Tony, Who Knew When to Back Down

Tony and Yinsen stared in confusion at Saitama, who was acting completely carefree, without the slightest trace of tension. They couldn't help feeling a little frantic. What kind of place was this? It was a terrorist hideout! They had no idea how Saitama had managed to sneak in, but there were cameras monitoring the cave. Saitama should have been spotted the moment he walked inside.

In a situation like this, instead of thinking about how to get the two of them out, Saitama had stopped to fiddle with his communicator?

"That bald guy's got something wrong with him." Tony and Yinsen exchanged a glance, each seeing the same thought in the other's eyes.

"Hey, hey, what are you doing, baldy? Didn't you come to rescue me? Things are dangerous right now. What are you doing?" Tony couldn't help shouting at Saitama.

"Hm? What did you call me?" Saitama abruptly turned and stared at Tony.

"Uh, well, I, I just meant that we're still in danger, so we should be careful. How many people came with you? Where are they? Can you guarantee our safety?" Seeing Saitama's expression, Tony sensed that something was off and very wisely changed the subject.

"Companions? You mean Skye? She should be driving over here now." Saitama thought it over. He could run all the way back himself, but Tony Stark was with him, and Tony Stark was only human. It would be safer for him to ride in a car.

"Hm? Are you saying your companions haven't arrived yet?" Tony frowned, a strong sense of dread rising in his heart.

"Yeah!" Saitama nodded.

"Damn it! You idiot, you bald moron! If you were alone, why did you charge in here? You've already been spotted, you know? Damn it! Now they'll storm in and shoot you full of holes. Damn it, this is awful. I thought some kind of elite team was coming to rescue me, but I never expected an idiot like you!" Tony was about to lose his mind. He'd thought he was about to be rescued, but now it seemed someone had come to get him killed. Tony was sure the terrorists would charge in and riddle the bald young man, Yinsen, and him with bullets.

"Huh?" Hearing Tony call him a baldy again, Saitama felt a vein throbbing on his head.

At that moment, just as Tony had predicted, the terrorists stormed in. The moment they spotted Saitama on the surveillance cameras, their expressions changed. They called over a large group of men and charged in with guns and explosives.

They'd even decided to kill Tony, the troublemaker, too. They did want him to build the Jericho Missile, but if he became a source of trouble, they could always give up on the missile or simply pay Stark Industries for one later.

While Tony and Saitama were talking, a crowd of men—dozens of guns—came rushing in all at once.

Bang!

A bullet shot straight toward Saitama's bald head. After all, it was the shiniest target.

Saitama was in a terrible mood. He'd come to rescue someone, only to be insulted by Mr. One Hundred Million Dollars. But Mr. One Hundred Million Dollars was worth a lot, so he couldn't just hit him. Luckily, the terrorists came charging in, and Saitama threw a punch.

Boom!

It was comparable to an intercontinental missile explosion.

With a thunderous boom, all the terrorists—and a huge section of the cave—vanished completely. The punch had even reached the terrorists in the valley outside and hit them all.

The cave was almost completely destroyed. Only the patch of ceiling above Saitama, Tony, and Yinsen remained, and sunlight slanted down onto the three of them.

"Were you calling me a baldy?" Saitama turned and glared at Tony.

"Gulp!" Tony swallowed hard, nearly choking on it.

"Cough, cough—no, no, I, I was talking about myself. I meant that I'm a baldy. Uh, I might go bald in a few years. Right, that's it." Tony explained, very much willing to back down. He did his best to stay calm, but he couldn't help looking at Saitama as if he were a monster.

"Crackle, crackle—Saitama, Saitama, can you hear me? What's going on? Is the signal bad? Saitama, are you okay? How are things over there, Saitama?"

The cave had been blown away, and the communicator's signal cleared up at once. Skye's voice finally came through clearly.

"Huh? Great. I couldn't hear a thing you were saying before. I thought this thing was broken." Saitama stopped paying attention to the very-subdued Tony Stark and spoke into the communicator.

"Saitama, did you find Mr. One Hundred Million Dollars?" Since Saitama always called Tony Stark Mr. One Hundred Million Dollars, Skye had gradually decided she liked the name and started using it too.

"I found him. He looks a little dirty and smells a little bad, like he hasn't bathed in a year, but he's definitely Mr. One Hundred Million Dollars." As he spoke, Saitama glanced at Tony.

Listening to Saitama and Skye, Tony's face darkened. He knew Saitama was right. In these conditions, even drinking water had been a problem, let alone bathing. They'd been eating, drinking, and relieving themselves in the cave, so it was no wonder they smelled terrible.

"You really found him? That's great! Saitama, make sure Mr. One Hundred Million Dollars stays safe. If you can, take him somewhere safe."

"Mm." Saitama looked at the canyon-like gap he'd punched into existence. There were no terrorists left, and even the guns and ammunition had all but disappeared. "It's safe now. You can come pick him up."

"Okay, I'm on my way. You really are the best, Saitama. Wait for me—I'll be there soon." Skye was overjoyed. She started the car and sped toward Saitama.

After ending the call, Saitama turned back to look at Tony, checking once more. Yes, despite how bedraggled he was, he was definitely Mr. One Hundred Million Dollars.

Seeing Saitama look at him again, Tony tried very hard to pull his lips into a smile, doing his best to look agreeable.

"Um, I don't know your name yet," Tony said, suppressing his panic and speaking to Saitama in the gentlest voice he'd ever used.

Hearing that voice, Saitama shuddered and gave Tony a strange look. "Mr. One Hundred Million Dollars, why does your voice sound so weird?"

"..." Tony wanted to curse. If Saitama weren't so unbelievably powerful, making him panic, would he be trying so hard to speak gently? It was bad enough that Saitama didn't appreciate it; now he was saying Tony sounded weird.

Although Tony was thoroughly annoyed, the punch Saitama had thrown still kept him from getting too bold. "Ahem, well, the conditions here are so bad that my throat's a little messed up."

"Oh, I see."

"Yeah, that's it."

Yinsen was just as afraid of the bald guy, who seemed like a great demon king, but seeing the usually haughty Tony acting this way amused him. If he hadn't been so frightened, he would almost have laughed out loud.