"These old ladies are even scarier than Monsters..."
Saitama, who had finally managed to snag a head of discount cabbage, rubbed his sore scalp and sighed with lingering fear.
Saitama turned around, ready to check out.
He happened to see Aokiji and the others walking in.
"You've joined our dinner party quite naturally, haven't you?" Aokiji teased the persistent Tatsumaki.
"Hmph! ╭(╯^╰)╮"
Tatsumaki didn't care about the teasing at all.
"I'm not leaving until you help me get in touch with Fubuki!"
"Whatever." Aokiji didn't mind, treating her like an extra powerful bodyguard.
"Let me see, which aisle has the small-breed dog food?"
"You bastard... you've been provoking me this whole time!!"
At that moment, Saitama walked over.
"What a coincidence, Aokiji. Is this a family gathering today?"
Saitama looked them over one by one.
The white-haired old man looked like he was from the grandfather's generation.
This person with the long hair and bangs... is it a man? A woman?
Probably Aokiji's sibling.
As for the last one, she was easy to distinguish.
Saitama pulled a lollipop out of his pocket—a thank-you gift from a child he helped today.
He handed the lollipop to Tatsumaki:
"You must be Aokiji's younger sister. I'm a friend of your brother's. Want some candy?"
Tatsumaki: "..."
She glared at the lollipop with a dark, heavy aura,
then turned to look at Aokiji, who was stifling a laugh.
"What's wrong, little sister? Take the candy and say thank you to the big brother."
"You bastard, you're surrounded by nothing but weirdos! Reflect on yourself!"
Considering they were in a supermarket,
Tatsumaki only wrapped her fist in psychic power and swung.
Dodging with a smooth sidestep, Aokiji invited Saitama to join them for hot pot.
Having finished his workout for the day, Saitama naturally didn't refuse.
Shopping for ingredients was complete.
The group headed to Bang's Dojo.
After being teased about the ice slide as expected, everyone arrived at the dojo gates.
Hearing the commotion, the gates were slammed open!
"Fang Interpolation!!!"
Garou boldly launched an attack at Aokiji!
*Thud!!*
With a large bump swelling on his head, Garou collapsed.
He had made some progress, though; he didn't pass out.
Aokiji withdrew his fist, feeling a bit puzzled.
Didn't he say he'd challenge me after a Breakthrough? Why was he so eager to attack again?
Soon, the answer came running out.
"Master Aokiji!"
Kiiro checked Aokiji's condition with concern, only smiling in relief after finding no injuries.
Garou stood up in silence, his eyes squeezed shut.
He didn't want to see anything.
His favorite idol was staring with starry eyes at the rival he swore to surpass... Garou felt like he was going to monsterize the next second.
Looking at Garou, who had suddenly attacked and then fallen into an eerie silence,
Tatsumaki thought that this Ice Cube Bastard was indeed surrounded by abnormal people.
"So that's how it is. No wonder you refused Fubuki's request." A mocking smile appeared on her face.
"Being strictly controlled by a girlfriend and not allowed to have contact with other females—how hilarious!"
Kiiro's face suddenly flushed red.
She quickly waved her hands and explained:
"No, it's not like that! I'm Master Aokiji's neighbor... I just admire Master Aokiji as a hero..."
"It's fine, just ignore her," Aokiji said casually.
"Let's start preparing the hot pot. We still need to completely deal with the Assassination Alliance later."
Ignoring Tatsumaki's roaring in his ear, Aokiji rubbed his temples.
He felt like he was forgetting something.
——Volcanic Island——
The ice on the sea showed no sign of melting.
Volcanic ash, frozen into ice, dotted the towering mountain.
From a distance, it looked like a giant, ice-blue broccoli.
One by one, giant marine creatures emerged from the seawater in a standing posture, climbing onto the ice and into the island.
They looked up at the frozen, halted natural disaster, their alien pupils filled with awe and confusion.
"King... according to the nearby fish, this was done by a human..."
A Monster with a head no different from an octopus stood submissively behind a tall figure to report.
Wearing a noble crown, with skin like green seaweed, a face and chest of white skin, and a body structure showing fish-like features everywhere.
The Deep Sea King stared at the frozen volcano for a long time.
Wariness was quite evident on his dehydrated face.
"Humans..."
The Deep Sea King muttered in a low voice: "Merely inferior creatures, yet an individual can reach this level... have they mutated?"
"King, regarding the future plan to invade the humans... should we make some adjustments?"
Although the wording was restrained,
the fear in the octopus Deep Sea Tribe member's tone was obvious.
The Deep Sea King did not scold him.
They had seen plenty of underwater volcanic eruptions.
Even under the suppression of seawater, it was still an incredibly exaggerated natural disaster.
For the Deep Sea King, who could withstand incineration cannons, high-temperature magma posed no threat.
But that only referred to the magma itself.
He could not withstand the terrifying impact force contained in a volcanic eruption.
Yet the humans they despised and considered only to have numerical advantages could actually forcibly stop a volcanic eruption.
"..."
"Suspend the plan for now. Compared to our tribe, humans are ultimately inferior creatures with far too short lifespans..."
"Ah—!!!"
A Deep Sea Tribe member in the back suddenly let out a shrill cry of pain!
The other Deep Sea Tribe members instantly tensed up, waving their strange limbs as they turned back to be on guard.
A man with four black stars connected on his forehead and a distorted, eerie smile stood on the corpse of that Deep Sea Tribe member.
"Hmm, as per the leader's orders, I came to investigate the information left after the battle. I didn't expect to harvest some low-quality experimental subjects."
"I am human." He laughed weirdly. "You, who were defeated by me, are the inferior creatures."
The Deep Sea King walked over slowly, his muscles bulging.
His massive figure emitted a powerful sense of pressure.
The Deep Sea Tribe members respectfully made way.
"You dare to be so arrogant after resolving one of my tribesmen with a sneak attack? Humans truly are..."
The Deep Sea King suddenly threw a punch!!
The air was compressed into a visible white mist barrier!
"This is for your sneak attack!!!"
*Hum—*
*Hum hum—*
The attack stopped abruptly.
The massive green fist seemed to have fallen into a quagmire, unable to move.
The Deep Sea King's pupils dilated in shock.
"Sneak attacks, eh? We like those too." The man's expression remained unchanged.
He seemed completely oblivious to the fist almost touching his face.
"But we're better at... ganging up on people."
Figures with the same face dropped from the sky one by one.
Strange telekinetic fluctuations radiated from them.
In an instant,
the Deep Sea Tribe members were completely surrounded by countless figures.
In the sky, besides the still-falling figures,
were many strange, sci-fi machines.
Large machines used to shield psychic fluctuations were running,
preventing the outside world from detecting the surging psychic waves here.
"Think carefully,"
The voice of the man who first appeared turned cold.
"Who exactly is the inferior creature?"
...
(Throw some stones)