Tsuna was walking home from school when he suddenly heard a bicycle bell ring behind him.
TRING—TRING!
He turned around and saw a tall woman riding a bicycle toward him.
She wore a helmet and dark goggles, making her look strangely suspicious despite the calm afternoon atmosphere.
“Hey, boy!”
When she stopped beside him, she removed both her helmet and goggles.
Tsuna blinked in surprise.
A half-Japanese…?
The woman was tall, beautiful, and clearly looked foreigner.
“Please have this if you like.
I accidentally bought too many.”
She rummaged through the bicycle basket, which was packed full of canned drinks, before handing him a can of Baron Cola.
“Ah… thanks.”
Tsuna accepted it gratefully.
What a kind lady…!
The woman smiled faintly before riding away.
Tsuna opened the can.
PSSSHH!
And instantly froze when a horrifying pungent smell assaulted his nose.
“…!?”
“CAW!
CAW!”
Several crows flying above suddenly lost consciousness midair before crashing straight into the ground around him.
THUD.
THUD.
THUD.
Tsuna stared at the drink in absolute horror.
“…What the hell?”
Without hesitation, he threw the can away like it contained radioactive waste.
That thing killed birds just from its smell alone!
Tsuna’s expression paled.
I need to tell Reborn about this…
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Tsuna returned home.
“Oh?
That was Bianchi.
I called her.”
Reborn answered casually.
“…You called her?”
A terrible premonition crawled down Tsuna’s spine.
“Why?”
Reborn smirked faintly.
“It’s time to begin your next lesson.”
Tsuna immediately paled.
Next lesson…?
That word had already traumatized him beyond repair.
“Bianchi is a freelance hitman known in the underworld as Poison Scorpion.”
Reborn continued calmly.
“She specializes in Poison Cooking.”
Tsuna’s expression stiffened.
“…Don’t tell me…”
Reborn nodded.
“You’ll begin poison resistance training by eating her cooking.”
Tsuna nearly fainted.
“Me…?
Eat her poison cooking everyday…?”
You’ve gotta be kidding me!
No way in the hell would I agree!
Reborn remained completely calm.
“Don’t worry.
I’ll make sure you won’t die.”
“That doesn’t make me feel better!”
“There are many assassins who specialize in poisons.”
Reborn explained.
“Especially powerful families like the Poison Family.
A mafia boss is constantly at risk of being poisoned.
You won’t even know when food is poisoned.”
“…That’s terrifying.”
“Exactly.
Which is why this training is necessary.”
Tsuna imagined himself eating poisoned soup someday before collapsing dramatically at a mafia banquet.
His face turned pale.
DING!
DONG!
“Italian Pizza Delivery~!”
“Did mom ordered pizza?”
Tsuna opened the door and immediately froze.
What greeted him was the same woman from before.
“Thanks for waiting!”
Bianchi smiled warmly while holding a pizza box.
“Here’s your Special Hawaiian Pizza.”
The moment she opened the box, a horrifying wave of toxic air exploded outward.
FWOOOOOSH!!
“…!?”
Tsuna’s sixth sense screamed.
Without thinking, his body instantly moved backward.
BANG!!
A gunshot echoed.
Reborn casually shot the pizza out of Bianchi’s hands before it could reach Tsuna.
The pizza splattered against the wall and began melting the wallpaper.
Tsuna stared in horror.
“…A pizza melted the wall!?”
How is that even possible!?
“Not bad reaction speed, Tsuna.”
Reborn praised casually.
Tsuna did not feel happy about that compliment.
“Ciaosu, Bianchi.”
“Reborn…”
Bianchi’s expression softened into something strangely emotional.
“I came to bring you back.”
Her eyes darkened slightly. This story is hosted at g.com.
“A peaceful place like this doesn’t suit you.
You belong in the underworld… in chaos.”
Tsuna blinked.
“…?”
“I already told you.
I’m raising Tsuna to become the next boss.”
Reborn replied.
Bianchi slowly looked toward Tsuna as tears filled her eyes.
“Poor Reborn…”
Tsuna immediately felt danger.
