A/N: Is it an update!? Yes, it is. After nine freakin' months, I have finally updated. Blame the damn writer's block and busy life... Still, that's no excuse to keep you waiting for this long u.u I can't promise you, however, that the next chapter will be soon... The writer's block is still present, not as much as before, but it's still haunting me...

Anyway, enough about this. Hereby I present you the next chapter! P.S.: I recommend rereading the past few chapters for a better flow/understanding :')

Watching the grown up man jump from one leg to the other, I narrowed my eyes as I kept track of his energy. His base power has multiplied by at least five after Kangaryuu provided his Flame-emitting gloves, and the sensation was overwhelming. Feeling my accelerated heartbeat in my throat, I shuffled my foot backwards, as I slightly bended through my knees getting ready for either defence or offence. Forking the index and middle finger of my clammy right hand, I licked my dry lips. It was only a friendly spar, but I felt that I might die if I let my guard down for even less than a second. There was no telling what the Sun Guardian could do with his new power.

"A small piece of warning, though." Ryohei spoke while still jumping in place. "These fists are nothing like before, and it'd be actually better if you don't take a direct hit."

Instinctively I already knew that taking a direct hit might be dangerous, but still, I was stumped at the comment. My shoulders slumped and I could only look at him in surprise. However, the surprise was not for long as the corners of my lips crawled up. I couldn't really help it; of all my spar matches, this was the first time my partner warned me of avoiding a direct hit.

"I'll keep it in mind. Thanks for the consideration, though." I replied as the Sun Guardian smirked.

"Well then, let the second round start!"

The moment the line left his lips, he immediately charged in at a speed much more incredible than before. Barely seeing a blur coming at me, my body turned away instinctively as I felt the sharp gush of air slicing my cheek. Instantly, an alarming sensation raced throughout my body, and I realised that Ryohei's speed and power exceeded Ivan's, meaning that I could really die if I took one of those punches head on.

Without a second thought, I launched my own fist in the momentum of my turn to strike him, however, before it could connect, Ryohei got in defence as he started to circle around me at high speed, creating almost life like after-images. Locking onto the original's life force, I changed my stance to an upright one. Sensing the boxer coming from the left, I raised my left arm in defence, however, something felt off. Instead, I turned around my axis as I raised my wrist, blocking the ghostly punch.

As a dull echo reverberated from the collision, I clenched my jaws together at the impact. It wasn't a direct hit, but it was certain powerful enough to feel the pain radiate through my whole arm. Channelling energy to my wrist, which was locked with the Guardian's outer forearm, I evened out in power. Meeting his grey orbs, the corners of my lips travelled up as a bitter chuckle escaped.

"You didn't joke at all when you warned me about your fists." I said, putting more power in my arm to push back the boxer. "Nice faint, by the way."

Ryohei smirked as he, too, put more strength in his arm, pushing me back instead. "I had hoped you'd block that one."

"Hm… and why's that?" I gritted through my teeth as I steadied my feet to keep myself from sliding. No matter how much power he had gained, I didn't feel like losing in a power contest.

"'Cause the Silent Cracker used this single move to defeat me in the first and only match we had."

While I knew out of experience that Ivan uses faints in his fights, I did not expect to hear that Ryohei lost against him. At least, not with the power he possesses now. On the other hand, if he fought Ivan without the power of his Ring, then it was possible that he lost.

Ryohei noticed the slight distraction I had, and instantly he retracted his outstretched arm, followed by an uppercut as offence. Evading the attack, I pushed myself backwards, doing a back flip as I sensed the Sun Guardian charge in again. When I was back on my feet, I immediately bended through my knees to get even lower, dodging the incoming straight. Not wasting the opportunity, I grabbed his outstretched arm and pulled him towards me as I jumped up for a kick, only to be blocked by the boxer's free arm. Still mid-air, I raised my other leg and my knee connected to the Guardian's chin. As he was blown back a couple of metres, a painful groan escaped my throat as an electric bolt went from my knee to the rest of my body.

"You fuckin' rock chin!" I hollered, feeling a tear appear in the corner of my eye. "Fuck, man."

However, I couldn't be distressed for long as I sensed Ryohei charge in after an inaudible chuckle. Spinning around, I side-stepped evading his attack, only to find another fist. Alarmed, I pushed my feet, jumping back several metres, merely to sense another incoming left straight. Side-stepping, I avoided once more the attack, again to meet another punch. Gritting my teeth together I kept dodging the attacks as I looked for an opening to counterattack. However, his offence was getting faster and faster, and keeping up had become more and more difficult.

