'I'm so hungry my stomach hurts...' said Gouten as he walked.
'It's strange that they haven't called us to eat,' said Oliver, puzzled. 'What if they haven't arrived yet?'
"When the sun is at its highest point in the sky, Master Baldur is always cooking lunch. For him, there's nothing more important than food. He says that eating comes first..."
'But maybe he's late or something important happened...'
'Hard to believe...'
They walked in silence, their soft footsteps crushing the damp grass and breaking the dry autumn leaves. The wind was barely a whisper. Only the sounds of nature accompanied their walk.
'You're very quiet...' commented Gouten, turning his head to look at Oliver over his shoulder.
'What do you want me to say?'
Gouten stopped, turned completely around and watched him silently for a few seconds.
'What's wrong with you now?'
'You seem different... you've made a lot of progress.' You're not the same person you were a week ago."
'Thanks. You've improved too,' Oliver replied indifferently. 'Even though I feel more agile, I'm still weak.'
'There it is again...'
'What is?'
'Your problem... Oliver, if you were the protagonist of a novel, anime or series... you'd be the secondary character.'
'That doesn't make sense. You just said "if I were the main character". In any case, I am the main character in my story... What does that have to do with this?'
'Oliver, you're very stuck in a mould... You feel weak and you call yourself weak. That demeans you more than you think.' You don't seem like the main character in your story... you seem like a child who cries because they call him weak.
—Easy for you to say. No one ever called you 'weak' to your face...
—Are you forgetting that I almost fought Max just to defend you? —Gouten jumped in, raising his voice. —But Baldur got involved... and then they fought. But my expression says more than your complaints...
'Do you realise how arrogant you sound? You're putting yourself on a pedestal...'
'That's because I'm phenomenal,' Gouten joked, smiling from ear to ear. 'Back to the topic at hand...'
'Enough. Your talk isn't helping me... it just makes me want to hit you.'
'See?! Why didn't you talk to Max like that when he called you weak?!'
'Because he's my brother... and he's fifteen times stronger.'
'How do you know? Maybe the result wasn't what you expected.' You'll never know if you don't try...
'I think you need to slow down a bit with the anime marathons... shonen is going to end up burning your brain.'
'Well, Dragon Ball idolaters,' Gouten questioned him, raising an eyebrow.
'It's 2006... what kid doesn't watch Dragon Ball?' Oliver replied dryly.
'Sometimes you make it difficult to want to talk to you...' Gouten sighed, quickening his pace when he noticed the main house.
He jumped up the two steps and entered, pushing the door open confidently.
'Your shoes...!' Oliver pointed out, stopping at the entrance.
'It doesn't matter, no one's here,' Gouten replied, already rummaging through the kitchen.
Oliver was about to take off his shoes to enter the house, but something made him stop. He turned his head and noticed the figure of an adult man approaching along the road leading to the city. He had dark skin, a shaved head, and was wearing a white sweatshirt stained with dust, dried blood, and several visible scratches. A cut on his arm slowly dripped red drops onto the ground.
'Um... Gouten...' Oliver called out, his voice heavy with doubt and tension, watching the man approach slowly but surely.
Gouten came out of the house, still holding a wooden spoon in his hand, and when he fixed his eyes on the newcomer, his expression changed completely.
'The Big Fat Man...' he whispered, incredulous, as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing.
'The big what?' Oliver repeated, frowning, puzzled.
'The one on the news, he was killing people...'
'Great Gorgo, you idiot!' Oliver corrected him, quickening his pace and trying to enter, but remembering that Gouten had said there was no one there. 'Damn... a murderer came to the house, and we're alone... Where are you, Max?!'
Gouten stood still, his eyes fixed on the figure standing right in front of the house. Gorgo Garilla, his body covered in dust and dried wounds, watched them from the doorway, assessing them.
'Two little kids...' he muttered to himself, softening his stance. They can't be more than ten years old... No one told me there were children at the Water Dojo... If Do'cientos doesn't find out, I don't have to kill them...
He relaxed his shoulders and drew an unexpectedly kind smile on his face.
'Hello, boys... Beautiful day, isn't it?' he greeted them in a calm voice. 'Is the old man named Baldur at home?'
Upon hearing that name, both of them felt their blood run cold. A chill ran down their spines: the dojo killer was looking for their master.
