I am not Amano, obviously.
BUT IF I WAS, this is how I would write the rest of the Inheritance Arc.
Okay, first of all I'm going to list a few things here that for the purposes of this post we are going to assume are true. Because if I was writing it, they would be true. And that's the premise of all this, and so on, blah blah blah.
1. The Inheritance Ceremony is not just a mere formality. Through my shrewd observation of the manga, I have noticed that this ceremony is apparently a real big fucking deal. Mostly because Reborn pretty much said, "Yeah, it's a real big fucking deal." XD And I don't know, it seems like a hell of a lot of fuss to make over what is basically the mafia equivalent of a bar mitzvah. Not only is everyone and their dog invited, but a few of them are actually raising concerns because of their apparent intent to disrupt the ceremony somehow.
Now, if this whole thing really was just an elaborate way of saying, "Okay, Tsuna, sign here and you can officially boss everyone around now," would Reborn really be so concerned about a few lesser families who are trying to create problems? I mean, this is the Vongola we're talking about; I would think that if something crazy and hilarious didn't happen during the ceremony, that would be a cause for alarm. So why all the fuss?
My suspicion: Because it's not just a simple ceremony, that's why. There is something very important that's going to take place here, something so important that the entirety of the mafia world needs to be there to witness it, and that the slightest possibility of something going wrong could spell big trouble.
Which brings us to assumption the second.
2. The Vongola's dominance over the rest of the mafia is not necessarily a given. This is something Amano has only just begun to hint at, but isn't it interesting what she's already dropped so far? First, the revelation that the Vongola family has actually existed since before the time of Vongola Primo. And second, the fairly obvious and yet curiously phrased, "Of course, there are some out there that aren't in favor of Vongola becoming powerful." The latter would seem to imply that there's actually something those people can do about it, in addition to just being whiny whiners.
But it's really that first quote that gets my head spinning. The Vongola connection with the Shimon family dates back to before the time of the Primo. Which very clearly implies that there was a Vongola family to speak of before Primo ever entered the picture. And yet Primo has always been referred to as the founder of the Vongola family. And come to think, wasn't there some timeline discrepancy at some point where there was confusion over whether or not the history of Vongola went back 400 years or more like 100? That last part might very well not have anything to do with this, but it just occurred to me so I figured I'd mention it.
Anyway, my theory about all of this is that while the Vongola family did exist before Primo, Primo was the one who came along and turned it into the most powerful family in the mafia. And that means that there was at some point a time when they weren't.
My guess is that the change came about because of the tri-ni-sette. Uni spoke of Byakuran and Tsuna being "chosen" to bear their respective rings. Now that makes me wonder if Primo first came into power because the Vongola sky ring chose him as its successor. (It wouldn't surprise me if he had also had an encounter like this with the Cervello, long ago.)
What's more, check this out: "In order to preserve strict succession of the Vongola ring, it was divided between the boss and the outside adviser for protection." Let's take another look at that--"in order to preserve strict succession." The reason the rings were powered down and split into two is so that they could remain within the Vongola bloodline.
Only they're not powered down anymore. Primo returned them to their original forms because "There is no need for that anymore. For I know that you'll understand both the true meaning of the ring and my will."
And that brings me to my third assumption.
3. None of this--the ceremony, the formal handing over of authority--can officially happen without Tsuna's consent. For pretty much the entire series, Reborn and everyone else has been like, "Haha, you're becoming the Tenth boss whether you like it or not, Tsuna." And he's been forced to play along so far, and dragged into one misadventure after another. And it would seem that the Inheritance Ceremony is just the latest.
Except for one thing--this time around, Amano has gone out of her way to toss in a seed of doubt. "Why don't you run away?" It seems like Tsuna genuinely did consider that suggestion for a moment. "If I hate it, I should just run..."
