"Go prepare ten… no, twenty more portions."
Kizaru waved his hand. Things had already reached this point—no need to make a fuss and flip the table. Honestly, aside from being a bit annoying, Saitama wasn't that unbearable.
"Are we having grilled seafood today? Any lobster or crab? I love cheese-baked lobster!"
Saitama's eyes lit up. Grilled at was great too, but if he had to choose, seafood would always win.
"Get it ready for him."
Kizaru didn't hesitate. Since the guy was staying anyway, there was no point in fussing over small requests.
"Lord Swift Flash, may I join the others at the training camp?"
Genos still didn't fully understand why his teacher cared so much about Kizaru, but given the gap in "insight" between him and his teacher, he wanted to use this opportunity to learn more about Swift Flash's training thods.
Maybe then he could understand why his teacher brought him here again. He figured he hadn't been observant enough yesterday and let his teacher down.
So Genos decided to take a proper look—experience the training himself and figure out what his teacher wanted him to see.
"There's probably no need for that… but if you really want to, go ahead."
Kizaru glanced at Genos, whose entire body showed signs of cybernetic modification. Aside from his head and so core components, Genos was practically all chanical now. Not even Kizaru could teach him the Navy's Six Styles.
Unless Dr. Kuseno, who modified Genos, tead up with Vegapunk—two genius scientists might just be able to push Genos further down the cyborg path.
"Teacher, I'll give it everything I've got!"
Genos clenched his fist and declared earnestly to Saitama.
Since his teacher was going out of his way for his sake, he had to train hard to live up to those expectations.
"Huh? Oh… yeah, good luck!"
Saitama looked totally confused, but seeing Genos brimming with fighting spirit, he instinctively gave a response.
Watching this, Tatsumaki couldn't help but cast a sideways glance at Saitama.
A re C-Class hero—what right did he have to be so familiar with Kizaru, and even be called "teacher" by the S-Class Rank 17?
Even soone as proud as Tatsumaki didn't think any other S-Class would willingly lower themselves to her.
Yet Saitama had sohow pulled it off. Not only that, but he could speak to Kizaru—the newly appointed S-Class Rank 9—as if they were equals. There had to be a secret she didn't know.
But no matter how hard Tatsumaki tried to figure it out, she couldn't imagine that the two strongest beings on the planet—or perhaps in all of space—were both sitting right beside her.
"Fubuki, what's the response from Association HQ?"
Kizaru had never been one to wait for trouble to show up at his door before acting. The mont he noticed tal Knight secretly observing him—and clearly harboring hostile intentions—he had Fubuki contact Hero Association HQ.
He wanted the top brass to talk to tal Knight: either explain what that surveillance was about, promise it wouldn't happen again, and offer compensation—or don't bla Kizaru for personally paying him a visit to "talk it out."
And HQ shouldn't think they could just stay out of it. Kizaru wasn't going to let them play neutral, only to jump in later trying to act like the good guys.
"HQ said they're trying to get in touch with tal Knight, but no one knows where he is. They'll have to wait for him to respond…"
Fubuki sounded uneasy. While she knew Kizaru's strength was far beyond that of an ordinary S-Class, tal Knight had a very special position in the Association.
Though ranked only 6th among S-Class heroes, even Child Emperor—ranked 5th—had once been his assistant.
And tal Knight had never really gone all-out before. The opponents that required serious effort from other S-Class heroes were often just test subjects for his weapon systems.
No one knew how strong tal Knight truly was—or what kind of secrets he was still hiding.
"Tch, just as expected… Tatsumaki, how much do you know about tal Knight?"
Kizaru let out a mocking laugh. Different world, sa rot—just like the Navy higher-ups back then, the Hero Association's top brass clearly wanted him to just swallow the insult quietly.
Worse yet, he wouldn't be surprised if they were planning to swoop in at a "crucial mont" to diate with so ridiculous "three rounds of punishnt wine" nonsense—just to show off the Association's authority.
Too bad Kizaru had never been one to play nice. Back when he was still a Vice Admiral, he was willing to go all-out against Drolcas—who was already a top Admiral candidate—just for trying to ambush him.
And now? He had no problem turning against soone like tal Knight for secretly spying on him. Expecting Kizaru to endure things for the so-called "greater good" was laughably naïve.
"tal Knight? I've barely dealt with that guy… Wait, didn't he once offer to help test my powers? But after I smashed a few of his robots, he never bothered again."
Tatsumaki tilted her head, trying to recall. Back then, she hadn't been out of the research facility for long, and she was still extrely sensitive about anything suspicious.
If tal Knight had sent even one more robot, she really would've tracked him down and blown his head off.
"Tch. Creeping sewer rat. Doesn't anyone know where his hideout is?"
Kizaru clicked his tongue, clearly annoyed. He hated these sneak-around types the most. To even settle the score, you first had to dig them out of whatever hole they were hiding in.
