Momoi Taro wants to form a "don" brother duo, but it's a music anime.

Page 56

Thinking about it now is still very painful... But, the person I am now... can absolutely do what Taro said, and shatter those lonely and uneasy days—

Thinking of this, the sound of her guitar couldn't help but fill with power.

I am now absolutely not afraid to move forward, nor am I afraid to look back, because...

Nina now understood why she had been so moved by the song. She heard the rebellion and despair in Momoi Taro's voice. It was as if Momoi Taro had brought her all that she longed for and dreamed of—

It's like the feeling I had when I first heard about the Empty Box... No, it's definitely not as good as the Empty Box, but it's truly amazing. I have this feeling that I can finally make up my mind to take that next step.

because……

Ah, those days of listlessness, filled with loneliness and anxiety...

Before the senior came, it seems like this was the kind of life I lived.

Even now, she is unwilling to reveal this darkest and most painful past to anyone other than her seniors, and even feels extremely uncomfortable when asked about her experiences.

But I will definitely keep moving forward, because...

"Sprint at full speed to break through the obstacles!"

Taro opened his fist, which he had just thrown, as if trying to grab something, and sang with an indomitable spirit:

Want me to cry? No way.

"Fearing threats unseen by the eye, trapped in a predicament where even gripping the ground is ineffective—"

"Moving towards a tomorrow that no one knows yet—"

Taro... must be fighting against the neighbor who kicked him out of his house in the past. This is his cry for the past!

I'm the same way; if I fail, I just start over! Even if tomorrow is completely unknown, I will never run away from it now!

Therefore, I absolutely cannot back down! Because...

Ai Yin's guitar playing became even more passionate, even with subtle changes, but the four members of the Dong Brothers duo, as if by telepathy, altered the original rhythm to match Ai Yin's little improvisation—

This singing... it's totally me! I was doing the right thing at school, so why did everyone advise me to give up? Even my dad, who taught me like that, compromised with some invisible force.

So, I escaped. Leaving my own home was simply to prove myself right—

Therefore! I can also set off towards the unknown tomorrow, just like Mr. Momoi, because—

The difficulties I faced in the past are just difficulties, and I am ready to form a new band!

Moving forward by building upon the past, I will have absolutely no fear! Because—

"I want to take you with me, and together we'll become the wind—" Taro sang the last line of the verse with all his might, then roared, "Here we go!!"

"I can do it now! Because—"

[Taro/Momoi-san/senpai are here!!!]

"Don't stop, keep rolling!! Heading to even farther places!!"

"Despondency will cost you your life! Charge into the Red-Zone in one go!"

"Keep burning soul!! As long as you're alive!"

Even if it's a dream, it still wants to shine, so let's go full speed ahead!

"Here we go! Clear Mind!"

I really like this passage from the general's poem.

That's right, even if it's just a fleeting, dreamlike moment, I can still shine brightly!

Even if there's a monster like Momoi Taro, I'm sure I can still shine!

I will never admit defeat!

At the very last line of Taro's chorus, the entire stage transforms into a five-person instrumental showcase: a flamboyant drummer, a steady bassist, a wildly unrestrained lead guitarist, an all-encompassing keyboardist, and a rhythm guitarist following the keyboard's lead.

An interlude for all five members, a magnificent and dazzling ensemble. This is the performance time for the five members of the Dong Brothers group.

The audience was captivated by the magnificent and superb instrumental performance.

Under Momoi Taro's direction, the girls and the audience cheered together, pushing the atmosphere of the entire venue to an even higher level.

Next, two girls in cute outfits beside Taro stepped forward and, without any hesitation, showed off their guitars to the audience, delivering a perfectly synchronized and energetic improvisation.

After this improvisation, Taro once again entered the chorus, and his penetrating voice once again raised the atmosphere!

"This is our piece! 'Clear-Mind,' thank you!" With Taro's closing remarks, the piece came to a close, white smoke rising behind them, eliciting cheers from the audience.

