Clearly, in the current One-Punch Man world, the heroes are still fighting their own battles.
The Hero Association has shown absolutely no sign of making a move so far.
After confirming that the Hero Association did not exist, he wanted to look for Saitama.
So, after making a few inquiries, Gawain headed towards the uninhabited area of Z City.
Hearing that Gawain wanted to go there, even taxis refused to take him, so Gawain had no choice but to walk all the way to that large, uninhabited area.
Upon arriving near the no-man's-land, Gawain sensed the presence of some kind of malice. Clearly, there were indeed quite a few Monster hiding in the no-man's-land.
However, for some reason, the Monster here aren't very strong.
Not long after Gawain entered the Gawain -man's-land, the only Monster to attack him was an octopus-like Monster that was only as tall as his calves.
The octopus roared, demanding revenge for the octopuses eaten by humans, and launched an attack on Gawain. Gawain then casually grabbed it and tossed it into dried octopus jerky.
Unfortunately, Gawain never encountered another Monster.
Of course, he also didn't sense Saitama's presence.
This situation puzzled Gawain, after all, Saitama was One-Punch Man.
Can a world without One-Punch Man still be called One-Punch Man world?
After a brief period of disappointment, Gawain eventually left the no-man's-land and even left Z City altogether.
After all, in his view, Z City wouldn't seem so important in a world without Saitama.
How could Gawain, who wasn't very familiar with the One-Punch Man storyline, know that Saitama hadn't always lived in the no-man's-land?
For the first three years before the One-Punch Man storyline began, Saitama didn't even live in Z City.
Although Z City is not small, it is not the most prosperous city.
Before becoming a hero out of pure interest, Saitama had a fairly good income and a respectable job. At the time, Saitama lived in City A, which was many times more prosperous than Z City.
As the first city in the alphabetical order, City A is the largest and most prosperous city in the world.
The world's largest order organization today is actually Commercial Alliance composed of nearly thirty major businessmen.
The headquarters of the companies owned by those thirty big businessmen were all located in City A.
As a highly paid top-earning professional in a large corporation, Saitama now resides in City A.
The reason he later went to the uninhabited area of Z City...
Because... Saitama, who gave up his job to become a hero out of pure interest, simply couldn't support himself.
And... the rent in the uninhabited area of Z City is among the lowest of all cities.
So low that... almost no one collects rent...
In the future, Saitama had to move to Z City because he quit his job and couldn't earn money.
Unaware of the background Gawain went directly to Z City to find Saitama.
How could he possibly find it...?
In short, half a month later.
At 7:20 a. m., Gawain lazily got out of bed.
The constant wailing of police sirens made Gawain squint.
Very good, another Monster of at least Tiger level has attacked City A.
With a snap of his fingers, Gawain appeared instantly in the sports district of City A.
When Gawain arrived, the Tanktop Army members and the Monster were already fighting.
People nearby saw Gawain arrive and immediately started shouting at the Monster and the Tanktop Girl who were fighting.
"Thunderstorm Gawain is here!"
"Tanktop Girl, you're way too weak! Quickly hand the Monster over to Thunderstorm to deal with!"
"That's right, if you continue fighting like this, the losses will be too great!"
"Hurry up and send Thunderstorm! Thunderstorm can take him down in one move, just one move!!!"
"Workouts are totally useless; no matter how much you train, it can't compare to superpowers. Get out of here!"
"Only superpowers can better defeat Monster! Tank top, get out of here! Thunderstorm, save us!"
"Ah, I can't take it anymore, Lord Thunderstorm is so handsome!!!"
My heart has found its home!
All right...
This is perhaps a characteristic of the One-Punch Man world; the citizens here... have a rather lacking sense of boundaries.
After the Tiger-level Monster appeared, they were very grateful for the appearance of the Tanktop Army and the Tanktop Girl.
As the Tanktop Girl gradually weakened, the group, seeing the damaged streets and surrounding shops, began verbally attacking Tanktop Girl...
Now, Gawain, who has recently risen to fame and is known as Thunderstorm Gawain, has appeared.
They not only verbally attacked her, but also started insulting the Tanktop Girl...
The Tanktop Girl is already used to this situation.
