"Aren't you going to introduce this guest of ours, Dumbledore?"
The shortest professor, Professor Flitwick, was curiously sizing up Kizaru. He was the Head of Ravenclaw House and a renowned dueling champion.
"Filius, allow me to introduce you. This is Mr. Kizaru, a guest from afar. Filius is our Charms professor and an exceptionally skilled wizard," Dumbledore replied.
He wasn't ready to reveal Kizaru's true identity just yet. This was merely a precautionary move—to let the professors and students of Hogwarts gradually get used to his presence.
"A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Kizaru. I hope your experience at Hogwarts proves enjoyable."
Professor Flitwick gave Dumbledore a slightly surprised glance. Was that really all the introduction he was going to give? But trusting Dumbledore's judgment, Flitwick still greeted Kizaru politely.
"Wow, a guest from afar—that's a good hook. I mean, I've also been to many far-off places. For example, the Himalayas in Tibet, where I even encountered a Himalayan Yeti—what a beast that was…"
Before Kizaru could reply, a flamboyant man jumped into the conversation.
It was none other than this year's Defense Against the Dark Arts professor—Gilderoy Lockhart, a man as ostentatious as he was talkative.
Regardless of whether anyone was paying attention, Lockhart launched into a self-indulgent rant, full of praises for himself and his supposed adventures.
But just as he was reaching a particularly proud part of his tale, he suddenly felt something odd in his mouth. Instinctively, he swallowed.
The next second, he let out a scream—it was so spicy he choked. Desperate, he gulped down a glass of water—only to realize it had somehow been turned into hot sauce.
The bottle of hot sauce on the table was now completely empty. He had chugged the whole thing.
Now Lockhart couldn't even scream. He slumped over the table, twitching like a dead fish.
"What an impressive prank. How did you pull it off?"
Dumbledore chuckled softly. He immediately zeroed in on Kizaru as the prime suspect.
It was simple—of all the people present, only Kizaru might've been able to pull something off right under Dumbledore's nose without him noticing.
Still, even Dumbledore was baffled. He hadn't seen Kizaru make a single move. Could otherworldly 'magic' really be this mysterious?
"It's nothing special. I was just a bit fast, that's all," Kizaru replied with a smile.
There are physical limits to human vision, and even before acquiring the "Flash" Stand, Kizaru could move so fast that most people couldn't see him act.
But for even Dumbledore to miss all traces—that was the power of Godspeed at work.
"Fascinating… Severus, I'll have to trouble you."
Dumbledore nodded slightly, though it was unclear if he truly believed Kizaru's explanation.
He didn't want one of his professors losing face in front of the students, so he turned toward the Potions Master for help.
Snape, who had been quietly enjoying the scene, was reluctantly called upon. With an expression of great displeasure, he pulled out a potion and poured it down Lockhart's throat.
Just as Lockhart was catching his breath, Snape spoke coldly.
"That was a pain suppressant. It only numbs the pain for now. If you don't want your throat and intestines permanently damaged, I suggest you visit the infirmary. Quickly."
Snape flashed a cold, insincere smile.
He had always wanted to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts but had been repeatedly denied by Dumbledore.
Instead, the position had gone to this flamboyant fraud. No one knew how he'd earned Dumbledore's approval.
If it weren't for Dumbledore's intervention, Snape would've been more than happy to let Lockhart keep twitching on the table.
Clutching his throat, Lockhart seemed to feel the burning pain all over again, and now his stomach had also begun reacting to the hot sauce.
Not daring to linger any longer, Lockhart fled in a panic before he could even utter a single threat. Until he figured out how Kizaru had tricked him, he probably wouldn't dare show his face in front of him again.
"This is our Potions Professor, Severus Snape, one of the finest potion masters in the wizarding world."
Dumbledore added, casually introducing Snape to Kizaru.
"A pleasure to meet you both, Professor Flitwick, Professor Snape," Kizaru said with a polite nod to each of them.
A Charms Master and a Potions Master—excellent potential assets.
Especially Snape. If he ever learned about Orochimaru's Edo Tensei, Kizaru was almost certain he'd join the Dimensional Chat Group in a heartbeat. If there was a chance to bring Lily Potter back to life, Snape would probably have no problem transforming into a relentless potion-brewing machine.
And considering Lily Potter's own skill in potions, their production efficiency might even double instantly.
"Well done!"
Professor Flitwick grinned and gave Kizaru a big thumbs-up, clearly appreciating his earlier prank on Lockhart.
The other professors didn't say anything, but the smiles on their faces made their thoughts just as clear.
It had to be said—Gilderoy Lockhart's behavior really rubbed people the wrong way. The only reason he hadn't been kicked out of Hogwarts was that the faculty didn't want to openly cause conflict. Otherwise, a fraud like him wouldn't have lasted even a day here.
