"Madam Perus?"
A William Group executive crept up cautiously, wearing a rather awkward expression.
No one knew whether Madam Perus—after being so thoroughly humiliated by Flash—might take her frustration out on them.
"I'm fine. These S-Class heroes are just… so full of personality."
Madam Perus smiled with what looked like maternal warmth.
That smile, however, made the executive shiver without knowing why.
Meanwhile, Kizaru—now en route to the training camp with both Tatsumaki and Fubuki—suddenly narrowed his eyes.
"What is it?"
Perched on his shoulder, Tatsumaki was the first to sense the change in his mood.
"Oh, nothing… just a rat in the warehouse trying to meet up with the one hiding in the sewers."
Kizaru smiled as he spoke.
For someone who hated thinking too hard, his ability to sense malice was absurdly convenient.
Even if someone offered to swap it out for future sight or the ability to hear the voice of all things, Kizaru wouldn't hesitate to turn them down. Malice-sense was just that good.
"Rat? You mean Metal Knight? Who's the other one?"
Tatsumaki, still sitting on his shoulder, tilted her head in confusion.
In her memory, Metal Knight's relationships within the Hero Association were even worse than her own. She'd never heard of him being close with any other S-Class heroes.
And now that Kizaru had already demonstrated such overwhelming strength, who would be dumb enough to side with Metal Knight?
Sure, there were a few S-Class heroes who didn't fear authority, but in this particular conflict, it was clear Metal Knight was in the wrong.
His earlier surveillance could barely be excused—but once Kizaru confronted him, not only did Metal Knight show zero remorse, he even sent a war machine to launch an attack.
That kind of behavior could only be described as downright insane. Tatsumaki couldn't understand why anyone would still associate with Metal Knight at this point.
"It was that old woman—looks like she's trying to team up with Metal Knight to cause me trouble,"
Kizaru said with an amused chuckle.
To be fair, Madam Perus had been extremely cautious. She hadn't even told her own secretary.
But her efforts were all in vain—Kizaru's malicious intent detection was far too effective. Unless someone knew about his ability and had Conqueror's Haki strong enough to interfere with his Observation Haki, any scheming was meaningless.
Against Kizaru, all plots and conspiracies were laid bare.
"Madam Perus?! How could it be her?"
Fubuki, still lying in Kizaru's arms like a princess, cried out in shock. While the Hero Association didn't technically have a president, Madam Perus had always been considered one of its most powerful and influential figures.
Who would've thought she of all people would willingly conspire with the infamously shady Metal Knight… just to go after the very man who had just saved Earth?
"What's so surprising? That old hag was never some kind of saint. Didn't you two get locked up in a research facility when you were kids? She had a stake in that place..."
Kizaru said casually. What he didn't expect was for Fubuki to suddenly tighten her grip on his arm—her soft body stiffening at the mention.
That period—being locked away and used as test subjects—had always been the deepest wound buried in the sisters' hearts.
They had been too young to remember the details, and after becoming heroes, Tatsumaki had tried to investigate the past. But she'd found nothing.
And now, from Kizaru, they were finally hearing news about the people behind their suffering. Worst of all… those same people had spent years pretending to be allies right in front of them.
"We're going back! I'm going to flush that old woman down a toilet until she drowns!"
Tatsumaki trembled with rage. She had never killed a human before—but right now, she truly wanted Perus dead.
"No need to rush. It's best to catch them red-handed. Once both rats crawl out of their holes, we'll take them down in one sweep… Don't worry, I've got this."
Kizaru held Fubuki tighter, gently patting her back to soothe her.
Compared to her hot-headed sister, Fubuki—being younger—had fuzzier memories of that time. But that made the trauma all the more nightmarish, lingering in the background with no shape or form.
"You said that woman had a stake in that place. Who else was involved?"
Tatsumaki floated down from Kizaru's shoulder, hugging Fubuki tightly to comfort her before turning with a vicious glint in her eyes.
Her thirst for vengeance could almost rival Kizaru's.
Now that she had a lead, she didn't just want revenge—she wanted to track down everyone involved.
