One Punch Man: Heroics Start with Dual Kamui

Chapter 129: S-Class Hero Boros

"Vice Chairman Shinji? That title… does that mean you two were classmates before? Or maybe part of the same organization?" Saitama asked suddenly. It was his first time hearing that title for Shinji.

"Yes, we were classmates, though that was back in high school," Psykos nodded. She didn't give any further details, deliberately keeping things vague so as not to cause trouble for Shinji. She knew she should speak things and make things complicated, both for her and for Shinji.

After dinner, Shinji escorted Psykos back to the secret hideout underground.

.....

A few days later.

Metal Knight had taken only seven days to complete the reconstruction of A-City. That was three days ahead of schedule, showing the overwhelming efficiency of machine power.

Now, the Hero Association headquarters had been rebuilt into a massive fortress base. High-speed transit tunnels and railways were already operational, and the organization was gradually stabilizing.

On this day, Shinji came with Boros to discuss something important: Boros' entry into the Hero Association.

Several executives, including Sekingar, had gathered to personally welcome them. The addition of the former universal conqueror Boros would greatly boost the Association's prestige.

"As for Mr. Boros, we have already reached a decision," Sekingar said seriously. "In short, he will be allowed to bypass the hero certification exam and be placed directly as an S-Class hero."

He paused before adding, "But according to Association rules, Mr. Boros will have to start at the bottom, as the 20th-ranked S-Class hero..."

He felt it necessary to explain clearly beforehand. A former galactic overlord might not appreciate being put last, but the Association had no choice. Granting Boros direct entry into S-Class was already bending the rules to their limit. If they ranked him in the top ten or even top three right away, the other S-Class heroes would definitely be unhappy.

After all, Boros had not yet contributed anything to the Association, not to mention that he was once an invader of Earth.

"Boros, what do you think?" Shinji asked the man in question.

"No problem. But before that, I'd like to know… what exactly does being S-Class mean?" Boros asked, curious. He still didn't fully understand the Hero Association's system.

Sekingar then gave him a detailed explanation of S-Class heroes and the Association's structure.

....

"So that's how it works. Rankings improve through contribution points gained by completing missions," Boros summarized once he understood. "Right now, I'm ranked 20th in S-Class… So, what rank is Shinji?"

"At present, Mr. Kamui is ranked 5th in S-Class," Sekingar explained. "But once the Association finalizes the new rankings, he will rise to 3rd or even 2nd. After all, Mr. Kamui was the central figure in resolving the god-level disaster."

"The Association has officially classified that incident as a god-level disaster?" Shinji asked in surprise.

"Yeah, after witnessing the kind of battle you had with Boros, the term Dragon-level disaster is no longer enough to define it."

Sitch nodded and said, "The definition of a God-level disaster is something that could potentially cause humanity's extinction. Boros's final move was enough to destroy the surface of the Earth, and humanity really came close to being wiped out. That perfectly matched the prophecy Lady Shibabawa left behind..."

In truth, the original story never classified the Dark Matter Thieves' invasion as God-level because the Hero Association had no idea that Saitama fought Boros. Later, Metal Knight even retrieved Boros's corpse along with the spaceship. It remains unclear whether the Hero Association was even aware of Boros's existence.

From their perspective, all they saw was a Dragon-level monster, Melzargard, being attacked by S-class heroes, and a massive alien battleship hovering above.

So the Association only categorized the event as a Dragon-level disaster.

If the Association or any hero had actually witnessed Saitama's battle with Boros, the classification likely would have been upgraded to God-level.

The key lies in the word "potential." The Hero Association defines a God-level disaster as something that could potentially wipe out humanity, not something that must.

It's just like how some Dragon-level monsters never got the chance to unleash their destructive potential before being one-shotted by Saitama. Even if they didn't manage to reach the level of "possibly destroying several cities," the Association still labeled them Dragon-level because they did have that capability, just not the opportunity.

Of course, the most cautious definition should always be "above Dragon." After all, with someone like Saitama around, no monster is truly qualified to call itself a God-level disaster.

"I suppose that makes sense..." At this moment, Shinji gave a small nod.

It was understandable that Boros would be classified as a God-level disaster.

What puzzled Boros more, however, was that Shinji still wasn't ranked number one among the S-class heroes.

In his mind, such a position should be directly tied to strength, since he himself believed in strength above all.

"Shinji isn't number one yet? Could it be that the one in first place is even stronger?" Boros asked with clear interest.

"Well... we're not really sure," Sitch admitted, rubbing his brows. "That's because the S-class rank 1, Blast, has always been shrouded in mystery. Even inside the Association, no one knows the details about him, so it's impossible to say whether Blast is stronger than Kamui."

He added, "Besides, the hero ranking system isn't based solely on strength. Many other factors are considered as well..."

The truth was, Sitch himself didn't know why Blast, who had never once shown his face, was ranked number one. All he knew was that the Association referred to him as the "strongest hero."

"So the rankings aren't determined entirely by strength... I see." Boros nodded slightly and stopped pressing the matter.

At the same time, Shinji suddenly thought back to the prophecy Boros had received from that alien seer twenty years ago. The "strong man" foretold in the prophecy might very well have been Blast.

First Blast, then Garou, and by sheer coincidence Boros had ended up crossing paths with Saitama...

After Boros expressed his willingness, he officially joined the Hero Association. His name was entered into the hero registry as S-class rank 20, though he didn't yet have a hero alias.

That very day, Shinji met with the executives to discuss how to divide up the countless treasures from the alien ship.

Intimidated by the overwhelming presence of both Shinji and Boros, the executives had no choice but to follow Shinji's rules for distribution.

Next came the task of deciding Boros's hero name. The executives wanted to use "Cosmic Overlord" directly as his alias.

But Boros himself objected.

"I am no longer the Cosmic Overlord. Give that title to Shinji instead."

Calling himself the Cosmic Overlord would be a lot more shameful when he was defeated once and is now working as a lackey.