—Ugh, so bo-o-oring…— A bald young man muttered with a wide yawn.
Had he been wearing his "outfit"—a yellow jumpsuit with red gloves and boots, plus a white cape—many would've recognized him as the B-Class hero known as Caped Baldy.
But today, the One-Punch Man wasn't out to crush monsters or beat up villains. He was just grocery shopping at a supermarket in the city center, so he'd left his hero suit at home.
For about a week now, there'd been no sign of monsters. Even small-time thugs seemed to be on break. Genos was missing, too—thanks to the lull in chaos, the cyborg had gone to Dr. Kuseno's lab for some high-end upgrades. Given his three-day absence, the bald hero suspected that Cyber Demon would really give the monsters hell next time. Maybe Saitama's help wouldn't even be needed (though he wasn't sure).
Walking back from the supermarket with a bag full of groceries, the hero enjoyed the beautiful sunny day. For Saitama, it felt doubly great—after all, today was Saturday, discount day!
Days like this usually lifted his spirits, but right now, he couldn't shake this feeling of gloom and boredom. The problem was, he hadn't done any hero work in almost a week because of this "calm." Saitama had even started praying to higher powers to spice up his dull routine—until he remembered he didn't believe in gods. The last monsters who claimed to be deities had also gone down in one punch, *maybe* one combo at most.
—Maybe I should drop by King's place… Tch!— For a second, he recalled all his losses against that blond guy with the scar. When it came to games, nobody could touch him.
"Still haven't won even once… Unless I cheat or something—"
His thoughts were cut off by distant sounds of battle. Saitama scratched his sun-reflecting bald head and grinned in anticipation.
He wasn't expecting a serious fight—enemies on Boros' level didn't grow on trees—but even a quick skirmish could liven up his otherwise uneventful life.
So, without hesitation, Saitama dashed toward the explosions.
A few moments later, he arrived to find a familiar cyborg locked in combat with a strange, translucent monster. Only faint outlines of a three-meter-tall humanoid figure flickered in the air, appearing and vanishing intermittently.
—Master Saitama?— The cyborg blinked in surprise at the man he considered his teacher.
—Genos…
—Please, don't interfere!— The young man warned. —I have to defeat this monster alone. Otherwise… I'll never grow stronger.
—Sure, whatever.— Saitama set down his grocery bag and plopped onto the curb. His bald head gleamed under the sun again as his bored gaze followed his "student's" fight against what seemed like an invisible Demon-level threat.
Thanks to his specialized sensors, Genos could clearly "see" the monster's movements. And with his cybernetic repulsors and Boost Mode, he could hit supersonic speeds, dodging the strikes of a creature capable of spatial displacement.
Their battle raged mid-air, with neither side gaining a clear advantage. Genos unleashed rocket punches, lasers, and even titanium blades in close combat—but nothing worked. The unknown creature kept slipping away, though it didn't counterattack aggressively.
Appearing behind the cyborg, the monster slashed with an invisible blade. Genos barely dodged, spun around, and fired a thermal beam straight at its face—only for the creature to vanish again. His sensors picked it up a hundred meters away, right next to his teacher.
—Master!— He shouted in alarm.
The monster lunged at the bald man, swinging its blade straight for his head.
*BOOM*
The impact was probably heard in the next city over—it sheared off a chunk of a multi-story building.
The translucent silhouette, barely escaping the shockwave, flickered into visibility. Its eyes burned with silver light, its skin tinged blue. Instead of a left hand, a curved sword blade extended from its wrist. Its right arm was gone—silver blood pulsed from the shoulder. It had barely dodged Saitama's "normal punch," but the residual force alone had torn its arm clean off.
The monster snarled as space trembled around it.
Genos' cold voice cut through:
—Incinerate.—
The firepower of his blast, amplified by the Cyber Demon Core, was devastating—his strongest attack with his current loadout. But suddenly, the explosion meant to erase the creature was swallowed by the warped space around it—before crashing down onto Genos himself.
