Han Sen patted Saitama's shoulder reassuringly: "I'll have a professional team handle it. Once the ore is refined and sold, you won't be shortchanged a single cent."
(Dr. Genus's glasses glinted with a sharp light: That's right, the professional team is me.)
Hearing Han Sen's promise, the expression on Saitama's face instantly brightened from cloudy to clear. He grinned a simple, goofy smile, saliva almost dripping from his mouth.
"That's great! This way, when I buy discounted groceries in the future, I won't have to agonize over which one to pick!"
Han Sen: "?"
Can't your scope be a little bigger?!
"The crisis is over, how about we go celebrate?"
Han Sen stretched, then suggested: "It's getting late. Let's not cook tonight. I know a very good hotpot restaurant."
"Oh! Hotpot!" Saitama's eyes lit up again.
"Sounds good."
Bang Gu, who was nearby, sidled over, his hands clasped behind his back, looking exactly like an old man strolling through a park. He squinted and smiled, saying: "Everyone, may this old man also join your celebration?"
Saitama and Genos simultaneously cast him puzzled looks.
No, why is this old geezer so familiar?
Bang Gu continued: "Coincidentally, this old man has a few jars of thirty-year-old aged rice wine at his dojo. I can bring them along; they'd be perfect with hotpot!"
Upon hearing this, Saitama, who had intended to flat-out refuse, changed his tune: "Well, that's not entirely out of the question."
Genos, meanwhile, quietly pulled out his small notebook, his pen scratching furiously.
"Hotpot, paired with thirty-year-old aged rice wine, noted, Teacher's preferences…"
"In that case," Han Sen smiled, "let's call King too. The more, the merrier."
"King, huh? Sounds good! It has been a while since we all got together!" Saitama nodded repeatedly.
In reality, it had only been a few days.
Just as a unique celebration feast was about to be finalized, and the atmosphere was peaceful and harmonious.
Suddenly, Saitama's body stiffened abruptly, and his expression turned serious.
"Ah ah ah ah—!!"
"What's wrong, Teacher?" Genos immediately went into alert mode, his golden electronic eyes scanning the surroundings, thinking a new enemy had appeared.
"Supermarket sale!!" Saitama pointed in the direction of the sun, his face filled with doomsday-like despair, "The D-City supermarket sale! It's about to start!!"
Before his words finished, he grabbed Genos, who hadn't yet reacted, and didn't bother to greet Han Sen and Bang Gu.
"Genos! Hurry! We'll be too late!!"
"Yes, Teacher!"
"Whoosh—!"
Two afterimages, stepping on nearby tall buildings, sped away, quickly disappearing at the city's edge.
They left behind only a series of deafening Sonic booms and a bewildered Bang Gu in the wind.
Bang Gu: "…"
As for Han Sen, he was much calmer; nothing more than having seen it so many times that he was used to it… Meanwhile, in A-City, at the Hero Association Headquarters.
Inside the enormous disaster command center, the atmosphere was so heavy it could almost drip.
Hundreds of staff members were busily working at their respective stations, the sound of keyboards clicking and urgent reports rising and falling.
"Report! Disaster target above Z-City… vanished!"
An operator responsible for monitoring satellite images, looking at the empty blue sky on the screen, let out an incredulous gasp.
"What?!"
At the main command desk, Sitch, a big-nosed Hero Association executive in a suit with a receding hairline, abruptly stood up and snatched the communicator next to him.
"What do you mean, 'vanished'?! Was it shattered? Immediately monitor the debris scatter range within the atmosphere and assess secondary damage!"
"No… no, Chief!" The operator's voice carried a hint of tremor and bewilderment, "It wasn't shattered, it just… disappeared into thin air! In an instant, such a huge meteorite, suddenly gone!"
The command center fell into an instant silence.
Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked in astonishment at the largest main screen.
On the screen, multi-angle real-time satellite monitoring clearly showed that the terrifying meteorite, which had just been covering the sky and burning as it fell towards Z-City, was now nowhere to be seen.
The sky was as clean as if it had been washed, as if that world-ending catastrophe had never happened.
How did that meteorite disappear?
What role did those S-Class Heroes play in it?
The Hero Association Headquarters was plunged into deep confusion… Half an hour later.
Outside the largest supermarket chain in D-City.
"Whoosh!"
Saitama's figure, accompanied by a gust of wind, landed steadily in front of the closed roller shutter door.
On the door, a notice printed on an A4 sheet of paper fluttered in the wind.
[Due to the Dragon-level disaster alert in neighboring Z-City, this store will close early today. We apologize for any inconvenience.]
"…"
Saitama stared blankly at the words, his entire being as if drained of his soul, turning into a grayish-white stone statue.
The next second.
A high-pitched wail, soaring into the clouds, echoed throughout D-City.
"My supermarket sale—!!!"
…In a dense primeval forest, three figures were moving at an extremely fast pace.
Gale Wind and Flame of Impure Ardor moved with agile figures and swift actions.
Behind them, the gloomy-faced, handsome remaining ninja, Sonic the Hedgehog, followed closely.
And several kilometers behind the three of them, above the tree canopy, a huge dark shadow was moving leisurely through the forest.
Despite its massive size, comparable to a truck, each landing was incredibly light, making hardly any sound.
Looking through the shadows of the forest, it was a huge black giant dog with six eyes.
It was Pochy, who was out for a walk with the others.
"I say, where exactly are we going?" Sonic finally couldn't help but speak, his voice filled with suppressed irritation.
Ever since that bastard Han Sen forcibly recruited him, he had been thrown over to be a scrub-boy for a Dragon-level dog.
Although he harbored thoughts of gathering intelligence, the fur of that dead dog was of an unknown material, and cleaning it thoroughly with his strength was no easy task, so he naturally became more and more annoyed as he worked.
"Shut up, Sonic."
Wind of Cyclone, walking ahead, said without looking back, his tone carrying a hint of a senior's admonishment.
"This is His Majesty's order; we only need to execute it."
"That's right," Flame of Impure Ardor also chimed in, "Our mission this time is to make contact with an organization called the 'Heavenly Ninja Party'."
"By the way, we are also members of this organization, or rather, excellent graduates of the Ninja Village. Except for your terminated 44th batch, most are members of this organization."
The two of them, acting like devoted loyal lackeys, filled Sonic with contempt, but the information they provided did make him pause.
"I never thought that the village, which forbade private connections, would also start an alumni association…"
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