Ironically, though it was Trickster who first shouted the rallying cry, Blue Flame was the one to charge in first.
Usually mature and reserved, Blue Flame in this moment looked more like a hot-blooded rookie, completely ignoring the strength of his opponent and launching into a direct assault.
"Haha! First one to die!"
The Deep Sea King reached out casually with a massive hand to grab Blue Flame. Although he held no real fear, the number of human heroes did give him a bit of pause.
Even if the rain gave him home-field advantage, a dozen heroes attacking at once could still cause some trouble.
So he decided to start by crushing one of them in the most brutal way possible—to intimidate the rest into submission before taking his time dismantling them all.
Right now, empowered by the falling rain, the Deep Sea King could unleash his full strength—faster and stronger than when he had defeated Puri-Puri Prisoner. A simple slap from him would be more than enough to flatten most A-Class heroes.
"I've got this!"
Blue Flame showed no fear as the Deep Sea King's hand closed in—on the contrary, his face revealed a flicker of excitement.
And just as the monstrous hand was about to seize him…
Blue Flame moved even faster. He pressed both hands against the Deep Sea King's wrist, used the leverage to flip into the air, and delivered a brutal kick square to the monster's head.
Boom!
The blow landed with enough force to send the Deep Sea King staggering back several steps. And before he could recover, Blue Flame followed up midair with an even fiercer axe kick that knocked the creature off balance again.
No one could have imagined that Blue Flame—just an A-Class hero—would manage to land solid hits on a monster that had bested an S-Class.
"You little… bastard!"
But just as Blue Flame tried to press the advantage, the Deep Sea King erupted in fury. With a roar, he unleashed a devastating punch that sent the unprepared Blue Flame flying.
With the rain continually enhancing him, the Deep Sea King was operating at full capacity. In this state, he was at the pinnacle of Demon-level monsters—some of his abilities even bordering on Dragon-level. Blue Flame wasn't strong enough to handle him alone.
"Don't forget—we're here too!"
Before the Deep Sea King could crush the pesky insect that had infuriated him, Magic Hands charged in with a squad of heroes at his back.
Everyone who had survived the training camp was no ordinary fighter—each had endured grueling trials and emerged stronger than ever.
Even someone like Mumen Rider—once the weakest among them—now ranked solidly in the middle tier of B-Class heroes.
Against opponents like that, the Deep Sea King could still handle three or four at a time. But when more than ten of them attacked at once, he immediately sensed something was wrong.
They're too strong!
These new human heroes were unexpectedly powerful. Although they were still far below that skintight-suit-wearing, speed-demon freak from earlier, several of them now posed a legitimate threat.
If it weren't for the rain boosting him, he might have been in serious trouble already.
Even the arrogant Deep Sea King could recognize that the tide was turning. And the heroes? All the more so.
"We can win! Let's take him down together!"
Tank-Top Vegetarian coordinated with the others, landing a full-powered punch to the Deep Sea King's abdomen, forcing the monster to stumble back a step despite all his might.
When Tank-Top Vegetarian saw this, his face lit up with joy. He—someone who had once stood no chance—had just forced back a monster that had beaten an S-Class!
The other heroes didn't need to be told. Anyone who had exchanged blows with the Deep Sea King could tell: he wasn't quite the unstoppable force they'd imagined.
One-on-one, they wouldn't stand a chance. But together? They could hold their own.
This was the same monster who had defeated an S-Class hero!
In the past, the only option would've been to buy time until backup arrived. That's all they could do.
Many of the heroes present had once experienced the despair of facing Vaccine Man. Their desperate resistance back then hadn't even drawn his attention.
The more helpless they had felt in the past, the more ecstatic they were now to feel the power surging within them.
Even Flashy Flash, standing to the side, couldn't help but glance over in surprise. As an S-Class hero, he had a keen sense of his own growth—but the progress these so-called nobodies had made seemed to eclipse even his.
