With a flick of his wrist, No.17 gave a slight push.
Saitama's figure flew backward like a cannonball, smashing through several buildings before crashing into the ruins a kilometer away.
But the next moment… Boom!
The ruins exploded, and Saitama charged out as if nothing had happened, throwing another punch.
"Special Move: Serious Punch!"
This time, his punch was faster, his power more ferocious.
"1 million combat power." As he effortlessly blocked and dodged Saitama's storm of attacks, No.17 murmured to himself. "Hard to imagine a pure Earthling reaching this level."
What did that mean?
In the Dragon Ball Universe, 1 million combat power was already at the level of Frieza's second form, enough to easily destroy a planet.
Yet Saitama… a pure Earthling without Ki Training, special bloodlines, or even psychic powers, had reached this level through physical strength alone.
Moreover, based on his observations, the people around Saitama had combat powers ranging from mere dozens to a few hundred.
It indicated that others on this planet had normal power levels, with Saitama being the sole anomaly.
No.17 was inwardly shocked, but his movements didn't slow.
He effortlessly deflected all of Saitama's attacks like a man toying with a child. His occasional counterattacks sent Saitama flying.
But as the fight continued...
No.17 frowned. The readings on his scouter were changing.
"1.02 million?" No.17 deflected a heavy punch from Saitama and drifted back a few meters, his eyes filled with disbelief. "Were you holding back earlier?"
"Holding back?" Saitama shook his slightly numb arm, looking confused. "No, I'm giving it my all fighting you!"
"He's not holding back," Setsuna said from the sky. "He's simply getting stronger. Growing constantly through your fight."
"What!" No.17's pupils contracted sharply.
He looked at the scouter again.
1.05 million, 1.08 million, 1.13 million...
The numbers were still visibly climbing.
"Th-this is impossible?" For the first time, a tremor entered No.17's voice. "Even Saiyans need to recover from the brink of death to achieve explosive growth..."
Although this level of power was still negligible to him-
But the speed of growth instilled an indescribable sense of dread in him.
While No.17 was inwardly reeling...
"Ahhh!"
Saitama suddenly cried out in pain, leaping backward and clutching his head with a pained expression.
"What's wrong?" No.17 was startled, 'I hadn't hit him that hard, had he?'
"If we keep fighting," Saitama pointed at the crumbling apartment building in the distance, looking distraught, "my home will be destroyed!"
No.17: "..."
In the sky, No.18 couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"I've been trying to restrain myself to minimize the impact," No.17 said helplessly. "Otherwise, the aftershocks of our fight alone would destroy this planet."
"So what should we do?" Saitama scratched his bald head, troubled.
No.17 thought for a moment, then looked up at the sky. "Then let's go fight in space."
"Space?" Saitama blinked. "I can jump to the moon, but without any footholds in space, moving is hard."
No.17 was astonished again: "A strong man like you can't fly?"
Setsuna appeared before Saitama in a flash, gently pressing his index finger to Saitama's forehead.
At the touch, a torrent of knowledge about the use of Ki and the Flight Technique flooded Saitama's mind like an epiphany.
"This is..." Saitama's eyes lit up.
"It's called the [Flight Technique]," Setsuna said, withdrawing his finger. "With your talent, you should learn it quickly."
"Ohhh." Saitama closed his eyes, feeling it for a moment.
Then, he tentatively floated up.
"I did it!" Saitama waved his arms and legs excitedly. "I'm actually flying!"
He spun in the air a few times like a child with a new toy, then grinned broadly at Setsuna. "You're a good guy! Teaching me such a useful ability!"
"Now when I go to the supermarket for Saturday bargain hunting, I can fly there!"
No.17 was stunned, 'With his power, he still needed to hunt for bargains?'
'How terrifying was this planet's economy?'
He took a deep breath, suppressing his urge to comment, and beckoned to Saitama. "Well then, let's go to space."
"Let me see how far your potential can truly be unleashed without restrictions."
"Alright, I'm coming!" Saitama eagerly followed.
The two transformed into streaks of light, pierced the atmosphere, and vanished beyond the blue sky.
Below, Fubuki, Genos, and Sonic were all deeply shaken.
Everything that had happened today completely overturned their understanding of the world.
'Strong men actually fought in space?'
What frightened them even more was that such powerful monsters didn't even have names, only numbers.
'Did that mean there might be sixteen more similarly powerful beings before that No.17?'
…
Beyond Earth's geosynchronous orbit, in the cold depths of space.
There was no air, no sound, only eternal silence, brilliant starlight, and two figures colliding wildly, defying the laws of physics.
"Hah!" Saitama roared, his bald head reflecting the light of the stars.
His fists became countless afterimages, each strike carrying enough force to sink a continent, raining down furiously on No.17.
Meanwhile, No.17 moved through Saitama's frenzied assault as if strolling through a park.
His long black hair remained still in the vacuum, his eyes gleaming with precise calculations.
"8 million... 9 million... 10 million..."
The scouter within him faithfully recorded Saitama's combat power skyrocketing.
Too fast.
This growth rate was no longer just 'astonishing'... it defied logic.
In the Dragon Ball Universe, for a warrior to increase their normal combat power from 1 million to 10 million—
Even a prodigy like Vegeta would require years or more of arduous training, needing near-death recoveries, gravity chambers, even the Hyperbolic Time Chamber… game-breaking aids.
But Saitama had achieved this leap just by fighting No.17.
From the initial 1 million to now 10 million, and still climbing.
Gradually, however, No.17 noticed Saitama's growth rate slowing.
From explosive increases every minute initially, to taking several minutes for a small increment, and now...
"12.73 million, 12.731 million, 12.732 million..."
The increase had almost stopped.
No.17 inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. He had genuinely been worried Saitama would keep skyrocketing until he surpassed him.
'So this is the potential of breaking the limiter that Setsuna-sama mentioned? Truly fearsome.'