RETURN TO THE HOMELAND – ROCKING THE BOAT
An Italian Warship, The Mediterranean
The warship is incredible. It is a huge construction made of pure steel armed with guns that could sink any vessel the world has ever seen. The crew understand that the mafia are supposed to be superhuman with their capabilities but struggle to believe that they will be needed when this much firepower has been brought to bear.
This is the leading vessel in the fleet and on it is the most important man in the world, Sawada Tsunayoshi. Accompanying Tsuna on this boat are his parents, Nana and Iemitsu. Tsuna had wanted his mother to stay in Italy, to keep away from the battle but she had insisted on coming. If this was the end for her family she was going to be there with them.
The entire Sawada family are on this boat, namely Lambo is aboard as well, along with his friend I-pin. Normally the thunder guardian would be running around making silly jokes, getting under people's feet and perhaps even throwing a grenade. Today Lambo is making no jokes, the situation affects even his mental state.
Finally, aboard are Gokudera Hayato and Miura Haru, originally Dino's plan had Haru on a different ship along with the remainder of the mafia police. Gokudera had made a special request that Dino put the two of them together so that he may give Haru the mental support she needs. The Chiavarone Boss and Chief Policeman had no problems with that suggestion, Haru's position wasn't going to make a great difference in the battle regardless.
The Captain briefly speaks to one of his technicians before saying to Tsuna, "Mr Sawada, we are receiving a communication claiming to be from the Yakuza boss".
"Is it definitely from a Japanese ship" Gokudera asks.
The technician glumly nods towards the mafioso. This is almost certainly the man from their nightmares.
"Put him through" Tsuna says without a trace of fear.
As the technician presses a few buttons on his equipment, a huge ugly looking face appears on the screen. A moment passes and the man who the face belongs to leans backwards revealing his full body tattoos. This man is Honda, the Yakuza Boss.
Honda smiles, "I finally get to see you, the one who Primo entrusted everything to, Sawada Tsunayoshi, 10th boss of the Vongola family".
Haru tightly grabs onto Gokudera's hand. The man is speaking to them through electrical equipment and yet they can feel his aura. It's intimidating, the most intimidating feeling they have ever experienced.
"And you are?" Tsuna asks calmly.
"My name" Honda begins, "My full name doesn't matter, call me Honda, I am the leader of the Yakuza and I'm here to offer you a choice".
Nana whispers to Iemitsu, "Does he really want to negotiate?".
Iemitsu shrugs his shoulders and replies to his wife, "I suppose anything is possible, though I definitely don't trust this man".
"What is your offer" Tsuna asks with intrigue.
"Leave the planet and I will spare your friends" the Yakuza replies with a sadistic smile.
"STOP KIDDING AROUND" Gokudera angrily shouts. This man's threats won't make Haru's life any easier.
If Tsuna were to leave the planet the world would immediately fall into the hands of the Yakuza. On several occasions even Bana has confessed that he believes Tsuna is humanities only remaining hope, if he left there would be nothing to stop them. Yet playing on the 10th's weakness, his value for his friends may actually work.
"I've prepared the means for you to do so" Honda continues, ignoring Gokudera's little outburst. The cloud guardian is but a pest to the Yakuza boss, the only man he is concerned with is the 10th Vongola leader.
As Tsuna looks out the window the gaze of everyone else in the room follows. There it was, four drones are holding up a net with a big white airplane in the middle. Only it isn't an airplane, it is a space shuttle. They really did want Tsuna to leave.
As the various naval officers on the bridge clench themselves inside out with fear Tsuna raises his hand until his arm is horizontal. Suddenly all their doubts about the mafia's powers are crushed as a dying will flame launches from the gauntlet clad hand of the 10th Vongola boss. The shuttle had been destroyed instantly.
Many of the crew members jump for joy when they see Tsuna's display of power. More than that they jump for joy that he is not abandoning them, not abandoning their families.
"Does that give you your answer, Honda?" Tsuna asks rhetorically.
Honda laughs, "You're just like Primo, you know that".
"Don't you get it" begins the Yakuza boss, "You must be able to feel it even from over there".
"My power, no, the power of the Yakuza, it's far greater than that of the Mafia".
"You must have some sort of plan right… come on why don't you tell me".
"Primo may have followed a strong moral code but he acted with his brain and not his heart".
"You two are not the same after all".
As Tsuna refuses to speak out against Honda the elderly man laughs to himself.
"y power, no, the power of the Yakuza, it's far greater than that of the Mafia".
"You must have some sort of plan right… come on why don't you tell me".
"Primo may have followed a strong moral code but he acted with his brain and not his heart".
"You two are not the same after all".
As Tsuna refuses to speak out against Honda the elderly man laughs to himself.
"Your mannerisms, your tendencies, your subconscious habit and your behaviour".
"It's all of these things that have me more intrigued every second".
"Have you got a way to hide your strength, way to power up perhaps".
"Or is it that you have some masterful tactic, or perhaps you really are just stupid".
Tsuna continues to gaze at Honda defiantly. The old man laughs even louder.
"Very well, you keep standing there looking defiant, there may be fear in your eyes but there is also a will to fight".
"Let's do it, we'll fight".
"We'll fight" Tsuna replies.
"You will die" / "We will win".
"You will regret the day".
"You crossed the Yakuza" / "You crossed the Mafia".
A few minutes of calm pass. Nobody says a thing; everyone can feel the weight of that conversation that just took place. A conversation between the strongest rival's history has to offer. That conversation will change history.
Suddenly a crewman runs onto the bridge with a panicked expression. "Sir there is a man, he is flying towards the ship".
"Flying…" the captain mutters under his breath. Yesterday he would have never believed it, yet today he had to put it into his strategy.
