Chapter 517 - 515: Saitama with Black Hair

Truthfully, if Fenric had chosen to challenge Saitama at this point, it would have been the perfect opportunity.

But he didn’t.

After the physical fitness test, Fenric had already seen enough.

Saitama’s power wasn’t just strong — it was absurdly beyond comprehension.

Challenging him would’ve been nothing more than asking to be humiliated.

Fenric wasn’t a masochist.

As a Samsara player, blindly rushing into a fight he knew he couldn’t win wasn’t bravery — it was stupidity.

...

When the trio returned to the city, Genos excused himself quietly.

As a cyborg, he had little interest in eating — and with one of his legs missing, it was inconvenient to stay out anyway. He needed to return to repair and upgrade his body.

That left only Fenric and Saitama.

For Saitama, whose wallet constantly suffered from "end-of-the-month emergencies," having someone else treat him to dinner was practically a holiday.

He was, in fact, radiantly happy.

...

Meanwhile, at the Hero Association Headquarters —

Inside a massive conference room, a video was playing on the main screen.

The footage, captured by a micro-drone, showed the battle between Fenric and Genos.

It lasted just over a minute.

But by the time it ended, the entire room had fallen into a heavy silence.

Every senior officer wore the same expression — grim and tense.

Because in that short clip, their newly promoted S-rank hero, Genos, the one they’d unanimously approved for exceptional elevation...

had been utterly crushed.

And the man who defeated him?

A freshly registered hero — ranked B-Class, Number 24.

An S-rank hero defeated by a B-rank rookie.

It was ridiculous.

A complete joke.

But that "joke" was now right in front of the highest members of the Association.

The atmosphere in the room was suffocating.

Finally, the silence broke when a stout old man slammed his palm against the table.

"Who authorized that evaluation?!" he roared. "How can someone that powerful be ranked only twenty-fourth in B-class?!"

He jabbed a finger at the screen. "It’s clearly written in his report that all his physical fitness metrics broke our records — and yet you still put him in B-class?! Explain yourselves!"

"..."

The fury in his tone made several executives shrink in their seats.

Across the long table, the expressions varied — some smirking, some worried, some pretending neutrality, and a few even secretly pleased.

After all, wherever there are people, there are factions — and power struggles.

Even within the Hero Association.

After a long moment, the senior manager responsible for City Z’s testing site, Ida, stood up and bowed nervously.

"President," he began carefully, "it was a... lapse on our part. However, you instructed us just last night to tighten our screening process. We were simply following your directive."

The old man froze for a second, remembering his own words. He had indeed said that during the summary meeting — that evaluations should be stricter.

Still, he refused to admit fault.

"I said to tighten screening, not to blind yourselves to exceptional candidates!" he barked.

"Monsters are appearing more frequently than ever, and the destruction they cause grows by the day! At a time like this, when we desperately need powerful heroes, you give me this kind of nonsense?! Ida, I’m deeply disappointed!"

Ida bent low, his forehead nearly touching the table.

"My apologies, President! Please calm down. I will make this right!"

"How?" the old man demanded coldly. "You’ve already failed me once — don’t let it happen again."

Ida hesitated, then spoke cautiously. "I’ll re-evaluate Mr. Mundo’s results. Based on his performance, he should at least qualify for top A-rank."

The old man’s brow furrowed. "Just A-rank?"

"Huh?" Ida blinked. "President, you mean... you want to grant him S-rank?"

"!!"

The room erupted.

"President, that’s too hasty!"

"The number of S-rank heroes must never be expanded lightly!"

"Agreed! Even if he’s strong, Mundo has made no major contributions to the Association."

"That’s right," another added. "Genos was promoted because he destroyed the House of Evolution. We can’t ignore those achievements."

The president listened quietly as they voiced their objections. Then, with a calm but firm voice, he replied:

"This is not an ordinary time."

He rose slowly, his presence commanding the entire room.

"The frequency of monster attacks has increased dramatically — almost unnaturally so. Something bigger is brewing in the shadows, and our current number of S-rank heroes is nowhere near enough. Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. For extraordinary people."

His words hung in the air like a heavy decree.

The dissenting voices gradually died down. No one could argue with that logic.

Indeed, recent reports from multiple cities painted a grim picture — widespread destruction, cities lost overnight, and rising panic among the population.

They needed strength — now more than ever.

"Then it’s decided," the president declared. "I will personally initiate an exceptional promotion for Mundo to become an S-rank hero."

He looked around. "All those in favor, raise your hands."

He was the first to raise his own hand.

Several of his closest allies followed suit immediately.

One by one, others began to lift their hands as well — whether out of conviction or pressure, no one could tell.

By the end, it was unanimous.

"Excellent." The president nodded approvingly. "Ida, since Mundo is registered in City Z, you will be the one to inform him of the promotion."

Ida bowed deeply. "Yes, sir. I will not disappoint your expectations!"

Unfortunately for them...

the Hero Association’s decision came too late.

Because by the time they finalized their vote, Fenric had already begun preparing his next move.

...

Inside a vast power plant, Fenric and Skynet Loli were assembling a massive space-time conversion device.

Activating the device required an immense amount of energy — and in this advanced world, that meant electricity.

Luckily, the technology here was far more developed than most worlds Fenric had been to.

He’d already studied Genos’ body design and realized how advanced this civilization truly was.

Finding the materials he needed locally had been surprisingly easy.

"How long until it’s ready?" Fenric asked, tightening a coil.

Skynet Loli’s voice came from the control console. "Four more hours, big brother!"

"Good." Fenric nodded and pulled out his laptop, scrolling through archived news from three years ago.

He’d already chosen his destination in time: June 7th, three years ago.

That was the day Saitama saved the little boy with the double chin — the grandson of the wealthy magnate Agoni, the man who would go on to found the Hero Association.

And Fenric knew that date perfectly... because Saitama himself had mentioned it over dinner that night.

That meal hadn’t just been friendly conversation — it was strategic.

Information gathering disguised as casual talk.

Fenric had always been a planner.

He never acted without preparation.

...

His plan was simple — travel back to that day, appear before the boy’s grandfather, Agoni, and use the situation to earn his gratitude.

Then, when the Hero Association was formed, he would reappear — backed by that powerful connection and his unmatched strength.

With both influence and power on his side, Fenric had no doubt...

He could become the Number One S-rank hero in this world!