Just then, Genos stepped into view after finishing the dishes. He recognized the visitor immediately. "Bang-san, why are you here?"
"Ah, Saitama-kun, Genos-kun," Bang, the martial arts master, and S-Class hero, greeted them with a warm chuckle, his shoulders rising and falling in a relaxed shrug. "Well, I was wondering if you two would be interested in visiting my dojo for a little while?"
"Out of nowhere?"
Saitama stared at Bang blankly as he silently took notes of Bang's name so he could at least remember it the next time they might randomly meet like this Genos spoke, "I'd go if my sensei is going..."
"Huh? You put it on me now?"
Feeling Bang's glare on him, Saitama scratched his bald head as he was about to accept, "Alri--"
"Sensei! Uh... give me a moment to take a breath..."
A shout interrupted him as the sound of ragged breathing caught everyone's attention.
They turned to see a disheveled young man, his messy, light-colored hair drenched in sweat, wearing a white karate gi as he continued, "Why did you come all the way here personally?"
"Charanko, didn't I tell you about them?"
"Yeah, but..."
Charanko's eyes flicked to Saitama's bored expression, and his lips twitched as he mumbled under his breath, "He's totally questionable—"
BOOM!
A thunderous crash reverberated through the building, sending shockwaves through the walls.
Everyone except Charanko exchanged glances before dashing outside in unison.
"Hey, wait for me!"
Charanko, still reeling from the impact, shouted after them as he scrambled down the stairs, panting heavily.
By the time he made it outside, hunched over and catching his breath, he noticed the group standing in stunned silence.
With ragged gasps, he asked, "What's going on?"
His question hung in the air as he followed their gaze—his jaw dropped at the sight before him.
Towering above them was a massive, grotesque creature that resembled...
"A... a d-dick?"
"Well, you're technically correct..."
A voice broke the stunned silence.
Charanko looked up to see a young man perched confidently atop the writhing, worm-like beast, a mischievous smile playing on his lips. "This guy's called a fat innkeeper worm, or Gaebul. Basically..."
He paused, eyes gleaming with curiosity. "...a penis fish."
Tsuna's tone was laced with amusement as he crouched down, inspecting the squirming beast as he silently thought, "I wonder if it's as nutritious as the ones in my world..."
"...?"
Both Bang and Charanko felt only slight discomfort and curiosity after hearing Tsuna's casual remark, but Saitama and Genos had entirely different reactions.
Their faces darkened simultaneously as they exchanged uneasy glances.
"No way, right?"
Saitama muttered, his voice filled with dread.
"...Sensei, I think he's planning to make us eat it," Genos whispered grimly.
A chill ran down Saitama's spine as he turned toward Tsuna, his face pale with growing horror. "T-Tsuna, why did you bring this... thing over?"
"Oh, this..."
Tsuna, who had been deep in thought, trying to figure out how to prepare the mutated, train-sized creature, looked up to see Saitama's terrified expression at the sight of the grotesque, phallic monster.
A smirk crept onto his lips. "Keke, this will be our food for the next couple of days."
"Tsuna, you psycho!"
Saitama cried, his voice rising in panic.
"Y-You might wanna reconsider..."
Even Genos, usually stoic, couldn't hold back his loud protest, both of them clearly horrified at the prospect.
"Alright, alright, don't be insecure with your tiny little ones. As a matter of fact..."
But Tsuna ignored their outbursts.
With a casual flick of his wrist, he summoned his metal chopsticks, causing them to extend and multiply through his bending technique as he continued, "This penis-like creature might actually give you the penis..."
"..."
The chopsticks enlarged and separated into several knife-like pieces, floating through the air with precision, causing Bang and Charanko to widen their eyes in shock.
"This young man..."
Bang watched in awe as the knives began to slice through the massive creature.
As the last slice of the grotesque meat fell into place, Bang crossed his arms, contemplating the young man's identity as he looked at him closely before murmuring, "He must be the new S-class hero they've been talking about..."
Even after Saitama's and Genos' relentless attempts to dissuade him, Tsuna didn't budge an inch.
Their growing desperation was met with amused glances from Bang and Charanko, who clearly found the situation entertaining.
Once Tsuna had finished his preparations, Bang took the opportunity to extend his invitation again.
This time, Saitama agreed readily. To ensure Tsuna didn't proceed with his bizarre plan, they forcefully dragged him along, hoping to keep distracting him from turning the penis-like creature into a meal.
On their way there...
"You remind me of my younger self, lad..."
Bang said, his voice filled with a nostalgic warmth. He smiled softly at Tsuna, who was staring out the limousine window boredly.
The four of them were seated in the back of a sleek limousine, making their way to Bang's dojo.
Charanko was driving up front, leaving the rest to settle in the spacious rear.
"Me?" Tsuna raised an eyebrow, glancing at Bang with faint curiosity. "I doubt it..."
His eyes swept over the old man's frame, noting the fact that the old man was a martial artist. He couldn't help but feel the old man had mistaken him for something else entirely.
Yet Bang, despite his gentle smile, gazed at Tsuna with a piercing look of concern.
"I can sense it... blood on your hands," Bang murmured quietly, the smile never fading but his eyes serious. "Not too much, thankfully. But it's there."
"Promise me, young man," Bang's tone turned grave as his gaze bore into Tsuna's. "Don't let those hands get dirtier than they already are."
Awkwardly scratching the back of his head, Tsuna met Bang's intense stare.
Tsuna blinked while thinking, "Is he on something?"
"...or you might regret it," Bang looked out the window as if recalling unpleasant memories in his younger days.
"Hey, Saitama, how did you even meet this crazy old man?"
Tsuna whispered bluntly, not bothering to lower his voice as he glanced at Bang. Saitama, looking equally baffled, shook his head, "I thought he was just a normal old guy... seems I was wrong."
Throughout the trip, Bang had been relentlessly trying to recruit them into his dojo, which was starting to get on Saitama's nerves.
Meanwhile, Tsuna was completely ignoring the old man, lost in his own thoughts.
As they arrived at the dojo, they were faced with a steep set of stairs leading up the hill.
Once inside the dojo, Bang showed off his martial arts skills, moving with fluid grace, as if trying to tempt them into joining—like offering candy to lure kids into a trap.
However, neither Tsuna nor Saitama looked the least bit impressed.
They sipped their tea, served by a still-out-of-breath Charanko, while watching the performance with bored expressions.
"You young men are hard to please. Alright, how about this?"
Bang, noticing their lack of reaction, sighed deeply.
He turned to Tsuna, his eyes twinkling with challenge. "Why don't you spar with me, young man? Experience my martial arts directly."
Tsuna frowned and flatly refused, "Nah, it's a waste of time."
Saitama, shaking his head while sipping his tea, added lazily, "Unless you pay him, he won't do it."
"Oh? Is that so?" Bang's eyebrows lifted in surprise before he smiled. "Then I'll pay you however much you want."
At that, Tsuna's eyes practically gleamed, nearly turning into dollar signs. He stood up eagerly, "I want to be paid in gold."
Bang chuckled at the unusual request but nodded, "Quite an odd demand, but alright."
With that, Tsuna was hooked, his previous reluctance gone in an instant.