The day Tsuna runs into Mammon and Belphegor is the day that he would remember forever.
Namely because it results in him having all new clients, and fulfilling a certain 'wish' of his, even if Fon shakes his head in open amusement.
Tsuna went to visit Takeshi and ran into a certain exiled Prince who had just come from the restaurant. Considering he was bored, he had gone hunting for a few yakuza thugs to skewer.
Tsuna took one look at his knives and promptly snatched one of them from the other teen's hand, to the blond's ire.
"Ka-ching. Hand over my knife peasant!"
"Who the hell sold you this piece of crap? It looks like someone mass-produced a knife and then did a half-assed job of sharpening it," demanded Tsuna.
Belphegor...stared at him.
"What."
Tsuna took out something from his pouch, and handed it to him.
Belphegor inspected the kunai in his hand, then one of his knives. The quality difference was beyond obvious and he developed the urge to pay a 'visit' to his supplier.
"Where did you get this kunai?" asked Belphegor.
Come to think of it, this looked far too much like the recent influx of ninja weaponry some of the peasants had been using.
"I made it," said Tsuna.
"You made this?" said Belphegor stunned.
"My mom's family is from a line of sword smiths, and I make these in my spare time with scrap metal. It's one of my primary sources of income, though I've recently started properly entering the family trade. My cousin does all the sharpening," said Tsuna proudly. "And I know for a fact Fon regularly orders weapons for the Triads."
Belphegor stared at him, his smirk widening.
"What makes you think that matters to me?"
"You're Varia, and a Prince who clearly knows what a Quality weapon looks like. That and you fit the basic description of Prince Belphegor of the Storm division," admitted Tsuna.
He couldn't argue with that logic.
Belphegor looked at his knives, then at Tsuna.
"How much would it cost for me to replace all my knives?"
"Depends on how many you want and whether you would be willing to source the material," said Tsuna promptly. "I would be willing to give you a five percent discount if you would be kind enough to promote my work among your colleagues."
"Ushishishi... I'll have Mammy get in contact with you later," said Belphegor.
A week later an odd visitor arrived at the restaurant, while he was with Takeshi.
"Mu. Are you the source of the kunai and shuriken that the mooks have been paying so much for?"
"Are you Mammy?" asked Tsuna.
"It's Mammon," they corrected. "Belphegor came to me asking about changing the contract on the people who supply his knives and mentioned a discount. I want to see an example of your best work."
Tsuna promptly pulled out one of his hidden weapons.
"I dabble in other weaponry, but our family's focus is sword-crafting. I mostly make the kunai and shuriken out of scrap metal to pay for my more detailed works," said Tsuna.
The weapon Tsuna handed the robed figure was a senbon launcher. Since Fon was able to source him weapons grade needles, Tsuna had made it as a prototype.
After several moments of intense inspection, Mammon handed it back.
"It's acceptable for a mere teenager, though not up to Quality standards," Mammon announced.
"This was just a prototype to see if I could make one using the needles Fon sourced me. He certainly loves the Storm Claws I made for him, to say nothing of how much Skull enjoys practicing with the shinobi weaponry Fon ordered for his birthday."
Mammon stiffened.
"You're the source of Fon's new weapons?!"
"He supplied the main material and I supplied the weapon that was scaled down to his size. I'm now his chief supplier of bladed and hidden weaponry since I don't over charge him for it," said Tsuna.
Mammon was clearly doing calculations in their head. They had seen Fon's new 'toys', and had wondered where the Storm had gotten them. Clearly he had stumbled across an untapped gold mine of sorts.
"You said you would be willing to make Belphegor new knives."
"Those blades he was using looked mass-produced," said Tsuna with disgust. "I could make a better knife so long as I had the material for it and an example of what the general shape should be."
At this point it was pretty clear to the family that Tsuna would at least continue the family trade, even if he did do custom orders for weapons outside of swords. And Akira would likely be right beside him to help repair, clean and sharpen any weapons that came in.
Considering Tsuna was making good money without dipping into anything shady, his grandfather had given his blessings...even if he was all too aware of what Fon did for a living. So long as he never brought the underworld onto their family they could learn to politely ignore it.
Mammon looked at the weapon in their hand, and then at Tsuna.
"Mu. Would you agree to a small batch to test the quality difference, along with our side providing material?"
"Standard contract acceptable?" he asked, already pulling it out. His intuition had told him to bring it with him today.
Mammon did a once over of the conditions and took out a pen.
"The materials should arrive within the next few days. Do you prefer a dead drop or should we have someone come to collect the batch once they are completed?"
Tsuna thought that one over.
"Would it be acceptable to have Fon deliver them once the knives are done? He likely knows where your base is and this way we both have assurances the delivery will be made promptly and there won't be any risk of 'accidents'," said Tsuna.
Mammon's estimation of the teen went up a little. Even if they had to put up with Fon making a visit to the castle.
"Agreed," said Mammon, and they shook on it. Five days later Tsuna got a shipment of material and five of Belphegor's preferred knives.
Considering this would be a major client if he did this right, Tsuna put his best effort into recreating the blades. Akira seemed to pick up on how serious the order was, because he took extra care sharpening them.
After about a month and a half, Fon left Namimori with a decently sized box that he took with him to Sicily.
In the Varia castle...
Fon didn't bother to announce himself. The moment he saw where Belphegor and Viper were he went straight for them.
"Special delivery from Namimori," he said cheerfully.
Belphegor looked at the box with anticipation and opened it. He picked up one of the knives inside that were lying in neat rows.
