Disregarded

"Wu Xiu..."

She closed her eyes, gathered all her strength, and cried out that name:

"Sun Wuxiu!!! If you don't come now... everyone's going to die!!!"

"You bastard! You said you'd protect me!!"

Her desperate cries echoed through the deathly silent ruins.

King Piccolo sneered coldly. "Go ahead and scream. Scream your throat raw, and no one will come save you."

"Whoosh—"

The Death Beam fired!

At that critical moment.

Boom!!!

It was as though a meteor had crashed into the earth.

The ground shook violently, and a cloud of dust instantly swallowed everyone from view.

King Piccolo frowned. "Hm? Did I miss?"

The dust cleared.

A tall figure stood with his back to them, like an insurmountable mountain shielding Bulma.

He extended one hand and firmly caught the Death Beam, which was powerful enough to pierce steel, in his palm as if it were a toy.

Crack.

The man clenched his five fingers, crushing the beam into specks of purple light that faded away.

He slowly turned around.

He had a handsome yet cold face, and fury colder than Hell burned in his black eyes.

But when he looked at Bulma and Goku, who lay unable to rise, the anger in his eyes instantly turned into deep guilt.

"Sorry. I lost track of time and came late."

Bulma stared at him blankly, then burst into tears. All her grievances and fear poured out at once.

"You finally came... sob... you big idiot!!"

Sun Wuxiu gently patted her head, then straightened up.

He turned to face King Piccolo.

His previously calm aura vanished completely at that moment.

In its place was a terrifying pressure like that of a primordial beast, so dreadful that even King Piccolo felt his soul tremble.

"Piccolo."

Sun Wuxiu's voice was soft, yet it carried clearly across the entire area.

"You hurt my brother, beat my master, and tried to kill my woman."

"Are you ready... to go back to Hell?"

Over the ruins of Papaya Island, the sea breeze carried the scent of gunpowder as it brushed across everyone's faces.

The air seemed to freeze.

Sun Wuxiu stood there straight as a pine tree, his white training uniform snapping in the wind. He did not immediately unleash any earth-shattering aura. He seemed as calm as a bottomless lake.

Across from him, King Piccolo floated in midair. The once-arrogant expression on his face now showed a trace of uncertainty.

"What's going on..."

Piccolo's sharp ears twitched slightly, and a bead of cold sweat formed on his forehead.

"This guy... has no 'ki' at all?"

To his senses, the man named Sun Wuxiu before him was like a rock or a blade of grass, utterly devoid of any fluctuation of life energy.

Yet the power that had crushed the Death Beam barehanded was undeniably real!

That enormous contradiction filled him, a demon, with instinctive unease.

"Hmph! Empty bravado!"

To conceal the hint of panic in his heart, King Piccolo broke the silence first, his voice chilling to the bone:

"Sun Wuxiu, is it? You certainly talk big."

"Judging by you, you're a martial artist too. Since you could block a casual attack from me, you're slightly stronger than this pile of trash."

"But!" King Piccolo spread his arms wide. Terrifying purple demonic energy surged up behind him, dyeing the sky an eerie color. "Before my invincible strength, restored to its youthful prime, you are still merely a..."

"A slightly stronger ant!"

Faced with King Piccolo's taunts and pressure terrifying enough to crush ordinary people.

Sun Wuxiu acted as if he had not heard him.

He even turned around, leaving his back exposed to this so-called "Demon King."

"..."

Piccolo's expression froze instantly. It was shock and humiliation at being utterly ignored.

Sun Wuxiu walked straight toward the people lying in pools of blood.

The scene was horrifying. Krillin's chest had caved in, and his breathing was so weak it was almost gone;

Master Roshi was covered in blood and unconscious;

Goku was still conscious, but he had clearly reached his limit.

"Good. No one's dead."

Sun Wuxiu let out a quiet sigh of relief, and a trace of fortune flashed through his eyes.

As long as they still had one breath left, even King Yama would not be able to take them from him before the [Horse Talisman].

He crouched down beside Krillin, who was the most severely injured, extended his right hand, and gently pressed it against Krillin's chest.

"Buzz—"

A gentle, warm white light filled with sacred energy glowed from Sun Wuxiu's palm.

It was the power of the [Horse Talisman]—Restoration.

"What... is that?"

Bulma in the distance and Tien Shinhan, who was still conscious, both widened their eyes.

Under their disbelieving gazes, a miracle occurred.

Krillin's sunken breastbone rose again and healed at a visible speed;

His deathly pale complexion swiftly regained color;

His threadlike breathing instantly became steady and strong.

Only three seconds passed.

"Cough, cough!!"

Krillin, who had practically been sentenced to death, suddenly coughed twice and sat straight up, touching his chest with a bewildered expression.

"Huh? I... I'm not dead? And... it doesn't hurt at all?"

"Don't move around. I just fixed you up." Sun Wuxiu patted his bald head, smiled, stood up, and walked toward his next patient—Master Roshi.

King Piccolo's face in the air had turned green.

Actually green—greener than his skin.

"You... you bastard!!"

"You dare ignore this Demon King!! And you're saving people right in front of me?!"

The humiliation of being treated like air instantly shattered King Piccolo's reason.

"Die!!"

He raised his right hand and aimed his index finger at Sun Wuxiu, who was treating Master Roshi. An extremely condensed Death Finger Beam, the Dodon Ray Enhanced Version, gathered at his fingertip.

"Whoosh—!!"

The beam tore through the air with a piercing shriek, shooting straight at the back of Sun Wuxiu's head!

"Wu Xiu, watch out!!" Bulma screamed in terror.

However.

Sun Wuxiu did not even turn his head.

As if swatting away an annoying fly, he casually flicked his left hand backward.

Slap.

A crisp explosion rang out.

The finger beam, powerful enough to pierce a tank, was slapped away by the back of his hand!

Boom!!

The beam ricocheted into the sky and blew apart a dark cloud.

"You're too noisy."

Sun Wuxiu continued sending the Horse Talisman's power into Master Roshi as he said indifferently:

"Can't you see I'm busy? Go play somewhere else."

"Wha... what?!"

King Piccolo's pupils shrank to pinpoints, and his entire body began trembling uncontrollably.

A casual slap... sent my ultimate attack flying?

And he... did not even look at it?

"Wh-what kind of monster is this guy?!"

For the first time, fear crawled into the Demon King's heart like a venomous snake.

The next few minutes were sheer torture for King Piccolo.

Refusing to accept it, he launched attacks wildly.

Ki blasts, barrages of light bullets, eye lasers...

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—boom, boom, boom—"

Yet no matter how he attacked, Sun Wuxiu always neutralized them in the most effortless manner.

Sometimes he merely tilted his head aside to dodge them. Sometimes he raised a hand and slapped them away. Sometimes he simply dispersed them with his ki.

From beginning to end, Sun Wuxiu did not move his feet even once. He remained focused on saving people.

Before long, Master Roshi woke up, Goku stood back up, and Tien Shinhan and Yamcha were both lively and well again.