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Currently on chapter 32.
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"Is it really... over so quickly?" Krillin muttered, swallowing hard.
He looked at Zaiko from afar with wide eyes, still trying to process that Cell had been defeated so easily.
Beside him, Yamcha and Tien Shinhan were exactly the same.
Both of their jaws were practically scraping the ground, too shocked and paralyzed by surprise to manage to articulate a single word.
Piccolo simply snorted, breaking the tense silence of the group.
The Namekian jumped from the top of the hill where they had been watching, descending toward the ruined combat arena.
As he fell, his eyes watched as Goku and Vegeta began to slowly approach where Zaiko was standing.
"Mister Piccolo, wait for me!" Gohan exclaimed.
Gohan, dressed just like Piccolo, didn't hesitate for a second and jumped after him, anxious to reunite with his father and meet his new older brother.
Seeing everyone approach, Future Trunks snapped out of his own stupor.
He clenched his fists and also jumped after them.
But before any of the Z Fighters could even take a step to approach Zaiko, someone else beat them to it!
A figure appeared running at top speed, waving his arms in a comical manner.
It was Mr. Satan.
The man stopped dead in his tracks in front of Zaiko, brought his feet together, straightened his back like a board, and firmly glued his hands to his sides.
Mr. Satan simply bowed in a perfect and rigid 90-degree angle in front of him!
"Master! What a joy to see that you are well!" Mr. Satan exclaimed, greeting him at the top of his lungs.
Zaiko blinked a couple of times, looking at him in surprise and confusion, and pointed to himself with his index finger.
"Huh...?"
Mr. Satan, visibly sweaty and nervous, slightly raised his head to look him in the eyes and then shot a furtive glance backwards.
Several meters away, the small group of reporters and cameramen from the local television channels began to cough loudly, enveloped in a dense cloud of dust caused by the battle.
Taking advantage of the fact that the journalists were still recovering, Mr. Satan took a quick step forward, completely invading Zaiko's personal space, and desperately leaned in close to his ear.
"Please, listen to me!" Mr. Satan pleaded in a low voice. "Play along, I beg you! I can't afford to lose my fame as the strongest Martial Artist in the world. If you help me get out of this, I swear I will reward you enormously! Please, save me!"
Zaiko simply raised an eyebrow.
Keeping his arms crossed and entirely unfazed by the sudden and bold invasion of his personal space, he royally ignored him.
However, forming a small, crooked smile, Zaiko slightly turned his face as he thought of something.
"What kind of reward, exactly?" he asked in a low voice.
"I will give you everything in my power! Anything my fortune can buy, you just have to ask!" Mr. Satan replied, sweating buckets but seeing a ray of hope.
The truth is, deep down, Zaiko quite liked Mr. Satan's character.
In the original story, this man had taken advantage of the fact that the Z Fighters abandoned the scene after Cell's defeat and had told the whole world that he was the true savior.
To humanity, he was the strongest human alive and the undisputed World Martial Arts Champion.
Furthermore, he had been a key character during the Majin Buu Saga. If it weren't for his charisma and fame, Goku would have never managed to gather the energy for the Spirit Bomb that defeated Kid Buu.
And one important fact couldn't be ignored...
Mr. Satan had legitimately won, fair and square, the 24th World Martial Arts Tournament, even if it was only because the Z Fighters hadn't participated.
He knew how to sell his image, he was extremely funny, it couldn't be denied that the guy had charisma and, most importantly of all... he was his little brother's future father-in-law.
"I want a very quiet life..." Zaiko muttered. "So I hope my dear and successful "disciple" will support me financially in the future..."
Saying this, Zaiko gently rubbed his thumb and index finger together, implying that what he wanted was money.
That gesture was universally known throughout the world, so Mr. Satan smiled from ear to ear.
"Leave it in my hands! As your humble disciple, you can expect me to drown you in riches!"
Zaiko raised an eyebrow again.
Actually, he thought to himself that he didn't need money at all, having Zen-Long at his disposal.
«But well... I guess it's good not to abuse wishes», he justified himself.
Only then, Zaiko bent his knees, crouching down to Mr. Satan's height, slightly lower, and quickly began whispering everything he had to say in front of the cameras.
He simply didn't want to look like an idiot in front of the entire planet, so he preferred to invent the whole story himself instead of leaving the narrative in the hands of Mr. Satan's unpredictable improvisation.
After a few minutes, just as Zaiko finished explaining the script to him, the reporters and their cameramen finally managed to regain their vision and shake the dust off themselves.
Immediately, their gazes landed on Mr. Satan's figure.
Like hungry vultures waiting for an exclusive, they all ran toward him, stumbling over the rubble.
"Mr. Satan! Can you explain to us what happened?!" shouted the first to arrive, shoving the microphone almost up the man's nose.
Another reporter elbowed his way through.
"Because of all those fast movements, too much dust was kicked up and we couldn't see anything at the end! Please, explain to us!"
"Mr. Satan, tell us what happened to Cell! Has he finally been defeated?!"
Hearing that last question stand out among the tide of voices, Mr. Satan puffed out his chest and pointed dramatically at the journalist.
"You! I will answer your question first!"
At that precise instant, all the reporters fell silent, holding their microphones firmly near Mr. Satan's face and with their cameras aimed at him.
