At the center of the battlefield, something similar to what happened at the Hero Association was also occurring.
"Wai-"
The twice-transformed turquoise Great Ape raised its foot and stomped down heavily the next instant.
A professional hero, whose name Lott couldn't even remember, was about to speak.
But before the next word could leave his mouth, the demonic ape's large foot had already ferociously landed.
Amidst the deafening roar, it added a new giant footprint to this land.
In less than ten minutes, the numerous S-Class Heroes who had confidently participated in this subjugation battle were reduced to less than one in ten!
Especially when seeing the layer upon layer of collapsing city and the chasm natural moat stretching for thousands of miles, completely with no end in sight, created by the impact of the energy cannon, individuals proud of their attack range like Whitebeard from the Planet Pirate and Nagato from the Planet Ninja collectively fell into silence.
The gap was just too vast.
The Great Ape turned its head to look at the silver-gray combat robots floating in mid-air, forming a mechanical force.
The Hero Association's last remaining dispatched combat power-
Metal Knight!
Bofoi, far away in M-City, looked back at the Great Ape's blood-red ape eyes through the monitor connected to the combat robot's head.
His legs trembled uncontrollably as he shouted:
"I, I'm not here in person! D-Destroying all these robots is useless! I, I can still be useful to you! I'll publicly declare my submission to you immediately!"
The Great Ape's fang-filled mouth curled up another three points as it softly uttered the name:
"Genos."
This scene felt unexpectedly familiar to everyone in the chat group.
The next second, everyone remembered.
'Wasn't it exactly the same as the situation just before Shinomiya Ganan and his group died?'
And in Bofoi's secret base, a cold hand reached through the office chair and pressed down on his left shoulder.
Bofoi jolted as if struck by lightning.
He turned his head mechanically to look.
His eyes met those cold ones directly.
If Shinomiya Oko is still alive, he would definitely say: At this moment, it is exactly like that moment.
...
[Master Roshi: When he transformed into a Great Ape and didn't lose his reason, the outcome of this battle was already decided.]
As someone who had fought against a Saiyan in Great Ape form before, he was the most qualified to say this.
Though saying Master Roshi fought the Great Ape Son Goku isn't entirely accurate.
After all, when Goku transformed, he completely ignored him.
Instead, he vented his destructive desires wildly in all directions, launching indiscriminate attacks.
That allowed Master Roshi to find an opening and take the chance to destroy the moon.
In a real fight, he probably would have lost nine times out of ten.
But it feels like Master Roshi might have pushed the moon out of Goku's line of sight back then, rather than destroying it.
Otherwise, why did the moon reappear later?
And seeing Lott crush another hero into a bloody scene, Master Roshi secretly sighed, grateful that it was Goku who was sent to Earth back then.
…
At this moment, the turquoise Great Ape slightly bent down, placing its open palm on the ground.
Chika let out a 'Heave-ho!' and climbed onto the ape's palm.
Lott then raised his hand towards the rear right.
Chika gave a light jump and returned inside the room through the open window.
It was only then that everyone noticed.
Everything visible in the frame had been utterly destroyed.
But only that apartment building remained completely intact.
[Utaha: Although it might not be the right time to say this... but... it's somehow a bit romantic.]
The man transforms into a terrifying monster, destroying everything.
But he shows his softest side to the woman.
Wow, just thinking about it makes the plot feel so romantic.
It feels like she could include it in the second volume of her light novel.
Thump~ Thump~ Thump~
While Utaha was lost in her own fantasy, the Great Ape form Lott suddenly turned and walked in another direction.
Everyone on Planet Terra knew that direction led to the Hero Association's headquarters!
…
Inside the headquarters building, Yusaku, his knees broken by Saeko, endured the intense pain and gritted his teeth:
"Prime Minister Fujiwara, you... betrayed the Hero Association?!"
That Saeko was Lott's person was something everyone on Planet Terra knew by now.
And the only possibility Yusaku could deduce for her arriving here silently and unnoticed was-
Prime Minister Fujiwara's betrayal!
"Yusaku, since when could the Kudo Family represent the Hero Association?" Prime Minister Fujiwara's expression remained unfluctuating.
"I admit you are quite skilled at deduction and solving cases, but playing politics is another matter entirely."
"The most important thing in politics is choosing the right side."
At this point, a rare trace of smugness appeared on Prime Minister Fujiwara's aged face.
"Prime Minister Fujiwara, from... when did you..." From the other side of the conference room, Child Emperor, who had returned from the front lines under orders, swallowed several mouthfuls of saliva before barely stabilizing his emotions to question Prime Minister Fujiwara.
"Probably from the moment I realized there were too many fools in the Hero Association." Prime Minister Fujiwara sat down in his own seat and said calmly:
"Child Emperor, have you ever grown a tree?" Prime Minister Fujiwara continued calmly:
"During a tree's growth, it will sprout superfluous, useless branches. If you want the tree to grow strong and healthy, you must prune these useless branches."
