Whoosh.
Whoosh.
Whoosh.
Saitama's silhouette flickered through the storm of steel shards—
and in the blink of an eye, he'd reached the clouds.
From there he could see the skulking Direct Current hovering behind… and beside him, Solar Wind, a twin-turbine relic that looked like a WWII toy plane with two nacelles.
"Figures," Saitama said. "A sneaky Cybertronian like you still brings a bodyguard."
He drove a fist into one of Solar Wind's turbines, snuffing the "solar wind" output at the source. Then, light as breath, he planted a foot on Solar Wind's frame and launched a punch straight at Direct Current—the kind of punch that belonged only to him.
Boom.
An orange bloom of flame rippled in the sky.
A man in a yellow bodysuit and red cape dropped to the ground without a sound. He looked up.
"Okay. You can scram now."
Saitama wasn't one for trash talk, but the Cybertronians—always threatening humans as leverage—rubbed him the wrong way. Why invade a world that never harmed you?
Compared to that, the "monsters" back in his One-Punch world were almost… cute. They'd rant about tragic pasts or human cruelty or their chuuni dreams—but rarely did they take things to absolute ruin.
These Decepticons were unforgivable.
If he hadn't come to this planet, wouldn't everyone here be condemned to slavery with no hope of resistance?
Behind him, the civilians who'd watched him flatten Direct Current and Solar Wind began to cheer—slowly at first, then swelling.
The world might be under Decepticon occupation, but the sun would still rise.
And Saitama—he was their sun.
That was what hope felt like.
As Direct Current and Solar Wind exploded, Saitama's system chimed: two new Transformer models added. He also received City One's civic emblem—and, for unlocking it, another system reward.
He tapped "Enhance." Strength surged through him again.
"Chief Saitama, you're our guardian deity!"
"Superman! Hero! Superman! Hero!"
Andrew and the others came running. Vivian, acting on pure impulse, threw her arms around Saitama.
"That was way too dangerous—I was terrified for you," she said, clinging tighter.
Saitama looked helplessly at the human stunner latched onto him and scratched the back of his head, a little embarrassed.
"Since we've beaten every enemy in this city, there are two paths," he said. "One: stay and govern this place so the Decepticons don't retake it. Two: come with me and liberate other cities."
"I won't force anyone. Choose what you want."
He asked Andrew to manage the crowd and restore order, then turned to the cool-eyed beauty at his side.
"Vivian—you said if we want more on Merlin, we should go to the U.K. and ask the prime minister. Remember?"
"Of course," Saitama answered.
Vivian glanced at the gathered civilians. "Then when do we go? With everyone converging here… how long until we can head for Britain?"
"That's easy," Saitama said. "We move them to Washington State—where the U.S. president is holding humanity's last line. Once there, we can borrow a plane to the U.K."
"But how long from City One to Washington?" Vivian pressed. "What if, in that time, Megatron finds Merlin's Staff and wrings full power from the AllSpark? How do we face something even stronger?"
Saitama recognized the tightness in her voice: worry, turning to urgency.
It made sense. She'd escaped City One ready to die fighting. Now the city was free and she'd seen hope—for Earth, and for him. The human instinct to resist was surging back.
No one alive wants to be a slave.
Andrew jogged back with a tablet of tallies. "Report, Chief. We've compiled City One's vote. Seventy percent want to follow you and liberate more cities; the rest want to stay and defend this one."
"Good. Nice work." Saitama nodded. "One more question. If you led these people from City One all the way to Washington, how confident are you you'd make it?"
Andrew sucked in a breath. "If it's me, sir—this mission is impossible. But if it's you, Chief… it's one hundred percent possible."
He finished and felt Vivian's disapproval prick his cheek.
"Boss, what's with Vivian?" Andrew whispered.
Saitama explained her fear in full; Andrew blinked. "I see. Then—if her worry is real, stopping Megatron from getting the staff is priority one. Boss, go with Miss Vivian to Britain and find Merlin's Staff. I'll shoulder things here."
Saitama frowned. He didn't want Andrew taking that risk. He knew too well the gulf between flesh and steel.
As the two struggled with the choice, the little girl and her blue ladybug companion padded over to them…
(End of Chapter)
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