Chapter 112 The Castle "Sho!" Hinata exclaimed in surprise. ...

"Sho!" Hinata exclaimed in surprise.

He glanced at Sawada Tsunayoshi behind him and then at Irie Shoichi in front of him, looking around nervously. Tsunayoshi could feel the other's excitement just from their gazes.

Irie Masakazu thought that although it had been several years since they last met, Sho was still as cute as a puppy as ever. He waved his hand, and Hinata's hair even stood up happily.

He grabbed Sawada Tsunayoshi's arm and sprinted across the tarmac, running wildly like a little orange dog.

The frail researcher, who had been leaning against the car, couldn't help but smile at the sight, but still stood up straight and waited for the sun to carry the sky all the way to him.

He caught his two childhood friends firmly, then fairly patted their two little brothers' fluffy heads and asked with a smile,

"Was the journey smooth?"

Reina felt wronged and couldn't help but defend himself, "Lord Irie, I have had my pilot's license for many years and I am a very steady pilot. There will definitely be no problems on the road."

Irie touched his nose and quickly comforted the other person, "I was just being polite, I didn't really mean the journey was difficult."

He released his grip and gave Hyuga a natural hug, then faced the leader with a hint of embarrassment. Tsuna, oblivious to the awkwardness, stepped forward and gave him a hug instead.

"Shoichi-kun, it's been so many days since we last met."

Shoichi Irie stiffly returned the hug, his eyes darting around. Suddenly, he made eye contact with another childhood friend, whose gaze was piercingly probing, expressing confusion at his obviously suspicious behavior.

And indeed, there was something fishy going on. Back then, he still wore that button properly around his neck. If he made a big movement, the button would show through his clothes. The cherry blossoms had faded and were no longer as bright and pink as they used to be, but the warm orange color was still beautiful, which made Hinata glance at it several times.

The embrace came to an abrupt end. Under the murderous glares of the Vongola Guardians behind them, Irie Shoichi released his hand.

"It has been quite a few days indeed. Shall we get in the car first?"

He opened the car door and let the young leader and Hinata go in first.

Hinata was even more confused. He and Kosei hadn't seen each other for many years, so how come Tsuna and Kosei acted as if they hadn't seen each other for many years when they met?

Lambo pouted, "A day apart feels like three autumns."

He said this when Sawada Tsunayoshi had already boarded the bus and didn't hear him. However, Irie and Hyuga, who were walking behind, heard it clearly. Irie Shoichi immediately felt that probing gaze lingering on him again.

Feeling guilty, Irie stood still, not daring to reveal the slightest sign of something amiss. Only when Hyuga finally got his attention from the extended luxury car and skipped and jumped into the car with Sawada Tsunayoshi did he silently breathe a sigh of relief.

Yamamoto Takeshi kindly asked Irie Shoichi, who hadn't moved, "What's wrong, Irie-kun? Do you think we need a hug too?"

Rokudo Mukuro and Gokudera Hayato's expressions immediately darkened upon hearing this, and Irie's expression also turned sour. He smiled and got into the car without hesitation.

Once inside, Hinata was drinking a soda from the car's refrigerator. Sawada Tsunayoshi saw him and invited him to sit down. As Irie sat down, he casually asked,

"How long will Tsunayoshi stay in Italy this time?" He's a researcher, so there are some things he doesn't know either.

"Well, it's not clear yet. We'll know the specifics once we get to the scene." Sawada Tsunayoshi spoke vaguely, mindful of Hyuga beside him.

"But we probably won't stay for too long. Spring high school is coming up soon, and we need to go back to prepare for the competition."

Speaking of this, Irie Shoichi suddenly remembered something, "Although I sent a message to congratulate you before, I still want to congratulate Tsuna-kun and Sho on winning the finals when we meet."

"I also made gifts for you two. I was going to send them over, but since you're in Italy now, I can give them to you once we get them from headquarters."

Sawada Tsunayoshi exclaimed in surprise, "There are still gifts! It's just the preliminary round!"

The family members made a big fuss about it, and they probably thought they had won the Spring High School Finals.

“That’s definitely something to celebrate.” Irie Shoichi sat down next to Sawada Tsunayoshi. “Consider it a gift I wanted to give to Tsuna-kun and Sho.”

"Aww Shoichi-kun!"

They chatted for a while, then noticed that Hinata's silence was unusual, so they stopped talking and looked at Hinata Shoyo sitting on the other side.

"Sho, what's wrong?" Sawada Tsunayoshi couldn't help but ask him with concern.

Hinata was still pondering these titles: Tsunayoshi-kun, Seiichi-kun, but when it came to him, it was always the same: "Sho-chan, Sho-chan." It was strange. He felt it was strange, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what was so strange about it.

Was it because he was being excluded by his two childhood friends? It didn't seem so. He didn't feel like his childhood friends weren't including him. It was more that the two of them had their own little secrets, so the atmosphere was strange.

Hinata shook his head, trying to shake off the strange thoughts in his mind, but it wasn't very effective. He changed the subject, pointing to the car that had started moving. Actually, he only realized the car was moving when he saw the scenery passing by outside the window.

"Aren't we going to wait for Hibari-senpai?"

I saw Hibari-senpai when I boarded the plane, but I didn't see him again for the entire flight, and now I haven't even boarded the car.

