Chapter 10 is up! Sadly, this is more of a filler chapter than the others, so for those of you who expected Frieza to arrive, sorry to let you down, but I don't want to just jump in like that. I need to set the mood, so until then, no S-class heroes vs. Frieza Force fights. Sorry. But anyway, hope that you enjoy the chapter!

A lustrous light.

That was the first and only thing Nappa could distinguish from the dim, obsidian colored room he was placed in. Attempting to rub his eyes, he was met with an overwhelming jolt of pain tingling all over his body. With his neck being the only part of his body that wasn't burdened with unbearable pain, he turned to see just exactly where he was. On his left, a pair of bunk beds laid on top of each other, both covered with two very thin layers of sheets and a pillow. He attempted to get up from the floor, but the paralyzing jolt of pain prevented him from even doing something as simple as that. How did he become so gravely injured? What happened to him?

"Wait a second…" His memory began jogging back again. His arrival on Earth, the pathetic standstill against the saibamen and the "heroes", the speedy little prick coming in with his cute toys, his utter decimation against the Caped Bastard. But the thing that cut him deepest was Vegeta abandoning him as if he was nothing.

He had been there for Vegeta throughout almost his entire life. He taught him everything he knew, stood by his side throughout his worst injuries as a child and adolescent, and if he was being honest, when he was with Prince Vegeta in his early 20's, it reminded him of his best moments with his father, making him feel as if he was reliving those memories all over again. They conquered countless planets together, spent night after night binge drinking to their hearts content at the Frieza Force bars, fought together against the toughest of warriors and the most impossible of situations. So why did Prince Vegeta do it? How could all of that time spent together just have been ignored and forgotten? Did that bond really mean nothing to him?

Nappa slammed his fist into the ground, but due to his weakened state, he winced in pain. Of course it didn't. Prince Vegeta was nothing but a filthy, lying, degenerate, dishonorable, lowlife who wasn't even an eighth a good a man as his father was. There was absolutely no way that their defeat would go unnoticed by Frieza, and more soldiers would be sent to this miserable mud ball. Once they arrived, Nappa would take their ship, somehow find Prince Vegeta, and rip his tail and balls off.

Normally, that would have been impossible, but he was a saiyan. His body would recover, giving him a tremendous boost of energy; the prince only suffered a punch to the face, which wasn't nearly enough for a significant energy boost. Meanwhile, Nappa was suffering from quite possibly the worst injuries he ever received. Nappa actually managed to crack a smile. "You'll pay, Prince."

But wait. Nappa focused his hearing deeply, for he could hear a faint noise. He closed his eyes, and after a few seconds, he realized it was steady breathing. He turned his head to the right with much difficulty, and he clenched his teeth. It was just his luck: The Speedy Little Prick was passed out right beside him. Why the hell was this guy in the same holding cell as him? He guessed it didn't really matter too much, as long as he wasn't awake to annoy him.

But something felt… weird, different. He could feel it; his senses were heightened, and he could sense something faint emanating from the prick. It was the strangest sensation, and he couldn't rationally explain it. It was almost as if…

"So, you've finally woken up!"

Nappa looked up and saw two men dressed in suits, two old geezers dressed in lab coats, the cyborg who he had a momentary energy duel with, the caped bastard, who was drinking a cup of what he assumed was coffee from the steam, and a blonde haired man with a scar running across his face. Nappa inwardly smirked. That man looked like he was a true war veteran, a merciless combatant who laid waste to armies with his mere fists. "Who's the guy with the scars on his face?"

"This is King: the strongest man on our planet. He is here for extra protection, just some extra incentive to make sure you don't do anything reckless." Nappa narrowed his eyes and focused very hard on King. Something didn't feel right about King. If he was truly the strongest man on this mud ball, then why wasn't he sensing anything prominently strong from him? He turned to the Caped bastard to see if he could sense anything, and he almost let out a gasp of surprise. What he could feel emitting from him was overwhelming; he didn't even have to concentrate to feel it. This wasn't making any sense. He wasn't any sort of genius, but if he could make a guess about what this was, he would say he'd gained a sixth sense: the ability to sense the presence and energy of life forms.

As they were waiting for Nappa to come to his senses, Minister Sitch saw Dr. Kuseno and almost jumped from his spot. "Who are you?! I've never seen you in this facility before! How did you get in here without the proper credentials?!"

"Sitch, calm yourself," said Bofoi. "This is my younger brother. He is here to assist me with understanding and reproducing the alien technology."

Sitch's anger quickly turned to relief. "Metal Knight, you never told me you had a brother!" Sitch swiftly shook Dr. Kuseno's hand. "I'm very sorry. Please forgive me."

Dr. Kuseno shook Sitch's hand, then waved his other hand in dismissal. "No worries. It was wrong of me anyway to barge in without a proper introduction or explanation."

"Well I would like to tell you it is such a relief to know you'll be assisting us in our endeavor!" said Minister Sitch.

