Chapter 19 — Nineteenth Punch
Outside the Eizouken clubroom, a large crowd of students had already gathered.
"What's going on? I heard there's some kind of fight inside…"
"No idea… but who could it be?"
"Isn't this the Eizouken clubroom? Why not just ask someone from the club?"
A sharp-eyed student immediately spotted two Eizouken members blending in with the crowd and dragged them forward. "Isn't this your clubroom? What's happening inside?"
"I-I'm not really sure… Even though it's the Eizouken room, we haven't been in there for a long time because… Itō and the others—"
The two students exchanged a glance, both clearly panicked.
They knew in their hearts that if anyone would have used the clubroom recently, it could only have been Itō and his group. And if the clubroom door had been locked, there was only one possible explanation.
Hearing this, many students fell silent.
Itō and his gang were known for bullying others. Everyone knew that much.
Someone must have been inside, getting picked on.
Should they tell a teacher? But the teachers had seen Itō and his group bullying before and did nothing…
At that moment, the sounds from inside the clubroom suddenly stopped.
In full view of everyone, the clubroom door made a soft "click" as it unlocked.
Who would come out…?
All the students held their breath, eyes wide with anticipation.
The sliding door of the clubroom moved along its track, slowly being pulled open by someone inside.
First, a hand—its knuckles bloodied and raw—emerged. Then came a bloodstained uniform. Finally, a face, battered and bleeding, forehead marked with burn scars from cigarettes.
Junpei Yoshino pushed the door open and stepped out with some difficulty, wiping blood from his forehead as he held a stack of movie discs in his hand.
"Jo-Jo-Jo… Junpei?"
The two Eizouken members gasped, rushing forward. "What are you doing in there? Weren't you on leave? Did Itō and the others…?"
Seeing his two friends from the club, Yoshino paused for a moment before his expression softened slightly.
"I'm fine," he said.
His bloodied face wore a gentle smile, but it was different from the timid smile Yoshino used to have.
"Don't be afraid. The clubroom has been taken back," he told his friends. "Itō and the others will never dare take it from us again."
"Really?" the two said in awe. "So you…"
"But—"
Yoshino interrupted. "I won't be staying at this school anymore. I'm transferring elsewhere. I'll also be taking all the movies I left here with me today."
"Why?" they asked hurriedly.
"Honestly…" Yoshino thought for a moment before speaking seriously. "Probably because I've gone bald… and gotten stronger."
"Eh…?"
…
After Yoshino left, the two Eizouken members carefully pushed open the clubroom door. What they saw inside was a sight the onlooking students would never forget.
Inside the Eizouken room, the normally arrogant Itō and three others were kneeling in a straight line, heads bowed, not daring to look up.
Fear of a power they could not comprehend had paralyzed them completely—even after Yoshino had left.
That day, the boy reclaimed something precious—his long-lost soul.
After that incident, Sato High launched an investigation and strengthened its zero-tolerance policy toward school bullying. But as for Yoshino Junpei, the avenger, he never appeared at Sato High again.
---
Tokyo First General Hospital
"That was terrifying," Nagi Yoshino complained while peeling an apple. "You came home covered in blood, collapsed as soon as you opened the door, and then the teacher even came to do a home visit… Junpei, why didn't you tell Mom you were getting bullied so badly at school?"
"I didn't want you to worry…"
Junpei Yoshino sat on the hospital bed, his gaze fixed not on his mother but on the ceiling.
Hanging upside down from the fan was a strange, fly-like creature, its eyes staring at the people in the room.
Ever since the day he suddenly unleashed his power to beat up Itō and take revenge, Yoshino had discovered he could see bizarre creatures invisible to ordinary people.
This fly-like thing had been lingering in the room for days, crawling around the edges. Its exact nature remained unclear.
After learning that his hair loss wasn't from muscle training but from using fake shampoo, Yoshino had been disappointed for a long time. But it didn't matter—once he went to Jujutsu High, everything would be resolved.
Thinking this, Yoshino struggled to sit up. "I should run ten kilometers first…"
"Junpei Yoshino! Lie down properly!" Nagi shouted, gripping the apple.
Meanwhile, on the rooftop of an office building opposite the hospital ward, a faint light flickered.
"They've located the kid's hospital room," said one of the burly men in black suits, using a high-powered telescope to watch Junpei.
