But it seemed there was no Saitama in this world, or if there was, Saitama hadn't had his bald epiphany and risen to become [One Punch Man] like in the original.
After all, the crab monster that had triggered Saitama's desire to 'become a hero' had been taken out by Ran.
Maybe Saitama was still working as an office worker right now.
Seeing that Makoto had completely ignored his words and was still lost in thought, Vaccine Man grew even more exasperated.
"Are you even listening?!"
He roared.
His height, originally just over two meters, ballooned to nearly a kilometer.
Fangs grew from his mouth, claws extended from his fingertips.
"Damn it! I'll just have to wipe out human civilization completely!"
He roared, charging at Makoto.
His speed was so fast that the naked eye couldn't track it. The ground exploded into a massive crater where he took off.
Nino, filming from behind, and the hundreds of millions of viewers in the live stream, were all terrified.
The few survivors from the South Korea were also scared senseless, only now realizing that this 'Vaccine Man' hadn't even used his full power when he was slaughtering their country.
Although Vaccine Man's body had become enormous, his movements were still extremely fast and agile.
His claws whistled through the air, each swing tearing the air and leaving bottomless chasms in the ground.
Makoto dodged sideways. The fist brushed past his cheek and hit the ruins behind him, blasting a huge crater dozens of meters wide with a boom.
Makoto did not counterattack.
Vaccine Man's fists, claws, knees, and elbows rained down on him like a storm, but not a single move could touch the hem of his clothes.
The two engaged in a close-quarters brawl.
Far away at Shuchi'in Academy, many students also took out their phones to watch the live stream of the battle.
The members of the basketball team huddled together, their faces grim.
Kuroko Tetsuya marveled, "There's such a strong Anomaly... able to fight the Commander to a standstill?"
Kagami Taiga beside him clenched his fists, fine sweat beading on his forehead.
"This monster... if it appeared in Tokyo..."
Ace, who had just completed his enrollment procedures that day and officially become a student at Shuchi'in Academy, sneered.
"Are you blind?"
Kuroko was stunned.
Ace crossed his arms, leaning against the wall, and said calmly, "Commander hasn't even used his full strength. He's just playing with that Anomaly."
"What?" Kagami's pupils contracted sharply.
"Commander is just testing that Anomaly's power," Yu said flatly.
On the battlefield, Makoto was still testing Vaccine Man's capabilities.
While dodging, he quickly analyzed in his mind.
Standard Dragon level.
Unable to take down Makoto in close combat, Vaccine Man chose to create distance.
He leaped high, hovering in mid-air, forming his hands into claw shapes.
"Damn it! Like a flea! Always dodging!"
Vaccine Man's palms began to gather light.
Energy compressed in his palms, making a 'whirring' sound.
Boom—!
A golden energy ball blasted toward Makoto.
The energy ball hit the ground, exploding into a massive golden sphere of light. The shockwave spread outward, leveling everything within hundreds of meters.
Nino hid behind distant ruins, her camera steadily set up before her, the lens always aimed at the battlefield.
Occasionally, debris would pass through her body, but it was canceled out by the elementalization of the Flame-Flame Fruit.
The live stream audience had already exceeded one billion.
"Truly terrifying... no comparison with previous Anomaly."
"Thank goodness I'm in the Nishikawa Nation. I don't have to worry too much..."
"Please, what does it take to immigrate to the Nishikawa Nation?"
The comments streamed like a waterfall.
Suddenly, Makoto's aura changed.
Susanoo!
Gray-black skeletal arms reached out from the energy, blocking the energy wave.
Then, the skeletal arms opened, their palms condensing several blood-red magatama.
Yasakani no Magatama.
Makoto then attached Amaterasu flames to the magatama. Black flames danced on the blood-red energy.
The magatama flew out, speeding toward Vaccine Man.
They collided with the energy wave in mid-air.
Boom—!!!
The two forces collided, producing a deafening explosion.
