Benedict could perhaps imagine how furious the Five Elders were.
But they certainly couldn't hear him now.
Because his attention had already fallen on that Flame Devil.
There was no other way; the rewards were too rich.
Meanwhile, the Flame Devil in the void, after seemingly venting its frustrations, felt the sensation of imprisonment disappear, replaced by a feeling of freedom that flooded its mind. Its gaze then turned to the humans on the battlefield.
"Insignificant and foolish humans."
As it spoke, the Flame Devil extended its right hand, opening its palm. A massive fireball, expanding in a flash to a diameter of ten meters, continued to grow.
Noticing this, Benedict's expression darkened. "Everyone, retreat ten miles."
As Benedict finished speaking, the helmsmen on each warship dared not hesitate. Above them, a giant fireball was about to descend.
"Retreat!"
Garp roared at this moment as well.
The World Government's fleet, piloting damaged warships, retreated in haste.
The power was immense. While some individuals might not have cared, the ordinary soldiers certainly did.
"Eight Gates, open!"
"Gate of Wonder, open!"
Benedict activated up to the seventh gate, unleashing a surging tide of energy from his body.
Gazing at the descending fireball, Benedict took to the air, preparing to strike it with his fist.
However, at that very moment, a figure shot up faster than him and landed a punch.
Boom!
The colossal fireball, hundreds of meters in diameter, exploded in mid-air, its center pierced, forming a giant flaming donut.
"Fleet Admiral, my hands have been itching for a long time."
"How about you let me handle it, alright?"
Saitama floated in the air, looking at Benedict and speaking with a hint of awkwardness.
Hearing this, Benedict frowned, reluctant.
An SS+ ranked Flame Devil was something even he had to go all out against.
Saitama's strength had not yet reached SS-class.
"Perhaps not. I fear you'll get yourself burned to death," Benedict said.
"Fleet Admiral, I'll just punch it a few times. It won't kill him," Saitama said, clenching his fists with a serious expression.
"No, you're too serious." Benedict's mouth twitched as he saw this. "I'm truly afraid you'll kill it."
Although Saitama hadn't shown SS-class combat power, the destructive force of Saitama's serious punches was considerable.
"Fleet Admiral, I understand. I have my limits."
"I'll leave the last hit to you."
Before Saitama finished speaking, he had already charged forward.
Benedict was speechless.
But at this point, he could only watch, and prevent the Flame Devil from escaping.
As a Flame Devil hidden within Garp's body, though it had only been a year, its existence deep within Garp's spiritual world meant it indeed knew of the bald warrior, Saitama.
A fellow with a very hard and strong fist.
"Baldy, Saitama."
"You are worthy of being the first human I kill upon descending to this world."
The Flame Devil looked at Saitama before it, its voice deep and resonant, like a railgun.
As the words fell, the Flame Devil's body pulsed with scorching heat, and then it condensed flames into a massive flaming battle axe, which it swung down at Saitama.
Saitama's form flickered and vanished in the air, and the Flame Devil's strike missed.
"I'm over here," Saitama appeared behind the Flame Devil, smiling.
"Die!"
The Flame Devil lunged forward, its flaming battle axe flying from its hand and sweeping back in a wide arc. Because Saitama had moved, it spun around and returned to the Flame Devil's grasp.
"Big guy, have you ever been hit on the head?" Saitama appeared above the Flame Devil's head, looking down at it and asking.
"Burn you to death." The Flame Devil, not expecting the first human it intended to kill to dare to mock it so, became enraged.
Boom!
In an instant, the Flame Devil transformed into a colossal fiery giant.
At that moment, Saitama couldn't dodge.
Bang!
However, at this precise moment, a muffled sound, as loud as distant thunder, rang out.
Benedict hadn't expected Saitama's speed to be this astonishing.
Even more surprising to Benedict was that Saitama had immediately retaliated the instant the Flame Devil's flames erupted.
Boom!
The Flame Devil's massive body plummeted towards the icy continent below.
The scene was akin to a falling sun.
Even before it reached the icy continent, the continent began to melt rapidly due to the intense heat.
Meanwhile, Saitama, having punched the Flame Devil on the head, also began to fall towards the ground, moving away from the flames.
Only, at this moment, Saitama was completely covered in Armament Haki, even his clothes. He looked like a charred piece of charcoal.
But this was the only protection Saitama could afford himself in such extreme heat.
The Flame Devil did not fall into the sea.
Just as it was about to crash into the ocean, the Flame Devil shed that form, flapped its wings, and ascended into the sky once more.
Benedict noticed that one of the Flame Devil's horns was broken.
"Damn human."
"You are dead."
"I am the Flame Demon King, and you dared to break my horn."
"Unforgivable!"
The Flame Devil roared and charged at Saitama, launching another attack.
Hearing this, Saitama clenched his fists and nodded solemnly. "Then I'll break the other one too."
"Hey, you'll be beaten to death," Benedict quickly warned, seeing Saitama's serious demeanor.
Serious Punch!
Boom!
The air in space seemed to be emptied by this punch.
The Flame Devil, still ten meters away from Saitama, was hit squarely on the head with a single punch. The other horn, despite the Flame Devil's stubborn resistance, snapped with a crack.
Unable to withstand the force, the Flame Devil was sent plummeting hundreds of meters down.
"Ah!"
"Hellfire!"
The Flame Devil was utterly enraged.
As it fell, the flames on its body turned dark red.
Its descending form instantly halted.
The tattoos on the Flame Devil's body seemed to be activated, turning blood-red.
Higher temperatures and a more powerful storm instantly transformed into a pillar of fire that pierced the heavens, forcefully gouging a large pit in the sea for a thousand meters around. Scalding steam then spread outwards.
The warships on the sea were forced to retreat by the impact of the waves.
In the center of the sky-piercing pillar of fire, the Flame Devil opened its massive maw.
A golden energy sphere was rapidly condensing, releasing a terrifying energy that made even Benedict feel a sense of impending death.
"Cannon!"
Damn it!
This thing looked so much like a Tailed Beast Bomb!
"Super Serious Punch!"
Saitama's expression was unprecedentedly solemn, his clenched right fist bulging with veins.
As the golden energy sphere flew out, he threw a punch in response.