Welf, Mikoto & Tsubaki's Side
"Sasagawa Ryohei has arrived to the extreme!"
""""W-Who the hell...?""""
Watching a man crash onto the scene while screaming his own name at the top of his lungs left Welf and the others utterly dumbfounded.
Sasagawa Ryohei. The Sun Guardian of the Vongola. His personal motto was "Extreme." Boasting the greatest raw physical strength of all the Guardians, he fought with his limiters constantly removed even without being shot by a Dying Will Bullet, earning him the title of the "Always-Dying-Will Man" from Reborn.
"Are you Sawada's friends to the extreme!?"
"H-How do you know Tsuna...?"
"I am Sasagawa Ryohei. Sawada told me to come help you to the extreme."
""What!?""
He didn't tell Wel-kichi and the others...!? What the hell are you thinking, Tsuna-kichi...!?
I see... So he did this to keep Finn from getting suspicious... Still, I never expected him to pull a stunt like this...
Seeing Welf and Mikoto's genuine confusion, Tsubaki was bewildered by Tsuna's intentions. Gareth, on the other hand, perfectly understood the tactical play, but having never pegged Tsuna for the type to employ such calculated deception, he couldn't hide his surprise.
"Tsunayoshi-sama never mentioned anything about this!"
"Sorry. He said the enemy boss is a smart guy, so he couldn't say anything to the extreme. But you guys fought extremely hard. Leave this to me to the extreme and go on ahead."
"There's no way we're leaving you alone to face him! We're going to—"
"I don't need help to the extreme!"
Despite Welf's protests, Ryohei fearlessly stepped directly in front of Gareth.
"H-Hey, wait! At least take a weapon—"
"I don't need one!"
Welf tried to hand him a blade, but Ryohei flatly rejected the offer to fight Gareth unarmed.
"No matter who the opponent is, or what fighting style they use, I fight with my own two fists. That is my pride as a boxer."
To become the sun that shatters the adversity threatening the Famiglia with his own body, shining brightly to illuminate their path. That was the duty of the Sun Guardian.
Wait a second...!?
Does that mean...!?
That attack just now...!?
Hearing Ryohei's declaration, Welf, Mikoto, and Tsubaki finally realized that the devastating shockwave from earlier had been generated entirely by his bare fists. They were struck speechless.
Maximum Cannon. A devastating punch Ryohei had acquired after relentless physical conditioning with Colonnello during the Varia arc, further unlocked via the transmission of combat data through a special bullet. By concentrating the energy of every single cell in his body into his fist, it unleashed an attack of overwhelming destructive force. It was a technique that only showed its true potential because Ryohei's very cells possessed a one-in-a-billion elasticity and springiness. Even without Dying Will Flames, the sheer kinetic force of the punch had been enough to blow away a school gymnasium during the Ring Conflict.
"I am your opponent now! Let us settle this fair and square, one-on-one to the extreme!"
This feeling... It's exactly like back then...
Having felt the sheer weight of Ryohei's punch firsthand, Gareth felt his heart and body burning with an intense, familiar heat. He was reminded of the very first time he had fought alongside Finn and Riveria, over twenty years ago.
Gareth had originally been a miner in the village of Lonza. Even among the naturally strong dwarves, his physical power was anomalous. He had yearned for heated battles and opponents stronger than himself. But Lonza was impoverished, and Gareth blamed himself for their poverty. Throwing his dreams away, he spent his days toiling in the mines, desperate to scrape together enough money to feed his people. The days bled together until he had nearly forgotten what his dream even was.
Then, Finn, Riveria, Loki, and Riveria's attendant, Aina, arrived in Lonza. At first, they clashed and bickered constantly. But when a terrifyingly powerful monster attacked the mines, Gareth stood alone to face it. His strength wasn't enough, and he prepared himself for death. But in his darkest moment, Finn and Riveria arrived to fight by his side. Seeing them stand against the beast, his heart and body ignited with an unquenchable heat, and before he knew it, he was fighting alongside them.
After slaying the monster, Loki found a solution to Lonza's poverty. Pushed forward by the villagers, Gareth joined the Loki Familia and traveled to Orario in search of the heated battles he had always craved.
Forgive me, Finn...
He knew the city was in a state of emergency. He knew his absolute top priority was hunting down the armed monsters. But there was simply no way he could suppress the boiling heat in his blood.
Apologizing to his captain internally, Gareth dumped a healing potion over his head, immediately following it by downing a stamina-recovery potion in a single gulp.
"I'll gladly accept your challenge!"
