Danmachi, Ch 231-235

*Chapter 231 — Does This Even Sound Right?*

“Ha~~~”

Still half-asleep, Tsuna sat up from bed. His drowsy mind took a while to catch up before he fully woke.

“You’re up?”

He turned toward the voice on instinct and saw Tsubaki standing nearby, already dressed neatly, holding a steaming cup of tea in one hand.

“You really wore me out yesterday. And yet you’re the one who’s sleeping like a rock. Here, have some milk to wake yourself up.”

“Thanks.”

Tsubaki sat down beside the bed and offered him the wooden cup. Tsuna took it and drank. The cold, sweet milk cut through his lingering haze and brought the memories of last night flooding back. When he remembered what Tsubaki had just said, he realized what exactly he’d done.

“Tsubaki, I went a little overboard yesterday.”

Seeing the apology in his expression, Tsubaki burst into laughter. She pulled him straight into her arms and planted a kiss on his face.

“I should be the one saying that. If Lady Hephaestus ever finds out what happened last night, she’ll die of jealousy. And really, the one who went overboard was me.”

Thinking of their age difference made her laugh even harder. She was clearly the older one—the “old cow eating young grass,” as they say. For her first time, she’d poured out more than thirty years of pent-up frustration in a single night. Saying he wore her out wasn’t entirely fair; she’d been the one to start it.

“So, should we tell Lady Loki and Lady Hephaestus about this?”

“Yeah, we probably should. If Loki finds out afterward on her own, she’ll definitely explode.”

Just imagining Lady Loki’s possessive glare was enough to make Tsuna’s skin crawl. He could already feel the daggers in her gaze.

“Then that’s on you. You’re the one who decided to tease two goddesses and charm half the girls around you. You’d better be ready to pay the price. I just hope Loki doesn’t eat you down to the bones when you get back.”

Tsuna gave a helpless smile at Tsubaki’s mischievous grin. He knew she wasn’t wrong. If Loki’s jealousy really flared up, she might very well devour him whole. All he could do was hope his apologies would calm her fury—at least a little.

Pushing gently out of her embrace, Tsuna drained the rest of the milk in a few gulps. His body, still a bit dehydrated after the previous night’s exertion, felt much better as the cool drink soothed his throat.

“Tsubaki… it’s not exactly early anymore, is it?”

He glanced at the bright sky outside the window. It was well past dawn.

“Breakfast is already done,” Tsubaki said. “Finn used the morning meeting to announce what you told him about the Dying Will Flame. Everyone was fired up. They finished eating and went straight to the forge to check their weapons and gear. Looks like they’re planning to challenge the deeper floors head-on.”

She summarized the morning’s events in a few words.

“That should serve as good motivation for them,” Tsuna said. “If it gets them to take the next expedition seriously, they’ll crave Excellia all the more. Still, I doubt Finn and the others will have the same leisure as before. Some of the deep-floor monsters can’t be handled by Level 2 Adventurers.”

He didn’t seem surprised—it was something they’d already discussed. Tsubaki understood that as well.

“They’re not worried?” she asked.

“Not really. It was a concern before, but we’ve checked things thoroughly now. Unlike the Hephaestus Familia, Loki Familia doesn’t have spies hiding among its members. I’d say Loki’s… reputation probably has something to do with that.”

“Her bad reputation, you mean?” Tsubaki chuckled. “Yeah, I’ve heard Lady Hephaestus complain plenty about the things Loki used to pull in the heavens. Stirring up trouble, playing factions of gods against each other—she’s quite the instigator.”

She remembered the stories well.

It made sense that Loki Familia had no spies. Loki’s antics in the heavens had earned her more enemies than allies—no one wanted to get too close. By contrast, Hephaestus had always been calm and well-respected among the gods, which made her Familia a perfect target for infiltration.

“The reason I decided to reveal my power so openly,” Tsuna said, “was partly to inspire them. But also to bind the Familia—and the Adventurers—to me more tightly. Once they realize that their benefits depend on me staying hidden, they’ll protect that secret with their lives.”

