Surface location of the House of Evolution.
The roar of a motorcycle engine echoed across the desolate outskirts as Dr. Genus, clad in a white lab coat, arrived at the scene in haste.
He stood in silence before the crater that had once been the House of Evolution, barely keeping his composure, and adjusted his glasses in embarrassment.
Several kilometers away, he had already spotted the sky-piercing golden beam—right where his House of Evolution had stood.
The brilliant Dr. Genus instantly realized the spectacle had to be the work of those two intruders, most likely fighting Carnage Kabuto.
He hoped they could defeat it… he would rather not see Carnage Kabuto wipe out humanity.
But upon arrival, he discovered he'd been wrong.
Dr. Genus knelt and, amid the dust, found a shard of still-intact ochre shell.
Digging deeper, he uncovered slabs of bluish-green, half-cooked flesh scattered everywhere.
This… was Carnage Kabuto's flesh? And it had been beaten to death while in Ashura Mode?!
Cold sweat trickled down his forehead; confusion welled inside him, and he slumped to the ground, strength gone.
He began to wonder: what had decades of tireless genetic research really been for?
His ultimate creation, the mighty Carnage Kabuto, had died miserably—even with Ashura Mode activated.
Worse, it had been effortlessly slain by the very Old Humans he despised.
With a self-mocking smile, he dusted off his coat and stood.
Maybe I should quit genetics—what's the point? I could sell Takoyaki instead…
Just as Tatsumaki was about to cause another scene, the Hero Association's doors opened again.
A man in a yellow jumpsuit, discount groceries in hand and a shiny bald head, walked in.
Saitama looked around, confirmed everyone was present and unharmed, and finally relaxed.
"That should settle things."
He'd just raided the supermarket's sale and, passing the branch office, remembered his unchanged hero name and popped in to discuss it.
If possible, Saitama really didn't want to keep going by Caped Baldy—though it was accurate.
Sitch stepped forward, amazed.
"Mr. Caped Baldy? Weren't you and Mr. KING wiping out the House of Evolution? Why are you here?"
Saitama blinked, about to answer, when Tatsumaki descended from mid-air, irritation dripping.
"Tch, a freshly promoted S-Class baldy. Looks like you ran away mid-battle. Trash. I don't like you—scram!"
Already furious over King, she lumped Saitama with him and transferred her anger.
Bewildered by the sudden insults, Saitama stood there, a giant question mark over his head.
"Huh?"
He could accept Caped Baldy, but dropping by just to change his name and getting cursed at?
Saitama's mouth twitched; he pointed at Tatsumaki, his face turning into a doodle.
"Whose kid is this? Why's she in the Hero Association—lost?"
"Kid?!"
Staff members felt their souls leave their bodies at the word.
Mr. Caped Baldy didn't know the rules; that term was absolutely forbidden in front of Tatsumaki.
Tatsumaki's expression darkened; violent psychic power swirled around her.
"Ha?! You obnoxious cue-ball, looking like a boiled egg—I'm S-Class Rank 2, Tatsumaki the Terrible, 28 years old, not some kid!"
Saitama brightened, jogged over, placed his hand on his own head, then hovered it above hers.
"Look, you're only 150 cm—plenty of middle-schoolers are taller. What else could you be but a kid?"
Tatsumaki: "…"
Sitch: "…"
Sitch covered his face; he'd hoped to defuse things, but clearly no mediation was possible—Tatsumaki would explode.
Veins bulged on her delicate cheeks; fury blazed and deep-green light flickered in her eyes.
Lifted by psychic power, she floated upward, her green curls writhing like serpents.
"Dead baldy, feeling cocky because of that Scarface? Get out here!"
She pointed; pale-green light wrapped Saitama, and he rose.
"Eh?"
Before he could enjoy floating, the telekinetic bubble hurled him through the doors toward the distant suburbs.
Tatsumaki shot after him as a streak of deep-green light, obviously planning something everyone could guess.
Watching Saitama dragged off by an enraged Tatsumaki, Sitch panicked.
Though Caped Baldy was S-Class, Rank 2 Tatsumaki stood at the Association's apex; the outcome looked obvious.
Worse, Caped Baldy was Mr. KING's friend; if Tatsumaki injured him, Mr. KING's wrath would be unimaginable.
Undoubtedly, KING—The Strongest Man on the Surface of the Earth—far surpassed Tatsumaki, as the last battle had shown.
Tatsumaki had collapsed from mental exhaustion while KING emerged without a scratch.
With that in mind, Sitch quickly called King, begging him to come and stop the disaster before Mr. Caped Baldy got hurt…
...
(End of Chapter)
[Throw some stones]