Gouten frowned, letting out a grunt of annoyance. His gaze hardened, filled with contempt.
'Listen to me carefully, Fat Chicken... Master Baldur is not at home... So I order you to leave.'
Gorgo narrowed his eyes, taken aback by the boy's audacity. For a second, he seemed unsure whether to laugh or get angry.
'My name is Gorgo Garilla, you loud-mouthed dwarf...' he corrected, the offence evident in his tone.
Oliver slowly turned his head, his body rigid with nerves, and stared at his cousin.
'What do you think you're doing?' he whispered, on the verge of a heart attack.
'Get out of here if you don't want me to beat you up!' shouted Gouten, with a mixture of fury and childish bravery that defied all logic.
Oliver almost choked with fright.
'Calm down, Oliver,' the boy added, without losing any of his momentum. 'I'm stronger than the average man! It doesn't matter if this louse-ridden slide is over two metres tall and has muscles everywhere!'
The vein in Gorgo's forehead throbbed almost comically. He clenched his jaw so hard that it looked like he was going to break his teeth.
'Listen to me, you rude brat! I just want to see the old man!' roared the giant, enraged. 'I'm not here to fight with cocky brats like you!'
He took a firm step forward, placing one foot on the first wooden step of the porch.
'Move... I'll go get him myself.'
But as soon as his foot touched the wood, Gouten acted without hesitation. He delivered a straight kick to his chest, so fast and sharp that Gorgo took several staggering steps backwards, surprised.
Oliver, for his part, was convinced that they had just signed their death warrant.
The big man stood motionless, looking at him with a mixture of astonishment and some confusion...
'What strength...' Gorgo muttered under his breath as he looked down at his own chest, still vibrating from the kick. It wasn't enough to hurt me, but... still, I was pushed by a six-year-old brat...
He looked up again. And there was Gouten: defiant, firm, frowning, and without a trace of fear.
'I told you that Master Baldur isn't home...' he repeated in a firm voice, emphasising each word. 'Last warning!'
There was a brief silence.
'The warning is for you, brat...' Gorgo clarified, frowning. 'It's very undignified to kill a child who doesn't know what it means to grow up... so turn around and let me find your master...'
'If you think I'm going to be intimidated by someone as repulsive and ugly as you... you've come to the wrong place...' Gouten replied confidently, 'because I may be six years old... but with these six years, I can give you more than you can handle...'
'Gouten, you're crossing the line, tone it down.'
'Damn... he's going to get us killed...' Oliver whispered, paralysed, watching Gouten take a few steps forward.
'Shorty... stop it. Don't test my patience... or my kindness,' Gorgo growled, tensing his muscles.
But there was no response. Only Gouten's two feet hitting him squarely in the stomach.
It was a sharp, accurate blow that made Gorgo spit out saliva immediately. When he hit the ground again, Gouten jumped back, narrowly dodging the big man's swipe.
<< That blow was a turning point for Gorgo: he realised that what he was facing was not a normal child... it was not human. >>
'You little shit... are you enjoying this?' Gorgo muttered through clenched teeth, seeing Gouten's broad smile.
'I never thought I'd be willing to kill a six-year-old child...'
The big man lunged at him with all his fury, but the little boy ducked with cat-like agility and moved forward quickly. His size and speed were a huge advantage against his burly enemy.
Gorgo felt only a direct, sharp, forceful blow to the pit of his stomach, which made him double over immediately.
He tried to respond by bringing his other fist down violently, but Gouten was no longer there: he had slipped nimbly between his legs, and as he passed, he raised a leg with a gesture as childish as it was cruel...
...and delivered a well-aimed kick to his groin.
As he stood up and looked back, Gouten noticed something strange: Gorgo was not writhing in pain.
'Doesn't he have balls?' he wondered aloud, just before dodging a fist that was coming down hard towards his face.
'It's... incredible...' whispered Oliver, both amazed and horrified, watching his cousin put up a good fight against a murderer feared throughout the country.
'Ha, ha, ha... and to think you killed so many people...' Gouten said mockingly, putting his hands in his pockets and walking provocatively, as if he were out for a stroll.
Gorgo, irritated by the provocation, lunged to strike. The dwarf, quick as lightning, used the big man's own fist as a foothold to propel himself upwards with a spinning kick. As he fell, he landed a direct blow to the head, causing the giant's neck to tilt sharply to one side.
