Chapter 36 — The End of One Punch Man
Zenin Kyūjō took out his phone and immediately called Blast.
The call connected almost instantly. In City K, Blast—who was tracking Garou's location—answered, his tone steady but wary. Before he could say anything, Kyūjō spoke first.
"Blast, move Garou somewhere else. After that, come pick me up and send me to the same place. If you don't, this planet might not survive what's about to happen."
Hovering above City K's skyline, Blast hesitated for a moment, tightening his grip on the device.
"Alright," he replied slowly, "but… are you saying Garou's power has already reached that point? Even you're not confident you can stop him? Should I just throw him into some random corner of the galaxy?"
Kyūjō shook his head slightly, his voice calm yet unwavering.
"Blast, I've told you before—Saitama's power that defies all logic comes from breaking through his biological Limiter. Garou… is the second man to achieve the same thing."
"The speed at which he's growing, the way his body adapts to any environment—it's beyond comprehension. Even if you tossed him into the vacuum of space, he'd likely adapt and survive within moments."
He paused briefly, then continued.
"Besides… I want to test myself against Garou at his peak. Until this fight reaches its conclusion, I hope none of you interfere."
Blast fell silent for a long moment. Then, with a faint exhale, he nodded to himself.
"…Understood."
He respected Kyūjō's resolve. After all, as long as Saitama was there to watch, there would be no true disaster.
Yes—Saitama the Bald Hero would also be present for this battle.
For Zenin Kyūjō, this would be his final fight in this world. Whether he won or lost, he had already made up his mind to leave afterward.
Because as long as Saitama existed, no matter who you were or how much power you possessed, it was impossible to surpass him.
And in truth, Kyūjō had long realized something else—
even with all his mastery over Starforce, he himself couldn't unlock his own Limiter.
Saitama was a mountain too high to climb.
Not because Kyūjō was obsessed with being stronger than him…
but because once you've seen the peak of that mountain with your own eyes, how could you ever stop walking toward it?
Even if he failed to reach the summit—
the heart of a true warrior would never allow him to stand still.
— — —
Outskirts of City K — Among the Desolate Mountains
Garou's eyes glowed crimson, like a pool of liquid blood. Sometimes, within that glow, his pupils appeared human and clear—at other times, they were filled with primal, feral rage.
His unstable state lasted for several minutes… until the monstrous transformation finally completed.
Thanks to his unyielding will, Garou managed to maintain his consciousness in this new form, though his personality had clearly shifted—
more ruthless, more violent, and thirsting for combat.
He raised his arm, now pitch-black and layered with hardened scales, his fingers transformed into sharp talons.
Then—he swung downward.
Whuuummm!
A violent burst of compressed air exploded outward. Dust and pressure waves tore through the mountains, flattening the entire landscape in an instant.
The once tranquil peaks surrounding him were obliterated—reduced to a vast plain with a single strike.
High above, Blast had just ended his call. His expression darkened as he watched the destruction unfold.
That level of power… was truly terrifying.
Without another word, he activated his dimensional ability, warping space around him.
In the next heartbeat, he appeared in front of Garou—
and before the monster could react, Blast opened a shimmering rift in space, sending Garou away…
Straight to the heart of Jupiter.
— — —
Planet Jupiter — The Merciless Gas Giant
The fifth planet from the Sun, and by far the largest in the solar system. Composed mostly of hydrogen and helium, Jupiter's mass was two and a half times that of all the other planets combined.
No breathable atmosphere.
Gravity two and a half times that of Earth.
Winds raging at over 400 kilometers per hour.
Lightning storms detonating endlessly across the clouds.
A world of pure chaos.
A hell unfit for life.
And now—Garou stood within it.
Moments later, Blast's power pulsed again, and both Zenin Kyūjō and Saitama were transported into Jupiter's atmosphere.
Kyūjō's body shimmered with starlight—his Starforce energy flowing like a living aura. He nodded briefly to both men, then wordlessly launched himself toward Garou's location deep within the planet's thick gaseous layers.
— — —
The extreme conditions of Jupiter began to interfere with Garou's evolving body. The chaotic energy within him fluctuated wildly, further unbalancing his state of mind.
But when his instincts sensed another living being approaching, his body reacted instantly.
He propelled himself forward—his feet pressing against condensed gas layers as he launched upward, claws bared.
Kyūjō met him head-on, his eyes glowing gold. He didn't hesitate.
Their attacks collided—fist against claw.
