What Makes a Hero

"Planeswalker is dead. His regeneration didn’t work. That bald man was probably Saitama."

That terrifying glimpse just now had felt like a dream. Saitama had merely thrown a punch in response to Planeswalker’s overly powerful Illusionary Light Spell, and this somewhat famous Reincarnator had died on the spot.

Three or four Reincarnators in the shop had fled in that instant. Only Planeswalker, who had used the Illusionary Light Spell, was killed. The others, whether they had fled directly or remained where they were, had not been attacked.

Tree Herder rose from the table by the window. He gave the barista a discreet glance, and the next moment, a tree root shot up from beneath the floor and pierced the man’s body.

"Urgh…"

The barista’s mouth opened and closed, but he did not die. His eyes bulged as though he were suffering unimaginable pain. The Reincarnators remaining in the café all noticed, but no one was going to make an enemy of Tree Herder over an ordinary Plot Character.

Li Qingzi did not even spare him a glance. She merely frowned as she leaned against the corner of the wall, the tension within her still not fully fading.

Saitama—the absolute ceiling of the One-Punch Man World. That brief moment of eye contact had nearly made her feel as though she had fallen into an icy abyss.

She had never experienced such terrifying pressure. Clearly, he had not even made a move, yet her Observation Haki made her feel as if she were already standing at the edge of a cliff.

The moment she acted, she would die.

But after thinking it over, she clearly realized that something was wrong with this Saitama.

In the original work, although Saitama possessed the power to kill nearly every enemy with a single punch, his personality was highly unusual. Because his strength was too overwhelming, his human desires had gradually faded, and he had slowly lost interest in most things.

Only a handful of matters, such as supermarket sale items and being a Hero for Fun, could still draw his attention.

Moreover, Saitama was a hero who "did not kill humans."

Even though Garou called himself the Hero Hunter, and eventually completed his Monsterfication to become a monster stronger than nearly every hero, Saitama still had not killed Garou.

Yet the Saitama who had appeared just now had not only remained indifferent to the humans dying in the shop, but had also blasted Planeswalker to death without hesitation when he instinctively released an illusion spell to obscure their vision.

Both of these points were completely different from the Saitama in the manga.

In other words, something must have happened in this world that had changed Saitama’s personality and the logic by which he handled matters.

"Heh, it seems those who stayed are all Smart People…"

Tree Herder stood up and smoothed his hair. He did not conceal his fear. As someone who had sat by the window and faced Saitama directly, how could he not be afraid?

"Then you must have realized that we should be gathering intelligence now, finding the root cause of this world’s changes."

As he spoke, the barista had already walked out of the café with a blank expression, following the crowd outside toward some unknown destination.

Li Qingzi had heard of Tree Herder’s abilities. When it came to gathering intelligence, he possessed an advantage no one else could match.

"So, is anyone willing to join my team in this world?"

Standing by the window, Tree Herder extended a hand in invitation to the others.

The cross on his forehead emitted a dim gray glow. Seeing no response, the corner of his mouth curled up. He could sense that these people were wary of him.

Being wary of him meant they feared him.

No one could see the arrogance in Tree Herder’s eyes. Even these fairly capable Reincarnators among the Strong-tier were weaklings in his eyes.

Lambs he could herd as he pleased.

"Don’t worry. I can allow you to demand that I sign a contract stating that we cannot attack each other in this world."

Tree Herder’s voice carried a peculiar rhythm that made people sense his sincerity.

Clang!

The sound of a sword ringing out echoed as a flash of emerald sword light appeared.

Tree Herder turned his head and saw that the tall woman in the half-mask had already sheathed her sword. The entire rear wall of the café then tilted and collapsed.

Sunlight poured fully inside. Beneath the daylight, the woman’s black half-mask resembled a black Lunar Eclipse.

"Sorry, but I plan to act alone."

Li Qingzi was extremely sensitive to that arrogant expression. She had lost count of how many times she had seen it in Bai Cangshu’s eyes. Anyone with that expression surely had no concept of teammates in their heart.

She turned to leave. Tree Herder tapped his fingers against the air, weighing whether to fall out with Eclipse and keep her here. She knew very well that this person calling himself Eclipse was most likely the Moon Demon.

But in the end, he did not act. Saitama’s sudden appearance just now had truly made him wary. If he caused a disturbance by attacking now and another powerful hero appeared, his abilities would be more easily mistaken for those of a monster.

Only after Li Qingzi walked out of the café did the chill at her back completely fade.

She stepped onto the street, blending into the crowd as she began trying to understand the changes that had taken place in this world.

This city was quite prosperous, nothing like the run-down Z-City where Saitama lived in the original work. Billboards stood everywhere along the streets.

The most eye-catching things were the portraits of heroes.

Heroes of every sort of appearance had been made into signs and erected above shops and buildings, accompanied by the names of various hero agencies.

Li Qingzi suddenly stopped.

Hero agencies?

If she remembered correctly, heroes in the One-Punch Man World were supposed to be registered through the Hero Association.

She quickly entered a convenience store. Sure enough, even a place like this had quite a few advertisements for hero agencies posted inside.

"These hero advertisements really are everywhere."

She spoke casually, and the female owner, who was looking down as she worked the register, naturally picked up the conversation.

"Tell me about it. When something really happens, you can’t reach any of them. When there are no monsters, though, heroes are everywhere. Bah!"

It was obvious she had not wanted to put up these advertisements herself. Her resentment ran deep.

Li Qingzi selected quite a few items from the store, then continued chatting with her.

"Can anyone become a hero?"

She vaguely sensed that she might have found part of the reason behind Saitama’s change.

The owner shook her head. She truly missed the old days.

"Pay to register, get someone to write some newspaper articles, know how to hype yourself up, and anyone can be a hero."

After saying that, she looked at the poster on the wall. It showed a handsome man holding two silver revolvers, one in each hand—Dual-Gun Cowboy.

She tore the poster down in one motion and said,

"This hero apparently got mugged last week and was beaten to death. Hero… heh…"

Bai Cangshu and Lilith sat on the wooden floor. Ayase Seishi had no habit of entertaining guests. The fact that she had allowed them to come in and sit was already because they claimed to know the truth behind The Great Cataclysm half a year ago.

Picking up from their earlier topic, Bai Cangshu showed an interested smile.

"You can become a hero just by spending some money? Ha, what a deal~"

Reigen Arataka sat alone by the doorway with his back to the others, smoking. Hearing Bai Cangshu’s words, he exhaled a cloud of white smoke.

Sometimes, he felt that perhaps his disciple had been right. Among Ability Users, villains ultimately made up the majority.

Abilities were not necessarily a good thing.

Bai Cangshu looked at the others and said,

"How about I go become a great hero first?"