There was a calculating edge to his tone. He knew exactly what he was doing, and he understood that shared interest was the strongest glue between people.

“Mutual benefit,” Tsubaki said, nodding. “If their gains depend on you, they’ll instinctively defend you. It’s a smart move—Adventurers won’t risk losing what profits them.”

She knew Adventurers well enough to agree completely. Only a web of shared interests could keep them loyal.

“At your growth rate,” she added, “you’ll surpass the rest in no time. Slowing your progress down on purpose—it’s a smart strategy.”

Tsuna’s growth had outpaced every Adventurer she’d ever seen. It had been less than half a year since he’d started, and he was already brushing against the limits of Level 2. If he could stretch that time out for a few more years, Tsubaki had no doubt he’d reach Level 5.

Still, what she looked forward to even more wasn’t just Tsuna’s individual growth—it was the growth of the entire Loki Familia.

“Hey, Tsuna~ do you think, in a few years, the Familia’s lowest-level members can rise by at least one Level?”

“Definitely.”

He answered without hesitation.

“I don’t know how many of them will make it to Level 4, but I’m sure most will reach Level 3. After the news Finn dropped this morning, I can’t imagine any of them missing the chance. No Adventurer would let something like that slip away.”

Tsubaki nodded. “Exactly. It’d be hard not to take advantage of this opportunity.”

Every Adventurer dreamed of growing stronger. With conditions this favorable, no one would willingly stay stagnant.

Her gaze slid back to Tsuna, his bare upper body still marked with traces of last night. The faint red marks on his pale neck made her smirk.

“You’d better put your clothes on,” she said with a teasing glint in her eye. “If you keep looking like that, I might not let you out of bed again.”

“...What?”

Was that really something a woman should say? Tsuna blinked, noticing the mischievous green gleam in her eyes. He shrank his neck like a startled cat—yeah, getting dressed right now was definitely the right idea.

### Chapter 232 - Confronting the Enhanced Species

Deep within the Dungeon—its walls and ceiling formed from pale, ashen rock—the world seemed swallowed in a bleak shade of gray. The air itself carried a heavy, oppressive weight.

Tap-tap-tap!

Unbroken footsteps echoed through the distant cavern.

The sound drew closer. A pack of monsters came rushing backward in panic, and behind them, a group of Adventurers surged forward with weapons drawn.

Whizz!

An arrow sliced through the air, striking cleanly into the crook of a monster’s leg. The creature collapsed with a thud, losing all balance.

A boot came down hard on its back. The Adventurer’s twin hands raised his sword high and brought it down in one clean motion, severing the monster’s head. Without even glancing at the fallen corpse, he dashed ahead, chasing the next group of fleeing beasts.

An elf archer and a dwarven shieldbearer hurried to keep pace behind him.

A hunting party of more than a hundred Adventurers chasing monsters through the deep floors—such a sight was rare indeed. Yet on the Thirty-Seventh Floor, scenes like this had become almost routine… and worse, they were growing increasingly excessive.

Boom!

A three-meter-tall golem swung its massive fist at the Adventurers charging within its reach.

Four or five dual-blade fighters darted around it, moving like wind. Sparks flared wildly where their blades scraped against the creature’s stony hide. Chunks of rock had already been carved away from its heels, and its movements had grown visibly sluggish.

The golem’s attacks weakened, its swings becoming slow and clumsy. Not far off, several dwarves hefted their axes and charged forward, each heavy step echoing like a drumbeat. The sound drew the golem’s attention—just in time for another barrage of metallic strikes to rattle its legs and halt its motion.

The dwarves reached the creature’s heels. One raised his axe high, aimed for a crack already worn into the stone, and swung down with all his strength.

Crack!

The golem’s heel shattered completely. It could no longer stand.

The giant’s enormous body toppled backward, crashing to the ground with an earth-shaking roar.

