Chapter 49: The Great Mobster Face-off Part 1

That night, Gelato slept alone in the hotel room wondering where Hercules had gone to. Then the next morning, a series of abrupt knocks woke him up. Groggily, he made his way over to the door and opened it. On the other side stood a panting Adessoè while behind her lay Hercules.

"What's going on?" Gelato asked. "Why isn't Hercules moving?"

"He's been paralyzed, probably by a drug Megara slipped into his drink last night," Adessoè figured, dragging Hercules limp body into the room. "She knocked me out earlier, on her way to see Typhonragazzo."

Hearing that, Gelato clenched his fist. "Then we've got to stop her!"

Before he could leave, though, Adessoè held him back. "Not until I heal Hercules first."

"You're a Healer (Medical Ninja) too?" Gelato exclaimed, watching as Adessoè put Hercules on the second bed.

"Yes, though I'm not as good as Megara," Adessoè clarified as her hands glowed bright blue.

###

On the beach, which was devoid of people, Typhonragazzo and Casco stood there waiting.

"You really think Megara is going to show, even though she's three days late?" Casco said with a hint of doubt in his voice.

"A woman's heart can be easily swayed if the right bargain is presented before them," Typhonragazzo answered.

Just then, a lone figure appeared several feet away from them. It was Megara and she had a determined look on her face as she approached the two men.

"So you've decided to help me after all." When Megara nodded, Typhonragazzo smiled.

While Casco watched, Typhonragazzo held his bandaged arms out to Megara who stared at them indifferently. Then she cupped her hands and a glowing orb of blue nature energy appeared. But before the orb could reach Typhonragazzo's arms, Casco suddenly fired a gun at Megara's feet causing her to step back.

"Casco!" Typhonragazzo snapped. "How dare you!"

"I'm sorry, but she was going to kill you, Typhonragazzo," Casco explained calmly.

"What?" Typhonragazzo glared at Megara. "Is this true?"

Without hesitation, Megara stated, "As much as I would give to see Corda and Giudice alive again, it would be disgraceful to them if I healed you."

"Even though I'm the only one who can bring them back," Typhonragazzo argued.

"True, but you're not the most trustworthy person I know," Megara claimed. "Either you'd kill me after your arms are restored, or give me what I want but destroy the Foglia family which Corda and Giudice died for!"

"They were fools," Typhonragazzo mocked. "But this sudden change of heart is most intriguing. Care to enlighten me on what happened between now and three days ago?"

"I met a kid by the name of Gelato Vortice," Megara described. "He may be stupid, rash, and undeniably rude, but…he's been working hard to master an impossible attack (technique) and hopes to one day become the Godfather. As impossible as those goals may seem, I've watched him train and you know what? I'm inclined to believe that maybe he will achieve them."

Typhonragazzo frowned. "If that's how it's going to be, then we'll have to take you by force!"

As Casco fired more bullets at Megara, she dodged them and used her fist to smash the ground creating a strong enough vibration to make Typhonragazzo lose his footing. Immediately, Casco caught him and ran away as Megara continued to punch the sand sending waves after them. Several meters away, they came to a rocky outcrop where Casco placed Typhonragazzo before confronting Megara.

"Seems you're out of breath," Casco noted while Megara breathed heavily. "So let's end this stalemate quickly."

Megara watched Casco as he made a series of hand-signs followed by his palms glowing.

"I see you are familiar with Healing Alchemy (Healing Ninjutsu) as well," Megara realized.

Not saying anything, Casco charged at Megara but she avoided his strikes. However, he managed to keep pace eventually touching her right arm and left thigh. This made Megara suddenly collapse as she felt pain in the places he touched.

"That should keep you from using your monstrous strength," Casco gloated.

Then before Megara could dodge, Casco punctured her chest in one swift motion. She was knocked down onto the sand and started hyper-ventilating.

"What I'm doing is blocking off the nature energy (chakra) in the areas I touch, thus rendering them useless," Casco stated. "But you probably knew that already."

As he spoke, Megara suddenly got up and hit the back of his neck before collapsing again nearby. Surprised, Casco attempted to stand but couldn't move.

"You've got skills, kid," Megara admitted as she got to her feet. "But you got overconfident and were left wide open for an attack. If you're wondering what's happening, I basically converted my nature energy into electricity and short-circuited your entire nervous system with one touch. This spell (technique) is commonly referred to as Asclepius' Punishment (Body Pathway Derangement)*."

After that, Megara's hand glowed a bright green as she placed it on her chest while Casco tried moving parts of his body. The two did this for several minutes until Casco managed to pull a throwing knife (Kunai) out of his pocket and run towards Megara with it who was naturally shocked. Then a smoke bomb was thrown, causing them to stop. Typhonragazzo saw who threw it, and his brow creased. An ocean breeze cleared the smoke quickly, showing Hercules Gelato Adessoè and a pig standing behind Megara.

"It's been a long time, old friend," Typhonragazzo remarked.

"Indeed," Hercules responded. "Though it was thanks to Megara's pig Quando (Tonton) that we were able to find you."

In response, the pig snorted.

"Hey," Gelato started, pointing at Casco. "What are you doing here?"

Hercules gave Gelato a sideways glance. "I take it you've met this guy."

"Yeah, we participated in the Gladiator Games (Chunin Exams) together," Gelato explained.

In response, Casco smirked. "Just as slow as ever, Gelato…it's no wonder you're not as strong as Tony (Sasuke)."

This made Gelato flinch, while Hercules said, "If you want your answer, look at his tie."

So Gelato looked, and noticed that Casco's necktie was purple with a sound-note insignia on it as opposed to a green one with a leaf-shaped insignia.

"As you can see, he serves Typhonragazzo," Hercules confirmed.

Casco's grin widened. "That's right, I'm a spy for the Suono family (Sound Village)."

In response, Megara shouted, "Enough talk! The fight's not over yet!"

"Agreed," Casco stated as Megara rushed him. "Now let's see how you handle this."

Backing himself into a rock below where Typhonragazzo stood, Casco used the throwing knife to cut his palm and wave it in front of Megara's face. The blood splattered on her clothes and face, causing Megara to stop in place. This allowed Casco to kick her several feet back where she was caught by Adessoè.

"So I was right," Casco said while adjusting his glasses. "You fear the sight of blood, despite being an experienced Healer. How utterly pathetic!"

End of Chapter 49

*Asclepius was the Greek God of Medicine, and capable of bringing the dead back to life until Zeus struck him down with a thunderbolt