Just as Saitama was leaving Central City with Heat Wave Mick, Captain Cold Leonard Snart, and the golden-haired, brown-eyed beauty Sara Lance in tow…
A lightning-like figure suddenly appeared.
The blur was bright red, trailed by orange lightning. When he stopped, his gaze immediately locked onto the four of them.
"Who made the distress call?"
Saitama glanced back at the three behind him, and with one look, more or less understood what had happened.
Heat Wave and Captain Cold were both notorious repeat offenders in Central City.
Those two definitely wouldn't call the police.
And Saitama himself was currently recruiting members for the Legends team.
There was no way he'd call Central City's Flash for help either.
Which meant there was only one possible culprit left—
Sara Lance, who clearly wasn't happy with how overbearing he was.
Saitama looked at her.
She was smiling faintly at the corners of her lips.
"Then let's see your performance, mighty Mr. Saitama."
The newly arrived Flash, Barry Allen, still had no idea what had actually gone down here.
But the moment he saw Sara Lance, he froze.
He'd heard rumors out of neighboring Star City—stories about Sara Lance.
Barry blurted, "You're… Sara Lance from Star City? You're not dead?! Oh, god, that's not what I meant—I'm not cursing you or anything! I'm just… surprised to see you standing right in front of me!"
In Barry's memory, Sara Lance had once been a vigilante in Star City.
But after some tragic events, she had died.
He had even attended her funeral.
And now, the very same "dead" Sara Lance was standing alive in front of him.
Sara's lips curved in that same easy, amused smile.
"Thank you for still caring so much about me, Barry. The reason I'm still alive… is because of the man standing in front of me."
She stepped slightly behind Saitama's shoulder and continued,
"He's the one who brought me back. But he's a demon. He's taken control of me, and he won't let me leave his side. Oh, right, one more detail—his name is Saitama."
Barry glanced at Saitama, then back at Sara.
"So that means… you're the one who called?
I get it now. He must be holding you hostage and forcing you to help him.
Then what about you, Heat Wave, Snart?
Were you two also taken hostage by him?"
Heat Wave Mick was just about to say that Saitama couldn't possibly be holding him hostage—
and even if he was, he wouldn't listen to Saitama anyway.
But the man beside him who loved to scheme, Snart, stopped him with a hand on his arm.
"You're as sharp as ever, Barry," Snart said smoothly.
"Exactly. He's the one holding us. He forced us to bust out of Iron Heights Prison."
At this point, in Barry Allen's eyes, Saitama—standing calmly in front of the three of them—
was already a complete villain, the kind who oozed pitch-black evil from every pore.
Barry took a long look at Saitama, then flashed his Central City investigator badge.
"You're under arrest, Mr. Saitama."
Whoosh.
Barry tapped into the Speed Force and rushed straight at Saitama.
Heat Wave Mick cheered, "Heh, that's it, Lightning Kid! Show this guy what you've got!"
Snart added, "Go get him, Barry!"
Sara Lance just watched quietly to see how Saitama would handle this.
All three of them had seen Barry Allen's Speed Force in action.
They knew how strong Barry was.
So in their minds, the outcome was obvious—Barry Allen would beat Saitama.
But what happened next stunned them.
The instant Barry entered his top-speed state, the world around him slowed to a crawl.
He drove in for the strike—
And that blow… was actually blocked by Saitama.
To the bystanders, it all happened in the space of a blink.
The Flash they had just bet on was sent flying by Saitama in an instant.
The whole exchange took no more than 0.01 seconds.
It was unbelievable.
Was Saitama really that strong?!
The three were still staring, mouths hanging open, when Barry—whom Saitama had tossed aside—
rushed back at Saitama once more.
The two of them began trading blows at high speed.
Up in the air, all anyone could see was a red lightning streak tangled up with a beige figure.
Their speeds were almost identical.
What the hell was this?!
In barely half a second, the three onlookers—each with their own plans—
decided to use the chaos as a chance to slip away.
But again, something happened that shocked them.
The moment they tried to leave, they felt a presence blocking their way.
No matter how they moved, they couldn't take a single step out.
Damn it!
Heat Wave Mick really wanted to start swearing now.
What was this supposed to be?!
If they were going to force him to stay here and watch the ultimate showdown of Central City,
couldn't they at least let him see clearly so he could enjoy booing from the sidelines?
Snart turned his gaze to Sara Lance.
"Blondie, what do you think we should do?"
Sara shot the two of them a sideways glance.
"We watch. Whoever wins… we listen to them."
Snart pulled a helpless face.
"Fine, we'll do it your way. We'll wait right here until our Barry and Saitama settle this."
The fight between Saitama and Barry was quickly picked up by the systems at Central City's S.T.A.R. Labs.
Fair-skinned beauty Caitlin stared in shock at the combat zone displayed on the monitor.
"My god, someone's actually fighting Barry!"
At the console next to her, Cisco looked just as stunned.
"This is insane. That should be impossible!"
Professor Wells, seated in his wheelchair, wore a thoughtful expression.
He silently piloted his electric wheelchair out of the lab and into the Time Vault.
There, he stared unblinking at the giant newspaper on the wall.
The headline read:
"In 2030, Barry Allen Vanishes in the Aftermath."
Wells murmured, "Strange… Who is this man, that he can keep up with the Speed Force?"
In that moment, everyone connected to the Flash had their attention drawn here.
At the same time, everyone connected to Saitama was also watching this scene unfold.
On the Waverider, Firestorm—Jefferson, the Black kid—gaped at the screen.
"Man, what the hell is going on out there?!"
Professor Martin Stein adjusted his glasses, equally shaken.
"No wonder Central City's crime rate is so low. It turns out there's such a powerful being here."
Rip Hunter, on the other hand, just felt a headache coming on.
Saitama, Saitama… what is wrong with you?
Something that could've been handled with a single flash of light—
and you just had to turn it into a spectacle this big.
He tried to calm the others around him.
"Don't worry, everyone. If Saitama loses to the Flash,
we can still find other ways to recruit the members we want."
Vivian immediately shot him down.
"You don't need to imagine that. Saitama will definitely win."
Rip raised an eyebrow.
"Seriously? You have that much faith in him?"
"Of course." Vivian's answer was firm.
"Because Saitama is the strongest man there is."
Vivian's eyes were full of love and adoration.
That kind of look from a woman made Rip feel a little depressed—
because in a certain future era, his wife had once looked at him the same way.
As for the other two, Martin and Jefferson…
they had just been force-fed a mouthful of "couple's dog food" and felt it was way too sweet for comfort.
(End of Chapter)
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