Chapter 55 Saitama, You and I Are Destined to Fight
"King, is that King?"
"This is great! King has come to save us."
"I knew it, I knew King would come save us! He has never given up on us."
Hearing the sounds of battle, the crowd looked over in terror, only to be pleasantly surprised to find King hovering in mid-air, observing the fight below. The dinosaur Monster that had been chasing them was now fighting a… loli?
Whatever, the point was that King had arrived. The dinosaur Monster definitely wouldn't live much longer. They were finally saved. Their tense bodies instantly relaxed, and they slumped against the wall, all wearing expressions of relief after surviving a disaster.
Boom!
The crowd confidently left the battle to King, and King had also left the battle to Piccolo. However, Piccolo was no match for the dinosaur Monster at all. His energy blasts couldn't break through its defense, and he was being pressed hard by the dinosaur Monster.
Seeing that the situation was turning sour, King immediately realized his earlier decision was a bit off. He glanced at the crowd cowering not far away and was instantly alarmed. "Piccolo, stop getting tangled up with the Monster! Lure it somewhere else, and then I'll step in and finish it."
He was afraid his own energy blasts would injure the civilians, so he decided to have Piccolo lure the Monster to a more remote location. Then, he could slowly wear the Monster down with his energy blasts.
"Is King afraid of hurting us?"
"Waaah, I want to cry! We were just complaining about King earlier, but he doesn't blame us one bit. When the Monster came, he's still actively eliminating it to protect us helpless people, just like he always has. King… King… I'm so sorry!"
"King, I'm sorry too."
The crowd wailed and sobbed, shouting things like "I'm sorry, King," and "King, you'll always be my idol," words that deeply moved everyone's hearts.
However, King didn't hear the crowd's cries at all. He was already tailing the dinosaur Monster. Piccolo led the way, luring the Monster while searching for a place where they could fight without holding back.
"Huh? Is this… a Monster?"
Suddenly, a familiar voice reached King's ears. It was Saitama. His eyes widened, and he couldn't help but yell, "Saitama, you damn baldhead! Let go of that Monster! Let me..."
Boom!
A sound like a bomb exploding erupted. The head of the dinosaur Monster chasing Piccolo instantly burst open like a watermelon hitting the ground. Brain matter splattered everywhere, and bloody flesh rained down. Its sturdy body swayed for a moment, then with a "thud," it collapsed onto the street in a heap.
From start to finish, it didn't even have time to let out a final, tragic scream.
"My… my Monster…"
King stared, dumbfounded, at the headless Monster, wanting to cry but having no tears. The experience monster he had found for Piccolo had been snatched by that guy Saitama again.
"Saitama, I'm gonna fucking kill you!"
He roared angrily at the bored-looking Saitama, venting the frustration in his heart.
However, to Piccolo, this vent-like exclamation was a command that brought him joy.
"This fighting style… this way of dying for a Monster…"
Piccolo stopped running, staring blankly at the pile of flesh on the ground. That memory, both terrifying and infuriating, flooded his mind. His own father had also been killed by that man with a single punch. Damn it! Damn it! The grudge of a murdered father is irreconcilable. I… I will kill him!
His breathing grew heavy as he stared intently at the listless Saitama. Hatred and rage consumed his mind, causing his body to tremble slightly. He couldn't help but clench his fists, and the energy within his body gathered, ready to attack at any moment.
Under King's unintentional, ambiguous command, he let out a cruel smile. His body suddenly expanded, bursting his loli outfit. He stretched out his hands, aimed them at Saitama, and roared, "Die, you damn baldhead! Go to hell!"
"Explosive… Energy Blast!"
Whoosh!
An energy blast the size of a golf ball shot towards the distracted Saitama.
"Huh? There's another Monster? Hmm, I'll kill it!"
Hearing the noise, Saitama turned his head, glanced at Piccolo with his dead-fish eyes, and his expression instantly went from distracted to sharp. With a slight sway of his body, he vanished from King and Piccolo's line of sight. When he reappeared, he was already in front of Piccolo. His palm, covered by a red dishwashing glove, clenched into a fist and swung ferociously at the stunned Piccolo.
"Ding, the system has detected that the host's pet—Vaccine Man—has died. Does the host wish to resurrect the pet?"
King was still in a daze, unable to process the turn of events from beginning to end. The experience monster he had painstakingly lured out for Piccolo to level up was snatched by Saitama. Piccolo then inexplicably attacked Saitama, and Saitama retaliated without hesitation, blowing Piccolo up. The system immediately prompted that Piccolo was dead and asked if he wanted to resurrect him.
"Huh? Is this a movie? The plot twists are full of suspense!"
He stared foolishly at the pile of minced meat that was Piccolo, then looked at Saitama, who was patting his butt and preparing to leave. He shouted, "You damn baldhead, you stop right there!"
Damn it, you think you can just leave after casually killing my pet?
"Hmm? Is someone calling me?" Saitama turned his head in confusion, only to see King floating in the air. "Huh? You're that... that underwear guy?"
"..."
Black lines instantly formed on King's forehead. Annoyed, he pointed at Saitama and said, "Are you a boiled egg?"
Saitama pointed back at the three scars on King's left cheek. "You're three-scar underwear."
King fumed, "You're a boiled egg baldhead… Ahem, don't try to change the subject! I'm asking you, why did you just casually kill my pet?"
Although Piccolo attacked you first, you didn't have to kill it, did you?
Saitama scratched his own cheek with a finger, looking confused. "I didn't kill your pet. I only kill Monsters. I never kill little guys like cats or dogs. Hmm, you must be mistaken. I definitely didn't kill your pet."
King pointed at the pile of shredded meat that was Piccolo and huffed, "Hmph, my pet's corpse is right here! And not only did you kill it, you brutally mutilated the corpse."
"Eh? That Monster was your pet?" Saitama's eyes widened as he stared at King in shock. "You actually keep a Monster as a pet? Aren't you afraid of it?"
King retorted irritably, "Have you ever seen a pet owner who's afraid of their own pet?"
"Oh, but... it attacked me first." Saitama frowned slightly. "It's wrong for a pet to attack passersby. If it bites someone, you have to pay compensation. Hmm, also, you didn't even put a leash on it. That's very dangerous. See, it was about to bite me just now. Because of that, of course I had to hit it back. I didn't expect to kill it, and I didn't mean to kill it so fast."
"..."
King's mouth twitched, and his whole body felt weak. Fine, it was my fault for not leashing a dangerous pet. Piccolo attacked you first, so we're in the wrong there too. Furthermore, a hero's first reaction upon seeing a Monster is to kill it, and Piccolo foolishly attacked you first. It seems I have nothing to say about you killing him. Ugh, summing it all up, how did it turn out that Saitama wasn't at fault at all?
Of course, if Piccolo had truly died, he would have had to demand an explanation from Saitama, even if he was in the wrong. But now that the system had a resurrection mechanism, there was no need to keep bickering.
However, you can lose the battle, but not the face! The fight can be lost, but the momentum cannot!
He stared intently at Saitama and said gravely, "Saitama, we'll let today's matter slide for now. However, I must tell you, one day, there will be a battle between you and me. At that time, life and death will be of no concern."
Yep, throw out a harsh line, make some noise to build up my prestige!
"Huh?"
Saitama looked at King strangely. This guy... is he a psycho?
(Author's Note: Padded for over ten chapters. Piccolo, you're off the shelf now. (So tired!))
(end of chapter)