Four or five shadows leapt toward the fallen monster, driving twin blades into the glowing core at its chest. They retreated instantly. Then, a dwarf with a warhammer charged in and brought his weapon down hard upon the embedded knives.

Thunk!

The blades sank deep into the golem’s chest. The red light pulsing beneath the stone flickered once… and went dark. The rock composing its body began to crumble away.

With a clatter of falling stone, the creature disintegrated. At the center of the rubble lay a single purple Magic Stone—several short blades still jutting from its surface.

“That thing was tough.”

“Stone Golem. Its entire body’s made of rock, and in this white chamber, even the walls are tougher than normal. The ones using this stuff as their core material are nearly impossible to break through.”

Fortunately, their numbers weren’t large.

All around, other Stone Golems were being brought down one by one. At last, with the immediate threat cleared, the Adventurers could catch their breath.

BOOOOM!

Without warning, the ground trembled violently. Those just beginning to clean up stumbled, losing their balance.

“What was that!?”

Everyone turned toward the source of the tremor. The walls shook harder, dust raining down as the floor itself quaked. Then—someone came sprinting from the distance, and behind him thundered an enormous, towering Stone Golem—larger and far swifter than any before it.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Its massive frame smashed through the cavern walls as it ran, sending showers of debris tumbling down.

“Move! Get out of the way!”

The Adventurers shouted as they scrambled aside.

The creature burst into a more open area, its hulking form finally clear to see. Over six meters tall—its stony bulk alone was enough to make anyone’s breath catch.

Though its body was rock, its movements were disturbingly agile. Compared to the usual golems, this one was different—larger, thicker, faster by far.

Every Adventurer watching understood instantly.

“An Enhanced Species!”

No doubt about it. This was a variant among its kind—a Stone Golem that had undergone special strengthening somewhere in the depths.

And standing before this monstrosity, ready to face it head-on, was Tsuna.

Yet something about the golem unsettled him. It wasn’t just its size or power—it was the way it looked at him. As though it had come here for him alone.

That feeling only grew stronger by the second. Tsuna noticed the creature’s glowing red eyes—buried deep within the hollows of its face—locked solely on him. There was intelligence in that gaze.

It’s rare to see something like this…

The thought flashed through his mind as he broke into a sprint. No matter what, this thing wouldn’t simply walk away. He needed to confirm what it was. But before he could act further—

The golem charged.

Man and monster collided in an instant. The golem’s fist came crashing down at him like a falling mountain. Any normal Adventurer would have been crushed instantly.

A golden aura burst forth around Tsuna, boosting his speed in a flash. He dropped into a low bend, slipping beneath the descending strike by a hair’s breadth. With a twist of his torso and a leap driven by sheer core strength, his hand brushed lightly against the creature’s arm.

Crack!

A sharp sound rang out as contact was made—something green embedded itself into the golem’s arm.

Without pausing, Tsuna kicked off the limb, twisting midair as he flung several green seeds into the cracks between its rocks. Each one shot precisely into the gaps as if guided.

But the golem seized its moment. As Tsuna spun midair, unable to dodge, the creature swung upward, its colossal fist crashing toward him.

The blow should have hit square—

—but an orange flame flared to life.

BOOOOM!

The punch struck the ground with cataclysmic force, shaking the entire floor of the Dungeon as though the world itself reeled from the impact.

### Chapter 233 - Coincidence? Impossible!

Tsuna looked up at the Enhanced Species—Stone Golem—that had just missed crushing him with a fatal blow.

That kind of destructive force… I couldn’t possibly take it head-on. But its speed is still lacking.

He began analyzing the creature’s capabilities.

Its overwhelming strength could easily compensate for its slow speed—especially in the confined space of this cavern. Its enormous size further restricted movement, turning the entire battlefield into its own domain. Within such a narrow space, that destructive power was like a live bomb, one that could explode at any given moment.

The rock composing its body can only be damaged by first-class weapons. But what if I attack from the inside?

