RETURN TO THE HOMELAND – KING OF BLADES
The Varia Warship
The Varia members sit aboard the warship. They admire the pure energy they can feel coming from the direction of Tsuna's battle. This group had been completely alienated from the rest of the mafia just a few months ago. Not now, they are members of a greater organisation, all thanks to their boss.
"Man, he's really going all out" remarks Levi.
"And I thought I was the genius" Belphegor adds.
A few moments pass as they bask in the energy. It's hard to tell at this great distance who is winning and who is losing, being able to detect the battle at all is miraculous. Their detection of the two warriors is testament to their great strength and the shift they have caused all over the globe.
Squalo looks to the sky to see his former student floating above him.
"VOI, Yamamoto, you're not supposed to be here" the rain assassin shouts with unjustified enthusiasm.
"Trashy shark" murmurs Xanxus, "Don't get all vocal when you have no idea as to why he is here".
Without warning Xanxus uses his guns to propel himself from the boat. He comes to a level with Yamamoto and stops himself in the air, hovering as if it is nothing. Xanxus worked long and hard to gain better control over the incredibly volatile rage flames, his way of getting stronger.
"I assume you sense it then" Xanxus prompts his Millefiore counterpart.
"Yeah" replies Yamamoto, "Two of the really strong ones are on their way here".
"One of them has a sabre" Byakuran informs his pupil while keeping his eyes fixed firmly on the horizon.
"A sabre, not a sword, well this should be interesting" replies the new Millefiore boss.
"Be careful Yamamoto, while the sabre may have inferior defensive capabilities, it's attack power is greater than the sword. Don't let your guard down".
"I won't".
"One of them has a sabre according to Byakuran, that one is mine" declares Yamamoto.
"Roger".
In the blink of an eye the two powerful figures from the Yakuza close the distance to the mafia. These two are the most mysterious and craziest officers of the Yakuza, Kara and Varon respectively.
"I'm whose?" Kara asks while looking at Yamamoto.
"I, Yamamoto Takeshi will deal with you".
Yamamoto launches at Kara and swings his sword at her with full force, refusing to hold back from the beginning. As a result of the full force attack Kara only just manages to raise her sabre in time to block and is driven back parallel to the surface of the sea.
'What power…' Kara notes as she is driven backwards.
As Yamamoto pursues Kara into the distance it leaves two great warriors on the battlefield, Varon and Xanxus.
"I guess that leaves for…" Xanxus begins before being interrupted.
Caring little for communication Varon reaches into his old dirty clothes and pulls out a weighted ball. The words alone don't do justice to the weight, when it is thrown at Xanxus however, he immediately falls backwards into the sea.
"BOSS" Belphegor shouts.
"Squalo, you're the best underwater, dive in and save him" Lussuria suggests with a panicked expression.
"DON'T LOSE YOUR HEADS" shouts Squalo, "The boss will be fine, he always has been fine. It's our job to fight the reinforcements that will inevitably come".
"Squalo is right" concludes the arcobaleno Mammon. Mammon is the most experienced fighter in the group and therefore his words carry great weight with his pears. "Let's do this".
Belphegor calms down and chuckles, "Well, I am a genius after all".
"Let's not let the boss down" decides Levi as he raises one of his parabolas to gather lightning.
"We'll give the others a show that displays what the Varia can do" smiles Lussuria. This is the Varia's time to shine.
Above the Varia Battlefield
Explosions surround the blade wielding duo as they stare each other down. This is a battlefield in a war. Something the Vongola hadn't dealt with before was death on a mass scale. Now they are having to deal with it, this is the difference between a warrior and a soldier.
Yamamoto and Byakuran have no concern about their roles as soldiers right now. Despite the screams and the death their eyes are focused on Kara, underestimating the opponent in this situation would be foolhardy.
"I must say I'm quite surprised that you were able to push me back; however, that won't be happening again" Kara tells Yamamoto, "I have already made adjustments".
"Young lady, you are clearly strong, I can feel your aura and your sword intent from here" begins the Millefiore boss, "Despite that, I have been training with the blade for longer than you, I have dealt with more dangerous situations, your adjustments won't make a difference".
"Adjustments won't make any difference against superior power and technique" boasts the baseball star.
"I quite agree" replies Kara while maintaining her deadpan expression, "You seem to have misunderstood Yamamoto Takeshi".
Yamamoto starts, "What is she talking about".
"I don't know" returns Byakuran.
"I have technique, skill and power in much greater quantities than you" Kara takes her turn at boasting, "I'm just not wasteful".
"I'm not going to exert myself more than I have to, that would ruin my attire and would frustrate the master".
Yamamoto snickers, "You are worried about your clothes, you're not taking me seriously enough".
Kara begins to sound annoyed, "I already told you that I am, if you doubt me then come at me, I've already measured your strength and abilities".
"Do you think she is bluffing" Byakuran asks his pupil, uncertain himself. The former Millefiore boss decides to trust in the instincts of his successor who has surpassed him.
