Qingshui waved his hand at Geno, signaling him to stand up and speak.
However, Geno seemed to misunderstand, and with a thud, he dropped to his knees from his chair.
"So eager to pledge your loyalty to me? I haven't even agreed yet."
Qingshui looked down at Geno, who was kneeling on the ground, a sharp glint in his eyes.
Such intelligence, such courage, able to bend and stretch, and even capable of creating powerful Monsters!
He couldn't trust someone like that.
So, he had to...
"No, no, that's not it. My legs just went weak, I couldn't stand up, and I accidentally fell."
Geno said with an embarrassed expression.
Qingshui's outstretched hand paused slightly.
His Transparent World swept over Geno's legs, confirming that his muscles were indeed spasming and weak, having been scared stiff.
Qingshui was silent for two seconds, then still reached out his hand to Geno's shoulder.
Intricate Sealing Jutsu runes flowed from Qingshui's palm, covering Geno's entire body, then wriggled like worms into his mouth, nose, and other orifices, entering his body and attaching themselves to Geno's heart.
Geno's body stiffened abruptly. He quickly realized that his life and death were now controlled by another.
And even his body, at this very moment, was immobilized by the Sealing Jutsu.
At the same time, Qingshui took out a metal needle, many times thinner than a strand of hair, from his Devouring Pouch.
This was no ordinary metal needle; it was a metal needle synthesized from Magic Tool Transformation nanometal particles!
It could bend and curve, and be manipulated freely, far more effectively than the Chakra metal needle Chiyo once used.
Geno's body was rigid, his eyes wide, focused on the tip of the fine needle, which was invisible unless one looked closely. It was moving little by little towards the center of his brow, then pierced into it.
It didn't hurt, but something seemed to have happened. Geno didn't know what kind of change had occurred in his brain.
But in his heart, his feelings for Qingshui were changing.
The Mind Control Sand Technique.
In the original timeline, Sasori used this Ninjutsu to control Yura, a high-ranking official of the Sand Village, to open the Sand Village's defensive gateway, the First Line Gorge. This allowed him and Deidara to easily infiltrate and capture Gaara, the Fifth Kazekage.
And now, Qingshui's mastery in Ninjutsu, as well as in the fields of mind and memory, had long surpassed Second Kazekage Shamon, who originally invented this Ninjutsu.
While Shamon was indeed an exceptionally talented ninja, who invented countless Ninjutsu and created the Puppet Master profession, which shone brightly on the battlefields of the Great Ninja War, Qingshui's main body had now just crossed the threshold of the Six Paths Level.
The same Ninjutsu, when wielded by different people, can have vastly different effects and uses.
The original Mind Control Sand Technique involved a minuscule needle passing through the memory center in the target's brain, thereby sealing their memories. Once the jutsu was released, the target's memories would be restored.
Generally, this jutsu was used on loyal subordinates or individuals with significant weaknesses, sealing a portion of their memories to deploy them as spies within enemy ranks. Unless the needle within the brain could be directly seen, it was virtually flawless.
Alternatively, like Chiyo did back then, one could use the Mind Control Heart Technique, derived from this Ninjutsu, to violently extract memories directly.
Qingshui naturally wouldn't do that.
With his current abilities, dealing with Geno—who had no Chakra, no other special abilities, a mental fortitude that was only relatively tough among ordinary people, and no intention of resisting—he could easily view Geno's memories without harming him. He could also control the nanometal needle to repeatedly pass through his memory center, sealing any memory fragments Qingshui wished to seal.
Yes, Geno's mental fortitude was indeed among the toughest of ordinary people.
To be able to sit alone in a remote mountain forest, diligently researching for twenty or thirty years, and creating scientific achievements, was already remarkable.
Furthermore, with the body of an ordinary person, in the face of a powerful being like himself who had just slain a Dragon-level Monster, Geno remained calm, demonstrated his value, and earned a chance to continue living.
These qualities couldn't be achieved merely by being intelligent or fearing death; his character was already exceptional among ordinary people.
