At Zenin Kyūjō’s residence…

With a confused look on his face, Saitama stared at the hero license card in his hand—something Kyūjō had handed over just moments ago.

“So… if I wanna become a hero, I need to register with the Hero Association first?”

Kyūjō tapped his chin thoughtfully before replying in a calm voice.

“That depends on your own definition of what it means to be a hero, Saitama-kun.”

“If your goal is to remain in the shadows, never seeking fame or reward… to protect this world silently without asking for anything in return, then no, you don’t need to join the Association.”

Saitama nodded slowly, taking it in.

His face, which had been unusually serious for a moment, immediately returned to its usual blank and goofy expression.

“I’ve decided. I’ll join the Hero Association too.”

“Hey, Kyūjō, one more thing. Those monsters I defeated before… is there really no way for me to claim the reward?”

Kyūjō’s expression didn’t change.

With a flat voice, he shook his head and answered mercilessly.

“Stop dreaming, Saitama-kun. Almost all your fights were undocumented. Even if I was there and saw everything, a single witness without any solid evidence isn’t enough for anyone to believe you.”

Inwardly, Kyūjō added to himself:

“Besides… most of your accomplishments have already been mistakenly credited to someone else—a guy known by the hero name ‘King,’ the one with the so-called ‘Emperor Engine’…”

And that same King… had now risen to Rank 7 in S-Class.

“I see… well, no big deal. Kyūjō, could you take me to the Hero Association tomorrow? I wanna become an officially registered hero too,” Saitama said, scratching his shiny bald head.

“Of course!” Kyūjō replied with a bright smile, patting Saitama on the shoulder. “In fact, I’ve already got a hero name ready for you. How about… ‘One Punch Man’?”

Saitama’s eyes lit up.

“That’s… surprisingly cool. And weirdly fitting too. I like it! Thanks, Kyūjō. I’m glad I met you.”

Hearing that, Kyūjō shivered slightly.

Coming from a guy, those words were oddly hard to take.

Still, Kyūjō was serious.

He wanted Saitama—someone who fought every day for justice, yet remained unrecognized—to finally receive the praise and admiration he deserved.

A true hero shouldn’t have to fight from the shadows.

Heroes deserved acknowledgment.

And now that Kyūjō had arrived in this world, he wouldn’t let Saitama stay in obscurity like in the original timeline—where most heroes barely even knew his name.

…Even if Saitama himself didn’t care about that kind of thing.

— — —

The Next Day

Zenin Kyūjō accompanied Saitama—now fully dressed in his iconic hero outfit—to Hero Association HQ. He even helped submit the registration form for the Hero Exam.

The first stage was the physical test…

Saitama stripped down to his underwear and started stretching.

The body he had sculpted through three years of brutal training was now a flawless, balanced form of pure muscle.

And as expected… the results were insane.

Speed, strength, reflexes, jump height—he shattered every record on the books.

When he struck the punching machine, it exploded in a single hit.

The entire test facility went silent.

Everyone stared at him as if he were a monster.

The commotion caused by Saitama’s exam soon reached the upper ranks of the Association.

Unfortunately… while his physical results were unmatched, his written test was another story.

It was… a disaster.

In the end, Saitama was placed at Rank 388 in C-Class—dead last among registered heroes.

Kyūjō didn’t try to pull strings or cheat the system for him.

He knew Saitama would never accept that.

Besides, when it came to rankings, both of them could climb anytime they wanted to.

Kyūjō himself was currently in B-Class, not because of any lack of strength… but because he didn’t want to stand out.

He’d held back during his own test, and rarely took on missions.

Naturally, his rank stayed low.

But what Kyūjō didn’t realize… was that no matter how much he tried to stay under the radar, someone had already taken notice of him.

— — —

City D – In a skyscraper overlooking the heart of town

A young woman stood quietly at the edge of a large office, gazing down at the streets below through a massive glass window.

Shoulder-length black hair.

Emerald green eyes.

An air of elegance and cold dominance.

She was none other than Fubuki, Blizzard of Hell, the top-ranked B-Class Hero.

At that moment, a man in glasses—her right-hand aide—approached her from behind and began to report on the latest recruitment updates for the Blizzard Group.

Dressed like a corporate manager in a tailored suit, he looked more like a company executive than a hero.

— — —

Fubuki, Blizzard of Hell.

She wasn’t just a hero—she was the leader of the largest faction in B-Class, the Blizzard Group.

She was also the younger sister of Tatsumaki, the Tornado of Terror, Rank 2 in S-Class.

But growing up in the overwhelming shadow of her older sister’s talent, Fubuki had developed a deep inferiority complex.

Unlike her sister’s fiercely independent nature, Fubuki chose a different path—gathering as many B-Class heroes as she could under her banner, even resorting to pressure when necessary.

She intentionally refused any promotion to A-Class, clinging to her spot at the top of B-Class.

It was the only “first place” she had ever earned.

Her title, Blizzard of Hell, came from the sheer force of her psychic powers—so intense they resembled a blizzard capable of turning any battlefield into a frozen inferno.

— — —

“The newly registered B-Class Rank 6 hero… the one with the codename ‘Light of Z-City’… I believe he has remarkable potential,” the aide reported. “Based on the combat data we’ve analyzed, his power may already rival that of an A-Class hero.”

“But since he hasn’t completed many missions yet, he’s been provisionally placed at Rank 6. I sent him a formal invitation on behalf of the Blizzard Group, but…”

He adjusted his glasses, clearly uncomfortable.

“…he flat-out rejected it. Over the phone.”

Hearing that, Fubuki’s brows twitched.

She, the top of B-Class, had just been rejected by a fellow B-Class hero?

And not even in person—but by phone?

Her voice dropped several degrees in temperature.

“There’s still a B-Class hero out there who dares to turn down an offer from the Blizzard Group? Do you have his address?”

The man nodded calmly.

“According to Hero Association records, he’s living in one of the residential blocks in Z-City. Fitting, considering his codename.”

With a cold, flat gaze, Fubuki turned toward the window.

“Get the helicopter ready. We’re heading to Z-City. Right now.”

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep