"Steve!! Steve! Are you alright? If you can hear me, answer me!"
Peggy's anxious voice came through the miniature communicator. Captain America Steve staggered to his feet like a drunk, every muscle in his body screaming in pain—but at least he was alive.
He glanced back at the collapsed Statue of Liberty, then at the area in the distance still being swallowed by the tsunami, and gave a bitter smile.
"Peggy… you probably won't believe this, but I just saw Superman."
…
"Uh… guess I used too much force."
Falling through the air, Saitama scratched his bald head awkwardly as he looked toward the distance.
Although he had avoided letting the fighter jet crash into New York, the aftershock seemed to have caused no small amount of trouble. Well, it was his first time in this world—he hadn't expected it to be so fragile. A headache, really.
Looks like if he comes again in the future, he'll have to seriously consider controlling his strength. After all, Saitama didn't like causing unnecessary messes.
[Ding! Mission complete: Saved Captain America. Congratulations, you have received a mysterious reward. You may remain in this world for another 24 hours. Stay or leave?]
The system prompt echoed in Saitama's mind.
Gurgle~
His stomach suddenly growled. Saitama glanced down at the endless ocean below. "Better head back early. Genos has probably already made dinner. I just hope he remembered the seaweed egg drop soup… and raw egg over rice…"
[Ding! Confirmed. Returning to One Punch World. Mysterious reward granted.]
With the system's voice, Saitama's figure flickered in midair before disappearing entirely.
Whoosh—
At the black hole's edge, Tatsumaki, who had been peering inside, almost took a bald head to the face. Her pretty face flushed with annoyance as she narrowly dodged.
Child Emperor and Blizzard were both startled. This guy had just vanished without a trace, not even a shred of his presence left—now he suddenly reappeared.
Saitama climbed out of the black hole like a lazy fish getting out of a bathtub, landing on the ground and patting the dust off his suit.
After all, blowing up that Blackwing fighter had left his battle suit covered in soot.
"Amazing! Saitama, what did you see?"
Child Emperor was visibly excited.
"Incredible. You actually survived in another dimension for so long!"
Tatsumaki's pretty face was full of displeasure, though deep down she was impressed.
Blizzard looked even more shocked—her psychic powers couldn't even get close to the black hole, yet this C-Class hero had stayed inside for so long!
"Oh, it was kind of like another world… but the people there were pretty weak."
Saitama thought for a moment before answering.
The Marvel world wasn't weak—its cosmic scale was obvious—but the guy he had just met, Captain America, seemed… average.
"Weak?"
Child Emperor's mouth twitched. He wasn't a thick-headed woman like Tatsumaki—his sharp mind had noticed Saitama's insane physical stats during the fitness test.
If it came down to pure physical ability, very few S-Class heroes could match him. Maybe S-Class Rank 3, Silver Fang Bang, could, but age was against him—Saitama's potential was far greater.
"So what did you find? Baldy!"
Tatsumaki crossed her arms and floated above him with arrogance, her tone full of irritation.
"Hey! Whose kid is this? If no one claims her, I'll—"
Crack crack crack—
The sound of knuckles popping filled the air as Saitama's expression darkened into one that promised a beating. He could be pretty unreasonable when irritated—after all, he was a hero for fun.
"Ahem—let me introduce you. I'm S-Class Rank 5, Child Emperor. She's S-Class Rank 2, Tornado of Terror Tatsumaki—Blizzard's older sister, the B-Class Rank 1." Child Emperor quickly intervened. He suspected Tatsumaki would win in a fight, but Saitama was the only one who could enter the black hole, and he still needed his help.
"Oh? S-Class?"
Saitama blinked, giving Tatsumaki a doubtful look. His eyes compared her small buns with Blizzard's big headlights. "Older sister? Younger sister?"
Didn't make sense—Blizzard definitely looked more like the older one!
"What kind of look is that, baldy?!"
Everything in the lab began to float. Tatsumaki felt her pride take a critical hit, while Blizzard suddenly thought that maybe this bald guy wasn't so bad after all.
"Ahem, Tatsumaki, enough. Anyway, Saitama, thanks for your help. If you found anything worth sharing, I'll make sure you're well rewarded."
Child Emperor played peacemaker.
Saitama still looked annoyed, but his hunger and the thought of a reward quickly distracted him. He suddenly remembered—there was supposed to be a mysterious reward in his consciousness space…
(End of Chapter)
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