I am the protagonist

He's capable enough and intelligent enough; all he lacks is a little bit of composure.

Gokudera's only weakness has now been changed by his own efforts.

From this moment on, Gokudera was a completely different person from the one in the past.

Chrome still didn't quite understand.

"But Boss, what if the Phantom Knight uses illusion magic as cover for a quick melee attack?"

"In that situation, Gokudera, who is skilled in ranged combat, wouldn't be able to do anything, would he?"

The Phantom Knight's advantage lies in illusion magic and perfectly coordinated swordsmanship.

Once these two advantages are grasped, even Gokudera might not be able to withstand the Phantom Knight's close combat.

"Chrome, you said these Phantom Knights have already tried it."

Tsuna knew perfectly well what Chrome was saying, but none of it mattered.

"The Phantom Knight's illusion magic is quite excellent, and his swordsmanship is also quite good, but everything he does is restricted by Gokudera."

"Look carefully."

Chrome stared intently at the battle unfolding over there.

“Gokudera saw through every close-range move of the Phantom Knight and, ignoring the Phantom Knight’s illusions, directly targeted the Phantom Knight himself.”

Chrome noticed this as well after looking closely.

"That's true!"

Gokudera blocked all of Phantom Knight's close-range preparations, and even warned Phantom Knight with bullets of higher purity every time he engaged in close combat.

Although the Phantom Knight made many moves and its illusions were always difficult to catch, every attack was directly suppressed by Gokudera, almost leaving the Phantom Knight unable to breathe.

"This is one of the reasons why I am optimistic about Gokudera."

"Unlike Sasagawa and Yamamoto, who are action-oriented, Gokudera is actually a representative of the theoretical school."

"You can gather enough information just by watching from the sidelines without having to experience it firsthand. You can gain a lot of practical experience from observing. This is Gokudera's special talent."

Tsuna paused for a moment, a smile appearing on his face.

"Perhaps this is not a talent, but an ability that only Gokudera can master."

Chapter 81 The Tacit Understanding Between Two People Upon Their First Meeting

"It looks like it's about the same."

Chrome immediately dispelled the illusion.

Tsunayoshi stepped out from behind the illusion and into the spotlight.

"!?"

The Phantom Knight, who was in the middle of the battle, immediately noticed this.

[Illusion!?]

Could it be that my five senses were controlled from the very beginning?

Seeing illusions is evidence that one's five senses are not under one's control.

It is because the five senses are controlled that one sees hallucinations.

The Phantom Knight, who was extremely confident in his illusions and abilities, was truly astonished at this moment.

Have the Vongola's sorcerers really fallen to this level?

At this moment, Phantom Knight finally understood why he hadn't worried about the Vongola sorcerers after witnessing the strength of Sasagawa Ryohei and the others.

It wasn't that he didn't consider that direction, but rather that he was so influenced by illusions that he neglected to think about the Vongola sorcerers.

They can even control my thoughts.

[...The Vongola's sorcerers are far more terrifying than the three men before them.]

Even now, the Phantom Knight still doesn't understand why he fell under the opponent's illusion.

This also made him realize that his illusion magic was simply not on the same level as his opponent's.

It was only at this moment that he realized who among these guardians was truly the strongest.

It's not Sasagawa Ryohei.

It wasn't Takeshi Yamamoto either.

It certainly wouldn't be Gokudera Hayato.

Instead, it was Chrome Dokuro, the Vongola Mist Guardian who always stood beside Vongola X and seemed harmless!

This discovery made the Phantom Knight even more cautious.

"This is none of your business. You can go back now."

Tsuna did not intend to kill the Phantom Knight here.

He had no intention of killing such a loyal and righteous person.

However, Tsuna knew that letting him go this time didn't mean he wouldn't show up in front of him next time, but even so, Tsuna didn't intend to kill him.

"!?"

Phantom Knight found it strange that Vongola X didn't have any intention of killing him.

"Aren't you going to kill me?"

"I'm not particularly interested in you, but of course, if you're looking for death, I wouldn't mind sending you to your death."

The Phantom Knight glanced at Lord Irie behind him and took a deep breath.

His murderous aura suddenly surged.

Indigo flames of death enveloped his entire body, shrouding him completely.

