"…Yeah. Just a few people," Atomic Samurai said, not sounding very convincing.
Even he knew how ridiculous that sounded now.
It had started small. He'd only told a handful of his disciples—Iaian and the others—thinking they could benefit from watching a fight between top-tier heroes.
A rare opportunity like that could shape a swordsman's entire path.
But those "few people" had talked.
And then others talked.
Before long, the entire hero community knew.
Bang showed up. Child Emperor. Tanktop Master. One after another, S-Class heroes came knocking. Turning them away wasn't exactly an option.
Then came the swordsmen. The entire Sword Council wanted in.
After that?
A-Class heroes. Association executives. Wealthy sponsors. Influential figures.
By the time it snowballed out of control, the crowd had swallowed an entire street.
If something went wrong here, it wouldn't just be a disaster.
It would be a collapse.
Too many important people in one place.
Atomic Samurai scratched the back of his head, avoiding eye contact. "So… you can handle it, right?"
Thousands of eyes were now on Blast.
He straightened slightly, forcing confidence into his voice. "Of course. A street's nothing. I could move an entire city if I had to."
The moment the words left his mouth, he regretted them.
"…Actually, no more people," he added quickly. "This is already pushing it."
Atomic Samurai nodded obediently.
Though there was a faint hint of disappointment in his expression.
Blast narrowed his eyes.
Was he planning to bring more?
Elsewhere in the crowd—
Noah Vale glanced at Tatsumaki… then at the woman standing beside her.
Fubuki.
"…You brought your sister?" he asked.
Over the past few days, he'd heard that Fubuki had been hospitalized due to some kind of mental breakdown. Tatsumaki had even taken time off to visit her.
And now she was here?
"She insisted," Tatsumaki said flatly. "Something about wanting to watch you lose."
Fubuki didn't respond.
She didn't even look at him properly.
Instead, she kept her gaze slightly averted, her expression tense, her body stiff in a way that didn't match her usual confidence.
Every so often, she shifted subtly, like she couldn't quite get comfortable.
Noah frowned.
Did I do something?
He didn't remember interacting with her much at all.
"…You know this is a serious fight, right?" Noah said, rubbing his temples. "You're planning to watch from outer space. That's not exactly spectator-friendly."
"I just want to see you get knocked down a peg," Tatsumaki shot back, chin raised.
Noah sighed. "It'll be over fast. There's not much to see."
She didn't budge.
He gave up. "Fine. I'll ask Blast."
When Noah arrived in City A with the sisters—
He stopped.
"…You're telling me all of them are here to watch?" he said, gesturing at the packed street.
It looked like half the world had shown up.
Blast stepped forward, trying to maintain composure. "Don't worry. I'll keep everyone safe."
Noah gave him a look that suggested you might regret that.
"Hey, looks like everyone's here."
Saitama arrived casually from City Z, hands in his pockets. He glanced at the massive crowd, mildly surprised, then turned to Noah.
"Ready?"
"Hold on—hold on!"
A panicked voice cut through the noise.
A Hero Association staff member sprinted into the scene, breathless.
"Something just happened! Madam Shibabawa… she passed away after making a prediction!"
The crowd froze.
Everyone knew that name.
Her predictions had never been wrong.
"What did she say?" someone asked.
The staff member swallowed. "A disaster. One that will destroy the Earth."
The atmosphere shifted instantly.
Fear spread like a ripple through the crowd.
Noah, however, narrowed his eyes.
That timing…
He looked up.
And there it was.
Beyond the atmosphere, a massive purple spacecraft cut through space, descending toward Earth at terrifying speed.
"…Well, that's inconvenient," Noah muttered.
With a flick of his hand, a small vial appeared—filled with a vivid red substance.
Tatsumaki's eyes narrowed slightly.
She recognized it.
That strange item he'd used before.
Noah didn't explain.
"Was going to use it later," he said. "Might as well now."
He activated it.
And in an instant—
His body expanded.
Muscles surged, bones stretched, and within seconds, he towered over the crowd at several stories tall.
Gasps echoed around him.
"Yeah… this feels better," Noah said, flexing slightly, clearly pleased with the increase in power.
Tatsumaki looked away, her expression briefly flickering with something unreadable.
Then—
Noah bent his knees.
And vanished.
Not moved.
Vanished.
The shockwave alone rippled through the air.
Blast's eyes widened.
"That speed…"
It wasn't just faster.
It was on an entirely different scale.
He glanced back at the massive crowd he had just promised to protect.
A rare thought crossed his mind.
…Did I just overcommit?
Far above the Earth—
Inside the descending alien warship—
A towering figure stood at the helm, blue skin gleaming under alien light.
"People of this planet," he declared, voice booming through the ship, "I have come to conquer—"
He didn't finish.
Something hit.
Hard.
A single knee.
Noah Vale crashed into the underside of the ship like a meteor.
The impact tore through it instantly.
The vessel—built to withstand cosmic debris—split apart like glass.
A massive fracture ripped across its entire structure, stretching for dozens of kilometers.
Then—
It broke.
Cleanly.
Within seconds, explosions cascaded through the ship, tearing it apart from the inside.
Three seconds later, most of its forces were gone.
Noah didn't stop.
He moved straight through the wreckage, cutting a path to the ship's core.
And there—
A lone figure waited.
Tall. Armored. Blue-skinned.
Watching him with something close to excitement.
"So," the alien said, eyes gleaming, "you're the one from the prophecy."
Noah didn't answer.
He didn't need to.
His elbow came crashing down.
Straight into Boros's face.