Chapter 56: Retrieving Tony

When Rosa (Sakura) woke up, it was midmorning and there were two men staring down at her. One had spiky black hair and bandages covering his nose, while the other had medium-length brown hair. The two wore green ties with a red leaf insignia on them, meaning they were both members of the Foglia (Konoha) family.

"Are you okay, Rosa?" The spiky-haired guy asked.

"Yeah, but how did you know my name?" Rosa responded with a bewildered look on her face.

"We were present when your Squad showed up to participate in the Gladiator Games (Chuunin Exams), but disguised as kids in order to not draw attention to ourselves," the brown-haired guy answered. "I'm Uscita (Izumo) and my partner is Ferro (Kotetsu)."

"You might remember me as the kid that got beaten up by Beni Niro (Rock Lee)," Ferro said with a sheepish grin.

"Right." Then all of last night's events came back into Rosa's mind and she frowned. "Will you take me to Miss Megara? I need to speak with her right away."

Uscita gave Rosa a confused expression. "About what?"

"I think one of our Soldiers might be planning to defect."

###

At the Godfather's house, Rosa told Megara about her encounter with Tony (Sasuke) and how she failed to stop him from leaving.

"Now I know this makes Tony seem like a traitor, but he didn't leave of his own freewill," Rosa insisted. "It was the curse that made him do it."

"But we don't know for sure, unless we retrieve him," Megara argued.

"Can that be done?"

Megara paused. "There's a lot of ground to cover between the Foglia and Suono (Sound) territories, so it is possible if we send a Squad out to get him now. But once Tony reaches Typhonragazzo, he'll be out of our reach."

Then Megara pressed a button on her desk, and the study doors opened automatically. On the other side stood Capriolo (Shikamaru), looking bored as usual.

"I take it you heard everything," Megara assumed.

Reluctantly, Capriolo nodded.

"What's Capriolo doing here?" Rosa wondered.

"He's one of our newest Capos (Captains)," Megara announced.

This made Rosa's eyes widen in surprise. "When did this happen?"

"Yesterday," Capriolo yawned. "I got high praise from how I performed during the Gladiator Games despite not winning it."

"Well, normally, Soldiers (minor members of a Mafia) who perform well in the Gladiator Games will have a higher chance of getting promoted to Capo regardless if they win or not," Megara explained. "But because of the Third Godfather's unexpected death, the prize money was suspended along with recommendations for future Capos. Yet despite that, I sought to have Capriolo's achievements recognized in honor of the Third Godfather."

"Or it could be due to the lack of Capos," Capriolo muttered, earning him a glare from Megara. Nervously, he looked away. "So, why have you summoned me, Miss Megara?"

"Tony Fuori (Uchiha) left our territory last night. Rosa thinks he's planning to join the Suono family, but under the influence of a curse the family's leader Father Typhonragazzo, who is responsible for killing the Third Godfather, placed on him in the Dead Man's Sewers."

"So you want me to assemble a Squad and bring Tony back for questioning," Capriolo guessed.

"Correct, and if he refuses to return…then kill him."

Shocked, Rosa watched as Capriolo gave Megara a stern look before leaving.

###

"All right, Capriolo, what's the big idea?" Gelato asked, standing in the middle of a patio with Voluta (Neji), Zanna (Kiba), and Palermo (Chouji) looking equally confused. "Why have you brought us all out here?"

"For a special Mission assigned by Miss Megara," Capriolo stated. "Tony Fuori's gone and needs to be retrieved before he reaches Suono family territory. We think he means to defect, but it's not clear why. Now as your Capo, I'll be—

"Wait, you're a Capo?" Gelato exclaimed. "Since when?"

"Yesterday," Palermo stated as he ate a bag of popcorn. "Miss Megara held a private ceremony for him and everything."

Zanna scuffed. "As amazing as that is, I'm surprised Megara would be desperate enough to make someone who's not much older than us a Capo."

"Guys, we're getting distracted from the main point here," Voluta reminded them. "If Tony's defecting, then shouldn't we kill him for betraying the Foglia family?"

"Only if we have to," Capriolo replied. "So meet back here in an hour with everything you need for the journey ahead. I don't know how long it'll take, but come fully prepared."

After Capriolo left, the rest of the boys scattered including Gelato who went back to his apartment. While trying to figure out what to bring, he heard knocking and answered the door. It was Rosa, who was looking genuinely frightened.

"Is something wrong?" Gelato asked.

"You've been picked by Capriolo, haven't you?" Rosa assumed. "Please don't—

"I won't kill Tony, if that's what you're talking about," Gelato interrupted. "I'll bring him back alive and in one piece. I promise!"

Hearing that, Rosa breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you."

Gelato grinned back as Rosa helped him pack. Once that was done, Rosa offered to take care of the apartment while Gelato was away which he agreed to. After that, Gelato left to join Capriolo's team.

###

Several miles away, the Suono Four and Tony briefly stopped in a back-alley.

"Why are we stopping?" Tony asked irritably.

"There's something you should know about the Vampire's Curse," Eurus said firmly. "It has two stages: the first is achieved after being bitten, which grants greater strength and nature energy than before, then the second takes those things a step further but…"

"What?"

"Spit it out!" Borea snapped. "We don't have all day."

Eurus gulped. "It requires dying."

This made Tony flinch.

"There's no need to be worried," Zephyr assured. "It's only temporary until you're revived. But once you are, you'll be stronger and more powerful...just like us."

Notos nodded in agreement.

"Take these." Eurus took out two pills from his jacket pocket. "The black one will kill you instantly, and the green one will revive you. So make sure to quickly swallow the revival one after taking the death one. Okay?"

Tony looked at the pills hesitantly, and then took them from Eurus' outstretched hand. He did as Eurus instructed, and immediately collapsed. Then Notos took a wooden barrel he'd been carrying on his back the whole time, and placed Tony's body inside it.

End of Chapter 56