Saitama's Terrible Sense of Direction

Bai Ye had finished his preliminary practice.

Yes, this was only preliminary practice. Now he was going to turn up the intensity.

As Bai Ye used the Flying Thunder God Technique again, the kunai embedded in the side of the tower's spire vanished along with him.

Holding the kunai, he returned to W City.

Several cities remained unlocked. He planned to travel through all of them in one go using the Body Flicker Technique, leaving at least one kunai in a target in each city along the way.

If even one kunai failed to hit its target precisely, Bai Ye would have to start over.

Giving himself almost no time to rest, Bai Ye continued practicing.

[Ding! The host has arrived in V City for the first time. Reward received: 2 points!]

[Ding! The host has arrived in U City for the first time. Reward received: 2 points!]

[...]

Bai Ye finished this round of high-intensity practice and had now unlocked all twenty-six cities, but there was still something he wasn't quite satisfied with.

By the time he reached the last city, he had been exhausted, making his final kunai throw less precise.

It had still hit the target, but it had come dangerously close to missing.

Bai Ye was fairly strict with himself and wouldn't tolerate even the slightest mistake.

He decided to repeat the same intensive training tomorrow. Today, he was already close to exhaustion and needed to go home and rest first.

As for the eleven kunai scattered across the cities, Bai Ye was in no hurry to retrieve them. He would collect them one by one before starting tomorrow's training.

The Flying Thunder God Formulas he had left on those kunai would never disappear anyway. Six Paths Obito was the only known case of someone removing a Flying Thunder God Formula.

Back home, Bai Ye opened the door and immediately saw Saitama sitting in his living room, watching TV.

Saitama's TV had broken, and getting it repaired would cost money, so he was watching TV at Bai Ye's place for the time being.

"Oh, you're back."

Seeing the sweat still lingering on Bai Ye's face, Saitama immediately asked, "Were you out training? You look really tired."

"Yeah, I traveled between a few cities."

Bai Ye answered casually.

"Sounds fun. Could you take me along tomorrow?"

At that moment, Saitama shifted into his simple, strong-guy art style, looking utterly clueless.

Staying home every day was too boring. Although he usually stayed in reading manga, watching TV, and so on, and his only hobby was doing hero work, even that got old sometimes.

Besides, Saitama relied on TV news to find monsters, which often left him with nothing to do for long stretches. After all, the news didn't report on low-level monsters...

"..."

Bai Ye immediately felt awkward.

He realized he had been a little careless. If he'd known this would happen, he wouldn't have told Saitama what he'd been doing. Now he'd probably have to go head-to-head with Saitama tomorrow.

"Sure. You'll probably beat me so badly I won't know which way is up."

Bai Ye gave an awkward smile.

"No, no, I won't."

Saitama waved a hand.

Early the next morning.

Bai Ye first retrieved the eleven kunai he had left in the various cities.

Then he took Saitama up to the roof of their apartment building, using it as their starting point.

Saitama had changed into his battle outfit: a yellow superhero suit and a white cape.

It might have looked a little tacky, but a clothing shop owner who supported Saitama's lofty ambitions had made it especially for him. It meant a great deal to Saitama, which was why it had become his never-changing battle outfit.

"So we're starting here. Where's the finish line?"

Saitama asked.

"Let's make it P City. Specifically, the roof of the Hoshino World Hotel."

Bai Ye answered.

"Okay."

Saitama started loosening up, doing the sort of morning exercises elementary school children often did.

A little later, Saitama said with a blank look, "I'm ready. We can go."

"Three..."

"Two..."

"One!"

Bai Ye counted down.

The instant the countdown ended, Bai Ye and Saitama launched themselves forward at the same time.

At least Bai Ye was using the Body Flicker Technique. Saitama was relying entirely on raw physical strength to work miracles.

With his body in Superman's classic flying pose, Saitama looked as though he were flying, but it was actually his jumping ability. A slightly serious leap was enough for him to reach light speed, and he instantly left Bai Ye far behind.

Bai Ye could have instantly overtaken Saitama by using the Flying Thunder God Mark he had left in P City, but there was no point.

He wasn't that obsessed with winning. He was here to practice Flying Thunder God and the Body Flicker Technique, nothing else. Besides, losing to Saitama was nothing to be ashamed of.

Even with Saitama far ahead, Bai Ye wasn't anxious at all. He continued practicing at his own pace.

Just like yesterday, he left one or two kunai in every city he passed through, focusing on hitting his targets precisely.

This time, Bai Ye was considerably more proficient than yesterday.

When he reached the final city, P City, he still had energy to spare, unlike yesterday, when he had been almost completely exhausted.

Of course, his physical and mental stamina hadn't increased out of nowhere. His technique, transitions between movements, and ability to navigate different terrain had all become smoother, naturally reducing his overall expenditure.

Yet when Bai Ye reached their destination, the roof of the Hoshino World Hotel, Saitama was nowhere to be seen.

Had Saitama still not arrived? Surely that was impossible?

Apart from that first instant after they set off, Bai Ye hadn't seen Saitama at all throughout the trip. Logically, Saitama should have been waiting at the finish line long before he arrived.

Or had Saitama gotten tired of waiting and gone home?

[Ding! The host has defeated Saitama in a speed contest. Reward received: 100 points!]

Hearing this system notification, Bai Ye was dumbfounded.

How had I somehow won?

Where was Saitama?!

Meanwhile, Saitama, who was jumping back and forth between several cities, could only say, "How should I know?"

As mentioned before, Saitama had a terrible sense of direction.

Bai Ye had set P City as their destination, but Saitama had accidentally used a little too much force and jumped straight from Z City to A City, the farthest city away. Now he had no idea which direction the finish line was in...

"Now I'm in trouble. I think I've lost my bearings. I don't even know which way to go to get home..."

By now, Saitama had already jumped from A City to another city, but he had no idea where he was. He scratched his head awkwardly.

Meanwhile, Bai Ye quickly realized there was only one possible reason Saitama could have lost to him: he had gotten lost...

He had nearly forgotten that Saitama also had the character trait of having a "terrible sense of direction."

But now he didn't know where to look for Saitama. If only he'd placed a Flying Thunder God Formula on him beforehand.

All he could do now was call Saitama.

Saitama was still fretting over what to do when the phone in his pocket suddenly vibrated. He took it out, saw that Bai Ye was calling, and immediately answered.

A little embarrassed, Saitama said, "Bai Ye, um... I think I'm lost."