"If I could do something about his feet…" I groaned inwardly, as dry air frantically entered and left my lungs. Catching my breath had become harder with each move and I wouldn't last long anymore. "If I could stop him from moving for just for a second…"

Low kick.

As if a soft whisper gave me a hint, my body reacted instinctively to it. The moment I dodged the straightforward, I dropped myself on my hands as my feet swept across the floor, forcing Ryohei to jump up. In that moment, I noticed a slight opening in his posture and without a second thought, I pushed myself back on my feet as I spun around the floating man while collecting power for the counter. The moment I got into position, Ryohei turned around mid-air and with lightning speed, he launched his right fist. Not expecting him to see through, I raised both my arms in defence, knowing that I couldn't avoid his attack in time. Channelling all chakra channels, I prepared myself for the full-blown impact. The moment it connected, an erratic sting radiated from my arms to the smallest fibre of my being and from that moment on, I knew I had majorly miscalculated the force behind the blow. Feeling my feet leave the ground, I gritted my teeth for the next impact, only to gasp out grievously as my back hit the steel-like surface, allowing all air to escape.

For a time that felt like eternity, it was silent. Dead silent. Everything was blanked out. It was not until my arms slumped down that my head started to spin. Wheezing for air, a buzz reverberated in my ears as my back came loose. Before I could even register it, I met the cold, hard, floor face on as I kept coughing, trying to recall what in the world just had happened.

"Damn it… Hey, Sharon, are you alive!?" I heard Ryohei call faintly, almost muted. "Hey, Sharon!?"

"Right. He sent me flying, literally." I chuckled bitterly, regretting it immediately. As my breathing slowly stabilised, I winced at even the slightest movement while clenching my teeth to keep the growls from escaping. It felt like every single bone in my body was broken, and it wouldn't surprise me if that was actually true. I thought that I knew Ryohei's estimate strength, but considering my current situation, I thought wrong. His explosive power behind that last move was definitely not within my calculations. Nonetheless I laughed softly. To think that I would meet someone who had so much more raw power than my Uncle was, in a sense, incredible. Ryohei has truly become formidable.

"Hang in there. I'm going to heal your right away." Ryohei's dull voice echoed as another flash of yellow light appeared in the corner of my eyes. When he turned me around, an unholy cry came out of my throat as I felt my consciousness fade. However, before I could black out, a ticklish, but warm sensation appeared to the side of my head, clearing my head.

At the same time, I was more aware of the sharp stings throughout my body and another howl escaped. Without a second thought, I channelled my Navel Chakra to speed up the healing process and slowly the pain subdued. While panting softly, I glanced at the man towering over me. He had an expression far too serious for his personality as he focussed on his glowing scalpel-like trowel.

"I apologise, Sharon." Ryohei softly spoke, still concentrating on his Flame. "Normally I don't use that technique in spars, but right after you did your low spin, I felt a sensation I only feel when my life is truly threatened. Without thinking, I launched Maximum Cannon."

Upon hearing the name of the technique, my eyes widened. "Maximum Cannon!?" I hoarsely repeated, aghast, as the Sun Guardian moved to another wound. "That technique where you unleash all your power in one attack?"

"Yeah, and normally my opponent is K.O. by it too. Even for days, if I may add." He said, glancing up to meet my eyes. His serious expression stayed for a second, before it turned into a small smile. Breaking off the eye contact, he resumed. "I was extremely surprised that you were still conscious. You're far more skilled than I initially thought, even more when we consider that you're not in shape. Just thinking what your full power might be, makes me brim with excitement. I feel we have a chance against Millefiore now."

For a moment, I didn't know what to say. I felt triumphant that I could handle his Maximum Cannon, to a very certain extent, but at the same time I felt a ton of pressure put on my shoulders. While I have confidence in my combat skills, it was not like I could handle Box Weapons with just my bare hands. I hadn't forgotten that my close combat skills are my strength, but as well as my weakness.

Sighing softly, I chuckled weakly, followed by a small growl. "You're giving me too much credit. I'm not that amazing." I sighed, closing my eyes. "Call me amazing when I can fully block your Maximum Cannon. It fucking hurts, man."

Peeking with one eye, his grey orbs met mine and we both shared a small laugh. Closing my eye again, I let Ryohei to do his job. While focussing on my own chakra, my mind was running at full throttle. I was not at ease in my current situation. I had to get stronger. Much more stronger. While I was aware that I was immobilised for a week and that I was against Ryohei, who was using his Flames, I couldn't shake off the feeling that I was still powerless. Moreover, during the match, I wasn't able to go into Hyper Dying Will mode, and that is what bothered me the most. Apparently, I can't channel all chakra points while in battle. The question remains, however, whether it is because of my comatose.

