The next morning, sunlight spilled through the curtains in pale streaks across Tsuna’s room.
“Tsuna, time for school~!”
Nana opened the door with her usual cheerful voice.
“Why are you sleeping so late today?
You usually wake up early to run with your club.”
But then she stopped.
Tsuna laid tangled in his blanket, his face sickly pale as his body twitched every now and then from soreness.
Nana hurried to his side and pressed her palm against his forehead.
“Oh my, you’re burning up!”
Tsuna groaned weakly as she shook him lightly.
“Tsuna?
Can you hear me?”
“Mmn…”
He groaned heavily the moment he tried to sit up.
Every part of his body screamed the moment he moved.
The fatigue from his exercises, the beatings he received yesterday, and the aftereffects of Dying Will mode, it all crashed down on him at once.
Nana quickly grabbed her phone.
“You’re not going to school today.”
Tsuna could barely protest before she already started calling.
“Yes, hello?
This is Sawada Tsunayoshi’s mother… He has a fever today…”
After ending the call, she returned with a basin of water and medicine.
Tsuna pushed himself up slightly when she lifted his blanket…
and Nana froze.
Bruises covered his arms and shoulders.
Dark marks spread across his ribs beneath his loose shirt.
Her expression tightened immediately.
“Tsuna…”
Her fingers hovered carefully above the bruises.
“Why are you covered in injuries?”
Tsuna stiffened.
“Don’t tell me… you’re being bullied at school!?”
Nana’s voice cracked.
“No, Mom!
These bruises are from sports practice…”
He lied quickly, not wanting to worry her too much.
“Sports?”
Tsuna nodded awkwardly.
“Y-Yeah… training.”
The worry on Nana’s face slowly melted into relief.
“Oh!
So you’re playing sports now?”
A smile spread across her face so suddenly it almost blinded him.
“I’m glad it wasn’t anything bad.”
Tsuna scratched his cheek while Nana fussed over him, placing a cold towel on his forehead before handing him medicine and water.
After taking the paracetamol, the fever eased little by little.
But the moment he tried shifting his leg…
“Ouch!”
A stabbing ache shot through his muscles as he collapsed back onto the mattress.
After Nana left the room, Reborn soon visited him.
“Exhaustion finally caught up to your body.”
He commented.
“You don’t have to worry about school or training today.
Today’s your rest day.”
“Well, I did get beaten up badly yesterday…”
Tsuna muttered.
“And I seriously can’t get used to the muscle pain from Dying Will Mode.”
“Of course not.”
Reborn replied calmly.
“Your body was pushed beyond its normal limits.
That’s also why you train physically.
A stronger body endures the backlash better.”
Tsuna groaned into his pillow.
Without his mother to make a fuss, silence settled in his bedroom.
Tsuna stared at the ceiling for several minutes before boredom finally won.
He slowly sat up, wincing halfway through.
“Hey, Reborn…”
“Hm?”
“Can you tell me more about the Dying Will Flame?”
When he thought of it, this flame was like a superpower, so he grew more curious about its mysteries.
Reborn nodded approvingly.
“You asked the right question.
That would’ve been our next lesson.”
Tsuna straightened slightly.
“Dying Will Flame is the foundation of the mafia world.
Every powerful Mafia Family, every elite assassin, every high-ranking combatant, they all use this flame.”
Tsuna nodded, thinking it really sounded like a superpower used by the mafias.
“To create a Dying Will Flame…”
Reborn raised two fingers.
“You need two things.”
He lowered one finger.
“Dying Will.”
Then the second.
“And Energy.”
“Energy…?”
Tsuna echoed.
He remembered Reborn mentioning it once before.
“Everything in this world contains energy.
In the mafia world, we call it Wave Energy.”
Tsuna tilted his head slightly.
This sounds like the internal energy or Qigong from those chinese kung fu movies I’ve watched…
“If you remember, inside every human brain exists a limiter called the Dying Will Limiter.
