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Tony clearly didn't believe there could be that many people in the world stronger than Smith.
Seeing the look on Tony's face that said "Don't think you can fool me just because I don't know much about superhumans," Smith chuckled and said:
"You'll soon realize this world is about to get a lot more interesting."
Tony sneered. "Then you're not all that impressive either—no ranking to your name."
"Well, I am the world's number one scientist. Give me some time, and I'll develop even more powerful armor."
"When that happens, I'll surpass you—and all those people you think are better."
No matter what Smith said, Tony didn't care. He firmly believed that with upgrades, his suit would become even more powerful. This little spar had already sparked a lot of new ideas, and there were several areas for improvement in his armor.
Just because he lost this time didn't mean he would next time.
Smith, on the other hand, was reminded of all the absurdly overpowered Iron Man suits across various comic timelines. Some of them really could rival the best of the best.
Then again, Tony's armors always seemed to get torn apart by whoever they were designed to fight.
Would he one day end up tearing apart an anti-Smith suit himself?
Amused by the thought, Smith smiled and said, "Okay, then. When you've got your new armor, we'll go again."
Tony could upgrade his armor, sure—but Smith could level up too. And not just because of his system's lottery—his Saiyan bloodline alone would take him a lifetime to fully tap into. He was confident his growth would outpace Tony's tech.
Smith stood up and said, "We've had our fun for today. If there's nothing else, I'm taking Bulma and heading out."
Tony didn't try to stop him—he had plenty of ideas he needed to feed to JARVIS anyway.
"Alright, that's enough for today. Next time we spar, I'll definitely beat you."
"Bulma, I'll have Pepper order the equipment you asked for and get it delivered ASAP."
Smith waved. "I'll be waiting on that good news."
Bulma chimed in gratefully. "Thanks, Tony."
"And next time… maybe I'll be the one sparring with you."
Smith knew what that meant—she was thinking about building her own mech.
Honestly, he wanted to tell her, Forget mechs—go develop androids instead. Way more potential.
Tony gave her a half-smile and didn't take her words too seriously. He just waved goodbye and left it at that.
---
Once Smith and Bulma were gone, Tony returned to his underground lab. Looking at the deformed and fractured areas on his suit, he knew Smith Dole's strength had far exceeded his expectations.
And that probably wasn't even his full power. They weren't enemies—Smith had clearly held back.
Tony sat in a chair, turned to his computer, and said:
"JARVIS, did you record the entire fight?"
"Yes, sir. The battle between you and Mr. Smith was fully recorded—from multiple angles."
Clearly, one of those angles came from Bulma's Mark II suit.
"Analyze his strength and attack speed."
"Sir, Mr. Smith displayed varied speed metrics during the battle. It's likely we didn't see his peak speed."
"Even so, at his highest burst, he exceeded Mach 4."
Tony nodded. "As expected—faster than my Mach 3 top speed."
A photo popped up on the screen: the moment Smith used rock-paper-scissors to hit Tony.
"Mr. Smith's most dangerous trait isn't just his speed—it's his reaction time. He's incredibly fast at reading and responding to attacks."
"According to the Mark II's data, he was able to dodge all of your moves with ease."
"As for his strength—based on the damage to your armor, it exceeded ten tons of force. Enough to destroy gold-titanium alloy plating."
"Our armor's not exactly thick, sir."
Tony didn't look surprised.
"Even peak-human types like Captain America would be babies next to him."
JARVIS added dryly, "Sir, compared to Mr. Smith, you're not much different from a baby yourself."
"Smartass!"
Annoyed at the sass, Tony snapped back.
"Save the battle footage to my private server and encrypt it."
"Also—enhance the suit's seal integrity. I ended up in the water and it flooded—no wonder you went offline so fast."
"Oh, and let's add an internal air circulation system. I'd rather not suffocate."
"And a water recycling system. I'd like not to die of thirst either."
"Hmm... and a heating system."
"JARVIS, what's currently the hardest metal available?"
"Sir, vibranium is one of the most durable known metals. Captain America's shield was forged from a mix of vibranium and other metals by your father."
Tony shook his head. "No clue what formula Dad used. Pure vibranium isn't ideal—it goes soft under ultrasonic waves."
"I don't want my suit falling apart mid-fight just because someone blasts it with sound."
"New directive—start developing a new alloy. It needs to withstand Smith's punches and have no critical weaknesses."
"As for weaponry… the Mark series needs an overhaul."
---
Meanwhile...
Obadiah received a call from Raza of the Ten Rings and brought a team with him to Mikula.
At the camp entrance, Raza stood waiting as Obadiah stepped out of the car.
"Welcome."
Obadiah smiled and sized him up. "If you'd just killed him sooner, you wouldn't have lost so many men."
"I hear you got attacked again today."
Raza glared. "Would've been too easy on you."
"You never told me the target was Tony Stark."
Obadiah brushed off the accusation and got straight to the point. "Let me see what you've got."
Raza's tone was serious. "Not so fast. Have your guards wait outside."
Obadiah motioned for his men to stay put, then followed Raza into his tent.
—End of chapter—
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