Chapter 12: Do You Want to Play a Game?
20 Minutes Later.
The door to the break room swung open. Kenji, who was inside frantically stuffing his face with free snacks, drinks, and fruit, flinched violently. He quickly hid the half-eaten snacks and drinks behind his back.
I can't ruin King's public image!
But when he squinted, a shiny, reflective bald head came into view.
Oh, it's just Saitama. Never mind then.
He swallowed a mouthful of chips and mumbled, his mouth still half-full:
"How'd it go?"
Saitama looked brimming with confidence. "I feel pretty good about it. Even better than my civil service exams back in the day. I think I nailed it."
For some reason, hearing Saitama sound so confident about his test results made Kenji feel like something was wrong.
Are you raising a flag right now?
According to Sitch, since Saitama was taking a special solo exam, the results would be out within ten minutes. They just had to wait in the break room.
Once the door closed again, the two resumed their savage assault on the free snacks and drinks. It was a veritable whirlwind of consumption.
In Saitama's words: The Association knew we were hungry, so they specially sent over all this free, delicious food. If we don't eat it, we're trampling on their kindness.
As for Kenji, in his view, the Hero Association was like his second home.
If I'm in my own home, I can do whatever the hell I want, right?
About ten minutes later, a polite knock came at the door.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Kenji and Saitama exchanged a glance. Their hands turned into a blur of afterimages. In a split second, the mountain of trash on the table was swept cleanly into the large trash can in the corner.
After getting permission to enter, a staff member walked in nervously and respectfully handed a file envelope to Kenji.
"Here are Mr. Saitama's exam results. Please review them carefully."
Having said his piece, the staff member turned around and bolted out of the room without hesitation, even closing the door behind him.
He had no choice. The oppressive aura of King, the "Strongest Man on Earth," was just too intense. Just seeing that face made him feel suffocated.
Kenji handed the envelope to Saitama, letting him open it himself.
Saitama stared at the envelope in his hands. This piece of paper would determine whether he became a filthy rich dog earning millions of yen a year, capable of eating premium beef for every meal.
This was the strongest being in the universe, someone who didn't even blink when one-shotting Dragon-level monsters. Yet right now, his hands were trembling with nervousness.
He took a deep breath. His simple, doodle-like face instantly sharpened into a serious, angular, handsome visage. He carefully tore open the seal and pulled out the results sheet.
[Name: Saitama]
[Gender: Male]
[Results: Physical Test - Full Marks | Written Test - 48/50]
[Final Assessment: Physical capabilities far exceed human limits. The Written Test reveals a sincere heart of a hero, possessing firm, kind, and noble character. With the endorsement of the Strongest Man on Earth, King, Mr. Saitama is hereby granted the rank of S-Class Rank 17.]
"Holy sh*t! I'm actually S-Class!"
Saitama couldn't hold it back this time. A rare curse slipped out, and the joy in his eyes was impossible to hide.
He could already picture his beautiful future life: buying manga whenever he wanted, eating premium beef and sashimi whenever he pleased!
Watching the excited Saitama, Kenji smiled too.
This made up for one of the regrets from the original story. As the strongest being, the Caped Baldy deserved to be S-Class from the start, not misunderstood and forced to crawl up from C-Class Rank 388.
Location: Saitama's Apartment
In the small, simple room, a hotpot was steaming away.
Bright red, beautifully marbled beef bobbed up and down in the boiling broth, accompanied by a variety of other ingredients.
At Kenji's request, the Hero Association had agreed to give Saitama a one-month salary advance. The bald demon had instantly gone from a pauper to a millionaire.
To celebrate his sudden wealth and high-paying job, Saitama went all out, buying enough premium ingredients to fill an entire pot.
Staring at the premium beef rolling in the boiling soup, about to reach the perfect level of doneness, Kenji and Saitama locked eyes.
They both saw absolute determination in the other's gaze.
Eight Inner Gates: Seventh Gate of Wonder (Kyomon) — OPEN!!
White steam drifted from Kenji's body, and a faint blue aura enveloped him. His entire presence spiked several times over.
Seeing Kenji getting serious, Saitama's eyes sharpened. He tightened his grip on his chopsticks.
This Battle for the Beef... I cannot lose to you, King!
[Serious Series: Serious Chopsticks]
The moment the timer hit seven seconds...
To a normal person, neither of them seemed to move. But in reality, they were moving at speeds beyond human perception.
In a fraction of a second, Kenji and Saitama's chopsticks clashed hundreds of times in the void above the pot. Every time one tried to grab a piece of beef, the other would parry it away.
Finally, Saitama's chopsticks were about to close around the largest slice of beef. A look of unstoppable joy flashed in his eyes.
In the next microsecond, Kenji seized the opportunity, parried Saitama's chopsticks aside again, and clamped down on that biggest slice with lightning speed.
SNAP!
A crisp cracking sound rang out. Kenji froze.
The chopsticks in his hand had snapped in two under the sheer force of his grip. The beef, suspended in mid-air, began to fall.
Saitama's hand moved like a viper. He snatched the falling beef before it could hit the table and, with god-like speed, swept 3/4 of the remaining beef in the pot into his own bowl.
Seeing his bowl piled high with premium meat, Saitama let out a triumphant smirk and raised an eyebrow at Kenji.
"Hurry up and eat, King. I left you a quarter of it. If you let it boil too long, it'll get tough."
Kenji: "......"
It seems even with the Seventh Gate open, there's still an insurmountable gap between me and the base-form Caped Baldy.
Just from this small skirmish over beef, it was clear he was crushed in both speed and power.
However...
Kenji's gaze drifted to the box he had brought from his own apartment. The corner of his mouth curled up slightly.
Now, it's my turn to crush the Baldy.
Watching Saitama happily enjoying his premium beef, Kenji patted the box beside him with a smile.
"Saitama, do you want to play a fighting game? I brought the latest controllers and the newest game collection."