Chapter 161 (Online): Sinking Feeling

Standing over the corpse of Sage Centipede, Garou sweeps the ruined battlefield for any S-Class heroes and finds none. Convinced no threat remains, he lets himself settle into the idea of becoming Absolute Evil, telling himself there is nothing left to fear. Even so, a nagging feeling of some forgotten thing gnaws at him. At that instant Saitama walks up and asks him what exactly he is supposed to be.

Sizing the newcomer up, Garou pegs him as a minor hero sent in for cleanup and rescue. He introduces himself and lays out his goal of spreading dread across the world as Absolute Evil. Saitama, unconvinced, points out that Garou just saved a helicopter and slew the centipede monster, hardly the work of a villain. Garou counters that he wants the world to acknowledge his power, insisting that absolute evil also means absolute strength, and suggests Saitama give up heroics before the Hero Association is wiped out.

Turning to leave, Saitama comments that Garou does not read as a monster to him, which throws the Hero Hunter off. He goes on to explain that he had gone to complain about a noise under his home, only for the place to be destroyed, leaving him angry enough to want to blow up the planet. He tells Garou not to push things too far, whether as a hero or a monster.

Sensing something oddly familiar, Garou warns that taking Absolute Evil lightly is a fatal error and lunges. Saitama swats him away with one punch, an echo of an earlier run-in that followed Garou skipping out on a bill. The blow jogs his memory at last, and he recognizes Saitama as the strange bald man he has crossed paths with again and again, cursing himself for losing sight of the one target that should have mattered most.

Rendered in Japanese as Fuan Yōso and published by Viz as Source of Anxiety, the chapter draws in part on webcomic chapters 87 and 93. Saitama and Garou appear together on the cover, which depicts the observable universe.

Released online on March 24, 2022 with 24 pages, it sits between Divide and Greatest Hero. The collected edition presents the same story as chapter 166.