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

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A buzz of discussion arose in the audience... Among them, the one whose emotions were most turbulent was Toyokawa Shoko in the audience.

She came specifically for her senior's live performance, even summoning the courage to confront everything from her past that she didn't want to touch. If she still couldn't see her senior after all this…

If it weren't for Taro-senpai... Watashi...!?

Ai Yin stood on the stage, looking around nervously. She took a step forward towards the microphone, unsure if she should start MCing. No… as a member of the Dong Brothers, I need to step up and take responsibility.

Having made up her mind, Aine decided to speak when she felt she needed to say something—

The lights illuminating the other four suddenly dimmed, focusing on the center of the stage, above the microphone that should have belonged to the lead singer.

Immediately afterwards, the five beams of light merged into one, slowly moving towards the audience and firmly capturing everyone's attention. Finally, after passing through all the spectators, the beam of light came to a steady stop at the entrance.

The door was pushed open with a bang, and a strange piece of music started playing from somewhere.

A familiar, high-pitched voice rang out: "Come on, come on—Mazda Mazda—"

Dancers dressed in white surged through the main gate as they danced, followed by several shirtless, burly men carrying a makeshift palanquin. A seat was placed on the palanquin, and seated upon it was none other than the missing lead singer of the Dong Brothers group—Momoi Taro.

He sat leisurely in his chair, gently waving a paper fan, his tomahawk keyboard prominently displayed on the instrument stand beside him. The palanquin parted the crowd of spectators, and attendants on the side, holding baskets, tossed the contents of the baskets into the air.

What was being thrown out were black and white guitar picks, which fluttered and shimmered under the light like a shower of flowers, creating a peculiar scene.

The sacred bridge moved steadily forward, the converging lights following its movement. Seated atop the bridge, Momoi Taro laughed wildly: "Fleeting encounters are predestined connections from past lives, roadside pebbles are fragments of shared fate, and dancing together is a connection forged through fate!"

Even without a microphone, Taro's voice remained remarkably clear in that spacious area.

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

The audience was abuzz with discussion, all amazed by Momoi Taro's entrance. Toyokawa Shoko looked at Momoi Taro with adoration as he walked through the crowd, her eyes shining: "As expected of a senior... He's amazing at dropping his stockings!"

As the bridge moved forward, Xiangzi took two guitar picks. Then he watched as the bridge stopped two or three meters away from the stage.

On the side of the stage, the members of the Giant Dragon Flame Group naturally took in Momoi Taro's exaggerated entrance.

"That guy... is really exaggerated, isn't he?" Riki stared in disbelief at Momoi Taro's appearance and couldn't help but mutter under her breath. On Wakaba Mutsu's gloomy face, a faint smile appeared at this moment, and she softly echoed, "After all, it's Momoi Taro."

Takamatsu Akari stared intently at Momoi Taro's entrance, her eyes gleaming with pure longing. Seeing this, Su Shi sighed and gently patted Takamatsu Akari's shoulder, reminding her with some concern, "Akari, don't try to be like Mr. Momoi."

"No... Master Taro is Master Taro, and I am who I am... We are different." Takamatsu Akari was surprisingly rational. When Riki heard Su Shi's words, his heart skipped a beat, but he breathed a sigh of relief after hearing Akari's words.

Then, Momoi Taro did something that surprised everyone. He first threw the fan in his hand to the ground, grabbed the tomahawk keyboard beside him, stood up about two or three meters away from the stage, pushed off with his legs slightly, and jumped into the air like an arrow. After turning half a circle, he passed the microphone and landed steadily on the stage.

Momoi Taro makes his official debut—

Episode 29 of "Dong": Attendants, let's call out the names!

As Momoi Taro landed steadily and turned to face the audience, his dazzling entrance immediately elicited a deafening roar from the stands. The massive sound almost lifted the roof off, and even those who had never heard of the Don Brothers' music before couldn't help but cheer enthusiastically for his unique and powerful entrance.

"Without further ado, let's begin our performance." Taro nodded slightly to the attendants on either side, and just as he raised his hand to speak, Aine quickly stepped forward, her tone slightly reproachful, and interrupted, "Wait, wait! Taro, what was that abrupt entrance just now? You need to explain it to us properly!"

"Hahaha..." Rinrinko, who was behind the scenes, heard Aine's accusation and touched her face a little guiltily.

“As a servant, all you need to do is obey your master’s will.” Taro turned to look at Aine, revealing his signature faint smile full of absolute confidence. “Your master’s methods don’t need to be explained to you.” These words were naturally picked up by the microphone and clearly transmitted to the ears of every audience member.

The audience below burst into laughter upon hearing their conversation. One of the two girls who had been discussing things with Xiangzi earlier asked, "What does this mean?"

"It seems that their band has a unique worldview setting," the girl being asked tilted her head and tried hard to recall the last live performance by the Dong Brothers group. "The characters from the legend of Momotaro are the core of their band's worldview, so their relationship on stage is that of Lord Momotaro and his loyal servants."

"I see! That sounds interesting." "Right, right?"