"It's an elderly man" the soldier continues, "It's the same one whose face was on the screen".
The captain steadies himself and turns to Tsuna. "Mr Sawada, this is your job… give him hell from us".
Tsuna nods to the captain and begins to walk towards the nearest door. He is stopped by his mother, who seems to still have something to say.
"Tsuna" Nana sobs, "Don't you dare die, Tsunayoshi".
"You've got this" Iemitsu encourages his son.
"They don't stand a chance against my big brother" Lambo boasts in a way he is sure Tsuna is familiar with.
"Go for it" adds I-pin.
"Good luck" mutters Haru, the first positive words she has said to the Vongola boss since her return from the dead.
Gokudera extends his hand towards his friend. "10th…".
Tsuna shakes the hand of his right-hand man firmly. "Under this handshake" he recites, "The Yakuza will die".
Gokudera recalls the night when Tsuna asked him to train him for this last fight. For the fight against the Yakuza. It was back then that they first proclaimed their handshake would represent the Yakuza's death. After all this hard work, after all this fear, it's finally time to come through.
"Good luck" Gokudera whispers.
Tsuna walks out onto the deck where he is surprised one last time before his fight. The sailors are all saluting him. He has no official rank over them, he has done nothing so far to earn their respect, he has never even met any of them. Yet here they are, showing him the greatest respect they could.
"GO FOR IT" one of the sailors suddenly yells, breaking their silence. Soon all the others join in. Never before has Sawada Tsunayoshi enjoyed so much heartfelt support from so many.
'Thank you, all of you' Tsuna says in his head as he smiles.
The forehead of the chestnut haired boss catches fire. A form unfamiliar to the sailors but famous amongst the mafia, hyper dying will mode. Tsuna's friends and family watch on from the only window available to them.
"Gokudera" begins Haru, "He isn't strong enough is, I can feel that Yakuza boss from here".
"Who knows" smiles Gokudera.
Haru is confused for a moment before she continues, "You don't need to lie to make me feel better, I already know, there is no need to worry, I am co…".
Suddenly Tsuna launches himself from the ship with a push of his legs. The launch is of unprecedented speed, similar to what he could formally manage in ultimate mode, yet he achieved it in hyper mode this time.
Haru changes her sentence, "What… what the hell… what the hell is this speed".
"That boxer was teaching the 10th how to fight better while in his base form".
"I get it" declares Iemitsu, "So when he actually powers up…".
"Yeah, the strength increase will be enormous" the storm guardian finishes.
Haru smiles for the first time in a long while, "Maybe we will survive after all".
The captain suddenly interrupts the explanation. "People are flocking from the Yakuza ships, they seem to be walking on water, are they… are they people like you".
"Yeah" replies Gokudera, "Mr Sawada, Stupid Cow, I-Pin, Haru, this is our job, let's do our bit, and let's win".
"YES" they all reply as they head for the door.
The Space Between the Warships
Tsuna and Honda are approaching each other at great speed. Neither seems like slowing down and neither does. The two leaders crash into each other with a speed no other human beings could survive.
The Italian Warship
As a shockwave spreads from the collision the captain removes his binoculars from his head. "BRACE" he yells at the top of his lungs.
All the crew members aboard the drop to the ground and hold on as tightly as they can. The ship shakes dramatically; such a phenomenon is unnatural without the appearance of a tsunami. This phenomenon however, required now Tsunami, just two incredibly strong people.
After the shockwave dies down the captain gets to his feet. "I was told to expect they would be like some sort of superheroes, but I never thought anything like this would be possible, not even for a superhero".
The Space Between the Warships
"So you have come" notes Honda, as if the two had not just caused a small earthquake under the ocean. "Are you not going to praise me with your ultimate form".
As Tsuna remains silent his nemesis continues, "Did you not hear that I defeated Vongola Primo and all his successors while he was in that form, do you possibly think you can beat me as you are?".
The Vongola boss smiles and stops using his hyper dying will flame as he floats opposite of Honda.
"Are you giving up?" the old man asks with mock surprise.
"I'm just proving a point" begins Tsuna, "I'm still flying aren't I".
"Oh, so your point is that you are strong even in base form" Honda immediately understands what his counterpart is indicating. "What of it?".
"Before this I couldn't even imagine flying in this form" explains Tsuna, "But I have gotten stronger in this form, my base form. I am much stronger than I was before".
A triangular shaped flame appears on Tsuna's head. Something he hasn't used in a very long time, the standard dying will flame.
"Dying will mode, certainly the strongest user I have ever seen but it's not at all impressive" Honda points out.
"It's not supposed to be impressive" Tsuna points out as the triangular flame gradually becomes more chaotic and evolves into a hyper dying will flame.
"So your power has increased in each mode, are you trying to intimidate me by going through them all" asks Honda.
"No" replies Tsuna, "I have also changed the way in which I use my flame, in how I flicker it between different values".
"This is true not only as I use the zero-point breakthrough, but also as I power up".
"It has become a lot harder" Tsuna continues, "So until my technique matures a bit I will have to power up slowly, begins going ultimate… it hurts like hell".
Suddenly Honda is taken by surprise as Tsuna starts to groan in pain. 'Is this the pain he mentioned, from going ultimate, it can't be that ba…'.
Tsuna's finally has no choice but to moan aloud, such is the increasing level of pain as he gets closer to ultimate. Tsuna's moan increases in volume, it increases and increases until eventually it becomes a scream. The scream gets louder and louder.
Huge waves appear in the water once more as Tsuna gets closer to achieving his ultimate power. His agony continues to have more dramatic vocalisation as the waves get bigger. The Vongola boss doesn't let up, going on for over a whole minute without stopping.
Honda's expression is not of horror but of great shock.
'Just how strong is his ultimate power?'.