"I... we're staff members sent by the Hero Association to contact you!"
Of the two men in black suits, the bespectacled one finally caught his breath, sweat pouring down his face. "We've come about your hero rank advancement. Please come with us to the association!"
"Hero rankings?" Bang's head filled with question marks. "Isn't that something you just announce on TV every time? Why has it suddenly become so complicated?"
"Ah, yes! It's because it involves a new ranking system, and you're on the association's invitation list. That's why we came here specifically!"
"Is that so? Then let's go. I don't have anything urgent for the time being anyway."
"Thank you so much, Bang-san! You've been a great help!"
City A, Hero Association Headquarters
"What exactly did you call me here for?"
A glowing green orb floated above the operations room, making the staff member delivering coffee below break out in cold sweat. "I saw it... no, Miss Tornado, please wait just a moment! Lord Sitch is on his way. He'll explain the details to you!"
"Hmph. Sitch?" The petite woman with green curly hair, wearing a black slit dress, put her hands on her hips and snorted. "If he asked me to come to headquarters, he should have been waiting for me here! Why am I waiting for him? It's been almost two hours!"
"Lord Sitch had to deal with the disaster in B-City..." The staff member explained softly, smiling apologetically. "Miss Tornado, why don't you come down and sit on the sofa? Lord Sitch should be here soon!"
"Hmph. Fine then." Tatsumaki curled her lip and descended from her floating position. "If he doesn't give me a reasonable explanation, I'll tear down headquarters today. Save him from having to take the elevator up every time."
The staff member looked ready to cry. "Please don't do that!"
Ten minutes later, Sitch strode into the conference room, wiping sweat with a handkerchief.
"I'm so sorry, Miss Tornado! Something urgent came up and I had to handle it personally!"
Seeing Tatsumaki's impatient glare fixed on him, Sitch felt a chill run down his spine. He quickly sat down opposite this particular ancestor and opened the documents in his hands.
"Now, let me explain the latest plan to you..."
Five minutes later, Tatsumaki held the S-Class hero rankings determined by the association's internal selection process. Her delicate eyebrows furrowed in conflict.
"It's fine that Blast is ranked first, but..." Tatsumaki's anger transformed into psychic power. She abruptly stood and slammed the ranking list against Sitch's face. "Why is Jordan Evans ranked ahead of me?! He was clearly weak the last time we met! Were you all collectively blind while I was watching?!"
Looking at the green orbs of psychic energy darting around before him, Sitch chuckled awkwardly. "It's like this, Miss Tornado. 'Super Cop' has been very active lately. The Z-City branch has submitted extensive materials proving he does indeed possess strength matching his achievements. In addition, 'Super Cop' is currently among the most popular heroes. The only one who can compare to him is 'Sweet Mask,' who's recently seen a rapid rise in popularity..."
"Stop. Stop with these pointless excuses." Tatsumaki crossed her arms, turned her face away, and huffed unhappily. "I'll just go find him and fight him. Then you'll know who's stronger. What city does he live in again? Oh right, Fubuki mentioned it to me before..."
Please don't do that!
Have I just said this exact sentence before?
Seeing Tatsumaki about to leave, Sitch's body trembled. He automatically activated his once-in-a-lifetime Flash ability, lunging forward to block the door.
"Miss Tornado, please think twice! The association has just announced the formation of S-Class heroes. If discord breaks out among the top S-Class heroes at this time, public opinion will take a sharp turn for the worse!"
"Hmph. I won't bother with such trivial matters."
"Miss Tornado..." Sitch's voice dropped to a meaningful tone. "You wouldn't want the association protected by Mr. Blast to fall apart, would you?"
Tatsumaki froze.
In Front of a School Gate
"It must be him, right?"
"Judging from that hairstyle, it should be correct."
"Then let's approach..."
Two men in black suits wearing headsets whispered to each other as they moved toward a man at the school gate who looked like a delinquent.
"Excuse me—"
The delinquent—sporting the same steak-shaped pompadour as Josuke Higashikata from a certain bizarre adventure—suddenly whirled around. Two murderous glints flashed across his face, which was partially shadowed by his distinctive hair.
"Are you thugs planning to cause trouble outside the school? I advise you not to make a move right now, because Zenko will be getting out of school soon. I don't want her seeing anything bad!"
"What a terrifying aura!"
Startled, the two men who had stumbled backward quickly scrambled to their feet. "No, no, no! We're not thugs! You're Metal Bat, ranked C-Class 223, right? We came here specifically to see you!"
"What, you really came to see me?" Metal Bat was taken aback, but his aggressive temperament quickly returned. "Just say what you want. Don't delay me from taking Zenko to her piano lesson!"
Similar scenes continued to unfold across various cities as the Hero Association tirelessly searched for heroes on the list. As each hero was finally confirmed, the new ranking list was officially announced to the public during the nightly news broadcast.
This caused a massive uproar in the public opinion sphere.
As the Hero Association predicted, the failure of some popular frontline heroes to be selected for S-Class caused large numbers of fans to launch furious online attacks. Some fan clubs even organized protest marches at Hero Association branches in various cities, displaying a "we'll fight you to the end if you don't change the rankings" attitude.
However, these demonstrations didn't last long before they subsided.
The reason? The newly crowned A-Class Number One, super popular singer and idol Sweet Mask, affirmed the newly created S-Class in a public interview.
"You mean those S-Class heroes? I was involved in their review process too. Well, I suppose they were adequate. They should be able to fulfill their duties as heroes without problems."
He paused, his beautiful face severe. "I warned them—if they violate the strength and beauty expected of heroes, I will personally pull them down from their positions."
The most aggressive Sweet Mask fans fell silent as if they'd received a royal decree. When the biggest tree standing in front no longer objected, the smaller fan groups following behind naturally couldn't maintain their outrage either.
The protests ended as quickly as they'd begun.
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