Bang waved with a chuckle, then suddenly saw Kaito turn his head and grin. His own smile instantly froze. Sure enough, a surge of Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist energy suddenly erupted from the boy, his steps turning like a phantom, and in the blink of an eye, he had descended the stairs to the halfway point of the mountain.
"…"
Bang took a deep breath, turned around, and walked back to the dojo with his hands behind his back, his face expressionless.
'It's common sense to find a master before learning martial arts, you scoundrel!'
Slurp, slurp—
When Kaito got home, he cooked two packs of instant noodles for himself, adding braised beef, vegetables, and five eggs to supplement the nutrition. After a large pot of noodles was cooked, Kaito picked up some noodles to taste them when his phone in his pocket suddenly rang.
"Hello, this is Kaito Joestar."
"Kaito, this is Saitama."
"Oh, Saitama, what can I do for you?"
In the evening, at a phone booth.
Saitama looked at the Monsters and bounty hunters tied up in a circle behind him and said, "It's like this, I caught a bunch of bad guys, and there's even a Monster among them. I thought since you are a police officer, I called you to report."
"A bunch of bad guys, and a Monster?"
The amount of information provided by the keywords made Kaito a bit confused. And the normal procedure for reporting a crime isn't to call a police officer friend's private number! However, thinking of Saitama's thought process, he still expressed understanding: "Okay, I got it. Where do you live? I'll be right over."
"I live in…"
Using his Superpower to grab a pen and paper to write down the address Saitama described, Kaito directly picked up the pot and quickly ate the noodles in a few bites. The scalding food went down his stomach in gulps, transforming into energy to replenish his body, hungry after special training.
After eating his fill, Kaito made two phone calls. Then, he opened the balcony door, and a sky-blue Superpower enveloped his entire body, soaring into the sky.
Ten minutes later.
Upon receiving Kaito's intelligence, the police station directly dispatched the SWAT team. Armored vehicles led the way, roaring through the streets to the ground floor of Saitama's building, a row of simple two-story rental houses.
Because of its remote location and cheap rent, the residents were a mixed bag, and it had long developed into a criminal den known as the "Crime Department Store" in urban legends. Only a thick-headed person like Saitama lived there for so long before noticing anything unusual.
Of course, with his financial situation, he didn't have any better options.
A group of heavily armed SWAT officers streamed out of the police cars and quickly took control of the situation. At the same time, the Hero Association, having received the news, also rushed over led by Ranni. The two sides just happened to meet.
At this moment, Kaito was pulling Saitama, asking about the specific events.
It turned out that when Saitama went to get clothes, he learned that the owner of the clothing store had borrowed money from an underground loan shark due to cash flow problems and could only use the shop as collateral. Driven by his sense of justice, he decided to help the owner solve this problem.
Who knew that the underground loan shark was operating right next to his rented apartment, and the loan shark boss even transformed into a dark Goldfish Monster right in front of him. Although not strong, it was disgusting.
As a result, his newly mended tracksuit ripped again.
"Underground usury, underwear thieves, counterfeit money factories… I can't believe mending clothes could lead to so much trouble. I guess this is your ability!"
"Huh, is that a compliment? I feel like something's not quite right."
"Just take it as a compliment," Kaito pulled Saitama between the two groups of police and Hero Association members who were bickering, "Come on, tell them what happened again."
"Ah? I have to say it again? That's so troublesome!"
"You know it's troublesome? So what, just do it!"
...
"For what happens next, the Association can directly liaise with the police station."
"Thank you, Mr. Kaito Joestar. The Association is currently preparing to build the most advanced Monster prison in the world. I will persuade the police to transfer that Goldfish Monster to us!" Ranni puffed out her chest, her face full of gratitude, "Next time, if you have such a catch, please be sure to contact us!"
"Alright, alright, definitely." Kaito thought of Saitama, who was currently giving his statement because he was afraid of trouble. "By the way, that Monster was defeated by Saitama alone, and he also defeated the Frog Man last time. Do you want to meet him?"
"Ah, is he Mr. Kaito Joestar's friend? Of course, I can. I can also apply to the Association for a batch of bonus money to award to such an enthusiastic ordinary person when I go back."
"Ah? This isn't about bonus money…"
Seeing that Ranni had no intention of recruiting Saitama, Kaito could only give up. As a friend, he didn't want his relationship with Saitama to turn into that vulgar money-based relationship.
(Saitama: No, I'm vulgar!)
By the time everything was handled, it was already late at night.
After seeing off the large number of police officers, Saitama always felt like he had forgotten something, but he just couldn't remember it at the moment. Then he stopped thinking about it.
Saitama habitually blocked out some trivial matters in life, so much so that he forgot the news had said that rewards for bounty hunters could be claimed. Thus, a certain balding man, plagued by bad luck, missed out on another batch of easy money.
"Kaito, do you want to come up for a bit? My place isn't big, but I do have tea."
"That sounds good. After all this trouble late into the night, a cup of tea would be nice." Kaito stretched, "Then I'll impose."
The two went upstairs together to Saitama's room. As he had said, the place was very small, with clutter piled up from the entrance to the living room.
"Please excuse the mess…"
A bead of cold sweat trickled down Saitama's forehead. He didn't notice it when he was alone, but with a guest, he suddenly realized how messy his home was! After a flurry of activity to clear a space to sit, Saitama turned on the TV while he busied himself boiling water and making tea.
Kaito knew Saitama's financial situation and didn't mind, sitting down cross-legged.
Before his butt even warmed the seat, there was a sudden knock at the door.
Knock, knock, knock!
It was quite loud.
"Who is it, so late?"
Seeing Saitama pouring water, Kaito got up to open the door.
"Coming."
Opening the door, an old woman with a gloomy expression stood outside. Kaito was the one who opened the door, and recognizing him as one of the police officers who had handled the criminals earlier, her aggressive demeanor immediately stalled: "…Huh, isn't that guy here?"
"Are you looking for Saitama?" Seeing the old woman nod, Kaito turned back and called into the room, "Saitama, someone's here for you!"
"Huh, coming…" Saitama finished making the tea, walked over a few steps, and clearly saw who it was, immediately wanting to close the door.
The old woman's face darkened when she saw Saitama, and the murderous aura from her knocking resurfaced: "You, come out and talk to me!"
"Ah, I have to go out again, how troublesome!" Saitama's face stiffened, and he reluctantly walked out, "Um, Kaito, you sit for a bit, the tea's poured, I'll be out for a moment."
"No problem."
Bang!
The old woman slammed the door shut, and faint, sharp roars could be heard from outside. Kaito picked up the teacup, took a couple of comfortable sips. The tea leaves were ordinary, but he wasn't picky, just enjoying the relaxing process.
Bang!