Chapter 29 — Twenty-Nineth Punch
"Waaah!"
Todo Aoi suddenly shot his eyes open, drenched in sweat, and sat up, gasping for breath.
He had just had a terrifying nightmare.
In the dream, Todo Aoi had been forced by Gojo Satoru to search for the strangest stone in all of Tokyo. He wandered the outskirts endlessly, until finally he discovered a massive spherical boulder.
Relieved at having found it, he tried to push it back, but the boulder slowly rolled under his force—and revealed a face carved into the stone.
—It was the bald head. The spherical boulder had transformed into a gigantic bald head.
The bald head grinned hollowly and menacingly, rolling straight toward him. Todo Aoi immediately had to turn and flee. The dream then inexplicably morphed into a frantic escape through a temple.
Though in the dream the boulder merely tumbled behind him, the sense of oppression was unlike anything Todo Aoi had ever felt. Chased by the boulder, he felt he could barely breathe, each second stretching into the fear that the boulder would crush his skull, his consciousness simmering as if in a boiling pan.
Just before the boulder could squash him completely, he finally awoke from the nightmare.
Back in reality, Todo Aoi's dazed gaze rested on the foot of the white metal bed for a moment before slowly turning his head.
He realized he was lying on a bed in the school infirmary. A pristine white curtain hung half-open, the evening sun casting a soft golden glow across the room.
After staring at the sunset for a while, he heard the door open, followed by a slightly surprised voice.
"Yo, you're awake?"
Todo Aoi turned his head and saw a long-haired beauty in a white coat, hands in her pockets, a nicotine-free candy dangling from her mouth as she walked by. Her skin was pale, emphasizing the dark circles under her eyes, and a small tear mole adorned her eye corner.
He recognized the face. This was Ieiri Shoko, the school nurse at Tokyo School, a skilled user of the Reversal Technique and a recognized figure in the jujutsu world.
"What… happened to me?" Todo Aoi looked down at the white blanket covering him, still a bit dazed.
"When you were brought here, you had a large bump on your head, soft tissue contusion, and a concussion," Ieiri Shoko said casually, waving her hand as if describing a repair job, "but with a simple application of the Reversal Technique, it's all back to normal."
A bump on his head…
Todo Aoi raised a hand to touch his skull. The moment his hand reached the top of his head, memories flashed across his mind like lightning.
Right—he had originally intended to check on the first-year students at Tokyo School to gauge their abilities, but a bald guy had given him the wrong directions, leading to an awkward encounter with Gojo Satoru in the restroom.
After that, the white-haired teacher forced him on a two-hour "Gojo Satoru's handpicked sightseeing tour," crushing all his respect and admiration for him…
And when he was leaving, he coincidentally ran into the bald guy who had misled him. As he angrily confronted him, before he could even speak, the bald guy knocked him out cold with a single hit…
In that instant, not only did he recall the recent events, but also memories from the handshake event in Chiba with Takada-chan surfaced in his mind.
Perhaps it was Ieiri Shoko's Reversal Technique that restored his brain to full alertness. At this moment, Todo Aoi finally understood why Saitama felt so familiar—a face he had seen somewhere before—
Saitama was the bald security guard who had checked him for dangerous items when he entered the Chiba handshake event!
No wonder he had never been able to find the guy who had knocked him out that day. He had suspected a certain sneaky stalker, but later learned from Takada-chan's letter that the stalker had been caught and imprisoned.
And after encountering Saitama again at Tokyo School and getting knocked out, that sense of familiarity before losing consciousness made Todo Aoi realize suddenly—
So the bald guy who had knocked him out at the handshake event… was this same Saitama!
Recalling this, Todo Aoi shivered. "It's the bald guy…"
"Huh? Bald guy?" Ieiri Shoko perked up at the interesting phrase and leaned in curiously. "Are you talking about Saitama-kun? He was the one who brought you here just now."
"When he handed you over, he was sweating and saying things like 'I messed up.' What exactly happened? Did you hit your head?" she asked, curious.
Todo Aoi was silent for a moment, then asked Ieiri Shoko, "That Saitama… when did he start working at Tokyo School?"