Breaking through that hardened exterior would be difficult—but if he struck from within…

Flames of Sun and Cloud burst to life around him. The seeds he had fired earlier suddenly sprouted, vines shooting outward and wrapping swiftly around the Stone Golem’s body. The living plants grew at an astonishing rate, tearing open cracks from within the monster’s stony shell.

Sun accelerated the plants’ growth. Cloud allowed them to propagate endlessly—and even devour energy to expand themselves faster.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Root after root coiled tightly around the Enhanced Species, binding it completely. The rocky armor of its body began to crumble under the crushing pressure of the vines.

“GAAAAH!”

The Stone Golem let out an ear-splitting wail, thrashing violently, but no matter how it struggled—no matter how many vines it tore apart—new ones immediately grew back, twining even tighter than before.

“Wood overcomes earth, you idiot.”

Anything made of stone was powerless before the force of rapidly growing roots.

“Now… let’s see if this encounter of ours was really just a coincidence.”

Tsuna’s eyes sharpened as he stared at the immobilized monster.

Purple flames ignited along the vines, spreading rapidly. The harder the roots constricted, the brighter the violet fire burned, until the entire formation resembled a colossal tree wreathed in purple flame. Each branch blazed like it bore leaves of living fire.

The creature trapped within the burning tree shattered apart, its form disintegrating into fragments. At the center, a massive Magic Stone remained—but even that had gone fragile and translucent, like candy that had been melted and left to harden again.

Tsuna approached slowly.

A normal Magic Stone… nothing unusual about it. Was I just being paranoid?

He glanced around. A temporary barrier—nearly invisible to the naked eye—had been erected around him since the battle began. Yet there had been no signal, no external interference, no trace of intrusion.

So it really was nothing after all, he thought, lowering his guard.

After all, finding an Enhanced Species in the Dungeon wasn’t anything extraordinary.

Tsuna exhaled softly, shook his head, and turned to leave—

Thud!

The instant he moved, three tendrils burst from behind and pierced through his body.

A grotesque fetus, hidden within the shattered Magic Stone, launched itself out and latched onto Tsuna’s back.

But a heartbeat later—splat!—the fetus hit the ground hard.

“???”

The deformed creature froze, utterly stunned, its consciousness ending in that moment.

Tsuna stepped casually to the side, unscathed, his expression calm.

Just as I thought.

To avoid detection, they hid this thing inside the Magic Stone. So the Enhanced Species really was targeting me specifically… Those bastards’ craftsmanship is impressive—embedding a Spirit Embryo within a monster like that.

But how did they make it focus on me? My face has never been exposed to the public. There’s no way they know what I look like.

He frowned.

If they did, they’d have plastered my face all over Orario long ago, instead of wasting time using Enhanced Species as assassins.

Then, a sudden realization struck him.

Wait… that’s it! They don’t need to know my face. They only have to make sure the Enhanced Species avoids attacking anyone whose face they’ve seen before.

That way, even without recognizing me directly, they could still isolate and pinpoint me.

Still, a deeper question lingered.

But how did they even create and control an Enhanced Species like that?

Spirit Embryos of the Corrupted Spirits had a strong parasitic influence on monsters. Once a monster was infected, it would be strengthened—what one might call a “lesser corruption.” Its form would begin evolving toward that of a true Corrupted Spirit.

Enhanced Species, on the other hand, were Dungeon monsters that devoured the Magic Stones of their own kind. Only those that consumed enough would undergo mutation, developing the trait of Cannibalism. Such creatures would devour anything—even their own allies.

To nurture one of these monsters… and then implant a Spirit Embryo within it? That was beyond strange—it was unnatural.

Two parasitic entities, both capable of corrupting and consuming others—how could they possibly coexist?

A double negative turning positive? That doesn’t make sense.

Curiosity sparked in his mind. A tiny Memory Worm quietly crept from his hand, sliding into the Spirit Embryo’s head to search its memories—to uncover how the Corrupted Spirits had managed this.

Snap!

The moment the worm entered, the fetus’s head swelled grotesquely—then burst apart with a sharp pop, splitting into three dripping chunks.