Sawada Tsunayoshi said with a wry smile, "With so many people, it would be strange if Hibari-senpai got on the bus."

"He and Kusakabe-senpai left in another car. We'll meet at headquarters and go to the club tomorrow, okay? Let's rest today."

He coaxed Hinata, who thought to herself that she wasn't a child like Lambo who insisted on going out to play immediately.

"Okay, wait! So, am I going to meet Tsuna's family in Italy?" Hinata's eyes sparkled with different colors.

His emotions came and went quickly; he was distracted by other things and also forgot about the strange atmosphere between Xiao Zheng and Xiao Gang earlier.

Sawada Tsunayoshi gestured to his childhood friend to go check on Gokudera and the others, saying, "There's no need to wait. You've already seen my family in Italy, haven't you?"

Gokudera was initially angry because he didn't get a spot next to the Tenth Boss, but he was easily appeased and now looks at the leader with bright eyes from the front.

Hinata shook his head. "That's different."

Arashi wanted nothing more than to shake Hinata's shoulder and demand an explanation for what was different.

"After all, this time we're going to Tsuna's house to visit his elders. Gokudera and the others are going to Japan with Tsuna, so they must be close friends of the same age."

Lan Shou calmed down; what that guy said made sense.

That's right, he was the Tenth Boss's closest confidant, and he was able to return to Japan with him. Varian and the others didn't get this treatment; they still had to stay in Italy.

When it came to people his own age, Sawada Tsunayoshi thought for a moment and decided to talk to Hinata instead.

"I have an older man in my family, um, an uncle?"

Hinata, with her beady eyes, asked, "How old is Tsuna's uncle?"

The young leader nodded. After all, Xanxus was the son of the ninth generation grandfather, so logically he should be called his uncle, but he always addressed him by his first name.

"That's not important. The main thing is that he has a bad temper. If Xiao Xiang runs into him, don't be too scared. Just come to me."

It's hard not to suspect that the little leader himself is afraid of Xanxus, which is why he's giving Hinata this advice.

Hinata nodded to show that he understood, "Then Tsuna, can you point out what he looks like to me later? I'll avoid him."

Sawada Tsunayoshi laughed, "There's no need to be so dramatic. Xanxus usually doesn't come to headquarters. I'm just giving you a little reminder. Don't be scared, Sho."

"Huh? Isn't he at headquarters?"

"Yes, Xanxus doesn't like headquarters, so he usually stays at his own residence and doesn't interfere with headquarters."

They are Tsuna's family, but they don't want to live at headquarters and want to set up their own business. Hinata then imagined all sorts of other things in his mind.

Sawada Tsunayoshi could tell from his expression that his childhood friend wasn't thinking about anything serious. But it was good that the other person wasn't scared. If he had just stayed away, Xanxus wouldn't have bothered chasing after an ordinary person like Sho.

When a large castle area came into view ahead, Sawada Tsunayoshi pointed it out to Hyuga.

We're almost there!

Hinata was also very excited, "Wow, they live in a castle! Which building does Tsuna's family live in?"

Sawada Tsunayoshi pondered for a moment, "That whole area should be..."

He looked uncertainly ahead at the Storm Guardian, and Gokudera Hayato kindly replied.

“Not entirely,” Gokudera said, pointing to the castle on the other side of the gate that wasn’t marked as they were about to enter.

"This building is literally Varian's."

Sawada Tsunayoshi suddenly realized, "Oh right, last time Xanxus and the others said their castle was damaged, and because it was completely destroyed, they simply moved it next to headquarters."

Hinata doesn't know whether to first complain about how this whole bunch of castles actually belong to her childhood friend's family, or to complain about Varian, who clearly wanted to go independent and start his own household but ended up living right next door.

Hinata opened the window and pressed his head against the window to look outside. Unlike the strict security at Tsuna's house, the Varian gate was tightly shut, and there wasn't even a guard at the door.

He asked curiously, "Doesn't Varian need security?"

Gokudera chuckled. "Who would dare to be so blind as to launch a sneak attack on Varian?"

Ambush an assassination squad?

Sawada Tsunayoshi's expression was also quite interesting. Everyone else on the bus burst into laughter, leaving only Hyuga, who was completely unaware of what was going on, utterly confused.

"What's wrong? What are you laughing at? Can I join you?"

The others suppressed their laughter. Sawada Tsunayoshi, of course, wouldn't explain to his childhood friend that going to the assassination squad headquarters to carry out an assassination wasn't a kind of head-on sniping.

He pointed out the window, changing the subject, "Look, we're here!"

The car drove smoothly to the entrance of the headquarters building and stopped. They got out one after another. Basil had returned to Italy a few days earlier than them and was there to greet them at the entrance.

However, Hinata soon stopped being confused as to why there was no security at the entrance of Varian. The uncle his childhood friend had mentioned, who hated headquarters, was waiting for them in the lobby. Hinata also saw what the person his childhood friend described as terrifying looked like.

A scar ran across the corner of his eye, and he exuded an aura that made him seem unapproachable. Hinata instinctively shrank back a few steps behind his childhood friend.

My childhood friend said their family was also involved with the Mafia, and this fierce-looking guy in front of me is probably the one!