Its main purpose is to stop humans from refining their Wave Energy into Dying Will Flames under normal conditions.”
Reborn tapped his yellow pacifier.
Fwoosh.
A bright flame ignited above it.
It was clear yellowish-white, warm and steady.
Tsuna’s eyes widened.
“It’s beautiful…”
“This is the Sun Flame.”
Even from across the room, Tsuna could feel its warmth spreading through the air.
Not burning warmth, but like the familiar comfortable rays of the sun.
“There are seven types of Dying Will Flames which are named after the seven phenomena in the sky.”
As he spoke, Reborn held up a finger for each one.
“Sky, Storm, Rain, Sun, Lightning, Cloud, and Mist.
All of them are collectively known as the Seven Dying Will Flames of the Sky.”
Tsuna repeated the names quietly in his head, each one sounding powerful and distinct.
“So…”
Tsuna asked slowly.
“What’s mine?”
Reborn made Leon transform into a small scanner-like device.
“This form is called Leon’s Attribute Scanner.
Leon will analyzes the nature of a person’s Wave Energy which determines what type of Dying Will Flame they have.”
He tossed Leon toward Tsuna.
Tsuna fumbled awkwardly before pointing the chameleon at himself.
Beep.
Sky-Attribute Wave Energy Detected.
Sky Flame.
Flame Purity Rank: B.
Tsuna blinked.
“Sky…?”
Reborn nodded as if he already knew.
“You possess the Sky Flame, the central core of the Seven Dying Will Flames Of Sky, the attribute most commonly associated with Mafia leaders.”
Tsuna pointed at himself.
“M-Me?”
No way!
I have such an awesome attribute!?
“The Sky Flame represents Harmony.”
Reborn explained.
“Its nature is to unite, balance, and bring others together.
Rather than overwhelming things through force, it stabilizes and harmonizes them.”
Tsuna slowly looked toward the open window and watched the sky stretched endlessly above the town.
Quiet, wide, and accepting everything in the world.
“So that’s the nature of my flame…”
Something stirred faintly inside his chest.
“But what does flame purity mean?”
He looked back at the scanner.
Flame Purity Rank: B.
“Flames are graded according to purity which reflects the quality of a person’s Dying Will.”
“So… stronger regret or resolve means higher purity?”
“In simple terms, yes.”
Tsuna nodded slowly.
“But purity does not directly mean raw power.”
Reborn clarified immediately.
“Dying Will Flames have multiple factors that determine its power.
Two major ones are Flame Purity and Flame Output.”
Tsuna frowned slightly.
“What’s the difference?”
“Purity determines how strongly your Dying Will Flame’s special traits manifest.”
Reborn raised his Sun Flame again.
“For example, the Sun Flame’s special trait is Activation—the power to stimulate and enhance activity.”
He suddenly flicked the flame toward Tsuna.
“WAH—!”
The yellow fire spread across Tsuna’s body instantly.
Tsuna flinched, but realized there was no burning pain.
Instead, warmth spread through his aching muscles.
The soreness began fading.
“Huh…?”
His body felt lighter and comfortable.
“It doesn’t hurt…”
He was burning in flames, but didn’t feel being roasted alive.
“Because I’m controlling it.”
Reborn explained calmly.
“Flame Purity affects not only the control over the flame’s special traits, but also the flame itself.
A skilled user can decide exactly what their flames burn or don’t burn.
Tsuna held back his curses against Reborn.
Or else he might really get roasted alive.
He just flexed his hand in disbelief.
“My body feels better…”
“The Sun Flame activates and improves the efficiency of activity.
What I did was accelerate your body’s natural regeneration.”
“THEN WHY DIDN’T YOU DO THIS WHEN I GOT BEATEN SICK!?”
Tsuna was dumbfounded to learn Reborn had such amazing power but never once used it on him.
“I could’ve gone to school!”
“You fool!”
Reborn snapped immediately.
“I said today is your rest day.”
Tsuna went silent in fear.
“My flames can heal your body, but they cannot rest your mind.
