The pen in Genos's hand dropped to the floor with a "clatter."
His golden mechanical eyes flickered violently a few times.
A complex expression, a mixture of shame, realization, and extreme admiration, quickly washed over his face.
"T-Teacher! You are absolutely right!!"
He bent down to pick up the pen almost instantly.
He began scribbling frantically in his notebook at an astonishing speed, muttering excitedly to himself:
"I was too narrow-minded!"
"I only saw the superficial disturbance, but failed to grasp the profound philosophy hidden within!"
"A hero must discern every detail where help is needed, regardless of its form!"
"Eliminating waste and helping colleagues are also vital parts of practicing justice!"
"I was wrong!"
"I must engrave this phrase, 'A hero must not sit idly by when others are in distress,' into my core behavioral protocol database!!"
Watching Genos, who had instantly entered a state of fanaticism.
And Saitama, who was visibly relieved and already casting involuntary glances at the box of beef.
Bang stroked his beard, a gleam of "mission accomplished" amusement flashing in his eyes.
He clapped his hands lightly:
"Charanko."
"Yes, Master!"
Charanko responded respectfully immediately and began deftly unpacking the cooler box.
Soon, the beautiful marble-like texture of the top-grade Wagyu beef and the rich aroma of meat filled Saitama's slightly shabby living room.
Saitama's nose twitched involuntarily, and his Adam's apple bobbed slightly.
But he still tried to maintain the last shred of "restraint" as he looked at Bang:
"Um... Mr. Bang, is this really just for a meal? Is there nothing else?"
"Of course."
Bang smiled affably.
"It's just that I haven't seen Saitama-kun in a long time, and I've missed him."
"Since I happened to have some good food, I wanted to share it with you and have a little chat."
He paused, then added as if nonchalantly:
"However... it's quite a coincidence."
"On my way here, I received an emergency communication from the Hero Association."
"It seems something extraordinary is about to happen."
"The association wants me to arrive at A-City within an hour for a meeting."
"Sigh, I'm old, and I can't quite remember the specific name of the meeting."
"It seemed to be something like... 'A threat from the universe'?"
"I didn't really want to go."
"But even King, who rarely shows his face, was urgently recalled to headquarters."
"It seems there's no reason to decline this time!"
"A threat from the universe?"
Saitama blinked, showing little interest.
"Oh, that's fine. Let's just finish eating quickly and then go to the meeting."
His attention was already completely captivated by the thick, beautiful steaks that Charanko had taken out.
As for some cosmic threat?
He could just solve it with one punch anyway.
No matter how big the threat is, can it be bigger than the threat right in front of him?
If this beef isn't prepared now, what if it spoils?!
That would be the real crisis!!!
Genos, however, instantly looked up, data streams flashing rapidly across his mechanical eyes:
"Mr. Bang, are you saying that the Hero Association has issued a top-level summons?"
"Even that King..."
He immediately realized that this might truly be an event that could affect the survival of the Earth.
But...
He glanced at Saitama-sensei, who had already stood up and was impatiently helping to set the table.
Teacher... he doesn't seem to care?
No, Teacher must be confident, believing that this so-called "cosmic threat" is not worth mentioning at all!
As expected of Teacher!
Y-City, a classroom for a top-tier gifted children's tutoring program.
"In summary, the key to the third proof method of the Cauchy conjecture lies in constructing a non-linear functional space mapping..."
An old professor wearing thick glasses was writing dense symbols all over the blackboard, lecturing with great passion.
Below the podium, a boy who looked to be about ten years old, wearing a small suit and carrying a turtle backpack.
Was resting his chin on his left hand, while his right fingers were operating a micro-handheld computer under the desk at a speed invisible to the naked eye.
On the screen, it was divided into a dozen small windows—
Internal emergency notices from the Hero Association, global anomalous energy fluctuation maps, real-time monitoring footage of the A-City headquarters, and his own remote self-diagnostic program for his mechanical equipment.
"Cosmic threat..."
"Shibabawa's prophecy..."
"The Association's major move, far exceeding any records..."
On Child Emperor's cute, doll-like face, his brows furrowed slightly as he chewed on a lollipop.
"Even King has been called back... It seems this isn't just some minor incident."
He glanced at the spittle-flying old professor on the podium, then looked at the Association summons marked "Highest Priority" on his screen.
"Sigh, what a hassle. I actually really wanted to listen to this lesson on 'Applications of Higher-Order Spacetime Geometry in Multiverse Models'..."
Child Emperor muttered to himself, but his movements were exceptionally nimble.
He silently pulled a small spray can from the side pocket of his turtle backpack and sprayed his seat area a few times.
Colorless and odorless gas diffused, forming an extremely realistic optical illusion—
A "Child Emperor" was still sitting there, even nodding "earnestly" from time to time as the professor lectured.
Meanwhile, the real Child Emperor had already slipped out the back door of the classroom like a nimble cat.
In the hallway, he pressed a button on his watch.
"Click-clack—"
The turtle backpack he was carrying instantly transformed and unfolded, and several micro-thrusters spewed out deep blue flames, hovering behind him.
