Saiyan stowaways on the Ark

[Main Text] Dragon Gate Chronicles: Chapter Fifteen - The Evil Demon in the Smoke

Many people have only heard of the Originium Arts of the Sandstorm, since very few have actually witnessed them, let alone how much information the objects of these arts could convey.

From simply blocking vision and blinding the eyes, to engulfing the opponent with quicksand, absorbing moisture or crushing the body, or easily blocking the impact of a huge explosion with a shield made of sand, all of these are easy things for the Rat King.

At the same time, the Rat King has absolute perception of the area covered by sand and dust.

But it is precisely because of this that he is confused.

Where did the young man he wanted to protect go?

Let's rewind a few seconds to before the dust storm started.

The Originium-blasting crossbow bolts and the replica Sakota guns made on the black market were unleashed on Tomat the moment Gambino, who was hiding in a building observing the alley from afar, gave the order.

The crossbow bolt struck the body, and the arrowhead immediately heated up and expanded upon impact, bursting into highly lethal high-energy stone fragments. The replica Sarkaz gun continued to fire bullets at the blurry figure amidst the explosions.

The explosion and shockwave destroyed the door, scattering wood chips everywhere. What will happen to the flesh and blood body in the very center?

Although they couldn't replicate the repeating gun, and no one in the Gambino family could handle it, the well-trained gang members still accurately aimed at their target and fired the entire magazine—live ammunition, of course.

But were the targets they hit really flesh and blood?

Because everyone who fires a gun feels that the sound of the bullet hitting the target is as crisp as a bullet hitting metal.

But before they could check on Tomat's condition during the reload, a sandstorm that blotted out the sky swept across the entire area.

With almost no field of vision, the effectiveness of shooting is greatly reduced.

They knew the Rat King had made his move, but now there was no way out, because their "parents" had said that the Rat King wanted to exterminate them.

"Get off! Load up! If it's a numbers game, this side has the advantage!" *1

Gambino left his surveillance post, shielding himself from the sandstorm, and gave orders to his men.

“We’ve already taken one down. Now all we need to do is surround the house and eliminate the rest. The Rat King still has others with him, and he’ll definitely use his Unopenable Stone Technique. This is our golden opportunity!”

Capone, who was skilled with crossbows, had little use for his equipment at this point, but he still followed Gambino, preparing to storm the house where the Rat King and Penguin Logistics were located.

These two hadn't worked together like this in a long time since they were expelled from Syracuse.

Perhaps the two, who are usually at odds, are only cooperating because of the circumstances, but the feeling of working together to save their family from peril is real to them.

We are Sicilians, proud Sicilians. Even in a foreign land, we will uphold our own way of life instead of being bullied.

They slowly approached the gate. The smoke and dust from the previous explosion had not completely dissipated, and because the Rat King had restrained his skills, there was not too much sandstorm here, and the view was relatively more open.

"Strange...aren't there too few people? Where are the assassins lying in ambush in the alley?"

Logically speaking, the drivers blocking both sides of the alley should have arrived here much faster than Gambino and the others who had just arrived.

Gambino looked at the burning wreckage, covered his nose to prevent inhaling sand and dust, and took a deep sniff.

"No, there's no smell of blood or corpses in this pile of garbage! Where did that Siesta go!?"

Gambino shouted, whether out of disregard or oblivious to the fact that the Rat King and his men were inside the house.

"Could you please keep your conspiracy a little quieter?"

At the end of the alley, the wind and sand obscured the view, but Tomat's voice and unusually heavy footsteps still drowned out the sound of the wind and sand and reached their ears.

And a huge shadow that grew clearer as Tomat approached.

That was the reason for Tomat's heavy steps—a vehicle he had crumpled into a ball, and if he hadn't thoughtfully preserved the Gambino family crest on it, probably no one would have recognized what the huge scrap metal ball he was holding aloft was.

"You were talking about surrounding me? I think you're the ones who are surrounded by me all by myself. Here you go."

Tomat's movements are not quite accurate to describe as bowling, because it's hard to tell whether the ball is too big or the pins are too small.

However, the moment the iron ball left his hand, the narrow alleyway transformed into a rolling track.

And that speed isn't something you can just dodge.

Everyone scrambled to the sides, but those who couldn't dodge in time were either run over or knocked away.

Broken limbs, splattered crimson—it looked as if a bloody bowling match had been held here.

However, Tomat did not get the highest score because Gambino, who was the leader, jumped onto the high wall next to him, and Capone, who crawled into the wide-open restaurant door.

"Who exactly are you?!"

Crushing vehicles with his bare hands, sending people flying like toys—coupled with that frivolous expression that seemed to show he wasn't taking the fight seriously at all, Gambino felt that when he first had the chance to attack him, he hadn't used a more powerful explosive.

"I'm just a Saiyan passing by."

Tomat also jumped onto the high wall, standing with Gambino on an even narrower foothold. They approached each other step by step, and as they introduced themselves, their tails were untied from their waists, swaying and stirring up the sand.

"I don't care if you're a Saiyan or a vegetable!"

A straight line – since they're standing in a straight line, the only option is to attack through the front gate, which aligns with Gambino's personality and fighting style.

