Chapter 4: Capturing the Caped Baldy
Location: City M
After notifying the Hero Association, Kenji prepared to leave.
He recalled his home address from his inherited memories and was about to use his immense speed to head straight back.
But just then, his heightened "warrior's intuition" made him freeze. He looked up at the sky, his brows knitting slightly.
He could feel it—a powerful presence, one not inferior to his own, descending from above.
Sure enough, a petite figure wrapped in a faint green glow floated down from the heavens.
She had the stature of a child, curly green hair, emerald-green eyes, and a black dress that fluttered in the wind.
These traits belonged to one of the most feared existences in the world: S-Class Rank 2, Tornado of Terror (Tatsumaki).
Oh, right!
Kenji remembered now. In the original story, the Hero Association had initially dispatched Tatsumaki to handle Vaccine Man. But Saitama had killed the monster too quickly, ending the fight before she could even arrive.
However, because Kenji had spent time chatting with Saitama, he had delayed things just enough for her to catch up.
A bratty, high-pitched voice rang out as Tatsumaki looked left and right, clearly annoyed.
"Hah? Is the Hero Association filled with useless idiots? They said there was a Dragon-level disaster here, so why isn't there anything?"
Her powerful psychic senses swept the area below. She immediately locked onto Kenji standing amidst the ruins, as well as the headless corpse of Vaccine Man lying nearby, still emitting the faint aura of a Dragon-level monster.
King... why is that guy here?
Seeing King suddenly appear on the battlefield and the dead monster at his feet, Tatsumaki instantly put two and two together. A flash of irritation surged through her.
A vein popped on her smooth forehead. Using her telekinesis, she lowered herself to the ground, her green curls writhing like snakes as she snapped at him:
"Hey! Didn't you know this Dragon-level monster was my target?! Stealing my kill halfway through—what's your problem?! Do you want to fight, Scarface?!"
Facing Tatsumaki's unreasonable tantrum, Kenji had zero desire to argue. He simply waved his hand calmly.
"There's no need for conflict here. Rescuing the injured is the priority. If you want to fight, I'll entertain you another time."
Actually, Kenji did want to fight the Tornado of Terror.
Possessing such immense power now, he urgently needed a strong opponent to gauge his true limits.
Saitama was out of the question. Even though the guy wouldn't kill a human, the power gap was so comically large that there was no point in comparing them.
Tatsumaki, on the other hand, was the official benchmark for "Peak Dragon" level power. She was the perfect test subject.
They definitely had to fight, but absolutely not right now. Kenji had other things to do and no time to play with this legal loli.
However, hearing King's "lecture," Tatsumaki's brain auto-translated his words into a challenge. She let out an angry laugh, a storm of psychic energy swirling violently around her body.
"Scarface... I don't care if you're the 'Strongest Man on Earth' or whatever! Remember this! Once this mess is cleaned up, I'm going to beat you until you can't even take care of yourself!"
Tatsumaki was furious. This was the first time she had met someone so arrogant—someone who dared to issue a challenge to her face. He completely disregarded her!
With a heavy "Hmph!", her psychic power flared, and she shot into the sky like a green comet, disappearing in an instant.
Having sent away the "problem child" with the big temper, Kenji didn't linger either. With a flicker, he vanished from the spot.
Minutes later, a large team of rescue workers and Hero Association staff arrived at the scene to begin extracting survivors.
Meanwhile, the news that King, the Strongest Man on Earth, had single-handedly defeated Vaccine Man and saved the city spread like wildfire. Media outlets scrambled to report it.
Instantly, King's already prestigious reputation among the public soared to new heights.
Of course, the Hero Association was pulling strings behind the scenes. Through various media channels, they relentlessly hyped up King's heroic deeds and overwhelming strength.
After all, having a hero with such a god-like public image was a massive boost to the Association's own influence and authority.
As the story circulated, the rumors about King began to spiral into absurdity.
"Did you hear? When the Dragon-level disaster struck, Mr. King killed the monster just by glaring at it!"
"What kind of weak fake news is that? Obviously, the moment Mr. King arrived, the monster knelt down and begged for mercy, but Mr. King's King Engine vibrated so hard it shattered the monster's internal organs!"
"Huh? I heard Mr. King dragged the monster to the moon, killed it there, and stopped a meteor shower on his way back!"
The rumors grew wilder and wilder, cementing yet another legend for the Strongest Man on Earth.
However, people weren't overly surprised by this victory.
After all, King's past achievements were already mind-boggling enough to make eyes pop out.
Instant kills against any monster.
The three scars on his face were from a battle with a God.
The craters on the moon were caused by him using it as a punching bag.
The list went on and on.
Location: City M, King's Apartment
While the world buzzed with rumors, Kenji, the subject of all the gossip, had already returned to the home in his memories.
Looking at the room filled with game discs and the latest gaming consoles, he smiled with relief.
Not bad!
Although Kenji wasn't particularly interested in the dating sims (galgames) that the original King loved, he was a huge fan of fighting and action games.
The moment his fingers touched the controller, a sensation of muscle memory—almost like instinct—flooded his mind.
Kenji knew: the original King's god-tier gaming talent, etched into his very soul, had activated.
After playing a few rounds, Kenji put down the controller and took a comfortable bath.
He still had some of Vaccine Man's green blood on him. It wasn't harmful, but the sticky feeling was annoying.
Lying in the bathtub, watching the steam drift toward the ceiling, Kenji's gaze went slightly unfocused as he soaked in the hot water.
Suddenly transmigrating to this world... it was still a bit disorienting.
But thankfully, he had the System—a "Gold Finger"—which promptly gave him enough power to dispel his confusion and fear.
After cleaning himself up, Kenji prepared for his next move.
Objective: Go to the City Z Abandoned Zone.
Mission: Capture the Caped Baldy!