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Chapter 66: Fury
Time rewound slightly. Tsuna and the others had arrived near the winery where Lili was being held captive. The rescue squad consisted of Tsuna, Hestia, Naaza, Miach, Welf, and the members of the Takemikazuchi Familia who had previously subjected Bell's party to the Pass Parade.
"Is everyone ready?" Hestia asked, making her final checks.
"Yeah. No problems here," Tsuna replied, his voice calm and resonant as he entered Hyper Dying Will Mode.
"Hey!! Your head is on fire!!" a large human man from the Takemikazuchi Familia yelled, falling into a panic.
This man was Kashima Ouka. Bearing the alias Masura Takeo, he was a Level 2 adventurer and the captain of the Takemikazuchi Familia. He was deeply compassionate toward his comrades, treating his Familia members like blood relatives.
"W-W-W-What should we do!?"
"H-Hurry, get some water!!"
A petite girl with short black hair and a dignified girl with a black ponytail panicked right alongside Ouka. The petite girl was Hitachi Chigusa, a Level 1 member of the Takemikazuchi Familia. Though timid and introverted, she possessed a strong core. Secretly, she harbored feelings for Ouka. The girl with the ponytail was Yamato Mikoto, a Level 2 adventurer with the alias Zetsuei. She was earnest, fiercely loyal, and unfailingly polite to everyone she met, holding a deep affection for her patron deity, Takemikazuchi.
Since they had already met and apologized to Bell's group regarding the Pass Parade incident, this wasn't their first encounter with Tsuna. Because Bell had forgiven them, Tsuna held no grudge against the trio either.
"This is my power…" Tsuna muttered.
It was perfectly natural to be shocked by the sight of a human whose head was literally engulfed in flames, but even Tsuna was getting tired of explaining it every single time.
"A split personality…?" Naaza murmured, observing the drastic shift in his demeanor.
"No."
Since she accurately pointed out the exact thing he was self-conscious about, Tsuna denied it bluntly.
"More importantly, is Lilisk really in here?" Welf asked, gripping his weapon.
"Yeah. Hermes tracked her down. There's no mistake," Hestia confirmed.
"He really managed to find her, huh," Tsuna muttered, genuinely impressed.
Orario was the most prosperous city in the world. To track down a single person in just three days within such a massive labyrinthine metropolis was no small feat.
"The Hermes Familia excels at gathering information," Miach explained. "For them, a task like this is child's play."
"I see…"
Hearing about the Hermes Familia's capabilities made Tsuna realize he needed to tread carefully. If they grew suspicious of him, there was a real risk they could uncover the fact that he was from another world.
"Miach. Stick to the original plan and stay here on standby, just in case," Tsuna instructed.
"Understood."
"Let's go. We need to rescue our supporter as quickly as possible."
.....
Tsuna and the rescue squad stormed into the winery where Lili was imprisoned. Just as the Hermes Familia's intelligence had suggested, the majority of the Soma Familia's members were gathered inside.
"Oraa!!"
"Out of the way!!"
Welf and Ouka charged the vanguard, easily sweeping aside the enemies that lunged at them.
"Haa!!"
Mikoto and Tsuna took the mid-guard. Mikoto incapacitated her foes with the blunt edge of her katana, while Tsuna pacified his targets with minimal, precise movements. From the rear guard, Chigusa and Naaza provided covering fire with their bows and crossbows, supporting the frontline fighters. Hestia stood safely behind them, carefully watching the battle unfold.
This is bad… Tsuna quickly realized.
Though their side was overwhelmingly superior in skill, the sheer number of enemies wasn't dropping. If this dragged on, Welf and the others would exhaust their stamina, and the tide would inevitably turn against them.
"Gah…!?"
"Big guy!!"
Just as Tsuna predicted, the sheer volume of attackers began to wear them down. Ouka, overwhelmed by fatigue, left an opening and was kicked to the ground. Welf immediately kicked an enemy away to rush to Ouka's side. The rest of the squad couldn't hide their exhaustion either. In the rear, Chigusa and Naaza's quivers were running dangerously low, and expressions of panic began to surface on their faces. Hestia, realizing the situation was deteriorating, bit her lip in frustration.
"Good grief. You guys are a real pain in the ass. To think we have to do all this just for Arde," one of the Soma members sneered.
"You're the bastards who kidnapped her in the first place!!" Welf roared back.
"Lilisk? Oh, you mean Arde. It's her fault we're stuck cleaning up this mess. We've got money to make, you know."
"You bastard!!" Welf bared his teeth, furious at a man whose only concern was money, entirely disregarding Lili's well-being.
"It's even worse than Hestia described," Tsuna said coldly. "Have you drowned so deep in wine that you've lost your basic human dignity?"
"Say whatever you want. I just want my Divine Wine. Protecting Arde now that she's useless as a cash cow isn't even worth pocket change. Frankly, she's nothing but a nuisance. It would've been better if she had just died."