If I heal every hardship you experience, your wimp mentality will never adapt to pain and hardships.”
Tsuna couldn’t refute.
For some reason, Reborn’s logic somewhat made sense to him.
It basically meant if he relied entirely on Reborn, he would remain as a wimp forever.
But he had to double-check.
“…You don’t just enjoy watching me suffer, right?”
Reborn only smiled.
That somehow made Tsuna more suspicious.
Reborn continued as if nothing happened.
“A low-purity Sun Flame might only slightly improve bodily functions.
But higher purities can exhibit stronger effects, heal injuries, affect the mind, strengthen objects, or even influence abstract concepts depending on the user.
”
Tsuna stared blankly.
“Depending on the user…?”
“Every person’s flame is unique.
Just like fingerprints, no flames are exactly alike.
Even users with the same flame types can specialize in completely different applications.”
For example, Reborn excelled when it came to the combat application of his Sun Flame, but mediocre when it came to healing or supporting others.
Tsuna nodded slowly.
“So if purity is quality… then I guess output is quantity?”
Reborn smirked slightly.
“You’re learning well.
Guess the fever didn’t make you dumber.”
“The medicine did well.”
Tsuna could only match the energy.
Reborn continued.
“Flame output refers to the total volume of Wave Energy converted into Dying Will Flames.
In other words, its raw power and scale.”
Tsuna imagined a giant explosion when he heard that.
“So someone can have high output but low purity?”
“Yes.
Their flames may be large but crude.”
“And high purity with low output?”
“Smaller flames, but with highly refined effects.”
Tsuna looked back at the scanner again.
Sky Flame.
B Rank Purity.
Harmony.
A strange warmth settled in his chest.
It seems like my potential isn’t ordinary… Hehe, rank B!
Wait, why am I being so happy…?
Another thought crossed his mind.
“Can I learn other Attributes too?”
Reborn shook his head.
“A person’s Attribute is decided at birth.
Training cannot change it.”
Tsuna deflated.
“So I’m stuck with one…”
“There exist rare exceptions, but those are abnormal cases.”
Tsuna leaned back slightly before his eyes suddenly flashed.
“Then… do I always need the Dying Will Bullet to use flames?” This chapter was taken from g.com without permission.
He rubbed his forehead unconsciously.
“I’m getting tired of being shot.”
Tsuna was afraid of getting PTSD whenever he heard a gunshot.
“Yes.”
Reborn answered simply.
“There are two major activation methods in the mafia world.”
Tsuna leaned forward immediately.
“The first method was discovered by Vongola Primo, but his method was so intuitive that no one else could ever learn it in his generation.”
Tsuna was once again amazed by his distant ancestor.
Reborn’s tone became more serious.
“That’s why the later generations of the Vongola Family became obsessed with recreating it in a more methodological way.
They carried out countless human experiments, trying to force the same phenomenon to happen artificially.”
Tsuna felt his stomach tighten.
“In the end, they discovered in their research that when the Dying Will Limiter is forcefully opened, humans enter the Dying Will Mode similar to Vongola Primo.
You already know the tool they created for that process, don’t you?”
“The Dying Will Bullet…
“That’s right.
The Dying Will Bullet was designed to artificially reproduce a near-death state, the very moment a person’s emotions, especially their regret, reaches its utmost peak.
It produces an overwhelming surge of Dying Will that breaks the Dying Will Limiter, igniting both Dying Will and the Wave Energy into Dying Will Flame, allowing them to enter Dying Will Mode.”
The room suddenly felt colder.
“Of course, the early experiments were failures.”
Reborn said it coldly.
“Many people died.”
Tsuna’s eyes widened.
“THEN WHY ARE WE USING IT!?”
His voice cracked as he stared at Reborn.
If I remember correctly… Reborn had been shooting me with that terrifying bullet on a regular basis.
“It’s the most efficient method.”
Reborn answered calmly.
“Once a person experience the Dying Will Mode, they can eventually learn to open and close the limiter themselves.”