"That I don't know yet. My ability only lets me sense someone's thoughts when they develop malicious intent toward me. The deeper the malice, the more I can pick up…"
Kizaru began explaining his malicious intent detection. Unless he willingly kept it secret, a power like his couldn't stay hidden for long.
It was like Katakuri's future sight—even if he never said it aloud, anyone who fought him enough would eventually figure it out.
Besides, there wasn't much point hiding anything from Tatsumaki and Fubuki. Aside from being a transmigrator and part of a dimensional chat group, Kizaru had no secrets from the girls around him.
Especially since Nami even knew where his private stash was hidden… though somewhere along the way, the Cat Burglar had started treating that stash like her own treasure hoard.
"…So unless that old hag actively thinks about her past, or her hatred for me reaches a certain threshold, I won't know who else she's working with."
Kizaru shrugged to show his hands were tied. But really, it wasn't a huge issue—once they caught her, getting answers would be easy.
These self-important schemers might be good at pulling strings behind the scenes, but once they fell from power, they usually cracked faster than low-level pirates thrown into Impel Down.
"Once we catch her slipping, I'll make her regret ever being born!"
Tatsumaki growled through clenched teeth. But despite her vicious words, the intensity of her malice was nowhere near what Kizaru was used to sensing.
In his estimation… it'd be impressive if Tatsumaki could even manage to kill Madam Perus with her own hands.
Well, maybe this wasn't a bad thing after all. A kind-hearted girl was nice too. While cold-blooded queen types like Esdeath had their appeal, Kizaru figured he still preferred soft and cute ones.
"Master! Oh great and mighty master! Please allow me to serve you! I'm the most elite interrogation and torture expert—nobody's better at inflicting pain than me!"
Groribas, locked up in a cage of psychic energy, suddenly started shouting.
By now, he'd figured it out: Lord Boros had died at the hands of the prophesied warrior. There was no point in staying loyal to a corpse.
Compared to getting treated like a punching bag and suffering endlessly, it was way better to grovel and cling to a new powerful backer. Even if that meant becoming a minion to an Earthling—it was no big deal.
After all, this was the man who defeated the cosmic overlord Boros. Serving him was an honor in itself.
"What did you just call me?"
Kizaru's mouth twitched slightly. It wasn't like he hadn't seen shameless types before—it's just that he'd almost been planning to return this guy to Boros if Boros ended up behaving.
"Master! Oh mighty—no, supreme master! Please forgive my earlier offense—it was all Boros's fault! If he hadn't forced us to attack this planet—"
The ooze-like creature in the cage started rattling off complaints about Boros nonstop, clearly thinking it was the best way to curry favor with Kizaru.
What Groribas didn't notice, however, was that Kizaru had taken out a recording Den Den Mushi from his pocket and was quietly taping the entire monologue.
His plan? When he eventually gave the guy back to Boros, he'd hand over the recording too.
Why? For fun. That's it. No deeper reason needed. Chaos gremlins don't need a motive.
"Perfect! Once we catch that old hag, she's all yours!"
Tatsumaki, after hearing Groribas describe his torture techniques, immediately decided to hand Madam Perus over to him.
If Kizaru hadn't insisted on waiting until they had hard evidence, Tatsumaki would've already stormed back to Hero Association HQ to make that old woman regret ever being born.
---
Meanwhile, at the Hero Association's training grounds in City B, the temporarily resting heroes were still quietly whispering about the strange event just moments ago.
It was as if the entire world had been bathed in a mysterious light—flooding everything, everywhere, in endless brilliance.
Thankfully, the phenomenon didn't last long. But even so, it was more than enough to spark intense curiosity among the heroes.
Coupled with the Hero Association's emergency summon for all S-Class heroes to report to HQ, it didn't take a genius to guess something big had happened.
The real question was: what kind of disaster was serious enough to require every S-Class hero?
Could it be… a god-level threat? The kind that was only theoretical—until now?