She didn't say much, because she was indeed no match for this sewer Monster in front of her.
As she retreated, she glanced at Gawain, and after confirming it was Gawain, she let out a heavy breath and then, flexing her muscles, withdrew from the battlefield.
"Phew, thank goodness you came!"
This Monster's body is very peculiar; hitting him feels like hitting a garbage dump—disgusting and effortless.
I'm no match for him, you got a good deal. But considering your good relationship with our boss, I'll let you have this guy!
As they spoke, the Tanktop Girl stepped back to a distance, watching Gawain's performance with displeasure.
Ahead, seeing that his enemy seemed to have changed, the Monster man who looked like trash immediately turned towards Gawain and roared at Gawain.
"Despicable humans only create garbage. While enjoying themselves, humans continue to produce garbage that should not belong to the earth."
It was the sewers that took care of all that!
Today, I'm going to wipe out you filthy humans for the sake of the sewers!
Go to hell!
With a roar, the sewer Monster's arm, piled high with garbage and emitting a disgusting stench, slammed down towards Gawain.
Facing the disgusting trash man, Gawain raised his left hand, and lightning suddenly flashed from his Gawain, instantly blasting the trash man into dust.
In this world, Monster are generally divided into five levels: wolf, tiger, demon, dragon, and god.
The idea of a god-level Monster is just speculation from the Commercial Alliance; at least they haven't actually seen Monster.
That's a powerful Monster, according to the simulations, could destroy the entire Earth. If they had actually encountered it, the Earth would have been completely destroyed long ago...
Aside from god-level Monster that have never been seen before, dragon-level Monster generally already possess the power to destroy several cities.
Demon-level Monster are qualified to destroy at least several city blocks, or even affect an entire city.
Tiger-level Monster are far stronger than humans, and it would take at least several special forces teams to defeat them.
A wolf-level Monster, huh...?
By definition, they're roughly Monster only slightly stronger than humans, with destructive power comparable to a weapon-wielding serial killer...
The Monster in front of them was a Tiger-level Monster. Without the intervention of special individuals, the Commercial Alliance would have needed to send at least several Special Grade Regiments to suppress it.
Unfortunately, the Tiger-level Monster was far too weak in front of Gawain.
Seeing that Gawain had instantly defeated the Monster, the people around him cheered, and countless women even took off their clothes and rushed to Gawain to ask for his autograph.
Seeing how popular Gawain was, the girl in the vest muttered unhappily, but she had only muttered a couple of words when she felt someone gently pat her shoulder.
"Huh!"
The girl in the vest turned her muscular neck and looked at the person who had just arrived.
Seeing the slightly displeased expression on the girl's face, the newly arrived Tanktop Master patted her shoulder and gave her an incredibly sunny smile.
"Haha, young lady, don't gossip about the hero who saved the citizens."
We may not be as good as them for now, but all we need to do is train hard. Whether they are superhumans or Monster, as long as we train hard, we will be able to defeat them one day!
Let's go back to the gym and keep working out. I'll take care of things here!
I don't know if Gawain finished the fitness meal I sent him last time.
Okay, I'll be inviting Gawain to dinner at the restaurant again tonight. Please let everyone know so they can prepare to welcome him!
As soon as he finished speaking, the Tanktop Master released the Vest-Top Girl and strode towards Gawain.
As he walked, he waved to Gawain.
"Thunderstorm, haha, haven't seen one for days!"
Have you finished your protein powder? Have you used your prenatal vitamins? How was it?
Even if you have superpowers, you still need to train your body properly!
However, I still trust you quite a bit. You're much stronger than the Tatsumaki that have been appearing near S City and Y City lately.
Although the girl was strong, her physical strength was like that of a mere teenager.
Unlike you, although you are also a superpowered person, your physical strength is higher than mine!
Anyway, haha, come to my shop for dinner tonight! I bought some top-quality Wagyu beef and lobster.
You'll definitely do me the honor of coming, haha!
Amidst laughter, the dashing Tanktop Master approached Gawain and enthusiastically pounded his Gawain muscles.
Gawain nodded, then smiled.
"Do you have top-quality Wagyu beef? I'll definitely go, haha."
Didn't you go to Q City to expand your market a while ago? You're back so quickly?