Hearing the discussion of those ahead of him, Xiangzi couldn't help but smile. Truly, they were seniors; great minds think alike! Their band was similar to his own concept—both were about creating a shared worldview.

The benefits of doing this are obvious: an engaging worldview can greatly stimulate the audience's curiosity and desire to explore, making them want to "decipher" the story behind the band.

And at this point, the most direct and effective key to unlocking the mystery is, of course, their music itself! This will attract more people to be deeply drawn to the charm of the music, truly become fans of the band, and then delve deeper into that interesting worldview.

This is a brilliant strategy that kills two birds with one stone! Thinking of this, Xiangzi subconsciously clenched his fist, feeling excited about the brilliant idea of ​​his predecessor and himself.

Seeing the increasingly chaotic atmosphere below the stage due to the misunderstanding, Aine's face fell slightly, a hint of helplessness flashing across her mind. However, she quickly cheered up, a bright smile spreading across her face, and said into the microphone, "In that case, Taro. How about we take this opportunity to formally introduce each member of our band?"

“That’s true. But—” Taro nodded in agreement, then changed the subject, looked at the audience, and said loudly, “We already did the self-introductions at the last live, so let’s do it differently this time.”

He spread his arms wide, making a gesture of embracing, and loudly proclaimed, "Attendants! Call out the names!"

Huh? What?! Singing the names? Is there such a part? Aine's eyes widened in shock, her heart skipped a beat, and her palms sweated slightly as she gripped the guitar. She looked blankly at her teammates, trying to find a clue or answer on their faces.

"Listen up!" Taro declared loudly, a red spotlight shining on him as he struck his classic Noh pose: "Born of Momotaro—don! Momotaro!"

"Yo, Japan's number one!"

"Momoi Taro!" Taro called out his name with a confident smile.

Without any rehearsal or discussion, Hai Ling seemed guided by something, slightly raising her bass guitar. A powerful bass emanated from it, summoning the blue spotlight from the stage: "Sappotta, Saru Bass—"

"Wow, quite muscular!"

“Hachiman Kairin.” Kairin’s expression remained calm, only a barely perceptible twitch appeared at the corner of her lips.

"Rice balls can also be matcha, and the ghost guitar—" The yellow lights shone down, but the mischievous Lena stepped forward, trying to move away from the spotlight. However, the lights followed her, and she could only stand at the front of the stage, raise her leg, and then step on the speaker to play a solo.

"Wow, like a demon with wings!"

"Lena." Lena's expression was somewhat fervent, her face beaming with smiles.

"What...what..." Ai Yin looked at everyone who had suddenly started calling out names in a panic. Was she being ostracized? Just then, a soft pink spotlight shone precisely on her. She looked around even more helplessly, subconsciously pointing at herself with her index finger, her face full of confusion and pleading, staring blankly at the audience.

"Wow, amazing."

An untimely announcement rang out, and Aine's part ended there.

A burst of drumbeats erupted from MeowDream's drum, and white lights shone on MeowDream. MeowDream was also affected by the enthusiastic atmosphere: "What you want, you have to take it with your own two hands! Pheasant Drum!"

"Wow, quick-witted!"

"It's Meow Dream!" Meow Dream raised her drumsticks, crossed them, and smiled, but the determined look in her eyes was fixed on Momoi Taro.

"We are—" Taro raised his hand, and his three followers naturally picked up where he left off: "Thump, thump, thump, thump, the Brothers—"

A mist of vapor, matching the lighting, sprayed out from behind the five people, except for Miaomeng, who exhaled black gas. The other four remained perfectly calm and maintained their poses.

Only Aine looked around in even greater panic. What was going on? Why was she the only one who couldn't do it? In the end, she could only force an awkward smile at the spectators, trying her best to smooth things over, and introduced herself: "Anyway... I'm Chihaya Aine, the rhythm guitarist of the Dong Brothers group. Nice to meet you all."

Taro straightened up from his previous position and calmly said, "Well then, that concludes our self-introductions. Now, please enjoy our band's original song, 'Clear-Mind'—"

A powerful melody began to play.

The Dong Brothers' performance drew another round of cheers from the audience, and Xiangzi looked on with longing. The senior's performance was just as perfect as last time, it was practically a CD-quality performance, but the keyboard was barely noticeable in the music.

She knew her senior was incredibly skilled at keyboards; in fact, she probably knew them all. However, the keyboard played very little throughout the piece, perhaps because her senior had given his 'attendants' the opportunity to shine.

Well, in my opinion, it would be best if you could join my vision of a galactic battleship... Well, although I'm very unwilling, your band can already be considered the prototype of a galactic battleship.

The bassist and lead vocalist's performances were excellent, not to mention their great live performance last time. The rhythm and drummer... they've improved a lot since then. Xiangzi sighed, thinking about collaborating with his seniors... but that day seemed even more distant now. Xiangzi thought this with a touch of pessimism.

The Dong Brothers' performance on stage was nearing its end. As the rousing melody of the two guitars reached its peak, Taro suddenly raised the microphone high and shouted in a voice that pierced the entire venue: "Thank you! This is 'Clear-Mind'!"

