Chapter 345: Chapter 46 – The Battle Begins
After witnessing the silver-haired boy casually obliterate hundreds of monsters below Dragon-level with a mere gesture, everyone present—heroes and monsters alike—felt a chill run down their spines.
Even the Monster King Orochi, hidden deep underground, fell into a rare silence.
Psykos was drenched in cold sweat, utterly horrified.
The S-Class heroes wore grave expressions. Even the hot-headed Metal Bat had furrowed his brows tightly.
"Sā da..."
Hovering in the air, the silver-haired boy spread his arms wide with a devilish smile on his face. His bright blue vertical pupil shimmered with an eerie glow.
"Let’s begin."
As his words fell, the earth floating high in the sky—the one holding the now-empty city—began to tremble violently. Buildings crumbled and shattered, the ground split apart, and countless chunks of stone were drawn rapidly toward the center, as if an invisible giant hand was squeezing everything inward with overwhelming force.
Above, Saitama and Genos darted around, narrowly avoiding the falling buildings and debris.
Saitama looked dumbfounded as he watched his house slowly collapse.
"Ah... my house!"
"Sensei, this isn’t the time for that! We need to get out of here!" Genos grabbed Saitama’s arm and leapt down with him.
The two of them landed behind the group of S-Class heroes. Everyone turned to look. Bang raised a hand to greet them.
"Yo, Brother Saitama. Brother Genos. You’re here too, huh?"
"Hey," Saitama responded with a simple wave.
Genos scanned the faces around him—Bang, Tatsumaki, Atomic Samurai, Child Emperor, Zombieman, Drive Knight, Pig God, Watchdog Man, Superalloy Darkshine, Flashy Flash, Metal Bat, and Puri-Puri Prisoner.
Aside from Blast, who still hadn’t shown up, and the absent Metal Knight, King, and Tanktop Master, the rest of the S-Class heroes were all present.
"Who’s this guy?"
Metal Bat stepped up in front of Saitama and glanced at Genos, asking the question bluntly.
"He’s a B-Class hero, goes by Caped Baldy—Saitama," Bang explained. "Don’t be fooled by the rank. His strength is anything but ordinary."
"Oh..."
Atomic Samurai rubbed his chin, scrutinizing Saitama, but couldn’t see anything particularly impressive about him.
Tatsumaki and Fubuki descended from the air.
Dressed in a high-slit black gown, Tatsumaki crossed her arms and glared at the silver-haired boy in the sky. She frowned.
"What’s that weirdo up to now?"
In her opinion, her own power was more than enough to wipe out those monsters. There was no need for such elaborate theatrics.
Fubuki kept her sharp gaze locked on the figure hovering above.
Under the watchful eyes of the Dragon-level monsters...
The floating landmass—larger than an upside-down mountain—compressed steadily into a circular arena, roughly 100 meters wide, narrow at the base and broad on top.
"Wait... is he planning to fight up there?"
Superalloy Darkshine looked stunned.
Child Emperor bit down on his lollipop and furiously typed away on his computer.
"To compress such a massive structure to that extent... its density must’ve increased dramatically, which would naturally result in—gravity amplification..."
After finishing the calculations, he stared at the screen in shock.
"The gravity on that platform is nine times normal gravity!"
"What?!"
The heroes were all taken aback.
Then, the silver-haired boy snapped his fingers.
The massive platform hovered thirty meters above the crater, then stopped, motionless. Even from a distance, the heroes could feel the faint but persistent pull of gravity emanating from it. It was easy to imagine the crushing pressure if one were standing right on it.
"Thirteen battles. The first side to win seven matches will be the victor. Life or death doesn’t matter. Losing consciousness or falling off the ring both count as defeat."
Ron looked down from above with a gentle smile.
"So then... who’s up first?"
The S-Class heroes exchanged glances.
Meanwhile, on the Monster Association’s side, there was no hesitation. Following Orochi’s command, the first to step forward was the martial monster—Choze.
With a heavy stomp, the ground cracked beneath his feet as he launched himself onto the platform. His body was immediately dragged down by the immense gravity, causing him to hunch forward. He nearly collapsed, but managed to brace his legs and steady himself into a horse stance, holding firm against the crushing weight.
After slowly straightening up, Choze crossed his arms and sneered at the heroes.
"Whoever’s fighting me better not be weak!"
"I’ll take him on."
Atomic Samurai stepped forward with his sword slung over his shoulder.
But Bang raised an arm, stopping him.
"This guy’s techniques carry a martial air... I should be the one to go."
With that, Bang dashed forward, leaping high into the air. His feet pushed off the ground with explosive force, shattering the surface as he shot toward the platform like an arrow loosed from a bow.
Choze looked at the old man landing across from him and frowned.
"Seriously? Just an old geezer?"
Hands clasped behind his back, the stooped Bang smiled.
"Hehehe... You really shouldn’t underestimate the elderly."
The first match—Martial Monster Choze versus Martial Arts Master Bang!
With a powerful stomp, the ground beneath their feet cracked. Despite the 9x gravity, both fighters moved at astonishing speed as they charged at each other—completely unfazed.
Choze swung a punch, wrapped in a gust of force.
Bang’s hands moved with the flow of water in midair. Choze’s destructive blow slammed into the ground as Bang leapt upward, delivering a powerful high kick to Choze’s chin that sent the bulky monster staggering several steps backward.
"So this is the famed Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist?"
Choze tilted his neck with a cracking sound, multiple eyes glaring at Bang, who had assumed a textbook martial stance.
"Nice technique... but that’s meant for humans, right? Against me, it’s nothing more than a tickle. Doesn’t hurt at all!"
Choze spread his arms wide and flexed. His massive muscles bulged even further, making his already hulking frame appear even more monstrous. A suffocating, terrifying aura radiated from his body.
Even Bang couldn’t help but narrow his eyes slightly.