While they were properly introducing each other, King was quietly standing with his arms crossed, staring at the mysterious being with killer eyes. However, as the seconds passed, he started to shift uncomfortably at the way the monster was squinting his eyes at him. He didn't want to be studied and stared at like some sort of freak, so he tapped the shoulders of Sitch, Agoni, and Dr. Kuseno. "I believe it would be best to return to the matter at hand, if we could."

"Oh, of course." Agoni swerved to the creature in containment. "HEY! We're talking to you!" said an aggravated President Agoni.

Nappa shot a look of anger at this human's arrogant demanding. "And I'm thinking! So how about you shut the fuck up and let me do that!"

Sitch angrily swept all of the papers from the table to the floor. "This man right next to me could grind you to a pulp before the words "I'm sorry" could even reach your lips, so you're going to tell me exactly what we need to know!

"Now, firstly: Why did you come to Earth?"

Nappa contemplated his decisions. What would he tell them? Was it better for him to lie, to tell them a bunch of false information that would cause them to run around in circles like a dog chasing his tail, trying to put the pieces together? Or would he come out with the truth? Without an empire to either govern or work for, he didn't know what he would do. He deplored the idea of going back to Frieza, but he knew at this point, he didn't have much of a choice. Besides, anything he told them now would probably be useless information or information they probably already knew. So what the hell? Might as well indulge them with his words.

"We got word that Lord Boros, one of the most wanted and powerful pirates in the universe, came to this planet and was defeated by an unknown warrior. So we came to this planet to search for him."

"An alien spaceship arrived on Earth a few weeks ago, and he was defeated by four of our S-class heroes."

"What?" That didn't make sense. Frieza's scouts were almost never wrong, and they wouldn't make such a blunder as getting the wrong number of warriors who defeated Boros. Nappa made a mental note of this.

"Alright. Second question: Why did your partner escape without you?"

Nappa's entire body tightened. "NONE OF YOUR DAMN BUSINESS, THAT'S WHAT! THAT RAT'S GONE, AND THAT'S ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW!" screamed Nappa at the top of his lungs.

"Wait, I thought he left you behind. He also called you worthless right?"

Agoni and Sitch turned to see who said that. It was the Caped Baldy.

"YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP, YOU BALD BASTARD!" His scream made Saitama cover his ears. "Dude! My headache was just getting better from the coffee! Don't get all pissy like that and ruin my day!"

Minister Sitch was at a loss trying to comprehend what he was talking about. The Caped Baldy wasn't even at the battle to hear this. Or was he?

No. Even if he was, he probably was just a bystander who stood by as Demon Cyborg did all of the work. He must have overheard those two conversing and caught a word of what they were talking about. He came to this conclusion because there was no way he could believe that a B-class hero could even stand up against a Dragon level threat like this.

"Caped Baldy, if you would, I would prefer you keep all thoughts to yourself until after the questioning is over. Ok." Minister Sitch turned his attention back to the prisoner. As he did so, his eyes darkened. It was like his soul became somber, almost afraid at having to hear the answer to this next question. "Now, tell me: WHO IS YOUR SUPERIOR?"

Everything went dead silent. The room began filling with anticipation and dread. Everyone was staring at Nappa, waiting for a response, for they knew that this answer would tell them who or what they would be up against.

Nappa remained silent and stoic. The look of that man in the suit was priceless: it was like he was asking for a truth he couldn't handle, and he knew it. He chuckled. Pretty soon, it went from a chuckle to a laugh, then from laughing to roaring in sheer delight.

Everyone but Saitama became unnerved when they saw Nappa howling with delight, rolling on the floor and clutching his ribs. That wasn't a good sign.

Minister Sitch was the first to respond from this. "What the hell is so funny?"

Nappa looked back at Sitch through misty eyes that were clouded by watery tears of joy that threatened to fall down his face. "It's just to know how royally fucked you are. You think I'm powerful? Compared to my boss, I'm an ant standing below a boot. I've only heard rumors about how powerful he is; I've seen him obliterate entire planets who defied his rule."

Sitch couldn't move; he couldn't speak to silence the prisoners' laughter. He was too stunned. As if that monster Garou who defeated an entire army of criminals wasn't bad enough, now another alien threat was headed straight for Earth. What were the odds?

"Although I have to say, the only one who could even hope to stand a chance is you." Nappa weakly pointed at Saitama. "Bald Bastard."

The minister pointed his finger at where Nappa was pointing, than followed the trail it was aiming at, and realized it was directed to the Caped Baldy. "Superalloy Darkshine? Are you back there, hiding in the corner?"

"What? No! That Caped Bald Bastard!"

Sitch shook his head. "There's no way. The Hero ranking is divided into four categories: S-class, A-class, B-class, and C-class, with S-class being the highest and C-class being the lowest. The cyborg you see here is in the S-class, and the other two heroes with me, King and Metal Knight, are in this class as well. The Caped Baldy is only in our B-class, our 2nd lowest ranking class in our association. The public recognizes him as a hero swindler who steals the credit from other S-class heroes by getting the final blow and ending the fight with one punch."

