— — — — — —
Saitama was the glitch of this world.
Honestly, if everyone could just follow Saitama's routine and become as strong as he did... now that would be terrifying.
Just the fate of Earth—it'd probably be in constant danger of blowing up every other day. Even worse, imagine a world full of bald guys. That alone would be a full-on global disaster!
A calamity-level event!
"Huh?" Saitama blinked in confusion. "No way! I always thought that training regimen was super intense! I mean, back then I was practically killing myself doing it every day!"
"That's because you were just a normal guy at the time," Renzo replied, rolling his eyes hard.
"So you're saying... my training method doesn't work for other people after all?" Saitama asked, sounding kinda bummed.
He genuinely wanted to contribute something useful—he wasn't trying to keep secrets or anything.
But oh reality slap...
"Well, it does help a bit," Red Queen chimed in just then, projecting a holographic screen in front of them. It displayed data showing the effects of following Saitama's routine for one month, three months, six months, a year, two years, even three years.
People can get stronger, but only if they started out as your average, out-of-shape humans.
And even then, at best, they'd just become decently fit civilians. Forget fighting monsters—they might not even beat someone with a little martial arts training.
Saitama: "..."
So basically... he really was a one-of-a-kind freak of nature.
"Then how the heck did I get this strong just by doing that?" Saitama scratched his head, completely lost.
"That's exactly what we all want to find out!" Renzo suddenly perked up. "And it just so happens I've got time today. Come on, let's run a full body check-up!"
He threw an arm around Saitama's shoulders with a too-friendly grin and started guiding him toward the underground lab.
"Don't worry, I won't ask for much—just a bit of blood, some skin tissue... maybe a few other samples."
"If I can crack the mystery behind your powers, we might be able to benefit all of humanity! We could completely crush the monster threat!"
"You're not trying to dissect me or something, are you?" Saitama eyed him warily, starting to sweat under Renzo's unsettling gaze.
"Ahaha, no way! With your level of power, who could dissect you without your permission? No one can even scratch you, remember?"
Renzo gave him a bright, innocent smile. After all, he was a totally ethical, justice-loving scientist. Clearly.
"...Yeah, you're probably right," Saitama nodded. Even he had to admit that made sense.
Meanwhile, Genos—having been kicked out by Renzo earlier—rushed straight back to Dr. Kuseno and gave a full report on what had happened, including the part about becoming Renzo's follower and the mysterious request Renzo made.
"Oh? So that's the so-called 'Creator X' who's been making waves lately?" Dr. Kuseno raised his eyebrows, surprised. "Well, that's interesting. If it's him, then yeah—it's actually possible he has tech that could really help you."
"You know the satellite surveillance systems and virtual projection tech the Hero Association's been using lately? Those were all provided by him!"
"And they're easily ten times more advanced than what we used to have!"
"You said he gave you some data for me? Hand it over—I want to take a look."
Kuseno was clearly intrigued now.
He wanted to see what this young upstart had put together that could actually impress him.
"Yes, sir! It's right here," Genos said, handing over a hard drive. Then, a little hesitant, he added, "But please don't feel pressured on my account. If you're not interested, I understand. I'd never want you to feel obligated just because of me."
If it came down to it, he could just give up on becoming Renzo's student. After all, Dr. Kuseno had saved his life—he meant far more to Genos than any potential upgrade.
"Haha!" Dr. Kuseno chuckled and shook his head. "You're still the same, huh? Always so serious."
"But don't worry, it's nothing that dramatic."
"I think that 'Creator X' guy is mostly looking for a chance to exchange ideas with me. Probably just some tech talk between scientists."
"And frankly, I am kind of interested. Meeting him might be worthwhile."
With that, he plugged the hard drive into his computer, pulled up the files, and started reading.
Moments later, he was completely absorbed. Genos called his name several times, but Kuseno didn't even hear him.
Curious, Genos leaned over—and immediately saw what had grabbed his mentor's attention.
It was a document on neural resonance tech—a concept completely different from anything Dr. Kuseno had developed.
No wonder he was so into it.
