Saitama was startled and quickly looked at his hands and feet. "Hey, hey, they're shining!"
At the same time, Saitama felt something similar to a glass shard inside his body. It was this thing that had given him his current incredible strength.
Genos was shocked. "Teacher, you have a tattoo on your head!" He quickly looked at the young man who caused all this. "What did you do to the teacher?"
Strangely, Genos felt something deep inside him that made it impossible for him to point his weapon at this young man.
Takumi hooked his fingers, and the 'Ouroboros Ring' behind him kept glowing, attracting something from Saitama's body. Apart from revealing the 'Ouroboros Fragment' within Saitama, there was no way for Takumi to capture it directly.
Takumi wasn't disappointed; it was as he expected. After all, this was a fragment of the 'Ouroboros' of the greater universe. Perhaps something had happened to the 'god' of the greater universe that caused a corner of the 'Ouroboros' to be broken off.
Although it was just an 'Ouroboros Fragment,' the quality was frighteningly high. Simply by swallowing this fragment, the quality of Teyvat's 'Ouroboros' would rise, though it would still only move from 'lowest quality' to 'low quality.'
Now that the 'Ouroboros Fragment' was with Saitama, Saitama could be regarded as its owner. Therefore, for Takumi to obtain the fragment, Saitama would have to willingly hand it over. Otherwise, Takumi would have to kill Saitama—something he was confident he could do—though there was always the risk of unforeseen complications. After all, this was a vast universe, and if the "god" of this universe appeared, things could get troublesome.
Saitama, being a simple and honest person, was easy to convince and had human morals.
Saitama came back to his senses and scratched his head. "Eh? The thing you want me to return—is that the glass shard-looking thing?"
Takumi smiled. "Have you forgotten? Three years ago, you said you wanted to be a hero, so I lent you part of my power. During these three years, the human body's limiter was opened for you, which means you could become stronger as long as you kept training."
"With my power, you've become the strongest person on this planet. However, the stronger you become, the more you lose. And what you've lost are your hair and emotions. If you continue down this path, you'll lose all emotions, leaving only absolute logic."
Saitama's deadpan expression turned serious. "So that's why my hair is gone!" He wailed and fell to his knees, holding his bald head in frustration. "Ahhh, my hair!"
"And losing feelings too! It's true. In the past three years, my emotional fluctuations have become less and less, and I've lost interest in so many things. Am I going to lose all my emotions in the end? That's terrifying! Wouldn't I be like a robot?"
Genos scratched his head. "Teacher..." he murmured. In truth, being a robot didn't seem so bad to him; broken parts could always be replaced.
Saitama stood up suddenly, grabbing Takumi's hand. "Take it away quickly, please! I don't want to keep getting stronger if it means losing my feelings."
At first, Saitama was happy to become stronger, but after three years, he realized something was wrong. No monster could withstand his punch, and he didn't even feel satisfaction in defeating them anymore. He missed the passion of being an amateur hero.
"Also, my power is too strong now. Can you take some of it back? Of course, leave me with some—probably at the level of those who attacked the alien spaceship earlier."
Takumi looked at Saitama, who seemed so sincere, and stopped for a moment.
You—you're a little too proactive. Not only do you want to hand it over, but you also want me to weaken you? Your decisiveness makes me feel unfulfilled. Do you know the sense of accomplishment?
But... Saitama was still too honest.
Takumi looked at Saitama with a complex expression before smiling again. "Alright, as you wish."
The moment Saitama was ready to give up the 'Ouroboros Fragment,' it was pulled towards Takumi's 'God Ring.'
A buzzing sound emitted from Saitama's body as a silver light slowly appeared. The aura of 'truth' spread out instantly, covering the Earth. It continued to spread until it enveloped Mars, Venus, Jupiter, the Sun, and even Neptune, reaching as far as Pluto.
The aura of 'truth' was like a giant bubble enveloping the inner solar system. Just the presence of a fragment could encompass the solar system instantly. If the power were fully unleashed, it could envelop an entire galaxy cluster.
Takumi almost drooled.
The quality of this 'truth' was so high that it was terrifying. Even his complete 'Ouroboros' couldn't compare to this fragment's potential...
If the Teyvat universe had 'truth' of this quality, how far could it expand?
Of course, these were just fragments, and their scope of effect was limited.
The 'Ouroboros Fragment' was now wrapped within the 'Ouroboros Ring.' It hadn't been digested yet, not because it couldn't be, but because the quality was so high that it would take time. Digesting it now might risk assimilation, which could make the Teyvat universe a subordinate world of this greater universe.
With the 'Ouroboros Fragment' gone, the Ouroboros pattern on Saitama's forehead slowly faded.
Takumi continued extracting the 'power of Ouroboros' from Saitama.
Although Saitama's body had the 'Human Body Limiter' removed, his actual power was only equivalent to the Hero Association's number one S-class hero, Blast. Being able to exert such exaggerated power in such a simple way was thanks to the 'Ouroboros Fragment.'
After all, it was the essence of 'infinite possibilities.'
The probability of an ordinary person breaking a building with one punch was only one in a billion, but Ouroboros increased that possibility to 100%. In other words, as long as it wasn't absolutely zero, it was 100%.
After extracting 99% of the Ouroboros power from Saitama's body, Takumi stopped. It was better to leave some for Saitama, otherwise, it would be too heartless.
Saitama's current strength had dropped to the level of a high-level mid-tier god, with a hint of Ouroboros power—almost similar to Blast.
In fact, Blast's destructive power had reached the level of a 'main god.' Unfortunately, without authority over any rule, his power was not much different from a mid-tier god.
Without the 'Ouroboros Fragment,' Saitama's suppressed emotions returned. His previously lifeless eyes became brighter, and his smooth head began to grow hair rapidly, finally turning into a full head of hair.
"Ahh! Hair! I have hair again!" Saitama touched his head, shouting in ecstasy. "Genos, I've grown hair! Look, I'm not bald anymore!"
Genos, coming back to his senses, replied, "Yes, teacher, you've grown hair."
Saitama looked around. "Thank you so much... Wait, where did he go?"
He turned back, only to find Takumi had disappeared.
Takumi, now in space, looked at Saitama and smiled. "Yes, he's no longer bald and has become weaker."
"System, initiate the annexation process, then decompose and merge the 'Ouroboros Fragment' into my Ouroboros."
Your gift is the motivation for my creation. Give me more motivation!