Clatter, clatter—
Bowls and plates piled up together.
Before long, a small mountain of dishes had formed.
Tohru ran back and forth between the kitchen and the front of the restaurant nonstop.
Every dish she brought out disappeared within seconds of touching the table.
And the one causing all of this—Son Goku—was still happily eating.
His hands moved like a gust of wind, instantly clearing whole plates of food, and his mouth was like a food grinder made for one purpose only.
*Crunch, crunch—*every piece of food disappeared after just a few bites.
Even after eating many times more food than a normal person, Goku still wasn't satisfied.
He could still keep eating!
'Delicious! So delicious!'
He had never been picky about food, but that didn't mean he disliked good meals.
Coming into this restaurant by chance tonight, Goku felt like Yuto's cooking had completely opened the gates of his hunger!
The taste was top class, the portions were top class, and on top of that, the food came out incredibly fast, which made Goku even happier!
Everyone sitting around the counter was stunned by the way he ate.
They had never seen anything this intense before.
He looked like a starving ghost! Was he even still human?!
Meanwhile, back in the kitchen, Yuto's face showed excitement and focus.
His sleeves had been rolled up a long time ago.
There was no need for words; he just kept stir-frying one dish after another.
In a short time, a new plate was done.
Tohru would immediately carry it out, and Yuto would move right on to the next one.
This was the first time he had gone all out this seriously. With his strengthened body and intense concentration, his hands moved so fast they almost left afterimages.
Until now, Yuto had never pushed his body speed to its limit while cooking, but tonight, without realizing it, he had done exactly that.
Because if he didn't, his overall speed wouldn't be enough to keep up with Goku's eating!
This was a different kind of battle—only this time, his opponent was the customer!
For some reason, that made his heart burn with excitement.
...
At last, Goku stopped.
By now, bowls and plates were piled around the counter in a stack nearly one meter tall.
No one was sitting next to Goku anymore, everyone was worried they might interrupt his meal.
Just now, Goku had felt like a one-man fortress.
One person's appetite was enough to block the appetite of ten thousand!
Okay, maybe that was an exaggeration, but it wasn't too far off.
Standing in front of him, Yuto let out a long breath of relief.
His own tiredness didn't matter.
The real problem was—the restaurant was almost out of ingredients!
"Whew—That hit the spot! Boss, your cooking is amazing! I've never eaten this full before, and I've never had food this good!" Goku smiled simply and honestly.
That pure smile easily made people think of a child, it was rare to see an adult still able to smile like that.
"That's good to hear," Yuto smiled lightly, but inside, he was shocked and helpless.
This had been the most focused he had ever been while cooking.
Goku's appetite made no sense to him.
He looked completely normal, so how could he eat this much? Was he really human?
Suddenly, Yuto thought of Yuyuko.
If she ever really ate without holding back, what kind of scene would that be?
"Next time, can I bring my family and friends here to eat too?"
"Of course." Even though he had no idea how much Goku's family and friends could eat, as a proper chef, how could he possibly refuse?
Still... if all of them really ate like Goku, then one Yuto definitely wouldn't be enough.
So even though he smiled, his heart felt a little heavy!
"That's great!" Goku shouted excitedly, sounding like a happy child who had just gotten good news.
Then his expression changed.
"So... next..." Goku let out a breath and stood up.
His face calmed down, and a small smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
He walked over to Saitama.
Everyone looked at him in surprise.
"I can tell. You're strong," Goku said.
His voice was steady now, but there was obvious excitement hiding inside it.
Yuto was just about to say something—but then he saw Saitama's expression change
It was a look he had never seen before.
Under that calm face, a storm raged, and his eyes looked like they were burning!
At the same time, his presence changed.
If the Saitama from before had felt like a harmless, blank-faced bald guy, the Saitama now felt like a volcano about to erupt.
Under that calm and steady surface was a force fierce enough to destroy everything!
Seeing that, Yuto gave up on speaking.
Deep down, he felt like he understood something.
"Yeah... you're strong too," Saitama said softly.
Then he looked straight into Goku's eyes, and on that usually blank and simple face, a strange smile appeared.
Wildness. Excitement. Joy. Thrill.
All the emotions that almost never showed up were there now!
Yuto was shaken.
Goku's smile widened. His eyes were serious and steady as he looked at Saitama, his black eyes seemingly burning too!
"Fight me!" Goku asked for a sparring match right away.
His voice was serious and firm, without a bit of joking in it.
His face was full of excitement—like someone who had just found the thing he loved most in the world.
"Why so suddenly?"
"Huh?!"
Ainz and Rimuru were stunned, but their shocked voices changed nothing.
Right now, Goku and Saitama could only see each other, reflecting only the other person in their eyes.
"Okay," Saitama answered with just one word.
Goku instantly relaxed, like a huge weight had been lifted off him.
"That's great! I thought you might say no. Hahaha, I'm really glad you agreed!" His loud laugh made everyone see him in a whole new way.
