One Punch Man: Saitama Retires

Mr. X002

Gazing at their destroyed hopes and hours of work, some of the scientists fell to their knees while the others pointed their guns at Saitama and Marcus.

"W-Who're you, and how did you enter?" The one standing in front of them asked.

Marcus glanced around, trying to find a way out, but the scientists weren't the type to stay still.

"I asked you something, baldy and the one beside him," The scientist screamed aggressively.

Unable to think of any excuses, Marcus delivered a futile explanation, "We're travelers who accidentally found this bunker..."

"Like hell do you expect us to believe that?" The scientist immediately growled.

He moved his hand closer to the trigger. "If you think that you will be able to walk out of our headquarters alive, then you're absolutely wrong."

"Isn't this room too small for the base of Arplesis?" Marcus pointed at the very end of the room.

"Shut up! You don't know how large this facility is," The scientist replied. "Before we kill you, tell us who launched that bullet?"

"Oh!" Saitama averted his gaze, sweat forming on his cheeks. "I'm sorry."

"YOU'RE SORRY!?" The one at the very back shouted. "Do you have any idea how hard we have worked on this robot for the past few years?"

Suddenly, a mysterious, high-pitched voice emerged out of thin air. "Worry not, dear scientists. There's no way a physical attack would've destroyed Centibot."

All the scientists turned toward a steel door hidden behind the smoke. A handsome, six-foot-tall man emerged from the smoke and approached the scientists.

"Mr. X002!" One of the scientists exclaimed.

The new figure had hair as blue as the sky, red eyes as shiny as a diamond, and was wearing a black jacket. "Mr. X022, let me see our unwanted visitors."

He glanced at Saitama's uninteresting face and Marcus's scared face before starting to laugh. "So, a few mosquitoes created such a chaos. Well, what can I expect from a dull-looking baldy!"

As soon as X002 finished, Saitama appeared before him with a punch aimed at X002's head.

BSHOOM!

"What do you have against baldies, you old-bad man?" Saitama questioned, his eyebrow furrowing with frustration.

However, Mr. X002 was still standing on his feet, surprisingly surviving the terrifying strike. "See? Physical attacks should've had no effects on the robot as well."

Marcus was left frozen in place, witnessing someone who had survived a punch from Saitama.

"T-Then," One of the scientists on his knees mumbled.

"Yes," X002 replied with a shrug. "This robot was a failed product that the boss exchanged with the real one to test if it could be of any use for our goals."

Turning his gaze towards Saitama, X002 sighed. "That was a strong punch, baldy. If you want to fight, let's head to the practice area so that we can go all out, or should I say, I can beat you up to my heart's content!"

He started to laugh as he suddenly snapped his fingers, altering the world around him. "Since you've just witnessed it, this is one of my many powers: teleportation."

It was blue everywhere. Even though air, pressure, and temperature still existed, it felt as if Saitama and Mr. X002 were in a boundless, endless blue void.

Saitama quickly glanced around, trying to figure out his location.

"Well, a prime ape like you would've never seen a training hall as big as this, so your excitement can be justified," X002 chuckled as he lifted his right hand upwards.

"You were capable of destroying one of our robots, even if it was a failed one, so as a vice-captain of Arplesis, I should punish you for it," X002 slowly licked his lips. "Let's begin!"

A giant ball of blue fire emerged on top of his hand, packed with a flame capable of melting fire itself! He immediately launched it at Saitama, who was standing motionless. The ball traveled at the speed of light, appearing in front of Saitama before he could even blink.

However, Saitama moved his head away by a few inches, narrowly avoiding the shot.

"You look strong," Saitama mentioned, glancing at his shirt. "My clothes aren't burning!"

Gritting his teeth, X002 unleashed another fireball. Saitama barely avoided it yet again.

"You're good at dodging," He snapped his fingers, making countless blue fireballs appear above his head. "I wonder if you can dodge my endless stream of fireballs."

The fireballs intensified the air pressure. The area surrounding them started to get blurry as the fierce fire melted the water vapor.

Within the blink of an eye, X002 launched all of the fireballs at once, enclosing Saitama from all four directions.

BOOM!

WHAM!

A thick cloud of smoke surrounded the exact spot where Saitama had been standing. The powerful fireballs sent shockwaves, making the blue tiles in the room shake and break into pieces.

After a few moments, the smoke dissipated. X002 seized the opportunity and instantly teleported behind Saitama to deliver a critical blow.

BSHOOM!

The punch seemed to have no effect on Saitama, immediately catching X002's attention.

"Are you using magic as well?" He pointed at Saitama after teleporting back to his original position.

"No," Saitama replied, staring at his half-burnt pants. "I can't toss fire around like that."

"TOSS FIRE!?" X002 roared, instantly breaking into laughter. "Haha, it was one of my weakest spells."

Suddenly, he began to move his hands in a wave-like pattern, forcing the ground underneath to break apart. The rubble created started to float in the air.

"I'm also an Esper," He grinned, launching the debris at Saitama with a speed far greater than sound's.

CLAM!

BLAM!

However, Saitama dodged all the attacks and quickly caught one mid-air.

"Now you're just tossing pebbles around," Saitama hurled it back towards X002 at an incredible speed.

X002 immediately teleported away from the stone's path. "There's no way you're this powerful. All I can gather is that you're either a cyborg or genetically modified."

Upon finishing, he teleported before Saitama, his punch directly aimed at Saitama's forehead.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Author: I hope the chapter hooked you up real good! If it did, do consider giving an upvote!

Next Chapter: Mr. X001