Master Bai Ye!

"Please, tell me your name!"

Genos immediately made his request to Bai Ye.

"...?"

Confusion spread across Bai Ye's face, and he pointed at himself.

Then he pulled Saitama in front of him, letting him answer Genos's request.

One look at the scene made it clear that Genos wanted to become someone's disciple, but Bai Ye felt that the master Genos was looking for should have been Saitama.

"What's going on?"

Saitama looked a little bewildered after Bai Ye pushed him forward.

"No, I meant the man with the blood-red eyes."

Genos immediately corrected him.

"Did you hear that? He's talking to you."

Saitama turned to Bai Ye behind him.

"...My name is Bai Ye."

Now Bai Ye had no choice but to answer.

"Master Bai Ye! Please accept me as your disciple!"

Genos spoke excitedly.

"Me?"

Bai Ye pointed at himself and couldn't help asking.

This isn't right. Isn't Genos supposed to ask Saitama to be his master?

He thought back over what had happened. He hadn't shown his strength just now and had deliberately left Mosquito Girl to Vaccine Man.

That way, Genos would afterward ask either Saitama or Vaccine Man to be his master. In any case, he wouldn't ask Bai Ye.

It wasn't that he disliked Genos. He simply had nothing he could teach him.

System stat boosts, Dual Kamui, the Flying Thunder God Technique... none of them were things Genos could possibly learn.

That made him completely unsuited to being anyone's master.

But despite thinking it through to that extent, Bai Ye hadn't expected Genos to still set his sights on him.

Could it be because of that slap I gave Vaccine Man just now...?

"Yes! Please accept me as your disciple!"

Genos repeated himself with a serious expression.

"Let's put that aside for now. You should go get yourself properly repaired first."

Bai Ye immediately changed the subject.

After Mosquito Girl's brutal assault, almost no part of Genos's body remained intact.

Even one of his eyeballs had popped out. Of course, it was a mechanical eyeball.

As long as his vital core wasn't destroyed, Dr. Kuseno could keep repairing and upgrading Genos.

"I'm fine. Please accept me as your disciple first!"

But Genos wasn't falling for his attempt to change the subject.

"Saitama, sorry for the trouble, but I'll leave this to you. I've got something to do, so I'm heading out."

With no other options, Bai Ye could only dump Genos on Saitama.

In his view, Saitama was the most suitable master for Genos.

"Mm... huh? Wait!"

Saitama realized something was wrong and tried to stop Bai Ye, only to find that he had already vanished with Vaccine Man.

"Master!"

Genos immediately looked around, but Bai Ye was nowhere to be found.

He became even more certain. The man really was that powerful monster's master. He was so fast that Genos couldn't even detect which direction he had left in.

"Um... do you need me to take you to a hospital? Your name's Genos, right?"

Saitama scratched his cheek as he asked Genos.

"No, thank you for your concern. The doctor will come and take me back."

Genos replied.

At the same time, he examined the bald man in front of him.

Thinking back, this bald man seemed far from ordinary as well.

He had fired an incendiary blast that could engulf everything within a five-hundred-meter radius, and the bald man had been right beside him. Yet he had been completely unharmed, with only his clothes burned away.

And this bald man seemed to know the blood-eyed young man named Bai Ye. Could he also be Master Bai Ye's disciple?

Bai Ye would never have imagined that Genos could mistake Saitama for his disciple. What qualifications did he have to take Saitama as a disciple?

"That's good, then. I'll head home now."

Saitama casually said goodbye to Genos and hurried off as well.

He had a feeling this guy was going to be a handful.

Luckily, this was No Man’s Land. Even though Saitama's clothes were gone, there was no one around to see him.

It was a shame about his short-sleeved shirt with the word "hage" printed on it, though. It was a romanization of "bald," meaning "bald." Who knew whether Saitama hadn't understood the word or had deliberately bought it to poke fun at himself...

Only after Saitama ran off did Genos realize what he had overlooked.

"Oh no, I should have asked where Master Bai Ye lives first..."

"Well, this seems to be No Man’s Land in Z City. I've heard that almost no one is willing to live somewhere like this. If I ask around, I should be able to find out how many households there are in No Man’s Land."

Genos then immediately contacted Dr. Kuseno and asked him to come pick him up, since he couldn't move on his own.

By the time Bai Ye and Vaccine Man vanished, they were already back home.

"Was that guy asking to become your disciple? Why didn't you agree?"

Vaccine Man asked.

"You're asking me that? Why don't you become his master, then?"

Bai Ye rolled his eyes.

"Never mind, then."

Vaccine Man flatly refused.

He already harbored an immense prejudice against humans. How could he possibly be willing to take one as a disciple?

"I hope he doesn't come knocking, though that's almost impossible..."

Bai Ye sighed softly.

He knew Genos would definitely be able to find his home.

In a place like No Man’s Land, a few questions were enough to find out how many living people resided there. On top of that, Genos had sensors in his body that could detect signs of life within a certain range.

Sure enough, a few days later, an uninvited guest arrived at Bai Ye's door.

"Master!"

"Master Bai Ye!"

He was calling Bai Ye's name from outside.

"That Cyborg from before is here, right? Should we open the door for him?"

Saitama, who was playing a competitive video game against Vaccine Man, immediately asked.

"Guess there's no helping it..."

Bai Ye couldn't keep shutting Genos out forever, so he could only go open the door.

"Look, you..."

Bai Ye said helplessly, "I think you've misunderstood something. My strength is nothing special, and I don't have anything to teach you."

"Master Bai Ye, I've come to learn from you."

Genos spoke with complete seriousness.

"That's why I keep telling you I don't have anything to teach you..."

Bai Ye felt utterly helpless. "Since you're already here, come in and have a cup of tea. Then you can head back."

Out of politeness, he couldn't simply drive Genos away.

"..."

Genos didn't respond. Clearly, he had no intention of leaving after drinking the tea.

As soon as he stepped through the doorway, Genos saw Saitama and Vaccine Man sitting in front of the television, playing video games.

Once again, he became convinced that his guess was right. This bald man of unfathomable strength and the monster who looked so much like a human were indeed both Master Bai Ye's disciples.

If I can become Master Bai Ye's disciple too, I'll grow even stronger and gain the power to crush all evil!