Tsuna blinked, momentarily stunned, then smirked.

So that’s it. No wonder my barrier didn’t detect any signal. The fetus was rigged with an external control system. The moment I tried probing its core memories, the self-destruct protocol triggered.

“Tch tch… To think a Spirit would go this far to guard its secrets. Should I feel honored?” he muttered dryly.

Being treated as a high-risk target was, in its own way, a compliment. But it also meant he’d lost the perfect chance to study this strange “negative meets negative” fusion directly.

Still, Tsuna couldn’t shake the sense that a certain coincidence had played a role in bringing these two corrupting forces together.

Snap!

Space rippled beside him as the Space Rabbit appeared, swiftly sealing the remains—the charred tree and the Spirit Embryo’s fragments—before storing them into the Alternate Dimension.

Even if the Spirit Embryo was completely destroyed, Tsuna could still reverse-engineer the remnants to study how this form had been achieved.

It would just take… a little more time.

### Chapter 234 - They Really Are Targeting Me

“So, the Corrupted Spirit is working together with those from the Dark Faction?”

Tsuna mentally calculated the timeline. The “Nightmare of the 27th Floor” had occurred six years before the current story—meaning the tragedy caused by the Dark Faction had taken place two years ago. That was also when the Corrupted Spirit began extending its tendrils into the middle and upper layers of the Dungeon.

The appearance of the Spirit Embryo confirmed it. And the fact that the Spirit Embryo had targeted him directly served as clear evidence of a connection between the Corrupted Spirit and the Dark Faction. At this point, only the Dark Faction would be so interested in information about him.

“Heh…”

Tsuna chuckled softly. He hadn’t even gone looking for trouble with the Dark Faction—yet they had come to find him first. Still, there was no need to drag Dionysus out immediately. If he couldn’t crush the other branch of the Dark Faction hiding within the Dungeon at the same time, capturing Dionysus would only alert the rest.

If he was going to eliminate them, it had to be all at once—no room for survival, no chance for hope.

“Hey, Tsuna! You okay!?”

Bete’s voice came from nearby. Tsuna turned and saw him approaching, a tense expression on his face. He gave a small, calm smile.

“I’m fine. Just being targeted by certain people.”

“What? Targeted!?”

Bete’s gaze swept over the scene—the splatter of green blood on the ground, the wreckage all around. Anger and curiosity flashed in his eyes. Who would dare to go after Tsuna?

“This isn’t the best place to talk. I’ll explain when we reach a safe floor. I’ve already taken care of the remains. I’m heading back first—there might still be some eyes watching nearby.”

“Got it. I’ll handle things here.”

With Bete’s assurance, Tsuna didn’t waste time. He signaled the Space Rabbit to pull him into the Alternate Dimension.

Inside that hidden space, he looked at the corpse of a stone giant bound by root-like tendrils—its Magic Stone nearly devoured to nothing but a thin shell. Nearby lay the headless body of the Spirit Embryo, green blood pooling beneath it.

“Time to get to work. Just how did the Enhanced Species and the Spirit Embryo manage to achieve a symbiotic state?”

The question intrigued him deeply.

He began activating Annihilation Maker, merging two monster concepts while adding the Spirit Embryo’s corrosive property.

The result was immediate—the Spirit Embryo began eroding the other creature.

In mere moments, it had completely devoured the Enhanced Species, without the slightest sign of resistance.

“A one-sided corrosion… not a trace of coexistence.”

The Spirit Embryo’s corruption was far stronger than he had anticipated. The monsters he created couldn’t resist at all—they were consumed in an instant. The resulting form resembled the Corrupted Spirit itself, just as Tsuna had imagined.

The experiment made one thing clear: the Spirit Embryo’s corrosive power far exceeded that of any normal Enhanced Species. Coexistence between them was impossible.

“What if I wrap the Spirit Embryo in an outer membrane—keep it dormant—and let a Dungeon monster absorb its energy as nourishment?”

