"Hurry up already!" Tatsumaki snapped, glaring at Saitama, who was just standing there blankly. "You're such a small fry, I'm wasting my time even being here!"
Fenric only smiled faintly at her words, offering no rebuttal.
Soon, he thought, she'll realize just how wrong she is.
"Then let's begin," Fenric announced calmly.
At his words, the area cleared. The spectators — the chairman and the Association's staff — quickly stepped back, leaving a wide space between Tatsumaki and Saitama.
Facing her opponent, Saitama looked as nonchalant as ever, eyes half-lidded and expression blank.
Internally, however, his mind was spinning with a single concern:
Teacher said not to kill anyone… but this little kid looks so weak. What if she can't even handle one punch?
On the other side, Tatsumaki floated higher, glaring down at him.
"Hey! Baldy! You go first. Otherwise, when I start, you won't even have time to move!"
Her tone dripped with arrogance and disdain.
But Saitama didn't react — didn't even flinch. He stood there, deep in thought.
Hmm… If I hit her, she might die. Maybe I should just throw a light punch? But what if even that's too much?
He frowned slightly. Ah! I'll just punch the air — that should be fine, right?
Of course, he didn't realize that his quiet contemplation looked like deliberate mockery.
Tatsumaki's face twisted in rage. This bald moron! I'm giving him the first move, and he dares ignore me?!
Fine then. If he wouldn't move, she would make him move!
Her green hair began to lift, fluttering as her psychic energy surged. A faint glow radiated from her small frame, distorting the air around her.
Everyone watching could feel the pressure.
Even Fenric, standing in the distance, became slightly more serious.
He could afford to stay calm — Saitama could handle himself — but he had to admit, Tatsumaki's psychic power was formidable.
She was, after all, one of the strongest esper-type heroes alive.
The chairman, on the other hand, was visibly sweating.
"Mr. Mundo," he said nervously, "Miss Tatsumaki looks… quite angry. Should we intervene before she hurts your disciple?"
Under normal circumstances, he would never dare to interrupt. But this was Mundo's disciple — the Association's strongest hero's apprentice.
If Tatsumaki went too far and killed Saitama, then Mundo might retaliate… and that would be catastrophic for the Heroes Association.
Two top-tier powerhouses turning against each other? The very thought terrified him.
But Fenric only chuckled softly.
"President, you're worrying about the wrong person," he said calmly. "It's Tatsumaki who needs your prayers."
The chairman blinked, confused. What does he mean?
Before he could ask, the air split open with a thunderous crack.
Tatsumaki's sharp voice echoed.
"Die, you damn bald fool!"
Her small hand pressed downward.
"BOOM!"
An invisible force exploded from above, crashing down on Saitama like a divine hammer. The earth trembled violently — the ground within a hundred-meter radius cracked, crumbled, and collapsed into a massive crater. Dust and rocks flew everywhere as if crushed by an unseen giant hand.
The chairman nearly fell to his knees from the shockwave.
Even Fenric raised an eyebrow. Such raw telekinetic pressure… impressive.
The chairman was drenched in sweat. "Terrifying… so terrifying…"
But inside the crater, standing amidst the destruction — was Saitama.
Completely unharmed.
He hadn't even moved.
Even his blank, almost comical expression remained the same.
Fenric smirked. There it is.
Tatsumaki's eyes widened. "Huh? He's fine?!"
Her shock quickly turned to frustration.
"So you've got some defense. No wonder you dared to ignore me earlier… but if you think that's enough, you're dead wrong!"
Her hands rose again.
This time, countless rocks began to levitate around her, swirling in a violent orbit.
"Let's see you handle this!"
She flicked her wrist. Instantly, the stones shot forth like a barrage of high-caliber bullets.
"Pupupupupu—!"
The air filled with the sound of thousands of projectiles raining down like machine-gun fire.
Within seconds, the ground where Saitama stood was buried under a storm of rock and dust.
Explosions echoed as chunks of earth burst apart under Tatsumaki's control.
The chairman stared in horror. "If I were standing there… I'd be vaporized…"
He turned to Fenric again, voice trembling. "Mr. Mundo… your disciple… is he really all right?"
Fenric folded his arms and smiled.
"Relax. This level of attack can't hurt him."
The barrage went on for several long seconds before slowly dying out.
The dust thickened, obscuring everything.
Tatsumaki floated lower, brushing her hair smugly.
"Pathetic. Over already."
She turned as if to leave — but a voice drifted from within the smoke.
"Oh… that was close. You almost tore my clothes."
Tatsumaki froze midair.
When the dust finally cleared, Saitama stood there — perfectly fine. His clothes weren't even dirty.
Same blank eyes. Same dull expression.
Her smugness evaporated, replaced by disbelief and fury.
"You… you're mocking me!"
Saitama tilted his head. "Huh?"
"You've taken two of my attacks and you're still standing there, untouched!" she shouted. "Fine! You asked for this!"
She lifted both hands high above her head.
Her eyes glowed an eerie green, and the very air trembled.
One minute passed.
Then two.
Then three.
Nothing happened.
The spectators looked at each other, confused.
But then — a low, howling roar filled the sky.
"WHOOOOOOOM!"