The impact ripped Jupiter's atmosphere apart, blasting the surrounding gas into a massive, spherical void stretching thousands of kilometers wide.
A vacuum zone, carved clean through the planet's stormy shroud.
Garou was sent hurtling away, crashing downward like a meteor into Jupiter's deeper layers.
Kyūjō hovered silently in the upper atmosphere, waiting.
Moments later, Garou burst out from below, bloodied but unbroken, steam rising from his skin. His crimson eyes cleared, regaining human focus.
Floating above the swirling gas, Garou steadied his breath. He didn't attack right away. Instead, he shifted his stance—slowly, deliberately—
bending his knees slightly, raising one open hand above his head while drawing his other fist to his waist.
It was the stance of his own creation—
Monster Calamity God Slayer Fist.
Through his Infinite Perception, Kyūjō could feel Garou's energy still climbing, his strength compounding without limit.
But he didn't move. He didn't interrupt.
He simply watched—
patient, silent, allowing Garou to reach his next stage of evolution.
— — —
Garou stared back at him.
The man before him—the hero known as the Light of City Z—was someone even he, the Hero Hunter, felt unworthy to challenge.
And yet, here they stood, face to face, their power nearly equal.
How could someone this strong only be registered as a Class B hero…?
But Kyūjō's stillness didn't mean mercy.
And Garou's rage didn't mean restraint.
Without hesitation, Garou lunged forward once again—his claws slicing through the thick gas, carving open the atmosphere itself.
Below them, Jupiter's liquid layers churned violently from the shockwave of his assault, creating tsunamis of compressed gas and energy.
Kyūjō smiled faintly, eyes glowing brighter.
"Monster Calamity God Slayer Fist…" he murmured. "No wonder Bang called it a martial art capable of erasing human civilization."
"A perfect harmony of power and technique… truly, the ultimate form of combat."
In that instant, Kyūjō gathered his Starforce. His entire body glowed with radiant energy—
and to Garou's shock, he mirrored the very same stance.
"T-That's—!" Garou gasped. "That's my technique!"
Before he could react, both of them moved.
Fist and claw collided once more.
The explosion that followed tore Jupiter's upper atmosphere apart, vaporizing layers of gas and scattering lightning storms across the planet.
And once again—Garou was sent plummeting downward,
piercing through the liquid mantle of Jupiter like a burning comet.
The storm never ceased.
And neither did the clash between gods.
Buried deep within Jupiter's sea of alien matter, Garou did not immediately strike back this time.
He floated there silently, overwhelmed by the realization that Zenin Kyūjō had perfectly replicated his original martial art in just a matter of seconds.
"What… what is this man's power?"
At the same time, Garou could still sense a faint trace of foreign energy lingering within his own body—
Starforce, the celestial energy that flowed through Zenin Kyūjō.
Driven by instinct, he began to study it—feeling it, tracing its rhythm, dissecting its flow—until eventually, he began merging it with his own power. Slowly but steadily, Garou consolidated everything within him into something new.
High above, Zenin Kyūjō watched from the upper layers of Jupiter's atmosphere, murmuring to himself:
This bastard really is a monster...
If Saitama didn't exist in this world, someone like Garou would eventually destroy the entire universe.
Even though Kyūjō was astonished by Garou's terrifying talent, he made no move to stop him.
He simply watched in silence—
as if observing the birth of a new god of destruction.
Time on Earth passed for more than thirty hours.
Finally, after completing his evolution, Garou emerged from Jupiter's liquid mantle, his body now cloaked in a deep, black radiance. His aura felt endless, vast enough to make the very air tremble.
He took a calm step forward, standing upon nothing, his presence bending the void itself.
When he spoke, his voice was low, steady, and filled with cold intent.
"What's the name of that power you wield?"
Zenin Kyūjō smiled faintly. "It's called Starforce. My own unique power. But the energy you've created—it's similar, yet not quite the same. How about calling it… Force of Extremity?"
Garou nodded, his eyes burning crimson under the shadow of his calm expression.
"Then that's its name. Force of Extremity."
He raised his gaze, his voice turning sharper.
"But I think you already understand—right now, you're no longer my equal. As gratitude for helping me reach this point, I'll give you two choices."
He extended two fingers.
"First, you leave the Hero Association. Renounce your title as a hero, and never call yourself one again."
"Second…" His tone grew colder. "Stay loyal to that foolish ideal of justice—and be buried here, forever."