With a flick of his wrist, a dormant Spirit Embryo sealed within a membrane appeared before him, alongside an Enhanced Stone Giant carrying the Cannibalism trait.

Tsuna, as the creator, made no interference. The Enhanced Species acted on pure instinct.

Driven by hunger for energy, it fixed its gaze on the Spirit Embryo. Intelligent beyond ordinary monsters, it studied the object briefly before picking it up—placing it in its mouth, but not biting or swallowing, simply holding it there.

Tsuna observed as the creature absorbed energy from the membrane surrounding the Spirit Embryo.

After a time, the Enhanced Species still hadn’t drained the energy completely. The Spirit Embryo inside, however, had clearly begun to weaken.

Then, the creature suddenly swallowed it whole.

“Stop.”

The instinctive motions froze instantly. The Enhanced Species, moments ago intact, split open down the middle—and what Tsuna saw within shocked him.

Inside the torn cavity, the Spirit Embryo opened its eyes. Its hands pressed against the monster’s Magic Stone.

“…Enhanced Species need to devour massive amounts of energy to evolve. The Spirit Embryo itself is a condensed mass of energy. So, as long as it hasn’t been activated, it makes sense that the Enhanced Species would treat it like a different kind of Magic Stone.”

“But after being swallowed, instead of activating and corroding, the Spirit Embryo chose to merge with the creature’s core. Meaning… it was designed to behave this way?”

Tsuna thought through the implications carefully. The conclusion he reached only made one thing clearer—he was being targeted.

“So, the Spirits and the Dark Faction really do see me as their greatest threat.”

“My use of spatial abilities, and how I humiliated Valletta… it’s no wonder they’re desperate to deal with me.”

“In that case, I can’t let them get their way.”

He couldn’t let the Spirits detect abnormalities in their Embryos, nor could he let the Dark Faction realize he was strong enough to challenge the Deep Floors.

As for how to accomplish that—it was simpler than it sounded. He only needed to reverse time in a limited area.

If he could create monsters capable of manipulating space, then producing one that could rewind time within a contained zone was certainly possible. Especially since it only involved Dungeon creatures and Spirit Embryos—even the Gods wouldn’t notice.

After all, these beings were beyond the reach of divine jurisdiction.

### Chapter 235 - The Radiance When Life Withers

After sending a Puppet out of the Alternate Dimension to check the surroundings and confirming that all the nearby Adventurers had already left, Tsuna finally stepped out himself. He brought out the remains of the shattered Stone Giant and the headless Spirit Embryo from before.

A slightly old-fashioned pocket watch appeared in Tsuna’s hand. With a sharp click, he pressed its crown.

And then—something miraculous unfolded before his eyes.

The headless Spirit Embryo returned to its intact state. The scattered fragments of its body flew back into the thin, brittle Magic Stone that had drained it dry. The root-like tendrils entwining the Stone Giant began to dissolve, reverting into small seeds.

Everything moved in reverse, as though time itself had been rewound.

When he saw the fallen stones reform around the Stone Giant’s body, Tsuna quietly vanished from the scene.

The Stone Giant stood there like an actor skipping frames, scanning its surroundings in confusion. It seemed to have forgotten entirely why it was there. After a long pause, it lumbered to the corner of the wall, compressing its massive body until it merged once more with the stone—hidden, silent, waiting.

Meanwhile, Tsuna returned to the Expedition team through his Puppet.

Finn Deimne noticed the Puppet at once. When it gave him a slight nod, Finn immediately understood that the problem had been resolved. He didn’t ask for details. Right now, his focus was on guiding the team around the area where the Floor Boss, Udaeus, had appeared on Floor 37.

The Expedition team didn’t always need to face every Floor Boss directly. When conditions allowed, they could simply bypass the boss’s territory entirely.

*Safe Zone, Floor 39.*

“…”

The Adventurers who arrived there were covered in wounds. Compared to the fight on Floor 28, they looked utterly battered.

They dropped their weapons and sank to the ground almost in unison. What they needed now wasn’t orders or strategy—just a moment to breathe.