Qingshui didn't intentionally seal any specific memory of Geno's; it wouldn't have been very useful. Geno wasn't his loyal subordinate to begin with. If all his memories were sealed, making him a blank slate, then all the knowledge and research experience he had accumulated over seventy years of his life would also be sealed.
He merely used his powerful mental energy to quickly scan through Geno's memories, then stopped.
With this needle in place, he could access Geno's newly formed memories at any time, ensuring that even if Geno harbored rebellious thoughts, he wouldn't have time to make arrangements or play tricks.
Qingshui could detonate the needle at any moment, and also control Geno's actions and detonate his heart through the seal attached to it.
From memory to body, from brain to heart, Geno was completely and utterly under his control.
Only then could Qingshui feel at ease using him.
"Let's go, the Association people will be here soon."
Qingshui reached out and opened a Teleportation Halo leading to his home, speaking to Geno.
The latter felt his body regain its ability to move, and hearing Qingshui's words, he let out a shallow sigh of relief.
He had gambled correctly; he was alive!
Qingshui watched Geno walk into the Teleportation Halo, then casually made a hand sign with his left hand, splitting off a Shadow Clone to deal with the arriving Association field agents. He then followed into the Teleportation Halo himself.
Next, he needed to arrange things for Geno.
This top biologist from the One-Punch Man world had a rather shady past.
Due to his overly radical academic ideas and experiments that crossed ethical boundaries, he had long been expelled from major scientific organizations. Furthermore, Geno had continuously created Monsters and used them to capture live humans for experiments, even allowing Monsters like Mosquito Girl to commit widespread slaughter.
Such evil deeds had long been deemed unacceptable by the secular world.
Compared to him, Sonic, an A-Class wanted criminal who works as a killer and bodyguard for corrupt rich people, seems like a pure, innocent angel.
So, he had to fabricate a legal identity for Geno, and give him a new face, before he could legitimately arrange for him to join his company and contribute his talents.
This wasn't a major problem for Qingshui now; it would just take a little time.
Although Geno's strongest creation before this was merely a high Dragon-level Asura Rhino Beetle, and one with serious flaws that couldn't be stably controlled—which was a bit underwhelming for Qingshui, who was already on par with the Asura Rhino Beetle in his normal state and could fight a peak Dragon-level with his Scorching Core activated—
He believed that Geno, in order to survive, would actively and desperately work to prove his worth.
A day later.
Geno, who had been surgically altered to resemble a mature, steady middle-aged man, successfully joined an enterprise under Qingshui's command and established a technology subsidiary, becoming its president.
And Saitama, at this time, also came to visit.
More accurately, he came to visit with Genos.
"Saitama, Genos? How do you two know each other?"
Qingshui brought over a cup of motor oil and two cups of cola, asking Saitama and Genos curiously.
He had dealt with Mosquito Girl himself, but he didn't expect these two to meet again.
Genos automatically took the motor oil and began, "It's like this. The story begins when Senior Qingshui, you helped me find clues about the enemy last time. I followed the information all the way to Z-City..."
"Let me tell it."
Saitama covered Genos's mouth.
Genos could be a super chatterbox at times; once he started talking, it was like a machine gun, non-stop, comparable to Tang Monk.
"Genos, let me tell it. Basically, Genos went to Z-City to investigate an evil robot organization and was almost killed by a Monster. I happened to see it, killed the Monster, and saved him. After that, Genos kept pestering me to become his master.
He even followed me to my home in Z-City, which led to those robots chasing after me too. It seems they also want to capture me."
Saitama said helplessly, his eyes like dead fish.
It seemed this cyborg organization had taken the place of the House of Evolution.
It looked like a coincidence, but it made sense.
When Qingshui investigated before, he found that many cities had branches of that organization, and Z-City was right next to City D, the closest one. Genos would definitely go there to investigate first.
And once a conflict broke out in Z-City, with two beings, each at least Demon-level in power, fighting, how could Saitama not be drawn to it?