He pointed toward Tsuna.
“This is called Dying Will Ignition.”
Tsuna blinked before eagerly asking.
“So eventually… I can use Dying Will Mode without getting shot?”
“If you train enough.”
Tsuna’s face brightened immediately.
“But your current Dying Will Mode is only at the Spark State.”
Tsuna paused.
“Spark State?”
Reborn nodded.
“Your current Dying Will Mode is driven by your Dying Will formed by what you regretted before dying.
The flame only manifests as a spark on your forehead.
Just like what it means, an uncontrollable spark of flame that quickly dies out.”
Tsuna unconsciously touched the spot.
“In this state, the flame mainly functions as fuel for Hysterical Strength.
Your body becomes a powerful physical engine, but you cannot yet control the flame itself as actual energy.”
Tsuna slowly absorbed the explanation.
“So the flame isn’t really mine yet…”
“After all, you did not ignite it yourself.
The bullet forced your Dying Will out under extreme external pressure.
The flame exists, but only instinctively.”
Tsuna nodded and looked at his hand quietly before raising another question.
“What’s the second method?”
Reborn tapped Leon who then transformed into a ring.
“After the Vongola Family revealed the power of Dying Will Flames, other Mafia Families tried replicating the process.”
Reborn’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“But the death rate was too high.”
Tsuna swallowed.
“A genius scientist later created an alternative.”
Reborn held up the ring with a yellow gem engraved on it.
“Dying Will Rings.”
Tsuna gazed at it curiously.
“The rings are made using a special mineral called Rainbow Gemstone.
Instead of forcibly opening the limiter, the ring directly refines the resolve of the wielder’s Dying Will and Wave Energy into Dying Will Flames.”
Tsuna’s eyes lit up.
“So it’s safer?”
“Far safer.”
Reborn nodded.
“Because the rings lower the requirements needed to produce flames, even weaker individuals with pathetic Dying Will can use them.”
Tsuna sat upright immediately.
“Then shouldn’t I use that instead!?”
Reborn shook his head.
“Your Flame Purity is too high.”
“Huh?”
“If the ring’s rank is lower than the user’s Flame Purity, the ring shatters from overload.”
Tsuna blinked.
“So… I’d break them?”
“Instantly.
High-tier rings that can handle your flame’s purity are rare.”
Tsuna slumped back onto the bed.
“Oh…”
Reborn watched him silently.
There was a ring capable of handling Tsuna’s flames, but it wasn’t time yet.
Tsuna scratched his cheek.
“So which is better?
Dying Will Mode or Rings?”
Reborn answered without hesitation.
“The Ring Method is safer and more efficient overall.”
He continued calmly.
“A high-quality ring improves conversion efficiency.
Less Wave Energy is wasted when producing flames.”
“So that means…”
“You can maintain higher flame output while consuming less wave energy.”
Tsuna nodded when suddenly Reborn’s eyes sharpened.
“However…”
Tsuna straightened slightly.
“If someone reaches the true Dying Will Mode reached by Vongola Primo…
then it becomes the superior method.”
The air around Reborn seemed heavier for a moment.
Tsuna reflected on what he learned.
Sky Flame.
And its nature of Harmony, a power meant to connect people.
The Mafia World suddenly felt much larger and mysterious than before.
…
| Stage of Dying Will Limiter |
Stage 1 – Hysterical Strength (Partial Unlock State)
A natural survival response where the brain temporarily removes the body’s physical limiters.
Stage 2 – Dying Will Mode (Unlocked State)
Also known as the Spark Level.
Triggered through external pressure such as the Dying Will Bullet to unlock the Dying Will Limiter by inducing intense regret to ignite both Dying Will and Wave Energy into Dying Will Flames.
A flame spark manifests on the forehead and fuels superhuman physical abilities.
The user becomes a powerful “physical engine,” but cannot yet consciously control the flame itself as energy.
Stage 3 – ???
…
Extra chapters when we reach 500 pw!