Monsters in the Deep Floors were far stronger than anything in the middle levels. Even an ordinary Stone Giant required nearly ten people to handle it properly; otherwise, a single punch could send someone flying out of the fight—or worse.

“This is even more exhausting than I thought.”

No one knew who said it, but everyone murmured in agreement.

“Yeah. Every one of those things is a pain to deal with. If my stats hadn’t improved, I would’ve run out of stamina ages ago.”

“Same here. I didn’t really understand it before, but now I finally get it.”

“I think… it’s because we’re not standing where we used to anymore.”

That one comment made everyone pause—then laughter rippled through the group.

“Hahaha!”

“He’s right. We’ve gotten stronger. We’re not the ones in the back anymore—we’re standing on the front lines now. We’re not supporters. We’re the ones actually fighting.”

In the past, most of them hadn’t been front-line fighters. They were supporters—responsible for stripping Magic Stones after the battle was over.

That job had never been easy, but compared to fighting the monsters head-on, it had been nothing. Now, after experiencing it firsthand, they truly understood the difference.

“By the way, compared to us, that guy Sawada is just ridiculously strong.”

“No kidding. That Enhanced Species of a Stone Giant wasn’t anything like the normal ones. One punch from it made the whole floor shake like an earthquake. If anyone took that hit, they’d be dead on the spot.”

The Adventurers’ chatter caught Finn’s attention. Though he kept his expression calm, he listened carefully.

He’d felt the tremors earlier himself. During the battle, he’d ordered his Adventurers to pull back for safety, so he hadn’t witnessed what happened. All he knew was that the fight had ended astonishingly fast.

“Hey, hey, explain it properly!”

At the mention of Tsuna’s name, Tione appeared immediately, eyes wide and sparkling with curiosity.

Everyone in the Familia knew about Tione’s “change of affection,” so her interest wasn’t exactly surprising.

“It was Sawada. He was playing with that Enhanced Stone Giant like it was nothing. The fight was over before we even realized it had started. He just used some kind of seed that grew into these roots—and those roots completely restrained and crushed the creature. It looked terrifying, but he handled it like it was child’s play.”

The Adventurer who told the story couldn’t help sighing with admiration.

The creature had been more than twice the size of an ordinary Stone Giant, its destructive power several times greater—yet Sawada had defeated it effortlessly. Using seeds that sprouted into vines, he turned the monster into a towering tree covered in leaves of violet flame. It was both brimming with vitality and overflowing with death.

“Sawada used those seeds like magic. They sprouted instantly, wrapping the Stone Giant in seconds. The vines seemed to suck away its life force, and as they grew, those purple fire-leaves bloomed all over. It looked… almost beautiful. Like the monster died by its own hand.”

The final scene of the Stone Giant’s death was so breathtaking that no one present could forget it.

It was a beauty born from death—a radiant bloom at the very moment life withered away.

But after that awe came fear.

The image of such splendor born from death was haunting. That brilliance… was the brilliance of life being drained to nothing.

Yet even that fear soon gave way to admiration.

It was terrifying, yes—but if that power were their own, it would be an entirely different story.

“Still, Sawada’s strength is just absurd. To deal with an Enhanced Species that easily… I honestly didn’t think he was that strong.”

Everyone silently agreed.

After all, none of them had ever seen Tsuna fight before. They only knew of his strange abilities, so they assumed his personal combat strength wasn’t that high. But now they realized—his power wasn’t just strange. It was overwhelming. His skills, his body, his presence—everything about him was beyond standard measure.

“Of course. He’s always been like that.”

Tione lifted her chin proudly, almost smug. Finn smiled faintly but added a quiet reminder.

“Remember—Tsunayoshi’s true strength is classified information. You must be careful about that. His ability and his personal power cannot be equated, and we cannot allow the other Gods to think they can.”

Every Adventurer nodded in understanding. Information about Tsunayoshi was highly confidential. The less that leaked to the outside world, the better. Keeping it all hidden was for everyone’s sake.