"Working? You didn't know? He's the one who carried you here, after all," Ieiri Shoko said, a bit surprised. "Saitama is a first-year trainee. Gojo made an exception and accepted him."
"…Huh?"
---
"Oh, Genos, you're here. Let's head back."
Genos stopped at the school gate, looking at Saitama standing there.
The bald guy was hiding sneakily behind one of the pillars, peeking around while waving at him, wearing an oddly nervous expression.
"Sensei," Genos, who had never seen Saitama like this, immediately ran over, anxiously asking, "What's wrong? Are you hiding from someone? Or did a powerful enemy suddenly appear?"
"Well… not exactly."
Saitama hesitated, looking away for a moment. "I just… messed something up. Anyway… we should head back quickly, or it'll become a bigger problem."
"Yes, Sensei!"
Though confused, Genos replied loudly and obediently.
Saitama let out a sigh of relief, glanced around to make sure no one was nearby, and then started walking back home with Genos.
Genos jogged to catch up. "Sensei, what exactly happened? First, you told me not to look for you, and now you're acting so nervous. Did something happen that even you can't handle?"
"Well…" Saitama recalled Todo Aoi, the guy he had accidentally knocked out earlier, and nervously said, "It's just a little incident… Genos, don't ask about it anymore. Let's just go to the supermarket and get today's sale items. The sashimi at Smile-Smile Supermarket is 30% off today…"
Saitama pulled out a supermarket flyer from his pocket and started browsing, but Genos suddenly stopped in his tracks. He spun around sharply, golden eyes flickering with detection signals.
"There's a high-speed energy signature approaching from behind…" he murmured. "Getting closer!"
No sooner had he spoken than a loud shout rang out from behind.
"Wait!"
"Huh?"
Saitama turned, stunned.
Charging toward them at an astonishing speed was Todo Aoi.
Ever since hearing about Saitama from Ieiri Shoko, Todo Aoi had jumped straight off the hospital bed and ran after him outside the school.
Tokyo School was located in a sparsely populated suburban area, with only a single road leading out. Following the road, Todo Aoi quickly spotted Saitama's figure.
"Saitama, don't run! Stand there and don't move!" Todo Aoi shouted, startling Saitama.
"Oh no, he's caught up…" Saitama muttered nervously, freezing in place.
"Sensei, who is this person?" Genos asked cautiously. "Is he an enemy?"
"No, not really…" Saitama replied awkwardly.
By this time, Todo Aoi had already reached Saitama and Genos, abruptly stopping in front of them.
Standing before Saitama again, Todo Aoi was no longer careless as before. He focused all his cursed energy, leaving no blind spots in his body, and began scrutinizing Saitama carefully.
Saitama still wore his usual blank expression, standing quietly, looking slightly guilty. He was dressed simply in a white T-shirt and shorts. The T-shirt bore the meaningless characters for "soy sauce."
—By all appearances, he didn't look like a strong fighter. Todo Aoi could still detect no cursed energy from him. Yet this guy had knocked him out with a single headbutt. That was an undeniable fact.
"Sensei!" Genos' eyes widened. "The energy signature from that person just surged! It seems he's hostile toward us."
"R-Really…"
Saitama, inwardly thinking, couldn't exactly argue with that.
After all, this guy had not only taken the wrong path because of him, but had also been knocked out by his head.
Thinking of this, Saitama nervously asked, "I already apologized, didn't I? And I even had you sent to the infirmary. The treatment wouldn't cost you anything, right? I didn't make it so bad that I'd owe you a medical bill…"
"…Saitama."
Todo Aoi ignored Saitama's awkward words and fixed his gaze on the bald head.
What kind of terrifying body was capable of knocking down someone like Todo Aoi, who prided himself on being as solid as steel, with a single strike?
"Saitama, I'm very interested in your body," Todo Aoi said in a low voice.
Saitama maintained his nervous expression and stared back for a few seconds.
"Sorry, even though I caused you some trouble, I have to be honest about this," Saitama answered solemnly. "I'm not interested in men."
