"Who exactly are you?"
Once the surroundings were safe, Cozart could no longer hold back and asked the question.
"My name is Sawada Tsunayoshi. Hmm… I suppose I have some connection to the Vongola."
Mainly because the world Tsunayoshi came from was not the world of Katekyo Hitman Reborn! The only connection he truly had to the Vongola was the Tenth Boss within his heart.
"Why did the Vongola deceive us, then save us?" one hot-tempered member of the Simon Family demanded. "Are they playing with us?"
Faced with his accusation, Tsunayoshi could only be glad that he roughly remembered this part of the story. All of this had been caused by that mushroom-headed guy from the Vongola.
"The Vongola is not a single, solid piece internally. Everyone has their own private motives. The one who deceived you this time was the Vongola Mist Guardian."
"D. Spade? That does sound like something that man would do." With Tsunayoshi's reminder, Cozart immediately reacted.
"That's right. The reason D. Spade targeted you is not hard to guess either. He wants the Vongola to grow stronger, and Simon has already become an obstacle in the Vongola's path," Tsunayoshi explained.
"Then why did you save us?" another person asked.
"The Mist Guardian's decision has nothing to do with the Vongola boss. He never had any intention of attacking his allies. On the contrary, he has already sent his Guardians here to secretly rescue you."
"Tch. Acting one way in public and another in private. Are we supposed to thank him for that? If he wanted to save us, why sneak around like this?" another person questioned.
The emotions of the Simon Family members had already been stirred up, and even Cozart could not hold them back.
At that moment, inside the small village, the Vongola Guardians led by G all sneezed in unison.
There was nothing Cozart could do except explain along with Tsunayoshi's words. "Because D. Spade is the Vongola Mist Guardian. If Giotto forcefully intervened, it would only split the Vongola into two factions."
"Giotto has only just established a firm foothold in Italy. The Vongola being divided into two separate organizations is something he absolutely cannot allow," Cozart added.
The Simon members did not refute Cozart. In truth, they all understood this reasoning. They had simply been ambushed repeatedly and needed somewhere to vent their emotions.
In their eyes, Cozart could offer the strength of his entire Family to the Vongola, while the Vongola still prioritized the interests of their own Family above all else.
They did not know what kind of friendship their boss had with the Vongola boss. Emotionally, they could only trust their own boss's judgment.
"Mister Sawada Tsunayoshi, may I ask what business you have with us?" Cozart would not be naïve enough to believe that this unknown Vongola-like person had saved them without wanting anything.
"Can you let me see your Simon Ring?" Tsunayoshi asked, pointing at Cozart's hand.
Having been suddenly pulled into this battle, Tsunayoshi did not know how to satisfy the conditions for awakening his Quincy powers. He had only guessed that his Quincy power was related to the Simon Ring, so he could only start by touching the Simon Ring first.
"Cozart, this man came for Simon's power!" one member quickly stepped in front of Cozart and said.
The rings of the Simon Family possessed special abilities. They had even used these powers to imitate the Vongola and establish six Guardians of their own. Given enough time, the Simon Family might not necessarily fail to catch up to the Vongola Family in scale.
Sawada Tsunayoshi's request was clearly aimed at the very foundation of the Simon Family. How could the Simon members allow that?
"Calm down. If this gentleman wanted to steal our rings, he would have done so already," Cozart said.
This was why Cozart was able to be a boss. He understood the situation clearly.
Could a group of people with no strength left to truss a chicken defeat Sawada Tsunayoshi, who had taken down a group of Vongola members in the blink of an eye?
Cozart very casually removed the Simon Ring and tossed it toward Tsunayoshi.
Tsunayoshi caught the Simon Ring and turned it over to examine it. Compared with the Vongola Rings, the Simon Ring looked much more ordinary. It had a black gemstone embedded in the center of a hexagon, with nothing particularly strange about it.
Slightly disappointed, Tsunayoshi returned the ring to Cozart.
Cozart put the ring back on and asked, "It seems you did not find what you wanted?"
"Yeah. The guy who threw me in here didn't even bother giving me a hint," Tsunayoshi said, somewhat speechless. He did not even know what conditions he needed to fulfill.
"In any case, thank you for saving us." Cozart bowed politely in gratitude. "What do you plan to do next?"
"Me? I'll probably follow you for now?" Tsunayoshi was not very certain either. Only the Simon Family seemed to possess information related to his Quincy powers. Where else could he go if he did not follow them?
"What about you?"
"Us?" Cozart thought for a moment, then smiled. "We will probably find an island and hide ourselves away."
"Boss!" the Simon Family members said anxiously.
Cozart gently shook his head, rejecting their objections.
"After this incident, I realized that perhaps we are not truly suited for Mafia warfare. Finding a place to live in seclusion would also help Giotto. We can simply let the world believe the Simon Family has died."
If the Simon Family disappeared here, then the conflict between the Vongola boss and the Mist Guardian would not be triggered because of them.
Just what kind of bond did this Cozart have with Vongola Primo, to be willing to go this far for the Vongola?
"Are you satisfied with that? With such powerful rings as your foundation, the rise of the Simon Family is only a matter of time," Tsunayoshi asked with a smile.
The eyes of the other Simon Family members lit up one after another. Never before had Tsunayoshi seemed so pleasing to them.
