Money in the Bank

"Mr. Saitama." Tony's manner grew a little more polite. "Could I ask you to tell me how you trained? Well, I know this is a bit of an unreasonable request. It's like I invented the Jericho Missile and someone came asking me for the instructions to build one. That would be asking a lot, but I can compensate you. I'll pay you handsomely. How about a hundred million dollars? I could pay more, too." Tony really wanted to know the training method that had made someone as powerful as Saitama.

"A hundred million dollars?" Saitama looked at Tony in apparent surprise.

Seeing Saitama's reaction, Tony's lips curled into a smug smile. Never mind the other conditions; when it came to money alone, he was confident no one in the world had more than he did. "That's right. A hundred million dollars. I'll give you a hundred million in exchange for your training method."

"Actually, I don't need that much money, but if you want it, I can give it to you." Saitama nodded.

"Thank you."

"Run ten kilometers every day. Do a hundred push-ups, a hundred sit-ups, and a hundred squats. Keep at it every day, and eat three good meals a day. A banana for breakfast is fine, too. To push yourself to the limit and toughen your spirit, don't use air conditioning in summer or winter."

"Of course, at first it was so hard I felt like dying. I wanted to take a day off, but I was determined to become a powerful hero. No matter how hard it got, even when I was throwing up blood, I never stopped. Even when my legs stopped working properly, I kept doing squats. Even when my arms made weird cracking sounds, I kept doing push-ups."

"Then, a year and a half ago, I realized I'd changed. I'd gone bald! And then I got stronger. In other words, train like crazy until you're bald. That's the only way to become strong."

Saitama earnestly described his training regimen, putting on an expression that showed how grueling those days had been.

Skye clapped both hands over her mouth to keep from laughing. She already knew Saitama would say this.

"..." Tony.

After a long pause, Tony looked at Saitama mockingly. "Saitama, fine if you don't want to tell me, but please don't treat me like an idiot. First, you should know that the person sitting in front of you is the smartest man in the world—Tony Stark. So you can spare me that childish story. Ha, running ten kilometers every day? A hundred push-ups and a hundred sit-ups? Ha."

Saitama rubbed his bald head, looking confused. "Why are you reacting just like Skye did at first? But I'm telling the truth."

"..." Tony stared at Saitama speechlessly and shook his head. "You're a pretty good actor. You almost made it sound like you meant it."

Saitama looked baffled, but it didn't matter. Tony Stark could believe him or not; it had nothing to do with him. The only thing he regretted was losing out on that hundred million dollars. But that was all right, too. He already had a hundred million dollars, which was more than enough to live on for the rest of his life. He wouldn't even need to buy discounted food anymore. Saitama was perfectly satisfied.

Looking a little displeased, Tony got up from beside Saitama and moved to another seat some distance away.

Tony thought he could understand Saitama. If he had invented something powerful, he would never hand it over to anyone else, not even if they offered to buy it. So it was perfectly normal for Saitama not to share his training method—or whatever had made him strong. The only thing that annoyed Tony was that he felt Saitama had deliberately fobbed him off with a story that wouldn't fool a child.

The plane landed, and Saitama and Tony had just stepped off.

"We're in New York now. You can come with me to Stark Industries and collect the hundred million dollars, or you can go to Stark Industries tomorrow and pick up the reward. Of course, if you trust me, you can leave me your bank account details, and I'll have the money transferred as soon as possible." Tony spoke to Saitama and Skye with a hint of impatience, as though having to make a fuss over such a small sum as a hundred million dollars was beneath him.

"Um, we'd rather get the money as soon as possible." Skye knew Stark Industries wouldn't short them a hundred million dollars, but she still couldn't help wanting the money right away. It was better to have it safely in hand; the sooner they got paid, the sooner they could relax.

"Fine. I'll hold a press conference in a little while. After it's over, I'll have someone transfer the money directly to you." Tony nodded.

By then, a swarm of reporters had already rushed over and surrounded Tony. Countless microphones were thrust toward his face, and one nearly ended up in his mouth.

"All right, quiet down. I'll be holding a press conference shortly, where I have a very important announcement to make. Also, go buy me two cheeseburgers. I haven't had one in ages, and I've really missed them." Although Tony was still wearing the same dirty clothes and even smelled a little, he had a unique charisma that made people overlook his appearance.

"Tony! This is wonderful. You're finally back. I knew you'd be all right. It's really wonderful. Wonderful." Just then, a bald man pushed through the reporters and gave Tony a big hug. It was Obadiah Stane.

"Thanks. I'm back, all right. By the way, I heard you specifically went and found Saitama and Skye. I'm really grateful. If you hadn't brought them in, I might not have made it out of that hellhole." Tony smiled, looking genuinely happy and sincere. He really did think of Obadiah Stane as family—as an elder.

Obadiah Stane's smile stiffened when he heard Tony say that. Of course he'd heard that Tony had been rescued. He even knew who'd rescued him, and that was precisely why he was in such a bad mood.

When Obadiah Stane had first seen Skye and Saitama together, he'd recognized almost at once that they weren't mercenaries at all. They were plainly two nobodies with no real skills—con artists, through and through. And because he thought Saitama and Skye were useless, he'd recommended them for the job of finding Tony.

But he'd never dreamed that Saitama and Skye would actually find Tony, and so quickly, too. Heaven knew that when he heard the news, he'd smashed up his office, even destroying many of the treasured collectibles he loved. Then, after smashing them, he'd been heartbroken.

Forcing a smile that looked natural, Obadiah Stane scanned the crowd. At last he spotted a shiny, gleaming bald head, and his eyes narrowed slightly. That bald Saitama looked like an idiot, so how had the two of them found Tony? They'd even managed to rescue him. Damn it. Damn it all.

"By the way, Uncle Obadiah, have them transfer the one-hundred-million-dollar reward into their bank accounts now."

"Uh, sure, Tony. I'll give the order right away."

Just a few minutes later, Skye's phone buzzed. She checked it and saw a text message saying a transfer had arrived in her bank account. Her breathing turned quick and ragged as she stared wide-eyed, trying to count the zeroes. For some reason, she just couldn't tell how many there were. In the end, her eyes rolled back, and she fainted from the excitement.