Saitama quickly paid, then carried the plastic bags filled with groceries in his hand. The bags looked ordinary, but they held his vital rations for the next week.
He pushed open the supermarket's glass doors. The air outside, which had been warm just moments ago, now seemed tinged with a scorched, tense smell. The distant black smoke was even more obvious. Saitama didn't hesitate—carrying his shopping bags, he headed toward the source of the chaos with unhurried steps that were nonetheless straight to the point.
Not far from the supermarket, at a relatively open intersection, Saitama saw a dazzling gold-and-red figure streak low across the city sky, dragging a long tail of flame as it shot straight toward the west-side industrial district.
"It's Iron Man!" A bold bystander on the sidewalk held up a phone to record and cried out in surprise.
But what followed was an even more terrifying sight.
Three enormous figures made of rough rock rose up from the industrial district. They had long, snake-like necks—each neck topped with a vicious stone head that continuously spewed eerie green flames. The green fire was insanely hot. Wherever it passed, the steel frames of factories in the industrial zone melted and collapsed like wax statues, triggering a chain of explosions.
Iron Man was clearly fighting while maneuvering around the three-headed monster. He weaved nimbly through the combined assault of the three heads, blasting brilliant energy beams from his repulsors, precisely striking the junctions where the heads connected to the bodies. But shockingly, repulsor shots strong enough to shred tanks only left brief white scorch marks on the rocky hide. A moment later, the surface restored itself as if nothing happened—no meaningful damage at all.
Meanwhile, the monster's green flames forced Tony to dodge repeatedly, leaving him looking increasingly strained.
"JARVIS, analyze their weakness! These big chunks of rock are absurdly hard!" Tony's voice sounded inside the armor, edged with impatience.
Just then, his tactical HUD caught a familiar bald figure on the ground.
Saitama was carefully placing a plastic bag with a supermarket logo onto a public bench by the roadside—like it contained something unbelievably precious.
Tony's heart leapt. He immediately opened the public comm channel, his voice booming from the suit's external speakers with unmistakable urgency.
"Hey! Saitama! Give me a hand! Right now!"
Only after making sure the shopping bag was secure and wouldn't fall did Saitama turn to face the three gigantic rock snake-neck monsters. Confronting creatures as huge as hills, his expression was as flat as ever. He even glanced back with a hint of worry at the bag on the bench, confirming it was safe.
At that moment, the three-headed monster also seemed to notice the new target.
All three massive stone heads snapped around at once. Six eyes burning with green flames locked onto Saitama standing on the ground. Their long necks drew back, chests swelling—clearly preparing to spew that deadly green fire.
The scorching heat made the air begin to warp.
Tony's heart clenched in midair. "Watch out!"
But in the very next second, Saitama's figure blurred where he stood.
No flashy technique—just a simple, stripped-down forward step.
Almost at the same instant, from three different directions—left, right, and straight ahead—three short, heavy impacts rang out nearly at once:
"Bang!"
"Bang, bang!"
(End of Chapter)
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