The Eastern Sea - Approaches to Hino Country
Time: Lunchtime (Presumably)
The fog was thick. The kind of fog that swallows sound and hides monsters.
Saitama stood on the prow of the wooden ship, peering into the gray soup. He wore his new blue blanket-cape (tied a bit tighter now) and Yami's katana on his hip.
"I can't see anything," Saitama complained. "Are we there yet? I'm sick of dried biscuits."
Yami sat cross-legged on the deck, sharpening a spare blade. He looked edgy. He wasn't the laid-back Captain right now. He was a man returning to a crime scene—his past.
"Relax, Baldy," Yami grunted. "The currents around Hino are messed up. The magic here—Yojutsu—makes navigation a nightmare. Only locals can find the path."
"Yojutsu?" Asta practiced swinging his sword in the fog. "Is that like Magic?"
"It's weirder," Yami said. "It's all about flow. Scroll magic. Ki. If you scream too loud, you might wake the water spirits."
"WHOA! WATER SPIRITS!" Asta screamed immediately.
"Shut up," Yami and Saitama said in unison.
Genos walked up, his eyes acting as fog-lights, cutting two yellow beams through the mist. His new bulky, scrap-metal armor clanked heavily.
"Sonar detected large landmass," Genos reported. "Also, structure ahead. Wooden gate... located in the middle of the ocean?"
Saitama squinted.
A massive red Torii gate rose from the waves. It was five stories tall, covered in barnacles and glowing talismans.
"A gate," Saitama said. "Does it have a doorbell?"
Suddenly, the water erupted.
A Kraken—not dried, very alive, and extremely tentacley—surged up, guarding the gate. It held a massive coral club.
"GRAAAH! NO ENTRY!" the monster roared (probably).
"Dinner," Saitama whispered.
He didn't draw Yami's sword. He just leaned over the railing.
"Killer Move," Saitama said casually. "Serious Splash: Directed Current."
He flicked his finger against the water surface.
Thwip.
The finger-flick created a localized tsunami bullet. A ripple of high-pressure water shot forward, hit the Kraken in the forehead, and knocked it unconscious instantly. The monster floated belly-up.
"Catch it, Genos!" Saitama yelled. "Fresh calamari!"
Genos extended a grappling hook from his chest. "Retrieving biomass!"
Yami face-palmed. "We haven't even docked, and you're poaching the gate guardian."
Hino Country - The Port of Sho
The ship drifted into the dock. The architecture changed instantly. No more European castles. It was all curved roofs, bamboo forests, and wooden pagodas.
And the smell. Soy sauce. Miso. Sea salt.
"It smells like my apartment building," Saitama inhaled. "Back before the rent went up."
A group of warriors—The Ryuzen Seven—were waiting on the dock. They looked intense. Kimonos, katanas, scrolls.
At their head stood a man with an eye-patch over his right eye. He wore loose robes and had a vibe so chill it rivaled Yami's toilet time.
Ryuya Ryudo. The Shogun.
Next to him was a woman with dark hair, dark eyes, and a glare that could peel paint. She wore the crest of the Yami Clan.
Ichika Yami. The Sister.
The ship docked. The ramp lowered.
Asta ran down first. "LAND! LAND OF KI!"
Yami walked down second, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly.
"Yo," Yami raised a hand. "Long time no see, Ryu."
Ryuya smiled gently. "Sukehiro. Welcome back. You've grown. mostly sideways."
"Ha ha. Very funny."
Then Saitama walked down. Carrying a ten-foot Kraken tentacle over his shoulder. Genos followed, looking like a steampunk demon.
The Ryuzen Seven tensed. Hands went to sword hilts. Scrolls began to glow.
"Monsters?" Ichika stepped forward, her hand gripping her katana. Her Ki flared black—Dark Yojutsu. "You bring foreigners and metal beasts to our holy land, Brother? You really are a traitor."
"Sister," Yami winced. "Still bitter, huh? This is just... my ride."
"I am not a ride," Saitama corrected, dropping the wet tentacle on the clean wooden dock. SPLAT. "I'm a tourist. Is there a sushi place open?"
Ichika looked at the tentacle. Then at Saitama.
Then at the sword on Saitama's hip.
Her eyes narrowed.
"That katana," she hissed. "That belongs to our father. To the Yami Clan."
Saitama looked down at the rusty blade. "Oh, this? Landlord lent it to me. It's a bit dull."
"DULL?!" Ichika snapped.
She moved.
She didn't use magic. She used Zetten. Explosive Ki manipulation. She crossed the twenty feet between them in an instant, drawing her blade for an overhead strike intended to execute the thief.
"Give it back!"
The blade came down. The air split. It was a perfect, masterful cut.
Saitama didn't dodge.
He raised his free hand (the one not covered in squid slime).
Clap.
He caught the blade between his palms. The famous "Blade Catch" move.
But usually, the catcher struggles.
Saitama stood there. The blade was stopped dead. The shockwave of the stop blew dust off the dock, but Saitama's palms didn't even slide.
"Dangerous," Saitama noted. "You could cut a finger."
Ichika pulled. The sword wouldn't budge. It was clamped in an immovable vice of flesh.
"Impossible..." Ichika gritted her teeth. "My Zetten... my Ki... it stopped?"
Ryuya laughed. He walked forward, putting a hand on Ichika's shoulder.