"Let's move. Take him out," the leader said. "This is the president of Itō Trading Company's business. I hear his son got beaten by this kid, so he's itching for revenge."
"But that kid supposedly has superpowers, breaking chairs and desks without touching them?" asked one of the men. "Shouldn't we be careful, Mr. Vodka?"
"Superpowers don't exist, idiot!" Vodka snorted. "The little rich brat who's used to bullying got beaten, and now they're exaggerating his abilities to save face. Just handle it normally—cement the bodies and dump them in Tokyo Bay."
"Yes, sir!"
Just as the men were about to move, the door to the rooftop opened. A bald man in a yellow jumpsuit and white cape appeared, holding a plastic bag with a supermarket bento.
"Huh?" Saitama blinked, surprised by the frozen black-suited men. "Who are you guys? Sneaking around here for what?"
There was a tense silence.
One of the black-suited men finally spoke. "And you… why are you dressed like that?"
Saitama glanced at the bento in the bag. "Why? This rooftop's where I eat lunch."
The two sides stared at each other silently, only the wind brushing past.
Saitama's eyes slowly drifted to the waist of one black-suited man. "Is that a gun?"
"…"
"…I've been spotted?" Vodka snarled and waved his hand. "Take him out!"
"Yes, sir!" the men moved in with military precision.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Ten seconds later, Saitama looked at the black-suited men scattered on the ground, clearly annoyed.
"Sneaking onto someone's lunch rooftop for no reason, then suddenly trying to fight… hmm?"
His gaze suddenly froze—one of the beaten men had dropped a high-powered telescope in his arms.
"So you were spying on me…!" Saitama realized, his expression instantly serious. "So it's you guys who've been following me all this time!"
After staring at the telescope for a few seconds, he returned to his usual vacant expression. "Whatever. Better just take them to the police."
…
After dropping the men at the station, Saitama returned to the rooftop and finished his bento at the edge.
He then surveyed the area, found no other threats, and returned home normally as the sun set.
Just as he got home, Genos shouted, startling him.
"Sensei, tell me what you do at Jujutsu High!" The half-month-long investigation had yielded nothing, and Genos finally blurted out.
"Huh?"
---
At Café Boro
"What did you say?" Tōru Amuro hid in the kitchen, phone in hand, sweating. "Are you sure? That person really is Vodka?"
"Absolutely," said his subordinate, Yuu Kazami. "Around noon, a bald man delivered Vodka and his men, all unconscious, to the police. Their features match our intelligence perfectly. Public Security has taken over."
"Collect their fingerprints and blood immediately to confirm identities. Don't let this leak—I'll head there right now!"
After hanging up, Amuro closed the café, removed his apron, and donned his suit jacket.
In that moment, he was no longer the undercover café worker Amuro Tōru but a Public Security officer: Reigen Arataka.
His eyes sharp, he walked out the back door. Justice from Public Security was on the move!
---
The Next Day
Satoru Gojo stood at the front of the first-year classroom, tilting his head slightly. His silver hair shimmered under his blindfold.
"Huh? Who's this?"
Besides the four students, there was an extra person in the room.
At the desk next to Saitama sat a blond boy who looked about eighteen or nineteen, meticulously taking notes in an open notebook. But his entire body was mechanical, obviously not human.
"Please don't mind me," Genos said politely. "I'm just here to study under Saitama Sensei."
"Saitama Sensei?" Gojo asked in surprise. "You're Saitama's disciple?"
"Yes," Genos nodded. "I don't know how you persuaded Saitama to let me study under you instead, but since it's Saitama Sensei's wish, I won't interfere. You may teach as you wish. But I won't attend your lessons. My goal is to observe Saitama sensei 24/7—every word, every action—and learn how to get stronger."
As soon as Genos spoke so bluntly, the classroom echoed with small gasps.
Gojo, still tilting his head, shifted his gaze to the other students.
Fushiguro Megumi, Itadori Yuji, and Kugisaki Nobara all froze, unsure what to say.
Saitama, hands clasped on his forehead, bowed his head to the desk, face full of black lines, trembling slightly.
"Genos… please… have mercy… this is so embarrassing…"
****
Notes from the hospital room:
That fly-like creature is below Rank 4. And I need some Power Stones, got any power stones to spare? 😏