"Who the hell cares about that!"
Before Fubuki could speak, Tatsumaki couldn't help but cut in with a snort.
Anyway, whether they were monsters or aliens—anything that threatened humanity was an enemy that needed to be taken out.
Besides, aside from Boros's weirdo Dark Matter Thieves, what kind of alien would be bored enough to spend ages flying all the way to backwater Earth just to attack humans?
"Al… aliens?!"
Lily couldn't help but cry out. When she looked again at the creature inside the cage, her perception shifted from "weird slime monster" to "mysterious alien lifeform."
Only something that bizarre-looking could live up to the name "alien."
"Tatsumaki, let it out."
Kizaru hadn't brought Groribas back just to show off an alien—it wasn't a zoo. Even without using its devour-matter ability, Groribas's base combat power was on par with the top-tier S-Class heroes.
Its insane durability and regeneration made it practically untouchable for most A-Class heroes—and even weaker S-Classes wouldn't be able to do any real damage even if they fought until they dropped.
As long as Groribas was banned from going for lethal attacks, it was basically a perfect training dummy—the ideal sparring partner.
"Lump of mud!"
"Hairless native!"
"Lump of mud!"
"Hairless native!"
…
Saitama and Groribas were trading insults like kids in a schoolyard until they suddenly noticed: the psychic barrier separating them was gone.
They froze for a second—then grinned in unison.
"You're finished!" ×2
Unfortunately, before either could throw a punch—or rather, before Groribas got flattened by the Bald Demon King—Kizaru grabbed it by the collar and chucked it toward the training ground.
"No inflicting permanent injuries. Do that, and I'll kill you."
Groribas didn't even have time to react before Kizaru hit it with a very pointed warning.
Looking around at the weak native humans surrounding it, Groribas breathed a small sigh of relief. As long as Kizaru didn't personally join the fight, everything was fine.
These weaklings couldn't even scratch its defense. Numbers meant nothing.
"Lord Swift Flash, what exactly is that thing?"
A-Class Rank 6 hero Magic Trickster looked at Groribas with confusion.
They had all heard what Kizaru said, but none of the heroes here believed for a second that they couldn't handle this squishy lump of goo.
"It's your sparring partner. When you all team up and manage to beat it, you'll be considered graduates of this training camp."
Kizaru yawned as he gave them a goal—one that was just barely within reach, assuming they improved at a decent pace.
Of course, this challenge didn't apply to Flashy Flash. Even the strictest instructors in the Navy Academy wouldn't say he hadn't already graduated.
"All of us? Against that one thing?"
Magic Trickster blinked, then looked faintly annoyed.
He'd expected a one-on-one match. He didn't think Swift Flash would look down on them that much.
Forget graduation—he figured they could probably take down an average S-Class hero right now if they worked together.
The other heroes didn't speak, but their expressions showed they were all thinking the same thing as Magic Trickster.
"Hear that? They're looking down on you. Show them what you've got."
Kizaru chuckled as he addressed the already-fuming Groribas.
Barely able to hold back any longer, Groribas began to swell, transforming back into its original form—each fist and its head sporting gaping mouths.
Its transformed state had a time limit, but it didn't need to go all-out for this bunch of weaklings. Even its base form would be more than enough.
"Strongest one among you—step forward!"
Groribas bellowed. It was a sneaky alien—despite having the power to crush them all, it wanted to take out the strongest first, before they figured out what it could do.
"I'll go."
Dressed in loose-fitting traditional robes, Blueflame stepped up. Without Flashy Flash or the demon cyborg present, he was unquestionably the top trainee here—A-Class Rank 5.
Blueflame specialized in martial arts, and the training camp had boosted his strength significantly—second only to someone like Mumen Rider, who'd shot from top of C-Class to nearly cracking into A.
Kizaru didn't bother watching the beatdown. As far as he was concerned, it was just chickens pecking each other.
The other heroes on the sidelines, however, didn't have the same self-awareness—and actually cheered Blueflame on.
"Make it quick! I don't have time to waste!"
"Wipe it out fast! Let Lord Flash see how much we've improved!"
"Tch, I was just about to get a turn too…"
The heroes had formed a circle around Gloribas and Blue Flame. Not a single one of them believed Gloribas stood a chance.
Even though the "slime monster" looked a little more intimidating than before, no one thought this thing was stronger than your average S-Class hero.
"Can I go beat that thing up?"
Watching Kizaru approach, Saitama—still in a sulk—raised his hand and asked.
That damn pile of sludge had dared to mock his bald head. Didn't it know he hated when people brought up his hair?
"No. You'd kill it in one punch… hmm, but you can keep an eye on it. If it tries to run, give it a light tap—just go easy."
Kizaru rejected the request without hesitation. This sparring partner was way too valuable. If it turned out usable, he was planning to take it back to Navy HQ for future use.
Even if it wasn't a long-lived species like Boros, it could probably live a few centuries—perfect as a Navy heirloom.
"Tch. Fine, fine… By the way, didn't you fight that alien boss guy? That so-called universal overlord—how strong was he?"
Saitama clicked his tongue in annoyance, but quickly switched topics—he'd been curious about this.
If even that pile of sludge could take a "light" punch from him, then the alien boss must've been seriously tough, right?
"Boros, huh… Could probably take four or five of your normal punches. Or two, if you got serious."
Kizaru tilted his head, did a rough estimate, and gave Boros a "pretty decent" rating.
"Damn it! If I'd known, I would've gone too! Wait—what about you?"
Saitama looked genuinely regretful. An opponent who could survive two serious punches? That was way better than those random monsters that exploded after one hit.
But then he realized—if Boros, who could tank two serious punches, still lost to Kizaru… didn't that mean Kizaru might be the best opponent he'd ever face?
"How should I know? Never fought you before… and no thanks, hard pass."
Kizaru sometimes wondered just how big the gap was between him and Saitama.
But the moment he remembered how savage Saitama's punches were, he immediately gave up the idea. He wasn't like Boros, charging in to die for glory. Marching into certain doom? That was masochist territory.
"C'mon… what's wrong with just trying once…"
Saitama muttered under his breath. While the two were chatting, the overly confident Blue Flame had already been effortlessly flattened by Gloribas.
Because of Kizaru's orders, Groribas didn't go for a kill.
Still, the power gap was so massive that Blue Flame couldn't help but question reality.
"W-What the hell?! How is this guy so strong?!"
"Even Blue Flame lost?"
"No wonder Lord Flashy Flash told us to attack together…"
…
The heroes were dumbfounded by Groribas's overwhelming strength. But then someone remembered—Kizaru had brought this alien back in a cage.
In other words, the being that had just stomped one of their own was nothing more than Kizaru's prisoner.
Some of the heroes who had started to feel just a little too confident… suddenly found themselves looking at Kizaru with very complicated expressions.
Even after all their power-ups, the distance between them and Swift Flash was still insurmountable?
"So weak… You're really the same species as my master?"
Groribas sneered without holding back. Forget Kizaru, who had defeated Lord Boros—compared to even the S-Class heroes who'd captured him, these local warriors were pathetically weak.
Even the strongest among them would barely rank mid-tier aboard the Dark Matter Thieves' ship.
°°°
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