"Is there anything else?" Shinji's voice was calm and cold.
"N... no... nothing..."
Tanktop Tiger, who just moments ago was full of bravado, now stood frozen in fear. His voice trembled as he answered, his arrogance gone.
"Then get lost. Shu Shu."
Shinji didn't even look at him again. He had never taken the guy seriously from the start.
"...Okay."
Still dazed, Tanktop Tiger mumbled the response automatically.
By the time Shinji had stepped out of the Hero Association building, the embarrassment hit Tanktop Tiger like a truck. The whole lobby had seen it. Everyone.
His face flushed deep red, and the weight of all those eyes on him was suffocating. Swallowed up by a mix of rage and humiliation, he exploded.
"What are you looking at?! You wanna get punched too?!"
The crowd quickly looked away, pretending they hadn't seen a thing. People shifted awkwardly, pretending to check their phones or read nonexistent signs.
Even though the room wasn't filled with just C-Class heroes, there were a few B-Class ones around too, none of them said a word. Other than the Blizzard Group, most B-Class heroes didn't want to provoke the Tank Topper Army either. Their numbers and their leader's B-Class status made them difficult to mess with.
Once everyone scattered and the hall returned to normal, Tanktop Tiger finally started to breathe again. But the longer he thought about what had happened, the more furious he became.
He, the sixth-ranked C-Class hero, had just been humiliated by the guy literally ranked at the very bottom. It was unacceptable.
The hand going through that guy's body and those weird glowing eyes all had to be some kind of trick. No way that guy was really untouchable. He must've been off balance or distracted. Yeah, boi. That's it.
Tanktop Tiger clenched his fists and swore to himself that he'd get revenge. He wasn't going to let it slide.
===
Meanwhile, Shinji had already forgotten about Tanktop Tiger completely. He was casually walking through the streets of Z-City, focused on a more pressing issue, hero activities.
According to Hero Association rules, a registered activity meant either defeating monsters or subduing criminals. Helping someone with groceries or walking an old lady across the street didn't cut it. That was just basic decency.
Not that good deeds were pointless.
If you did enough of them, like Mumen Rider, you could still climb the ranks. Mumen wasn't strong by any stretch, but his constant presence and strong sense of justice had earned him massive public support. He was a C-Class hero at the top of the rankings, and he'd even turned down a promotion to B-Class just to continue working at the ground level.
But right now, Shinji didn't care about reputation or climbing the ranks. He just didn't want to be kicked out of the Association. That meant he needed to complete one proper hero activity, and soon.
If it really came down to it, he had another option. He could use what he jokingly called "God's perspective." After all, he knew the One Punch Man world inside and out. He could head straight for the House of Evolution's hidden lab, for example.
Defeating monsters wasn't the only way to earn credit. Providing key information could count too. If he gave the Association intel that led to a successful operation, it might qualify as a valid activity.
---
Unfortunately, reality was mocking him.
Shinji had already been wandering the streets for quite a while, checking alleys, parks, rooftops, anywhere a monster might lurk, and still nothing.
He was now experiencing the same crisis Saitama had faced early on: desperately needing to complete a hero activity, but unable to find even a single monster to fight.
Z-City was usually quiet. If an area crawled with monsters every day, the residents would have moved out long ago, just like in the abandoned zone where Saitama lived.
At least Saitama had Sonic drop by every now and then to pick a fight. Shinji wasn't that lucky. Sonic wasn't going to show up out of nowhere to hand him contribution points on a silver platter.
Looked like he had no choice but to head toward the House of Evolution after all...
Just as he turned to go, a wave of terrified screams erupted from a nearby street.
"A monster's here! Run!!"
"Where are the heroes? Isn't there a pro hero nearby?"
"Help!!"
Shinji's Sharingan lit up, the three tomoe spinning to life as he locked onto the source of the panic.
In the next instant, he saw it. A massive, grotesque creature with a body that looked like a mutated potato. Well, more like a human whose torso had become a giant potato, while the head, arms, and legs still retained vaguely human features. Even the head was somewhat potato-shaped.
For now, "Potato Monster" seemed like a fitting name.
[Alert! First encounter with a monster. Reward: 5 points!]
Before Shinji could act, someone else made a move.
"Justice Crash!"
Mumen Rider flew into the scene, riding at full speed on his bicycle. He'd happened to be patrolling nearby and didn't hesitate at all. He leapt from the bike at the last second, letting it crash into the monster from behind.
Unfortunately, the Potato Monster reacted in time. It spun around and slammed the incoming bicycle with its oversized head.
Bang!
The impact echoed through the street as the bicycle was launched into the air. The monster didn't even budge. That massive potato head was built like a tank.
"I'm a Potato Monster, born from slicing too many potatoes at a restaurant kitchen! Who has balls to attack me from behind?!"
The creature let out a roar, chest puffed with arrogance.
"Everyone, get out of here! I'll hold him off!" Mumen Rider shouted, stepping forward with his arms spread wide to shield the civilians. Sweat streamed down his face, but he didn't move from his position. He clearly knew he stood no chance but refused to let anyone else get hurt.
"That's C-Class hero Mumen Rider, right? Thank god, we've got help!"
"But can he really handle that monster? His sneak attack didn't even leave a scratch…"
"Don't just stand there! Run!"
The crowd panicked. A few stayed frozen in place while others bolted in different directions.
"You think a puny little human like you can stop me, the great Potato Monster?" the creature growled.
Then it charged, lowering its head to ram through Mumen Rider like a bowling ball aimed at a pin.
But right before impact, a figure stepped in front of Mumen Rider.
It was Shinji on the way to rizz farming- I mean, points farming.
"?!"
Mumen Rider's eyes widened in shock. He hadn't even noticed the guy move.
The Potato Monster didn't stop. Whether it was one person or two, he planned to flatten them both.
But just as it closed the gap, Shinji's eyes shifted. The three tomoe twisted into the Mangekyo pattern. His right eye, the Kamui eye, pulsed with deep red energy, veins bulging slightly from the strain.
In that moment, the Potato Monster felt an invisible force grip him. His body twisted unnaturally, as if being sucked into a swirling void.
Before anyone could react, the entire monster vanished.
Just like that.
Gone.
[Alert! You have defeated the Wolf-Level monster "Potato Monster." Reward: 5 points!]
[Alert! First time defeating a Wolf-Level monster. Additional reward: 5 points!]
Within the Kamui space, the Potato Monster was now trapped, helpless. Though it wasn't technically destroyed, the system had already registered the act as a victory.
Once something was absorbed into Kamui, it was as good as defeated. Whatever Shinji chose to do with it from that point on didn't matter. It was already his.