Giant Meteor Arc

The sixth arc of the series and the third of the Hero Association Saga centers on a Dragon-level disaster: a massive meteor on a collision course with Z-City. It contrasts the heroes' desperate technological efforts with Saitama's brute simplicity, then examines the ungrateful aftermath as citizens blame him for the wreckage his rescue leaves behind.

Fresh hero rankings place Saitama at 342nd and Genos near the top, but the moment is cut short when a giant meteor is spotted bearing down on the planet. Summoned to the Z-City branch, Genos finds only Bang, the third-ranked S-Class fighter, who was assigned to stop the impact and considers the task hopeless. Ignoring the old man's advice to flee, Genos tests his new detachable Arms Mode weaponry near the projected crash site.

Metal Knight arrives by remote-controlled machine and lets loose a volley of missiles, but he admits he came only to trial a weapons system, not to save anyone, and withdraws. Genos then rips out his own power core to fuel one enormous blast, which barely scratches the meteor and leaves him drained. At the last moment Saitama appears, asks Bang to mind the fallen Genos, and launches himself skyward, cracking the meteor apart with one punch. Its shattered fragments rain down and flatten much of the city.

Days later the group learns the incident boosted their standings, vaulting Saitama into the top five while Genos, Bofoi, and King all climb as well. Wandering the ruined streets, Saitama is confronted by Tanktop Tiger and Tanktop Black Hole, who accuse him of stealing credit and whip up a crowd demanding his resignation. Saitama crushes Black Hole's hands, then openly accepts blame for the damage, declaring that he acts as a hero purely for his own reasons and not for public praise. Watching from a rooftop, Bang resolves to take him on as a student, while far away a strange figure rises from the sea.