"Tao Pai Pai, huh..." A nostalgic look appeared on Setsuna's face. "That brings back quite distant memories."
It was not long after he had first transmigrated into the Dragon Ball World. To become a disciple of Master Shen, he had deliberately gotten close to Tao Pai Pai, then the world's number one assassin, hoping to inquire about Master Shen's whereabouts through him.
At a tavern in South City, he and Tao Pai Pai had encountered a young Mr. Satan.
Satan was training with his martial arts master at the time. After drinking too much, Satan's master loudly mocked Tao Pai Pai's hairstyle, calling it a 'pig tail'.
Tao Pai Pai had originally intended to 'lick' them to death, but Setsuna volunteered, asking Tao Pai Pai to leave these 'small fries' to him.
Then, with just two casual moves, he severely wounded Satan and his master, ultimately sparing their lives.
Satan now fully recalled that bone-deep fear.
A youth around his own age back then, yet impossibly strong, beyond human limits.
His master, the three-time consecutive World Martial Arts Champion, couldn't even withstand a single move from the young man, sent flying back with blood spewing from his mouth, several ribs broken.
Since then, Satan had made a secret vow: never again fight an opponent whose true identity was unclear and who was terrifyingly strong.
But now, that nightmare of a youth had reappeared.
"Setsuna!"
Krillin, Tien, Yamcha, and the others spotted Setsuna and excitedly gathered around.
"Great, you're back!" Krillin was almost crying with relief. "King Kai-sama said earlier you were fighting a terrifyingly strong enemy deep in space. We were all worried sick!"
"Yeah!" Yamcha sighed with relief. "We thought you wouldn't make it back in time!"
Setsuna smiled and patted Krillin on the shoulder: "The enemy was indeed strong, but I managed to seal him away."
"Speaking of which..." Setsuna's gaze swept over everyone, then fixed on Goku and Cell fighting in the sky. "How did you guys manage this? You knew the enemy in advance, yet things still escalated to this point?"
Trunks stepped forward, a look of guilt on his face. He explained, "It's because my traveling back in time to this era caused some changes to the future I knew."
"That's enough, Trunks." Vegeta's voice rang out coldly. "Don't make excuses for me."
A rare trace of guilt appeared on his face: "It was because of my arrogance. I insisted on waiting for Cell to become Perfect, wanting to fight him at his strongest, which gave him the chance to absorb No.18."
"So, this situation is entirely my fault."
These words stunned everyone.
Even Setsuna showed a flicker of surprise in his eyes.
He didn't expect this proud Saiyan prince to actually admit fault voluntarily.
'It seemed living on Earth over the years had indeed changed him quite a bit.'
Thinking about the Dragon Ball Super plot, Setsuna shook his head inwardly.
The further into the later stages, the more obvious Vegeta's 'humanity' became.
In contrast, Goku was fine for now, but once he reached the Super Saiyan God stage, he would truly start resembling 'Goku the battle maniac'.
While they were talking, Satan and the TV host were utterly confused.
"Deep space? Time travel?" The host lowered his voice, leaning close to Satan's ear. "Mr. Satan, are these guys acting again? Isn't this script too ridiculous?"
Satan was truly at a loss for words.
He wanted to follow the host's line and say, "Yes, it's all acting", but the moment he saw Setsuna's face, the fear from over a decade ago surged back, and his legs began to weaken again.
Satan's heart grew cold: 'He sent my master to the ICU with a casual move back then. If I annoy him, would my body withstand a single slap?'
Thinking this, Satan straightened up abruptly, putting on an expression of 'painful realization', and spoke to the host with righteous indignation:
"What nonsense are you talking about! How could any of this be fake?"
"Given the circumstances, I suppose I have no choice but to tell you the truth!"
He took a deep breath and declared in a solemn, awe-inspiring voice: "True martial artists can fly through the skies and split mountains and rocks, just like those two in the sky."
"It's just that those of us standing at the pinnacle of martial arts, in order not to discourage ordinary people, to let the public still see the meaning of hard work."
"In past public competitions and performances, we deliberately hid most of our true strength."
"This is the benevolence of martial artists, do you understand?"
This speech was delivered passionately, and coupled with Satan's flamboyant martial arts uniform, he actually projected an aura of a 'martial artist'.
The host was stunned into silence, the crew behind the camera exchanged glances.
But Satan seemed to possess an innate ability to convince people... despite what they had witnessed with their own eyes moments ago, his words now made them believe.
"That's great! So Earth still has a hidden guardian like Mr. Satan."
"No wonder Mr. Satan is so strong!"
After finishing, Satan himself was sweating inwardly, stealing a glance at Setsuna.
'Was I overdoing the praise? What if he can't actually split mountains and rocks and thinks I'm setting him up for a fall?'
Setsuna, hearing Satan's thoughts, found it somewhat amusing, 'This guy's imagination only went as far as splitting mountains and rocks?'
However, this lighthearted atmosphere didn't last long.
In the sky, a dull impact sounded.
"Gah!"
Goku was hit hard in the abdomen by a heavy kick from Cell, plummeting from the high altitude like a meteor, crashing into the already devastated ground below, kicking up a cloud of dust tens of meters high.
Cell hovered in the air, his green aura gradually subsiding.
He rolled his wrist, a look of unsatisfied satisfaction on his face: "Son Goku, you're indeed strong, but unfortunately, not strong enough."
His gaze instantly locked onto Setsuna on the ground.
Those eyes, somewhat reminiscent of both Goku and Vegeta, blazed with fervent battle spirit: "You finally appeared, Chiaki Setsuna."
"On Earth now, you're the only one who can still give me something to look forward to."
"But, you're not thinking of using that move that pulls out the soul, are you?"
At these words, Krillin, Tien, Vegeta, and the others' faces changed drastically.
They had confidence in Setsuna, but that confidence largely stemmed from his bizarre, unpredictable ability to directly attack the soul. If Cell was already wary...
"Hahaha!" Cell seemed to relish the shocked expressions, laughing loudly. "Don't be so surprised. The microbots left by Dr. Gero recorded your battle with Cooler."
"What a remarkable ability. I might have been caught off guard if I hadn't known, but unfortunately, I'm prepared."
"As long as I'm careful and don't let your move hit me directly, my soul won't be pulled out."
He spread his hands, his posture relaxed and confident: "So, that soul attack of yours won't work on me at all."