A massive, feral grin split Gareth's face as he took his fighting stance and bellowed his declaration. Seeing the dwarf's spirit, Ryohei mirrored his wide grin, igniting his fists with Sun flames as he readied his stance.
"Loki Familia Executive, Gareth Landrock!"
"Vongola Famiglia Sun Guardian, Sasagawa Ryohei!"
""For a heated battle!""
Finishing their introductions, Gareth and Ryohei lunged at each other simultaneously.
There was no need for further words. They both knew all they had to do was pour their burning fighting spirit into their fists and let them collide.
"Maximum Cannon!"
"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!"
Ryohei and Gareth's right fists collided head-on. For a split second, the forces perfectly cancelled each other out. Then, the sheer kinetic backlash sent both men rocketing backward, crashing violently through the surrounding buildings.
A moment later, both men casually walked out of the rubble as if absolutely nothing had happened.
"What the hell was that punch? Felt like a mosquito bite."
"You too! That wasn't an extreme attack at all!"
Despite trading insults, neither Gareth nor Ryohei could wipe the ecstatic grins off their faces, absolutely thrilled to have found a worthy rival.
T-They're smiling...!?
What kind of absurd exchange of power was that...!?
Are they monsters...!?
It was a pure clash of raw, unadulterated power without a single trick involved. The sheer difference in dimension between their battle and a normal fight left Welf, Mikoto, and Tsubaki staring in horrified awe.
"Sorry! I don't have the confidence to fight him without catching you guys in the crossfire! Go on ahead to the extreme!"
"R-Right..."
Witnessing a clash so absurd it felt like a hallucination, Welf and the others keenly understood that staying behind would only make them a liability. Heeding his warning, they quickly retreated from the area.
"Garyuu!"
From Ryohei's Vongola Gear—the Bangle of the Sun Version X—a kangaroo burst forth.
Canguro del Sereno. Ryohei's Box Animal, affectionately named Kangaryuu.
"Cambio Forma!"
Kangaryuu merged with Ryohei, the Vongola crest burning brightly onto his form. Heavy boxing gloves encased his fists, and sturdy, athletic armor plated his arms and legs.
Maximum Break. By injecting Sun flames directly into his own body, Ryohei hyper-activated his nerves and muscles, multiplying his physical power dozens of times over. It was a form that perfectly recreated the legend of the First Generation Vongola Sun Guardian, Knuckle.
Knuckle had been an undefeated boxer who held the title of the strongest in the world. But his power was too great, and he accidentally killed an opponent in the ring. Devastated, he sealed his fists away and devoted his life to serving God. He never stepped into the ring again, but legends say that when the Famiglia faced its greatest crisis, he granted himself a strictly enforced three-minute time limit, using his cursed fists to save his friends.
While Ryohei used to be bound by that same three-minute limit, upgrading the Vongola Ring to Vongola Gear had completely removed the restriction, allowing him to fight at maximum output indefinitely.
"So that's your true power."
"Yeah to the extreme."
Exchanging only the absolute bare minimum of words, Gareth and Ryohei raised their fists, taking their stances once more.
"Fair..."
"And..."
""Square!""
Kicking off the ground, the two titans charged straight at each other, unleashing devastating right straights simultaneously.
""Gah!""
This time, both fists cleanly bypassed the other's guard, smashing directly into their opponent's face. Both drew blood, yet the feral grins on their faces didn't waver for a second.
""OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!""
And then, the true brawl began. No techniques. No tactics. Just an endless, brutal barrage of heavy punches.
This is fun! My blood is boiling, my flesh is dancing!
Gareth realized with absolute certainty that this was the most fun he had ever had in his entire life.
Since coming to Orario, he had been violently "baptized" by the Zeus and Hera Familias. He had challenged both factions time and time again, only to taste bitter defeat. Fighting the strongest Familias in the history of the gods was thrilling, but the humiliation had always outweighed the joy. Furthermore, neither faction had ever taken him seriously; they hadn't even been proper fights.
The Freya Familia was the only faction that stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the Loki Familia. They had clashed with them constantly. But the Freya dependents were all vicious fanatics, fighting with eyes full of pure murder. There was nothing refreshing or enjoyable about fighting them.
He had fought his comrades and equals, Finn and Riveria, countless times. But Finn utilized high-speed spear techniques combined with his tactical genius, while Riveria rained down overwhelming magical artillery from afar. They were equal in strength, but their combat styles were fundamentally incompatible with a pure brawl. The younger generation was growing strong, but there was still no one who could challenge Gareth in a straightforward clash of power.
