Chapter 263: The Ring Battle Arc
"Nexus is done, so now it's time to catch up on some manga. After all, I am a manga reviewer," Daniel said, stretching as he opened the latest chapter of Katekyō Hitman Reborn! on Picca Comics' website. He closed his eyes for a moment, looking like he was savoring the moment.
Katekyō Hitman Reborn! had been getting better and better. After the Black Spell Arc wrapped up, the story had a brief period of normalcy, and now Tsuna and his friends were plunging into a new arc. Daniel dubbed this one the "Ring Battle Arc."
After the Black Spell Arc ended, Tsuna thought he could finally lead a peaceful life, but soon he found himself dragged into an even bigger conflict within the Vongola family. This arc focused on the battle for the inheritance of the Vongola rings between Tsuna's group and the special assassination squad, Varia, led by the ninth boss's adopted son.
To be honest, Daniel had somewhat expected this kind of plot development as soon as he started reading Katekyō Hitman Reborn!. After all, in stories about crime families, such conflicts were pretty common. And considering the Vongola family was so huge and in the middle of a succession crisis, it wasn't realistic to expect everyone to agree on Tsuna, a mere student, as the next boss.
So, this kind of storyline was inevitable—classic but still a good way to develop the plot.
What really surprised Daniel, though, was how skilled the Porter was at crafting this story. Characters who had appeared during the slice-of-life chapters were cleverly brought back into the narrative, and the concept of the family guardians was becoming more fleshed out. The characters had distinct personalities, and the antagonists were genuinely intimidating. The story was really hitting its stride.
The plot was tightly woven, with many elements that Daniel hadn't noticed before being carefully laid out from the start. When a new subplot emerged later on, it didn't feel out of place at all.
One of the changes that made Daniel particularly excited was a tweak Ren made to the original story. In the original version, what frustrated Ren the most was how the crucial matter of choosing the next boss was handled through a series of matches. And worse, the rings earned through those matches were all taken back during the final showdown. What was the point of the earlier matches, then?
So Ren used a different approach—an attack storyline. Although the Vongola rings weren't entirely taken by Varia, some of them were, and Varia even launched an assault on Tsuna and his friends in China to steal the remaining rings. Although the attack didn't succeed, it did manage to anger Tsuna and his guardians.
After finding out Varia's temporary base in China, they launched a counterattack. However, they were still outnumbered by Varia.
Tsuna and his team were like a bunch of ADCs, tanks, and junglers, all dealing AD damage, but facing Varia's AP mage Mammon, a small baby dressed in a purple robe and one of the Arcobaleno. Tsuna's team was at a disadvantage and was getting overwhelmed. Even Lambo was severely injured and unconscious from the battle.
And this was all before Varia's leader even showed up!
But in the last chapter, just as Tsuna's team was in deep trouble, two unexpected characters appeared before them and Daniel.
It was Chikusa and Ken, two of Mukuro's followers who had first appeared during the Black Spell Arc.
"If Chikusa and Ken are here, then Mukuro must be around too, right?" Daniel speculated.
Back during the Black Spell Arc, Daniel had already guessed that Mukuro might end up joining the protagonist's team, especially when a boy with a numbered eye appeared in the stands during the final match. This suggested that although Mukuro's body was imprisoned, his spirit was still free. In other words, his spirit had "escaped."
Hmm... Daniel paused for a second, realizing that "spiritual escape" didn't quite sound right. But never mind, back to the manga!
As Daniel eagerly read the latest chapter of Katekyō Hitman Reborn!, he was met with a surprise.
"Wait, a genderbent version of Mukuro?"
In this chaotic battlefield, instead of the male Mukuro that Daniel had expected, a young girl appeared. This girl had a strange name and an even stranger appearance—she was called Chrome Dokuro.
But despite the differences, there were striking similarities between her and Mukuro. The weapon she used and her hairstyle were almost identical to Mukuro's. If she wasn't somehow related to Mukuro, Daniel thought, he'd change his surname to Porter!
Though the Vongola family members were initially skeptical of Chrome, Reborn suddenly appeared from the shadows of Varia's base, which he had somehow remodeled. He confidently declared, "She is your Mist Guardian, Tsuna!"
Given Reborn's usual mysteriousness and Tsuna's firm support, the others reluctantly accepted Chrome as one of their own and fought alongside her.
At first, Chrome seemed incredibly strong, quickly dispelling Mammon's illusions and engaging him in battle. With Mammon distracted, the Vongola family's chances started looking up. However, Tsuna and his team were still outnumbered.
Varia, being an assassination squad, wasn't one to play fair. Their priority was to complete their mission. Seeing that they were losing ground after Chrome's arrival, they quickly split their forces and attacked the unconscious Lambo.
To protect Lambo, Chrome left herself open to Mammon, who shattered her trident.
"What the—! That's so cheap!"
"They're even targeting a little kid?"
Seeing this, many fans were outraged by Varia's dirty tactics. Lambo had become a fan favorite, especially during the slice-of-life chapters, where his tearful attempts to hold back his crying had made readers want to reach into the manga and give him a good smack on the head.
But it wasn't just Lambo's predicament that shocked everyone. It was revealed that Chrome's internal organs were actually being held together by Mukuro's illusions!
Just when everyone was starting to worry about Chrome, Mukuro's voice suddenly echoed through the panels.
"Well done, my dear Chrome."
As those words were spoken, the fear in Chrome's eyes faded away, and her sunken abdomen began to swell back to normal.
"You can rest now."
Chrome stood up, covering her right eye with her hand. The eyepatch she had been wearing slowly fell away, revealing a single digit in the space between her fingers—six!
At that moment, Daniel knew exactly what had happened.
Mukuro had returned!
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