"Want to ask around for you? Those guys wouldn't dare brush off… Don't get the wrong idea! I just—just can't stand tal Knight! I'm not doing this to help you, got it!"
Tatsumaki blurted out instinctively, then imdiately flushed red and waved her hands frantically, trying to deny she had any such intention.
What she didn't expect was for Kizaru to just nod in response, as if he fully believed her awkward excuse.
For soone who'd never even learned how to feel aggrieved, Tatsumaki's usual icy eyes were starting to mist over.
Tch!
Just then, her cheeks suddenly went warm—Kizaru had stolen a quick kiss. The near-tears Tatsumaki instantly turned into a flailing, red-faced "angry shrimp."
But when she saw Kizaru grinning, for so reason she felt a little guilty. She just gave him a furious glare, then turned her head away like nothing had happened.
"Fubuki, reply to the Association HQ. Ask them: what are the consequences of killing an S-Class hero?"
Kizaru's voice was ice-cold. He knew exactly what kind of people bureaucrats were—concepts like fairness or justice ant nothing to them.
The only way to get them to act was to scare them. Otherwise, their default move would be to drag things out or do the bare minimum.
"Got it," Fubuki replied without hesitation.
If facing tal Knight made her uneasy, the Hero Association HQ barely even registered as a threat.
And that wasn't surprising. For the average B-Class hero, the Association was a towering force. But Fubuki wasn't your average B-Class—not with an S-Class Rank 2 sister and Kizaru as her personal backing.
She had every reason to ignore the Association's authority.
As Kizaru predicted, the mont Fubuki relayed his ssage, the previously "unavailable" higher-ups at the Association suddenly snapped to attention, sending a live communication request.
Whether it was pure bad luck, being volunteered by the others, or stepping forward out of experience, the person on the line was the sa senior official who'd previously hosted Kizaru at HQ—and later had brief contact with him during the Deep Sea King incident in J-City.
"Lord Flash, surely we can sit down and talk this through? There's no need for threats and violence…"
The pudgy Association executive's face appeared on the screen in Lily's hands. He clearly didn't want to be there—but forced a stiff smile anyway.
An S-Class hero dying—especially at the hands of another S-Class—would be catastrophic for the Association's credibility.
Worse, it could spark panic among both heroes and the public. The collapse of the Association wasn't off the table.
That was sothing the leadership could not allow. Even if the Association had started as a rich old man's project to avenge his grandson, it had since grown into a massive organization.
The higher-ups enjoyed real power and influence—and had no intention of losing it.
"There's nothing to discuss. You have two choices: back , or back tal Knight. I'll wait one day. If you haven't decided by then, prepare to see him stripped from the S-Class."
Kizaru wasn't going to give them the luxury of sitting on the fence.
He still rembered the world governnt covering up the truth and promoting DeLocas to CP0. That betrayal was burned into his mory—and his notebook.
The face on the monitor darkened. Sure, most S-Class heroes were difficult to deal with—but soone this wild and defiant, openly threatening to kill another S-Class?
That was a first.
If it were anyone else, the Association might've gambled that tal Knight could survive the challenge.
But a glance at Kizaru's training grounds revealed four S-Class heroes present.
Even if the recently arrived demon cyborg didn't get involved, there was still Terrible Tornado and Flashy Flash.
Add Kizaru himself, the newly minted S-Class Rank 9, and even the elusive tal Knight couldn't survive a full-on group assault.
"Surely this is all a misunderstanding between S-Class heroes…"
The Association's upper managent still hadn't given up and continued trying to persuade Kizaru to change his mind.
Even after Kizaru had made clear threats, they were still trying to smooth things over—originally hoping Kizaru would just swallow the loss, and now shifting to trying to convince tal Knight to apologize and end the conflict peacefully.
"Co back when you've made up your minds."
Kizaru chuckled coldly and didn't even wait for them to finish. He casually cut the video call.
The screen abruptly went black. The chubby executive's already sour expression turned even darker. No matter how many tis he tried to reconnect, Kizaru didn't respond at all.
Unwilling to gamble on whether Kizaru would actually take out tal Knight, the chubby exec had no choice but to imdiately call for an ergency eting of the top brass.
This wasn't the ti for bla-shifting and finger-pointing anymore. If they didn't make a decision soon, the Association really could fall apart from this infighting among S-Class heroes.
To make sure no one underestimated the seriousness of the situation, the chubby exec used his highest-level authority to forcibly summon all executives to a eting.
In less than an hour, aside from two who had unavoidable ergencies, all others—even those on vacation—joined via video.
"This is outrageous! Is Swift Flash trying to threaten us?"
"Who does he think he is?! He's only ranked ninth!"
"tal Knight's technology is far more important to the Association. Swift Flash can't even compare."
°°°
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