Behind Mr. Satan, Zaiko looked off in the distance at the group formed by Goku, Vegeta, Piccolo, Gohan, and Trunks, who were observing the scene with genuine confusion.
Zaiko shrugged, raising a hand as if patiently asking them to wait a few minutes. Everyone nodded slowly, though Zaiko could clearly see in the distance how Vegeta clicked his tongue and looked away in deep annoyance.
Suddenly, while the reporters held their breath waiting to learn Cell's fate, Mr. Satan half-turned.
Without taking his eyes off the camera lenses and sporting his characteristic and confident smile, he pointed with an open hand toward Zaiko.
"Allow me to introduce the greatest martial arts master in the entire history of the world!" Mr. Satan announced with a thunderous voice. "An old hermit who has lived hidden for thousands of years!"
Mr. Satan made a dramatic pause, leaving a few brief and tense moments of suspense, before concluding...
"I present to you the master who taught me everything I know! And don't be fooled by his appearance, he is extremely old, just look at his white hair!"
Zaiko, standing a few meters away, rolled his eyes hard.
«I told him not to exaggerate so much...», he thought, sighing.
Hearing all that, the cameras swung violently, focusing squarely on Zaiko.
The reporters lost their minds and began to bombard him with an avalanche of questions.
"What is the name of this great martial artist?!"
"Was he the one who defeated Cell?!"
"That's right, I remember seeing him be the last one fighting against the monster Cell and holding a clear advantage!"
Seeing the attention slipping away from him, Mr. Satan gave an agile jump and placed himself like a shield between the cameras and Zaiko.
However, amidst the chaos, he turned to Zaiko for a few moments, in a cold sweat, and whispered under his breath:
"Hey... what is your name?" he asked, realizing that he didn't know him at all and they hadn't had time for formal introductions.
"Zaiko," he whispered through gritted teeth.
Getting his answer, Mr. Satan turned back to the reporters with his confidence restored a thousand percent.
"My venerable master is not a very talkative man, he prefers action over words, so I will speak on his behalf!" Mr. Satan declared, raising his arms. "His name is Zaiko! And I want everyone to know that it's only thanks to his harsh teachings that I am known today as the Champion of the 24th World Martial Arts Tournament! Thank you, master, for making me the man I am today!"
To add more drama to the scene, Mr. Satan rubbed his eyes, letting out some crocodile tears in front of the cameras.
Behind his back, Zaiko rolled his eyes at him again, genuinely surprised by his impeccable, albeit shameless, ability to improvise.
"But listen closely!" Mr. Satan continued, regaining his composure and adopting a serious tone. "When my master Zaiko was about to defeat Cell... whom he was beating unilaterally for being vastly more powerful than that disgusting monster... he made the mistake of getting distracted for a second! Something completely rare in a man of his caliber..."
Zaiko glared at him.
That part wasn't in the damn script. He was deviating dangerously from what they had agreed upon so he could look like the final hero, making him look ridiculous, something he didn't want at all.
Noticing Zaiko's murderous glare burning into the back of his neck, Mr. Satan coughed a couple of times, feeling a shiver run down his spine.
"A-ahem! But well, as they say around here... even the best hunter loses their prey!" he tried to fix it, shrugging his shoulders and laughing nervously with his hands on his hips. "We all make a few mistakes from time to time, you can't hold it against him!"
Once past the bump, he resumed his role.
"It was exactly in that moment of weakness when I, his faithful student, intervened! I jumped into the arena and dealt the finishing blow to Cell with my secret technique, saving my beloved master and ending the threat once and for all!"
The story was a resounding success.
The reporters, moved by the emotion and adrenaline of the moment, began to cry their eyes out at the incredible and touching story of a brave student saving his master at his worst moment.
This was the scoop of the century.
The story of the disciple who, after years of hard training, manages to surpass the master and claims victory against the greatest monster humanity had ever faced.
This was the brilliant birth of the Hero of Humanity, the strongest Martial Artist under the heavens, the unparalleled Mr. Satan!
While Mr. Satan ecstatically enjoyed the attention, the flashes, and the praises raining down on him, he turned with a bright smile to give Zaiko a thumbs up.
But Zaiko was no longer there; he had vanished like a ghost.
Without missing a beat, Mr. Satan turned back to the cameras with an understanding expression.
"My friends, my master is a deeply shy man who doesn't like to socialize. So many cameras surely made him nervous... Please forgive him for having left so abruptly, but his path as a martial artist calls him!"
At that moment, one of the cameramen pointed in the distance.
"Mr. Satan, look! Master Zaiko went to chat with that group!" he exclaimed, focusing on Goku and the rest.
When all the reporters realized this, they wanted to run in that direction to also get some statements from the mysterious Martial Artist.
But Mr. Satan quickly intervened, extending both arms to stop them dead in their tracks.
"Halt right there! I'm warning you for your own good!" he told them with a suddenly serious and alarming tone. "My master is a man with a very bad temper and he hates the press. It's highly likely that if you bother him in his free time, he might get furious and not be responsible for his actions! Think of him like the typical annoying old man you meet on the street! IT'S BETTER NOT TO BOTHER HIM!"
While the reporters backed away scared, grateful for their hero's warning, Mr. Satan swallowed hard, thinking to himself...
«These idiots have no idea what they're doing... If they actually bother that guy, it's highly likely that all of humanity will suffer far more than if Cell had won».