Chapter 112 – Do I Inherit Iron Man?

As the call connected, Pepper Potts' anxious voice came through.

"Mr. Smith, something seems to have happened to Tony. The call connected but there was no sound, and then it was hung up."

"Not long ago, I found evidence in the company that Obadiah was trying to harm Tony. But when I was copying the evidence, Obadiah showed up. Even though I managed to get away with the evidence, I didn't completely shake him off."

"He's probably realized by now, and I'm worried he's already gone after Tony."

"I hope you can go check on him. If anything's happened to Tony, please… please save him for me."

"I'm begging you."

Because of Tony Stark, Pepper already knew a little about the extraordinary nature of Smith Doyle. She even knew how he had saved Tony before. That's why she chose to ask him, instead of Tony's other friend, the military Colonel—Rhodey.

After all, if Rhodey went, Tony might already be dead by the time he got there. Only Smith Doyle could possibly make it in time.

At that moment, Coulson—who was leading a squad of agents—listened and was somewhat surprised to hear who Pepper was calling.

He didn't expect their relationship to have gotten this close already. He wondered if that was the result of deliberate networking on Smith's part.

And he didn't know how much Pepper actually understood about Smith Doyle. Could he really make it in time at this distance?

Or was there something else here he didn't know?

Either way, the relationship between Smith Doyle and Tony Stark clearly needed to be redefined.

Meanwhile, in his training room, Smith listened to Pepper's explanation and immediately understood what was happening. He didn't hesitate and simply agreed.

"Alright. I'll head over now."

"Trust me—Tony's a lucky man. He'll be fine."

After hanging up, Pepper turned to Coulson and said:

"I know a shortcut. Follow me."

Something had clearly gone wrong with Tony, and though she couldn't get to him immediately, she couldn't give up on arresting Obadiah either.

After hanging up, Smith didn't waste any time either. This was a free favor, and he liked nothing better.

"By my count, I've saved Tony almost four times now."

"If he really kicks the bucket one day… I should have no problem inheriting Iron Man and Stark Industries, right?"

Smith said with a wry smile to himself, then stopped joking around. Still wearing his training clothes, he left the base, avoided the surveillance cameras, and shot into the sky with Bukūjutsu, heading for Tony's seaside villa.

Smith knew that with this incident, the big Marvel events were about to kick off. The world was going to get busier and noisier, and the day the Dragon Balls revived was getting closer too.

After powering up, a Mach ring appeared behind him as he accelerated to supersonic speeds toward Tony's villa. After all, if he were much slower, Tony would have finished saving himself already.

Thankfully it was nighttime now, and under cover of darkness, no one noticed the anomaly in the sky. After all, Tony had flown plenty of times without anyone catching on.

And even if S.H.I.E.L.D. or HYDRA did notice, Smith couldn't care less.

…

At that moment, Tony was stiffly lying on the couch, eyes fixed on the ceiling. He never expected that the one who betrayed him was Obadiah. He'd always thought of him as his only family left, his beloved uncle.

He never imagined even the kidnapping had been orchestrated by him—and now he'd taken away his chest reactor, clearly trying to kill him.

But even in this dire moment, Tony didn't give up. Because Obadiah hadn't killed him outright, he still had a chance to live.

Tony knew the shrapnel reaching his heart would take longer than the paralysis wearing off. That was his one chance.

And there was still one small arc reactor left. Originally he'd had two, but the one in the Mark 2 that Bulma drove had been destroyed.

Minute by minute, time passed.

By now, Smith had already reached Tony's villa at full speed. Since he didn't have a key and wasn't registered in J.A.R.V.I.S.'s system as an automatic guest, he didn't bother being polite.

With a single ki blast, he blew the door clean off its hinges.

Walking inside, Smith immediately saw Tony lying on the couch, motionless.

Seeing Tony looking as pale as if he'd been dead for three days, Smith felt a chill.

Did Obadiah actually kill him?

Could it be that this universe had no Iron Man?

Wait… he still has ki.

Sensing that Tony's life force hadn't completely faded, Smith instantly appeared at his side.

Looking at Tony's pale face, the hollow in his chest, and his faint breathing, Smith knew it was just that the paralysis hadn't worn off yet—those bulging veins on his forehead said it all.

Tony looked at the man who appeared before him. Even though he couldn't speak, gratitude still shone in his eyes.

He knew he already owed Smith more than he could ever repay. The fact that he showed up now was likely thanks to Pepper noticing something wrong during that cut-off call.

And Obadiah's sudden attack was probably because Pepper had dug up his dirty secrets at the company, or else he wouldn't have acted.

Even though Tony wanted to tell Smith he needed the reactor, he couldn't open his mouth.

Smith glanced at Tony, who couldn't speak, and didn't waste any time. He headed straight for the basement lab. Since he didn't know the access code, he simply broke through the door by force.

In the lab, Smith originally wanted to grab the reactor from the Mark 2 that Bulma had driven—but its chest was empty.

All around the lab were piles of messy parts, but no reactor in sight.

Not wanting to waste any more time, Smith finally picked up the old reactor Pepper had given Tony as a gift.

Shattering the glass case with one hand, he retrieved the reactor and, in a flash, was back at Tony's side.

Recalling the scene from the movie, Smith quickly installed the reactor into Tony's chest.

As it clicked into place, the shrapnel in Tony's body was pulled back, and his life was no longer in danger.

But because the paralysis hadn't worn off yet, Tony still couldn't move.

Still, Tony knew—he was saved.

Once he recovered, it would be time to take revenge on Obadiah… and protect his secretary, Pepper Potts.

…

(End of Chapter)

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