"The power of the rings is not almighty. Were we not all suppressed by gunfire until we could barely breathe?" Cozart said with a wry laugh.
"This incident has also taught me that the Simon Family does not yet have the ability to protect our rings."
Cozart removed his ring and said, "I intend to take this chance to seal the Simon Rings, lest the rings bring disaster upon the Family."
Cozart's decision truly shocked Tsunayoshi. Their strength was lacking, yet instead of thinking of ways to improve, he wanted to seal away their own power. Truly impressive…
"So you do not intend to let the Simon Rings see the light of day again?" Tsunayoshi asked curiously.
"No. When our descendants have the ability, perhaps that will be the time for them to reappear," Cozart said idealistically.
Tsunayoshi was rather speechless. He asked, "Then how do you plan to have them resurface in the future?"
"Heh. What do you think about Giotto and me creating heirlooms to pass down? As long as Simon and Vongola remain friends, the Simon Rings will still have a chance to see the light of day again," Cozart said with a grin.
"Sin and Punishment?"
The two words suddenly came out of Tsunayoshi's mouth. He had thought of the two vials of blood passed down within the Vongola and Simon Families.
"Eh? That name is pretty good!" Cozart became visibly excited. "Mysterious and stylish. Then it shall be Sin and Punishment."
"I'll find an opportunity to give a vial of my blood to Giotto. That will represent the Vongola's sin of attacking their allies. Then I'll ask for a vial of Giotto's blood to be passed down among the Simon. That will represent the Simon Family's punishment of restraining itself…"
Tsunayoshi's two words seemed to open the floodgates of Cozart's imagination. One strange little idea after another popped into Cozart's head.
"Shut up!"
Tsunayoshi suddenly shouted, frightening Cozart into stopping his imagination.
"Have you ancestors never considered that if you keep playing around like this, your descendants might turn against each other?"
"How could that happen? We can just find an organization to pass down the truth. I think the Vendice would be quite suitable," Cozart said.
Tsunayoshi's expression became extremely serious. He stared at Cozart and said solemnly, "Simon Primo, I can tell you seriously that if you do this, the Vongola Tenth and the Simon Tenth will be used by someone, which will cause a conflict between the two Families."
"If even one small thing goes wrong, the two Tenth Bosses may die in that conflict. And the one who causes all of it will still be that mushroom-headed Mist Guardian."
Cozart did not understand the "mushroom head" part, but he did understand "Mist Guardian."
"How is that possible? No, wait—who are you?"
"Who I am does not matter. Give up that foolish game of Sin and Punishment. What you should do now is not go into seclusion, but go find Vongola Primo and explain everything to him clearly. He will handle the problem between the Vongola and the Mist Guardian."
"How could the Vongola help an outside Family like ours?" one Simon member questioned.
"Then gamble on it. Gamble on the bond between your boss and Vongola Primo. Since your boss was willing to sacrifice his entire Family for the Vongola, what reason could there be not to simply meet Vongola Primo?"
"Everyone of the Simon Family, you do not want to see the Simon Family decline from this point on, and then one day trigger a great war that could destroy the Family in the future, do you?"
Every member of the Simon Family stared at Cozart with burning eyes. No words were needed. They had already made their choice.
"Listen to me. Give up this game of Sin and Punishment. The friendship between Vongola and Simon should be passed down from generation to generation, not maintained by some fabricated concept of sin and punishment."
Tsunayoshi's final words completely broke Cozart's idea.
Cozart looked at the members around him and suddenly realized that, like Giotto, he could no longer act according to his own whims. There were still many brothers by his side relying on him to make a living.
"I understand. I will go find Giotto and speak with him clearly. The sin of the unstable elements within the Vongola Family should be punished by the Simon Family!"
As Cozart's words fell, his Simon Ring radiated a dazzling light. The power symbolizing the Earth projected onto Tsunayoshi.
It was not just Cozart. The rings of the other six Simon Guardians also lit up together.
Swamp, Stream, Mountain, Forest, Glacier, and Desert—the powers of the Earth symbolizing six different attributes all shot into Tsunayoshi's body.
With the blessing of the seven Flames of the Earth, an indescribable power appeared within Tsunayoshi. These powers condensed into a single form.
It was the power of a Schrift!
Tsunayoshi's somewhat empty body was filled by the power of the Quincy. After smiling and nodding to the Simon members, he vanished from this world.
The light of the seven Flames of the Earth attracted the Vongola Guardians. When G led the others to this place and found that all the Simon members were safe and sound, he secretly let out a sigh of relief.
"Cozart!"
G, Vongola Primo's right-hand man and the first Storm Guardian, had only just called out when he saw the determined look in Cozart's eyes.
"G, take me to see Giotto. I represent the Simon Family, and I need to discuss with him how we should deal with the Vongola Mist Guardian. For the stability of the Family, eliminating unstable elements is necessary!"
G was somewhat surprised.
In his impression, Cozart had always been a good-natured man. What had happened to make Cozart change like this?
Forget it. Cozart's matters could be left for the boss to worry about.
As for that troublesome Mist Guardian, it was about time he received a warning.
"Come with us, everyone of the Simon Family!"
G led all the Guardians in lifting the cloaks that had concealed them. They would openly and honorably welcome the Simon Family into the Vongola.
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