The shockwave spread outward, sweeping debris and dust into the sky.
Vaccine Man's energy wave was suppressed by the Yasakani no Magatama, pushed back step by step.
"Impossible... how can this be?!"
His pupils contracted sharply, his eyes full of disbelief.
The Yasakani no Magatama broke through the energy wave's defense and flew toward him.
He twisted aside, but one of the magatama grazed his left arm. Black flames instantly attached to his skin and began burning.
"Arrgghh—!"
Vaccine Man screamed in pain, frantically slapping at the black flames on his left arm. But instead of extinguishing, the flames burned even stronger.
With no choice, he gritted his teeth and used his right claw to sever his left arm at the elbow.
The severed arm fell to the ground. The black flames continued to burn. A few seconds later, the entire arm turned to ash.
Makoto had lost interest in continuing the fight. He reached for the ring in the center of his chest.
Shrrrrip—
The moment the ring was pulled, Makoto's body underwent a drastic change.
The muscles on his chest tore apart, his head split in two, revealing a circular saw blade lined with countless teeth.
Chainsaw Man form!
Makoto's figure vanished before their eyes.
Before the Susanoo could disappear due to lack of Chakra supply, Chainsaw Man suddenly appeared behind Vaccine Man.
"Goodbye~"
The chainsaw swung down.
Deep purple blood splattered.
Vaccine Man's body was split in two from the middle, his upper and lower halves separated, crashing heavily to the ground.
Vaccine Man's eyes were still open, his pupils already faded.
"I... I am the Earth's... apostle..."
His face full of unwillingness, he let out a weak voice.
"How could I... have been... by a human..."
Before he could finish,
His pupils completely lost their light.
Makoto landed on the ground, his Chainsaw Man form released, returning to his human form. He glanced at Vaccine Man's corpse.
"This is roughly the strength of an ordinary Dragon-level."
In the original One Punch Man, there were also strong and weak differences among Dragon-level.
Just like with Kage-level, Hiruzen and Minato were not in the same tier.
Regardless, since a Dragon-level Anomaly had appeared, some measures needed to be taken.
Seeing Makoto so easily dispatch the Anomaly that had destroyed a whole country, countless people in the live stream cheered loudly.
The comment section completely exploded.
"Long live Commander!"
"So strong!"
"So this is the power of the King of the World?!"
Nino rushed out from behind the ruins, excitedly throwing herself into Makoto's arms.
With one hand holding the camera and the other holding Makoto's arm, she frantically stood on tiptoes to kiss his cheek.
And while doing so, she didn't forget to turn the camera lens around, aiming it at herself and Makoto.
"Darling! You're amazing! Love you so much! Mwah mwah mwah!"
The comment section had another surge—
"Nino-san is so cute!"
"I'll take this PDA!"
"I've already followed Nino-san's livestream. When you have time, please share how you caught Commander!"
Far away in the Nishikawa Nation, the other Mrs. Nishikawa watching the livestream were very annoyed.
Anyone who didn't know would have thought Nino was the first wife.
They knew they'd have to put some pressure on her tonight.
Among those watching the live stream, one person suddenly murmured to himself.
"You've grown so big..."
…
Later, Makoto made a rare return to his homeland.
He naturally received a hero's welcome.
After all, they had also received news that Vaccine Man had been heading their way. Many had been scared half to death.
And Makoto's arrival had solved that problem for them.
The streets were lined with people. Some waved flags, some held banners, some cheered.
Children sat on their fathers' shoulders, constantly shouting Makoto's name.
Makoto waved all the way, high-fiving the children.
This was truly a triumphant return home, worthy of Chinese's elders, right?
Among the crowd, many compatriots asked him, "Commander, faced with the world's increasing numbers of Anomaly, and their growing strength, what should we do?"
Makoto thought for a moment and said, "I'll think of something."
He didn't say exactly what, but everyone believed him.