And what would happen if he did? Besides for Reborn smashing him with an ace. XD So far, Tsuna has been an unwilling participant in all of this, and he's gone along with it either because he's been too afraid to argue, or because the consequences of not doing so have been too grave for him to ignore. But for all that Tsuna's wimpiness still seems more-or-less intact these days, he has gotten braver than he used to be. He's not so spineless now. And in fact, this wouldn't be the first time he's said no to the Vongola. We've seen it before during his succession trial--faced with the prospect of inheriting all of the Vongola's past sins, he refused, declaring that he would rather wipe out the Vongola. He has that defiant streak in him, and there are limits to what he will let people push him to do.
So it doesn't seem all that far-fetched that it could happen again. Only this time, I'm not sure it would end so favorably for him.
Anyway, enough preamble. What I'm predicting: The first part of this arc will consist of Tsuna and co. preparing for the ceremony, fighting whatever dissenters show up and try to crush them with giant harpoons, and dealing one by one with the rest of the invitees. We'll be introduced to those families we're now all so curious to see, the Leilei brothers, Trad 6, and the oh-so-intriguing Giegue family, which I'm personally looking forward to the most. And maybe if we've been really good this year, Santa will also throw in Gokupapa's family as a bonus. A lot of fun new characters to introduce and play with, basically.
And during all this time, the Vongola's bond with the Shimon family, and in particular, Tsuna's bond with Enma, will continue to grow. I can see Enma and Tsuna becoming quote-unquote good friends, as Reborn put it, and Enma continuing to water that little seed of doubt he inadvertently planted--"Do you really want to do this? The mafia is so evil and sucky, man. Why don't you just run away?" And I can see Tsuna considering it more and more as the date draws ever nearer.
And basically where I'm going with all this is that (as you might have guessed), when the day of the ceremony finally arrives, I think Tsuna actually is going to refuse.
And I think it is going to be a problem.
Because the thing is, more and more, I'm starting to suspect that the Vongola don't actually have as great a claim to power as they make themselves out to have. I think the main reason they've been the number one family all these years is because they are the masters of the Vongola rings. And they can only continue to be so as long as they have a willing candidate to inherit the power of the Sky ring from the previous generation. But what happens if they don't?
I'll fucking tell you what happens. The ring is going to choose a new candidate.
AND WHO MIGHT THIS MYSTERIOUS CANDIDATE BE, YOU ASK? Well, I don't know... how about someone who has already demonstrated a connection to the Vongola sky ring? More specifically, someone else who has actually caused it to react?
Not to mention someone who is also the head of a mafia family with a very, very long history. Someone who also has six potential guardians who all seem to match up to the ring requirements. Someone who has a similar view of the mafia as Tsuna does, and who might thus also meet Primo's approval. And most importantly, someone with a growing connection to Tsuna himself, whose betrayal in this manner would thus allow for the maximum angst. Because it's all about the angst. XD
Giotto told Tsuna in no uncertain terms that the fate of the Vongola rests squarely on his shoulders. "To flourish, or perish. It's up to you now." Tsuna is thus now in a position to decide whether or not the Vongola will continue to be the top family in the mafia, or if that honor will pass to a new family instead. Only the thing is, I'm not sure if he actually realizes this. I don't think he really understands what his refusal to become the Vongola heir would mean. The end of his family, for starters. And Reborn, one of the Arcobaleno--and a guardian of the tri-ni-sette--would probably be forced to jump ship to the Shimon family as well, leaving Tsuna without a mentor. That might make him happy at first. But probably not for very long.
Because in the long run, it's a mistake. He doesn't realize it yet, but Tsuna is the best candidate for the job. And I think the second part of the arc is going to be about him finally coming to grips with that fact. That this is what he's supposed to do, and that he's never going to have the normal life he wants, and that he needs to accept that because frankly the world needs more from him. YOU'RE GOING TO DO GREAT THINGS, TSUNA. But first you've got to man up and actually be willing to do them.
And once he does, he's going to have a fight on his hands, because what with the Shimon sorta kinda having INHERITED ALL OF THE VONGOLA'S RINGS AND BIRTHRIGHT AND STUFF and likely leaving Tsuna and co. powerless, he is going to have his work cut out for him.
Soooooo, anyway. That's how I would write it. Because fuck yeah. At any rate, I hope whatever Amano's got planned will be just as fun.