Deep in a cold, damp cave, droplets fell from the tips of stalactites and struck the rocks, echoing monotonously through the darkness.
This was a secret stronghold of the Crane School, unknown to the outside world.
Master Shen's face was livid. His thin fingers nearly crushed the cane in his hand.
On the holographic screen before him, footage from the World Martial Arts Tournament played over and over: Tien Shinhan and Son Goku's brutal draw, and, worst of all, Tien Shinhan's fight with Lin Fan!
Especially that final moment, when Lin Fan had casually thrust out a palm that carried no trace of "ki," yet sent Tien Shinhan, who had unleashed the Four Witches Technique, staggering backward through the air!
"Useless! You're all useless!"
Master Shen suddenly swung his cane, smashing a nearby stalagmite to pieces!
Stone fragments flew everywhere.
The genius disciple he had painstakingly trained, Tien Shinhan, heir to the Crane School's ultimate techniques, had been forced back by some obscure kid with pitifully weak ki, using some unorthodox trick!
Sure, Tien Shinhan had won in the end, but it had been a humiliating, miserable victory!
And on top of that, Tien Shinhan and Chiaotzu had actually shown interest in that kid!
It was as if the Crane School's reputation had been ground into the dirt!
"And that old Turtle Hermit!"
Master Shen gritted his teeth, his grizzled mustache trembling. "It had to be him! Who knows where he dug up this freak and taught him all sorts of nonsense, just to get under my skin!"
He would never allow anyone to challenge the Crane School's authority, least of all in a way he couldn't understand! This kind of "unorthodox nonsense" had to be stamped out before it took root!
Otherwise, who would respect the Crane School?
But to act personally? That would be beneath him.
And that old geezer, Master Roshi, was bound to be keeping an eye on things.
Tien Shinhan?
The kid had recently returned from training at the Lookout, and his mind seemed a little unsettled. Besides, he probably wouldn't be willing to go after someone he'd already beaten.
He needed a sharp blade.
A cold, efficient blade that obeyed without question and could utterly destroy that kind of "unorthodox nonsense."
A sinister glint flashed in Master Shen's cloudy eyes.
He walked deeper into the cave, toward an ancient communicator. It looked like a giant conch shell embedded in stone.
He took a deep breath, channeled a trace of ki, and activated the device.
A faint blue light glowed from the mouth of the shell. A cold, emotionless voice echoed directly in his mind, with the metallic rasp of grinding steel.
"Speak."
"Mercenary Tao," Master Shen said, suppressing his unease. He had always been somewhat wary of his fellow disciple. "I've got a job. You interested?"
"Target, strength, location, payment."
The reply was brief, with no pleasantries.
"Target: Lin Fan. Strength... unknown. His ki is weak, but his techniques are bizarre. He seems to use some form of energy unrelated to ki. He can hover at low altitudes and has unusual defensive and ranged-force techniques. Location: West City, Capsule Corporation. Payment: the usual rate, triple."
Master Shen spoke quickly, emphasizing "unrelated to ki" and "bizarre."
The communicator fell silent for a few seconds, as if retrieving information.
A moment later, Mercenary Tao's cold voice returned, edged with faint, bone-chilling contempt.
"Lin Fan? That insect who played cheap tricks at the World Martial Arts Tournament? According to the records, his battle power is low. His assessment is... a nobody. You want the world's greatest assassin to deal with a nobody?"
Master Shen felt a vein throb in his forehead. "Don't underestimate him! His abilities are bizarre! Tien Shinhan got caught off guard and suffered for it! I suspect he has ties to that old geezer, and may have learned some kind of technique we don't know about—"
"Excuses."
Mercenary Tao cut him off coldly. "Tien Shinhan lost because he was weak and foolish. Any technique that can't be measured by ki is a joke in the face of absolute power."
He paused. His voice remained flat, but brimmed with absolute confidence and cruelty. "Still... triple payment is enough to make me lift a finger. I'll even sweep the dust from the Crane School's doorstep for you, senior brother."
The insult made Master Shen's face darken, but he held his tongue. "Good. Just make it quick and clean. Leave no evidence! Make it look like an accident, if you can!"
"Hmph."
Mercenary Tao snorted, as if he'd heard the most tedious request imaginable. "I am Mercenary Tao. I never fail to kill, and I have no need to disguise it. I'll go to West City myself. That insect and his little tricks will disappear together."
The connection abruptly ended, and the blue light inside the shell went dark.
Master Shen let out a long breath, a vicious grin spreading across his face. Mercenary Tao never failed.
That kid named Lin Fan was as good as dead!
The Crane School would soon reclaim its reputation!
Far across the ocean, atop a skyscraper.
A figure dressed in the spotless white uniform of a classic assassin slowly lowered an old-fashioned telephone receiver. Its cord was connected directly to the building's lightning rod, as if he had just made an ordinary local call.
The world's greatest assassin, Mercenary Tao.
His features were stern, his gaze as indifferent as ageless ice. An utterly emotionless aura of bloodlust radiated from him.
He walked to the edge of the roof and looked down at the city, tiny as a toy set beneath his feet.
"West City... Capsule Corporation... Lin Fan..."
He repeated the target information under his breath, as if reading from a menu that didn't matter.
He took a state-of-the-art Battle Power Detector from inside his uniform and put it on.
Countless points of light appeared on the screen in the direction of West City. Most registered feeble readings below five.
"Faint ki... bizarre abilities..."
Mercenary Tao's lips curled into a cold, deeply contemptuous smile. "Putting on a show."
In his philosophy of killing, there were only the strong and the weak.
Anything the detector couldn't quantify was dismissed as "useless" and "false."
Powerful ki was everything. Anyone trying to make up for weak ki with "technique" was a pathetic weakling struggling in vain, and an insult to martial arts—as he saw them.
He leaped lightly, drifting off the skyscraper like a feather.
As he fell, he made an elegant flick of his hand.
Boom!
In the distance, a small reconnaissance airship emblazoned with the Red Ribbon Army's insignia happened to fly past. It suddenly exploded in midair, becoming a ball of fire!
The pilot inside didn't even have time to scream.
Mercenary Tao didn't spare the fireball a glance. His body abruptly changed direction in midair, defying the laws of physics, and shot toward the horizon like a guided missile.
A huge stone pillar, its origin unknown, slid precisely beneath his feet and caught him.
He stood atop it with his hands behind his back. The powerful wind whipped his uniform, but his expression remained cold and merciless.
"Mission target: eliminate Lin Fan."
"Deadline: before my next meal."
"Mission difficulty..." He paused, as if stating a universal truth.
"Zero."
The pillar tore through the clouds and sped toward West City at astonishing speed.
His deadly intent had crossed the ocean and locked precisely onto its target.
Meanwhile, in the underground laboratory at Capsule Corporation in West City, Lin Fan had just finished a round of gravity training. Wiping away his sweat, he remained completely unaware of the disaster about to descend upon him.
The crisis, like a sword of Damocles hanging over his head, suddenly plunged down!
Before you continue