At a roadside newsstand, Zuke spotted an old newspaper with recent headlines.
"City A Reconstruction Complete! S-Class Hero Metal Knight Finishes Post-Disaster Rebuild in Just 7 Days!"
"City A's reconstruction is done... Doesn't that mean Boros has already come and gone?"
Zuke's lips twitched as he stared at the news, utterly speechless about the mission the system had assigned him.
When Boros' spaceship arrived on Earth, the first thing it did was obliterate City A. After Boros was defeated, Metal Knight took over the reconstruction, erecting ten new cities atop the ruins.
Now, the news Zuke was reading declared City A's reconstruction complete... which meant Boros' "seventh-day memorial" had long since passed.
This made the wording of Special Mission 1: "Eliminate Boros" particularly ironic—how was Zuke supposed to kill someone already dead?
In the One Punch Man universe, there was no underworld or afterlife—at least, not in the storyline Zuke was familiar with.
Of course, if he really wanted to stretch it, Boros wasn't completely gone. In the original story, Metal Knight had apparently recovered Boros' remains. In fact, in the manga's later arcs, Metal Knight was even attempting to reconstruct Boros' body, turning it into a pure weapon of war. But even after all that time, the reconstruction still wasn't finished. Zuke doubted he'd live long enough to see Boros resurrected—especially since Special Mission 1 had a strict time limit: one month.
"So... this mission is basically impossible to complete, huh?"
Zuke sighed. At least Special Mission 2 was still feasible—it'd be a long time before Garou became "Cosmic Fear Garou."
But more pressing than these two missions was another concern: which part of this world should he claim as part of his "King's Army"?
Yes, the moment Zuke entered this special mission world, his first thought was to annex a portion of it into his "King's Army." After all, he couldn't guarantee he'd fully exploit this world's value before the mission ended. To avoid missing out on anything worthwhile, it'd be best to establish a "transit point"—a foothold allowing him to return anytime.
However, territories eligible for "King's Army" had to meet certain size and influence requirements. After some thought, Zuke realized this world didn't offer many options.
Aside from the Hero Association and the Monster Association, the only other candidate was the still-developing NEO Heroes Association.
Or maybe the Subterranean Kingdom? In the original story, the Subterranean King was one-punched by Saitama, but according to his boasts, the Subterraneans did have an underground civilization. If Zuke could find their kingdom and become their ruler, he might be able to claim it for his "King's Army."
---
BOOM!
In the outskirts of City M, a grotesque, tentacle-clustered monster was crushed into paste by an overwhelming psychic force before exploding like a bomb.
Standing beside the obliterated monster was a petite figure.
"Boring."
A small girl in a black robe, her curly green hair swaying slightly, stared at the dead monster with disinterest.
Though she looked like a child, she was actually 28 years old—the No. 2 S-Class Hero of the Hero Association, regarded as their ultimate weapon.
Her name: Tatsumaki, the Tornado of Terror.
Tatsumaki's daily routine mostly involved wandering around, responding to monster sightings, and casually obliterating them. At first, it had been fun, but over time, even crushing monsters had grown dull.
Just as she was about to leave, a voice called out to her:
"Tatsumaki... the Tornado of Terror, right?"
"Hm?"
She turned and noticed a man standing near the monster's remains. He didn't seem like a monster himself, so she casually remarked:
"The monster's dead, but this area might still be dangerous. Get out of here."
Tatsumaki wasn't the type to engage with randoms, but since no one else was around, she figured a warning wouldn't hurt.
The man, of course, was Zuke.
Hearing her concern, Zuke chuckled.
"No, I'm here for you."
"For me?" Tatsumaki raised an eyebrow. Since Zuke hadn't unleashed his "ki," to her, he seemed like an ordinary civilian.
"You want an autograph? I don't have time for that."
(That was a lie—Tatsumaki had plenty of free time. She usually just lazed around at home, waiting for the Hero Association to alert her about monsters. She just hated playing the "idol hero.")
"Not that." Zuke shook his head, eyeing her as she floated mid-air with her psychic powers.
"I need to meet with the Hero Association's higher-ups. I was hoping you could arrange an introduction."
Sure, the Hero Association's leadership was corrupt—but that wasn't Zuke's concern.
What he needed was to bring them under his control and make the Hero Association his territory. If he could claim it for his "King's Army," mission accomplished.
But the higher-ups weren't easy to access. He could force his way in, beating every hero until the Association surrendered—but that'd be tedious.
Instead, why not find someone with enough influence to gather all the executives at once?
Originally, Zuke had planned to approach King, since this was City M, King's home turf. But before he could seek him out, a monster alert drew him here—where he stumbled upon Tatsumaki.
Well then... why not change targets?
The No. 2 S-Class Hero probably had more pull than the No. 5, right?
To be continued…
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