Do I... really understand my Bankai?
Tsuna never could have imagined that the boomerang he had once used to lecture Renji Abarai would eventually come crashing back down on his own head.
It turned out that he was the one who did not understand the true name of his own Bankai.
After the successive Vongola bosses had imprinted the Vongola Crest into his Zanpakutō, Tsuna finally saw the part of its name that had remained hidden from him every time he released his Bankai.
The abilities divided among different attributes could just as easily be classified as manifestations of a single power.
"Bankai."
Tsuna's Reiatsu erupted into the heavens.
The sheer force of its eruption was enough to stop the Monk's attack. The companions Tsuna had transferred away one after another all turned their eyes toward his direction.
"Is that... Tsuna's Reiatsu?" Ichigo asked uncertainly.
The Reiatsu was incredibly familiar, yet somehow strange at the same time. Overall, however, it did not make him feel uncomfortable.
"It's Tsuna's Reiatsu!" Tatsuki said with absolute certainty. "That presence within this Reiatsu is one I know better than anyone. There's no mistake. It's Tsuna."
"Seriously... what kind of new power has he cooked up this time? Why is it so powerful?"
Shinji somehow produced a small knit cap and put it on his head. Over the years, they had grown accustomed to Tsuna periodically unveiling some new power, but this was the first time he had ever encountered a force whose very presence made him tremble.
Seven-colored flames erupted, instantly forcing the Monk's fist back.
Within the blazing radiance, Tsuna's figure slowly emerged. At first glance, there was no particularly dramatic change to his appearance. He simply had several small accessories adorning him.
He looked almost like a motorcycle racer, with a horned helmet tucked beneath his arm as he stepped forward. Unlike an actual racer, however, he was wearing an assortment of accessories that certainly had no place on a racing track.
The Sky Ring.
The Storm Flame belt.
The Rain Flame necklace.
The Sun Flame armguards.
The Cloud Flame bracelet.
The Mist Flame earrings.
And the Lightning Flame helmet tucked beneath his arm.
All of them were manifestations of the Vongola Gear that had appeared after his Bankai was released.
"Shells layered upon shells, inheritance carried across the ages... the Vongola's Dying Will Flames."
The Vongola's Dying Will Flames.
That was the true name of Tsuna's Shinigami power's Bankai.
The seven attribute-based Bankai abilities were merely portions of this greater power.
Tsuna had always been capable of freely wielding the power of any one attribute. Naturally, mastering all of the attributes simultaneously was only the next logical step.
Yet he had been shackled by his own understanding.
He had always fought by selecting whichever form was most suitable for the situation.
Only when the Vongola bosses, represented by Vongola Primo, acknowledged Tsuna as the inheritor of the Vongola legacy did he finally see the true name of his Shinigami Zanpakutō.
The seven attributes becoming one.
None standing apart from the others, each supporting the rest.
That was the true reason the Vongola Family had been able to continue developing and flourishing throughout the ages.
"Vongola... I never want to hear that damn name again!"
The Monk had completely lost his reason.
The man once renowned for his wisdom had finally become nothing more than a puppet driven by his emotions.
First, Tsuna had repeatedly suppressed him.
Then, in an act of defiance against the natural order, he had swallowed fragments of the Soul King with his mouth in an attempt to turn the tide.
Just as victory seemed within his grasp, the Soul King himself had stabbed him in the back.
The servant who had served the Soul King for more than a thousand years had actually proven inferior to a Ryoka from another world.
The Monk had said that Tsuna lacked a true designation, only for the Soul King to personally grant him one.
The Monk possessed the body of the Soul King and Tsuna could not defeat him, yet the Soul King had personally brought this so-called Vongola to him, granting Tsuna the power necessary to stand against him.
Soul King... Soul King...
Why were you so cruel?
Why did you keep standing against him?
Why couldn't you, just as you had in ancient times, choose Ichibē Hyōsube—your Monk—once more?
Then let your most devout servant personally shatter the future you have chosen!
The Monk's eyes turned completely white.
His expression became savage and distorted.
Within his field of vision, only Sawada Tsunayoshi remained.
Destroy Sawada Tsunayoshi.
Snuff out the betrayal of the Soul King.
That was the Monk's sole thought after he had lost his reason.
"ROOOAAAR!!"
A piercing roar erupted from the Monk's throat.
At this point, he barely looked human. He resembled nothing so much as an enraged beast driven purely by instinct.
He charged toward Tsuna and began raining punches down upon him.
He did not care whether any of them connected.
He simply punched.
Again and again.
Until Tsuna was reduced to nothing but minced flesh.
Tsuna frowned as he calmly weaved through the Monk's attacks.
To be honest, the Monk's attacks were crude.
In Tsuna's eyes, they posed even less of a threat than they had before the Monk swallowed the Soul King's fragments.
In other words, if not for the overwhelming physical power of the Soul King's body, a Monk like this could have been defeated by Yamamoto no matter how many of him there were.
"Has the man who calls himself Ichibē Hyōsube finally lost his mind?"
Yamamoto appeared beside Ichigo and the others with a Shunpo, stroking his beard with a smile.
"Perhaps it is for the best. He is nothing more than a clown who stole the Soul King's power, yet he actually believed himself capable of standing above everyone in existence."
"Old Man, are you really sure we don't need to help?" Ichigo asked.
The pounding sounds coming from the distance continued without pause, accompanied by a scene of earth-shaking destruction. He still couldn't help worrying.
"No need."
Yamamoto was utterly confident.
"Although Sawada Tsunayoshi has a sharp tongue, his love for the Seireitei is no less than that of the Gotei 13. He will resolve this incident soon."
The Monk's attacks were affecting far more than Tsuna.
They were shaking the entire Seireitei.
