"Teacher?!"
Genos caught sight of the familiar figure, and the despair weighing on his chest evaporated in an instant.
"Hahaha! Another fool walks to his death! What a delightful day!"
Slender Bean Sprout stiffened when Saitama suddenly appeared, then broke into hysterical laughter.
In its eyes, this bald man in a cheap yellow tracksuit was nothing but a nobody.
Before setting out, it had carefully memorized the S-Class and A-Class Hero lists—this bald stranger wasn't on either. Clearly a weakling, not even A-Class.
"Hey, baldy," the monster pointed arrogantly at Saitama. "Want me to freeze you into an ice sculpture like this scrap-metal Hero?"
Saitama scratched his head, his dead-fish eyes blinking lazily.
"Huh? You talking to me?"
"Of course! Is there a second baldy here?" Slender Bean Sprout cackled, cold air swirling around its hands. "I'll freeze you into a popsicle too!"
"Oh…"
Saitama's face suddenly darkened.
"You just… called me baldy?"
The monster, oblivious to the taboo it had triggered, sneered,
"What? A baldy can't be called—"
*Bang.*
A dull impact echoed.
Slender Bean Sprout's expression froze in disbelief.
How was this punch so heavy?!
"I hate it when people call me baldy."
Saitama calmly lowered his fist.
"Pfft—!"
The monster spat a fountain of green liquid as it slammed into a distant wall, sliding down in a limp heap.
Dead on impact—though Saitama had held back. Hot pot ingredients were on his mind, after all.
Inside the solid ice block, Genos couldn't speak, but his electronic eyes flickered faintly in relief.
Teacher… truly dependable as always…
Saitama approached the ice sculpture and lightly tapped it.
"Genos, you good?"
With Genos unable to respond, Saitama sighed.
"Yeah, doesn't look good. Bear with it—I'll break you out."
*Bang!*
He carefully controlled his strength, punching the ice.
Cracks spread like spiderwebs before the entire block shattered.
"Teacher!"
Genos staggered out, joints creaking loudly.
He was about to thank him when his sensors spiked with alarms.
His golden eyes snapped toward the pit.
"Mr. King?!"
Two figures leapt out—Kaito dusting himself off, and Garou radiating suffocating pressure.
Genos's internal system screamed in full panic mode:
[Warning! Extreme energy detected!]
[Threat level: Unmeasurable!]
[Recommended action: Immediate retreat!]
"Teacher, stay back!"
Genos moved in front of Saitama, arm armor opening with metallic clanks to reveal black weapon barrels.
Scorching energy hummed dangerously within.
"This individual is extremely dangerous!"
Garou raised his brows, amused, crimson eyes flashing with excitement.
"Interesting."
He licked his lips.
"Devil Cyborg—are you afraid of me?"
He released a wisp of killing intent.
The air thickened instantly.
Dust rose and hovered between them, frozen in place.
Saitama rested a hand lazily on Genos's shoulder.
"Relax. He's just a late-stage chuunibyou wearing a monster cosplay."
"What?!"
Garou's killing intent shattered on the spot. A vein throbbed on his forehead.
"Are you blind?! I'm a real monster!"
Saitama casually picked his ear.
"What? Wind's too loud. Can't hear."
"YOU BASTARD!!!"
Kaito stepped forward and wrapped an arm around the furious Garou, trying not to laugh.
"Alright, alright, quit yelling."
He pointed at the two slain monsters.
"All the hot pot ingredients are right there. If we delay, the meat won't be fresh."
Garou blinked, anger replaced by curiosity.
"Wait—monsters are edible? They're not poisonous?"
The question lit a fire in Saitama's eyes.
"Super delicious!" He gave a vigorous thumbs-up.
"As long as you cook them and dip them in special sauce—absolute heaven!"
Genos wanted to object… but his teacher was already humming while bagging up monster parts.
He put away his weapons in silence.
He glanced at Garou—only to see the guy eyeing his mechanical arm like it was cookware.
"Hey, tin man," Garou suddenly asked.
"Can your equipment… be used for hot pot?"
Genos: "???"
---
Twenty minutes later
The four returned to Saitama's home—after all, the hot pot ingredients were still piled in the little courtyard. Waste was unacceptable.
But the moment they opened the door—
Lively noise spilled out.
The tiny living room and courtyard were packed.
Nearly half of the S-Class Heroes had gathered.
Silver Fang Bang and his elder brother Bomb sat on small stools, sipping tea with serene expressions, as if this rowdy courtyard gathering were a tranquil garden party.
Superalloy Darkshine flexed his gleaming biceps beside them—again—the muscles bulging like polished black steel.
Vest-Venerable, sitting next to him, looked like a man who'd already given up resisting life's absurdities.
Atomic Samurai leaned back, chewing a toothpick, quietly muttering to Zombieman about something.
Zombieman, face unreadable, simply nodded—or maybe he didn't; it was hard to tell with him.
Pig God occupied a corner of the yard, engulfed in a small mountain of low-tier monster remains.
The sound of voracious chewing echoed nonstop.
Prisoner… was trying to wink flirtatiously at Flashy Flash.
Flashy Flash's expression was colder than liquid nitrogen.
Metal Bat, shoulder-drooped and bat in hand, glared at Child Emperor.
He clearly looked like someone who'd been forcibly dragged here.
Child Emperor stood proudly beside his invention, Emperor Maru, passionately explaining its mechanisms to Drive Knight, who nodded analytically, probably recording new data.
Even Watchdog Man was quietly squatting by the doorway, casual and canine-like, observing everything.
This lineup was more stacked than an emergency-level Hero Association summit.
---
"Dad!"
Child Emperor—sharp-eyed as always—spotted King immediately and dashed over, worry and excitement written clearly on his face.
"I called everyone! I was getting ready to go down there to support you!"
He tugged at King's sleeve anxiously.
"The Monster Association's base is right below, right? How is it? Is the crisis over?"
King looked at the child's earnest little face, warm pride rising in his chest.
He naturally reached out and ruffled the boy's hair.
"Mm. Isamu did great—very smart. But don't worry, the danger is resolved. The Monster Association… can be considered officially wiped out."
"Woohoo! I knew Dad was unbeatable!"
Child Emperor cheered, then spun around, ready to announce this to all the heroes.
But before he could take two steps—
"Whoosh!"
A small green blur streaked above the heroes' heads.
A powerful psychic force field rippled outward, neatly parting the crowd like an invisible curtain.
The floating figure stopped precisely in front of King.