Luckily, Dr. Kuseno's latest upgrades hadn't just added weapons and firepower—they'd reinforced his exoskeleton. Otherwise, his own attack might've melted him to slag. But Genos was nothing if not resilient. Right now, he lay on the ground, artificial hair gone, synthetic skin cracked from the heat, and his mobility/flight systems fried. In this state, fighting was off the table.
—You still wanna handle this alone, Genos?— Saitama asked, picking his ear.
—Forgive me, Master.— The cyborg's voice was hollow. —I'm still too weak.
The next instant, a thunderous punch echoed.
This time, the monster didn't dodge—its remains were smeared across the street and nearby buildings. Not a single drop of silver blood stained Saitama's shorts or Hawaiian shirt.
"Tch. Another one-punch…" Caped Baldy thought, disappointed.
As Saitama turned to grab his groceries, space nearby rippled—and spat out what was left of the teleporting creature.
A pitiful sight greeted the heroes: a head and upper torso, silver innards spilling out. It was still alive—but not for long.
—Pretty fast,— Saitama muttered, puzzled. —And real durable…
The monster bared its razor-sharp fangs, mouth twisting as it hissed in an alien tongue. Space around it shuddered, the tremors growing stronger by the second. Genos suddenly noticed—a spatial anomaly was forming near Saitama.
—MASTER, RUN!— He screamed.
—Huh?—
Too late. The fabric of space shattered, and a vortex yawned open behind his teacher—swallowing the bald man in an instant. Seconds later, the rift closed, space stabilized, and the dying monster on the road exhaled its last breath.
Today was the day the world of heroes and monsters lost the strongest man on Earth.
***
Saitama looked around curiously. After getting sucked in like a vacuum cleaner, he'd felt an indescribable, amazing sensation of flight. Grinning stupidly, he was both thrilled and baffled—because he was definitely not on Earth anymore.
When the spatial whirlwind finally spat him out, his feet landed on something solid—or rather, not solid, but a silvery haze that felt soft yet impossibly firm.
Rainbow mist surrounded him, shimmering with iridescent light. After a few steps, he realized there was no air—so he pinched his nose and held his breath.
A thought flickered in his bald head:
"Pretty… but I gotta get outta here."
The next moment, he bolted forward, searching for an exit.
With every heartbeat, Saitama accelerated—but no exit appeared. Instead, strange distortions swirled around him, like whirlpools of silver-gold light.
Without hesitation, he charged into the nearest one.
He sprinted down the shimmering tunnel until a hazy barrier, like frosted glass, blocked his path. At full speed, he threw a normal punch—but to his surprise, the barrier only dented slightly before snapping back.
Scratching his head, Saitama unpinched his nose and stared at the elastic "window," forgetting for a moment that he wasn't in Earth's atmosphere.
—First time I've seen a window this tough… Guess I gotta get a little serious.
His goofy expression vanished, replaced by a predator's grin:
—Serious Series: Serious Punch Barrage!
A storm of world-shattering blows rained down on the dimensional gate. His fists moved at unimaginable speed, the barrier trembling under the onslaught—but after a dozen breaths, only a tiny crack formed… before sealing instantly.
Saitama stopped, scratching his head again.
If any God or higher being had known some random guy was trying to punch his way into another world, they'd have laughed. Only the most powerful spatial mages or innate dimension-walkers could open gates at will. *Physical force* shouldn't even scratch the membrane separating worlds.
But Saitama didn't know that. He just wanted to open a "door" that refused to budge. Racking his brain, he tried to think of a solution—until it hit him.
—Got it!— Inspiration struck. —When cops bust down a criminal's door in movies, they don't use their fists…
A devious grin spread across his face as he prepared his next move:
—Super Serious Series: Serious…— Space quaked as power gathered in his body. —KICK!—
The dimensional gate shattered into dust.
And Saitama stepped confidently into the unknown.