Thud!
Every punch Saitama threw slammed into Kong's body, each blow wringing another furious roar out of the giant ape.
To the spectators lining both sides of the street, it looked like Kong had already been thoroughly taught a lesson.
But the enraged Kong was still flailing around, grabbing anything he could reach. After he swept up all the cars on the street, his massive hand closed around a fire hydrant.
Bang!
A column of clear water blasted into the sky and splashed down over Kong's face.
The big ape, whose expression had already become surprisingly animated, suddenly froze.
Then—he started crying.
He was actually crying.
He had been beaten to tears by Saitama.
Everyone watching was stunned for a moment, then rushed to pull out their phones and hit record. Some people even crept closer to the battlefield just to touch Kong's toes.
Saitama watched the tears streaming down the giant ape's face and couldn't help thinking that the whole situation was ridiculous.
If Kong had just stayed peacefully on his own island, everything would have been fine. None of this would have happened.
So why had he insisted on coming all the way to the human world?
What was he really after?
As those thoughts flickered through his mind, Saitama raised his fist again.
Kong, seeing that familiar gesture, hurriedly lifted his arm to block.
Honestly, after fighting Saitama for so long, he'd already been completely beaten into submission.
All he wanted now… was for the "King" in front of him to spare him.
"Huh? Wasn't this human about to punch me just now?" Kong thought in confusion.
He realized something wasn't right. The blow he'd been bracing for never came.
He slowly moved his arm aside—and saw Saitama holding his hand out toward him.
The gesture was obvious.
Come on. Let's shake hands and call it a truce.
Kong hesitated for a long moment.
In the end, he reached out and carefully wrapped his massive hand around Saitama's.
And just like that, he submitted to Saitama.
In an instant, cheers erupted up and down the street.
This scene was captured by countless cameras around the world, and the moment was soon hailed everywhere as "the miracle brought by Saitama."
At the same time, Saitama's system chimed—the mission was complete. His whole body relaxed.
"Without even noticing it, I've gotten stronger again… I wonder how strong I am now…?"
He was genuinely curious.
But he had no real way of knowing.
Because by now, his power had already surpassed the upper limits of what human technology could measure.
Before long, agents from the American Security Bureau rushed over to Saitama.
"Thank you, Saitama—our beloved hero," one of them said.
To be honest, Americans tended to stack a lot of honorifics into their sentences, and that made Saitama a little uncomfortable.
But when he saw the man's ingratiating smile, he didn't feel like making things difficult.
After all, you don't hit someone who's smiling at you, right?
The Security Bureau agent said, "Within our department, some people suggest bringing the ape you just defeated back to Sector Seven. But others believe there might be a better way to treat this gorilla. After all, it has already submitted to you, hasn't it?"
Saitama immediately understood.
This was just another tug-of-war between two political factions inside the American government.
One side proposes a plan; the other side is obligated to oppose it.
They were never truly on the same page.
Saitama could only feel helpless about that.
But he had his own idea about what should happen to Kong.
He called out to him, and soon the ground began to tremble—Kong's heavy footsteps thundered over.
"Kong," Saitama said, "I know you came to the human world just to vent your anger. Now that you've let all that out, it's time for you to go home."
Kong hesitated, glancing down at Saitama.
After their battle, a strange sort of bond had formed between them.
"Go back," Saitama told him. "Don't stay in the human world anymore. This isn't where you're meant to be."
Then, right in front of the reporters' cameras, Saitama spoke clearly:
"Kong is a powerful creature from a distant world. He was never truly part of the human world. I think forcing him to stay here would just be another kind of shackle. It's better to let him return to freedom."
The Security Bureau agent stared at him, shocked.
"My God, Saitama… you're really going to let a monster like that go back to where it came from?"
Saitama nodded.
"If you think that's inappropriate, then you didn't need to ask my opinion in the first place, did you?"
Click, click, click—
The reporters nearby frantically snapped photos and filmed every second of the exchange. They had finally found today's headline.
"Shocking! Hero Saitama publicly snaps back at the American Security Bureau!"
"Hero Saitama lets the ape return to the wild—is there more to the story?"
"The overbearingly charismatic human hero destined to become the dream man of every woman in America!"
"My first close encounter with Hero Saitama…"
Dozens of sensational topics exploded across the internet in an instant.
At the White House.
"Dad, what are you even doing? How could you let someone like that ask him such a question?" Ivanka demanded.
Trump's face darkened. "I don't know either! I never told him to go! It wasn't me!"
Then he smacked his forehead.
"I've got it. It must be my political rival trying to use this to bring me down."
"If Saitama chose to have Kong locked up in Sector Seven, that would prove we lied to ordinary citizens before."
"But if we don't lock him up, that'll prove we've been hiding something all along."
"In short—either way, it's a trap."
Ivanka was stunned. "Dad, if that person is your opponent… will Saitama be in danger?"
Trump looked at his daughter and suddenly felt a little speechless.
So this is what they mean by being a hardcore fan, huh?
Ever since Saitama had come to America and defeated the Transformers, more and more American women had fallen for him—including this precious daughter of his.
Trump said sourly, "Since you care so much about Saitama, why don't you find a chance to get closer to him?"
Inside, though, he was grumbling, She's never spoken to me in that caring tone before… this is so unfair!
Ivanka, however, took his words at face value.
"Alright then, I'll go find Saitama right now!"
That very night, she contacted Saitama and the others and invited them to vacation at a villa in Beverly Hills.
She had no idea that this was the beginning of something else entirely.
"It was really hard to get Saitama and Vivian to come stay at this villa," Ivanka muttered as she stood before the mirror, carefully choosing the dress for tonight's banquet. "If he hadn't insisted on bringing Vivian along, I would've been perfectly happy inviting just him."
She'd gone through a lot of trouble just to observe Saitama up close.
But just as she finished getting ready, a maid came to deliver a message.
"Miss Ivanka, the butler asked me to inform you—the banquet may have to be delayed."
"What? Why?"
(End of Chapter)
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