29 This is sparta!

Tanaka and Takashi were settling into the couch in an old and dilapidated apartment. They had a beer in hand, and their attention was fixed on the television in front of them. Suddenly, Tanaka turned to Takashi and said, "Hey man, I've got a question for you."

"What's up, Tanaka?" Takashi replied, taking a sip of his beer.

"I have a friend who smells terrible. He smells really bad, but he is black. As a matter of fact, I'm not racist, I don't care. I know a lot of black people who smell pleasant. I know black people who smell just like everybody else. However, he is black and stinks awful." Tanaka paused and continue. "Can I tell him that?"

"No," Takashi said.

"But that doesn't make sense. That means for example if I see a Jew who is stingy, I can't tell him that he is stingy?" Tanaka asked again. His tiny brain couldn't understand.

"No, you can't," Takashi said, looking at him blankly.

"But I'm not gonna tell him, hey you stingy Jew," Tanaka explained. "I gonna tell him, hey excuse me, I find you a bit stingy."

"No, you can't."

"But it doesn't make any sense," Tanaka said. "I mean, I'm not racist then logically I can go to someone and tell him he smells bad if he smells bad, or tell a stingy guy that he is stingy."

"No, you can't! Since there were many racists before you who made this comment without apparent reason. Then even if you have a good reason, you can't say that. It's racist because of the racists." Takashi explained.

"If I told a black guy that he is stingy?" Tanaka asked.

"Yes, you can go ahead." Takashi nodded.

"Okay, and what can't I say about the Arabs?" Tanaka asked.

"This... I can't tell you because it's racist."

"Then what about the Pakistanis?"

"The Pakistanis are like Romanians. You can go ahead and say whatever you want."

"Really?"

"When we are enough in number, it's alright. You see. Since everyone doesn't give a damn about the Romanians, if you want to say something racist you can do it, no one will think that it's too racist."

"Wait, telling a Jew that he's stingy is considered racist. Because of the racists. But insulting a Romanian isn't racist thanks to the racists?"

"Exactly."

"So what should I do about my stinky friend?"

"Hmm, nothing. You have to suffer."

"Damn! Racism sucks!"

"If I walked up to him and told him for example, 'excuse me, I don't want to appear racist but you..."

"No, no, no, you can't. That's racist x2"

Just then, the two heard a strange sound in their heads.

"Did you hear something?" Takashi asked.

"It sounds familiar. I think I've heard this sound before," Tanaka replied.

Suddenly, the two vanished as they were teleported.

------------

Akane was in the middle of her pre-bed yoga routine when she suddenly heard an unfamiliar sound ringing in her head. Before she could even process what was happening, she was transported.

------------

Tonight, Lee utilized his powers to lull Alice into a deep sleep. He then geared up for a night of hunting vampires. Since he can't temporarily increase his strength, he decided to head out and clean up unstable factors like vampires and Oniis. Maybe some plot shit would work and he may realize how to increase his strength. Of course, he wouldn't target the top leadership just yet.

However, a strange sound stopped Lee in his tracks. Before he could determine the source of the sound, he was suddenly teleported away from his bedroom. To his surprise, he found himself in the familiar surroundings of the Gantz room.

Observing his surroundings, he noticed that in addition to him, there were 5 people in the room, including Nishi, Tanaka, and Takashi.

"Hey," Lee greeted them.

Nishi nodded at him in response, while Tanaka and Takashi snorted and completely disregarded him. They seem to dislike him for being handsome and rich. They even muttered something like 'Pretty boy, hurry up and die!'

The two other individuals in the room were an old man in a hospital gown and a pathetic-looking middle-aged man.

He noticed the two other men in the room were looking at him and one of them seemed to want to talk to him, but he paid them no attention.

Then, as Gantz transported another person into the room, Lee turned to see who it was and was pleasantly surprised to find that it was Akane.

"Ah! Lee-kun!" she cried out, looking bewildered. But as soon as she caught sight of Lee, she ran towards him and embraced him tightly, clinging to him and inhaling his scent. It seems that his smell becomes addictive to women after changing it.

"Akane, good to see you. You didn't bring your Gantz suit? " Lee hugged her back and asked as he felt the softness of her body. She looks sexy in those yoga pants. He will check their quality with her later.

Akane explained that she didn't have the chance to do anything before she found herself here. Lee nodded. This is the downside of taking equipment with you. It happened to the MC in the manga multiple times.

Luckily, Lee was prepared before he was brought here.

"Excuse me, can you tell us what's happening here?" As the two were talking, the middle-aged man approached them.

"Of course, it's clear as day," the old man interjected before Lee could respond. "We've all passed on and arrived in heaven. Allow me to share my experience and impart some wisdom." He began to talk about his experience and preach to them.