He pulled out one of his current set and bent it... he had to admit, the small bunny he ran into wasn't joking when he called the blades he used before 'mass-produced'. Apparently the peasants who filled the orders before simply poured molten metal into molds and then had senior apprentices sharpen them before they were delivered to the castle.
Belphegor had not been pleased finding that out.
He attempted to bend the knife in his hand...only to end up cut for his troubles. More importantly, the blade didn't bend an inch and was razor sharp. He could already see the thin line on his palm, which was a far cry from the quality he usually got his knives in.
"Voi! What the hell did you buy this time you shitty prince?" demanded Squalo. He stopped cold at the sight of the knives. "Did we change suppliers recently?"
Mammon smirked. If Squalo could tell an immediate difference, then clearly the teen that Belphegor had run into was well worth the investment.
"What did you expect from the grandson of the Narikawa clan?" said Fon cheekily.
Squalo turned to the Storm Arcobaleno with an intent look on his face.
"Voi...did you just say Narikawa?"
"Kozen's grandson Tsuna ran into Belphegor after a sushi run and agreed to make him a new set of knives after he saw the ones the prince was using," said Fon. He pulled out his favorite weapons. "He also does custom orders outside of swords, though most of his income comes from the shinobi weaponry orders."
Squalo looked at the Storm, and then at his prosthetic hand.
"...Do you think he'd be willing to make a new sword?"
"You can always ask. He always runs any orders for actual swords through his grandfather and uncle first, since they take their family's craft very seriously," said Fon.
He wasn't surprised in the least when Squalo used his vacation to make a trip to Japan.
Two weeks later...
Squalo was... well, honestly the guy was rather intimidating, but the second Tsuna saw the genuine appreciation for the family swords that they had he lost some of his fear of the man.
"So you want a custom sword that would fit on your prosthetic hand?" said Tsuna.
"I have one that's modified to hold a sword without the hilt attached, but finding decent blades without being charged through the nose for it is almost impossible these days. Most people prefer guns," said Squalo simply. "And the quality of the knives you sent to that brat Belphegor is superior to half the blades I've seen in five years."
It was a good thing summer break was coming, because Tsuna could already tell this was going to take a while. Especially if he wanted to honor the family craft properly.
He looked to his grandfather who was calmly sipping tea. Like Tsuna, once he realized the loud Italian showed proper appreciation for a well crafted sword he lost most of his unease around him. Especially since the man was clearly an experienced swordsman in his own right.
This was someone who knew blades and used them as they were supposed to be used.
"It's up to you. If you agree to this and produce a sword worthy of the name I'll allow you to officially take orders as a proper sword smith."
Tsuna looked thrilled at the idea. After so many years apprenticing under his grandfather and uncle, this was finally his chance to have an actual forge of his own. It meant that he was finally considered a proper smith that could possibly carry on the family name with pride.
It was a monumental moment for the fifteen year old.
Tsuna took out his notebook.
"What kind of sword were you wanting?" he said, starting off the process. There was no mistaking the gleam in his eyes as the "forger's itch" hit him full force.
Squalo blinked before a shark-like grin appeared on his face.
Tsuna was a man possessed, though he had his friends to keep him from going too overboard with Squalo's order.
After discovering the kid had flames, but no training in how to use them properly, Squalo managed to wrangle a slightly better discount on the final price.
To say the shark was surprised finding out Tsuna was an untapped Sky was an understatement, but that paled in comparison to his reaction learning which famiglia the kid technically belonged to.
Since this was his vacation, Squalo decided to stick around to see how seriously the kid took his craft...and in the process ran into Takeshi. The rest, as they say, was history.
He found it rather enjoyable to see how the baby Rain improved under a proper opponent, since the kid's skill level wasn't too bad. Takeshi had taken up learning swords after discovering exactly what had saved his mother's life, and had since mastered the family style. The fact that he could test out the full swords Tsuna made and put them through a proper work out before they were delivered to the client was just a major bonus.
Squalo took one look at the obviously photoshopped post card...and then at Tsuna who looked more irritated than anything at the sight of it.
"Voi. Who the hell is this?"
Because the man on the card looked far too much like the blond jackass of CEDEF to be a coincidence.
"Officially, my father," said Tsuna, looking nothing more like he wanted to set the damn card on fire.
Squalo was smirking.
"And unofficially?"
"I've been telling people for years my father died when I was very young and that my mother has yet to move past the accident that killed him in order to remarry. As far as we're concerned, Iemitsu Sawada is the name of a dead man," deadpanned Tsuna.
Squalo cackled at that. So the jackass' son hated him enough to claim he was dead without hesitation? That was hilarious.
"What would you do if he ever showed up?"
"You mean he's alive?" said Tsuna, raising an eyebrow to Squalo's amusement. "If the man on the card ever came to this house again I would call the cops and claim he broke in, preferably after Mama was through with him."
Squalo was cracking up.
"Besides, that man hasn't set foot in this house since I was seven, and if we had our way we would have had his ass declared dead years ago. Unfortunately we still have no idea where to send the divorce paperwork, otherwise Mama would have moved on already."
"What stopped you?"
"Some hotshot lawyer kept the paperwork from going through. Believe me, we tried quite a few times to have him declared dead since we have absolutely no way to contact him in an emergency," said Tsuna.
They had avoided several assassins who had come after the "Young Lion's" family simply because Tsuna got his mother to listen to reason and drop the Sawada name in favor of her maiden one. Fon had disposed of those who stuck around too long and ended up noticed without a word.
Squalo was immensely entertained by all this. He didn't expect a new sword and something he knew would have his Sky laughing his ass off when he finally returned.