Vaccine Man

"Hey, Saitama, giving up already?"

Before long, Saitama emerged from Oboro's house again with a dark expression.

He ruthlessly slammed the door shut in the face of Oboro's cries.

Standing in the hallway of the apartment, Saitama rubbed his Delia, furious.

The next second, with a serious expression and clenched fist, he said earnestly, "I've made up my mind..."

"I need to become stronger... strong enough to surpass you!"

"To avenge the humiliation!"

The person he was referring to was naturally Long.

Saitama hadn't been so thoroughly humiliated by an 'enemy' in a long time, and what was even more devastating was Oboro's attitude after he won.

It completely shattered the bald man's psychological defenses.

But he was helpless; he couldn't very well beat up Long, could he?

However, Saitama's anger only lasted a short while before he calmed down, ate his meal, and went to sleep.

Then the next day, he continued his daily routine.

After the exorcism and the game, the relationship between Oboro and Saitama improved, at least the awkwardness was gone.

However, Saitama needs to make a living, and after Oboro gave up following the bald man, he spent most of his time training, except for going out for a stroll or staying at home when he had nothing to do. Moreover, he would meditate for several days and nights at a time, so the two of them maintained their own pace of life.

We just play games and chat occasionally.

The days passed by in this 'calm as still water' rhythm.

One evening.

Oboro invites Saitama to his home for dinner, Saitama complains that he hasn't seen Oboro for "a while" and is quite worried about him.

He didn't see Long, naturally because Long was cultivating.

Oboro prepared some excellent food, which Saitama enjoyed to his heart's content.

Bored, the two didn't play games, but instead chatted about various topics.

"A weirdo?"

Saitama lay on the floor, legs crossed. "When I was very young, I don't think there were any monsters... If I had to recall anything, it would be from about twenty years ago, but back then, the number and frequency of monsters were quite low. What I remember most clearly is that when I was in middle school, about ten years ago... on average, only one monster appeared every eight or nine months. Then it increased year by year until now, when monsters appear anytime, anywhere... not only in number, but also in strength... If I had to put it into words, it just feels like... um."

Saitama pondered for a moment, "How should I describe it... it seems like I've become a little more irritable."

"Judging from your appearance, you should be about my age. You couldn't possibly not know these things, could you?"

After speaking, the bald man looked at Long.

"I know some things, but not too much. After all... I'm just an ordinary person, unlike you... who is a hero."

He smiled.

Saitama went straight into his house after returning.

She hadn't taken off her strange uniform yet; this appearance... was still somewhat different from that of the general public.

"You, I mean..."

Saitama sighed, sat up Fuza, and stared intently at Oboro.

"What's wrong?"

"That's so fake... You must have killed quite a few weirdos, right?"

"..."

With a half-closed, smiling eye, she feigned surprise, "How did you figure that out?"

"My intuition tells me... You're clearly not simple. You're so rich and powerful... You said before that someone was chasing you, so you fled here to stay. But I think if that's true, then the person who wants to kill you must be even more powerful. So for that kind of person or force, even this no-man's-land... shouldn't scare them."

Oboro did not respond, but maintained her smile.

"Well... but these things have nothing to do with me... you must have your reasons for doing this."

Saitama lay back down.

"As for the heroes you mentioned... that's just a hobby of mine."

"People... ultimately have to return to real life..."

"Speaking of which... I participated in a competition with prize money today, and I actually lost... Damn it!!!"

Through their conversation, Oboro learned that Saitama made a living by taking on part-time jobs, occasionally catching wanted criminals, and also looking for tournaments held in various cities—the kind where winning meant winning money. The prizes ranged from millions to thousands of dollars... or even everyday items; he had participated in them all, but unfortunately... he had never won a single one.

It's like being 'cursed'.

God just doesn't want him to become 'rich'.

As they were talking, the scene on the television program suddenly changed.

A presenter is reporting on a strange person appearing in K City.

"Urgent Notice! Urgent Notice!"

Judging from the footage, it appears to be the city center of K City, a place where people gather.

Loudspeakers on the streets were blaring sirens, urging people to take refuge immediately.

Seeing this, Saitama immediately got up, walked to the entrance, and began to change his shoes.

It's obvious they're heading to the scene of the incident.

"Shall we go over there?"

"Isn't that unnecessary...? It seems the battle has already begun. Those heroes should be able to handle it, right?" Long asked.

The scene shown is of a group of heroes from the Hero Association fighting together against the monster... Judging from the battlefield situation, the heroes are clearly gaining the upper hand.

By the time Saitama gets there, it might already be over.

"Hmm, thank you for your hospitality... I ate a bit too much tonight, I'm going out for a walk."

Saitama stretched his shoulders, turned around and said something to him.

Then, he went out the door.

After the bald man left, Oboro watched the images on TV and discovered that the number of strange people in K City had suddenly started to increase.

It turns out that this strange person was not a single individual, but an entire 'clan'.

The one being besieged by the heroes was just the leader of the monsters.

On this earth, there are many 'alienated' biological races that coexist 'peacefully' with humans.

Characters like Deep Sea King and Sky King are collectively referred to as 'monster disasters', so this phenomenon occurs frequently.

Undoubtedly, Saitama's choice and judgment were correct.

"The element of 'weirdos' should have started to appear about twenty years ago... along with that mysterious Cube." Oboro thought of the topic he had just discussed with Saitama, pondered for a moment, and then turned off the TV.

Now that Saitama has already set off, there's nothing to worry about.

Maybe King is in K City now...

Some time later, on a sunny day...

As a figure descended from the sky, a terrifying explosion occurred on the ground in City A, with flames and smoke shooting straight into the sky.

The entire city's operational mechanisms immediately descended into chaos and stagnation.

High in the sky, Oboro witnessed the collapse of countless buildings and human dwellings that were instantly evaporated from the earth by energy waves.

He rushed over after hearing the news broadcast.

Saitama set off before him... he'll probably arrive soon.

"That's amazing!"

He muttered to himself.

As expected of a top-tier dimension.

This is the supercontinental human plate, whose land area is several times, even dozens of times, larger than the Earth he came from, the world of Hunter x Hunter, Demon Slayer, and One Piece. So much so that even the smallest human city on the supercontinent would be considered quite large in other worlds... and the destruction brought to the humans living in this world by this sudden disaster is immeasurable.

"When I was reading the original work, I was so immersed in Saitama's amazing power that I didn't notice how terrifying these monsters' methods were at all..." Oboro sighed.

As far as the eye could see, the urban area where he was located was a wasteland of ruins and yellow earth, with no trace of a city in sight.

With such an area and such exaggerated destructive power, how many people will die? Long looked down at the murderer who was walking recklessly on the earth.

"If this thing were placed in other worlds, Demon Slayer would be an example, but just considering One Piece and Hunter x Hunter, within the human realm, it would be infinitely close to being at the level of domination," Oboro commented.

His focused gaze fell upon a purple-skinned replica of 'King Piccolo'.

It really looks like it...

That's right, it's the Vaccine Man appears at the beginning of the story.

"Even with Saitama around, his protection isn't absolute..."