat.”
Reborn ordered calmly.
“EH!?
REBORN—!”
Before Tsuna could protest, Leon wrapped around him and dragged him backward while pulling the unconscious Yamamoto and Gokudera along.
Rekka escaped through the shattered window at the same time.
By the time the smoke cleared, Hibari was left alone inside the ruined room.
“This isn’t over…”
Hibari whispered softly with an amused smile.
“….Sawada Tsunayoshi.”
He had finally found a prey worth hunting.
At this exact moment, Hirukawa-sensei stepped into the ruined room.
“What happened here, Hibari?”
His narrowed eyes gleamed strangely as he observed the destruction.
Hibari gazed at him uninterestedly.
“A few rats wandered in…”
He replied casually.
“There’s no need to worry about them.”
Hirukawa silently stared at the student before him.
Even with all our resources, we couldn’t uncover his true origin…
What a terrifying mysterious person.
Slowly, Hirukawa smiled.
As long as Hibari existed within Namimori, Mutsumi safety becomes higher.
…
Damn, fighting scenes are hard to write.
Shoutout to my new patronage: Viscount Ahmed!
Your kindness pumped me with motivation when it was running out!
We are currently at Chapter 31!