"A habit?"
"Just a habit?"
The surviving Martial Artists were stunned at first, then their brains began to automatically interpret this answer.
"That world-shattering power is just a habit for him!"
"How can mortals understand the heartbeat of a god! Mr. KING is explaining it in a way we can understand!"
"Is this the realm of the strong? Even an unconscious heartbeat can be turned into a weapon to deter enemies!"
"Oh, is that so."
Saitama nodded, his clear eyes showing no doubt.
He didn't think too much; for him, a heartbeat was a heartbeat, and a habit was a habit. It sounded reasonable, so he immediately accepted the explanation.
He looked around, then his gaze fell on Suiryu, "Hey, are you still alive?"
Suiryu shuddered, struggling to sit up, but he pulled at all his wounds, grimacing in pain.
"Al… alive…" His voice was dry and hoarse.
"That's good," Saitama said, then ignored him and turned to Lin Mo.
"Since everything's fine, we'll head off and see how Genos is doing."
With that, he prepared to turn and leave.
"Wait!"
A roar, filled with desperate resolve, suddenly exploded over the ruins.
It was Suiryu.
Squeezing out the last bit of strength from somewhere, he used his still relatively intact arm to desperately prop himself up, lifting his scarred upper body.
The rubble dug into his arm, and the biting pain made him tremble, but he didn't care.
Saitama turned his head in confusion, the bright sunlight reflecting off his bald head, his expression still his usual calm: "Hmm?"
Lin Mo also stopped, a hint of interest flashing in his eyes as he looked over.
Suiryu gasped for air, blood dripping from the corners of his mouth, forming dark little pits in the dust beneath him.
He raised his head, his gaze first sweeping over the Caped Baldy's bald head, then looking towards Mr. KING, The Strongest Man on Earth, in the distance.
His eyes were filled with unprecedented confusion and a hint of longing.
"Why… are you… so strong?"
He asked the question that all the Martial Artists present wanted to ask.
"I've cultivated martial arts since I was young, considering myself exceptionally talented, and I've never slacked off."
"I thought I had already reached the pinnacle of martial arts, but today I realized that I hadn't even clearly seen the scenery at the foot of the mountain…"
His voice trembled slightly, with a hint of a sob, as he took a deep breath and continued:
"Please tell me… what do I need to do to become as strong as you? Is it… is it necessary to abandon something? Or is there some secret I don't know?"
This question made Saitama, who was about to leave, stop.
He seemed genuinely stumped by the question, tilting his head slightly, a rare glimmer of thought appearing in his dead-fish eyes.
After a few seconds, his expression became incredibly serious. Then he turned his head and slowly spoke, enunciating each word:
"Just keep training. 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats, and a 10km run every day. You have to stick with it no matter what."
"…"
The entire place fell silent once more, a deathly quiet.
Suiryu froze.
The other Martial Artists also froze.
What… what kind of answer was this?
This was basic training that any fitness beginner would know!
Let alone them, these Martial Artists; even an ordinary person who stuck with it would only become a physically strong ordinary person!
How could… how could such powerful strength be cultivated from that?!
"He… he must be joking, right?"
"This is impossible!"
"This must be some kind of code we can't understand!"
Suiryu's face also showed an incredulous expression: "Just… just that?"
"Yes, just that."
Saitama nodded very seriously, and as if to add persuasiveness, he added, "But there's a side effect, you'll go bald."
Having said that, he didn't linger, turning to leave.
A huge sense of loss instantly overwhelmed Suiryu's heart.
He understood; the other party simply disdained to tell him the real secret.
Yes, how could such a world-changing secret of power be easily told to a loser he had just met?
He felt like a clown; his desperate questioning just now was probably just a boring farce in the other party's eyes.
He lowered his head in despair.
However, just then, a calm and clear voice echoed above the ruins.
"His words are not entirely a joke."
Suiryu suddenly looked up at the man who had been standing still like a statue.
Lin Mo slowly walked over from the edge of the ruins, each step seemingly treading on everyone's heartbeats.
He came before Suiryu, looking down at him, his eyes as calm as a deep pool.
"The source of strength lies not in techniques, nor in secrets."
His voice was devoid of emotion, yet it held a power that went straight to the heart.
"But in… your heart."
"My… heart?" Suiryu murmured.
"I ask you, what do you pursue martial arts for?" Lin Mo asked.
"I…" Suiryu was momentarily speechless.
For what?
Countless answers flashed through his mind instantly.
To live as he pleased, to be surrounded by countless beauties, to be the center of attention, for the pleasure of being high above and admired… Each of these answers was incredibly real, yet incredibly cheap.
Under the gaze of this man, he couldn't bring himself to say these words.
Lin Mo seemed to see through his heart and continued:
"When the purpose of your punch is no longer for yourself, but to protect something more important than your own life, you might just touch the door that leads to true strength."
His voice paused, his gaze sweeping over all the survivors present, finally resting on Suiryu's slightly agape mouth, wide with shock.
"So-called heroes are precisely such a group of people."
After speaking, he no longer looked at Suiryu, but turned and walked in the direction Saitama had left, his steps still unhurried.
As he walked alongside Saitama, he seemed to remember something, adding without turning his head, his voice not loud, but clearly spreading throughout the entire ruins:
"Oh, and don't worry about that Monster named Gouket coming back. I've already taken care of him, so this entire area is safe."
Accompanied by these words, two figures, one in black and one with a Caped Baldy, walked side by side, gradually disappearing into the end of the ruins… Wh… what?!
Taken care of?
That was Gouket!
The invincible Monster who, by himself, toyed with all the strong Martial Artists of the entire Martial Arts Tournament!
Suiryu still clearly remembered the bone-deep sense of powerlessness and fear he felt when facing Gouket.
How could… he be so casually… taken care of?
"No… impossible…"
Suiryu mumbled distractedly, unable to connect the Gouket he remembered as unparalleled with being "taken care of like a roadside nuisance."
This was more absurd than telling him the sun rose from the west.
However, reason frantically reminded him that the person who said this was Mr. KING.
He had no reason, nor any need, to lie about such a thing.
After a long while, he finally recovered, slowly accepting this fact.
He looked at the disappearing backs of the two, at the arena that had been blasted open by a single punch, his eyes devoid of any frivolity or playfulness.
He smiled.
As he smiled, tears, against his will, streamed down.
"Protect… huh…"
"Hero…"
"So… that's how it is…"