“That’s why I accepted this job.
If he can’t survive my poison… then you’ll finally be free.”
“…Hey, Reborn.
I think she’s trying to kill me….”
Tsuna mumbled fearfully.
Reborn nodded calmly.
“Of course, intentionally killing him would be bad.”
Tsuna almost felt relieved.
Not until Reborn continued.
“But the training should still be dangerous enough that he might die.”
Tsuna stared at him in disbelief.
“You monster!
How could you betray me like this!?”
Bianchi smiled beautifully.
“I’ll make it look like an accident.”
“Don’t say it openly while I’m still here!”
Tsuna desperately wanted to run away.
“Your training starts tomorrow.”
Bianchi declared happily.
“I still need time to prepare the ingredients.”
After saying that, she left peacefully as if she hadn’t just threatened his life five times.
After she disappeared, Tsuna immediately turned toward Reborn.
“What’s your relationship with her anyway!?
You two seemed close!”
“She loves me.”
Reborn answered casually.
“We dated before.”
Tsuna slowly looked down at Reborn’s tiny baby body.
“…What?”
“I’m popular with women.”
“So what you said before was really true!?”
Reborn smirked smugly.
“Bianchi was merely one of my lovers.”
“Hey, don’t look at me like you’re some playboy mafia emperor.”
“Tsuna, men are born to conquer.”
Reborn said wisely.
“And now you’re talking like an enlightened sage!?”
Tsuna felt his blood pressure rising.
“But seriously, do something!
She’s literally trying to murder me under the excuse of training!”
Reborn looked at him like he was an idiot.
“Humans are destined to die someday.”
“…Huh?”
“What’s the harm if it happens slightly earlier?”
Tsuna nearly flipped the table.
“You’re driving me insane….!”
Who would willingly eat foods they know are bad!?
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The next day, in the kitchen.
“As your special tutor, I will teach you poison resistance and home economics.”
She placed ingredients neatly on the table.
“I excel at these subjects because I have practiced them with love since childhood.”
Tsuna stared cautiously.
Somehow that sounded more terrifying.
“First, we’ll learn how to bake simple cookies.”
Surprisingly, she taught extremely well.
Step by step, she carefully demonstrated every process while Tsuna followed along beside her.
“As you cook, you must remember that the most important ingredients are gratitude and love.”
Tsuna blinked.
“The gratitude and respect for the ingredients.”
She slowly mixed the dough with elegant movements.
“And the love poured into the dish for the people who will eat it.”
Her voice became softer.
“Two dishes may use identical ingredients and measurements… but without gratitude and love, they will never truly touch the soul.”
Tsuna quietly listened while mixing his own bowl.
“…Love and gratitude…”
Watching Bianchi bake calmly, she almost looked like a completely normal woman and not a poison hitman.
Following her instructions, Tsuna sincerely thanked the ingredients before starting carefully.
He handled them gently and respectfully while pondering deeply.
Love… who would I want to bake for?
Faces surfaced in his mind.
His mom’s warm smile, his friends, and Mutsumi.
If I baked something for them… I want it to be something that makes them feel warm during difficult days.
To make them smile.
To help them forget their worries, even briefly.
As those thoughts filled his heart, Tsuna’s movements unconsciously became gentler and careful.
Bianchi quietly watched him.
“The feelings inside your heart affect the dish greatly.”
She explained.
“The clearer and more sincere your emotions are… the more flavor your cooking gains.”
Tsuna nodded seriously.
This actually feels… peaceful.
“Apart from that, the greatest skill in cooking is listening to the voices of the ingredients.”
“…The voices?”
“They’ll tell you how they wish to be prepared.”
She said naturally.
“How they wish to be shaped, heated, and combined.”
Tsuna stared blankly.
“…Ingredients can talk?”
“When you can hear them, recipes become unnecessary.”
Tsuna tried listening carefully.
“…I don’t hear anything.”
“There’s nothing wrong with that.” You are reading on novelping.com, the official source.
Bianchi reassured him.
“Not everyone can hear them.”