At this moment, Tomat seemed to be warming up, tilting his neck and making a cracking sound.

He drew his sword, slashed horizontally, and with a single blow, cut through the sand and dust, the blade gleaming against Tomat's neck, aiming straight for his head. *Note 2

"clang!"

Half of the blade bounced into the air, slowly fell to the ground, and embedded itself in the stone slabs of the alley that had been trampled by thousands of people.

"You asked me first, but at least you knew to aim for my neck, so you're not exactly naive, are you?"

"Wait! Wait a minute!"

"You cut me off halfway through your sentence, and now you want me to wait? What a convenient deal!"

Tomat pressed his fist against Gambino's abdomen, then moved his arm back and forth—not with force, but not with mercy either.

In the slums covered by sand and dust, a huge hole appeared in the endless sand and dust cage, blasted out by the wind.

And in the very center of the void, it keeps drifting away, and heaven knows how far it will fly before it stops.

"Ah... I forgot to ask them where the guy who spilled my noodles is. I didn't see him among the other guys either. Oh well, there should be other people around."

1: A reference to Gundam, from the second season of Gundam 00: "In close combat, this side has the advantage" (then gets cut in half by gun and mobile suit).

2: The Namek Saga's reference to Frieza holding back against Nail

[Main Text] Dragon Gate Chronicles: Chapter Sixteen - The Punishment of Running Over a Man with a Car

"What happened? Wasn't it just one person who broke in? How did the old man get injured?"

Having chosen the wrong escape route, Capone is now bound hand and foot by Penguin Logistics personnel, and Lappland is stabbing him in the face with her sword.

But the Rat King was lying on a makeshift bed made of benches, being looked after by Uncle Dong.

"It's nothing, young man, just a rush of energy... I'll have a doctor check on you later. I wanted to use Originium Arts to protect you and cover the others' escape, but who knew I'd be so weak. I guess I'm getting old..."

This is of course a lie.

Although the Rat King is old, he still possesses Originium Arts of this level with ease. To those around him, he is already comparable to a natural disaster, but the power he has displayed is merely the tip of the iceberg.

—He was injured because some powerful force forcibly destroyed his Originium Arts.

But the person involved had no such awareness whatsoever.

"Grandpa, don't push yourself. We've taken care of a lot of the stuff outside. I'll go clean up the rest."

Thomas gave a few instructions. If the Rat King hadn't closed his eyes, he probably would have noticed that the way the Rat King looked at him had changed a lot.

"Hey Texas, how much time has passed since this started?"

"...two and a half minutes."

What is our fastest record?

"...I forgot, anyway it was slower than this, and I don't remember those things being timed challenges."

Lappland looked at Tomat, who had come to Capone's side, sheathed her sword, the tip of which was stained with blood, and began to have a very reluctant conversation with Texas.

"Damn it! I lost! Don't you want to come back and challenge me again?"

"...Ugh."

Texas sighed and stopped asking Tomat, who had surprised her more times than the number of chocolate chips she had eaten that day, and simply said as if it were a routine, "Boss, consider the consequences before you act, of course I don't mean your personal safety."

"Now you understand why we didn't go with them, right, Grandpa?"

Exusiai also spoke to the Rat King, who was lying down to rest.

"So, boss, what are you doing now?" Croissant watched as Tomat squatted down next to Capone and unhesitatingly ripped the lip seal off his mouth. "Wow, thank goodness he doesn't have a beard..."

“I was planning to ask him something,” Tomat said, looking at Capone, whose face was filled with terror and whose glasses were half shattered.

"Torture? Oh, that's my specialty. Want me to do it...?"

Lapland's eager look terrified Capone even more.

"Cough cough."

Uncle Dong coughed slightly. Although he had seen many storms with the Rat King when he was young, he did not want his adopted son to come into contact with these things too early—or rather, never to come into contact with them at all.

"What else do you want to know? You just wanted to take advantage of this chaos to wipe us out and get everything from us. Just kill us all! Ha, I thought the Dragon Gate Rat King was some kind of courageous guy, but he's just a treacherous and filthy rat!"

Perhaps this was the last defiant word he could utter only after squeezing out every last drop of his bile.

—Then Uncle Dong, who had previously prevented them from interrogating him, suddenly kicked him, though no one knew how he, with a leg disability, managed to do it.

"What nonsense are you spouting? The old man was just helping me find someone and then invited me to dinner. You all took it too seriously and started attacking, resulting in deaths and injuries. And now you're even cursing him."

"...?"

Thomas thoughtfully explained the Rat King's story to Capone, whose face was covered in footprints and whose nose was almost flattened.

Whether he believes it or not is irrelevant; the problem is, everyone present will only give them this explanation:

You brought this trouble upon yourselves, not because the Rat King betrayed you. A simple matter has been turned into an uncontrollable situation by you, and you only have yourself to blame.

Tomat, who put them in such a sorry state, never cared whether these claims were true or not from the beginning.

Regret, annoyance, anger, despair...

All these kinds of emotions flooded Capone's mind.

“You know what? Young people, I know that one day you will challenge me, but never under such misunderstanding.”