I don't own One-Punch Man

(All of this Belongs to the one and only: ONE)

Chapter 1: The Champion's Rise

A Champion's Challenge

2 years after Saitama's initial training...

Strong

A word Saitama is all too accustomed with when being described by any enemy that he faces… Unfortunately, he can't say the same to the enemies he fights. After the first couple of years fighting monsters, he knew something was up. He never got the satisfaction of a good fight anymore. Sure, he saved people, that was priority number 1 in his book, always… But recently, the monsters he fought usually go down by the first punch, usually exploding, or being blown away to oblivion, never to return again. Saitama always valued good principles and morals, but he can't lie that the hero business was a way to also achieve that past feeling, the one where he fought that crab monster and saved that kid.

The pounding in his heart, the clashing of two beings in an all out fight, to feel "Alive." You see, Saitama always had that feeling of being "Alive" during those fights in the past. That rush, the wind blowing past, the shouts and screams of both him and his foe, the feeling of his fist hitting skin/metal/substance/chemicals, they were all part of the rush of fighting. But now, nobody seemed to stand up to him, that even if he were to fight someone, they would get downed by a simple punch, a punch that wasn't even serious mind you. You know that kind of punch, a punch that you would slug a friend with, or one that you would use on your brother, just a playful punch. The monsters recently seemed to be blown away this punch, literally blown away, and Saitama was starting to get worried that it will always be like this, a one punch K.O.

We now see Saitama, sitting in his apartment, lazily looking at the clock, hoping for a challenge to come out of anywhere really. It was right at this moment, Saitama started thinking things over, and came down to an explanation to why he was "One-Punching" (As he would like to call it) so many monsters, and tried to convince himself.

"I'm just overreacting, it's just the monsters I've been fighting must've been the peons, yea, that's right, simple minions. Hopefully I'll get the real deal soon enough…"

Saitama, now with renewed vigor, stepped out of his apartment, and combed that city streets, looking for said challenge…

4 months later...

"WHERE'S MY CHALLENGE?!"

Saitama shouted into the sky, both desperate and hysterical. This is ridiculous! 4 months of stomping out monsters, drop kicking monsters, punting monsters to the moon, etc… He had cleaned out almost all of the criminal influence in his city, and yet, he can't get his rush. He saved countless civilians from villains and monsters, protected numerous buildings from collateral damage from enemies that were easily 10 times the size of the buildings, and even defended 5 local zoos from several tentacle monsters, and yet, no rush was present during all of that. He thought he could've achieved it when he heard there was a crime lord in the area called, "He Who Collects". The moment Saitama heard the name, he scoured the entire city for the damn guy, all to find out he was simply a 5'1 short, asian fellow that scammed people by the millions, selling cream that grows male genitals by 1 inch.

After that fiasco, we see Saitama back home, night already taken ahold of the sky. We see him looking despondent, and genuinely depressed over his little patio, watering his cactus. The disappointment in Saitama's voice can be heard miles away when he sighed, and for a long time, he wondered when he'll get his rush again.

"Probably never, with how things are going… Damn it! Why did the training regiment I made work so well! Man, I still remember what started that damn training in the first place… Man, screw that dream, if I knew I would've ended up here, I would've just given up at the start then and there…"

Saitama wistfully looks into the night, remembering that damn dream that started all of this.

After the fight with that Crab Monster...

On a stormy, dreary night, we see an early twenties Saitama, tossing and turning from a dream… But not from any dream, it was THE dream that jump started Saitama into the monolithic beast we see today. Funny enough, it all began in a dream, nothing too flashy, and nothing too nightmarish, but just real enough for it to be real. Saitama sees himself in field, surrounded by a field of flowers. He hears the sound of a city bustling in the distance, and the playful banter of children about a few feet away from where he was. Overall, the whole place was serene, almost peaceful. Saitama found himself smiling from the whole thing, and was wondering why he was having such a dream.

It was then a Gigantic Cannon appeared from nowhere, like it materialized in the sky, with a control system next to it. The direction it pointed at was the city, and it looked like it was charging up for a blast. It was then a band of robotic creature erupted from the field, destroying flowers, and rounding children as they came up from the ground. The robotic band of creatures then started to act very violently to one another, like malfunction started to occur, and started beating each other, harming the children they rounded up.

Saitama was watching all of this horror unfold, and realized he couldn't do jack shit about any of this. It was then apparent that each event happening had a specific solution to them, if he was fast enough, he can disable the cannon gun, but if he were strong enough, he could stop the robots from harming the children. Whatever the solution was, Saitama had neither at the time, and the only thing he could do, was watch, as the cannon fired, and the children were trampled. The field faded, and the what replaced it was a city of fire, just fire, burning everything it sees. Saitama fell to his knees, filled with grieve for his own weakness, and uselessness. His only words were these into the fire...

"Fire, so much fire… If I could've been fast enough to stop the gun, and strong enough to beat those robots… If I could only be the water to stop this fire, to be the ocean that these people needed me to be, then maybe, I could've saved them…"

Saitama woke up the next morning, drenched in sweat, with ripped blankets and pillows surrounding him.

"What the hell was that? I know that was a dream, but damn, that's bit much, don'tcha think?" He asked no one in particular.

"Well whatever that was, I need to make sure that never happens at any point in time. Sure, I saved that one kid from that walking crab shit, but that crab shit ain't no cannon. I need to get harder, better, faster, stronger for those who need me to be."

Saitama, filled with resolve and mental fortitude, planned out his regiment that needed to cover that solutions needed in his dream. He needed a regiment that covers strength, endurance, speed, and stamina. So that is how the regiment Saitama made came to be, and that he followed it religiously, to the point of baldness. Even on the days he wanted to give in to the weakness, he simply remembered that dream, and any sort of weakness he was feeling seemed to disappear.

"For those who need me when they need me the most…"

Saitama says to himself, standing tall and proud in his single room apartment, he preps himself for the next day…

Back to the Saitama who was remembering...

"Wishful thinking, huh…"

Saitama says to himself while watering his cactus. Even now, Saitama hopes for the day he gets the challenge he so desperately wants, and for some weird reason, he feels like he isn't going to see that coming for a good, long while.

"Hey, let's hope to hope, Right? Who knows? Maybe I'll get a challenge worthy of me getting serious very soon… Who am I kidding, that won't be for a shit long time. Goddamn that dream to hell, I wish I never had it in the first place…"

He then stops watering his cactus, and enters his apartment. He turns off his lights, and starts sleeping off another day, in hopes that the challenge he'll get will come soon…