But it's good that you're back, now I'm in for a treat."
As they chatted, the two left the area where the Monster had appeared, amidst the sounds of Zhipeng around them.
On the way, the Tanktop Master shrugged.
"I would like to expand the market, but Q City is completely unresponsive."
Is that guy in the leather suit over there? Although his personality is eccentrically comical, he's actually much stronger than me.
With him protecting me, the people of Q City don't really support my branch.
"Sigh, forget it, I'll just focus on expanding my business to cities in Q and beyond."
Gawain nodded and smiled.
"That's right. Tanktop Gym are in their expansion phase right now, so there's no need to waste time in cities that aren't very supportive."
By the way, how big is the lobster tonight?
"Ah?"
The Tanktop Master was taken aback, then couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"How big is it? As big as Monster!"
Haha, I'll definitely make sure you're full. We're all working out, how can we work out if we're not full? Hahahaha!
That afternoon, at the headquarters of Tanktop Gym in City A.
Gawain and the Tanktop Master were eating at the table, while their underlings served them as they ate.
While Gawain was dipping lobster meat in lemon juice, Tanktop Al Dente Noodles walked in from outside the restaurant carrying a plate of macaroni.
He was seen carrying a bowl of macaroni in his left hand and a 100-kilogram dumbbell in his right, eating and lifting weights as he walked, all the while talking to the Tanktop Master.
"Brother, the Commercial Alliance has sent someone to contact you."
They said they wanted to recruit you into some random Hero Association.
Oh, right, Lord Thunderstorm is here too. It sounds like they'd prefer to recruit Thunderstorm.
Honestly, they're so blind to the truth, even though our eldest brother is clearly the strongest!
Them..."
"What are you saying!"
The Tanktop Master interrupted his underling's words with a sigh, and then he quickly spoke to Gawain.
"Brother, don't listen to my little brother's nonsense."
I know your strength; I am indeed no match for you.
But hehe, I'll keep exercising!
If you slack off in the future, I will surpass you sooner or later!
Don't give me that chance!
As they were talking, the Tanktop Master put down his salad bowl without any dressing, got up, and went to his younger brother, Tanktop Al Dente.
"Someone from the Commercial Alliance came to ask me to join some Hero Association. Did they used to have this department?"
I'll go check on things first. Brother Gawain, please eat your fill and come back later.
It's strange, why do those capitalists who make a living suddenly want to hold a new holiday?
Have they found a new way to make money?
As they were talking, the Tanktop Master left the restaurant on his own, leaving Gawain sitting at the table eating and laughing.
You've misunderstood. The Hero Association isn't nonexistent in this world; it's just that the time hasn't come yet for it to be successfully established!
As expected, Xianyang Palace always transported him to the very beginning of a new world's storyline.
This time, it seems that Xianyang Palace is treating the period before the Hero Association was even established as the beginning of the story.
It's just unknown how long it will be before Saitama becomes One-Punch Man.
All Gawain knew was that three years before Genos appeared, around the time Saitama first fought Monster and saved a kid with a butt and a chin.
So what time is it now? How long before Saitama became One-Punch Man was the Hero Association established?
With a thoughtful expression, Gawain slowly filled his stomach with lobster.
He then put down his knife and fork and, following the disgruntled Tanktop Al Dente's directions, walked towards the place where the Tanktop Master was receiving guests.
As soon as he entered the room where the Tanktop Master was, Gawain couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.
Before him, a rather kind-looking old man was idly chatting and laughing with a child Tanktop Master had a disdainful expression.
Gawain didn't recognize the old man, but the child he was carrying...
It's unbelievable, the child's face is exceptionally ugly, especially his enormous chin...
That chin looks almost exactly like a butt!!!
So, this kid is the smelly kid with a butt chin that Saitama saved before he became a hero???
Just as Gawain was pondering, the old man holding the child saw Gawain, immediately stood up with a smile, and greeted him.
"Hello, Agoni, the president of the Commercial Alliance."
You're Gawain, the recently famous "Thunderstorm," right?
It just so happens that you are here with Tanktop Master. I have important matters to discuss with you.
This story begins a month ago when my Sun Tzu was rescued by a hero who acted out of pure interest!