Conquer the world, young man!

[This system has already stated that everything is for the host's benefit, but unfortunately, the host just doesn't understand this system's feelings. Sad...]

Totsuka ignored the system's sudden change to an artsy tone, but his words were directly and decisively refuted by Tsuna. It could be said that Tsuna had never faced him so seriously before.

"No!" Sawada Tsunayoshi hadn't expected the boy to want to go alone. He was already so weak, yet he still wanted to go so as not to worry him and to protect others. Just thinking about it made Sawada Tsunayoshi's feelings for the boy even more complicated. He said almost firmly, "Tatara, you stay here. I'll be back as soon as possible."

Having said that, Sawada Tsunayoshi poured out a Dying Will Pill and swallowed it, immediately entering Hyper Dying Will Mode. At this moment, his hands were clenched into fists, his brows were furrowed, orange flames burned on his forehead, and his eyes, which had also turned orange, glanced at Reborn and said in a deep voice, "Reborn, please take care of Tatara and Yuni."

Flames ignited on the metal gloves on his hands, propelling Sawada Tsunayoshi directly towards the other side of the forest.

"Huh?" Totsuka didn't expect Tsuna's reaction to be so quick, and that he would rush out like that. "Reborn, I have to go too."

Reborn pulled down his hat brim, his lips devoid of any smile, and said almost calmly, "That idiot Tsuna thinks I can stop you from going out, but I also know very well that Tatara is a very opinionated person. I suppose even if I try to stop you, you'll still go."

"I'm sorry." Totsuka bowed in Reborn's direction and said softly, "I have a reason to go, and I can't agree to Tsuna's and your request. I'm really sorry."

"Heh, then you'd better come back safely." Reborn chuckled, his tone becoming more relaxed. "I don't want to see Tsuna looking like a fool when he comes back."

"Tsuna will be alright too." Saying this, Totsuka turned his back, switched on his flight ability, and then took off and chased after the direction Tsuna had flown.

GHOST is a being with long, yellow hair, a slightly translucent body that emits a fluorescent glow—or rather, not quite human. He roams the forest, never attacking, but instead absorbing all flames into his body. Like a giant, walking mass of fire, he absorbs the flames of others, making him a monster utterly insurmountable for those who fight with fire.

When Totsuka arrived, he found that the enormous, walking energy entity held immense attraction for him. To put it another way, it was like placing a pot of fragrant roast chicken in front of someone who hadn't eaten for three days; just looking at it made his mouth water.

Green fluorescent strips extended from GHOST's body, attaching themselves to people or box weapons with flames, absorbing all their flames into his body. After suppressing his urge to eat, Totsuka noticed that the original six funerary flowers now seemed to consist only of the visual kei entertainer named Kikyo.

"What a bunch of idiots who can't tell friend from foe." Totsuka sighed inwardly. It was clearly a monster released by Byakuran's side, but even his own companions were absorbed?

The Vongola companions around him were also trying to attack the massive lump of fire, but to no avail. As Ghost absorbed more and more flames, his body seemed to be surrounded by lightning. Totsuka's flight speed wasn't slow, but she was still slightly surprised to see Tsuna flying straight towards Ghost.

Honestly, Tsuna would be quite annoyed if he saw that he had come without permission. But he really couldn't resist anymore; the allure of GHOST was too strong for him.

Totsuka stopped hiding and flew directly towards GHOST.

"It's you!" Kikyo, who was being stuck to GHOST and absorbing the flames, immediately saw the gorgeously dressed figure flying over. The peony crown and deer antler mask swayed slightly in the wind, and if you looked closely, you could see the face of the boy under the mask.

Totsuka glanced at Kikyo, a slight smile playing on her lips. "Oh, I didn't expect you to be the only one left. You're lucky." As she said this, Totsuka reached out and pulled off the fluorescent strips on Kikyo's body. "Considering how fashionable and novel your outfit is, it's a bit of a waste that it was absorbed so much."