It took Ryohei probably a small thirty minutes to patch me up fully with his trowel, SaldatoredelSereno. I knew he noticed the quick recovery from my side, but he didn't say anything about it. He also decided to call it a day, saying that I had strained myself enough already. Not going to argue with that, I refreshed myself as I dressed myself in the smallest male-sized tank top, trousers and boots, along with the vanilla black Varia coat. Taking a mental note to ask Lussuria for some female battle clothing later, I walked out of the changing room, where Ryohei was already waiting. Looking at my appearance, he nodded.

"So, what are your plans? Do you want to retire for the evening or use the communication room?" Ryohei inquired as he started to walk.

Following the tall man, I answered. "Communication room."

Despite I told myself to regain my strength first, I still had to know the conditions of Tsuna and the others. Without them alive, there would be no world, or future, to save. Moreover, I, myself, needed to figure out how to move things from here.

Turning a corner, we walked into a more crowded hallway. Varia officers were heading to the opposite direction, and judging from the loud complaints of being hungry among other things, I guessed they were heading to the dining hall. While the majority didn't pay attention to us, a few did look back, creating the topic of the sudden existence of a female officer.

After several more corners, Ryohei halted in front of a closed automatic door. "We're here." He said, while pressing the numbers of the security code on the lock. With a soft beep, the doors opened and we entered a grandiose, formal, room. Dark velvet couches were placed in the middle, illuminated by a grand chandelier. Across the seats, several monitors were attached to the wall, wired to a large computer, and Ryohei walked straight towards the system. Standing in front of it, he crossed his arms as his brows slowly furrowed. "How does this work again?"

Blinking, I smiled sheepishly at his blunt statement. Not that I would blame him for forgetting, the system does look quite complicated. Not knowing whether I could help, I came closer and looked over the displays. However, I raised a brow when I saw the minimised window with an icon of a call bubble.

Glancing over to the man, I saw him still staring at the different icons on the screens. Not sure whether I should state the obvious, I slowly opened my mouth. However, before I could say anything, Ryohei took a small notebook from the inside of his jacket and flipped it open. "I've written it down, hold on a sec." Seeing the man nodding over his notes, I smiled slightly and waited for him to finish.

After several more hums of understanding, he lowered the little book and his free hand manoeuvred over the screens. Soon enough the video call program was on and Ryohei added additional numbers and letters from his notebook to the pre-existing sequence, before he turned back to me. "CEDEF Headquarters, right?" He said.

"No, Hibari's base in Namimori." I replied, shaking my head curtly. "The… uhm…"

Pausing, I furrowed my brows. I could recall Hibari having his own research group, located in Namimori and connected to Vongola's base, but I couldn't recall the name of the organisation.

"Oh, you mean The Foundation?" Ryohei nodded, already knowing what I was talking about. Facing the screen again, he changed the numbers and added another code-like line, copying it from another page of his little notebook. "That's right, I remember again. You asked Lussuria before for a way to contact him."

Tapping the connect-button, Ryohei closed the small book and put it back in the inner pocket of his jacket. As the line was connecting, he turned towards me. "Can I ask you why you want to contact Hibari? Knowing him, he should be just fine."

"As you know, I've been in this timeline before." I answered, debating whether I should tell him of the operation. Deciding to put it on hold, I continued. "Hibari knows of my previous presence and there is something I need to confirm with him."

Ryohei raised his eyebrows, and looked at me thoughtfully. "I don't fully understand, but knowing you, it has to do with your undercover op in Millefiore, right?"

"Yes, sort of."

Seeing lines being decoded at a rapid pace, I closed my eyes as I took a deep breath. "Ryohei," I started, looking directly in his grey orbs. "I'm really thankful to you, but I have to ask you to leave the room now."

His expression hardened as his brows lowered once more. "I see. Got it, Sharon." He nodded as he walked to the exit. Walking past me, he gave me a soft pat on my shoulder. "If anything happens, just howler. I'll rush back in to the extreme."

Smiling softly at his fitting actions, I nodded. "Thanks. Will do."

Hearing the automatic doors open and close, I seated myself on the couch as I watch the lines turn green one by one. Sensing Ryohei stand guard outside, I glanced around the room. Lussuria wasn't joking when he said whether the communication room was "not again destroyed by the rowdy boys". Some spots showed signs of violence and were not fully repaired yet. As the last line turn green, the screen went into static and my head turned back. Not long after a man with rough facial features appeared on the screen and my eyes slightly widened in recognition. After all, I know only one person who has a pompadour hairstyle in combination with a stalk of grass in the corner of his mouth, and that person is none other than Hibari's right-hand man, Kusakabe Tetsuya.

