But to Saitama's surprise, this time his attempt at persuasion failed.
Miss Ann Darrow did not accept his invitation. Instead, she chose to stay on the ship by herself.
Saitama was taken aback.
Huh? If Miss Ann Darrow refused to follow the group into the rainforest where King Kong lived… then how was King Kong's story supposed to unfold?
Right at that moment, Saitama suddenly had a bad feeling.
Right.
If the original protagonist of the story, Ann Darrow, could no longer play that role, then the one most likely to snatch away the "protagonist's luck" would be…
Vivian.
As soon as Saitama realized what might be about to happen, he heard it: from the rainforest on the opposite side of the cliff, a heavy, thunderous series of footsteps.
The people who had just crossed the wooden bridge over the canyon cried out in terror.
"Oh my god, what is that thing?!"
"Is that… an ape?!"
"That ape is way too big!"
That ape was King Kong.
Compared to King Kong's colossal size, an ordinary human being was no bigger than an ant.
Every step King Kong took forward slammed down on their nerves, filling everyone with crushing pressure.
"Roar—!"
He pounded his chest in front of them, looking furious, as if to say, "What are you people doing here? Don't you know this is my territory?"
But when his gaze fell on Vivian among the crowd, a flash of astonishment lit up his eyes.
The next instant, King Kong's massive hand reached for Vivian.
In King Kong's simple brain, he probably thought these people were just more island natives who could bring him food.
So grabbing the human woman who had just shocked him with her beauty…
That was perfectly reasonable.
Vivian saw the huge, furry hand sweeping toward her and couldn't help crying out in fright.
But she recovered quickly, whipping out the small pistol in her hand and firing at King Kong's enormous hand.
Clang! Clang!
Bullets that could pierce sheet steel struck King Kong and rang out with clear metallic notes, as if his entire body were wrapped in iron.
King Kong only showed a faint smile under the barrage. To him, it just felt like a beautiful woman scratching him to make him laugh.
Grab.
King Kong reached for her again.
Vivian couldn't dodge in time and screamed, "Saitama, save me!"
"…" Saitama was silent for a beat.
So, in the end, his woman was only "calm and rebellious" in the moment. When real danger hit, she was still like any normal woman—calling out to her man for help.
Boom.
By the edge of the cliff, a figure in a beige coat and a red cape suddenly appeared.
Saitama stepped in front of Vivian and knocked King Kong's attack away in an instant.
King Kong clawed toward them twice in a row with all his strength, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get a grip on Saitama at all.
Saitama pried open King Kong's fingers and smiled back at Vivian.
"I've already saved you. Hurry up and get out of here."
Vivian nodded, then leaned in and planted a kiss on Saitama's cheek.
The sight made the cameraman Carl tremble all over.
"I can't believe it," Carl muttered. "This kind of god-tier scene—straight out of a Hollywood blockbuster—is happening right in front of me! Ugh, if only I'd met Saitama sooner. If I'd been following a hero like him around, I'd be filming heroic shots every single day!"
Before everyone's eyes, Saitama forced King Kong's huge fingers apart, then hurled him toward a small hill near the cliff.
Boom.
King Kong landed hard on the hill, flattening who knew how many trees under his butt.
And that crash revealed countless unbelievable sights beyond.
"My god, so what the natives said was all true!"
Now the crowd wasn't just shocked by King Kong's sudden appearance—they were also stunned by the strange creatures all around.
When their eyes turned back to Saitama, they all felt the same thing: being on this voyage, on this cruise ship, and getting to share it with Saitama… their luck was off the charts.
"Go, hero!"
"Beat that ape!"
"Yeah!"
"That ape's about as strong as those powerful Transformers. Why don't we just call him King Kong?"
"Saitama, defeat King Kong!"
"Defeat King Kong!"
Saitama had never expected that he and the people around him would end up being the ones who named King Kong. His expression instantly turned a little weird.
Well, that decided it. The giant ape in front of him was now his designated opponent.
He couldn't, and wouldn't, back down without a fight.
At the same time, the strange beasts that lived on the island—those who were usually cowed by King Kong's presence—were peeking out from the distance with curious eyes.
They wanted to see whether the island's usual ruler, King Kong, could actually win against this "tiny" human.
Well, to be fair, all the creatures on this island judged strength entirely by body size.
Saitama stood at King Kong's flank, staring at him coolly.
"Sorry, big guy. The girl you've got your eye on isn't this one—it's the one back on the ship. I failed to talk her into coming here, so that one's on me. But you're the boss of this island, right? How about you go find yourself a nice lady gorilla instead?"
King Kong froze for a moment at Saitama's words.
But there was one thing he understood: the majesty of the island's ruler could not be challenged.
Boom.
King Kong swung his huge arm again, smashing straight toward Saitama.
Saitama threw a punch of his own.
The two of them locked together in an instant.
Everyone gasped.
So the island's overlord, King Kong—the same giant ape that had terrified them—was only evenly matched with their hero.
Soon, Saitama and King Kong were brawling in a full-on melee.
Saitama's small size let him move quickly around King Kong's gigantic body.
King Kong, on the other hand, could only rely on his massive frame and overwhelming strength, swatting at Saitama again and again.
Once the two of them really started fighting, they were locked in a fierce, grinding clash. All the onlookers could see were scene after scene of Saitama-style combat.
Boom!
One punch after another slammed home.
The fight between Saitama and King Kong had already carried them deep into the far side of the rainforest.
In the distance, flame-colored clouds spread across the sky. High above, flying dinosaurs circled, watching the battle on the ground with keen eyes.
In the grasslands below, the elephants standing in place all turned their heads to look.
A clash between two apex creatures sent a shock through every living thing that saw it.
Boom!
Saitama drove another punch into King Kong.
King Kong took it head-on and nearly lost his footing. As he swept an arm out in retaliation, Saitama caught him by the throat, grabbed his fingers, and flung his entire body away.
King Kong stumbled and landed near the elephants, grabbed one up in a single hand, and hurled the massive beast straight at Saitama.
"My god, that's still supposed to be an ape?!"
Everyone was stunned.
And at the same time—they had to admit—it was unbelievably cool.
(End of Chapter)
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