For anyone else, the green fluorescent strips would almost automatically cover the flames and absorb them. But the fluorescent strips that GHOST extended from were twisting violently when they touched the boy's hand. They seemed to be consciously trying to break free, even retreating, but the boy held them firmly in his hand, unable to move.

When Totsuka touched the fluorescent strip that absorbed the flames, he was filled with awe and ecstasy, as if he had taken his first bite of chicken. Power, or rather, the power that soothed his soul, flowed into his body through the fluorescent strip in his palm. Everything froze instantly—the sounds of attack, conversation, and even the still-moving GHOST all ceased.

The boy in the sky, dressed in a gorgeous kimono and wearing a mask and headdress, and the huge, semi-transparent GHOST remained motionless. No matter how you look at it, the scene was somewhat surreal.

When Sawada Tsunayoshi arrived, he was about to make a move but froze. His expressionless face showed obvious confusion, and with worry, he shouted loudly, "Tatara, what are you doing here!"

Sawada Tsunayoshi's words were like a switch being flipped. Those in the forest who witnessed this, whether from the Vongola or Varia, couldn't help but start discussing it.

"Tatara, it really is him in that outfit!" This was the first time Yamamoto Takeshi had seen the boy in ten years, but the scene left him bewildered and unable to confirm it.

Sasakawa Ryohei, standing next to Yamamoto Takeshi, frowned and said with great concern, "Why is Totsuka-kun here? He was already very weak when he treated me before the battle!"

"Hehehe, the prince has met the princess again." Ten years later, Belphegor laughed loudly and strangely, his shoulders shaking with laughter, but his expression was extremely happy. "She is still the princess from ten years ago, as beautiful as ever."

A boy with emerald green hair, wearing a giant frog hat and perched on a tree branch, spoke casually upon seeing his teammates: "Does a prince (fake) also have a princess he likes? I think that princess would never be interested in you, senpai~"

"No parentheses for fake!" Belphegor pulled out three small knives and stabbed them into the frog hat of the person next to him. "Shut up, frog!"

Despite being stabbed by the knife, the green-haired boy continued expressionlessly, "Ouch, you idiot senior~ I think that person isn't the fallen prince's princess, but rather someone very important, right, Master?"

The person who appeared beside the green-haired boy at some point was a long-haired man with blue-purple hair and an oddly styled haircut. He was tall and slender, holding a trident-like weapon, and his gaze was fixed intently upwards. The man curled his lips into a smile, and a hint of amusement appeared in his heterochromatic eyes. "I never expected to see him when I was released from prison."

"Master, I'm very curious, is that a fairy that came out of an ancient painting?" The boy wearing the frog hat turned to face the man. "It seems that many people are interested in that fairy, even Master is attracted to it."

A trident pierced directly into the green-haired boy's frog hat. Ten years later, Rokudo Mukuro snorted, "Shut up, Fran."

The boy called Fran tilted his head and continued expressionlessly, "Ah, I understand now. Master and the Fallen Prince have definitely fallen for the fairy. I deeply regret that everyone is still alive. Fairies are truly good fairies who save people."

This time, Belphegor threw several more knives at Fran's hat.

"Ten years ago... Tatara?" Dino, the blond man from ten years in the future, looked in surprise at the motionless boy who was already confronting Ghost. "How could he be here!"

“He’s a really strange person.” Squalo, with his long silver hair, frowned, then said, “But if it’s him, this kind of scene seems normal. Jump Horse, it seems the Vongola still has a secret weapon.”

Martino shook his head and looked in the sky in the direction of Sawada Tsunayoshi. "Tsuna looks so surprised. It seems he didn't know that Tatara would go head-to-head with Ghost."

"That's really impressive. Even though Ghost's whole body is electrified, it doesn't affect him at all." Squalo said, looking at Ghost, who was completely still and quiet in the boy's hands, despite everyone else being helpless against him.

