"Earth is doomed!" William took a deep breath, doing his best to look serious and grave, afraid that he wouldn't be able to make Swift grasp the severity of the situation.
"Huh? Say that again?"
Kizaru's mouth twitched. He didn't have a mirror handy right now, or else he could've seen how ridiculous his own expression looked.
He had expected William to try a number of persuasive tactics—but starting off with "Earth is doomed"? That was one hell of a lead.
"Earth is doomed? What kind of joke is that? You think we're all idiots?"
Tatsumaki glanced at the skewer Fubuki had just gotten from Kizaru, a little irritated that she didn't get one herself. Annoyed, she immediately fired off a round of sarcasm at William.
As the second-ranked S-Class hero, Tatsumaki's standing in the Hero Association was just below the top brass. If Earth were truly facing a crisis, there was no reason to keep it from her, the so-called ultimate weapon.
"It's true. Earth is doomed. That was the prophecy made not long ago by the Great Seer, Shibabawa…"
William's expression was grim as he spoke. He wanted to believe this bad news was just a misunderstanding, but Shibabawa's final prophecy had been confirmed through multiple channels.
Even after the official meeting, senior figures from the Association personally traveled to Shibabawa's hidden residence to confirm it again—just to make absolutely sure nothing was off.
"Shibabawa… who the heck is that supposed to be?"
Kizaru rubbed his forehead, feeling a bit helpless. If he remembered correctly, there had been some kind of crisis that almost wiped out Earth in another world.
But it had been too long—he couldn't recall the details. Something about a guy who looked like a Saiyan attacking Earth, only to get wrecked by a bald man.
Then again, in the One Punch Man world, that kind of thing happened constantly. Some ultra-powerful boss would show up, act all mighty, and then get one-punched by Saitama. It happened so often that Kizaru couldn't even keep the stories straight anymore.
"Shibabawa is the greatest prophet in history. Every prophecy she's made so far has had a 100% accuracy rate!"
Seeing that Kizaru seemed unimpressed, William raised his voice, trying to make it clear this wasn't some prank. Shibabawa's prophecy mattered.
"If it really came from Shibabawa, it might actually be true…"
Fubuki looked uneasily at Kizaru. Her instinct was to open the group chat and ask the member from the Swallowed Star world to confirm the situation.
Their relationship wasn't great, but when the fate of the entire planet was at stake, she knew he wouldn't mess with her.
"I'm going to confirm the prophecy with Shibabawa myself."
Tatsumaki furrowed her brows and turned to leave. Shibabawa's location was a well-kept secret to most people—but not to her, the #2 S-Class hero.
She had been assigned to protect Shibabawa on more than one occasion, so naturally she knew where the great seer lived.
"No need. After making the prophecy, Shibabawa got too worked up emotionally and… choked to death on a cough drop. But we've already verified the prophecy thoroughly—it's absolutely authentic."
Even William found the cause of death hard to stomach. The most powerful seer, yet she couldn't foresee her own death.
Thankfully, neither Fubuki nor Tatsumaki seemed too shocked. Maybe they already had an idea of how "unique" Shibabawa was. Honestly, that kind of death was perfectly in line with her style.
"A crisis big enough to doom Earth… Could it be a God-level threat? Did Shibabawa say when this disaster would strike?"
Tatsumaki asked with a frown. Even someone as proud and confident as she was couldn't help feeling uneasy in the face of a theoretical God-level catastrophe.
After all, this time the crisis involved the survival of Earth—and even humanity itself. It wasn't something she could hope to solve on her own.
But seeing Kizaru standing nearby, Tatsumaki's mood calmed a bit.
Even if it really was a god-level disaster, as long as she and Kizaru joined forces, she was confident they could pull through.
"In half a year—a catastrophic crisis capable of wiping out Earth will arrive!"
William finished his statement and immediately looked toward Kizaru, hoping this newly promoted S-Class hero would see the bigger picture and understand the hard choice the Association's leadership had made.
"So, you want me to stop going after Metal Knight—or at least wait until this half-year crisis is over before settling things with him?"
Kizaru chuckled coldly. He knew exactly what these guys were thinking. Back then, if it hadn't been for old man Kong—still an admiral at the time—recognizing his potential and going out of his way to protect him…
With Kizaru's then-rebellious nature, he would've clashed with the rotting upper brass of the Navy long ago. Heck, One Piece might've ended up with a different Pirate King.
"If you can wait just half a year, once the crisis has passed, I guarantee on behalf of the Association HQ—we won't interfere at all with your dispute with Metal Knight."
William had no choice but to make a compromise. As long as they could get past this crisis, he couldn't care less about Metal Knight's fate.
Even if it meant falling out with the rest of the Association's top brass, he swore he'd never deal with Kizaru again.
Not even the most eccentric S-Class hero had ever been this hard to manage—Kizaru handled them like someone who'd wrangled bureaucrats a thousand times over.
"Sounds reasonable… but I refuse."
Kizaru replied lazily.
Just as a flicker of relief crossed William's face, Kizaru's next words threw him straight into the abyss.
Don't be fooled by William's promise that they wouldn't interfere after the crisis—once the danger passed, these guys would flip the script in a heartbeat.
Kizaru had spent years in the Navy—first dealing with the Navy's leadership, then with the World Government's higher-ups. The one iron rule he learned was: always expect the worst from bureaucrats.
These people were more shameless than literal dog-based Devil Fruit users.
Even if the Association's upper brass weren't quite as depraved as the Navy's or the World Government's, Kizaru wouldn't believe a single comma of what they promised.
"Why?! You're not even willing to wait half a year? Everything we're doing is for humanity—for Earth!"