Gouten rolled on the ground and jumped back, away from the big man. He clasped his hands in front of him, smiling with complete confidence.
Oliver opened his eyes, tense and expectant, as he watched his cousin begin to form a sparkling sphere of energy between his palms.
'My cousin taught me this...' Gouten announced with a broad smile, as if he were about to perform a magic trick.
'No...' Gorgo whispered, paralysed. 'That attack... it's the same as the brat's earlier...'
<< Fear suddenly gripped Gorgo. It wasn't fear of Gouten. It was fear of facing, once again, something similar to Max Songoku. >>
The sphere was launched. However, instead of hitting Gorgo, it veered violently towards the sky, causing an explosion above that shook the air and left the leaves on the trees trembling. Oliver was speechless. Gorgo froze in place, as if time had stopped for a second.
'I haven't quite mastered it yet...' admitted Gouten, without a hint of concern, shrugging his shoulders.
But his confidence vanished in an instant when Gouten took a step back to dodge Gorgo's punch. There was no longer any truce or room for jokes: the big guy was attacking with seriousness and fury.
A stomp followed immediately, throwing the boy against a tree with such force that the trunk cracked.
'Gouten!' Oliver shouted, his heart racing as he watched the sudden attack.
Gouten managed to slip away just in time, right before the blow split the tree trunk. The trunk collapsed with a crash, raising dust and dry leaves.
The boy stared at the scene in astonishment.
'I... I only managed to damage the wood...' muttered Gouten, still not fully understanding his opponent's level.
Turning around, he noticed the multiple craters and cracks in the ground, marks left by Gorgo's fists. A chill ran down his spine.
For the first time, he understood. His confidence had blinded him to the reality of the monster he was facing.
'GOUTEN!' Oliver shouted again, this time in desperation.
Gouten barely saw Gorgo's fist approaching like a black mass moving in slow motion. He leaned to one side, managing to dodge the direct impact... but not completely. The glancing blow was enough to send him flying, rolling violently across the ground like a rag doll.
Looking up, Gouten saw Gorgo advancing steadily, his body swaying from left to right like a veteran boxer. He covered his face with his fists, but one eye peered out from behind his guard: an eye filled with desperation.
'What is he doing...?' muttered Gouten, unable to read his next move.
The big man was unpredictable. Was he going to attack from the left? From the right? Every swing seemed like a trap. Gouten hesitated for a second... until the first arm movement forced him to react. He jumped with all his strength, rising high above the ground.
From the air, he tried to launch a burst of Ki downward. But something was wrong. The flow was not stable. The energy was not concentrated as before.
'Come on, come on...' muttered Gouten, a drop of sweat sliding down his forehead. A twinge in his shoulder prevented him from concentrating fully.
The burst of Ki never formed. Instead, as he fell, he landed hard on Gorgo's bald head, using it as a springboard to leap away in a desperate jump.
'Fighting like this against a child does not make me proud... but losing to one does even less,' thought Gorgo, hardening his face as he launched his attack before the boy touched the ground.
This time, he didn't miss. The direct punch hit him squarely in the torso, and Gouten flew several metres. The sharp blow echoed in the air.
'Finally...' Gorgo said with relief.
The boy writhed on the ground, his eyes wide and his chest heaving. His breathing was irregular. He could barely move.
'D-damn you...' he muttered with effort, trying to crawl away, terror painted on his face.
'I'm sorry, brat... but you had it coming,' said Gorgo, standing next to him and slowly raising his foot. His shadow covered Gouten like an omen. 'I'll make sure you don't suffer.'
A sharp blow echoed through the air. Gorgo fell back with a slight groan of surprise, his gaze quickly shifting forward... and he noticed that Gouten was no longer there.
'I WON'T ALLOW IT! I won't let you kill my cousin!' Oliver shouted, his body tense, panting, with Gouten behind him.
The boy's face trembled. His arms shook, his lower lip quivered, and his eyes filled with tears... but he did not back down. He stood there, between the killer and his cousin, frowning with desperate determination.
Gorgo looked down at his own torso, where he had been struck, showing his surprise. It was such a powerful blow that it even made him sit down. He looked back at the boy, and for a second, his thoughts stopped. What stood before him was no longer just a frightened child.
TO BE CONTINUED...