Was this planet that much in denial? Were they taking some sort of retard pill that made them oblivious to the obvious? Nappa scrunched his face in confusion. "Are you serious? If the Caped Baldy is in the 2nd lowest class, and that cyborg is in your highest class, then you guys must be mentally retarded. That bald asshole-"

"It's Saitama by the way."

"WHATEVER! Anyway, he's in an entirely different dimension from that cyborg! For god sake, he was the one who kicked me and my partner's asses and put me in this weakened state!"

Even though Saitama was the one who defeated him, he always found that powerful beings and warriors who could land powerful blows on him deserved proper credit and praise for their abilities, even if they were his enemies. He at least kept that sense of honor from his days before Frieza's annexation. And besides, the evidence was so palpable, he couldn't believe these people hadn't found it the tiniest bit suspicious or odd.

"I mean think about it! Doesn't it seem a little too weird that he ALWAYS gets the finishing blow after these S-class heroes haven't been able to finish the job, the most powerful fighters in this so called Association of yours?"

"My god…" The minister began to lose balance and almost fell to the floor. Genos and King quickly intercepted his falling body. "Are you alright Minister?"

"So much is being thrown at me…" Was this monster onto something? He remembered going through his results in the hero test. He broke every single record in the physical evaluation, breaking records from even the strongest S-class heroes.

Yet this was ignored due to the abysmal results he had on the written assessment. This was also partly due to the meeting they had the morning before in which they were discussing the rising number of candidates trying out for the Hero Association, and it was decided that quality mattered over quantity. This played a part as well in him being placed in the last ranking of C-class. But was he wrong? Could he really have been that dumb, that shortsighted, so focused on the public opinion and looks of such an odd hero that he ignored the obvious facts lying before him? That his strength was worthy of that of an S-class hero, and possibly above?

Sitch turned to the Caped Baldy, and walked to him in a calm, steady pace. He finally stopped when he was just a foot away from the B-class hero. "Is it true?"

"Is what true?"

"Are you actually as powerful as this monster claims you to be?"

"OF COURSE!" Genos moved next to Saitama, his eyes flaring with frustration. "This man is the most powerful warrior in the history of man! He was kind enough to take me in as his disciple, teaching me many things and making me much stronger both physically and mentally than ever before. Had my master not arrived to stop the meteorite, the Deep Sea King, and several other threats that aren't known by the public, we would have stood no chance. I was there; in every one of those battles, I gave it everything I had, and was unable to handle the problem myself. Every time, my master has been the one who saves me." It was finally time that his master got the credit he deserved, and he was done letting other take credit for his master's accomplishments, himself more than anyone. "Earlier today, during our meeting, I lied. I was not the one who defeated them. It was Sensei. I only did so because I thought it what Master Saitama would have wanted. But I will no longer do that.

"It is time that everyone was caught up to speed on what has happened and what is going to happen. Minister Sitch, Dr. Kuseno, Bofoi, if I may, I would like to speak all in private and tell you everything you do not know about Master Saitama and essential information my Master has received."

Dr. Kuseno finally spoke. "Yes. Brother, shall we?"

Bofoi's mouth didn't rise or fall one bit. "Very well. But we are to start working as soon as we are finished."

"Understood. Saitama, will you join us?"

Saitama nodded in confirmation. "This looks pretty serious, and if it means getting some more of this awesome coffee, then hell yea."

"And you…" Saitama swung his arm around and pointed his gloved hand to Nappa. "Don't go anywhere," said Saitama through some faint giggling.

Nappa snarled. "Oh HAHAHA! THAT'S A GOOD ONE, BECAUSE I'M LOCKED IN A CELL!" It was amusing to Saitama, seeing Nappa aggravated like this. That means he must have been making good zingers.

"Minister, you are coming, no?"

Sitch was at a loss, staring into empty space. "Minister!"

Geno's voice made him snap out of his dream-like state, and he shook his head like a dog after a bath. "Yes, I'm sorry. I just dazed off there for a moment. Yes, any information you have would be greatly appreciated."

"Do you need my assistance any longer?" said King.

"No, you've spent enough time here today. Metal Knight's cell should be more than enough to keep him restrained."

The group somberly walked behind Minister Sitch, who was walking himself to the meeting room without stealing a single glance away from the ground. He had navigated through these corridors so many times he could walk blindfolded through the entire compound. That was a manifestation of the countless hours he spent trying to instill duty and justice to everyone. What a joke he was.

Each of them entered the room in a single file. Sitch sat in the front seat, and the others sat on the seats nearest to them. If Sitch weren't so overbearingly overwhelmed by everything going on, he would have smiled. Finally, all the cards would be on the table, and it would become crystal clear.

