Chapter 193: Dammit!!
Bang looked at Garou's constipated expression, unable to stop a gentle smile that caused wrinkles to stack up on his face.
"It's fine. Even if the current S-Class Rank 1 is The Strongest Man on Earth, King, it doesn't matter. You have to learn to believe in yourself."
Garou: "..."
This isn't a matter of believing in myself anymore, okay?!
After witnessing the Battle of the Sun with his own eyes, Garou had already placed King in the position of a god in his heart, considering him a terrifying existence that was absolutely impossible to defeat.
And now you're telling me that if I want to achieve the [absolute evil] in my heart, the first thing I have to do is defeat King?!
Seeing Garou's dejected look, Bang reached out to stroke his beard again and smiled:
"But... you don't need to worry too much. King won't stay in the S-Class Rank 1 position for too long."
Hearing this, Garou looked up in confusion:
"Oh? How so?"
Bang's mind kept recalling that tall, blonde figure, and a trace of admiration for the formidable younger generation flashed in his eyes as he spoke unhurriedly:
"You must understand, a great existence like King, who surpasses all humanity, cannot be bound by a mere Hero Association.
If what you said earlier is true—that King already possesses the strength for his Physical Body to traverse Outer Space—he will surely step onto the stage of the Universe in the future, rather than being confined to Earth."
As a Martial Arts Grandmaster, Bang saw through things clearly. When a person's strength far exceeds their current level, their ultimate result must be to move upward, not stay forever.
Garou's eyes gradually brightened, clearly understanding Bang's meaning:
"Old Man, you mean... I just need to become an S-Class Hero first, and wait until King goes to a higher-level stage, then I can become S-Class Rank 1?"
Bang nodded. This kid's Comprehension Ability was still the same as back then, thinking through things quickly and well.
"Exactly. Even if you can't compare now, as long as you continue to Train under me, one day, when King no longer stays in the Hero Association, you will naturally become S-Class Rank 1."
This sentence was nine parts truth and one part lie; Bang couldn't help but let a smile curl at the corners of his mouth.
The content was basically true; the only lie was that he didn't know when King would choose to stop being a hero. What if he was interested and stayed for another few decades or a century?
But this was good too, giving Garou a target to chase so he could keep moving forward.
Being young is truly great...
Seeing Garou full of motivation again, Bang looked down at his old, withered palms and shook his head helplessly.
I'm old. The stage of this era belongs to the young. Old bones like me just need to support them from behind, and that's enough.
...
Two weeks passed slowly.
During this time, the lives of the S-Class Heroes changed quite a bit, while some remained the same as before.
Metal Bat was still an ultimate siscon, but after experiencing two near-death experiences recently, he doted on his younger sister even more than before.
After all, if a person dies, they can never see the things they cherish and love again.
But if one day, facing a disaster that could wipe out humanity, even if Metal Bat felt immense reluctance in his heart, he would resolutely step onto the battlefield.
The reason was very simple: his sister was also a member of humanity.
Watchdog Man returned to City Q, continuing to act as the guardian deity of City Q, lying on the statue in the central plaza of City Q every day, lazily basking in the sun.
Pig God was still eating and drinking, but the difference was that he now carried a sense of urgency in his heart.
After experiencing such a major disaster that left him powerless, Pig God only wanted to stack more fat so his ultimate move could become even stronger—strong enough to protect humanity.
Metal Knight was summoned for a talk by the Hero Association executives after the City Z disaster, but the executives, who were bullies to the weak and fearful of the strong, didn't dare say anything harsh to him, only asking him to contribute more in the future.
Tornado was still S-Class Rank 2 and remained active in the public eye, proactively dealing with various Monsters and frequent disasters every day.
Even though she was hailed as the Queen of Espers and possessed incredibly powerful psychic energy, she would still feel tired and irritable.
But every time she thought of a certain blonde Scarface pressing down on her, she would immediately be filled with motivation.
Since his Enlightenment, Atomic Samurai felt like a different person, yet also as if nothing had changed.
In the past, he was very proud, only shaking hands with the strong, and would draw his sword in anger like a Young master when mocked, acting with carefree elegance.
Now, he was more like a calm body of water; no matter how much external stimulation there was, it no longer caused ripples in his steady heart.
This didn't mean Atomic Samurai had lost his emotions; on the contrary, he had just become more stable, and his overall temperament had become calm and reliable.
Drive Knight had repaired his mechanical body from somewhere and even added extra parts, increasing his overall firepower by another notch.
Tanktop Master had been beaten into a one-meter-tall dwarf since the City Z disaster, and a deformed dwarf covered in muscles at that.
To avoid being laughed at and to re-establish his authority within the Tanktop Army, Tanktop Master stayed behind closed doors, insisting on consuming large amounts of protein and working out hard every day.
After nearly three weeks of hard work, he finally succeeded in growing ten centimeters taller, going from a one-meter dwarf to a one-meter-ten dwarf.
Superalloy Darkshine's muscles became increasingly shiny. If someone were to observe closely, they would find that Superalloy Darkshine had undergone a transformation from the inside out.
Although he looked confident before, he still had inferiority and cowardice in his bones.
But now, Darkshine only had confidence and flamboyance, along with unparalleled trust in his own muscles.
After seeing the combat performance of King and Saitama, a certain hypothesis reappeared in Zombieman's mind, and he resolutely went back to find Dr. Genus, who was selling Takoyaki.
After hearing the explanation about the limiter, Dr. Genus finally decided to temporarily put aside his Takoyaki-selling activities and began to wholeheartedly help Zombieman achieve a Breakthrough of his own limiter.
After Puri-Puri Prisoner's wounds healed, he hurriedly rushed back to the prison, returning with a heart full of joy to find his harem.
Most, most, most, most importantly, that black-haired little darling he loved and favored the most.
It wasn't until he returned to the prison and was tremblingly informed by his subordinates that the prison's second-in-command, Garou, and his most graceful favorite concubine, Sonic, had both escaped that Puri-Puri Prisoner's heart died.
Bang suspended all hero activities and hardly made any appearances unless absolutely necessary.
He stayed in the Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist Dojo all day, carefully teaching his eldest Disciple, whom he had finally brought back: Garou.
Incidentally, when Charanko, who had returned from the shelter, saw Garou, his soul almost flew out from fright.
Child Emperor was still at odds with Metal Knight, especially since the latter showed absolutely no effort in that great battle, making Child Emperor feel that this guy was a total traitor to humanity.
However, after experiencing the great battle, Child Emperor also gained a lot of inspiration, finding new ideas for innovative mechanical technology, and his overall equipment strength reached a higher level.
After that great battle, Flashy Flashy Flash realized his speed was not at the world's Peak and that many people were stronger than him in speed, even able to crush him in all aspects.
For this reason, Flashy Flash dug out his old Ninja Secret Manual and began to continuously learn and practice, attempting to take his speed to the next level.
Whether it's that Monster covered in flames, One-Punch Man, or King, I will surpass them all!!
As for Blast, after that speech, he disappeared again, completely vanishing from everyone's sight.
If nothing goes wrong, he should have regrouped with the God Opposition Squad.
Meanwhile, in a certain Bald Head's home.
"Dammit!!!"
...