Of course, he knew it was only because they had started from such a low base. But Flashy Flash had always held himself to the highest standards. The idea of being surpassed—in any way—by mediocrities was intolerable.
"…I need to ramp up my training again."
Flashy Flash muttered to himself just as Borsalino and Fubuki finally arrived above the shelter in a helicopter.
"They're doing pretty well."
Borsalino raised an eyebrow with faint approval. The more dangerous a situation, the more likely it was to bring out true heroes. Every one of these individuals who had willingly stepped forward to protect civilians held immense potential.
If it weren't for the two worlds being cut off from each other, he might've seriously considered recruiting a few of them into the Navy.
Sitting beside him, Fubuki looked down at the Deep Sea King, now being mobbed by a group of heroes, with a peculiar expression.
So this was the monster the Hero Association had said defeated the S-Class hero Puri-Puri Prisoner? Why did he seem so much weaker than she had imagined?
The dozen or so heroes attacking the Deep Sea King were a textbook demonstration of the phrase "even a master can fall to a flurry of wild punches."
In a furious frenzy, the Deep Sea King had briefly displayed strength rivaling that of a Dragon-level threat—but ultimately, he wasn't truly at that level. Faced with these rapidly improving heroes, he was eventually brought down in humiliating fashion by a group technically weaker than him.
"We did it! We actually won!"
"Ha! That's the monster who beat an S-Class hero?!"
"A threat even S-Class couldn't handle must be Dragon-level, right? Damn, I'm too strong!"
…
The group of heroes stood triumphantly atop the fallen Deep Sea King, cheering loudly. As soon as the people inside the shelter confirmed it was safe, they came pouring out to surround and celebrate the heroes who had saved them.
To ordinary people without the strength to protect themselves, the more powerful the heroes, the better. That was why S-Class heroes were held in such high esteem.
Now, a team of A-Class and B-Class heroes had defeated a monster even an S-Class couldn't deal with. Even those who normally weren't fond of heroes couldn't help but be amazed.
While many were surprised by the performance of the training camp graduates, a few began to fix their attention on the training camp itself—and Borsalino.
"Hm… this kind of extraordinary rate of improvement… what kind of tech is behind it? Death Gatling is so useless—after all this time, he still hasn't uncovered anything useful…"
In an underground facility, before a bank of surveillance monitors, Dr. Bofoi muttered irritably.
He was the sixth-ranked S-Class hero—Metal Knight.
Also one of the most enigmatic members of the S-Class, second only to Blast in terms of mystery.
Unlike other heroes who fought to defeat monsters or protect civilians, Bofoi had little interest in the duties of a professional hero. Most of the time, he showed up just to field-test his latest inventions.
Only phenomena like Borsalino and his out-of-this-world training camp—events that defied all logic—could truly pique his interest.
Right now, Dr. Bofoi was staring fixedly at the monitor showing Borsalino just stepping out of the helicopter. In his mind, he had already constructed a dozen or more plans to probe the newly appointed S-Class hero from every possible angle.
But at that exact moment—
Borsalino suddenly turned his head on the monitor. His sharp gaze pierced the screen like a blade and locked eyes with Bofoi.
Despite being S-Class Rank 6, and though Borsalino's look held no physical threat, Bofoi—whose real body was just a normal human—let out a startled cry and fell backward in shock.
"W-What… did he just spot my surveillance drone?!"
It was a while before Bofoy could bring himself back to the monitor. He uneasily tried to rewind the footage.
The more he reviewed it, the more disturbed he became—especially when he realized that Borsalino's gaze wasn't just noticing the surveillance system, but looking through it. As if it was aimed directly at him on the other side of the screen.
Cold sweat drenched his back.
"Nope. I need to relocate this base…"
Bofoy swallowed hard. Borsalino's gaze had left him deeply unsettled. Even if the odds of that manhunt-style speedster actually coming after him were slim, he didn't dare stay there another second.
While Dr. Bofoi was still reeling from the scare, Borsalino stood in place, gazing into the distance with a thoughtful look.