"Demon Cyborg, start from the beginning. Don't leave out any important details whatsoever, including how you met the Caped Baldy."

Genos took a deep breath in. At last, his master's credibility as a true hero could be established. "This may take a while, so please be patient.

"It all started when I searching for the cause of an unusual number of animal deaths. I came to Z-city, and realized it was the work of Mosquito Girl, a demon-level mysterious being who had the ability to control other mosquitoes with a neurosignal, commanding them to drain all the blood from any living creature and transfer them to her."

"I remember about that. We were never able to find out who was the one responsible for defeating it. At least now that mystery is solved."

"Yes. Anyway, I did battle with her, and for a majority of the battle, I was on equal footing with the monster, able to dismember her legs and even get a slight advantage, forcing her to retreat for a short time. But all that changed when she began to draw in even more blood from the creatures in the surrounding area. At that moment, sensei arrived on the scene, attempting to eliminate a pestering mosquito with a can of mosquito spray.

"I told him to evacuate, but before he could do anything, the creature swarmed the city and attempted to eliminate me and master for good. I managed to incinerate all of the mosquitoes so she would no longer have a way to supply herself with more blood, but I was too late; she had already absorbed all the blood she needed. I was battered, swatted around like one of her helpers, unable to keep up with any of her movements. I knew I could not win, so the only option I had was to self-destruct. But seconds before my seemingly imminent demise, Master Saitama ended her reign of terror with a single, nonchalant slap.

"I was shocked. Here, this ordinary bald man who was wearing tropical garments, defeated a mysterious being who was just seconds away from killing me? I had to know more. So after the good doctor, Dr. Kuseno, repaired my body, I spied my master, observing his daily habits, noting the food he ate and taking a sample to analyze-"

"Wait a minute…" Saitama's eyes widened to the size of Boros' eye. He gasped. "IT WAS YOU?! YOU STOLE THE LARGEST FRY!" Saitama slammed the countertop, effectively leaving permanent markings of his unmitigated fury. Sitch tensed. At least now he knew there was a grain of truth in Demon Cyborg's assertions.

"I did not know it was so important to you. I am deeply sorry for my reckless actions."

"I punched an innocent criminal thinking he stole my fry! We're going to that restaurant and you're buying me an order of fries when we're done!"

Genos straightened. "Of course master!" Saitama's melodramatically angry expression disappeared, and he sat down in his seat, smiling and thinking about the deliciously salty taste of fries soon to be in his mouth.

"Where was I? Oh yes. Unable to discover the source of his strength, I decided to meet him face-to-face once again and went to his apartment. We then discussed for quite some time and I explained my backstory to him, and being the generous man my master is, he accepted my request and took me on as his disciple.

"However, we were interrupted by the arrival of a group of biologically modified fighters from the House of Evolution. After a long and arduous battle, both sensei and I defeated them. My opponent, a cyborg who called himself Armored Gorilla, then relayed the location of the House of Evolution's secret lair.

"It was then that both of us travelled to the hidden laboratory. Not wanting to deal with any pesky traps or soldiers, I disintegrated the entire base structure with my incineration cannons. This was the first time that The Hero Association recognized me and my occupation as a hero.

"After about one minute of walking through the thin and dimly lit corridors, The House of Evolution's strongest and most brutal warrior arrived: Carnage Kabuto. With a single blow, I was temporarily taken out of commission. He must have been a Dragon level threat, or at the very least a very powerful demon level monster. I do not know what happened after this, but a few minutes later, I recovered from my attack and followed the living energy signature, which lead me to a very expansive, white tiled room where both the creature and my master were preparing to fight.

"I launched a barrage of my most powerful attacks with everything I had, but he stopped all of them like they were nothing. He even managed to deflect my incineration cannons by merely blowing the flames away with his breath." Genos grimaced at the memory of his disgraceful defeat. It was challenging to relive these moments, as they continued to shoot down his morale. But he had already gone this far, so he would not leave any essential detail out of the picture.

"Once I was knocked out, Carnage Kabuto prepared to attack my master, but just as he was about to swing his fist, he sensed the immense power and danger radiating from my master and retreated in fear. After much persuasion by Carnage Kabuto and Dr. Genus, the man responsible for the creation of the House of Evolution, my master finally explained to me the source of his immeasurable power: 100 pushups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats, and a 10 kilometer run."

The room stayed deathly quiet. Everyone stared at each other, observing the looks on the other's faces to see if they heard him correctly. They did. 20 seconds of this silence went by, and Sitch was the first to break it. "Is that a joke? Come on, this is a serious situation! I thought you of all people would know that."

Saitama pinched the bridge of his nose. Why didn't anybody believe him with this? "Then you try to do all that shit in one day without ever having exercised before in your life! You go out and do all those exercises without stopping for a single break, then go to your home in the scorching heat or subzero temperature without turning on your heater or air conditioner! For god's sake, I was coughing up blood! Most nights, I felt like my muscles were gonna pop like pimples from how sore they were! It was living hell!"

