Chapter 109: How About a Fight?
"Does anyone have any objections to the two points I just mentioned?"
Sitch stood at the head of the table, his nose slightly flushed and appearing even larger as his gaze swept across the heroes on both sides of the long table.
"A reasonable judgment." Surprisingly, Metal Knight was the first to respond this time. "The Hero Association, still in its infancy, should indeed possess the agility to change immediately upon discovering problems."
"If anything, your reaction was a bit slow."
Aokiji's fingers tapped on the tabletop.
He drew everyone's attention.
"In short, the Association is going to change the existing evaluation rules and establish a new hero Rank, right?"
"Exactly, as expected of Mr. Aokiji..." Sitch said in a deep voice. "The new hero Rank is [S-Class], which corresponds to powerhouses who are [far beyond common sense]."
"The prerequisite for entering the [S-Class] Ranks is naturally strength, while specific rankings will take into account both strength and contribution."
Sitch began introducing the benefits and privileges of being an S-Class Hero.
These were the rewards due to those who possessed greater power and bore greater responsibilities.
However, basically no one present was interested.
Only a certain young fellow, who was already showing signs of premature balding, was still persistently asking:
"If I become S-Class, can I decide my own hero name?"
"Ah, that..." Sitch froze.
The rights of the S-Class, which the high-level executives had discussed and agreed upon over multiple meetings, were not only ignored by everyone.
But the only hero who showed any interest was asking about changing hero names.
"Hero names are chosen by the public through voting based on the hero's characteristics, and to some extent, they represent public support. Modifying them based on personal preference might..."
"I believe this is a necessary right," Aokiji suddenly interrupted.
"Setting aside how discordant it would be for a 'Dead-Fish Eyes Cape' to appear in a list of serious S-Class Hero names."
Especially since it would later become Caped Baldy.
"The current social atmosphere is also accustomed to deconstructing everything through entertainment. In the future, there might be cases where a name is completely inconsistent with the hero himself, but because it's funny, it attracts the public to vote and confirm it."
"Heroes should have the right to change their hero names. Of course, it shouldn't be decided directly by the individual; it should also undergo an approval process."
Saitama's dead-fish eyes finally showed a bit of movement.
As expected of Aokiji, he truly is a real hero!
Sitch fell into silent thought after hearing this.
Others, such as Metal Bat and Superalloy Darkshine, who hadn't had much contact with Aokiji, also turned their gazes over.
They sized up the dull-faced Saitama.
Is this guy, who looks like a small fry, Aokiji's friend?
Sitch had said earlier that everyone present had at least the achievement of soloing a Demon Level Monster, but you really couldn't tell... Everyone silently memorized Saitama's appearance.
"Mr. Aokiji, you have a point. I will submit a proposal to the Association to add the right to change hero names." Sitch nodded after some thought.
"Then, regarding the S-Class Hero Rank, does anyone else have any opinions?"
"Whatever works, just hurry up!"
"If there's nothing else, I'm going back to train."
"This old man has no objections."
"Can I get some more water for my tea?"
"Inefficient. Online notification would have been sufficient for this kind of thing."
"I'm going back to Q City."
"I need to go back to the prison and share the good news with the boys."
...The scene suddenly became chaotic again.
Many people stood up, ready to leave.
Sitch hurriedly raised his hand to keep everyone.
"Wait a moment, everyone. Since the S-Class Hero system has been established, we will organize a press conference later..."
"Huh? Not interested!" Metal Bat picked up his baseball bat, his expression impatient.
His words reflected the thoughts of the others.
A press conference? A meaningless thing.
Sitch cast a pleading look at Aokiji, hoping he could help persuade the crowd.
However, Aokiji was also too lazy to participate; he still had to accumulate his progress bar.
He shrugged, indicating he couldn't help.
Sitch sighed powerlessly; this team of heroes was really hard to lead.
"Alright, the Association will announce the news online later."
"One last thing, if any of you know any powerhouses capable of the hero position or even possessing S-Class strength, please refer them to the Association."
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"Sigh, that kid Garou has been a lot more well-behaved since he came back, but this old man reckons he still won't make a good hero." Bang stroked his beard, looking a bit worried.
"And he might not necessarily be willing to be a hero. Aokiji, what do you think?"
"Just tell him. Whether he wants to do it or not is up to him," Aokiji said casually.
"Well, I'll still try to persuade him when I get back." Bang remembered something else.
"Speaking of which, that ninja lad we met last time, and the strongest Esper, Aokiji, you could get those two to become heroes."
"I'll go have a word."
Flashy Flash probably wouldn't refuse.
Tatsumaki was hard to say.
She originally seemed to have joined the Association because of Blast. Now that Blast hadn't appeared yet, whether Tatsumaki would join was an unknown.
But well... Aokiji glanced at the progress bar that only he could see.
Whether they joined or not had nothing to do with him; more battles were the key.
Aokiji looked at the people around him who hadn't left yet.
Weren't there plenty of candidates for battle right here?
"Everyone, since we're all here today, how about a sparring match?"
As soon as these words came out, the people who had just stepped out of the meeting room all paused.
The area fell silent instantly.
A mysterious consensus was reached in the silence.
Sitch, who was following along intending to see the heroes off, felt a terrible premonition!
Cold sweat poured down his forehead!
If this group started fighting, would the headquarters—no, would A-City even survive?!
"Mr. Aokiji, this..." Sitch wiped his cold sweat, wanting to dissuade them.
"It's fine. We'll go to the same place where I fought Metal Knight last time. We'll stop before anyone gets hurt; no one will be injured."
Aokiji interrupted him.
Such a good opportunity to grind the progress bar, how could he give it up?
"I've thought about it, Tama-chan's (his cat) vaccination can wait until tomorrow." A grin of Battle Intent rose on Metal Bat's face.
"To be able to passionately collide with everyone!" Puri-Puri Prisoner's eyes sparkled. "Count me in!"
"I also want to feel everyone's muscles!" Darkshine also agreed. He was very interested in both Aokiji's physique and Bang's martial arts.
"If we're stopping before serious injury, this unit's energy should be sufficient." Metal Knight wanted to collect data on the others.
"This old man doesn't seem to have a reason to refuse." Bang chuckled.
"I should be able to make it to the sale day, right?" Saitama looked at the time and estimated it would be fine.
Fighting Monsters had been getting more and more boring lately.
Experiencing the passion of battle sounded pretty good.
Only Watchdog Man didn't agree; he had to rush back to Q City.
"Then let's head out, colleagues."
With a wave of his hand, Aokiji led a group of humanoid disasters capable of overturning nations toward the wasteland for their match.
Sitch's face was stiff, and his stomach even felt a bit of sharp pain.
He didn't expect that Mr. Aokiji, the most reliable person in his eyes, would end up causing such a big scene at the very end!
He looked at his bewildered subordinates nearby.
"Hurry and notify them to seal off that area! Don't let anyone wander in by mistake!!"
"And... prepare to issue an earthquake warning."