"I don't know, but it's not worth taking any chances, I will show her something she hasn't seen before".
Yamamoto uses a trick he picked up fighting Squalo in his first Vongola ring contest. He raises the water from the ocean in an arc, using the arcing seawater to disguise his position. Given that he is floating above the water this is far more difficult than it was against Squalo where they were stood in the water. Since then Yamamoto has come a long way.
The Vongola rain guardian and Millefiore boss positions himself in Kara's blind spot. A clear opening. He thrusts his sword towards that blind spot, an unstoppable attack.
Though the attack should be unstoppable, especially when delivered by an expert at Yamamoto's level, it is blocked. Kara blocks in a way that looks very unnatural, the only limb she moves is her sabre wielding arm.
As Yamamoto tries to calm himself down from the shock Kara speaks her mind, "I did warn you about this didn't I".
Yamamoto jumps backwards, creating distance between the duellists.
"What do I do, what can I possibly do against skill like that" Yamamoto asks his ghostly friend.
"Calm down, you still have that ace up your sleeve" Byakuran replies. Normally an ace as strong as this would cause Byakuran to be calm and cheerful at a time like this. This opponent is different though, unlike any he has ever faced, including Vongola Bana.
Yamamoto sheathes his sword and draws a second sword. As the new sword is unsheathed a gold aura expands from the sword, a blinding light that has been the hope of Albion many times, now that light is the hope of Italy. The golden aura expands to cover Yamamoto's body.
"That sword, tell me, it is Excalibur isn't it" Kara questions.
"Exactly".
For the first time since seeing her, Yamamoto watched a small smile crawl onto Kara's face. "Your old enemy is back, my servant".
Unlike Yamamoto, Kara discards her sabre into the ocean as if it were a piece of scrap iron. On the other hand, she draws her new blade in the same matter the baseball freak did. This time an aura also spreads from the sword to cover her whole body, the aura is not the gold of hope, it is the grey colour closely associated with death.
"What the hell is going on Byakuran" asks Yamamoto.
"I don't know for sure but… I think that is the archenemy of Excalibur".
"I'm sure you don't know this, not many people do, Clarent is the Ying to Excalibur's Yang. The dark to its light if you want to talk literally. These blades are the exact opposite, destined to fight for an eternity".
Yamamoto gulps down a mouthful of saliva before Kara continues.
"You didn't actually think you could obtain an advantage over me did you…".
The Shimon and CEDEF Warship
At the head of the warship are stood all three of the seven great mafioso that it is carrying. Strongest Arcobaleno Reborn, Strongest CEDEF Basil and Strongest Shimon Enma.
"Here we go, get ready" instructs Reborn as he leaps up into the sky.
Enma enshrouds himself in the ultimate flame and follows Reborn up into the sky.
With a slightly greater degree of difficulty, Basil also uses the ultimate dying will flame and follows his two seniors into battle.
Standing across from the mighty trio are three Yakuza members who have come to deal with them. Kosuke Yaru, Kosuke Lucy and Sakura.
"Those two are the ones" Basil reminds his friends, "They are the ones who hurt Tsuna".
"And a child, playing some cheerful music" notes Enma before expression changes from serious to comical. "I can't hit a child".
Basil copies Enma's dismay, "Don't look at me, Mr Reborn, you're a child, you do it".
Reborn sighs, "I'm older than you two, still, this elder can teach this child a lesson or two".
Relieved that he will not be forced to use the weapon on a child, Enma draws his new ally, a huge hammer.
"A heavy weapon, my specialty" Yaru says aloud before leaping at Enma and kicking him with enough force to send the Shimon boss skidding across the water.
Not focusing on the battle behind him, Basil concentrates on the woman who is now his fated opponent, "The one who was going to kill Tsuna, I will take you on". Basil reveals his new weapon, a staff, formerly the property of his senior and a man he admired greatly, the 9th.
"You, take me on with that pitiful power you demonstrated back then" Lucy scoffs.
"I'm not the same…" begins Basil as he closes the distance to Lucy and slams his staff into her chest, "I'm not the same as I was back then".
As Lucy holds her chest and struggles to maintain her breath following the blow Basil turns to Reborn. "This is all your show now Mr Reborn".
"All on me huh" smiles Reborn as he pulls his whip from his jacket.
"Before we do this young one, tell me, why did you side with the Yakuza".
"Having slaves to do things for me is really fun, plus Gon and big brother Yaru are really nice and they like my music".
Sakura watches as Reborn spins his whip, "You're not so nice to me though".
As Sakura decides Reborn is her enemy she blows into her trumpet, sending a sound wave towards Reborn.
Reborn slashes vertically with his whip causing a collision. The solid object that is his whip is struggling to overcome the vibrational waves created by a child.
Sakura giggles at the encounter as if she is having the time of her life.
'For a little girl, she has some serious strength' Reborn thinks to himself as he uses his whip to send the sound wave up into the air. 'This is not going to be easy'.