Just moments ago, his Observation Haki had suddenly reacted—an image of a bucktoothed man had flashed through his mind.
"A special kind of Observation Haki? Roger could hear the voice of all things… so what's this? Seeing the face of someone spying on me?"
Borsalino showed a faintly disgusted expression. What kind of lame ability was that? Might as well not have it at all. Compared to those who could glimpse the future, his felt downright embarrassing.
Still, it had just awakened. Maybe with time, it could develop into something more useful.
"What's wrong?"
Noticing Borsalino suddenly turn his head, as if looking at something specific, Fubuki asked, puzzled.
She was now starting to realize that Borsalino's training camp might be even more extraordinary than she'd originally thought.
"It's nothing. Hey, do you know who this guy is?"
As he spoke, Borsalino drew delicate strands of light through the air, sketching on the side of the helicopter's cabin a glowing portrait of a man with prominent buckteeth.
He wasn't particularly worried about the warning his Observation Haki had given, but if it was easy to do, he didn't mind giving whoever dared to spy on him a little lesson.
That said, it really depended on who it was.
If it had been Tatsumaki secretly watching him all day? Borsalino wouldn't have said a word.
"So ugly… Nope, never seen this guy before. Is something wrong?"
Fubuki wrinkled her nose in distaste, clearly repulsed by the face, though her curiosity was piqued.
If Borsalino thought the guy was worth bringing up, then he was probably no weakling. But Fubuki couldn't imagine forgetting someone with a face that memorable.
"You don't know either, huh? Hm… I'll ask that guy later. He might recognize him."
Borsalino rubbed his forehead. If it were someone from the world of One Piece, he could maybe recall using the enhanced memories he'd gained when he crossed over. But for characters from One Punch Man? That was another story entirely.
Decades had passed since he last consumed that series. The fact that he could still remember Tatsumaki and Fubuki was already impressive. There was no way he could remember every side character too.
Luckily, someone in the Dimensional Chat Group had only recently crossed over and might still have a clearer memory—just because Borsalino couldn't recall didn't mean he wouldn't.
If someone could trigger his newly awakened special Observation Haki, they were probably not just some background character.
"Want me to ask my sister?" Fubuki offered. "She's got much higher clearance than I do in the Hero Association. Might turn up something useful."
"Sure, if that guy doesn't know, we'll ask Tatsumaki."
After a brief moment of hesitation, Borsalino ultimately couldn't resist his rare bout of curiosity. He opened the Dimensional Chat Group and called out to Li the transmigrator.
[Borsalino: @RandomWhoWantsToHugLuofeng Hey Li, do you know who this guy is?]
[Borsalino: Bucktooth.jpg]
[RoadieWhoWantsToHugLuofeng: Huh? This bucktoothed old guy looks kind of familiar… Where did you see him, Boss Kizaru?]
[Kobayashi: Hmm, he kinda looks like our section chief~]
[Borsalino: When I was with Fubuki, my Observation Haki suddenly reacted. This guy's face popped into my head out of nowhere. I'm guessing he's been secretly spying on me.]
[RandomWhoWantsToHugLuofeng: Holy crap, Boss Kizaru turned into a human radar? Even peeping in secret gets you caught?]
[Borsalino: It's not that amazing. My Observation Haki only triggers when it senses malicious intent.]
[RandomWhoWantsToHugLuofeng: That's still insane though. Forget sneak attacks—even scheming behind your back is out of the question unless you make sure Kizaru can't see you. Otherwise, he'll sense it in advance. That's just cheating.]
[Orochimaru: So it can sense another person's malice… how fascinating.]
[Tony Stark: Whoa, I like that ability. Adding it to the next-gen suit design plans! Already noted.]
[RandomWhoWantsToHugLuofeng: Wait, I think I know who Bucktooth is… unless he's a character introduced later that I missed, he's probably Metal Knight!]
[RandomWhoWantsToHugLuofeng: I forgot which S-class rank he holds, but among all the S-class heroes, this guy never shows his face!]
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