"You mean to say… C-Class Rank 233 Saitama might actually have the power to overwhelm Tatsumaki?"
The balding old man questioned skeptically, while the other two executives also looked full of disbelief.
Tatsumaki's strength was unquestionable—aside from Blast, she was the strongest hero in the Association since its founding, without a doubt.
And yet…
Bang, Atomic Samurai, and the others were telling them that Tatsumaki had been defeated by a man named Saitama, a C-Class nobody with a bit of fame only because he clung to women for attention?
"It's not 'might,' it's certain. I've never seen such outrageous punching power before—it's hard to put that kind of terror into words. Maybe you should go see the site for yourselves."
Bang sighed, feeling for the first time that perhaps he was getting old.
But when he recalled the way Saitama threw his punch, his heart suddenly burned with excitement. His Flowing Water Rock Smashing Fist had never found a true successor. He had trained a prodigy before, but that disciple's temperament had turned sour, becoming Bang's greatest regret.
Saitama, however, was different. He was absolutely the most suitable person to inherit his school.
Soon, footage from the Z-City branch of Genos's fight with Sweet Mask, Tatsumaki taking Saitama away, and even some clips of the battle in the ruins, were gathered.
After watching the footage, the three Association executives had the kind of expressions one might have upon discovering a new continent—utterly shocked.
The next morning.
Every morning, plenty of pro heroes came to the Association headquarters. Usually, they came to see if there were any posted missions they could take for points.
But lately, ever since S-Class "gatekeeper" Sweet Mask decided to advance further, even more heroes had been showing up—especially A-Class heroes, all eager for one thing: to move up to S-Class.
"That bastard Sweet Mask finally left! Damn it, I've been stuck behind him for years—so frustrating!"
"Yeah, the difference in benefits between A-Class and S-Class is huge. I'm getting into S-Class no matter what this time!"
"Better hurry. I heard Lightning Max and Stinger passed the basic tests yesterday—they might be among the next batch of S-Class promotions!"
A crowd of A-Class heroes gathered around the big hall screen, where every hero's points were displayed. To apply for S-Class promotion, you had to pass a physical test, a written exam, and a high-level interview.
For A-Class to move up to S-Class, the first step was reaching the required points threshold to even be eligible for testing.
There were over a hundred A-Class heroes in total, and the number grew each year—but there were only a dozen or so S-Class heroes. Public attention was worlds apart between the two ranks. Everyone wanted S-Class status—for the benefits, the fame, and the prestige.
"I've got 378 points now, ranked sixth in A-Class. If I push a little more and overtake A-Class Rank 1, I can…"
Snakebite Snek, one of the top A-Class heroes, was considered one of the hopefuls in this batch. He might just barely scrape past the S-Class threshold, but that was still a chance.
That was why he'd been pushing himself hard lately, doing as many missions as possible to increase his points.
But when he looked at the A-Class rankings, one particular name made his eyelids twitch.
A-Class Rank 2: Puri-Puri Prisoner.
"Hiss—"
His face changed instantly. He thought he was seeing things. What the hell? Wasn't Puri-Puri Prisoner an S-Class hero? How had he fallen into A-Class overnight—and ranked second, no less? Then who was Rank 1?
A-Class Rank 1: Metal Bat.
"What the—?!"
Snek almost jumped out of his skin, like a cat with its tail stepped on. And it wasn't just him—every A-Class hero there was wearing an equally strange expression.
"This is insane! Weren't Puri-Puri Prisoner and Metal Bat both S-Class? How'd they end up in our A-Class list?"
"Yeah! With those two here, how the hell are we supposed to get promoted? Who could beat them?"
"Maybe the system's bugged?"
"What's going on?!"
"Check the S-Class rankings! Maybe the machine's broken!"
That idea jolted everyone, and the A-Class heroes eager for promotion rushed over to check the S-Class leaderboard.
And what they saw nearly made their jaws drop.
"No way! What the hell happened yesterday? It wasn't like this in the afternoon!"
"You've got to be kidding! How is this ranking even possible?"
"Where's the Association higher-ups? I want an explanation!"
"I'm seriously questioning whether this ranking is fair!"
Snek squeezed into the crowd. But when he saw the rankings himself, his mind went blank.
The S-Class list clearly showed that Puri-Puri Prisoner and Metal Bat had been removed entirely—they'd truly dropped into A-Class.
The rest of the S-Class rankings had shifted:
S-Class Rank 1: Blast
S-Class Rank 2: Tatsumaki
S-Class Rank 2: Saitama
S-Class Rank 3: Bang
S-Class Rank 4: Atomic Samurai
S-Class Rank 5: Child Emperor
S-Class Rank 6: Demon Cyborg Genos
…
S-Class Rank 10: Hell Fubuki
S-Class Rank 11: Sweet Mask
…
(End of Chapter)
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