One Punch Man: Saitama Retires

The Pieces of Past

(5)In an instant, the intimidating clones leaped toward Saitama one by one, their fists covered in golden light amid their red, shining bodies.

Saitama swiftly moved his legs, beginning to punch every clone that approached.

One of the distant clones licked his lips and laughed. "It would take you years this way, Saitama."

Ignoring his words, Saitama instantly teleported towards him, obliterating his existence.

"Wrong one, Saitama," Another clone laughed.

Leaping again, Saitama punched him to death.

"Enough of your punches," the clone next to him asserted. "I'll show you what punches actually do."

The clones teleported before him, delivering punches one by one.

With each punch, Saitama was pushed back. He decided not to counterattack but to take the strikes as they were.

"Unable to do anything?" Magneton grinned. "The moment that old grandma told me of your existence, I rushed here to have an interesting fight with you."

(6)He entered a flashback where he was on a humongous spaceship, about half the size of Earth.

An alien with one eye and four disgusting arms grunted. "Hey you, grandma."

The grandma had three eyes, one of them on her forehead. She was tiny, about two inches, and her skin color was blue. She had a puckered face with wrinkles running down all over.

"Are you listening, you old hag?" The alien slapped her, pushing her onto the ground.

She stared at the alien and stammered. "My name is not grandma or old hag; It's Sevrine."

The alien grabbed her golden hair and pulled it vigorously. "Should I not call an old hag a hag?"

Suddenly, Magneton entered and inquired. "What's going on, Hemen?"

The alien swiftly turned around and replied. "Oh! Boss, this old hag isn't opening her mouth."

Magneton teleported to her, held her chin up, and intimidated her. "I have left you alive for only one task, greatest seer."

The grandma averted her gaze. "..."

Enraged, he quickly grabbed her face and growled. "If you wish to ignore me, I cannot guarantee your grandson's safety."

She began to shake and replied almost instantly. "Don't do anything to my grandson. I'll answer your query with my crystal ball."

She spawned her crystal ball and murmured some words. "On a planet called Earth in a faraway universe, there is a being, perhaps stronger than you are, who can meet your needs and provide you fun..."

(4)The flashback ended as he continued to rain down countless punches. Sighing, he nodded. "And, all of it was true."

Magneton retreated, and other clones took his place. "I went through all those stupid galaxies to reach yours."

He snapped his fingers to summon more clones. "Who could've thought that such a lowly species would have the greatest warrior of all time."

He roared, releasing more energy while providing a power-up to the clones. "Once upon a time, even I was from a lowly species."

He reverted to a flashback when he wasn't colossal, but the size of humans. (6)

A large, muscular man stood before Magneton. He was double his size and had a giant golden mustache. "This product will soon become defective, boss."

A high-pitched voice answered. "We can always get another one."

The man gave an evil, wide grin and clenched his fists. "Seems like I can go all out with you today."

BSHOOM!

Entering back into reality, Magneton sighed and summoned his artillery. "That strange fruit changed my life forever."

His mind automatically played back the scene.

The muscular man shouted. "Boss, we just have to feed him this fruit, right?"

A high-pitched voice yelled back. "Yes, and if the boy dies, you know what to do."

Gripping the fruit tightly in one hand, the muscular man used his other hand to grab Magneton's face and forcibly open his mouth. "Come on, eat my boy."

Magneton was shaking and looked pale, but he still tried to resist, stammering. "N-no, n-no..."

Back in the present, Saitama disappeared from the center of the attack. The clones quickly glanced around to find Saitama. (1)Before they could leap around, Saitama lunged at the real Magneton and whispered. "It seems like everyone grows bored with overwhelming strength."

BOOM!

SPLASH!

Magneton exploded into countless fragments, his clones disintegrating in an instant, and his formidable artillery reduced to vapor.

With his hand covered in red blood, Saitama stated. "If you ever want to have fun, becoming super strong won't help."

Within a blink of an eye, Magneton regenerated and replied. "You must be correct. But I am enjoying the fight right now!" (5)

Immediately, he struck his hands and teleported around at the speed of light. Saitama followed him while preparing his punch. After a few minutes of Tom and Jerry's chase, Magneton stopped. He fixed his gaze on Saitama and snored. "Let's see who can punch better!"

CLASH!

BLAM!

Both of them punched each other at a speed untrackable by the eyes. Every time their fists clashed, enormous shockwaves and giant clouds of smoke emerged, while the ones previously created got destroyed.

Their leaps were so powerful that they created their own force fields. When they came across any asteroids or meteoroids, they instantly turned to dust and further evaporated once caught in their devastating punches.

For several minutes, they clashed until they got bored and retreated. (2)

"We won't have an end to the fight like this," Magneton huffed. "What will it take for you to become serious?"

Saitama squinted his eyes with surprise and stood agape. "I am already serious."

In response, Magneton laughed. "Like hell you are!"

Saitama started to pick his nose and asked. "What do you mean, Zombienetan?"

Magneton sighed and pointed his finger with a growl. "First of all, I am not Zombienetan but Magneton."

He viciously turned around, folding his arms. "Secondly, you aren't using those serious punches frequently, which clearly states that you think I'm not worthy enough."

Saitama averted his gaze while scratching his forehead. "..."

Magneton turned his head towards him and waved his hand. "Your actions are as clear as glass."

Saitama turned to his left, lowered his gaze, and stated in a heated voice. "If you want to die so early, then be it." (1)

Before Magneton could process anything, Saitama lunged at him and stared into his soul. "Killer Series: Consecutive Serious Punches."

TO BE CONTINUED...