But the man standing before him was completely different. He met Gareth head-on, fighting with nothing but his bare fists. He didn't fight with killing intent, but with a burning passion that matched Gareth's own, throwing everything he had into a battle on Gareth's terms. To Gareth, there was no greater rival in the world.
This takes me back! Just like when I fought Sawada!
As he traded earth-shattering blows with Gareth, Ryohei found his mind drifting back to his battle with Tsuna.
He had first met Tsuna when trying to recruit him for the boxing club. That had led to a match against Tsuna while he was in Dying Will Mode. It was before Ryohei had learned Maximum Cannon, let alone unlocked Dying Will Flames. Because it was an official match, the scale of destruction was negligible compared to the life-or-death battles they fought later. Yet, out of every fight he had ever experienced, that boxing match remained the most fiercely passionate battle of his life. And right now, his heart was burning just as hotly as it had back then.
"What's wrong, small fry! Is that all you've got!?"
"You're the one looking exhausted to the extreme!"
"Bullsh*t!"
They had been trading blows non-stop for over ten minutes, yet neither their smiles nor the ferocity of their punches waned in the slightest.
The brutal brawl continued, the deafening cracks of their fists echoing through the ruins.
Twenty minutes passed.
""Haa... Haa...""
The flurry of punches finally ground to a halt. For the first time, both Ryohei and Gareth showed visible signs of exhaustion.
"I'll be honest... I never thought anyone could push me this far..."
"...Same here to the extreme."
"I'd love nothing more than to keep trading blows, but it seems I've gotten a bit too carried away... What do you say? We're both running on fumes... Let's settle this with the next strike..."
"Sounds good to me... I've just reached full charge anyway to the extreme..."
"Full charge...?"
Seeing Gareth's confusion, Ryohei raised his arm to show him his bangle. Along the rim of the Cambio Forma bangle, ten distinct flames were now burning brightly.
"My weapon, Vongola Gear, charges flame energy by absorbing the damage I take. For every blow my body endures, another flame lights up on the bangle. When all ten flames are lit, completing the sun ring, it reaches full charge, allowing me to unleash my absolute strongest attack."
Getting stronger by taking damage... Just like Bete...
Hearing the mechanics of Ryohei's Vongola Gear, Bete's magic flashed through Gareth's mind.
Bete's magic, Hati. When activated, it wreathed his limbs in flames that absorbed magical energy. It possessed Magic Drain to consume any magic it touched, and Damage Drain, which infinitely amplified his attack power the more physical damage he sustained.
But still...!
Knowing that his opponent was about to unleash an attack far surpassing anything he had thrown so far, Gareth's excitement spiked to its absolute peak. He channeled every last drop of his remaining strength into his right fist.
"Here I come! Gareth Landrock!"
"Bring it! Sasagawa Ryohei!"
Kicking off the ground simultaneously, they closed the distance in an instant, throwing their final, ultimate punches.
"Maximum Sunshine Counter!"
"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!"
Their ultimate strikes collided. The sheer, catastrophic shockwave obliterated every remaining structure in the vicinity, detonating into a massive explosion.
"Haha... Haha... HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
When the dust finally settled, Gareth stood in the epicenter, his entire body scorched black, roaring with triumphant laughter.
"It's your win..."
Still wearing a massive, satisfied grin, Gareth slowly tipped backward, collapsing onto the rubble.
"Garyuu."
Ryohei deactivated his Cambio Forma. Kangaryuu immediately hopped over, bathing Gareth in the Sun's "Activation" flames to rapidly mend his severe injuries.
"Sorry about this..."
"We fought as equals in the same ring, putting everything we had on the line and communicating through our fists. As my friend, there is absolutely no need to apologize to the extreme."
"I see..."
Touched by Ryohei's pure chivalry, Gareth remained quiet, letting the kangaroo patch him up.
Once his wounds were closed, Gareth slowly sat up, looking over at Ryohei.
"That was fun. The most fun I've ever had in a fight in my entire life."
"Me too. I haven't felt this fired up since I fought Sawada to the extreme."
"Sawada Tsunayoshi, huh... For a man of your caliber to say that, he really must be monstrously strong."
"Of course. He's the strongest man I've ever fought."
"I see."
To hear that fighting him was just as thrilling as fighting Tsuna filled Gareth's heart with immense pride.
"I'd love to trade blows with you again someday."
"...Yeah."
Hm?
Gareth noticed a sudden, somber shadow cross Ryohei's face. It bothered him, but knowing he couldn't intrude, the dwarf swallowed his questions.
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