"L-L-L-Lin-dono!?" The man shouted in shock as he stood up abruptly. "You're alive!?"

Hearing the sound of a chair falling in the background, I could only smile weakly at his reaction. It was not unexpected to see Kusakabe, but I had hoped that Hibari himself would have picked up instead of him.

"Tetsu, what are you making a commotion for this early in the morning?" I heard another voice that I recognised. It belonged to the raven haired Cloud Guardian himself. "I'll bite you to death."

"K-Kyo-san…"

Sighing softly to myself, I smiled wryly. Whether it is Hibari of my time or Hibari of the future, both dislike disruption of whatever kind of peace. "Good morning, gentlemen." I spoke up, gaining the attention of Kusakabe and probably Hibari's. "My deepest apologies for calling you so early, but I need a word with you, Hibari-san. Let us say it's urgent."

As I was talking the man in question came into view and Kusakabe stepped aside to make space for his superior who was still in, what it looked like, his sleeping wear. Seeing Kusakabe almost trip over the fallen chair, I could only watch wryly as Hibari took over his subordinate's place.

"Hn… I see you're still alive, Lin. And at Varia's." The Cloud Guardian said as his brows furrowed slightly as he said the latter. "Tetsu, leave the room. Not a word to anyone about this."

Seeing the right-hand man picking up the office chair, he looked at the back of his boss and then back at me before answering. "Understood, Kyo-san."

I may not know Kusakabe that well, but at least I could tell from his expression that he was trustworthy. No matter who would ask, he wouldn't tell anyone that I was so-called alive or that he had seen me.

"Speak. What happened, Lin?" Hibari demanded the moment his subordinate left the room. "You fell off the radar after the first part of the operation."

"A malfunction to Irie's device caused me to teleport back to my own timeline." I answered, a bit surprised that he wasn't informed about this. "I got back about a week ago, however, I regained consciousness only today. Apparently Squalo found me and brought me back to Varia's headquarters."

The Guardian nodded in comprehension without much change in his facial expression. "Hn… Trento, was it?"

"Yes." I replied, brushing off the fact that he somehow knew to which base I went. Narrowing my eyes, I continued. "More importantly, Hibari, how is the situation in Namimori?"

At this question, Hibari's expression changed into slight irritation. "The herbivores made a commotion and made contact with Millefiore's Black Spell Third Squad's captain, Gamma, ten days ago. As a result Gokudera Hayato, and Yamamoto Takeshi were injured and have been immobilised for the past period. The women and children are adapting, and as for Sawada Tsunayoshi, he has been training with CEDEF's officer Lal Mirch under the infant's watch for the past week. According to Tetsu, he has made progress, but the level is far beneath his future self. It's far from satisfactory."

Hearing their names was a relief, both the teleportation and retrieval succeeded and thankfully they were all alive. However, that was the only positive thing. For some reason they made contact with Millefiore, and while there is still a probability that the rest of Millefiore don't know of their existence yet, the fact still remains that the younger Vongola generation have been discovered. I could only hope that Gamma is as reluctant to share information with White Spell officers as the other Black Spell members. Though, it would be only a matter of time before Byakuran gets wind of it, if he hasn't already.

"No, I should assume that he, and the rest of Millefiore, knows already. It has been ten days already." went through my mind. "Any idea when Gokudera and Yamamoto will recover?" I asked, as the gears in my head started to spin. No matter how little time we have left, it was of utmost importance for them to control their powers. "You are aware that if they don't wake up soon, they won't have the time to master their Rings."

"Don't get the wrong idea, Lin. Both herbivores are conscious," he stated, making my eyes widen in wonder. "however, they have realised that they are weak, and as it is now, neither have the will to get stronger. I'd say they will perish in this era."

Blinking several times, I let the message sink in. Neither Gokudera nor Yamamoto have the will to grow stronger? Something was definitely off and I narrowed my eyes as I observed the image of the raven haired man. His stoic eyes didn't give me anything, however, my gut was telling me that he was up to something and I didn't like it at all.

Clenching my hands into fists, my brows lowered as a menacing smile twisted on my lips while I allowed Amaryl Fisscher's personality to surface. "They don't have the will to get stronger, you say? That's bull, Hibari, and you know it." I said darkly as the smile slowly disappeared. If he was trying to test me for whatsoever reason, then he was doing it at the wrong time. "Don't you fucking test me. There is no way in hell those brats will sit still after a damn beating. Even less when they know that Tsuna himself is undergoing training. So spit it out, Hibari, how many days till full recovery?"