The fated encounter between master and disciple thus happened again, even after Qingshui's influence.
"So... you wiped out that organization?"
Qingshui asked, taking a sip of soda.
Genos took over, saying, "At least we severely crippled them. Teacher Saitama and I traced them all the way to G-City. Even if that place isn't their headquarters, it must be an important base, because Teacher Saitama destroyed a large number of robots there. However, they definitely have other members, so I need to continue the investigation and also train with Teacher to become stronger. Only then will I have the possibility of defeating them and getting my revenge!"
"Uh... that's pretty much it."
Saitama scratched his bald head.
Of course, this was also because Genos helped him with grocery shopping during supermarket sales, helped with chores, and the food made by his robot program tasted better than his own.
After spending a few days together, Saitama also felt that Genos was a genuinely good person, and their personalities clicked. Having a disciple in his life hadn't gone in a bad direction, so he naturally accepted it.
He just thought of him as a roommate who helped with chores. It was just that Saitama couldn't figure out what he could possibly teach Genos.
He truly became strong by doing a hundred push-ups, a hundred sit-ups, a hundred squats, and a ten-kilometer run every day.
But unfortunately, no one, including Genos, believed him.
Yet, if it wasn't for that, Saitama couldn't explain how he became strong, nor could he teach it.
"So, why are you two here today?"
Qingshui took another sip of cola.
Genos straightened his posture and said loudly, "Of course, it's to express our gratitude to you! I heard from Dr. Kuseno about you sharing your technologies with each other. Just yesterday, the doctor also used the newly acquired technology to implement partial upgrades for me.
Teacher is also very grateful for the supermarket sale guide and the association exam materials you provided!"
Association exam materials...
Right, he had been worried that Saitama hadn't joined the Hero Association, and if the association ran into trouble in the future, it would be inconvenient to pull him in to help. So, he used the hero association's salary to entice Saitama to join and even gave him exam materials.
"So, your final exam scores were..."
"Genos, don't say it. It's too embarrassing."
Saitama covered his face awkwardly.
"It's fine, I've already found the information on the association's official website. I can even use my S-Class Hero privileges to directly view your exam scores and test paper images."
Qingshui snapped his fingers, and the table in front of him, covered with drinks, immediately lit up with a holographic projection.
Genos's exam score was still 100 points.
However, because the House of Evolution's combat record didn't involve him this time, Genos wasn't directly promoted to S-Class.
But due to his previous experiences in dismantling evil organizations, and his record of fighting and even defeating weaker Demon-level Monsters, the Hero Association directly promoted him to A-Class Rank 2.
Moving forward, whether he can reach S-Class depends on whether Genos can pass Sweet Mask's approval, or achieve a combat record against Dragon-level Monsters, thus meeting Sweet Mask's requirements for S-Class promotion.
As for Saitama...
"79 points, not bad. Just one point shy of 80."
It seems the test-taking tips he gave were somewhat effective.
Although, judging by the exam paper, Saitama probably didn't study it seriously. He only looked at a few superficial techniques and didn't bother memorizing any actual knowledge points.
For instance, on one question, it asked what you should do if you encounter a powerful Dragon-level Monster, you're the only hero present, and there are civilians who need protection.
Saitama's answer was to punch it to death.
The examiner then gave Saitama one point for this ten-point question—he didn't get zero because Saitama didn't write something irresponsible like "run away."
Genos, who got full marks, on the other hand, systematically outlined a battle plan: first observe the Monster's abilities, then weigh whether he has the capability to resolve the situation.
If not, he should try to use the environment to his advantage to entangle the Monster, probe for weaknesses, gather intelligence, and try his best to stall until reinforcements arrive.
"C-Class Rank 305, well..."
"Stop! Don't say any more, it's so embarrassing! And please, don't tell anyone! I knew I should have read all the materials you gave me. I'm sorry, I was wrong!"
Saitama said, hanging his head and bumping it against the desk.
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