"The'school-use' turtle-speed mode is too slow..."
"Activating 'homework-rush' rabbit mode."
Child Emperor licked his lollipop, his eyes becoming serious.
"Target, A-City Hero Association headquarters."
"I hope I can make it... preferably before I finish my lollipop."
As soon as he finished speaking, the backpack's thrusters flared brightly.
"Whoosh—!!"
A blue streak of light crashed through the window at the end of the hallway, shot into the sky, and instantly vanished into the Y-City skyline.
Leaving behind only shattered glass and the phantom in the classroom that was still "listening attentively to the lecture."
S-City, backstage at the Civic Culture Center Grand Theater.
"Big Brother! Do you think my makeup looks good? Is my hairstyle messy?"
A little girl, about eight or nine years old, wearing a cute ballet dress.
Was nervously tugging at the hem of a tall teenager wearing a black special-ops uniform and carrying a Metal Bat.
Metal Bat's fierce face, which usually screamed "I'm the best in the world," was currently contorted into a "gentle" smile.
He crouched down and, with gentle movements completely at odds with his appearance, carefully adjusted the ribbon in his sister's hair.
"It looks good! It looks really good! My little sister is the prettiest in the whole world!"
"Don't be nervous when you go on stage later, Big Brother will be watching you from the first row!"
"Dance well!"
He ruffled his sister's hair, his eyes full of doting affection.
Just then, the Association-made communicator clipped to his waist emitted a harsh buzzing sound and flashed red light.
Metal Bat's expression changed, and he quickly pulled out the communicator to take a look.
"S-Class emergency summons... A-City headquarters..."
"Possibly involving an Earth-extinction level threat... Arrive within the time limit..."
His face instantly turned dark.
"What the hell is this?!"
He cursed under his breath and instinctively wanted to crush the communicator.
But seeing the bright red "All S-Class" text on the screen, along with the note "King confirmed to attend," his fingers gripping the communicator paused.
Metal Bat turned his head and looked at his sister's large eyes, filled with anticipation and a little bit of anxiety, and his heart felt like it was being fiercely tugged.
It was his sister's first formal stage performance in her life...
He had promised to cheer for her the loudest from the audience...
He ruffled his hair in frustration and paced back and forth, his Metal Bat clanking "bang-bang" against the floor, drawing stares from passersby.
On one side was an important moment in his precious sister's life.
On the other was the "survival of the Earth," which sounded very serious.
"Big Brother, what's wrong? You look terrible."
The little girl asked worriedly.
"N-nothing!"
Metal Bat snapped back to reality and forced an even bigger smile:
"It's just some trivial matter at the Association, it'll be quick! Big Brother promises to be back before you go on stage!"
He stood up, gave a few quick instructions to the accompanying theater teacher, took one last deep look at his sister, and turned to stride out of the backstage area.
As soon as he stepped out of the theater, the "gentleness" on his face was instantly replaced by frustration and rage.
"Ahhhhhhh!!!"
Metal Bat roared at the sky, scaring several passing citizens so badly they almost fell over.
"F*** it!!! Why does it have to be now!"
He cursed while taking out his phone and quickly booked a ticket on the fastest supersonic flight to A-City.
"Those bastards at the Association... if they dare to lie to me and make me miss my sister's performance..."
He gripped his Metal Bat tightly, his knuckles cracking, his eyes fierce:
"I'll smash the headquarters building, along with that big-nosed Sitch, into scum!"
Carrying sky-high resentment, Metal Bat sprinted toward the airport.
Elsewhere around the world.
Flashy Flash, who was training in the forest, suddenly stopped his movements, looked at his communicator, and curled his lip:
"Cosmic crisis? But it might let me have some fun."
His figure vanished like a literal flash of light.
In Drive Knight's mechanical base, countless indicator lights lit up, and a cold synthesized voice muttered to itself:
"Data received from the Hero Association!"
"Threat assessment: Extremely high!"
"Initiating highest combat readiness protocol."
Drive Knight's base began to transform, ascended, and flew toward A-City.
Watchdog Man remained quietly crouching on a high platform in the center of Q-City, like a giant stuffed toy.
But after receiving the message, he silently stood up, shook his fur, and, in a rare move, left his "territory" and strolled slowly toward the station.
Superalloy Darkshine, in the gym, looked at the "Cosmic Threat" text on his communicator, rubbed his shining bald head, and revealed a confident smile:
"No matter where it comes from, my muscles will crush it!"
He changed into his combat-specific tighty-whities.
Zombieman raised his head from a pile of training equipment, his dead-fish eyes showing no emotion: "I have an immortal body anyway, so I might as well test the lethality of a cosmic level."
He leisurely checked his portable arsenal.
All Might and his Tanktop Army all put down their training and community service, their spirits high:
"The time to show the power of the tanktop has come! Follow the Master, protect the Earth!"
The S-Class Heroes scattered across the planet, no matter how eccentric their personalities or how different their styles.
Were all, at this moment, because of this top-level summons and the heavy news that "King has set off," heading toward the same location—
Gathering at the A-City Hero Association headquarters.
The storm is brewing.
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