"Looking at the situation this way, the Kamen Rider Kabuto who suddenly appeared may not be the System holder I have to face. He's most likely a pawn pushed into the spotlight by my opponent... That means this Kamen Rider Kabuto may not actually possess the ability to travel through time!"
Although this was not necessarily good news, Ren Kanzaki breathed a huge sigh of relief when he realized that he might not be dealing with someone who truly controlled time.
Compared to facing an enemy who could freely travel through timelines, never knowing whether Hyper Kabuto might suddenly appear and strike him with an attack capable of disintegrating matter at the atomic level, Ren would much rather face someone capable of creating imitation Kamen Riders.
After materializing his soul, Ren had essentially become immortal. Unless he encountered an attack from a higher-level existence, even atomic disintegration would not be enough to kill him.
However, he had no way to deal with Hyper Kabuto, who could appear endlessly at different points in the timeline. Eventually, he would inevitably be worn down and killed.
But if he was only facing an imitation Kamen Rider, his confidence returned.
"Still, did that guy release Kamen Rider Kabuto at this particular moment to compete with me for influence within the Hero Association? But why give him amnesia? Was it meant to lower my guard? It couldn't possibly be one of those situations where a mad scientist's creation went out of control, could it?"
Ren muttered to himself. At the same time, another possibility suddenly occurred to him, one that frightened him even more.
"According to the idealistic logic of Kamen Rider, could this imitation Kamen Rider Kabuto have actually awakened the spirit of a true Kamen Rider? Is that why he went out of control, defected, and ended up wandering the streets with amnesia?"
"Don't tell me he'll somehow come to understand things like bonds and friendship, become a genuine Kamen Rider, and then, when facing some ultimate enemy, Tsukasa Kadoya or Zi-O will suddenly appear to join forces with him against me!"
The thought left Ren completely numb.
Only now did he realize just how sinister the person behind the scenes might truly be.
He could almost be certain that the other party had created this Kamen Rider Kabuto while anticipating that he would eventually go out of control.
Anyone unfamiliar with Kamen Rider would naturally be wary of such a strange figure appearing out of nowhere. After all, Kabuto's entire style was completely different from anything native to this world.
Even if Ren had known nothing about the plot of the One-Punch Man world, he still would have attempted to test Kamen Rider Kabuto.
That would inevitably create friction between them, eventually leading to a devastating battle. During that conflict, Kabuto might awaken some kind of idealistic power.
At that point, Ren would no longer be facing only Kamen Rider Kabuto.
Perhaps Kabuto's current amnesia was itself part of the plan.
Once the battle began, the person behind the scenes might force this artificial Kamen Rider Kabuto to remember everything associated with Kamen Riders from the depths of his heart.
Then, under the idealistic laws of the One-Punch Man world, Kabuto might become utterly convinced that he was a true Kamen Rider.
If the strange logic of Kamen Rider merged with the idealistic nature of this world, the result might truly be an authentic Kamen Rider.
And once that happened, who knew whether some inexplicable senior or junior Riders might suddenly arrive in the middle of the battle?
Ren might end up being struck by a Heisei Rider Anniversary Kick.
"What a vicious scheme! If I know nothing about Kamen Rider, I'm destined to die without understanding why. But if I do know about Kamen Rider, I'll be too afraid to act recklessly. Even testing him would require extreme caution, giving the mastermind even more time to prepare the conditions for certain victory!"
Ren felt that his opponent was unbelievably sinister.
He had dealt with all kinds of protagonists before, including others who possessed Systems. Yet even the strongest protagonist he had ever faced, the reborn Immortal Emperor from an urban fantasy world, had not been this calculating.
At that moment, Ren regretted exposing himself so openly after allowing his desire for beautiful women to cloud his judgment.
Although it was not entirely because of women.
The real reason was that everything had gone far too smoothly for him. Combined with his lack of genuine hardship and self-discipline, arrogance had gradually taken root in his heart.
Subconsciously, he had begun to regard himself as destiny's chosen protagonist.
He believed he was certain to accomplish great things in the future. He believed that every hardship and obstacle along the way would amount to nothing more than passing wind and rain.
Naturally, he had assumed that he would win this confrontation as well.
He had lost the caution he once possessed when he first obtained the System and had gradually become blindly arrogant.
Now that he had encountered a terrifying opponent, his former caution was slowly returning.
Unfortunately, it might already be too late.
"That sinister bastard must be hiding in the shadows, perhaps mass-producing all kinds of Kamen Rider monsters or imitation Riders. Then he'll send all of them to overwhelm me without ever needing to show himself!"
"And if I want to find him, I'll have to use Kamen Rider Kabuto..."
"Hmph. In that case, I'll become Kabuto's ally!"
A sudden idea came to Ren, and a plan quickly formed in his mind.
His expression returned to its usual kind and approachable smile.
While Ren was using his supposedly clever mind to formulate a strategy, Caelus was currently at the Hero Association examination center.
He had come to take the hero exam.
However, Caelus did not use his true abilities during the examination. He simply performed at an average level based on the scores of the people around him.
"Why? My physical test score was perfect! Even if I barely passed the written test, I should still have been placed in A-Class or B-Class. Why did I end up in C-Class, and at the very bottom?"
At dusk, Saitama complained bitterly as they walked home.
"Caelus barely passed both tests, and he's also in C-Class. Why am I still in C-Class when I received a perfect score in one category?"
"That is because those fools have no understanding of Master's true power! If necessary, I will speak to the Hero Association and ask them to transfer my rank to you!"
Genos could not understand why the Hero Association had assigned his master to C-Class, much less placed him at the very bottom.
Even Caelus, who had barely passed both sections, ranked above Saitama.
It was completely unfair.
There had to be something wrong with the evaluation.
"There's no need to do that."
Saitama, despite being the one treated unfairly, instead advised Genos not to act impulsively.
He was only slightly annoyed. There was no reason to go through all that trouble.
As long as he could earn money as a hero, that was enough.
His ranking and number of fans were only secondary matters. They were not important.
"But Caelus, you could have scored much higher, couldn't you? Why did you deliberately hold back?"
"I don't care much about rankings. Being able to earn some money is enough. A lower rank is fine. It means I won't attract too much attention, and no one will come looking for trouble without a reason..."
Caelus paused.
"Although it seems someone is already coming after us."
At that moment, a man wearing a snakeskin-patterned suit leaped out in front of them.
Snakebite Snek struck a martial arts pose, delivered a long and largely pointless speech, then suddenly attacked.
Saitama picked at his ear before casually backhanding him.
Snek flew into the nearby grass and lost consciousness.
"He talked for so long. Why did he even come here?"
"Hmm. Perhaps he thought we were too relaxed and didn't look enough like heroes, so he became upset?"
"Is that guy an idiot? Since when are heroes supposed to have one specific appearance?"
Saitama complained.
"Ah! I almost forgot. If I reach the convenience store now, I should still make it in time for the final discount and grab some half-price food. I'm heading out first!"
As soon as Saitama finished speaking, he sprinted away.
Naturally, Genos refused to fall behind. His acceleration systems activated as he hurried after his master.
Caelus watched the master and disciple disappear into the distance and murmured,
"A hero was never supposed to have a fixed form in the first place. Well said."
(To be continued.)
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)