This marked the official end of the song, and cheers and applause naturally erupted from the audience. Xiangzi waved two small maracas to support his senior. With the song over, the Dong Brothers group officially entered the MC segment.

"Everyone!" Taro detached the microphone and shouted, "What do you think of our song?!" He placed the microphone in the audience area. The Dong Brothers' wonderful performance had won the audience's favor, and they naturally wouldn't refuse. Cheers and applause erupted from the audience once again.

"Everyone~~!" Ai-yin asked loudly, drawing out the last syllable, "What do you think of our Dong Brothers group!" Taro still held up the microphone, and the audience cheered again.

"Everyone, please ask us something. It's rare to see everyone so enthusiastic." Aine looked at the Dong Brothers group around her, glanced around, and then looked at Rakuna: "Rakuna, what do you want to ask?"

Hearing Aine ask this, Rakuna tilted her head, thought for a moment, and asked, "Isn't the live performance starting yet?"

"Ah, Renai is getting a little impatient." Aine awkwardly scratched her head, then gave a bright smile: "Well then, Taro, let's get started, next song."

Taro, holding the microphone stand with one hand, calmly put the microphone back and said, "Thank you for liking our music. The next piece was inspired by someone I recently met."

He continued in a flat tone, "I don't have the same feelings as her. If it weren't for her, I probably would never have been able to experience that kind of feeling in my entire life." These blunt words instantly ignited the audience, who erupted in a clamor of whispers. Hearing Taro's MC remarks, Xiangzi's eyes twitched involuntarily, and his fingers unconsciously clenched the hem of his clothes.

"What is this?" "Is it a confession?" "This is so band-like!?" "So romantic!"

Xiangzi gritted her teeth. She wanted to roar and tell them that Taro-senpai was not that kind of person, but reason told her that doing so would be futile.

"Are you talking about... Xiao Ai?" Deng frowned in confusion, looking at the stage and trying to figure out who the protagonist was.

Li Xi clicked her tongue, and upon hearing Deng Yang's words, impatiently turned her face away; Su Shi, on the other hand, became visibly nervous, her clenched fist trembling slightly as she looked towards the stage. Ruo Ye Mu silently observed this scene, looking at Su Shi with some confusion... For some reason, she sensed something called killing intent emanating from Su Shi.

Under the spotlight, Aine's cheeks flushed slightly, and she said somewhat awkwardly, "Taro, what you're saying isn't quite right. It sounds like a confession." Her inner monologue was already playing out: Even Taro would feel shy saying something like that in front of so many people.

Taro seemed completely oblivious to the deeper meaning in Aine's words. He glanced at Aine's strange expression and said calmly, without any emotional fluctuation, "I don't know what you're talking about. This piece isn't that kind of thing." His gaze was frank, without any particular reaction.

Aine lowered her head upon hearing this, chuckled twice, and her shoulders trembled slightly with her laughter. As the performer, she naturally knew what kind of piece it was, and her words were simply for the sake of the show. Of course, Taro was unaware of this; after all, Taro couldn't lie.

It's a small form of revenge for having just been caught out of the situation.

As soon as Taro said those words, for some reason, the tense atmosphere in the entire venue seemed to dissipate considerably. Taro, oblivious to the situation, continued, "I really love this piece; I think it's a perfect 100. Now, I'm going to dedicate this piece to everyone."

"Listen! Our piece! 'Hero'!"

Episode 30, Hero

"Listen! Our piece! 'Hero'!" Taro commanded in a powerful voice. Upon hearing Taro's instruction, Aine almost simultaneously took a step forward, with the spotlight following her closely, enveloping her in the center of the halo at the forefront of the stage.

With an undisguised smile of pride and a radiant grin, she focused intently on demonstrating her clean and precise strumming technique to the audience, her fingertips gliding smoothly across the strings.

This is precisely the result of her countless days and nights of hard practice. Then, Le Nai's guitar riffs took the lead, with their unique, casual rhythm; Hai Ling's bass followed closely, laying out a steady low line; Miao Meng's drumbeats precisely matched the beat, and the four of them achieved a perfect concerto in an instant, followed by Taro's firm voice:

“I started to feel complacent because of the smallest things——”（になって*3）

"I put all the important things aside—" (ちゃって*3)

Aine's cheeks flushed instantly, and she quickly retreated to her original position. She bit her lower lip in frustration—the crucial harmony still lacked her own voice, though thankfully the band's chemistry remained intact. Coupled with the fitting lyrics, this feeling of shame burned even more intensely in her ears.

I can only say that a formal performance is quite different from rehearsals. If it were rehearsal, I would never have made this mistake. After all, there's no one I want to perform for during rehearsals...

Taro's piercing gaze swept over Aine, who smiled somewhat awkwardly. The guitar in her hands continued to play notes under her control. She couldn't forget her job, after all.

"Torturing yourself like a prisoner!"

"Say goodbye to this version of yourself now. Transformation!"

Taro's voice built up to the final climax... his pace quickened slightly, and he sang softly, as if telling a story:

What should I do if I'm afraid of the dark?

"What should I do if I'm afraid of that guy..."