More than thirty minutes passed before Kuseno finally looked up, muttering in awe, "What a brilliant concept... Totally different from my current approach, but extremely complementary. If we combine it with my tech, Genos—your neural response time could increase a lot!"
"Come on! Take me to this Creator X guy—right now!"
Dr. Kuseno yanked the hard drive out and practically jumped to his feet.
"Uh... that urgent?" Genos blinked, caught off guard.
Of course, as someone with no passion for research, he had no idea just how excited Dr. Kuseno really was.
"You don't get it at all, do you? Stop asking questions and let's go already!"
Dr. Kuseno rolled his eyes in exasperation and waved his hand.
"Yes, yes, alright—we're going!"
Genos chuckled helplessly, then turned the key and started the car, heading straight toward Z-City with Dr. Kuseno.
— — —
Meanwhile, at the House of Evolution...
"So the Mosquito Woman was taken out that easily? She didn't even make it to her final form. What a waste."
"But this new 'Creator X'... he's the real deal."
"That freezing ability of his... it looked like he could lock down entire spaces with it. Just what kind of genes does he have? How can a human generate that kind of power?"
Dr. Genus adjusted his glasses, eyes narrowing as he watched the footage of Renzo one-shotting the Mosquito Woman. His tone was calm, but his interest was clearly piqued.
"Oh, and there's that powerful new AI that popped up online recently... that was probably your work too, huh?" He smirked. "Luckily, I cut my network off from public access ahead of time. Otherwise, you'd have traced this place already."
"Well, no matter. I'll just have to capture you myself. Once I get a sample of your genes—and all your tech—I'll figure out what makes you tick. Hehehe…"
With that thought in mind, Dr. Genus immediately activated several of his earlier experimental creations and sent them out to capture Renzo.
"Hahaha... Let's see what secrets are hidden in your DNA. Maybe... just maybe... you'll be the key to unlocking the mystery behind human superpowers. Fascinating!"
— — —
Back in the underground lab beneath the Luxury Manor, on the fifth sublevel—
With Red Queen's assistance, Renzo had just finished running a full-body scan on Saitama.
After ruining a bunch of needles in the process, he finally managed to pierce Saitama's skin using one made of superalloy—reinforced with Haki, Chakra, and everything he had, drawing a tube of blood and scraping a tiny bit of skin tissue.
"Ow! That stings, you know!"
Saitama winced and stared at the little patch of missing skin on his hand, glaring at Renzo like he'd just been betrayed.
"Oh, come on."
Renzo shot him a look. "You shrug off punches, bullets, even blades—and this is what bothers you?"
"That's different!" Saitama retorted, dead serious. "Those don't hurt at all. This did, you jerk!"
"Fine, fine! You big baby. Just this once."
Renzo rolled his eyes and cast a healing spell, waving a hand toward Saitama.
In an instant, the wound began to close before their eyes. Within seconds, fresh skin had completely covered it up, looking good as new.
"Whoa!" Saitama stared at his arm, stunned. "That healing magic of yours is insane! No wonder you said you could help fix up that cyborg guy—Gege, was it?"
"Is that some kind of superpower too?" Saitama added curiously.
Renzo just smiled, eyes still glued to the analysis of Saitama's blood. "Nope. That's magic."
"Magic?" Saitama echoed, wide-eyed. "For real? That's... not very scientific."
"Funny, coming from a guy who looks like he walked out of a comic book," Renzo snorted. "And aren't scientists and supernatural powers always at odds in fiction anyway?"
"Well, yeah... but that's just in novels, right?" Saitama shrugged.
"Exactly," Renzo muttered. "Can't take that stuff too seriously."
"Still... could I learn magic?"
"Nope."
"What? Why not?!"
"Bald guys can't learn magic."
"HUH?! What kind of ridiculous rule is that?! You're just messing with me, aren't you?!"
Renzo chuckled. "Okay, okay. I'm kidding. But seriously, magic requires a certain affinity. It's not something just anyone can pick up."
"Especially not a guy like you— you're built for the 'punch first, ask later' route. You're basically a walking glitch in the system."
Saitama: "..."
.
.
.