{Transitioning to Zuke}
In the world of One Punch Man, Garou was eating at a restaurant.
As a newly emerged "Hero Hunter," Garou had already taken down numerous low-ranking heroes and was continuously challenging higher-ranked ones. Several A-Class heroes had fallen to him, earning him a certain level of notoriety within the Hero Association. However, since his actions hadn't severely impacted civilians, the people in the restaurant remained oblivious to the fact that he was a dangerous individual.
"Seems the Hero Association still isn't taking me seriously enough."
Garou shoved a large piece of steak into his mouth, chewing sloppily as he narrowed his eyes in thought.
Unaware that the Hero Association was already secretly tracking his movements, he misinterpreted the lack of fear from the restaurant's patrons as a sign of the Association's indifference. His goal was to become the "Absolute Evil" that everyone feared—yet here he was, unable to even intimidate a small restaurant's owner and customers. The realization pissed him off.
"Might as well dine and dash today."
Annoyed, Garou pettily settled on this idea. After all, he hadn't brought any money to begin with—he'd planned this from the start.
But just as he swallowed the last of his steak, juices and fibers and all, before he could even stand up to leave, a figure appeared at his table.
"Garou, right?"
Standing before him was Fubuki. A few minutes earlier, members of the Fubuki Group had spotted Garou in the restaurant and immediately notified her. Without hesitation, she had rushed over and successfully cornered him.
This was someone Zuke had explicitly ordered to be captured—naturally, Fubuki took it upon herself to act.
After receiving a Stand ability from Zuke, Fubuki had been itching to test it out. And when she heard Zuke was looking for this "Garou" guy, her gratitude toward him compelled her to take the initiative. She would capture Garou and hand him over.
"Oh? Blizzard?"
Garou lifted his eyelids, giving Fubuki a mocking smirk.
He recognized her—not for her strength, but for her reputation as one of the most beautiful and charismatic heroes. A hero known for looks rather than power? Garou had zero interest in such people.
"A B-Class hero shouldn't stick her nose where it doesn't belong. What, trying to make a name for yourself by catching me?"
Lately, Garou had gained enough infamy that some reckless heroes had tried capturing him to boost their rankings. Without exception, they'd all ended up hospitalized after a brutal beatdown.
By now, Garou's strength far surpassed A-Class heroes—his sights were set on the S-Class. A B-Class like Fubuki? She was nothing more than small fry in his eyes.
Fubuki's eye twitched at his words. This guy's mouth is as vile as they come.
Initially, she had come for Zuke's sake. But now? She'd changed her mind. She was going to teach this arrogant bastard a lesson.
---
With some time to spare before dawn in the real world, Zuke decided to enter the One Punch Man mission world to conduct an experiment.
After being devoured by the "Black Bird," the King's Army he obtained had undergone drastic changes compared to Iskandar's original Noble Phantasm. Though Zuke hadn't yet figured out why these changes occurred, their sheer scale meant he needed to test the ability's functions personally before recklessly using it.
Before bringing Sitonai into King's Army, Zuke wanted to test whether those dragged inside would experience any adverse effects.
Originally, he planned to grab a random high-ranking Hero Association official for the experiment. But upon arriving at the Association's headquarters, he received unexpected news.
"You're saying Fubuki captured Garou?"
In the Hero Association's executive office, Zuke couldn't hide his shock upon hearing Sitch's report.
Though Garou hadn't yet reached his full potential, his current strength was nothing to scoff at. In raw power, he might not match S-Class heroes, but combined with his hidden Flowing Water Rock Smashing Fist, he could easily avoid being the weakest among them.
In the original story, the S-Class hero Tanktop Master had suffered a crushing defeat against Garou's techniques.
Fubuki's strength might surpass her B-Class ranking, placing her near the top of A-Class—but capturing Garou? That was genuinely surprising.
The only explanation was that her Stand ability had significantly boosted her combat prowess, allowing her to successfully apprehend him.
"Yes... Fubuki said to inform you immediately upon your return and to meet her at Tatsumaki's residence."
Sitch wiped sweat from his brow as he relayed Fubuki's message.
When Zuke had stormed in earlier, demanding a high-ranking official to "take a trip" with him, Sitch had nearly panicked. Deep down, he suspected Zuke intended to deal with the Association's corrupt executives—after all, Zuke had never hidden his disdain for them.
At the very least, Zuke didn't seem interested in replacing him, so Sitch could only silently mourn his former colleagues.
"At Tatsumaki's place, huh... Alright."
Zuke nodded and prepared to leave. Originally, he'd planned to use an Association executive as his test subject, but now? Garou might be the perfect candidate instead.
Garou's rebellious personality had been a hurdle—Zuke had been wondering how to force him into contacting "God" to become Cosmic Fear Garou.
This was a golden opportunity.
He'd make Garou understand what it meant to encounter someone beyond his league. Once Garou realized how weak he truly was, he'd desperately seek greater power.
By then, Zuke wouldn't even need to force him—Garou would willingly accept "God's" power.
To be continued…