Dino tightened his grip. "Tatara..." Their flames and box weapons had been absorbed by GHOST, so they couldn't help at all.

Hibari Kyoya, standing alone to one side, snorted coldly with displeasure: "He actually came too, how dare he!"

"BOSS?" Levi looked at XANXUS, whose expression had changed, and asked with some doubt, "It's him..."

"Scum, how dare you show your face here." XANXUS said this, but a relaxed smile appeared on his face, and he even laughed out loud. "Haha, he's just that brat from ten years ago. Taking him down now should be a piece of cake!"

Levi's face twitched, and he quickly said, "Boss, he is an important member of the Vongola."

"Trash!" XANXUS glanced coldly at Levi and scoffed, "Either tie that brat up and take him to Varia. Varia's chef needs a change!"

Levi chuckled dryly and took a step back. Kidnapping was something that could be done with the cooperation of Totsuka ten years ago; now, there wouldn't even be a chance. That guy had far too many powerful figures around him.

Regardless of what the people gathered in the forest were thinking, Totsuka was currently focused on savoring what he found to be an extremely delicious meal.

The previously silent Ghost gradually lost all its fluorescent bands, leaving only the one held in the boy's hand. At this moment, Ghost seemed to finally understand pain, raising its head and roaring. This roar made the surrounding people break out in a cold sweat, while they concentrated their remaining attack power on Ghost.

Shizuku swept his gaze around and shouted, "Everyone, don't waste your flames! They're of no use to me!"

"What on earth is going on?" Sawada Tsunayoshi flew to Totsuka's side. GHOST tried to extend a fluorescent band to absorb the flames, but the boy blocked its path. Sawada Tsunayoshi looked at the object in the boy's hand, his heart pounding with tension, but his Hyper Dying Will state completely concealed it. "His power..."

Totsuka nodded, and his pale face beneath the mask seemed to regain some color. "That's right, his power is being absorbed by me now."

Everyone was stunned by those words. Sawada Tsunayoshi possessed the ability to absorb flames, but even he struggled greatly when faced with such a massive chunk of fire. The boy, however, seemed to have it all done with remarkable ease; could he absorb such immense power simply by touching GHOST?

The protective shield that Ghost had originally possessed seemed to be melting away, becoming increasingly transparent. But Totsuka frowned at this moment, glaring at Ghost with obvious dissatisfaction. "Wait, I've absorbed everyone's flames, why am I still not satisfied..." Indeed, Totsuka's soul was currently in a state of hunger, and he couldn't get enough energy from Ghost. He also felt that someone was using Ghost to steal the energy he needed!

"You're really sensitive, aren't you, little Duo-chan from ten years ago." A slightly cloying voice suddenly came from the azure sky, "Are you going to devour the other me?"

"Lord Byakuran..." Kikyo, who had been saved by the boy, sat on the ground, staring blankly at the person who appeared in the sky.

Totsuka looked up and saw a figure entirely white above him, momentarily dizzy. The figure had short, slightly upturned white hair, wore a white shirt and a long white trench coat, and had purplish-blue eyes with a purple crown-like mark under his left eye. Upon hearing how the others addressed this person, Totsuka immediately understood that this was Byakuran, the BOSS who wanted to rule the world.

"Bai Lan?" Totsuka tilted her head, rubbing her eyes with one hand. "It's really blindingly white. What do you mean by 'the other you'?"

"Well, you were quite cute ten years ago." Byakuran tried to descend from above to get closer to the boy, but Sawada Tsunayoshi blocked his way. While looking at Sawada Tsunayoshi, he said to the boy, "That's me from another world. Little Do-chan, aren't you trying to eat me?"

Totsuka then took a closer look at Ghost. Upon closer inspection, his face did indeed resemble Byakuran's, and he also had the inverted crown mark under his right eye. "Byakuran, we're not that close, are we? Don't use that kind of title to address me. Also... the flames that Ghost absorbed, you used them, didn't you?"