Chapter 56, The Live Performance Begins (Part 2)

After the song ended, the four girls from the Dong Brothers group had beads of sweat on their foreheads, but all four of them showed very satisfied smiles.

And Momoi-tama? He stood in the very center of the stage, producing a paper fan from somewhere and unfolding it. Aine, slightly out of breath, saw this and, for some reason, felt a sense of unease creeping into her heart.

"Hahahahaha—" Without any warning, Taro started laughing out loud, waving his fan.

Miaomeng and Hailing also realized something was wrong. Miaomeng quickly tried to smooth things over, saying, "Um, General, isn't that very rude to the audience?"

Miao Meng raised her voice slightly, intending to use her soft, sweet voice to cover up her general's laugh, which was nothing short of a stage mishap.

"Hahaha! This is a festival!" Taro quickly closed his unfolded paper fan, pointed at the audience in front of him, and said, "It's truly fate that we can meet everyone here today in a live performance."

Having said that, Momoi Taro waved his paper fan again, unfolding it as he spoke: "A chance encounter is a connection from a past life, a pebble on the roadside is a fragment of a connection, and dancing together is a connection of fate!"

"This world is paradise—blow away all your troubles!" Momoi Taro struck a classic Noh pose, then slapped his thigh and waved his hands up and down: "Laugh, laugh! Hahahahahaha!!"

“Oh! A festival! I love that term!” Utada Tomoe exclaimed excitedly from the side of the stage.

"Speaking of which, Tomoe and Taro have always loved festivals, haven't they?" Tsugumi pondered from the side, then said softly, "But this is the first time I've seen Taro like this."

"Oh my gosh~ It's not a bad thing that Taro-chan is so motivated, is it~" Mocha grinned mischievously. "Ran doesn't need to worry so much, does she?"

"No, I didn't..." Ran Mitake crossed her arms, seemingly calmly looking at Taro waving a fan in the center of the stage.

The relationship between the five members of Afterglow and Taro can be simply described as childhood friends. Although they weren't the five who played together from the beginning, they came together by some kind of fate when they were young. But more important than that right now is that of the Dong Brothers' stage MC.

Hai Ling placed her hand on the bass, remaining silent. Ai Yin, snapping out of her daze, tried to take a step forward and grab the microphone, wondering how to smooth things over. The atmosphere, which had just warmed up, seemed to have cooled down a bit, so she could only manage an awkward laugh: "Ahaha..."

Suddenly, she remembered something, her eyes lit up, she cleared her throat, and introduced, "The person who just spoke is our Dong Brothers team leader, Dong Momotaro, his name is Momoi Taro—he is the lead vocalist and keyboardist in the band, and he is a very reliable person. Team leader, may we begin the introduction of the team members?"

"Fine, I can't do anything with you," Taro said helplessly, tossing his folding fan to the ground and opening his palm to introduce Aine: "The person who just spoke! That's our band's rhythm guitar! The 'Dondog' guitar—Chihaya Aine!"

A few good-natured chuckles came from the audience.

Aine didn't mind at all, and waved to the audience with a bright smile: "Hello everyone~ I'm Aine, I prefer cats to dogs~ so I prefer the guitar part to the dog part~"

Good-natured laughter rang out.

After Taro and the others' laughter gradually subsided, he turned his palm towards the bassist behind Aine and introduced, "Next up is our bassist—Donjuan Bass—Hachiman Kairin!"

Hai Ling skillfully performed a short bass solo, her cool performance eliciting screams from the audience. She then nonchalantly remarked, "Do I look like a monkey?"

Ai Yin, standing nearby, quickly smiled and smoothed things over, adding, "Hai Ling used to work part-time in over thirty bands; she's an amazing person. But now she's an official member of our Dong Brothers group!"

"There are only seven bands joining right now," Hai Ling corrected Ai Yin's meaning without any expression.