If the Monk were allowed to continue, it would amount to an earthquake that would never end. Before long, the Seireitei itself would be destroyed by him.
Tsuna naturally couldn't allow that to happen.
After all, his Sawada residence was still in the Seireitei.
Tsuna's gaze sharpened.
He raised the Lightning Flame helmet with both hands and placed it firmly upon his head.
Seven-colored flames enveloped his entire body, while the Vongola Crest materialized behind him.
"Come on. Form Change!"
The Sky Ring transformed into armored gauntlets.
Two ammunition belts shot out from the Storm Flame belt and crossed his chest.
The Rain Flame necklace transformed into two katana hanging from his waist.
The Sun Flame armguards split apart and formed two pieces of leg armor.
The Lightning Flame helmet transformed into two enormous electrical bull horns.
The Cloud Flame bracelet multiplied, producing a haori resembling the uniform of a disciplinary committee member.
Finally, the Mist Flame earrings transformed into a staff that Tsuna gripped in his hand.
Everything looked chaotic and excessively elaborate.
Yet beneath the radiance of the seven-colored flames, all of those seemingly incompatible components reflected one another with remarkable harmony.
Now it was time to deal with the Monk.
Six enormous spikes extended from the Mist Flame staff and shot toward the Monk's fist.
Thud!
They struck him, sending a sharp pain through his body.
The Monk immediately raised both hands and instinctively covered his head, completely forgetting about attacking Tsuna.
Tsuna had not actually pierced the Monk's Soul King-enhanced body.
Instead, he had used the power of the Mist Flame to forcibly create the sensation of injury inside the Monk's mind.
From the Monk's perspective, Tsuna had stabbed through his hands.
In reality, his brain was being assaulted by an illusion.
That was why the Monk was clutching his head and screaming in agony.
Tsuna had no choice.
He needed the Monk to calm down for at least a moment before he could set up his next move.
Every accessory on Tsuna's body suddenly lit up with dazzling radiance.
He gently swept his hand through the air in front of him.
A group of small animals appeared before him.
Natsu, the Sky Flame lion.
Uri, the Storm Flame leopard.
Kojirō, the Rain Flame swallow.
Jirō, the Rain Flame dog.
Gyuudon, the Sun Flame kangaroo.
Ushishishi, the Lightning Flame bull.
Roll, the Cloud Flame hedgehog.
And Mukurō, the Mist Flame owl.
Aside from Gyuudon and Ushishishi, the other animals were relatively small.
That was one of the defining characteristics of the Vongola Boxes.
Since they could undergo Form Change and fight through transformed combat forms, there were few occasions when their true bodies needed to participate directly in battle.
But Tsuna had already activated his Form Change ability.
Now that he had summoned all these animals, he naturally intended for them to fight alongside him.
"Let's go, everyone!"
Natsu responded first, charging straight toward the Monk without hesitation.
Tsuna sighed helplessly and immediately began issuing commands.
"Ushishishi, lead the charge! Gyuudon, provide support! Roll, restrict his movement! Everyone else, fight on your own! Let's show him the Vongola Animal Party!"
Moo!
Ushishishi transformed into a bolt of lightning and instantly overtook Natsu, charging at the very front.
The twin cannons mounted on Gyuudon's back immediately locked onto Ushishishi and fired.
Under the Sun Flame's Hyper Activation, Ushishishi's body rapidly expanded.
Before long, he had grown to roughly the height of the Monk's waist.
Naturally, Ushishishi wasn't going to waste the opportunity presented by the Monk's lack of preparation.
He lowered his horns and slammed them viciously into the Monk's abdomen.
BOOM!
The Monk was knocked off his feet and sent crashing to the ground.
The intense pain finally snapped him out of the illusion.
He saw the chaotic display of seven-colored light around him, and his emotions once again seized control of his body.
He was about to roll over and attack Ushishishi when faint stinging sensations suddenly spread throughout his body.
Instinctively, the Monk froze.
Huge purple spheres covered in spikes had appeared all around him.
Roll was responsible.
With the Cloud Flame's proliferation ability, Roll was the only one of the animals that had not received Gyuudon's support.
He could multiply and expand on his own.
As soon as Ushishishi arrived, Roll had already completed the containment of the Monk, restricting his position.
Then came the same tactic as before.
With Gyuudon's Hyper Activation support, the remaining animals rapidly matured and grew.
Although they could not reach Ushishishi's enormous size, each of them was still roughly the size of the Monk's forearm.
The Monk was in for a miserable time.
Claws and fangs tore across his body, leaving wound after wound.
The Soul King's flesh, which should have possessed overwhelming defensive power, seemed almost completely ineffective at this moment.
Before long, the Monk had been beaten bloody by the group of animals.
And there was a reason for this.
Among the powers Tsuna was wielding was authority bestowed upon him by the Soul King.
When the authority of both sides was equal, the seemingly insurmountable gap between them disappeared.
What remained was simply a matter of whose power could prevail in the direct clash.
And unfortunately for the Monk, his body was currently being driven by nothing but emotion.
Tsuna had merely summoned a group of animals, yet they had already forced him into a disadvantageous position.
His defeat had become inevitable.
Thin wisps of the Soul King's power began drifting out from the Monk's wounds.
They did not disperse.
Instead, they began merging into the Soul Society, repairing the stability of the Three Realms.
This was an authority one level higher than the Monk's.
Only the Soul King could accomplish something like this.
The Monk's suspicions toward the Soul King had not been nearly vicious enough.
The truth was that the Soul King himself had stripped away the power he had once granted the Monk, then used that very power to repair the balance of the worlds.
The Monk's body gradually began to wither and shrink.
Yet the shrinking was not entirely a bad thing.
Within the brain that had previously been flooded with overwhelming power, reason seemed to be reclaiming the high ground once again.
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