Tsuna sighed in relief.
Good!
Because that sounded terrifying.
Still, he genuinely enjoyed the process.
“…Baking feels surprisingly relaxing.”
Bianchi smiled faintly.
“Right?”
Her expression grew slightly melancholic.
“Growing up in a mafia family wasn’t easy.
I spent much of my childhood isolated for safety.”
Tsuna quietly listened.
“But when I cooked…”
Her gaze softened.
“…I never felt alone.”
Tsuna’s chest tightened slightly.
He understood that feeling well.
Eventually, freshly baked chocolate cookies emerged from the oven.
The sweet smell filled the kitchen beautifully.
Bianchi picked up one cookie.
“Here.”
She said warmly.
“Fresh homemade cookies taste best while hot.”
“Thanks.”
Tsuna smiled slightly before taking a bite.
CRUNCH.
His expression froze as the cookie slipped from his fingers.
THUD.
Suddenly, agonizing pain exploded through his throat.
“Gah—!?”
Tsuna collapsed onto his knees while clutching his neck, burning pain spreading through his stomach, muscles, and nerves.
His vision blurred as nausea overwhelmed him instantly.
“I-I’m poisoned…?”
He stared at Bianchi in horror.
He had watched the entire baking process!
She never added poison!
Bianchi smiled gently.
“That cookie was the one I made.”
“…!”
“I told you before.
I can hear the voices of ingredients.”
Her smile slowly became twisted.
“And for some reason…”
A dark aura rose around her.
“…the only voices I hear are screams wishing for a painful death.”
Tsuna’s eyes widened.
“I don’t need poisonous ingredients.
By listening to ingredients, my hands can transform any dish into poison.”
Her smile became beautiful yet horrifying.
“That is my Poison Cooking.”
Tsuna trembled violently.
So that’s why…!
His muscles were beginning to numb while his breathing became harder.
Am I dying…?
As his consciousness started fading, he suddenly heard Bianchi shout sharply:
“Strengthen your mind!”
Her eyes became serious.
“That’s only a weak poison!
Whether you die or survive depends entirely on your will!”
Tsuna’s eyes widened.
Will…
He couldn’t collapse or die here, so he forced himself upward with trembling determination.
I have to survive…!
Because—
“I NEED TO GO TO THE TOILET!!”
With tears in his eyes and flames of determination burning spiritually behind him, Tsuna crawled desperately toward the bathroom.
Explosive sounds soon echoed throughout the house even through the thick bathroom door.
An hour later, Tsuna finally emerged looking like a dried corpse.
His soul appeared to have left his body entirely.
Yet, his eyes still burned with determination.
Bianchi smiled approvingly.
“Good.”
She handed him a bottled water.
“Electrolytes.
You lost a dangerous amount of fluids.”
Tsuna immediately drank it all, but his sixth sense screamed late.
“…Wait.”
He slowly looked down and saw dark miasma was rising from the spilled droplets on the floor.
“…What did you just give me?”
Bianchi smiled sweetly.
“Lesson one of the underworld.”
Tsuna immediately ran back toward the bathroom.
“Never drink something given by a stranger without caution.”
DOOOOM!!
Another explosion echoed from the toilet.
Bianchi nodded proudly.
Afterward, she calmly began teaching again while Tsuna lay spiritually broken nearby.
“It’s scientifically possible to build immunity to poison through controlled exposure.”
Bianchi explained.
“This process is called Mithridatism.”
Tsuna weakly raised his hand.
“…I’m pretty sure that wasn’t ‘controlled.'”
Bianchi ignored him completely.
“By consuming gradually increasing amounts of poison over time, the body can adapt and develop resistance.”
Her smile darkened beautifully.
“Our training is merely an extreme version of that.”
Tsuna stared at her in horror.
“As long as you don’t lose consciousness, you won’t die.”
“…WAIT, so if I fall asleep I die…?”
Bianchi wiped away emotional tears.
“Yes.”
Tsuna genuinely saw the gates of heaven opening.
And thus, his daily poison resistance training began.
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We are currently at Chapter 33!