"Well... I originally had many disciples, but one of them went mad and beat the stronger ones so severely that they could never recover. The rest abandoned the dojo out of fear." Bang's tone was grave, his expression shadowed by regret. "He… used to be my top disciple. After that incident, I gave him a harsh beating and expelled him from my tutelage."
"The last time I accidentally wandered into your dojo, I think I saw him there, right?" Shinji asked.
Back when he had traveled through Kamui Space, he had accidentally transferred into Bang's dojo and seen several of his disciples training, among them Garou.
"Yes, he was there at the time. His name is Garou. His most distinctive feature is his upright V-shaped white hair. Do you remember him?" Bang explained.
"Yeah, I do remember," Shinji replied with a slight nod, remembering the same V-shaped hairline somewhere else.
The next major event in the timeline would be the beginning of the "Hero Hunter" arc. But before that, there was something far more pressing: the arrival of the cosmic overlord Boros.
In Shinji's recollection of the original events, Boros and his Dark Matter Thieves would descend upon Earth shortly after the invasion of the Seafolks. With a disaster rating of "above Dragon," Boros was without question one of the most powerful adversaries apart from the entity known as "God."
Aside from Boros, there would later be the demon Garou, the only other being to reach "above Dragon" level. (According to the ONE version, Murata's "Cosmic Garou" portrayal remains too controversial to count definitively.)
As for Saitama, he was excluded from such rankings entirely, after all, he was neither Shinji's nor humanity's enemy.
The classification "above Dragon" instead of "God-level disaster" existed because as long as Saitama walked the Earth, there could never be a true "God-level disaster" capable of annihilating humanity. "Above Dragon" was simply a more precise term.
Although Saitama could easily defeat both Boros and Garou, Shinji knew that doing nothing while events unfolded would make his journey to this world meaningless. Yet with his current strength, confronting Boros head-on would be no easy feat. He would need to grow far stronger.
"Since your martial arts talent is so exceptional, I might as well demonstrate the complete Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist for you," Bang offered.
"Alright, I'll be in your care then, Master Bang," Shinji replied respectfully.
"It's no trouble. With your comprehension, one demonstration will be enough. Teaching you is far easier than guiding my other disciples."
The dojo now had only a single remaining disciple, Charanko, whose mediocre talent and lazy habits left much to be desired. Bang knew he could not rely on him to inherit the art. Being well aware of his own age and the risk that the style might disappear with him, Bang resolved to pass it on to Shinji, someone he trusted completely and whose character he could vouch for without hesitation.
Garou had once been the brightest hope for the dojo, but that was long in the past.
Bang then performed the entire sequence of the Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist before Shinji, every stance and transition flowing like water and striking with the force of shattered stone.
With his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, Shinji captured every movement in flawless detail. His memory and learning ability, bolstered by those eyes, were nothing short of extraordinary.
...
[Alert! The host has learned all techniques of the Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist. Reward: 50 points!]
As expected, Shinji had mastered them completely.
"How does it feel? Should I demonstrate a couple more times?" Bang asked.
"No need, I've already learned them all," Shinji answered, shaking his head.
"As expected of you..." Bang said in admiration.
...
On their way back, Genos suddenly turned to Shinji. "Master... is my pursuit of ultimate destructive power a mistake?"
Seeing his teacher, Master Bang, flawlessly demonstrate the Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist, a martial art he had always dismissed as merely defensive, made Genos begin to question his own path.
"How could something like that be wrong? Very few things are absolutely right or absolutely wrong, especially when it comes to abilities," Shinji explained patiently. "Take Fubuki, for example. She's a psychic, and her specialty is telekinesis, so she focuses on developing it. There's nothing wrong with that. For you, as a cyborg, your greatest strength lies in destructive power. Pursuing it isn't a problem at all."
"I understand..." Genos nodded thoughtfully. "Although you are also a psychic, Master, you're also an all-rounder. You can easily master high-level martial arts like Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist, so you can develop in every direction."
"…That's more or less it," Shinji replied, giving a slightly awkward smile at the unexpected praise. Bro, please understand the plot armor here.
When they returned home, they found Fubuki still there, quietly keeping watch over the house.
"You two came back pretty quickly. So, what did you go do?" she asked, sitting alone and pouring tea for herself.
"We went to Master Bang's dojo," Shinji answered casually.
"Master Bang? You mean the S-Class Rank 3 hero, Silver Fang?" Fubuki asked, clearly surprised.
It seemed Shinji's connections ran deeper than she had imagined. Then again, he was now an S-Class hero himself, so knowing other heroes of that rank wasn't unusual.
"Yes. Just some casual thing." Shinji confirmed, offering no further details.
Right now, his mind was occupied entirely with the goal of increasing his strength. Before Boros arrived, he needed to be at a level where he could stand against him.
Boros' ultimate attack, the Collapsing Star Roaring Cannon, was said to be capable of obliterating the Earth, or at least its entire surface, according to some accounts. That kind of destructive force would be incredibly difficult to counter...
After thinking it over, Shinji decided on his next move: he would head to the Hero Association Headquarters.
When Boros came, his spaceship would first annihilate City A, resulting in devastating casualties. Knowing this, Shinji could not stand by and allow the city's population to perish.
"Genos, want to come with me to Hero Association Headquarters in City A? There's something very important I need to tell the Association's executives," Shinji asked.
"I'll do as you say, Master," Genos replied without hesitation. If his teacher called it important, it had to be significant. Besides, he wanted to follow Shinji whenever possible to continue learning from him.
"Wait, you're going out again?"
This time, Fubuki reacted quickly, speaking before Shinji and Genos could leave.
"Yes. If not, maybe you should head back for now. I'll lock up before I go," Shinji said.
"...Can I come with you?" Fubuki asked.
"I don't think that's necessary," Shinji replied firmly.
This wasn't a casual visit to the Association. Bringing more people along would make it feel like a sightseeing trip, and this was a matter that concerned the lives of every citizen in City A, something far too serious to be treated lightly.