One Punch Man: Heroics Start with Dual Kamui

"Mr. Kamui... I believe you, but the other executives in the Association's upper ranks might not. That's why relocating the citizens of City A will be extremely difficult..." Busho spoke with a troubled expression, the frustration in his voice hinting at how often he had been forced to deal with those useless colleagues. He knew their type far too well.

"It's fine," Shinji replied evenly. "A disaster will happen very soon. Actually... it's probably not just one."

Busho froze for a moment. "What do you mean? Are you saying that aside from the God-level disaster you foresaw, another one will strike first?!"

"Yes. That's exactly what I mean. Probably around dragon-level." Shinji's tone remained steady as he nodded.

"Dragon-level? And more than one?!" Busho's voice rose in alarm. "Should I summon all the S-Class heroes immediately to respond to the threat?"

His original plan had been to call them together sometime soon to brief them on Madam Shibabawa's prophecy, but if danger was already on the horizon, then that plan needed to happen now.

"No need. Aren't Genos and I enough?" Shinji asked plainly.

It was not arrogance speaking. The disaster he referred to was the summoning of a Tailed Beast in City A.

Even without its incredible regenerative power, the destructive force of a single Tailed Beast Bomb would easily meet the criteria for a dragon-level disaster. And since he would be the one summoning it, he had every intention of defeating it himself, seizing its power, and allowing the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path to absorb it in preparation for becoming the Ten-Tails' jinchūriki.

"Alright then, I'll leave it to you and Mr. Genos..." Busho said, bowing respectfully to them both.

"I'll give it my all," Genos answered with resolve. Even if he had no guarantee of victory against such a foe, retreat was never an option for him.

"No problem," Shinji replied. His gaze sharpened slightly. "Now... it's about time."

With a single thought, he activated the Tailed Beast summoning scroll he had exchanged for in the points shop.

In the blink of an eye, the One-Tail Shukaku materialized. Shinji could not pinpoint the exact location where it would appear in this world, but he could at least ensure it emerged somewhere within the bounds of City A.

[Alert! One-Tail Shukaku has appeared in the suburbs of City A. Challenger, please proceed to engage as soon as possible!]

"It's here..." Shinji murmured.

Busho's expression changed instantly. He pulled out his phone and contacted the Association's control officer at headquarters. The control officer's job was to receive citizen reports, confirm monster sightings, and assign a disaster level based on historical data.

"Hello? Mr. Busho?" the voice answered.

"Has any disaster been reported in City A?!" Busho's urgency almost made the man on the other end stammer.

"N-no... nothing yet..." the control officer began, clearly startled.

But only moments later, his tone shifted to alarm.

"This is bad, Mr. Busho! In the southern suburbs of City A, we've detected an extremely strong energy fluctuation. The suspected disaster level is at least demon-class, possibly even dragon-class!"

"I understand! I'll notify the S-Class heroes right away!"

After confirming the situation, Busho hung up. But before he could speak to Shinji and Genos, he realized they had already vanished from sight.

...

"Master, that should be the monster that appeared this time, right?"

"Yes. That's the big one..."

Shinji and Genos stood atop a hill, gazing toward the scene below. In the distance loomed a massive beast. Its entire body was a dull gray, etched with curse-like markings, its form reminiscent of a giant tanuki, and behind it swayed a single enormous tail.

It was the One-Tail Shukaku.

Fortunately, the surrounding suburbs had very few residents. Only scattered houses hid in the folds of the mountains, so Shukaku's sudden arrival had not yet triggered mass panic.

The One-Tail itself seemed disoriented. Abruptly summoned from its jinchūriki's seal, it was still processing the shock of sudden freedom.

Shinji, however, wasted no time. In the blink of an eye, he appeared directly before the beast.

"Come on. Attack me."

"...Huh?"

Shukaku's gaze snapped down to the tiny human standing fearlessly in front of it. Realizing the other had the gall to provoke it, the hot-tempered beast acted without hesitation.

It opened its mouth wide and unleashed Wind Style: Drilling Air Bullet. A massive sphere of compressed air burst forth at incredible speed, tearing through the air with devastating force.

Shinji did not so much as flinch. He simply shook his head, then opened a rift using Kamui's power, swallowing the attack into the spatial dimension.

The Drilling Air Bullet's strength was far from enough to satisfy him.

"Is that all you've got?" His calm voice held a deliberate trace of mockery, and the taunt hit its mark.

"What!" Shukaku roared in fury.

This time, it gathered an immense amount of chakra, forming a pitch-black Tailed Beast Bomb in its maw.

"Master, be careful!" Genos called sharply, instantly recognizing the overwhelming energy concentrated within the sphere. But Shinji's gaze was steady. This was exactly the move he had been waiting for.

Once the bomb was fully condensed, Shukaku launched it with earth-shaking force. Its speed and power dwarfed the earlier wind attack, ripping open the ground into a deep gash as it tore toward its target.

Just before impact, the bomb halted in midair. Shinji held a Flying Thunder God kunai in his left hand while pressing his right palm against his left forearm. Eight chain-like sealing marks spiraled outward, clamping down on the Tailed Beast Bomb and pulling it toward him.

"Flying Thunder God: Guiding Thunder!"

When the sphere was completely absorbed, Shinji gripped the kunai with both hands and vanished. A heartbeat later, the bomb reappeared in a remote, uninhabited mountain range.

BOOM!

The explosion unleashed a colossal shockwave, flattening an expanse of forest in an instant. At Hero Association headquarters, the control officers stared in disbelief, utterly shaken by the destructive force displayed.