One Punch

Piccolo had completely lost his mind.

The humiliation of being toyed with by an ant had shattered his reason.

His eyes were bloodshot, and his breathing grew heavy and erratic.

"I'm going to kill you! I'm going to destroy this whole world!!"

He suddenly leaped backward. His cape snapped in the wind as he shot a hundred meters into the sky.

The already gloomy sky grew even darker. Thick clouds churned as if stirred by an invisible hand, forming a massive vortex.

The vortex's center hung directly above the arena, like the eye of a giant demon.

Blinding lightning danced through the clouds, and deafening thunder rolled overhead.

Piccolo hovered in midair, flinging his arms wide as the ki throughout his body began to gather wildly.

Purple arcs of electricity coiled around him. His green face twisted with rage, his expression as demonic as a fiend's.

"If I can't hit you... then I'll blast this whole island—and you, you monster—into ashes!!!"

Piccolo roared hysterically as the light gathering in his palms grew brighter and brighter.

The energy was so destructive that the sea below began to boil. Towering waves crashed against the coastline with a deafening roar.

"Super Explosive Demon Wave!!!"

With a furious yell, the energy sphere in his hands swelled to its limit, radiating a terrifying aura that made everyone's blood run cold.

Purple light illuminated the entire sky, turning every face deathly pale.

"He's gone mad! He's completely insane!"

"Run! The island's going to sink!"

"Help!!"

"I don't want to die yet!!"

The audience completely broke down, their cries echoing into the sky.

If an energy blast of that magnitude really came down, it wouldn't just destroy the arena—the entire Papaya Island would be wiped off the map in an instant, without a trace left behind.

Despair spread through the crowd.

Even Master Roshi, Tien Shinhan, and the others had gone pale.

Tien Shinhan's three eyes were fixed on the sky, his body trembling slightly.

"His ki... It's at a monstrous level. Can we... stop him?"

"Goku! Hurry and stop him!"

Bulma shrieked, her face as pale as paper as she clutched Oolong's clothes.

Goku was about to take off when a hand stopped him.

It was Mr. Shen.

Mr. Shen looked up at the sky, a strange light flickering in his aged eyes.

It was trust in the strong, along with an inexplicable certainty.

"Hold on."

Mr. Shen's voice was soft, yet held an irresistible power.

"Look at Krillin. He... hasn't even gotten serious yet. He'll win this fight."

In the middle of the Arena,

the gale whipped Krillin's Gi, making it snap in the wind.

Faced with the sky above him, which looked as if it were about to collapse, he remained frighteningly calm. His eyes didn't even waver.

Data from the system flashed across his vision:

[Warning: High-energy reaction detected.]

[Energy level: Sufficient to destroy a small island.]

[Recommended counterattack: Serious Series.]

[Correction: Since the target must not be killed, significantly reduce the force output.]

"What a pain. He's always threatening to blow up the planet. Is this what teenage rebellion looks like?"

Krillin sighed and shook his head, looking a little helpless.

He stepped back half a pace with his right foot, lowered his body slightly, shifted his weight, and slowly drew his right fist back to his waist.

He closed his eyes and felt the vast, sea-of-stars-like power within him.

It was the absolute power granted to him by the One-Punch Man template in another world—the godlike power of someone who had broken through his Limiter.

This power surged through him like a slumbering dragon.

"Thirty percent should be about right."

Krillin abruptly opened his eyes, a flash of brilliance glinting in his pupils.

"Ordinary Punch—Modified—Thirty Percent Power!"

He swung a punch at the sky, at the arrogant demon king. It was an utterly ordinary, unadorned punch.

There were no dazzling effects, no fancy movements.

Only a muffled sound, as if space itself had cracked.

"Thud!"

A terrifying pressure erupted from Krillin's fist, invisible to the naked eye, yet unmistakable.

It was a shock wave born from pure physical force compressed to its absolute limit.

Like an invisible dragon, the force reared up and surged into the heavens.

The next second, a miracle happened.

The clouds blanketing the sky, the raging lightning, and the energy sphere in Piccolo's hands—powerful enough to destroy an island—all seemed to meet an invisible eraser.

The punch pressure transformed into a transparent pillar reaching from earth to sky, ruthlessly tearing through everything in its path.

Piccolo's energy sphere didn't even have a chance to explode. The punch pressure scattered it in an instant, and it disappeared like specks of starlight.

The force continued unchecked, piercing the atmosphere and hurtling into the vastness of space.

"Ruuumble..."

The clouds in the sky were blasted apart, leaving a gigantic hole several kilometers across.

The gloomy sky cleared in an instant, and golden sunlight poured through the opening.

It shone directly down on Krillin, making him look as if a god had descended.

High above, Piccolo had avoided being struck in a vital spot, but even the passing wind of the punch was enough to blow his clothes to pieces.