"I understand you're skepticism. I too responded in the same manner when I was told, but whether you believe it or not, my master's power is real. But let's get back on topic. Carnage Kabuto was dissatisfied with this answer as well, and in anger, he transformed into his most powerful state. But like the insect he was, it proved to be ultimately useless, and he was eradicated in a single punch.

"Then, as you all might know, the meteor that almost struck City Z. Bofoi, you were there for the occasion."

Everyone turned to Bofoi, who was tapping the counter with a pen. The realization that everyone was waiting for him to speak struck, and he dropped his pen. "Ah yes. Well, in this particular situation, I can personally vouch for the B-class hero. I remember that my missiles were ineffective, but since I didn't stick around to see the finale, I went with what the media and assumed my missiles did a majority of the work, with Genos helping move it along."

The teenage cyborg shook his head. "No. That was my master. He obliterated the meteorite in a single punch.

"There were many other threats that sensei defeated, including as you know the Deep Sea King, but from what you've heard, you don't need to hear me regaling the story knowing what the punch line will be. Now for the extraterrestrial band of pirates. I'm afraid I have no more knowledge of the events that occurred than the rest of you, so master, if you would please tell us exactly what happened that day."

Saitama set down his cup of coffee. "Guess I'm up. I'll try to be as descriptive as I can, but I don't know if you're gonna like it."

"Just tell us."

"Ok. You remember I was here at the last meeting, right?" Sitch nodded in confirmation. He asked for a cup of tea, and all of the S-class heroes ignored him, as one would expect with their overconfident attitudes. "As soon as the spaceship came, I jumped through your roof to fight the aliens. Then, they started firing a bunch of bullets that were just plain annoying. Once those were out of the way, I entered the ship and started killing all of the soldiers who attacked me."

"Were there any particularly powerful warriors?"

Saitama stroked an imaginary beard. "Hard to say. Since I'm too strong, no fighters are really "powerful" for me, but if I had to take a guess… There was this really big green guy with jaws for hands and a face that said he could spit acid. I needed to use slightly more force than usual, and a stupid blue octopus that had some weak psychic abilities. Those were about the only two mildly different guys I fought. But that was until I met the leader of the pirate band."

Everyone shifted to the edges of their seats, waiting for Saitama like the climax of a movie. "Do you remember his name?"

"I'm pretty sure if I remember, it was Boros." Since he was the strongest guy he faced so far, he made an exception for remembering his name.

"What did he look like?" said Sitch.

"He was like a tall, blue Cyclops with really spiky pink hair and pointed armor with a gold texture. Anyway, he rambled on and on about how he was he the denominator of the universe, and how he heard of this prophesy where he would find a warrior who could match his power on Earth. After all that was through and done, I punched him to shut him up. But to my surprise, he was still alive.

"We exchanged a lot of blows, and for the most part he was doing pretty good in comparison to the other guys I've fought. Then he transformed to an even more powerful state. His hair grew really long, and he was pink all over. He actually managed to kick me to one of the four moons in orbit. Lucky for me, I used my SUPER Serious Jump and made it back in one piece."

"To the moon? Are you joking?" said an unconvinced Sitch.

"Hold on a minute…" said Bofoi. He clicked rapidly on the touch screen panel, and a blue holographic image flashed to life. "I remember reading an article by NASA that stated there was a large impact that fractured the surface of our moon. It was ridiculous because the crater created from the impact was almost as wide as the crater the meteorite that almost struck City Z would have formed. Even odder, the crater formed on the lit side of the moon, meaning that it couldn't have been some asteroid because the trajectory originated from Earth. And now that I think about it..." Bofoi slid the hologram down and pulled up a new screen, this one with a large cloud formation split in two. "There was an unknown force that split this cloud formation that spanned hundreds of miles out into the ocean, and it was formed exactly the same day those Space Pirates invaded." Things were starting to look more and more in favor of Genos' testimony. He had no other rational explanation for it. There was no way his rockets could make it such a distance and cause that much impact, and he was the smartest weapons developer on the planet, exceeded by none. And he was certainly no meteorologist of any sort, so he had no other explanation for such an odd cloud formation.

"So can we cut the sciency mumbo jumbo and get back to what I was saying? Seriously, I don't think I've spoken this long in my life!"

"We apologize. Please continue."

"Once I made it back to the ship, I attacked him with my consecutive normal punches. He fought back with a energy blast, I used my serious punch, yadaydayada, bottom line, I won."

Silence. Saitama picked up his cup of coffee and slurped it down, the coffee releasing dopamine throughout his entire body. "Well?!" said Minister Sitch.

"Well what?" said Saitama. He told him everything he knew; it sounded from him like he forgot something important.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN WHAT?! WHAT ABOUT THE INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROPHECY?!"