Looking at Goku's martial arts clothes and the scene in front of him, Yuto suddenly felt that Goku was a lot like the battle-crazy martial artists from novels—someone who lived only for fighting, with a pure and focused heart.
"Then let's do it tomorrow! I'll come find you again tomorrow!" Goku clenched his fist excitedly.
The moment his hand tightened, Yuto heard a sharp sound, like something being crushed.
It felt like Goku had squeezed the air itself.
Seeing that, Yuto finally understood why Goku could eat so much.
"Okay!" Saitama nodded too, clearly excited.
Then Goku turned to Yuto.
"Boss, I'm heading out now. Tomorrow I'll come back with my friends too," he smiled.
The moment Yuto heard that, his eyes moved on their own toward the mountain of plates and bowls.
Goku's face instantly turned awkward.
"Ah! Oh no, I just remembered—I don't have any money on me. Boss, uh..." Goku looked at him awkwardly.
Yuto sighed helplessly. "Forget it. Just pay me tomorrow when you come back."
Goku's face lit up with joy.
"Thank you so much, Boss! I promise I'll pay you tomorrow!" he said very seriously before saying goodbye and leaving.
Yuto let out a small breath, looking at Tohru. "Tohru, clean it up."
The dragon maid nodded hard and started cleaning.
She worked very fast, even though the dishes were piled up like a mountain, she was a dragon, so you couldn't judge her by human standards.
Having an employee really was nice!
While Tohru cleaned, Yuto could just stand there and watch.
Supervising was enough for the boss!
Then his eyes turned to Saitama. What had just happened was too hard to ignore, and Ainz and Rimuru had already started asking questions nonstop.
Yuto noticed that after Goku left, Saitama had gone right back to looking harmless and blank again.
Yuto didn't plan to stop or lecture him, since Saitama had agreed, he must have made up his mind.
Yuto trusted him.
"Did you know that guy just now, Saitama?"
"No."
"If you didn't know him, why did you agree to fight him?"
"Well... I was just really excited."
Saitama answered his friends' worried questions with a light, casual smile, but his answer was so vague that Ainz and Rimuru still didn't really get it.
"Just trust Saitama," Yuto said, cutting off their questions.
Saitama looked at him and smiled, with a little gratitude in his eyes.
"Thanks, Kamisaka," he said simply.
Yuto gave him a small nod. Ainz and Rimuru finally stopped talking too, as friends, all they really had to do was support him.
"Fine. As long as you know what you're doing. But we're watching the fight," Ainz said, still worried Saitama might get hurt.
That kind of concern was natural for a friend.
Rimuru nodded too.
Saitama scratched his head, gave his usual dumb little smile, and agreed.
After that was settled, Saitama stood up.
"You're not staying all night?" Yuto asked, having thought he planned to stay until morning.
But apparently, he had changed his mind.
"Yeah," Saitama nodded.
Yuto didn't say anything else.
After saying goodbye, Saitama left with Genos.
Watching his back, Yuto felt something stir inside him.
He felt like Saitama had changed.
He couldn't clearly say what had changed, but the Saitama who had once seemed like he was missing something inside... felt like he had come back.
...
Saitama returned to his shabby apartment, with Genos still following him.
At this point, Saitama had already given up trying to stop that.
After going inside, he changed into his pajamas; even though dawn wasn't far away, he still planned to sleep.
Genos looked at Saitama with his usual serious face, but there was confusion in his eyes.
"Master, was that man in the restaurant really that strong? Is he really worthy of fighting you?"
Hearing that, Saitama smiled a little.
The moment Genos saw that expression, he froze.
Saitama looked different now—a change in presence that was hard to describe.
Creak—
Saitama clenched his fist, and the air in his hand let out a painful sound.
"He's strong. Really strong! This isn't even about whether he's worth fighting anymore. I'm not even sure I can beat him."
His words stunned Genos.
Having seen Saitama's real strength before, he knew how terrifying he was.
No S-Class hero could compare to him, standing in front of Saitama felt like being a tiny boat in the middle of the ocean.
And yet now Saitama was saying this.
"Master, is that man really that strong?!" Genos asked in disbelief.
Back in the restaurant, he hadn't felt anything unusual from Goku at all, he just thought the man could eat a lot.
"Yeah. He's a real opponent who can match me. Someone worth going all out against. I need to get a good night's sleep and make sure my body is in the best condition possible before I fight him," Saitama said as he stretched.
Then he climbed straight into bed.
Genos fell silent.
He practically worshiped Saitama, so he had no reason to doubt him.
All kinds of thoughts turned in his head, and he suddenly remembered their first meeting.
Back then, Genos had completely thought Saitama was just a normal person.
And now, thinking about Goku tonight... he had felt just the same.
Just like Saitama back then, he had also seemed like an ordinary man.
'Goku... just what are you...?' At that moment, Genos couldn't calm down at all!
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Goku vs Saitama... who is stronger ?