One Punch Man: Heroics Start with Dual Kamui

Chapter 154 154: Garou’s Declaration of War

"..."

Shinji said nothing.

For Garou to challenge him now was still far too early. At this stage, Garou was only on par with the lowest-ranking S-Class heroes. His true strength lay in his ability to learn and grow through battle.

But… this was the Garou he knew.

Garou was surely aware of his strength. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been so "polite" as to declare war first, instead of rushing in and throwing a punch.

Even so, Garou showed no fear in challenging him. Perhaps this was that spirit of daring to face the strong.

It was precisely because Garou was this kind of person that, during the original events, he directly challenged Watchdog Man and was beaten so badly he never had a chance. Still, Garou clearly didn't fully understand Shinji, or maybe he was just overconfident. Now he wants to fight Shinji...

Maybe Garou believed he wouldn't be killed and thought he could get stronger through fighting. But once the power gap reached a certain level, Shinji could have taken him out just by lifting a finger. Whether he actually wanted to or not was another story entirely.

"Kamui, why are you stopping us? A human who calls himself a monster should be burned to ashes!" Blue Fire once again wanted to attack Garou.

"That's right, Magic Trick Manster was injured by him. Are we really just going to stand by and do nothing?" Heavy Tank Loincloth also couldn't understand why Shinji was stopping them.

"I'm saving you. You're not his opponents. Just watch. You'll understand soon enough."

Shinji didn't bother explaining further. It was enough to make clear they weren't as strong as Garou.

"What…?!" Blue Fire's first reaction was outrage. He was, after all, ranked sixth among A-Class heroes. How could he be weaker than some thug who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere?

But standing before him was Kamui, ranked second among S-Class heroes. Whether he believed it or not, he didn't dare argue back.

"If Kamui says so, then we'd better wait and see…" Heavy Tank Loincloth quickly calmed down as well.

"…Fine. I'll trust Kamui too." Blue Fire had no choice but to back down. He would just have to see for himself how strong that lunatic who called himself a monster really was.

Nearby, Sitch had been about to contact staff to report that things were spiraling out of control in the multipurpose hall on the seventh floor of the central tower. But seeing Kamui's reaction, he decided to wait and watch instead.

"You brat! I haven't even spoken yet, and you're already putting on a show!"

"He dares to look down on us! Everyone, together! Let's take him out and seize the Hero Association headquarters!"

"Take this punch, kid!"

Garou's taunting provoked an immediate riot. The thugs drew their "weapons" and rushed him, knives, brass knuckles, and bare fists alike.

...

Hero Association Headquarters, seventh floor of the central tower, multipurpose hall.

The floor was soaked in blood. The once-arrogant thugs were all lying sprawled across the ground.

Only one man was still standing, Garou. He had singlehandedly defeated hundreds, even thousands, of them.

Up to now, only Sitch, Shinji, Blue Fire, and Heavy Tank Loincloth remained unscathed. They had watched Garou's entire battle against the thugs.

Blue Fire and Heavy Tank Loincloth now had a much clearer grasp of Garou's strength. They finally understood why Kamui had stopped them earlier.

If he hadn't, they suspected they would have ended up the same as those thugs on the ground.

"Guh…" Blue Fire swallowed hard. This madman could probably only be handled by S-Class heroes.

At that moment, Garou tossed aside the last thug he had beaten senseless.

"All right, the debut performance of the monster Garou ends here. Next…" He raised his hand and pointed straight at Shinji, once again declaring war. "It's time for the main act. I challenge you, the so-called savior of justice."

"For now, facing multiple S-Class heroes at once might be difficult. My ultimate target is King, the man known as the strongest on the surface. Before I fight him, I must sharpen myself through battle. And you will be the stepping stone I crush on the way to defeating King!"

Garou's declaration was overflowing with arrogance.

Since King's legend had been blown out of proportion to the point of myth, Shinji's strength was more real and didn't carry the same sense of mystery. Garou therefore thought King was more powerful than Shinji, and that King was the Association's most formidable hero, his ultimate goal.

"If your ambition is that great, then I'll oblige you," Shinji said calmly. "But to avoid harming bystanders, we'll change locations."

"Change locations? Whatever. That doesn't matter to me." Garou's attitude was completely indifferent.

"Then let's go." As soon as Shinji's words fell, his figure vanished and reappeared at Garou's side.

"?!"

Garou's eyes went wide the instant he realized the man had disappeared. Before he could figure out where Shinji had gone, he felt a hand settle on his shoulder.

In that moment, his surroundings shifted dramatically.

Garou reacted at once, spinning into a sweeping kick at Shinji.

Shinra Tensei!

Before his kick could connect, he was flung backward by a repelling force.

Boom!

He smashed through the wall of an abandoned building and rolled twice before barely regaining his footing.

But Garou's body was tough. This kind of damage meant little, and he immediately stood up again.

"As expected of the Savior, you really are strong. That makes it even more certain I must defeat you."

Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, Garou grinned wider, his smile twisting into madness.

Since childhood, he had hated one thing above all: monsters were always doomed to be defeated by so-called heroes of justice. The beloved characters always won, while the hated ones were fated to lose. Yet monsters struggled too, and that was far too unfair.

So he vowed to become the strongest monster, one who could never lose, rewriting the script of "justice always prevails."

However, the man in front of him, the Savior, was so fast he couldn't even react. His strength was terrifying. But Garou had complete confidence in his ability to learn and adapt. As long as he didn't die, he could keep evolving until he defeated any opponent.