September arrived.
The true highlight of One-Punch Man had never been Saitama himself.
It was always the stories of the supporting characters before Saitama stepped onto the stage.
The struggle against overwhelming odds. The humanity that erupted in moments of despair.
Once Saitama appeared, there was no longer any suspense.
After King "used" the Ultimate Purgatory Hellfire Burst Wave Motion Cannon, the story inevitably flowed toward the decisive battle between Saitama and Garou, who had evolved beyond Dragon-level.
That segment carried tension in Murata's version of the manga, but in ONE's original work, even Boros had given Saitama a harder fight.
Brief as it might be, that was the core of the series.
One punch.
That was the theme.
Still, Murata's version wasn't without value.
His original additions to the protagonist's storyline might feel strange, but his side characters, his monsters, were often striking, oppressive, and unforgettable.
Rei had no intention of deleting them entirely.
So when figures like Elder Centipede and Evil Natural Sea appeared in the premiere of Season Four, Episode Eight, they immediately ignited heated discussion among fans.
Rei had pushed the fourth season's production budget to its absolute limit.
Despite the sheer number of battle scenes that followed, there was no cutting corners. The visual expressiveness of the animation fully matched Murata's manga.
And finally, after the broadcast of Episode Ten of Season Four, One-Punch Man's viewership rating crossed the 7% threshold for the first time.
7.02%.
The next day, Capital TV Station formally invited Rei to appear as a special guest on a variety show to celebrate the record-breaking achievement.
As Season Four neared its conclusion, both ratings and popularity continued to climb.
Naturally, broadcasters, merchandise distributors, and partners across the entire industry chain approached Rei through every possible channel, asking the same question: When would Season Five begin?
After all, while Rei owned the copyright, everyone else involved was benefiting immensely. They hoped the series would continue, longer, bigger, stronger.
Rei's answer never changed.
"We'll talk about it when inspiration strikes."
After the Monster Association Arc in the original manga, the series entered a slow-update phase. Though there was still plenty of content, its intensity no longer matched that arc.
For now, Rei planned to adapt those stories only as OVAs.
And so, on September 7th, in a dimly lit screening room, Rei, Himari, and Illumination Production's middle and senior management watched the edited version of the final episode of Season Four.
When the lights came back on, many eyes were red.
For eleven episodes, One-Punch Man had been a series filled with passion, combat, and laughter.
Only in the final episode did everything change.
Garou was defeated effortlessly by Saitama. His monster mask shattered.
He lay on the ground, unable even to stand.
Sweet Mask and Child Emperor, still conscious despite their injuries, dragged their battered bodies forward, intent on killing him.
Then, the small boy Garou had saved twice, the child everyone called Snotty Brat, ran forward crying.
He clutched Sweet Mask's leg, begging him to stop.
He shouted that Garou should run.
He declared that Garou was a Hero, the one who had saved him.
In that instant, the anime transcended its genre.
It ceased to be a hot-blooded action series.
It became something quietly devastating.
Although Garou's earlier development had been long and, at times, redundant, his character arc was completed in that final episode.
He had come to believe that concepts like justice, peace, and Truth, Goodness, and Beauty could never truly bring equality to humanity.
When people prospered and faced no existential threats, evil thoughts inevitably emerged, oppression, division, internal conflict.
So Garou chose to become absolute evil.
The strongest monster.
A fear the world could never overcome.
As long as humanity shared a single, invincible enemy, they wouldn't waste their energy destroying each other.
That was his dream.
And it was shattered effortlessly by Saitama.
How could a man who became a monster out of interest ever defeat a man who became a hero out of interest?
Yet even so, in the entire human world, there was still one person who believed Garou was a hero.
The small boy he had saved.
"That's incredible… Shirogane-sensei,"
Himari said, blowing her nose into a tissue.
"This is the story you created…"
She had read the script long ago.
But now, with the animation complete, with the visuals, the music, and the overwhelming emotional weight of the voice acting, she couldn't help but be moved all over again.
"This is a work we created together."
Rei stared at the ending credits of the twelfth episode of One-Punch Man, which were still slowly rolling across the screen. His expression was complicated.
He had never seen this portion of the story animated in his previous life.
At this moment, his heart was deeply stirred.
The reason he had chosen to pause the One-Punch Man anime after this arc was simple: beyond this point, there was no storyline that could move people quite the same way.
"All right," Rei said at last, turning around. He gave a small bow to the employees gathered behind him.
"Thank you all for your hard work over the past year and a half."
"The fourth season of One-Punch Man concludes perfectly," he continued.
"This is an anime that will never disgrace anyone's professional career."
He paused briefly, then added,
"There are no issues with this final edit. This version will be submitted to TV Station for broadcast."
The moment his words fell, thunderous cheers erupted throughout the room.
Once Rei made a decision, it was effectively final.
Unlike other volatile investors, he almost never went back on his word.
Which meant, this long journey, spanning more than a year and a half of production and broadcast, had finally come to a temporary end.
"I'm taking a day off tomorrow," someone said with a laugh. "I haven't taken my daughter out to play in over a year."
"Same here. My wife's been complaining nonstop," another chimed in. "But if I took even one day off during production, everything would get delayed, sometimes by two or three days…"
"But it's finally over."
"The best-performing anime I've ever worked on."
"Honestly, it was exhausting, but I'm happy. This feels completely different from churning out trashy fan-service isekai. This is the kind of work I dreamed of making back when I studied animation in college."
Listening to the scattered conversations around him, Rei took a deep breath.
Then he turned to the woman beside him.
"Thank you, Chairman Himari," he said sincerely. "I've troubled you a lot over the past year."
"I'm the one who should be thanking you," Himari replied with a laugh.
"If you hadn't brought me the One-Punch Man script back then, this company might have gone bankrupt already. How else could we be recognized now as one of Japan's well-known animation studios?"
Rei smiled faintly.
"Give everyone a proper vacation first," he said. Then he paused.
"But after that…"
He looked at her seriously.
"I'll need to trouble you again. We need to staff up quickly for Arcane."
Himari's heart tightened.
She knew it without a doubt, the conclusion of One-Punch Man Season Four would receive overwhelming praise.
But what came next would be even more demanding.
Arcane was set to premiere in just over three months.
The expectations would be far higher. The scrutiny far harsher.
On the path toward perfection, no amount of manpower ever felt sufficient.
"Naturally," Himari replied, her voice low but steady.