Mr. X001

BSHOOM!

The strike pushed Saitama back, making him slide on the blue tiles.

X002 carefully observed Saitama's head. "No effect again?"

Slowly, he started to laugh. "Ahh, so you're the type who dies after experiencing the enemy's true power."

X002 stretched his arms and immediately roared. 

Suddenly, his hands and legs began to glow in bright yellow. The light generated immense energy, constantly sending shockwaves throughout the atmosphere.

The shockwaves gradually destroyed the tiles from the inside, causing the entire blue room to vibrate intensely.

"Can your thick skin survive some of my magical punches?" X002 grinned as he prepared to lunge. "I wonder if your mortal eyes can see through my speed."

As soon as he finished, he disappeared into thin air, only traces of his brilliant yellow light remaining behind.

Within the blink of an eye, he reappeared right in front of Saitama, his clenched fists rushing towards Saitama's torso.

"Even light is slower compared to me!" X002 exclaimed, launching his barrage of punches at Saitama.

BOOM!

WHAM!

With each powerful strike, Saitama was pushed back, his grounded foot eventually breaking the tiles underneath. The blows covered the area surrounding Saitama in a light yellow tint, and the shockwaves continued to destroy the blue void, piece by piece.

"The tiles in this room were made from the strongest material found on Kerbes, and yet look at what I have done to the training room," X002 chuckled.

"Is that all of your power?" Saitama murmured, pushing X002 back with his right arm. "You should just toss pebbles instead."

Landing back on the ground, X002 started to laugh. "Were you a joker in some circus?"

X002 closed his eyes, and a long sword made of yellow light mysteriously materialized in both of his hands.

Immediately afterwards, he lunged towards Saitama, holding the swords in a cross pattern. As soon as he reached right before Saitama, he teleported to his left and attacked, creating a thunderous sound.

BLAM!

Within the next moment, he vaporized, appearing behind Saitama and dealing a striking blow. 

BOOM!

After sharply turning his gaze towards Saitama's right side, he disappeared again for a successful strike.

KLAM!

The attacks covered Saitama in a dense yellow smoke, rendering him almost invisible. The loud noise generated by each blow was powerful enough to evaporate one's eardrums. 

On the other hand, the endless shockwaves continued the destruction further.

As X002 retreated, anticipating Saitama's potential counterattack, his magical swords suddenly started to vanish into thin air.

"No way, this isn't something that a thick skin can do," X002 gazed at the disappearing sword, his pupils contracting. "What are you!?"

"A human," Saitama emerged from the smoke only to show his plain, straight face.

"Fool someone else with that stupid face," X002 howled, and the vibrant yellow color grew denser. "This last attack will surely end you-"

Suddenly, a loud, deep voice declared. "Stop."

X002 instantly turned his head towards the voice as if he personally knew the person speaking. A tall, muscular man in his thirties was standing in the middle of the battlefield, his eyes continuously examining the broken ground. He had a particularly short mustache and looked somewhat like Tanktop Tiger.

"M-Mr. X001?" X002 stammered, and the intensity in the atmosphere cooled down. "Don't worry, I can handle this punk."

X001 glanced around towards Saitama, wearing half-torn clothes. "Is he the intruder?"

"Y-Yes, I was just playing," X002 said while chuckling a little, nervousness in his voice. "I'll finish him up right now."

The atmosphere's intensity returned, but this time X002 was enveloped in a dense sphere of rainbow colors. To the left of his body, several hovering fireballs materialized, while on his right, countless debris floated in the air, wrapped in radiant blue light.

As X002 planted his legs backward with immense force to lunge forward, X001 appeared before him, holding X002's head between his bulky fingers.

In an instant, the fireballs vanished, the rainbow energy dissipated, and the debris fell helplessly.

"X002, as a vice-captain of Arplesis, I do not expect this behavior from you," X001 stared right into X002's eyes through the gap between his fingers. "What if he exposed our location using some device?"

"I-I'm sorry, boss," X002 said in a pleading voice. "This will not happen again." 

X001 sharply turned towards Saitama and gave a cold glare. "If you managed to survive this long, you should have a power rivaling X002's."

Loosening his grip on X002's face, X001 slowly walked towards Saitama. "Rather than fighting and possibly killing each other, gentleman, I have an offer for you."

"Offer?" Saitama examined his shirt, his eyes glued to find any burns.

"Yeah, a relatively attractive one," X001 picked a shattered piece of the blue tile. "Join Arplesis as an officer, and we'll give you all you want. Dummies for training, women, money, fame, power, everything you can think of."

"Then can I get an order of french fries? The cheap one," Saitama scratched his butt. "Oh, with extra ketchup."

Hearing such a stupid and outrageous answer, X001 looked down, and the piece of rubble in his hand instantly shattered into a million pieces. "French fries?"

He started to laugh. "Haha, that's a unique answer. But it's better than rejecting me straightforwardly. Because, if you had done so, I would've sliced your throat open."

After a little pause, he turned his back towards Saitama and continued, "I don't know what french fries are, but I suppose it's something to eat. I'll take you to our granaries, so choose what you want."

Upon finishing, X001 teleported before Saitama, looking straight into his round eyes. "Before we do that, I think you should also meet the chief of Arplesis, Mr. X, who has blessed us with his presence today."

Slowly turning towards X002, he spoke aloud. "Today's the day you get to see Mr. X, X002. Now that our main project is complete, he's ready to reveal himself to all Arplesis members."

"R-Really?" X002 nervously swallowed the lump in his throat. "I thought he was never going to reveal himself."

"Now that Magneton is dead, he can carry his master plan without any interference," X001 stated. "Teleport us to the Chamber 404."

TO BE CONTINUED...