SIMULATION OF AMANO'S THOUGHT PROCESS: "Hey, you know what's better than giving them answers?"
"Giving them MANY, MANY MORE QUESTIONS!!!"
SUMMARY OF THIS CHAPTER:
Cover page: Cavallone/Cabarrone/Chiavarone family! Long infamous for being the most difficult to spell of all the families! Also famous for having only two actual members, the rest of the "family" consisting of low-paid background actors whom Romario pays to stand around wear suits and calling Dino 'Boss' just so Dino doesn't kill himself by tripping over his shoelaces.
Anyway, Reborn sits Tsuna and Dino down and tells them all about his Arcodream in which the main in the iron hat (STILL CHECKERS TO ME. TO ME HE WILL ALWAYS BE CHECKERS) appeared and asked all the Arcos whether or not they wanted the curse to be dispelled, resulting in him being confronted by a host of serious babyfaces. Checkers explains that he plans to "decrease the Arcobaleno by one", meaning that one of our lucky friends will soon have the chance to be turned back to normal! When asked why he is suddenly feeling so generous, his only response is SORRY I CAN'T TELL YOU. :/ He then goes on to say that the one to have their curse dispelled will be the most grateful one, and the one that can contribute the most to the Arcobaleno, which is basically just a load of senseless BS because what he really means is that he's going to pick the strongest one, and by "strongest" what he really really means is "the one who has the strongest friends", so basically he is just making up the rules however he damn well pleases, THANK YOU AND HAVE A NICE DAY.
Oh, and if they don't participate they will be cursed forever. So, you know... HAVE FUN WITH THAT DECISION, GUYS. Understandably, they all cave approximately two seconds after he hits them with this ultimatum. Even Reborn concedes, and I got the sense that his hesitance isn't because he doesn't want the curse removed; more that he just doesn't like giving this asshole the satisfaction of seeing them all admit it.
Checkers tells them the battle will commence in one week, and he'll be back before then with presents (WATCHES!!!) and "emergency options" ("equal relief measures" in the crappy translation I'm linking) for any Arcos that suck so bad that they can't manage to scrape together a team. (I know a few people have been wondering what Amano is going to do about the fact that a lot of the teams are mismatched in terms of numbers; this might be a clue as to how she plans to solve this dilemma.) We then cut back to the present moment, as Reborn finishes telling his epic dream story, and Tsuna and Dino agree to fight as his badass representatives. Reborn beams at them and attempts to make a sparkly getaway, at which point Dino and Tsuna are like HEY WAIT A SECOND and Reborn is like OH FINE THEN I'LL TELL YOU THE SECRET OF THE ARCOBALENO WHICH I'VE KEPT SECRET FOR SO LONG. THE SECRET IS, THIS ISN'T THE REAL ME AND THE REAL ME IS ACTUALLY SUPER COOL. And then Dino and Tsuna are like :O NO WAY and the chapter just ends, and you get the sense Amano is LAUGHING AT US from her secret author tower in the sky somewhere.
THINGS OF NOTE:
- The fuck is a "spongeturtle"?
- I was pleased to see that unlike the other Arcobaleno, Reborn wasn't so quick to be all "YES PLEASE" to Checkers's request. At least someone remembered that this guy isn't exactly trustworthy.
- Checkers talks about "removing one Arcobaleno" like it's no big deal but there'll still be seven pacifiers once he's done, won't there? They're called the trinisette for a reason. So is he planning on replacing an Arcobaleno (if so, with who??--the winner of the tournament, perhaps?), or does he really intend to just get rid of one for good? Because somehow I just can't see that happening.
- I love that the instant Checkers says the winner will be the strongest Arcobaleno, Skull just BALKS and is all "I HAVE TO FIGHT THESE GUYS?! WHY ARE WE DECIDING THIS ON STRENGTH" l-lol.
- Also, Checkers makes it sound like it'll be the end of the fucking world if one of the pacifiers gets destroyed, conveniently glossing over the fact that the Vongola rings get destroyed ALL THE TIME and what do you know! No apocalypses so far!
- Verde seems to be the only Arco who doesn't really give a shit whether he's transformed back or not. He's more like "eh, this sounds kind of interesting, I'll play too."
- Why is it they always get exactly one week of prep time for these things? At least Amano hasn't taken to ending the chapters with "FIVE DAYS REMAIN UNTIL THE INHERITANCE CEREMONY BATTLE FOR THE RAINBOW, OR WHATEVER IT'S CALLED" again.
- "The location will be a place you all have connections with: Japan." So once again my dream of an Italian arc is cockblocked. *sits and sulks in the corner*
- This translation is so bad it's hilarious; I would have linked MangaStream's version but it'll just get taken down in a few weeks and then we'd be back to square one. Still, few things have made me chuckle as hard recently as, "Basically, if you say it in a single word, TO DISPEL MY CURSE I WANT YOU GUYS TO FIGHT IN MY PLACE." XD
- I awwed a bit at the fact that Tsuna readily agreed to help because Dino was going along with it too. What's really adorable is the fact that he's probably miles stronger than Dino but doesn't think of things that way at all. Hmm, or maybe he's just more comfortable with it because with Dino there, maybe he won't have to be the leader for once.
- "Apart from the Arcobaleno, only Lal, Iemitsu, the Ninth, and Yamamoto know this story..." I spazzed out SO HARD when I first read this. It's like, FIRST KAWAHIRA, AND NOW THE TRUTH ABOUT THE ARCOBALENO WHICH THAT BASTARD YAMAMOTO HAS KEPT SECRET FROM US ALL THIS TIME? Even without the arc taking place in Italy, this still feels like CHRISTMAS DONE COME FUCKING EARLY. 8D
- Of course then he has to ruin it all by having the secret be something we have already known for ages. ...Okay. So I guess we'll have to wait a while longer still until we finally get real answers (story of my manga-reading life ;_;), but hell, I think I can manage until then.