"I originally wanted to absorb more, but I didn't expect that Xiaoduo-chan would ruin my plan." Bai Lan's tone was somewhat lamenting, but she still had a smile on her face. "However, it's not a bad deal to exchange a GHOST for the chance to see you."

Totsuka felt increasingly awkward. Why was this enemy speaking in such an ambiguous way? He thought that his future self, ten years from now, would never associate with such a strange person!

"Is Little Duo thinking about our relationship ten years from now?" Byakuran narrowed her eyes and chuckled. "It's because Little Duo from ten years from now doesn't pay attention to me, so I can only hope that Little Duo from ten years ago would pay more attention to me."

"Hey, system, what's going on?!" Tokuzuki couldn't help but call on the system to answer this question.

[It seems that Byakuran, who has transcended time and space, is very interested in the host. In any case, the host should focus on absorbing GHOST for now.]

[Just absorb all the GHOST directly, so that your soul can be nourished. The way you're eating so politely is too slow. This system will help you out.]

As soon as the system finished speaking, Shishu felt the fluorescent ribbon in his hand suddenly swell up, the green ribbon enveloping his entire body. Like a cocoon, it covered Shishu's entire body, a sight that once again astonished everyone present.

Sawada Tsunayoshi tried to use flames to split the cocoon, but was blocked by a layer of light and could not get close.

"Byakuran, what have you done?" Sawada Tsunayoshi clenched his fists and glared at Byakuran, his enemy.

"Huh?" Byakuran looked at the cocoon emitting a shimmering light, somewhat puzzled. "Is it Little Duo's new ability? It actually changed GHOST's entire form, turning it into a pure energy body?"

"Byakuran!" Sawada Tsunayoshi could no longer contain his worry for the boy. He threw a punch at Byakuran, "What do you want to do to Tatara?"

Byakuran easily dodged Sawada Tsunayoshi's attack, laughing in mid-air, "I didn't do anything! It's just that Tsuna is so interesting. There are always so many more strange things happening to him. Things that even I don't understand at all, haha, that's great!"

Byakuran laughed heartily, a genuine joy emanating from him. The cocoon enveloping the boy remained still, yet the life force within it was palpable. Byakuran's smile grew even sweeter as he shifted his gaze from the cocoon to Sawada Tsunayoshi. "Since Tsuna-chan is busy right now, let's have a good chat with Tsuna-kun first."

Byakuran glanced around at the group of people below. "You really are a busybody, Tsuna-kun. Both Mukuro and Xanxus were people who wanted to kill you. Taking these people as your subordinates is simply insane."

"Hey, trash." XANXUS lowered his head, his slightly long hair, now grown over ten years, obscuring his face.

Byakuran turned her head and looked in XANXUS's direction. "Hmm?"

"Let me make this clear beforehand, I can..." XANXUS raised his gun with his right hand, channeling flames into it and firing directly at Byakuran, "I'm not Sawada's subordinate!"

“That’s right.” Rokudo Mukuro agreed with XANXUS at this moment. “I never expected that someone would confuse me with the Mafia. It’s really unexpected.” The ring on his hand transformed into a huge thorny monster that pierced directly into the sky.

Through the smoke, Byakuran's tone was relaxed and carefree, "Is that so? I'm sorry. But I see you're all exhausted, with such weak and feeble attacks." After the smoke cleared, Byakuran was still standing unharmed in the air, "But I can't blame you. Everyone's flames were absorbed by GHOST, and everyone's out of fuel."

"Don't underestimate me." XANXUS gripped both pistols in his hands and said coldly.

Rokudo Mukuro also pointed his trident at the figure in the sky, a cold smile playing on his lips. "Then you can see for yourself whether we're really out of fuel."

"You two actually dare to accept the challenge on your own?" Hibari Kyoya stepped forward, his school uniform still fluttering in the wind. He placed his crutches in front of him, but his gaze couldn't help but drift towards the cocoon in the air.