Glancing at the few remaining heroes, Prime Minister Fujiwara added:
"Alright, let me put it in more easy-to-understand terms. Tatsumaki, Isamu, Bad, do you think the strength of our Planet Terra is great?" Prime Minister Fujiwara called out the real names of three heroes in one breath, posing a soul-piercing question.
"Hah? What nonsense, leaving those two aside, of course I'm very... uh..." Tatsumaki placed her hands on her slender hips, speaking with an arrogant and unruly expression.
However, by the end of her sentence, the final word 'strong' simply wouldn't come out.
Even though the Universal Chat Group was full of masters, Tatsumaki was confident she could rank in the top ten.
Of course, that was the surface ranking.
Individuals like Yhwach hidden in the Wandenreich on the Planet Shinigami, or the Blinding One, Necrozma, hiding in Ultra Space on the Planet Pokémon, weren't included yet.
But with the Saiyan information revealed, coupled with her previous experience of being brutally beaten by Lott, it was like two slaps to Tatsumaki's face.
After consecutive blows, even with Tatsumaki's personality, she couldn't really claim to be strong.
If Tatsumaki felt this way, Child Emperor and Metal Bat needn't be mentioned.
Even among S-Class, the gap in strength was enormous.
For example, placing these S-Class heroes in the One Piece World:
Tatsumaki would be basically invincible. Child Emperor, if in good condition, could be considered a super-enhanced version of Bartholomew Kuma. And Metal Bat... it's unclear how many rounds he could last against an Admiral.
"Leaving Saiyans aside for now, there are too many monsters in the universe." Prime Minister Fujiwara continued:
"The heroes currently in the Hero Association can no longer shoulder the responsibility of protecting Planet Terra. We need new heroes who truly have the ability to protect it."
Prime Minister Fujiwara's words also prompted reflection among countless people on other planets, especially the management layers of organizations like the World Government on the Planet Shinigami, the Five Great Ninja Villages on the Planet Ninja, and the Pokémon League on the Planet Pokémon.
That's right. Although the number of planets currently possessing spaceships and capable of traveling to other planets is extremely small, in the future, planets mastering spaceflight technology or using other abilities to traverse the cosmos will definitely increase.
Interactions between planets won't be limited to just the chat group.
There might even be wars!
In such a situation, they must possess greater strength!
Rumble-
The moment Prime Minister Fujiwara uttered the words 'new heroes', the conference room, no, the entire Association headquarters, shook violently.
In the livestream feed, the ceiling of the Hero Association headquarters was torn open like a Lego toy.
A grinning, green-furred ape face barged into the screen.
Prime Minister Fujiwara raised his hand and shouted:
"Now, the new hero with that capability is right here!"
His reason for this action wasn't solely because of his second granddaughter's relationship with Lott.
The more important reason was as stated before.
Prime Minister Fujiwara felt the current heroes in the Hero Association simply lacked the ability to protect Planet Terra.
He still remembered clearly, near the end of the first group livestream last week, the furious yet fearful expressions on the faces of Vegeta's trio after receiving the message.
It was something Prime Minister Fujiwara found hard to forget until now.
Could it be... that above the Saiyans, there existed even stronger beings?!
Prime Minister Fujiwara didn't dare imagine.
But after calming down, he immediately made a decision.
They must have someone who truly had the ability to protect Planet Terra, or at least protect his Fujiwara Family!
The reason he sent Tatsumaki, Child Emperor, and Metal Bat to the rear was that he felt these individuals still had room for growth. If they also died as tools to appease Lott, it would be a true pity.
Moreover, they hadn't offended Lott.
They could be kept.
"Well, well~ Famous Detective~"
At this moment, the Great Ape Lott's mouth was even harder to suppress than an AK-47.
He looked smilingly at the [Detective Highschool Student] whose knees had been broken by Saeko.
If Lott made this expression in his human form, some women might even develop a crush.
But in his Great Ape form, it only evoked soul-deep fear.
Under extreme terror, Shinichi's mouth hung wide open, uttering 'Uh, uh' for a long time without forming a complete sentence.
The Great Ape Lott's mouth still maintained its malicious smile.
The next second, under the witness of the entire universe, he pinched down with his right thumb and forefinger, lifted Shinichi up, raised him overhead, and then-
"Ahhh~~~"
Seeing the Great Ape Lott's operation, the warriors of Marley on the Planet Titan who could transform into Titans all expressed familiarity.
And Eren, who had recently defeated Annie and initially grasped the power of the Titans, had his eyes light up.
This move inspired him!
Meanwhile, on the Planet Pokémon, in Vermilion City, Kanto, Goh suddenly felt a chill down his spine.
'Wh-What's going on?'
'Why does this scene feel vaguely familiar?'
'As if scenes from a past life flashed before my eyes.'