Battle for succession

“Alright! This is going to be our big day! Jackal, Ouga! You two will be aiding Biochi!” a shadowy figure ordered.

“Yes, Invidia-sama,” Jackal and Ouga said.

The two then proceeded to leave.

“*Tch* Damn Muramasa Jouzu! That bastard probably had a hand in Zerou’s attack. There’s no way that weak little shit could send me flying on my own!” Ouga ranted.

“I call dibs on Muramasa Jouzu. I refuse to be humiliated like that!” Jackal declared.

                                                                         …

Looks like he’s just sending Jackal and Ouga. In that case, I’ll make sure to conceal myself and Ryuujin in order to take him off guard.

Most of my party had made satisfactory progress, however, I still wanted Zeno to master something.

“You’re telling me I’ll be in a space frozen in time until I come up with a finisher?” Zeno groaned.

“I’m sure you’ll come up with something. Here, I’ll even have Honoka spar with you for some inspiration,” I snickered as I summoned Honoka.

Honoka instantly performed her finisher like I wanted. After reviving Zeno, I let the two converse with each other.

“Say Honoka, I know this sounds weird, but that finishing move was really cool,” Zeno mumbled.

“Ohahahaha! Did you get inspiration?” Honoka laughed.

“Yeah, let me try something out.”

                                                                           …

“Looks like you made good progress. You’re still too under leveled to hurt guys like Ouga, but you should be able to pick of the small fry,” I stated.

I then warped the two of them back to the main room of the mansion’s guest area.

“Have a nice day. I’ll watch everything from here with Nika,” Harumi waved as we set off.

Once everyone was in the hotel room, I warped it to a hotel in Rome.

“Registration’s all taken care of, though you’ll need to walk to the venue. Ryuujin and I will also hide our presence. Don’t worry, you’ll still be able to enter us in the event,” I stated as Ryuujin draped himself in a black cloak.

                                                                          …

“Here it is,” Ramona stated as we arrived at the colosseum.

She walked into a passage and inserted a card into a statue with an open mouth. Sthe statue ate the card, and triggered a hidden staircase to open under the floor. Once we all descended, we entered a room filled with people. It was the underground colloseum.

I immediately noticed Jackal and Ouga hiding in a dark corner as well as a few notable foes.

Ramona then walked to the center and stood next to 4 other people. 2 men and 2 women.

An elderly man then began the introductions.

“Welcome. I am Ricardo, the late boss’ right hand. I along with his other trusted men have been managing the familia as caretakers. Now the time has finally come to choose a successor.

We have 5 candidates that have been deemed worthy. The first is Alana Marina. She is from the branch family and has been at the helm of many of the familia’s greatest undertakings.

Next is Matteo Calvera. While he himself lacks the physical strength to win a good fight, he has immense charisma and is a gifted speaker. His message is that “While Panini blood, may run thin in my veins, all I need is a drop to fuel my drive.” Next, we have Francis. He was adopted into the familia and has been loyal since he could crawl. Penelope Picaza may not have any relation to the main family; however, she is a dedicated lifelong servant and has sacrificed much for the sake of the familia. Finally, we have Ramona. She is the daughter of the late boss and has the strongest amount of Panini blood in her veins.

Now then, to explain the succession. You must command your subordinates to carry out various missions. You will also be required to have them fight each other within the outdoor Colosseum. Rest assured; we shall do our best to ensure no one dies within the arena. However, you are free to launch hits on your rivals and their subordinates anywhere else. Take note though, that you, the boss, must issue the order. Insubordination and subordinates acting on their own discretion will lower your chances of being the successor. This is also to discourage the strong allies you have gathered from doing things their own way.

A shadow will record your actions so don’t try and pull anything. Now then, take your devices and dossier and return to the surface.”

Ramona received scornful glares from her rivals as she retrieved her things.

“Why did you come back!? You left the familia for a life of poverty with your lover. Even Namona died trying to retrieve you. I heard even your daughter died. How could someone like you even be considered for this?” Penelope spat.

“Because unlike you, I’m a true Panini. Only the one with the blood of Panini can use the ring,” Ramona retorted.

“I heard you didn’t even have a large sponsor until just last night. You had a year, yet could only scrape by at the last minute? We can’t have that here,” Matteo stated.

“I believe you should be removed from this,” Alana glared.

“Let her fight. We will crush her,” Francis growled.

The candidates then all flashed a hand signal and the room dispersed. Seems like they didn’t want us to know whose minions were who’s. Too bad for them. I’m here. Zeno then escorted Ramona as the rest of us periodically dispersed.

“They’re here. Ouga AND Jackal. I’ll kill that mummified bastard for what he did to us,” Zeno growled.

                                                                           …

“So who’s bandage face over there?” a snarky girl asked her boss.

“These are some men from Leviathan. I have pledged to support their cause should I win.

“*Tch* They look like bad news to me.”

“Do not fret. They may be far stronger than anyone here, but they are THE strongest fighters present in the event. Now then, I “Order” you all to freely hunt down opponents if you deem the situation is favorable,” the boss commanded.