Byakuran's provocative words ignited everyone's anger. Sawada Tsunayoshi, however, stood in front of those who wanted to attack. In his Hyper Dying Will Mode, he simply waved his hand coldly and said, "Step back. He's my opponent." This usually timid and cowardly boy possessed unparalleled courage and determination at this moment. With the person he originally wanted to protect now in an unknown state, and facing this long-time enemy, Sawada Tsunayoshi only wanted to smash that bastard to the ground!

"Do you understand why I came here at this time, Tsuna-kun?" Byakuran finally dropped the sweet smile on his face, his blue-purple eyes meeting Sawada Tsunayoshi's. "I'm ready, both physically and mentally, but..." Byakuran glanced at Koko to the side, "I finally found such an interesting person, I can't let Tsuna-kun cause any obstacles."

Sawada Tsunayoshi's response to Byakuran's words was to rapidly approach and kick Byakuran, who was in the sky, away.

"Tenth Boss." Gokudera Hayato exclaimed, watching his leader fight, "Amazing! He'll definitely defeat Byakuran and rescue Lord Totsuka!"

"Tsuna already has this kind of ability?" Yamamoto thought to himself, a hearty smile spreading across his face.

But soon, as Sawada Tsunayoshi threw his next punch, it was blocked by a force. Byakuran's single finger blocked the punch that Sawada Tsunayoshi was throwing with all his might. Unlike the scene where he was originally sent flying by Sawada, Byakuran stood in the air and asked with a light laugh, "What, not moving anymore? Is this all the power you've used up? Then it's my turn."

Byakuran, his smile vanishing, suddenly emitted a bright white light from the finger he was pressing against Sawada Tsunayoshi, striking him directly. "White Finger."

With just that light touch, Sawada Tsunayoshi was struck as if by a cannonball, slamming deeply into the ground and creating a large crater in the surrounding area.

Byakuran, who easily knocked Sawada Tsunayoshi to the ground, smiled at the astonished crowd and said, "Although Koto-chan hindered my absorption of GHOST's flames, a considerable amount of flames are still stored in my body." As he said this, a light emanated from Byakuran's back, and two white wings, pure white like those of an angel, stretched out.

Inside the cocoon of light, Totsuka's soul was nourished by the energy of GHOST. If the chicken he had eaten before wasn't enough to fill his stomach, now it felt like a feast was being poured into him, leaving him feeling incredibly full. Swallowing a non-existent mouthful of saliva, Totsuka sighed contentedly, completely oblivious to the battle outside…

Chapter 127-123 The Ten-Year War Ends

"These wings of mine are not just mere flames." When everyone questioned the white wings behind Byakuran, Byakuran explained with a light laugh, "They are symbols."

“Symbolism?” No one understood the meaning of this “symbolism”.

Bai Lan seemed to know that these people couldn't understand, so she continued, "It is proof that I surpass humanity..."

Such a statement almost universally drew criticism for its arrogance. Martino immediately and angrily retorted, "What nonsense are you spouting?"

"Is he trying to say he's a god?" Squalo, standing next to Dino, shouted as well. Clearly, no one would agree with a human who thinks he has transcended the definition of humanity, or even speaks in a condescending tone.

"Hah~" Kikyo, now the only remaining true Six Funeral Wreaths following Byakuran, finally responded to these 'enemies', "God? Rather, Lord Byakuran is a demon worthy of worship." Even though she didn't understand why Byakuran released the Ghost and absorbed his companions, Kikyo still revered Lord Byakuran who saved her as always.

"Speaking of which, it seems none of you know this." Bai Lan's smile reappeared, his gaze falling on the cocoon of light floating in mid-air, his blue-purple eyes full of laughter. "There is a being here who transcends humanity and can truly be called a god. I just didn't expect that he would manifest here as a spirit. It seems that my other self is the 'food' to replenish his soul."