"Oh YEA! Goddamn, it just isn't enough for you guys! Ummm…" He snapped his fingers several times, trying to recall his vision. "That Nappa guy basically said everything you need to know. This Frieza guy is coming. He's really powerful. But I guess I could tell you about the sort of dreamlike vision I had earlier this morning."

"A dream?" said Bofoi with a curious tone.

"Some weird boney fleshy skeleton brought me to some sort of magical dimension. Apparently, he said Freezer's on a completely different level than Boros. It's got me pretty pumped up."

"PUMPED UP?!" Sitch shot up from his seat and marched to Saitama. "A WARRIOR WHO IS ON A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT LEVEL OF THE LEADER OF THE SPACE PIRATES BAND WHO WAS STILL MORE POWERFUL THAN MELZARGARD, A MONSTER WHO TOOK 4 S-CLASS HEROES TO DEFEAT, IS COMING TO INVADE OUR PLANET, AND YOU'RE PUMPED UP?! NOT TO MENTION THAT PSYCHO GAROU WHO IS ON THE LOOSE HUNTING HEROES!"

"Garou? Hero Hunter?" said Saitama.

Sitch sighed. "Yes. Just this morning, a human by the name of Garou attacked a group of criminals and 3 A-class heroes who were all present at an underground meeting."

"What exactly do you mean by underground meeting?" said Genos. Genos had seen the aftermath of the battle, but neither Sitch nor Agoni had told him exactly what all those convicts were doing gathered in one place.

"Alright. You told me everything you know, so it's only fair that I extend to you that courtesy as well." Sitch walked back to his chair and plopped himself down on the chair. He covered his eyes, ashamed of what he was about to tell Demon Cyborg. "The president and I had agreed on a secret meeting with all of the criminals who were working in the underbellies of our society." Sitch exchanged looks with Agoni.

Agoni continued the explanation. "After a long talk, Sitch and I finally decided to call these criminals together to..." Agoni heaved his chest in and out. "To enlist their help in our fight against mysterious beings."

"WHAT?!"

"Not cool man!"

"Why would you do something as desperate as that?"

These comments of disbelief were spewing out of the hero's mouthes. Why they would do something as desperate and low as recruiting criminals, they hadn't the foggiest idea.

"Look, I understand your anger," said Sitch. "But we don't have enough manpower to deal with all of these threats. Demon Cyborg, surely you've noticed the rising number of monsters you've had to fight in these past few weeks."

Genos stiffened. "Yes, I have."

"There simply aren't enough powerful A-class and S-class heroes to deal with all of these threats. And now, with this human hero hunter, things have only gotten worse. You didn't see what I saw. All of the heroes AND criminals alike. They charged at him, but he was able to expertly outmaneuver them and beat them in a single strike. Even the 3 A-class heroes, who would most likely be at S-class if it wasn't for Sweet Mask, stood no chance. So pardon me if I'm a little skeptical in your abilities."

Saitama scrunched his brows. "Nobody can beat me. This Freezer guy is going down, no matter what. Same goes for this hero hunter. I'll kick every monster's ass that comes my way."

"Oh really? If you're so confident, would you please display some of your power like you said?"

"Gladly," said Saitama with a snarky attitude. The softer side of him who was willing to just let people think what they wanted was done. He was tired of being pushed around like garbage and his word being doubted. He deserved at least basic human respect from the city and these guys.

"I suggest a desolate area barren of life so no civilian lives are at risk," said Genos, who was the only one in the room who knew full well how dangerous Saitama's attacks could be.

"Well then lets go."

Twenty thousand. He was staring listlessly at his hands. That was exactly how many times he had twiddled his fingers around like a spinning wheel. They were the only parts of his body that he could move without triggering the overwhelming flow of pain threatening to rise from his exhausted muscles.

He couldn't believe that a saiyan such as him would be damaged to this extremity. All he had managed to do was flex his fingers and twist his feet to his right and left. He had no idea how long it had been since his beating. The Caped Bastard's Ferris wheel of death utterly warped his sense of time. It could have been two weeks, two months, two years; he had no fucking idea. Damn it, he should have asked how long he had been in here.

The obsidian black square room reflected back all of the negative, churning emotions going through Nappa, but at that moment, more than anything, he was feeling an extreme tedium. Boredom. After they left, he thought he would pass the time by imagining all the ways he would kill Vegeta, from ripping his spine out to blasting a hole in his chest. But the melancholic and somber room sucked even the most gruesome of thoughts and enjoyment out of these thoughts like a spider sucking the blood out of its victim.

"I would do fucking anything for some entertainment."

"Uhhhh…" His eyes widened as he heard the moans of a certain prisoner reverberate through the black box. "Shit! I take it back! I TAKE IT BACK!" The speedy little prick was waking up. This was karma punishing him.

The speedy little prick was in a disoriented state, his eyes drooping from the terrible quality sleep he must have gotten. They removed all of his toys, so he doubted he could do any serious damage to him, given that the only physical attack he used was a pathetically weak spinning kick that he caught with only his hand.