Lee and Akane ignored him. The pathetic middle-aged man, however, seemed to be taking the old man's words to heart.

With a familiar sound, Gantz transported another person into the room. This time, it was a young man with long blond hair tied back who appeared before them. The man looked disoriented and bewildered as if he was struggling to comprehend his sudden transportation.

"What the hell is this?" the young man exclaimed, his eyes wide with disbelief as he took in his new surroundings. He saw the small group of people and the unfamiliar room.

"You have died, and this is heaven," the old man informed him.

"Don't give me that bullshit, old man," the young man retorted, disregarding the old man's words. He ignored the others and sat down on the floor.

Lee had an impression of this old man. He seemed like some sort of politician, no wonder he was thick-skinned, he thought.

Everyone was silent except for the old man talking and the middle-aged man listening. Tanaka and Takashi seem disinclined to explain anything to the others. They keep stealing glances at Akane.

Akane caught their glances and felt uncomfortable. Before, she wouldn't have minded, but now that she considered herself Lee's lover, she didn't want anyone staring at her that way.

Two more men arrived as they were transported by Gantz. One of them appeared to be around 45, of average height and weight, with short black hair, a small mustache, and inquisitive eyes. He wore a loose-fitting suit, sans tie. The other was slightly taller than average, with a medium build, and short black hair. His eyes were narrow and he carried a condescending expression. He wore clothes that were noticeably loose-fitting.

They look like yakuza.

"Where are we?" The two newcomers looked around, bewildered by their sudden change of surroundings. They were trying to understand how they had gotten to this place.

Once again, the old man spouted his beliefs, declaring, "You have passed away and this is heaven."

The man with the condescending expression sneered, "Don't give me that nonsense. Get lost!" He then turned his attention to Akane, his expression brightening. His tiny brain ignored everything else. He walked toward her with the intention of making her his own.

"Hey, come with me," he said when he was in front of her. He ignored Lee and reached his hand to drag Akane. "I'll make you feel good."

Seeing this, there was no expression on Lee's face as he delivered a Spartan kick to the man's guts, sending him flying and crashing to the wall.

"Ugh!" He let out a pained moan as he retched and expelled his last meal.

"Hiroshi!" The other man exclaimed as he ran to his friend when he saw him. When he saw that he was alright, he reached for the gun in his suit, but before he could move Lee was already in front of him.

"Try anything funny and I'll grind your bones to powder," Lee warned him, gripping him by the neck and lifting him up into the air. He had already snatched the gun with his other hand.

"Whoa there, buddy," the man stammered, trying to sound casual despite the pressure on his neck. "No need for such hostility. We're all just trying to figure out what's going on here, right?"

Lee raised an eyebrow, his grip on the man's neck still firm. "Oh really? Because it looked to me like your friend over there was trying to drag my woman away with him."

Despite his anger, he didn't miss the opportunity to increase Akane's affection for him. Even though he only came to her for sex, the young woman was always kind to him. But he always acted rudely. Sometimes he would leave immediately after they had sex.

He didn't know why he couldn't entertain the idea of having a relationship with her beyond the physical. Perhaps it was because she was a scumbag like him? Or maybe due to the fate of her previous boyfriend.

However, even though he didn't want to be in a romantic relationship with her, he couldn't stand the thought of her being with someone else.

The man swallowed nervously. "Well, maybe he got a little carried away. Please accept my apologies. If we can figure out a way to leave this place, I promise to make it up to you." He silently cursed his friend for provoking a monster like him.

Lee, feeling uninterested, casually tossed the man aside. Usually, he would have killed someone like him, but he didn't want to show his bloody side here.

Akane clung to Lee as he walked back to her. She felt butterflies fluttering in her stomach when she heard him declare that she was his woman.

Lee just patted her head. He was already used to how women clung to him at every opportunity. He can only blame himself for being handsome, charming, smart, and...

[Cocky fucker.]

"Wow! Did you see that? He sent that guy flying," Tanaka exclaimed with excitement.

"As much as I hate to admit it, he did look pretty cool," Takashi nodded in agreement.

"He would have looked even cooler if he had shouted, 'This is Sparta!'," Tanaka added with a smile.

"Well, unfortunately, he can't say that. It's 2002 and that movie hasn't been released yet. If he did, it would create a plot hole," Takashi explained patiently.

"Oh, logic sucks," Tanaka sighed.

Everyone mysteriously didn't seem to hear the two dumb guys talking.

Gantz teleported someone again, this time it was a dog.

"What the heck?" everyone in the room exclaimed in surprise as they saw a furry creature materialize out of nowhere. The dog seemed as confused as they were. It looked around with its big, curious eyes and barked a few times.

It looked like a street dog. Its fur was dirty and its body was a bit scrawny.