"…That's not what I meant!" Todo Aoi shouted in anger. "Saitama, fight me!"
"Ah?" Saitama froze, his nervous expression instantly replaced with a blank, bewildered look. "No way… why do I have to fight you? You're not some evil threat. Besides, I'm in a rush to get to the supermarket for the discounted sashimi."
"Have a match with me, and everything that happened before will be forgiven," Todo Aoi said, standing his ground.
"Oh…" Saitama blinked in slight surprise.
With a sharp mechanical "click," Genos stepped forward, spreading his stance on the asphalt. His heels scraped the ground with a muted thud.
He slightly bent his steel arms, and the components on his forearms spread open like lotus petals, the palm-mounted incinerator cannon faintly glowing red. "I don't understand what happened, but Sensei, please step back. I'll handle this person."
"No, I'll take care of it."
Saitama shook his head, sidestepping past Genos and moving in front of Todo Aoi.
"Since he said that as long as I fight him, everything that happened before will be forgiven, then fine," Saitama said, standing diagonally in front of Genos and glancing back. The setting sun shone on his bald head, casting a smooth halo around it.
For a moment, Genos froze. His eyes widened, and in his mind, a divine image of a haloed figure suddenly appeared: "…That's… a god…"
Saitama faced the sunset, expression serious. His previously blank, almost cartoonish face transformed instantly into a focused one. "Also, Genos, I have a more important task for you. It's a job only you can handle."
Influenced by the solemn atmosphere, Genos instinctively lowered his arms and straightened. "…What is it, Sensei?"
Saitama took a deep breath and pulled a keychain from his pocket, which had a small plastic giraffe dangling from it, handing it to Genos.
He spoke deliberately, word by word: "Get the discounted sashimi from the supermarket. Also, pick up a small bottle of mustard. We're having sashimi rice bowls tonight."
Genos looked at the keychain in Saitama's hand and carefully took it, as if it weighed a thousand pounds.
"Yes, Sensei! I will absolutely get the discounted sashimi!" Genos shouted loudly.
…
Watching Genos clutch the keys tightly and sprint off at full speed, Saitama exhaled in relief and turned back.
The empty winding mountain road now held only Saitama and Todo Aoi.
"At Genos' speed, getting the sashimi shouldn't be a problem," Saitama murmured to himself, then shifted his gaze back to Todo Aoi.
Todo Aoi remained fully charged with cursed energy, ready to fight at any moment. "Shall we begin?"
Saitama nodded. "Yes, let's go."
"Good," Todo Aoi nodded, voice deep. "Rules are simple: one-on-one, no time limit, no restrictions. Whoever gets knocked down first, or surrenders, loses. Sound fair?"
"Oh, sounds fine. I don't mind," Saitama scratched his face casually and replied.
What's going on?
Todo Aoi frowned slightly, scrutinizing Saitama's face.
This guy still looked relaxed, clueless, completely unbothered. Either Saitama was far too weak, with no combat awareness, or he was far too strong and simply didn't consider Todo Aoi a threat.
"Shall we start now?" Saitama asked.
"No, before we fight, I must ask you a question first."
Todo Aoi suddenly widened his stance, sliding his legs into a solid horse stance, and positioned his hands, one forward, one back, ready to attack. Saitama, meanwhile, stood with his arms hanging loosely, looking like a stunned wooden statue.
Todo Aoi took a deep breath, his shout echoing down the mountain path: "Saitama! Tell me—what type of women do you like?!"
"Huh?"
Saitama froze, then a few dark lines appeared under his eyes, a look of speechless exasperation on his face. "I'm not sure why I have to tell you this."
"Because I'll use this answer to gauge my opponent's traits," Todo Aoi said seriously. "The type of person someone likes reflects their personality. Those with unusual tastes have equally unusual personalities; those with boring tastes, well, their personality is boring too."
"For the record, I—Todo Aoi, third-year student at Kyoto Branch, First-Level Sorcerer—like tall women with full hips!"
"Come on, Saitama! Tell me your preference!" Todo Aoi shouted, his chest reverberating with his own intensity. "I'm sure your answer will surprise me!"
***