A Small Favor (Six) · Follow the Butterfly

Youpi's right fist burned in the air.

That was no longer aura. It was the flame of life. He had wrung out the power of every inch of muscle, every drop of blood, every cell, compressing it all into this single punch. The air before his fist had been squeezed into something solid, forming a translucent white cone of compressed air. Wherever it passed, even the light twisted.

If this punch landed, everything within a kilometer would be flattened, and even the rocks underground would be ground into powder.

This was Menthuthuyoupi's swan song.

Saitama watched the red figure hurtling toward him and sighed again.

"They said I was in a hurry."

He raised his hand and punched toward Youpi.

"Normal Punch."

There was no earth-shaking boom.

No dazzling light.

Only an invisible shockwave that swept lightly over Youpi's body like a gentle early-spring breeze.

Youpi's indestructible red skin cracked like rice paper softened in water. His fist, powerful enough to shatter mountains, could not withstand the shockwave for even a thousandth of a second. A hair-thin crack appeared at the center of his brow, then spread across his entire body at a speed too fast for the naked eye to follow.

Every muscle, every bone, every wisp of aura disintegrated into the most basic particles beneath the force of that punch.

Youpi's eyes widened.

In his final moment of consciousness, he only had time for one thought:

What in the world is this...

Then he vanished completely into the wind.

After the shockwave passed, an eerie silence fell over the world. The thunderous roar that had filled the air moments ago disappeared, leaving only the rustle of wind through the leaves. All that remained on the ground was a faint footprint and a layer of fine red dust. One