OPJ Chapter 1 - First Encounter with Bandits

Heroes.
The ones who bravely step forth when people are oppressed and incapable of revolting against their miserable fate.



Creak...
The door of a certain tavern was pushed open as a bald-headed man wearing strange yellow clothes and rubber red gloves came in.
"Umm... Hello, could you please tell me something?"
While observing the strange decorations in the tavern, the bald-headed man asked the young proprietress, who was standing behind the wooden counter, "Genos and I were separated on the sea. Would you perhaps know how to reach Z-City?"
The peculiar voice of the bald-headed man resounded throughout the empty tavern.
His voice seemed to be devoid of any feelings.

"Z-City?"
The proprietress, Makino, tried confirming while wiping a cup.
She curiously observed this ordinary-looking man she had never seen before.
His eyes seemed to lack spirit, and his attire looked weird. However, he seemed completely harmless towards humans and animals.
After giving it some thought, Makino shook her head: "Sorry, I have never heard of such a place. Are you perhaps lost?"

"Ah, it seems to be so."
The bald man sighed with disappointment, "This is really puzzling... I have inquired several people before coming here, but they all give the same answer. If I'm unable to return quickly, I might miss tomorrow's special sale discounts..."
Just as he finished speaking, a growling sound suddenly came from his stomach.
"Ah..."
The bald man looked downwards, thinking to himself, "Oh, I seemed to have overslept today and forgot to eat breakfast..."

Makino smiled softly as she looked at the bald man.
She suddenly felt that this bald man was somewhat cute.
Makino took a piece of bread from the counter and gave it to him as she politely said, "Um, this is for you... I think you must be from a town in the kingdom. After all, this area is by the edge of the sea, and you do not seem to be from anywhere around here."
"Oh, I see... Thank you..."

The bald man went to the bar, took a bite from the bread, and said while chewing, "You have been a great help. Although I believe the town you mentioned is not quite the same as the place where I live, I will still go and have a look. Thank you very much..."
Makino smiled while squinting her eyes. "It wasn't much, but I have never seen anyone with that kind of attire... Ah, right, may I know your name?"

"My name is Saitama."
Saitama wiped his mouth and pointed towards himself with his thumb while smiling, "Just someone who is a Hero for fun."
At that moment, his originally lackluster face seemed to shine with remarkable charm.

"You..."
Before Makino could express her shock, the wooden door at the entrance of the Tavern was suddenly kicked open.
A group of unruly men dressed in a sloppy manner came in.
"Excuse me~!"
The one at the foremost of the group said it with no sincerity as he stepped towards the bar and sat down. He raised his legs to rest on the table, creating a loud bang and said in a rude tone, "Good afternoon, Miss. As you can see, we are mountain bandits, but you don't have to worry as we are not here to commit robbery. I'm just here to buy ten barrels of liquor with a Beri, hahaha..."

Hearing this, the accompanying bandits immediately started creating a ruckus, and the tavern became chaotic.
Makino's complexion became slightly gloomy.
A single Beri would not even buy a button, and they actually demanded ten barrels of liquor.
But if she did not obey them, both her and the innocent bystander called Saitama would suffer.
Makino nodded while forcing a smile: "Okay, please give me a moment. I will bring out the beer immediately..."

But before she could finish speaking, Saitama, who had been watching all this happen till now, suddenly spoke up.
"Hey, you..."
Saitama pointed at the Bandit Chieftain with slight discontentment, who had placed his shoes full of dirt on the bar table, "You are creating problems for other people, don't use the table like that. If you want to drink, sit down properly."
Every word was uttered in a flat tone, but it sounded like thunder to the ones listening!

Makino stared with her beautiful eyes wide open and hurriedly pulled Saitama, nervously telling him, "Saitama, this has nothing to do with you. Do not provoke them, hurry up and apologize ..."
The Bandit Chief sitting in the corner was also staring with his eyes wide open as if he couldn't believe what he had just heard.

"You are telling me... to follow the rules?"
"Hahaha..."
He started laughing loudly and turned around towards his men, shouting, "Men! This baldy is preaching to me, hahaha..."
The bandits also started whistling, as the atmosphere suddenly seemed to have become incredibly cheerful.

But in the next moment, the Chieftain's face immediately turned grim!
His originally cheerful expression became fierce and fearsome in an instant!
"You have made a huge mistake, stinky brat..."
He pulled out a wanted poster as he grabbed Saitama's clothes, saying in a bizarre manner, "Look carefully! I'm the great Higuma, a mountain bandit with a bounty of 8 million berries and one of the most wanted men. Heh, I've killed about 56 self-righteous idiots like you..."

Saitama replied with eyes like that of a dead fish, "Ok..."
...
No one knew why, but the atmosphere at the tavern suddenly became awkward.
After what seemed to be a long time...
"Despicable!"
Suddenly, Higuma became breathless and pulled out a sword towards Saitama's neck. He angrily said, "You baldy, do you even understand how dreadful I could be when I get angry??!! If you dare provoke me, I will kill you..."

Before he could even finish saying his words, Saitama gave him a punch that made him fly into the sky!
It took about 10 seconds for Higuma's battered body to fall from the sky onto the floor of the tavern.
Suddenly, it became so peaceful that even a needle being dropped on the floor could be heard!

The bandits witnessing all this were completely dumbstruck, unable to believe that their powerful Chief would meet his end by a punch in the most direct, simple, and brutal way!
The bloody scene in front of their eyes made the outwardly fierce but inwardly timid mountain bandits scared witless.
After yelling pitifully, they fled from the tavern.

The small tavern returned to its tranquility again.
"I apologize."
Saitama said in a slightly apologetic tone while retracting his fist. Makino, who was already in a confused state of mind, heard, "I broke the roof and floor of your tavern. I will work to make up for your loss."
"Oh..."
"That's not the point!?"

Only now did Makino manage to recover from her shock. She said in a somewhat incoherent manner to Saitama, "He... He was a mountain bandit who had a bounty of 8 million, yet you defeated him with a punch..."
"Oh? Was he strong?"
Saitama froze, then scratched his head, "I couldn't feel it, as always I just used a punch to win... You said he has a reward of 8 million, can I use the bounty to compensate for your loss?"
"It is more than enough..."

Makino carefully sized him up, but his unremarkable and sloppy appearance made it impossible to connect him with the strong guy who defeated the Chieftain with a single punch.
"Saitama..."
Makino's facial expression was somewhat complex. "Who are you... a marine? Or a pirate hunter?"
Waving his hand, Saitama walked outside the tavern.

"None of them, I am a Hero."
Saitama's face once again broke out in a smile while facing the afternoon sun outside the tavern.
Formidable and unshakable.
"Just someone who is a Hero for fun."