As Hibari closed his eyes, a small chuckle was heard from his side. "It seems that the undercover operation has brought out your true colours, Lin." The man replied with a hint of amusement. "Very well, it will take two more days until both of them are fully recovered."

"Two days, huh?" I repeated, shrugging off his remark. Thinking of a possible training regime, I cupped my chin with my thumb and index finger while biting my lower lip. The world-scaled attack is in thirteen days, that means that it would leave them, if everything goes smoothly, only eleven days to master their Rings and to hone their combat skills. Training in a group would be inconvenient as the boys have all different combat styles. So, in order to make their training most efficient, it is better to have individual trainers. However, the critical question is whether they succeed their training. Tsuna has been training with Lal Mirch for the past ten days and showed only little progression. That makes me wonder what power this era's Tsuna could have?

Trial. The Vongola Ring trial.

Blinking at the soft whisper, memories flooded through my mind as I recalled the conversation with my father.

When a Vongola descendant is in extreme dire situation, the closest ancestor will appear before him. Only those who possesses the Vongola Ring can receive extraordinary power to get themselves out of trouble. However, in exchange, the holder of the Ring must undergo a certain trial to test their resolution. That resolution will be judged by none other than the previous owners of the Vongola Ring, in other words, the previous Vongola Bosses.

Could it be that this era's Tsuna received his powers after doing the trial? It was plausible.

"That look. What are you thinking off, Lin?" Hibari's voice reverberated, pulling me out of my memories.

Looking at the screen, I narrowed my eyes once more as I thought of putting Tsuna in a life-theatening situation. Not to mention the trial itself. Who know what kind of trial it is? Is it really worth for a boy of fourteen to go through such trauma just to attain extraordinary power?

Sighing, I closed my eyes as I massaged the bridge of my nose. Despite the questions, I already knew the answer. "This era's Tsuna…" I said as I returned my view to the screen. "What power did you speak off when you spoke of the Tsuna you know."

The Cloud Guardian raised a brow before a small smirk appeared on his lips. "The power of his resolution. The higher the resolution, the purer the Flame."

"And the purer the Flame, the stronger the wielder. Just as I feared." I sighed. Waving a hand through my hair, I sighed once more as I made my decision. "Hibari, I'd like you to discuss the training regime of both Gokudera and Yamamoto with Reborn. I want them to have personal coaches. Who will coach them is up to him. Reborn knows those boys better than I do. As for Tsuna. I would like you to take over his training in two days and… destroy him. Force him to the point he faces death, and hopefully we'll see something interesting. If not, then he is not worthy of the Vongola Ring."

Hibari was silent as he watched me with unnerving eyes. It wasn't long before he smirked. "I don't take orders from anyone, but I'll make an exception this time. The Vongola Trial, hn?"

"Yes. However, discuss this with both Reborn and Lal Mirch too. If possible, leave my name out of it. That's all I'll ask from you. The rest is free play."

Upon hearing the latter, the raven haired man's smirk grew as his eyes glinted, like he had locked on a prey. "Well, let us see whether the younger Sawada Tsunayoshi can thrill me the same way like the infant and you do. If not, I'll bite you to death."

Not expecting to hear that, I snorted. It never crossed my mind that I could thrill him battle-wisely, I had always thought that he hated my guts for crushing him. Seeing his vision of me in new light, I smirked. "Sure, but don't expect me to sit still."

Receiving nothing but his usual hn, he cut off the connection, ending the call. Letting out a small sigh, I stretched my arms as I cracked my neck. Now I know the situation in Japan, I guess it is time to take measures for the rest of the world.

"The rest of the world, huh…?" I repeated out loud as I sighed deeply at the scale of responsibility I have. Waving through my hair, I heaved one more sigh before I got my act together. This is what I signed up for, backing off was no option. Moving forward is all I could do. Moving forward as Vongola Don that is. Vongola Decimo, Tsunayoshi Sawada, is after all dead to the rest of the world. Slapping both my cheeks, I stood up as I hollered, "Ryohei!". It was time to gather the forces.

The moment the doors slid open, the Sun Guardian dashed in looking around for any sign of danger. Seeing no immediate threat, he looked at me questionably.

"Ryohei, please round up Varia's senior officers. As temporary head of the Vongola Famiglia, I request their audience in Xanxus's office in thirty minutes. It's time to strike back."