William was furious, his jowls quivering with rage. He'd already offered such a huge concession, and this bastard still wouldn't budge.
"Oh? And what's that got to do with me?"
Kizaru wasn't bothered at all by William's outrage. He knew it was a rhetorical trap, and yet walked straight into it with a smirk.
His sheer brazenness completely disarmed William. He wanted to accuse Kizaru of ignoring the bigger picture, but neither Tatsumaki nor Fubuki said a word to oppose him.
Fubuki understood—Kizaru wasn't even from this world to begin with. The fact that he was even helping made her deeply grateful. There was no reason to burden him with the duty of protecting Earth and mankind.
As for Tatsumaki, she was just protective of her own and trusted both Fubuki and Kizaru—she completely ignored William's attempts to stir up conflict.
"You! I'm going to report your words exactly as they are to the rest of the top brass!"
William's rage was so intense that the fat on his face trembled. Kizaru's shamelessness had left him utterly at a loss.
Even someone as selfish as Metal Knight had never outright said "screw it" the way Kizaru just had.
"Be my guest."
Kizaru sneered and signaled for Lily to end the call.
If a disaster ever came that even he couldn't handle—well, wasn't Saitama still around?
At worst, Kizaru could always ask that guy from Swallowed Star in the chat group. There was no reason he shouldn't remember the major events of this world.
"A major crisis within the next six months, huh… Looks like I'll need to work even harder to get stronger!"
Genos clenched his fists, blazing with determination.
Seeing that, Kizaru genuinely hesitated for a moment. Maybe he should consider giving Genos a Devil Fruit—an Animal-type one at the very least. That way, Genos could have a body that kept growing stronger.
Sure, cyborg upgrades were flashy and powerful, and Genos had become stronger with every enhancement—but mechanical augmentations had an upper limit.
Simply put, Genos's strength was capped by Dr. Kuseno's technological ceiling. His own effort had become a secondary factor, and to Kizaru, that was a bit of a shame.
He genuinely admired Genos. Strong, handsome, full of justice—and crucially, he could do housework. What a waste to have him just tagging along behind Saitama!
Compared to that, Kizaru's own underlings—aside from Dragon back in the day—were basically a bunch of duds. Vivian was the only one with some promise, but even she was always scheming to take him down. People these days—no loyalty at all.
"If it's within six months… that might be a little tricky," Fubuki said with a concerned look.
Kizaru wasn't planning to stay long. Once the replica of the Pure Gold was completed—or after a month passed—he'd have to return to the One Piece world.
If a global crisis struck Earth after that, there was no guarantee he'd be able to make it back in time.
"Don't worry. I've got this."
Kizaru gave her a reassuring glance. With the group chat, he could be summoned instantly. At the speed of light, he could reach any part of Earth in under a second—there was no such thing as "too late."
Still, just to be safe, he planned to check in with the Swallowed Star guy later and confirm that nothing unexpected was brewing.
If Earth did get destroyed, Fubuki could still escape to the One Piece world or somewhere else. But Tatsumaki couldn't—she wasn't part of the dimensional chat group.
Of course, that was the worst-case scenario. With Saitama around—basically a walking cheat code—even if the One Piece world got wiped out, One Punch Man's world would still be standing.
"A crisis that could destroy Earth…"
Saitama muttered, sprinkling chili powder on the freshly grilled seafood. In his head, he was fantasizing about a powerful enemy emerging from the ground—someone strong enough to surpass even Kizaru—and challenging him to an epic, three-day-long fight.
It would have to be someone who could take at least a hundred—no, a thousand punches. Only then would he finally get a good fight in.
But as he imagined it, his hand slipped. He dumped way too much chili powder. The grilled squid was now a bright, fiery red—just looking at it made his forehead sweat.
If it were Kizaru, he'd have tossed it without a second thought—or force-fed it to some unlucky soul.
But Saitama just took a deep breath and stuffed it into his mouth with a determined expression.
He'd already asked around—this seafood had been flown in as top-tier luxury ingredients. Wasting even one bite would be a crime in his book.
Even if it was laced with poison instead of chili, he still wouldn't want to waste it.
"MMMMMMMM!!"
One bite in and Saitama almost breathed fire. It was that spicy. But he powered through and swallowed the blazing-hot squid.
"Tch… Here, have some water to cool down."
Kizaru handed him a glass of ice water—except, by the time it reached Saitama, the ice had already melted and faint wisps of steam were rising from the cup.
Clearly, "helpful" Kizaru had heated it up.
Saitama, still reeling from the spice, didn't think twice and chugged it down.
If his IQ was 120 when snatching grocery store sales, then on a regular day, he was lucky to hit 80. No wonder he always seemed spaced out.
"Thanks… WHOA! HOT! SPICY!!"
Saitama's face turned beet red. Steam pouring out of him, he suddenly bolted like a wind-up toy on overdrive—trying to use the rushing air to cool his mouth.
A whirlwind tore through the massive training ground. One moment he was standing still—the next, he was a streak of motion zooming across the field, leaving stunned heroes in his wake.
"So fast! Even faster than Flashy Flash!"
"Who is this guy?!"
"No way that's a human, right?"
…
The heroes gaped at Saitama's disappearing figure. Just a moment ago, they were mocking him for trying to cozy up to Kizaru.
But now? Clearly, anyone who could hang around someone as fast as Kizaru wasn't ordinary at all.
"Saitama…"
Covered in sweat, Mumen Rider swallowed hard. He never imagined that a former classmate from his school days would grow to this level.
But his expression quickly hardened with resolve.
Right now, what he was most grateful for was joining Swift Flash's training camp. The sense that anyone could become stronger as long as they worked hard gave him hope that he could one day catch up to—or even surpass—Saitama.
°°°
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