"Stop, Ichika. He isn't an enemy."
Ryuya turned his single eye toward Saitama. His ability, Tengentsu (Clairvoyance), allowed him to see all things in the present.
"I see you," Ryuya said, opening his eye.
Then Ryuya stopped smiling.
He blinked.
"Wait."
Ryuya rubbed his eye.
"What is that?"
To Ryuya, looking at Yami showed darkness. Looking at Asta showed potential.
Looking at Saitama... showed static.
White noise. A hole in the information feed of the universe.
"I can't... see you," Ryuya whispered. "I see your bald head. I see the squid. But I don't see you. No fate. No history. No limit."
Saitama let go of Ichika's sword (she stumbled back).
"Everyone keeps saying I have no future," Saitama sighed. "Am I that broke looking?"
"No," Ryuya regained his composure, though he looked shaken. "You are just... too big for the frame."
The Shogun's Palace - The Feast (Again)
Twenty minutes later. The squid was being grilled. Rice balls were served.
They sat on tatami mats. Genos was struggling because his armor was too heavy and he kept punching holes in the floor.
"So," Ryuya sipped his tea. "Yami came back because he was abducted by bone-wizards. And now you need a way home."
"Correct," Genos said, analyzing the tea content. "This beverage contains trace herbal remedies. Good for antioxidants."
"To get home," Ryuya explained, "You need to rupture the dimensional membrane. Normally, impossible. But currently... the Land is unstable."
He unrolled a scroll. A painting of a five-headed beast.
"The Goshoryu. The Five-Headed Dragon. An ancient calamity. It slept for centuries, but recently... it woke up."
"Let me guess," Saitama shoved a whole rice ball in his mouth. "My fault?"
"Yes," Ryuya nodded cheerfully. "Your arrival in this world sent shockwaves through the ley lines. You effectively knocked on its door and woke it up from a nap. It's cranky."
"Story of my life," Yami muttered, drinking sake.
"The Dragon anchors the dimension," Ryuya continued. "If it is destroyed—utterly destroyed—the backlash will create a momentary rift. A path to the 'Other Side'."
Saitama stopped chewing.
"So if I punch the big lizard... I can go home?"
"In theory. But this Dragon regenerates instantly. And it has five heads, each with a different element. It's unkillable."
"Unkillable," Saitama stood up. He wiped rice off his cheek. "That sounds like a challenge."
The Clash of Beliefs
Ichika Yami couldn't take it anymore.
She stood up, slamming her hand on the low table.
"Ryuya-sama! Why do you entertain this... buffoon? He holds a sacred blade like a club! He has no Yojutsu! No Ki!"
She glared at Saitama.
"Strength without discipline is meaningless! You mock the warrior's path!"
Saitama looked at her. He saw a lot of anger. Reminded him of Speed-o'-Sound Sonic, but with less spandex.
"You're loud," Saitama said.
"Loud?! I am the discipline of the Yami Clan! Draw the sword!" Ichika pointed at the rusty katana on Saitama's belt. "Fight me! Properly! If you are strong enough to kill the Dragon, prove it!"
Yami sighed. "Ichika, don't do it. You're gonna get embarassed."
"Silence, traitor!"
Saitama looked at the katana hilt.
"You really want me to use the sword?"
"YES!"
"Okay."
Saitama walked out to the courtyard. The Ryuzen Seven gathered to watch. Asta was cheering. "GO MASTER SAITAMA! USE THE KI!"
Saitama grabbed the hilt. He planted his feet.
Ichika drew her blade. She focused. Her dark ki swirled into a razor-sharp aura. "Dark Yojutsu: Black Star Slash!"
She charged.
Saitama pulled the sword.
SWISH.
He didn't swing it at her.
He swung it at the air above her.
"Serious Sword Play: Serious Fan."
He swung the broad side of the blade like a giant hand-fan.
FWOOOM.
The wind pressure generated by the flat side of the sword hit Ichika.
It wasn't a cut. It was a wall of wind moving at Mach 100.
It blew her attack away.
It blew her footing away.
It blew the koi pond water out of the pond.
It stripped the leaves off the bonsai trees in the entire garden.
Ichika went tumbling backward, rolling across the grass like a tumbleweed, finally pinned against the courtyard wall by the sheer force of the gale.
The sword was still in one piece (barely).
Saitama lowered the blade.
"I didn't cut you," Saitama said. "But you needed to cool off."
Ichika slid down the wall, hair wildly messed up, dizzy.
"What..." she gasped. "That wasn't... swordsmanship... that was... wind disaster..."
Ryuya clapped politely.
"Impressive. You use the sword to move the air. An inefficient, yet terrifying technique."
Genos stepped onto the porch. "Master! Sensors detecting seismic activity! Scale: 9.0!"
The ground lurched. The tea cups rattled.
In the distance, over the ocean, the sky turned black.
Five massive heads—Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Void—rose from the sea. They roared. The sound shattered windows in the capital.
The Goshoryu was here.
Saitama looked at the horizon.
"Okay," Saitama tied his cape tighter. "That looks bigger than the Elder Centipede."
"Genos," Saitama called.
"Yes, Master!"
"Is the dragon edible?"
"Checking database... Reptilian meat is high in protein. Though 5 heads suggest mixed flavor profiles."
"Let's go fishing."