"This person's bass is really good." Yamada Ryo explained softly to her companions from the audience, "I've seen DISRUPTION's performance, it's amazing."

"Hmm... I had a feeling about it during the last street performance," Pochi whispered, conveying his opinion.

On stage, Taro, seemingly oblivious, shifted his hand to the corner and began to introduce, "And then! Our drummer! The Ton Pheasant Drum—Yutenji Wakani!"

Miaomeng played an impromptu drumbeat to cooperate, then struck the drums with two overlapping drumsticks, and vented her dissatisfaction into the microphone: "It's Miaomeng, my dear!"

The audience below the stage also let out good-natured laughter.

"Nyan Meng is a very hardworking person, she practices for a very long time every day! I like her very much," Aine said with a smile. Nyan Meng blushed slightly and said with dissatisfaction, "Aiko! Don't I have any other good qualities besides being hardworking?"

Laughter erupted from the audience once again. Hongxia looked at the scene with envy and whispered, "As expected of Taro-senpai's MC, he can create such a lively atmosphere."

“If it’s a popular band, even if the MC isn’t funny, the audience will still laugh,” Liang said confidently, closing her eyes and gently sticking out her little nose. “So Hongxia doesn’t need to worry.”

"No way!" Hongxia clenched her little fist and tapped the other person's head.

On stage, Taro pointed at Rakuna again and said, "Next up—is our Oni guitar—Rakuna!"

"Onigiri~" Lena thought for a moment, then smiled: "Matcha rice ball (onigiri), delicious!"

The audience below the stage also laughed in response.

"Little Lena is the youngest in our band, but her skills are truly amazing, much better than mine," Ai Yin introduced Lena to the audience with a smile. "Most importantly, Little Lena is really, really, really cute."

A loud cheer erupted from the audience, and the elderly man in the corner smiled subtly. It seemed Lena had made some good friends.

Finally, Taro placed the microphone on the microphone and calmly introduced himself to the audience: "Lastly, this is me, keyboardist and lead vocalist, Tomotaro Momoi Taro! The five of us are—"

The other four hadn't discussed the MC aspect at all, and the lighting technician hadn't consulted with Taro about this kind of coordination. However, at this moment, they were all of one mind, responding to Taro's words with remarkable tacit understanding.

"Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump, Brothers!" x4

The stage lights went out as their music faded, and the pink, yellow, blue, and white lights that matched their own colors shone on the four of them.

Then, the light for Taro Momoi, representing red, was turned on, and he looked intently at the audience.

The venue erupted in thunderous cheers.

After the cheers subsided slightly, Aine, standing under the pink lights, softly introduced Taro: "Taro is the general of our Dong Brothers group, undoubtedly the core. Taro is always very strict in his practice, but it is because of this strictness that we are able to bring you this level of performance. Everyone, did you like our performance?

"I love it!!" came the continued thunderous response from the audience.

"Let me introduce it one more time," Taro's deep voice rang out, "That was our new song, 'Clear Mind.' That concludes the introduction!"

"Without further ado! The festival is about to begin! Are you all ready?" Taro deftly removed the microphone from its stand without making a sound, and the audience responded with a thunderous roar of approval.

"Alright!" Taro quickly put the microphone back in its place, turned around to look at the members of the Dong Brothers group who were about to start, nodded to each of them, and then turned around and shouted, "Servants—are you ready! Go!—Next song 'Blue Sky ni Naru'!"

"Oh!" Without needing to say more, the four girls behind him exclaimed in unison.

Meowme struck the drumsticks, leading the rhythm, and a soft melody began to play. Then, Taro took a step back, while Aine stepped forward, taking a deep breath and preparing herself.

The gentle intro began thanks to the efforts of the five members of the Dong Brothers group. After the intro ended, Aine began to sing and play the guitar:

"Use your heavy luggage as a pillow."

"Take a deep breath, and you'll become the blue sky~"