For a brief moment, silence hung heavy in the air.
Then Zenin Kyūjō… laughed.
It wasn't forced or mocking—it was genuine, resonant laughter that echoed across Jupiter's endless storms.
Garou frowned, irritation flashing across his face. "What's so funny? Do you really think you can defeat me now?"
Kyūjō didn't answer immediately. Instead, he gently pressed his palm forward, as if pushing the air aside.
"Garou," he began, his tone light but firm, "your logic has been flawed from the very beginning."
"You think that in this world, those who fight for 'justice' always win. So you want to destroy that balance—to prove that evil can be just as strong."
"But have you ever considered this?" His voice deepened, echoing through the gas clouds. "Victory has never been determined by who's right or wrong. Justice and evil mean nothing in the face of power. The only thing that determines victory… is strength."
"And strength… cares nothing for morality."
"If you use your power to uphold what people call justice, they'll praise you as a hero. If you use it however you please, they'll curse you as a villain. But justice and evil—" he raised a finger "—aren't decided by others. Nor by you."
"They're decided by your own heart."
Garou's expression faltered slightly.
Kyūjō continued.
"I've faced true evil before, Garou. Evil that made the concept itself meaningless. You, the so-called Hero Hunter—you've never truly killed a hero. Sure, many died indirectly because of you… but you've never embraced evil for what it really is."
"So tell me," his gaze sharpened, "how can you possibly claim to embody it?"
He stepped closer, his voice resonating with cosmic clarity.
"And one more thing. Have you ever wondered why justice always seems to prevail? Is it because the just are destined to win?"
He smiled faintly. "No. In the world I come from, there's an old saying: 'History is written by the victors.'"
"So tell me again—do you still believe justice always triumphs? Victory is simply victory. It doesn't represent anything else. Evil never truly loses—it merely changes its mask."
"Evil," he concluded, eyes glowing like stars, "doesn't need your justification."
Garou fell silent. His breath grew shallow, his mind spinning under the weight of Kyūjō's words.
And before he could even form a response, Kyūjō spoke once more.
"And about what you said earlier—that I'm no longer your match?"
A quiet smile crossed his face. "I'm afraid I'll have to disagree."
The air around him began to hum.
Then, light.
Pure, boundless light erupted from within Zenin Kyūjō's body, wrapping him in the radiance of a thousand galaxies. His Starforce flared into its ultimate form, every particle of energy vibrating with divine resonance.
Kyūjō had activated his Life Burn—
—an ancient technique he had not used since his final battle against Ōtsutsuki no Kami in the ninja world.
A technique that sacrificed both body and soul, channeling his very existence into pure destructive energy.
He knew this power would melt his flesh, annihilate his spirit, and possibly erase his existence from all timelines…
But for once, he didn't care.
It had been far too long since he'd fought an opponent who forced him to go all out.
The warrior within him roared for battle—
and Zenin Kyūjō answered that call without hesitation.
Even if it meant losing everything.
Even if it meant true death.
He would burn himself completely—
becoming a meteor that illuminated the cosmos, even if only for a single, blinding moment.
— — —
The radiance of his power scorched Garou's eyes.
In the blink of an eye, Zenin Kyūjō's unleashed energy—magnitudes beyond Garou's evolved strength—erased Garou's very existence from the physical plane.
Even though Garou had broken his own biological limiter, his evolution couldn't possibly catch up to the overwhelming surge of Life Burn.
Once he confirmed Garou's energy had completely vanished, Kyūjō turned upward—his body burning with fading starlight—and appeared beside the bald figure who stood in silent awe.
Saitama.
The two locked eyes. Kyūjō reached out and clasped his arm.
And in the next instant—
They both transformed into light, vanishing from Blast's sight entirely.
— — —
Somewhere in the far reaches of the universe—among drifting nebulae and strange, alien stars—
Saitama stood alone. His iconic yellow hero suit was slightly wrinkled, cape fluttering gently in the cosmic breeze.
He scratched his shiny head and muttered, "Uh… what did Kyūjō say again about the direction to Earth?"
"Was it left…?"
"…Or right?"
He tilted his head, frowning in mild confusion.
And somewhere, far beyond that infinite void, a faint laugh seemed to echo—
like a farewell carried by the stars themselves.
— — —
End of the One Punch Man Volume
Next Volume: Dragon Ball
(This humble author humbly asks for your digital blessings… （づ￣3￣）づ╭❤～)
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