"As expected of a loyal and righteous person, instead of trying to escape alone, he wants to take the person away from me."

Such a loyal and righteous person as Tsunayoshi truly lost the will to kill him.

Even if the other party doesn't appreciate it now and isn't planning to leave alone... no, it should be said that it's precisely because the other party is unwilling to escape alone and stays here that Tsuna doesn't want to kill him.

"when!"

With a tilt of his head, he blocked the attack of four swords with just one finger.

"!?"

[One finger!]

【How can it be! ? 】

The Phantom Knight couldn't comprehend such a gap at all.

Even in his wildest dreams, he never imagined that the gap between himself and Vongola X would be so vast.

She not only saw through his illusion instantly, but also blocked his sword with just one finger.

"Impossible, my sword wouldn't be so easily defeated...!?"

Without even glancing at the Phantom Knight, he discovered that his sword had been completely petrified.

[When exactly was the ability to harmonize the Sky's powers done?]

Upon seeing the petrified sword, the Phantom Knight understood why his sword had been blocked.

It might be difficult to block the sharp tip of a sword.

However, it is not difficult to block the brittle cement; even he himself can do it.

"I have no intention of killing someone like you, but you're just too much trouble. I'll just cut a hole in your stomach and let you calm down."

The Phantom Knight had to brace himself.

Before he could even concentrate, the ice spike had already pierced his stomach, leaving him suspended in mid-air.

"No, it's impossible..."

[The eyes didn't see it at all, and even the sensation only lasted for a split second. How could a human possibly move at such speed!]

The cold air numbed his entire body, and even the Phantom Knight couldn't control himself from releasing his sword.

But even at this moment, the Phantom Knight still couldn't understand.

[The activation time of the Death Flame should never be this fast; it should only take the blink of an eye.]

No, even if it were just a blink of an eye, I could have noticed. But it wasn't even a blink of an eye; it was just a fleeting moment.

Such a powerful ice spike could not possibly be generated so quickly, much less pierce through his body on the spot.

There must be some reason behind this... there must be some reason behind this...

However, the Phantom Knight couldn't understand what kind of situation that was.

Why was he pierced through the body by an ice spike in that instant?

"Ok?"

A slight look of surprise flashed across Tsunayoshi's face.

[I really wasn't planning on gaining experience this time, but I didn't expect that defeating him would give me enough experience to level up.]

This guy isn't a mini-boss; he seems to be a mid-boss.

Although the situation was different from what Tsunayoshi had initially expected, he had gained valuable experience this time, and he was even less inclined to kill the Phantom Knight.

The ice spike that pierced through the Phantom Knight transformed into an icy hand, grabbing his body and throwing him directly towards Sasagawa and the others.

“Sagawa heals him, then tells him to get lost.”

They said they wouldn't kill, and they meant it.

Tsuna himself keeps his word.

"oh oh."

Sasagawa was a little bewildered by this sudden situation.

However, after catching the phantom knight who was thrown at him, he began to help him recover from the stomach wound that Sawada had pierced.

Tsuna slowly turned around and looked at the screen.

"Shouldn't our game begin soon?"

"Magnolia".

The screen, which had been dark, suddenly lit up.

A group of people appeared on the screen, along with the Vongola's greatest enemy.

"Our game...that's right, our game should begin."

"!?"

Everyone stared in shock at the screen where Bai Lan appeared.

"Hmm~ But it seems your people aren't ready yet. Should I wait for you?"

"Heh~ That's true. They might still have some trouble dealing with your people right now, so let's postpone it for two weeks before the start."

"Two weeks, huh? That's fine too."

Everyone listening to Byakuran and Tsuna's conversation, which sounded like that between friends, was starting to get confused about their relationship.

"You'll probably need some more time to prepare, right?"

"After all, this is the end of this eternal game you created. Aren't you going to let him come out for a stroll?"

"...Ah, he does need to make some preparations, but the prelude is in two weeks, but we don't need to call him out for the prelude yet."

A slight smile curved Bai Lan's lips.

"So you knew about it too."

"Heh~ This boring game is gradually getting boring to me too. It's amazing that you can go through so many cycles in this game."

A hint of helplessness appeared on Bai Lan's face.

"There's nothing I can do about it. I never expected it to turn out this way."