"Haha, I've been wanting to do that for a while!"
Professor Sprout laughed, the plump Head of Hufflepuff. She especially hated people who questioned her expertise or messed around in her greenhouse.
And Lockhart had managed to do both not long after arriving at Hogwarts. The only reason she hadn't fed him to a venomous tentacula was because she worried it might set a bad example for her Hufflepuff students.
Now that the buzzing fly that was Lockhart was gone, the dining atmosphere for the faculty noticeably improved. Kizaru had also now met nearly all the Hogwarts professors.
Though the students below were obviously curious about Kizaru too, Dumbledore didn't seem intent on introducing him to everyone just yet.
The Hogwarts dinner also managed to shift Kizaru's impression of wizarding food. Calling it "delicacy" was a bit much, but he had to admit the house-elves were true culinary wizards.
They had taken what looked like ingredients straight out of a horror show and turned them into food even someone like Kizaru could tolerably eat.
After dinner, Kizaru politely excused himself from Dumbledore. His objectives for the trip had all been met—he'd had a walk around Hogwarts, a nice meal, and made the connections he needed. There was no reason to linger.
Next, he needed to return to the One Punch Man world to handle some matters regarding the training camp.
To be honest, he had been a pretty irresponsible instructor.
Not only had he barely taught the heroes anything, but he'd also dumped the aftermath entirely on Saitama.
Good thing the heroes in the training camp weren't Navy soldiers—otherwise they'd have reported him to Marine HQ for sure.
The time flow in the Harry Potter world was several times faster than in the One Punch world. By the time Kizaru returned, several days had already passed.
The impatient Tatsumaki had ended her rare vacation and resumed her duties as the Rank 2 S-Class Hero in the Hero Association.
Meanwhile, the disappearance of Mrs. Perus had left the Hero Association's top brass in a state of unease. But after more than a week with no leads, even they had to put the investigation on hold—for now.
After all, the heroes of the Hero Association weren't under their direct command—they had no reason to just stand by and watch disasters unfold without acting.
Of course, more importantly, Mrs. Perus' disappearance had created a power vacuum among the upper ranks of the Association.
Quite a few executives now had their eyes set on the position she'd once held.
In this kind of situation, investigating her disappearance or taking action against Swift Flash became both difficult and unrewarding.
Especially now that Tatsumaki had returned, and with the Association relying on her as their "ultimate weapon," no one dared suggest anything that might upset her.
Meanwhile, Fubuki had also let go of her past grudges and had jumped from Rank 1 in B-Class straight to Rank 7 in A-Class.
With the Fubuki Group no longer limited to just B-Class heroes, many from the training camp began actively joining, turning the Fubuki Group into the largest faction within the Hero Association.
In terms of numbers, they now had nearly a hundred members, accounting for nearly one-tenth of all heroes in the Association.
In terms of strength, with Tatsumaki (S-Class Rank 2) and Swift Flash (S-Class Rank 4) among their ranks, not even Tank-Top Master's Tank-Top Army could compare.
---
"Then I'll leave the training camp to you."
Kizaru passed on the Rokushiki techniques to Saitama—or rather, he just demonstrated them once in front of him, and the bald-headed demon lord easily mastered all six forms.
Even the most difficult one, Life Return, didn't give him any trouble. However, Saitama was deeply disappointed that, despite theoretically being able to control every cell in the body with Life Return, it still couldn't save his bald head.
"Right, and we agreed—you have to come find me as soon as you finish your training!"
Though disheartened for a bit, Saitama quickly recovered his spirit. After all, Kizaru had promised that once his "training" was complete, they'd have a proper, all-out battle.
Of course, the condition was that while Kizaru went into the mountains to "train," Saitama would manage the training camp and also teach the heroes the Rokushiki.
"Don't worry, next time we meet, I'll fight you with everything I've got!"
Kizaru replied seriously.
As for when he'd actually finish this "training," well—that depended entirely on when he was confident enough to flatten that bald guy.
Fortunately, unless something unexpected happened—like Saitama suddenly undergoing some super evolution—the gap between them wasn't as vast as before.
Even without major breakthroughs like acquiring a Stand or similar power, just steadily growing stronger would eventually allow Kizaru to catch up to Saitama.
With everything arranged, Kizaru finally felt at ease enough to return to the One Piece world.
Still, just before he left, he couldn't shake the feeling that he had forgotten something…
But even as his body vanished into the white light, he couldn't quite remember what it was.
...
"What?! Master went off to train deep in the mountains?!"
°°°
If you want to read ahead and access 20 advanced chapters, check the patreon
Link: Patreon/Moziel
Subscription should be made thru the web and never the ios app, it helps you and me.