Rather than showing any anger at Tsuna's words, the man's mind was entirely consumed by greed. The other Familia members seemed to share his sentiment, wearing looks of sheer annoyance. Not a single person among them raised an objection.
Seeing a group of people so enslaved by their desire for divine wine filled Welf and the others with a terrifying revulsion. But amidst the horror, Tsuna alone took a slow, deliberate step forward.
"No!! Tsunayoshi-kun!!" Hestia cried out, realizing what he was about to do.
But Tsuna didn't stop. He stepped in front of Welf and Ouka, the flame on his forehead violently shifting into the dazzling brilliance of the Sun Flame.
"X-Impact."
Tsuna slammed his right fist into the ground. A massive crater instantly opened up beneath him, accompanied by an ear-splitting roar. The resulting shockwave sent violent tremors tearing through the entire winery.
W-What…? Both friend and foe collapsed in sheer terror at the sight of the devastating crater. Welf's mind went blank, entirely unable to process the destruction before him.
"Enough."
Tsuna pulled his fist out of the shattered earth and swept his gaze over the paralyzed Soma members. He had made his choice. If the alternative was letting the Soma Familia take Lili, he didn't care if his true identity was exposed.
Hearing the commotion, Zanis finally emerged on the balcony. He stared down at the cratered floor, utterly gobsmacked.
"You're the one who kidnapped Lili, aren't you?" Tsuna asked, his voice deathly quiet.
Thanks to the information Hermes had provided to Hestia, Tsuna already knew that Zanis had been trying to get his hands on Lili and that he was the one truly running the Soma Familia. He also recognized the man from his physical description.
"W-What are you all doing!? Hurry up and get him!! He's only one man!!" Zanis screamed at his subordinates.
But no one moved. None of them could even muster a response. The overwhelming gap in power demonstrated by Tsuna's single strike had paralyzed them with a primal fear. That terror easily shattered the charm of the divine wine. All they felt now was regret—regret for pushing Lili too far and drawing the wrath of an absolute monster.
"Release Lili. Do that, and we'll leave without doing anything else. Refuse, and I will take her back using whatever means necessary," Tsuna declared.
"Eep…!?" Zanis squeaked, overwhelmed by the crushing pressure radiating from the boy below.
Just then, the doors to the balcony opened.
"What is this…!?"
Lili, who was supposed to be locked in the dungeon, stepped out onto the balcony. She stared down at the ruined winery, unable to hide her shock.
"D-Don't move!!" Zanis shrieked.
"Ah…!?"
Zanis immediately darted behind Lili, grabbed her, and pressed a dagger hard against her throat.
"Don't you care if she dies!?"
Losing Lili meant losing a massive business opportunity. Realizing he stood no chance against Tsuna in a fight, Zanis shamelessly resorted to taking a hostage.
"That's enough!!"
Tsuna's fury reached its boiling point. A massive torrent of flames erupted from his body like a raging tempest.
"Are you really that desperate for money!?"
"Eep!!"
Zanis had foolishly believed taking a hostage would give him the upper hand, but he instantly realized he had made a fatal mistake.
"You're the one who ignored my warning!! You'd better be prepared for the consequences!!"
Tsunayoshi-sama is… angry!? Lili watched Tsuna's explosive rage in stunned silence. Though she hadn't known him for long, she understood the kind of person he was. He was just as soft-hearted as Bell. He wielded terrifying power, but he was a gentle soul who never used it to look down on others or force them into submission.
"W-Wait!! Conflicts between Familias are strictly prohibited by the Guild!! If you do this, you won't get off scot-free either!!"
Desperate to survive, Zanis hypocritically used the Guild's rules to threaten Tsuna, entirely ignoring the fact that his Familia had started the conflict.
"So what!? I don't care, as long as it means we don't lose Lili!! If you're planning to make her suffer any more than you already have, I'll crush the Soma Familia to the ground!!"
Zanis's pathetic attempt at negotiation only poured oil on the roaring fire of Tsuna's wrath.
"M-My bad!! Then, how about we team up!? I've got a highly profitable business proposition!! We can make a fortune just by selling monsters!! With Arde's power, you could also… Gah!?"
He tried to pivot to his monster-smuggling business, but he never finished his sentence. Using a reverse burst of flames, Tsuna closed the distance in a flash and dug his fist deep into Zanis's jaw, launching the man high into the air.
Tsuna fired his flames, rocketing upward in hot pursuit.
"You're going to regret hurting innocent people!!"
"P-Please save… Gah!?"
Cutting off Zanis's desperate pleas, Tsuna positioned himself above the man and drove a devastating right straight directly into his face. Zanis plummeted from the sky like a meteor, crashing straight through the wooden balcony and smashing violently into the ground below.
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