"More than anyone, I understand that I can't accomplish anything significant as a C-Class hero."
"More than anyone, I understand how weak I am."
"I can't beat you."
Mumen Rider raised his head and looked toward the Deep Sea King's massive body not far away.
"What are you muttering about?"
The Deep Sea King chuckled disdainfully.
At that moment, the anime's background music suddenly changed tempo.
"This isn't about whether I can win. It's about the fact that I must stand in front of you!"
Mumen Rider roared.
"Die!"
The Deep Sea King laughed.
Amid the surging, emotional background music, the ordinary civilians Mumen Rider was trying to protect began cheering for him.
Mumen Rider let out a roar and charged straight at the Deep Sea King.
Jun was completely swept up by the emotion of the scene.
He was deeply moved.
Although he felt that Mumen Rider was foolish, there was a fundamental difference between someone who doesn't realize they are foolish and someone who understands it fully, yet still clings to their conviction.
It wasn't that Mumen Rider didn't know he couldn't defeat the Deep Sea King.
Rather, it was his pride as a hero and his character that prevented him from abandoning the civilians and running away.
The background music swelled to its peak, and Jun found himself shouting internally.
"Charge, Mumen Rider!"
Then came the next shot.
Like a human swatting a fly, the Deep Sea King casually slapped the charging Mumen Rider, sending him flying more than ten meters away.
Just as Mumen Rider was about to crash into the hard ground, a yellow figure caught him.
"Well done. That was a magnificent fight."
Saitama smiled gently at the man he had only met once before.
At that moment, Jun genuinely felt a lump rise in his throat.
Saitama, you finally arrived.
What followed was familiar, just like every other Monster Saitama had defeated before.
The Deep Sea King initially underestimated the bald man in the yellow cape. But after a single exchange, he immediately sensed something was wrong. Even so, he remained arrogantly confident.
He rambled on about racial superiority, claiming the Deep Sea Clan was far above humans. Saitama's ears rang from the noise, and finally, unable to tolerate it any longer, he threw a casual punch.
This Demon-level threat, who had rampaged through three cities and defeated countless heroes, was instantly blown into a spray of flesh by Saitama.
If the episode had ended there, viewers would have simply been moved by the existence of a character like Mumen Rider, someone who placed ideals above his own life.
And that would have been all.
They would have sighed, felt touched, and moved on.
But what followed changed everything.
With S-Class heroes Genos and Puri-Puri Prisoner defeated, and A-Class heroes Stinger and Lightning Max also taken down, a bald, caped man ranked C-Class No. 2 defeated the Deep Sea King with a single punch.
Even the civilians Saitama had just saved began to change their tune.
"The Deep Sea King was taken down by a C-Class hero with one punch? How useless were those heroes who fell earlier?"
"A-Class and S-Class are just empty titles."
"But they risked their lives to protect us…"
"Who doesn't risk their life? If you can't defeat a Monster, what kind of hero are you?"
Jun felt a surge of anger when he saw this.
Whether in anime or in reality, this kind of casual belittling of others' sacrifices always disgusted him.
Saitama also sensed the public's growing distrust toward heroes through the murmurs of the crowd.
And so, Saitama chose to discredit himself.
He deliberately guided the crowd into believing that his victory over the Deep Sea King was only possible because the previously defeated heroes had already exhausted the monster's stamina.
The episode ended by briefly showing Saitama's promotion to B-Class hero, as well as Mumen Rider later visiting Saitama and inviting him out to eat once his injuries had slightly healed.
The final scene showed the two men sitting side by side in a small restaurant, both wearing gentle smiles.
Nothing was explained outright.
Yet Jun understood perfectly.
In this episode, Shirogane-sensei used the story to openly mock those who only dare to act as keyboard warriors online.
More importantly, the emotions this episode stirred in Jun were completely different from anything One-Punch Man had evoked before.
Previously, One-Punch Man had been primarily a comedy.
But this episode brought tears to his eyes, leaving a lingering emotional weight in his heart.
After the ending song played, a large number of anime fans flooded the official website forum.
"So good, this episode."
"Mumen Rider really moved me!"
"A true warrior is someone who not only dares to face terrifying enemies, but also dares to face their own weakness."
"The portrayal of C-Class No. 1, Mumen Rider, was incredible! It only took one episode for him to leave a lasting impression!"
"It has to be Saitama! That punch went straight to the soul. The Deep Sea King didn't just lose, he was completely erased."
"I thought this was just a comedy-action anime, but the Deep Sea King arc genuinely touched me."
"Keep it up, Shirogane-sensei! Only nine episodes have aired so far. The final three have to be even better than the Deep Sea King arc, right?"
"Vote, vote! Everyone go vote for Shirogane-sensei and One-Punch Man!"
"The ending of this episode was truly brilliant. Saitama willingly took the blame, letting the public shift their anger over the fallen heroes onto himself. He doesn't care how others judge him anyway."
"The irony is overwhelming. They fought with everything they had to protect people, yet once the danger passed, those same people behaved worse than beasts."
"This is real life. Online keyboard warriors everywhere, acting like geniuses behind their screens. In reality, aside from sharing Saitama's hairstyle, they have nothing in common with him."
"I loved this episode. Just based on Saitama standing up to the trolls at the end, I'll give this anime a perfect score every single week."
Late that night, the discussion sparked by the premiere of One-Punch Man Episode 9 was far more intense than in previous weeks.
In fact, even in Rei's previous life, this episode had been one of the most discussed chapters of the One-Punch Man anime.
Whether it was Saitama or Genos, it was difficult for the audience to truly relate to them. The gap between them and ordinary people was simply too large.
But Mumen Rider was different.
In just a few short minutes, most viewers could see themselves in him.
Because most viewers are ordinary people, just like Mumen Rider.
Discussion about One-Punch Man continued nonstop across the forums throughout the night.
Meanwhile, many employees at Illumination Animation Production Company, who had relatively light workloads that day, gathered in the office to wait for the viewership ratings of last night's broadcast.
At ten in the morning, the data report finally arrived.
Himari, as the company's chairperson, nervously opened the email.
One line immediately seized everyone's attention.
[One-Punch Man Episode 9: Premiere rating 4.89%, average rating 5.89%, peak rating 6.12%. Temporarily ranked as the top-rated anime of the season.]
When this almost unbelievable figure was announced that morning, the news spread rapidly throughout the entire anime industry.
How was this possible?
One-Punch Man had already become the top-rated anime of the season. How could its ratings continue rising even after reaching first place?
At this point, it felt like One-Punch Man's target was no longer Burning Sin.
Everyone began asking the same question:
Could its ratings break six percent?
...
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