Sonic rubbed his eyes and yawned like a child who just woke up from a midday nap. He started surveying the surrounding area, and the situation he was in and where he was slowly starting to sink in, along with the disheartening and morale crushing memory of his defeat. Sonic grimaced. He must have been retrieved by the authorities and placed in a more advanced holding cell to ensure he wouldn't escape like he did before.

It didn't matter anyway. He felt like his entire body was mush, so escape was out of the question. Not only that, but the room he was in was a solid black square holding cell, with no signs of life inside…

"Hey!" Sonic's eyes widened as big as flying saucers; sitting just 10 feet away from him, slouched against the wall was the same overgrown mongrel who kicked his ass. He reflexively reached for his kunai, but instead he was grabbing nothing but air. He sighed. Of course his weapons were confiscated from him. What did he expect? But if he didn't have any weapons, and he was in this decrepit state, that would mean…

"You're probably thinking that without your little toys I could pulverize you. Hate to tell you, but that's not gonna be happening today. Much as I would like to open up on you a can of ass whopping like I did before, I'm feeling just as shitty as you must be feeling right now."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Nappa scowled. "While you were taking your mid-morning nap, some pretty big stuff went down."

The ninja pushed his back against the wall. "What do you mean?"

"Like I'll tell your scrawny chicken ass what happened!" The saiyan general slapped his forehead. "How did I get sucked into this mess? I'm cellmate with a wannabe ninja prick…"

"Oh, and you think this is the peachy end of the week ending I envisioned? Now that I have the time, I think I'll take a guess at who beat you, and if I had to guess…" Sonic tapped his feet on the ground and smiled like he was a game show host, interviewing the contenders. Nappa loathed it. "I'd say that Saitama was the one who slew you."

Nappa turned, utterly shocked he found that out on his first guess. "How did you know that?"

Sonic's condescending smile faded. "Lets just say I've had several run ins with him. And besides, there's nobody I know who's stronger than me. Well him and…" Sonic stopped himself. Dwelling on that time wasn't going to help him at all.

"Whatever," said Nappa, still seething with anger at this new living arrangement. If he had the luxury of a healing pod, he could be fixed up in no less than a few hours, but even if this primitive planet had that kind of technology, which he highly doubted, there was no way in a million years he could ever get access to it. "Just keep your mouth shut, and we might get through this without slashing each others throats out."

Sonic sneered. "First smart thing you've said since I met you."

"Well since I'm here…" Mustering whatever strength he had, he pushed himself off the ground and with immense difficulty, walked to the right corner of the room where the bunk beds were.

"I call top bunk," said Sonic with a slight smirk.

"Whatever. The top bunk's for pussies anyway." He sighed in defeat. This was going to be fun…

"Alrighty then. Here we are." Deep in a barren wasteland devoid of any life for miles around, Saitama and the rest of the group had just arrived, with one of Metal Knight's larger drones being used as transport. Genos soaked in the surrounding. This was no ordinary valley. No, this was the last place where Master Saitama and him did battle, and although the others did not know it, that gargantuan canyon that cut through the earth was created from Master Saitama's phenomenal punch. He simply told Dr. Kuseno and Bofoi the coordinates, and they were here in no time flat. "This was the area in which me and sensei did battle. That large canyon was created from Master Saitama's punch."

"Of course it was," said Bofoi. Frankly at this point, he already believed that Saitama was inhumanely strong, but right now all he wanted to do was go back to his lab and start analyzing the extraterrestrial technology. Instead, he got roped into watching this pretentious spectacle. Groans.

Genos, on the other hand, was elated. "Finally, Master Saitama will get the credit he will deserve."

The wind roared through the desolate land, as if it was quivering in fear at the return of the seemingly unstoppable. Sitch and the other elderly scientists shivered, blowing and rubbing their hands together for warmth. "Why did it have to be so windy today?"

"Really? This is like a warm summer breeze for me," said Saitama. "Guess all that time in my apartment during wintertime without the heater really helped adjust."

"Can we just get on with the demonstration?" said an aggravated Sitch. "Just do something, anything to see if the you're able to live up to the grandiose name Demon Cyborg has created."

"Then lets do this." Saitama rubbed his hands together, his red gloves preparing to weave some unbelievable magic. "I've been working on this one for a while, but I've never gotten around to actually using it. Genos, everybody, stand back."

Genos spread his arms out and pushed the men about 100 feet away. This was going to get intense.

Saitama took a deep breath in, then exhaled. His baldhead glistened in the afternoon sun, slowly setting down for the day, and his face-hardened into stone.

"Killer Move Serious Series: Serious Chops."

Gasps.

Sitch, Bofoi, and Dr. Kuseno could not believe their eyes. All Saitama was doing was merely chopping at the air, yet it was phenomenal. The power from Saitama's chops was creating vast gusts of wind, clouding the rock formations and preventing them from seeing just exactly what Saitama was doing.