A blazing mass appeared from the heavens, tearing through the clouds.
Someone shouted, "A meteorite! It's a meteorite!!"
"What?! How—?!"
"It's Tatsumaki! She's summoned a meteorite!"
"She's insane! We'll all die!"
Panic erupted among the staff. Even the high-ranking heroes who'd come to watch turned pale and fled the area.
The chairman, white as a sheet, stood trembling beside Fenric. "Th-this is madness! Miss Tatsumaki has lost control! She's going to wipe us all out!"
Above them, the sky itself seemed to burn — a meteorite, massive and glowing red-hot, screamed downward toward the earth.
The reason the chairman didn't run like the others wasn't because he was brave — it was because he knew it was already too late to run.
That meteorite, wide as a small mountain, was hurtling down from the heavens like the wrath of a god. Once it hit the ground, everything within a hundred miles would be wiped out. Even if he fled now, there was nowhere to hide. The shockwave alone would reduce A City to dust.
Then, as he trembled and wiped the sweat from his forehead, the chairman suddenly remembered the man standing calmly beside him. His eyes lit up.
"Mr. Mundo!" he cried out desperately. "You… you must have a way to stop that meteorite, right? If it falls, all of A City will be destroyed!"
Fenric glanced upward at the descending fireball, his expression thoughtful rather than alarmed. "Of course I can stop it," he said after a pause. "But this is my disciple's assessment… so I'll let him handle it."
The chairman's face froze. For a brief second, he thought he'd misheard.
Then panic struck. "Mr. Mundo, this is not the time for a test! That thing could kill tens of millions of people! You must stop it now!"
But Fenric only smiled faintly. He looked toward the battlefield and raised his voice.
"Saitama! Don't let that meteorite fall — there are too many innocent people below!"
Saitama, who had been watching the fiery rock descend with mild curiosity, immediately straightened up. "Understood, Teacher!" he called back.
Whatever the teacher said — he would obey without question.
Tatsumaki, meanwhile, had been preparing to stop the meteorite herself. She hadn't expected the falling rock to grow so massive; it was easily the largest she'd ever summoned. Now, even she wasn't certain she could control it.
And then this master-disciple pair had the nerve to talk about "tests" and "assessments" in the middle of the crisis — like this was some kind of joke?
Her green hair bristled with irritation. "Hah! Keep bragging! Let's see how you plan to stop that!"
Saitama didn't respond. Instead, he bent his knees slightly, like an athlete preparing for a sprint. His simple, almost lazy movement went unnoticed — until it didn't.
"BOOM!!"
The ground beneath his feet exploded as he launched himself skyward. The air cracked like thunder.
The spectators could barely track his ascent — he was already a blur of light streaking toward the meteorite.
From the ground, Saitama looked no bigger than an insect against the colossal, flaming rock. But his expression was calm — serious, even.
"The teacher said I can't let you fall," he murmured.
Then his eyes sharpened. His aura shifted.
"Serious Series—"
He clenched his fist.
"SERIOUS PUNCH!"
The heavens split.
An instant later, a deafening boom erupted in the sky — as if a nuclear bomb had detonated above the atmosphere.
A shockwave ripped across the clouds, scattering them in every direction. From space, one might have seen the Earth's atmosphere itself tear apart like paper, a radiant burst carving through the blue.
The meteorite didn't just shatter — it disintegrated.
Vaporized. Gone.
By the time Saitama descended, gently landing amid the dust and silence, the skies were clear. It was as though the meteorite had never existed.
Everyone — the chairman, the Association's high-ranking members, even Fenric — stood frozen, speechless.
The chairman's face was ghostly pale. His jaw trembled. "I–it's gone… completely gone…"
Fenric, too, could only sigh softly, his lips curling into a wry smile.
This bald head… he's too damn strong.
Even he had to admit it — if he didn't use his Savage Charge technique's invincibility, even he couldn't block that punch. Not even with double the Armament Haki reinforcement.
That kind of power was beyond reason.
He even wondered — if Saitama had aimed that punch at the Earth instead of the meteorite, what would have happened?
Truly worthy of the title… Bald Demon King!
"..."
"..."
"..."
For a long moment, no one dared to speak. The world seemed to hold its breath.
Then, Saitama scratched his head, looking a little bored.
"Hey, kid," he said to Tatsumaki, "are we gonna fight or what?"
Tatsumaki blinked, her body trembling slightly. The word "kid" would normally have sent her into a furious rage — but now, she just stared blankly at him.
That punch... that impossible display of power…
In all her life, she had never seen anything like it. Not even Blast — the legendary hero she idolized — could compare.
When she finally found her voice, it came out small, almost hesitant.
"Compared to your teacher… who's stronger?"
Saitama didn't even hesitate. "Of course my teacher is stronger. Without his secret training method, I'd still just be an ordinary guy."
Training method? Tatsumaki thought, eyes widening.
So this ridiculous bald monster became like that because of his teacher? She had just stumbled onto something monumental — perhaps even terrifying.
"You're… strong," she said finally, her voice quiet. Then, without another word, she turned away and floated toward Fenric.
The fight was over. No one needed to say it aloud — even a fool could see who had won.
Saitama had utterly crushed Tatsumaki's pride with a single punch.