"…Aliens… a cosmic overlord… that does sound kinda awesome…"
Saitama scowled down at his phone. He'd already talked to Genos and gotten the full scoop on the alien invasion in City A.
The other aliens didn't matter much, but the leader—someone who could actually go toe-to-toe with Kizaru—that sounded like a real challenge.
If he'd been there, he might've gotten to fight that so-called cosmic overlord himself.
Too bad he'd promised Kizaru he'd stay here and supervise the hero training. Because of that, he'd missed his shot.
"Man… when's Kizaru gonna finally agree to fight me…"
Saitama scratched his shiny bald head, frowning. These kinds of things that needed thinking were such a pain. If only Kizaru were a bad guy—then he could just punch him without needing permission.
"Mr. Saitama, would you like the barbecue spicy?"
As he sighed, a member of the Blizzard Group—currently on grill duty—cautiously spoke up.
At first, most people had assumed Saitama was just mooching off free food. But after watching him sprint 100 laps around the training ground in under a minute, everyone instantly bowed down.
Even the prideful A-Class heroes now trained under his guidance, humbly obeying every word, despite the fact that Saitama was still officially just a C-Class hero.
"Yes! Uh—actually, not too spicy. Just a little bit!"
One second Saitama was sighing, and the next, as soon as he heard someone from the BBQ squad calling out, he perked right up.
Top-grade beef tasted great even grilled plainly, but he still preferred bold, spicy flavors.
That said, after nearly getting wiped out by some devilishly spicy grilled squid last time, Saitama wisely told the squad to go easy on the spice.
"Lord Swift Flash and Lady Fubuki are back!"
Just as Saitama was digging in, one of the sharp-eyed Fubuki Group members spotted Kizaru descending from the sky.
With so many people watching, Tatsumaki's pride wouldn't let her keep sitting on Kizaru's shoulder. She and Fubuki dismounted early and landed ahead of him.
Kizaru followed soon after, along with Groribas, who was still trapped in a telekinetic cage. Despite Groribas groveling and licking his boots, Kizaru showed no intention of letting him roam freely.
"Flash and Tornado are back—so the threat's been dealt with?"
"That thing in the cage is the enemy? Is it a Dragon-level monster?"
"Doesn't look that tough to me. Did they really need to call all the S-Class heroes for this…?"
...
A few training heroes gathered together, whispering among themselves.
Groribas, in his 'slime monster' form, didn't exactly look intimidating.
It was hard to believe this gooey, mud-like creature had been able to hold its own against an S-Class hero.
"You're finally back… huh? What the hell is that thing? Looks nasty…"
Saitama greeted Kizaru casually between bites of grilled meat, then walked over to the cage Tatsumaki had created, peering in at Gloribas.
"You're the one who looks nasty! Bald-headed native freak!"
Groribas was outraged. He was considered the best-looking specimen in his entire species! And now this disgusting little earthling had the audacity to call him ugly? Unforgivable!
Sure, Groribas thought all humans were hideous, but at least most of them had hair. Judging from the ones nearby, this guy was easily the ugliest among them.
"Screw you! You don't even have a head—you're just a pile of slime! And you wanna talk trash about my hair?!"
A twitch ran across Saitama's face. Losing all his hair from overtraining was still a sore spot—and now this wretched blob had just poured salt into the wound.
And just like that, an Earthling and an alien were in a shouting match across a cage.
If it weren't for the barrier between them, fists would've been flying already.
Of course, the result of that fight would be all too obvious.
No matter how durable Groribas was, the bald-headed demon king would end it in one punch.
"Lord Kizaru, is that thing in the cage a monster?"
Lily from the Fubuki Group asked curiously. Normally, the monsters she'd seen were either mindless or outright savage—this was her first time seeing one argue with Saitama.
"A monster… probably not. I mean, do aliens count as monsters?"
Kizaru scratched his chin, then turned toward Fubuki—who had by now returned to her usual calm demeanor.
The definition of "monster" in the One Punch Man world was admittedly pretty broad—but it still generally referred to Earth-based beings. Technically, Groribas, being from outer space, shouldn't count.
°°°
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