"He's reached his limit." Setsuna looked up at the sky. With his soul power, he could clearly see the battle taking place in space.
In his opinion, it wasn't that Saitama's potential had reached its limit, but rather his 'heart' had.
Throughout the battle so far, the pure excitement that had initially shone in Saitama's eyes was gradually fading.
What replaced it was a sense of habit.
He was getting used to No.17's attack patterns, used to the feeling of fighting in a vacuum, used to his own continuously increasing strength.
And 'habit' was a fatal poison for someone like Saitama, who had broken his limiter.
Because his growth didn't require adaptation, it required transcendence.
With the intensity of Saitama's training regimen, simply persevering wouldn't have made him that strong.
But for the early Saitama, that training intensity was a nearly impossible task.
It was precisely by constantly surpassing himself through such extreme training that he had truly broken his limiter.
In space, No.17's figure suddenly accelerated.
"Let's stop here."
He instantly appeared beside Saitama, fingers of his right hand together, chopping Saitama's nape.
An irresistible force sent Saitama plummeting down, caught by Earth's gravity.
…
In Z-City, in front of Saitama's apartment building.
Boom!
Saitama crashed into the ground like a meteor, kicking up a cloud of dust tens of meters high.
But he quickly got up, dusting himself off. Aside from some scorch marks on his clothes, he was unharmed.
"Ah... flying feels great..." He scratched his head, a look of lingering excitement on his face.
Setsuna flew down from the sky, a disappointed sigh escaping him. "It seems you've become somewhat complacent after becoming a 'Hero', wasting your energy on trivial things like games, manga, and supermarket discounts."
Setsuna's tone shifted. "However, I can't really blame you. On this weak little planet, the loneliness of finding no worthy opponents can indeed make one lose their goal for growth."
"When every punch you throw can defeat your enemy, getting stronger loses its meaning."
"Since that's the case, let me set a goal for you. You have one year to grow to a level that satisfies me."
"If you fail..." A villainous smirk spread across Setsuna's face. "I will destroy this planet!"
"What?"
"You must be joking!"
Fubuki and Genos cried out simultaneously.
"Who are you people?" Genos stepped forward, the cannons in his palms glowing with intense heat, his voice filled with fury. "What right do you have to talk about destroying our world?"
"Right?" Setsuna glanced at him, his gaze as calm as if looking at an ant. "I'm sorry you have to witness this cruel side of the universe, but this is the truth of the cosmos."
"Survival of the fittest. The strong can decide everything, including the lives of the weak, even the existence of planets."
Genos trembled with rage, but couldn't utter a word.
He saw no hint of a joke, no intimidation in the other's eyes, only the calmness of stating a fact.
As if destroying a planet was like crushing an ant's nest for him.
"Survival of the fittest?" Genos gritted his teeth. "Against those stronger than you, are you also willing to be the prey?"
No.18 chuckled, "At least in this universe, we are invincible. Setsuna-sama is the Emperor of the Universe!"
"Emperor of the Universe!" Fubuki and Genos were inwardly shocked.
'These people's backgrounds were this grand? The Emperor of the Universe!'
"What counts as satisfying you?" Saitama's voice rang out.
He looked up at Setsuna, his usual laziness gone from his eyes, replaced by seriousness.
"At the very least..." Setsuna turned sideways and pointed to No.17, who had returned to his spot behind him. "You need to be able to defeat this subordinate of mine."
"To help you understand the gap between us," No.17 stepped forward, speaking in a flat tone. "Let me give you a simple explanation."
"Your current combat power is 12.73 million. Mine is... 500 million!"
"..."
Silence filled the scene.
Fubuki and Genos's minds had completely crashed.
'Ten million versus five hundred million. Was the gap between Saitama and the enemy really that vast?'
'How could such a gap be closed within a year?'
Setsuna didn't think his demand was too unreasonable. Frieza had only used four months to develop the Golden Frieza Form, with combat power comparable to Super Saiyan Blue.
If he didn't push things a bit, how else could he suppress the other genes in the embryo?
After hearing No.17's explanation, Fubuki couldn't help but ask, "What's my combat power?"
No.17 glanced at her, a slight smirk curling his lips. "Barely 100."
Fubuki's eyes widened, as if she had turned to stone.
She had thought the gap between Saitama and his opponent was immense, but she hadn't realized the gap between herself and Saitama was even more absurd.
'What right did that baldy have to be a hundred thousand times stronger than me?'
"Is that possible? Did you make a mistake? Like, you forgot to add 'thousand'?"
"It's one hundred. No thousand," No.18 said with a soft laugh. "In the universe, a combat power of ten thousand can destroy a planet. Do you think you can do that?"
Fubuki's heart sank, 'These aliens could destroy planets at will. They were truly terrifying.'
Setsuna flew back into the sky. "Let's go. It's time to give this world a little shock."
...
Fubuki didn't know how she had left the ruins, how she had returned to the Hero Association's Headquarters.
The images she had seen today replayed constantly in her mind.
The afterimages of Saitama and the youth calling himself No.17 locked in fierce combat.
No.17 casually mentioning a combat power of 500 million. The cold gaze of their leader as he calmly declared Earth's destruction in a year.
And that statement that had plunged her into the abyss: "Barely 100 combat power."
100... 10 million... 500 million...
These numbers spiraled wildly in her mind, like a noose, choking her.
"Fubuki." A familiar, haughty voice interrupted her thoughts.
Fubuki mechanically looked up to see her sister, Tatsumaki, floating in mid-air, her green curls moving without any wind.
"Are you out recruiting those B-Class Heroes again?" Tatsumaki crossed her arms, her tone filled with disdain. "How many times have I told you? Only weaklings like to form groups! That so-called [B-Class Association] of yours is meaningless!"
Normally, Fubuki would have immediately retorted, emphasizing the power of unity, stubbornly sticking to her beliefs.
But today, she opened her mouth, but her throat felt blocked, unable to utter a single word.
She thought of the shockwaves from the battle between No.17 and Saitama.
Just the shockwaves alone had completely cracked the ground for kilometers around, shaking the very atmosphere.
If such beings truly wanted to destroy Earth, what could all the Heroes in the world do even if they united?