Although they could not see it, Saitama was smirking in delight. "Let's see that guy second-guessing me now." This was going to be by far his best serious move, ranking just a tad bit higher than his Serious Spin.

After about 30 seconds ticked by, the sound of rapid chopping began to wane, and the dust clouds started to clear, making way for Saitama's grand masterpiece.

"Well, here it is." The spectators looked on in extreme marvel at what Saitama had crafted. With the effective and deadly force from his midair attacks, he carved several markings into the canyon, with a very edgy and finite manner in its structure. Engraved in the rock was the word Toyama.

Dr. Kuseno arched his eyebrow in confusion. "What significance does the word hold to you?"

"That was the name of the draper who donned me this suit. He was the only one who supported my dream to be a hero during my training here. You guys probably think that it looks really stupid, and truth be told, I used to wear my tracksuit over it for the first few months until I got comfortable enough to be seen in public with it. It's the only memento I have of him, and besides my television and my apartment, it's the most important thing I own. He fixes up my uniform and tailors it whenever I ask, so it's been really helpful. I guess it'd be pretty hard for you to understand."

"It looks rather ludicrous to me." Said Bofoi. Dr. Kuseno gazed at his brother with an incremental look. "What? You don't think it looks like a mentally unfit version of Superman's guise? No offense, but the only thing missing is a logo on the center of your chest."

Saitama shrugged his shoulders. "Meh. Not the worst thing a persons called me."

"Unbelievable." Minister Sitch was in a self-imposed daze. If what he saw was real, then he had to assume that everything Demon Cyborg and Saitama was true as well. He was just shown a feat of astronomical proportions, something he had not seen even the mightiest of S-class heroes pull off. How could he be so careless? How could he be so blinded, disoriented and caught up in the looks and reputation of the candidates rather than the inner strength, resilience, and the soul that was behind their looks and status?

Here was a man, a hero who could have just as easily taken credit for the numerous victories he attained over the years and moved up the rankings to the upper S-class, but instead, chose to hand the credit over to the heroes who were defeated in battle. He both heard and read on the news about Saitama's words that made him sound like he simply took the final blow after all the work the other heroes did to wear Deep Sea King down, but it was only now that he understood he only did that to give respect to the fallen combatants. What he saw in this B-class hero was an honest, noble man, who trained for years to attain the power to defeat the monsters that threatened to eliminate humanity and did so without even the slightest desire of fame and glory.

He filed toward Saitama with hunched arms and a slouched head, finally admitting the truth he was so ignorant of seeing. "Saitama, I…" Sitch struggled to find the right words that would amend for his ignorance, but he could think of nothing that could make up for what he had done. "I am so, so sorry for having you placed in the lowest ranking in the C-class." He bowed his head in respect and shame. "All this time, I neglected to elevate you to a higher Hero ranking, even though the evidence was right in front of me. I am truly ashamed to have doubted your word."

Saitama let out a nervous chuckle. "It's no problem." Now that he was apologizing in front of him, the frustration he was feeling quickly flowed out of him. "I'm sorry if I got pissed at you. Don't know what came over me."

"No, you were entitled to it." Sitch moved his head back up and was at eye level with Saitama. "Well I'm no longer going to let you be ignored for your heroic actions. I am going to shoot you straight up from B-class, past A-class, and all the way to S-class Rank 4, if that's all right with you. I would place you in S-class, rank 1, but I wouldn't want Blast or Tornado destroying the Hero Association headquarters in rage, and Bang was one of the first ones to join the Hero Association, so I think it would be fair for him to keep his current ranking. But if you want, I can switch it around-"

Sitch's voice wavered and faded when Saitama started whooping in the air and shouting triumphant, chanting incoherent mixtures of "Fuck Yes!", "Finally!", and "Yea Baby!"

Saitama turned to Sitch with his face flustering with joy and his body tingling with excitement. "No no no, it's fine. But S-class, Rank 4?! That's fucking unbelievable! Thank you so much man!" Saitama grasped Sitch's hand and shook it rigorously just as he had done with Dr. Kuseno. Sitch gladly returned the handshake, content to see Saitama so happy. More than that, he was happy to know that there was someone noble and powerful enough to stop Garou and the Devil of Frost from unraveling the fabric of their society. "And another change I'd like to make is your name. Caped Baldy is much too disrespectful to a man such as you. So instead, how about… One Punch Man?"

Saitama hardily laughed in agreement. "YES! OH MY GOD YES! AND YOU CAME UP WITH IT ON THE SPOT LIKE THAT?! FREAKING SWEET! YOU'RE A GENIUS!"

Genos watched his master's display of happiness and relief, feeling it catching onto him as well. He didn't think he ever saw his master this happy for two days in a row. Genos beamed in delight. At long last, Master Saitama could be viewed as the noble hero he was. Things were finally starting to turn around.

I have only one thing to say:

#RespectForGroribas!

Until Chapter 11!