Chapter 139: The Terrifying Baldness
"Hahaha! I became a bald freak because I lost all my hair! You people with your beautiful hair—I'm going to make every last one of you bald!!!"
On the streets, a bizarre-looking bald monster grabbed a passing girl. In an instant, her hair was swept away by the wind.
"Ahhh! No! My hair!!!"
Tears streamed down the now-bald girl's face, but the bald monster had already tossed her aside and was searching for his next target.
Seeing the girl's tragic state, the crowd panicked and fled in all directions. Only a single office worker stood frozen in place, allowing the bald monster to grab him.
"It's your turn! Become bald—hmm? Why isn't anything happening?"
The bald monster stared in shock at the office worker in his grasp. He had activated his power at full strength, which should have completely killed off the man's hair follicles. And yet, that thick, glossy black hair remained full of life.
"…Because it's a wig."
The middle-aged salaryman trembled as he removed his hairpiece.
The bald monster fell silent.
"…You can go."
He gently set the man down, momentarily forgetting that wigs even existed.
"Thank you."
The salaryman had thought he was doomed—after all, monsters attacking humans was a given. But it seemed this one wasn't as dangerous as he had feared.
"Hey! You over there, baldy!"
Just as the bald monster was about to find his next victim, a voice called out to him.
"Huh?"
He instantly flew into a rage. Who dared to insult him, a being blessed with the power of baldness?
But when he turned around and locked eyes with the speaker, he was stunned into silence.
"You're calling me bald?! Look at yourself! You're bald too!!!"
The other person's gleaming, polished head was so reflective that the bald monster could see his own twisted expression in it.
The baldness… was stronger than his own!
"You bastard! Who are you calling bald?! You're bald! Your whole family is bald!!!"
Saitama was very annoyed.
"Hey! You there! Get away from that monster!"
A hero from the Hero Association stepped forward.
This hero had been unable to join the Hero League after the Association dissolved, yet he refused to abandon his identity as a hero. Now, upon seeing a monster, he seized the chance to prove himself once more.
"A hero?"
Garou groggily awoke in a nearby alley, momentarily suffering from a memory blackout.
But it didn't matter—his body felt incredible, as if it had broken free from all restrictions. He felt weightless, and his strikes were swifter than ever.
And the moment he heard the word hero, his instincts kicked in.
Whatever had happened to him just now was irrelevant. The only thing that mattered was his hero hunt!
Saitama had been about to step in, but the hero had already charged ahead.
A second later, the bald monster sent the hero flying with a single punch, his hair shedding mid-air.
"You think you can defeat the invincible power of baldness?" the monster sneered.
Garou shuddered for reasons he couldn't quite explain. He wasn't particularly attached to his hair, but if he could avoid becoming bald, he would definitely prefer to.
"Emergency alert! Emergency alert! A confirmed Dragon-level monster has appeared in City Z! Citizens, please evacuate immediately!"
Under Chang Wei's suggestion, Genus had developed a detection device similar to Child Emperor's mask—except more efficient, given Genus's expertise in such technology.
With this, the Hero League could remotely assess threats and avoid sending unqualified heroes to their deaths.
Of course, Chang Wei had also ensured that his heroes had a burst mode, allowing them to temporarily jump from Tiger to Demon or Demon to Dragon.
But unnecessary risks should still be avoided.
Still, he hadn't expected this goofy-looking bald monster—who didn't seem all that impressive—to actually rank at Dragon level.
Maybe it was like that thin, frail Dragon-level bean sprout?
Garou had adapted to the supercell solution perfectly, exceeding Chang Wei's expectations. Despite being flooded with supercell enhancements, he had fully absorbed them. His current strength had likely been accelerated to Dragon level.
But facing the bald monster's attack, Garou was visibly annoyed. He wanted to hunt heroes, not fight monsters.
That didn't mean he would let this monster go, though.
"I'll make you bald too!"
The bald monster roared as he unleashed a flurry of punches at blinding speed.
Garou scoffed—human-shaped enemies were exactly his specialty.
His hands moved like flowing water, redirecting every incoming strike with ease. He effortlessly deflected the bald monster's attacks and closed the distance.
With a spiraling water-flow strike, his palm shot forward, aiming to pierce through the bald monster's chest.
Yet the bald monster didn't even attempt to defend himself. He simply took the attack head-on.
And remained completely unharmed.
Garou's eyes widened in disbelief.
"You can't hurt me. Bald people don't harm each other!"
The bald monster patted Garou's shoulder.
"Pfft—"
Chang Wei couldn't hold back his laughter.
Garou had looked incredibly cool, skillfully deflecting the monster's punches—but the so-called bald power seemed to activate on contact.
Now, Garou's two signature horns… were gone.
Two gleaming bald heads stood side by side.
"…Impossible!"
Garou touched his head and felt only smooth, bare skin.
But he quickly dismissed the thought. He didn't care about something as trivial as hair.
He refused to believe in the bald monster's nonsense and launched another barrage of attacks.
Yet just as the monster had said, he couldn't break through its defenses.
"Bald people must understand and accept one another! That is the essence of bald power!!!"
The bald monster declared.
…Yeah, this bald power was starting to feel a bit sketchy.
Chang Wei figured that a monster this powerful had probably been punched to death by Saitama before the Hero Association ever had a chance to record it.
This ability was at least a mid-Dragon threat, maybe even higher if its defenses held up.
But in the world of One Punch Man, bizarre abilities like this were everywhere.
It was like Tanktop Master's Tanktop Power—a seemingly absurd ability that could be passed on to others, forming an entire Tanktop Army.
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