Episode 23

"The Varieties of Pride" is the twenty-third episode of the One-Punch Man anime series and eleventh episode of season two.

Plot
As Garou catches his breath from being overwhelmed by the heroes, Death Gatling gives him one final chance to surrender. He explains to Garou that all the heroes present were all personally chosen by him for being highly skilled and "have seen death in the face before". Garou laughs at the statement "highly skilled", saying how he only gets excited fight the S-Class heroes, not the A and B-Class surrounding him. Death Gatling unexpectedly responds and agrees with him, saying there is a hierarchy in the Hero Association, there are even meetings only for the S-Class and how the lower tier heroes don't receive any fame. By taking down the Hero Hunter, they will finally receive the recognition they deserve. Garou is amused at their reason to defeat him but suddenly staggers before saying another word. His vision blurs and his breathing becomes harder, to which he assumes the poison from Shooter's arrows are the reason.

Garou thinks to himself how the heroes he faces are a staircase to become the monster he desires to become and because of this, he doesn't back down. Shooter, Smile Man and Chain'n'toad attack simultaneously but Garou dodges their attacks. Stinger sees Garou's slower speed and surmises the poison has circulated, further weakening him. However, Garou remains defiant, remember a childhood memory of how he was asked by children as to why he roots for the monsters in a TV show. Garou staggers again and Chain'n'toad chains his ankle. As Smile Man winds up his kendama for Earth Rotation of Doom, Garou takes a stance and redirects the attack to Chain'n'toad with Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist. Garou takes the scythe of Chain'n'toad's chain and cuts the rope of Smile Man's kendama. Gun Gun tries to shoot Garou but is defeated when Garou punches the dama (the ball of the kendama) and is hit. The dama bounces around trees from the sheer forces of Garou's punch. It nearly hit Wild Horn when he extends his blade and smashes it into harmless pieces. The hero is soon shocked when Garou appears behind the shards but is unable to escape due to his legs chained by Garou. Shooter launches a volley of arrows into the air to stop Garou but the Hero Hunter grabs Wild Horn and uses him as a meat shield to deflect the volley. Glasses tries to stop Garou by throwing stones at speed but Garou catches them with his greater speed between his fingers and flings them at Shooter with even greater force, incapacitating the archer before he could fire again. Stinger then charges and aims his spear but Garou violently slams Wild Horn into the ground. Shocked and frightened, Stinger retreats back, Garou is amused and pleased he has defeated 3 of the 6 heroes.

Smile Man tells Death Gatling that taking Garou alive isn't an option now and he agrees that Garou brought his death on himself. Despite the poison blurring his vision, Garou runs and speeds around the forest, with Glasses in pursuit. Glasses wonders how despite the injuries Garou has suffered, he is still pushing them towards defeat. Garou yells at Stinger to fight him one on one. When Stinger tries to charge at Garou, Death Gatling is about to fire his weapon when the Hero Hunter grabs a tree root from the ground and wildly swings it around, giving him the distraction to kick Smile Man and defeat him. As Garou insults Stinger for being as stupid as he is, Death Gatling surmises that Garou can't dodge his Gatling gun and fires walls of bullets at Garou, ripping the forest around him. Garou runs away from the fire and runs towards Glasses, who then starts running as well. Garou taunts him for wanting to fight him before and is now running from his opponent. Garou repeated punches Glasses and forces him to block and go on the defensive. Glasses recalls how he would hold back the Blizzard Group, with Mountain Ape saying how they shouldn't have to split their earnings with him. Just a newbie and hearing this, Glasses timidly agrees on but remains upset at their words. One day, Demonic Fan appears and decimates the group, with Glasses as the last one standing. As the monster goes in for the kill, Glasses says his last words when a cape flies in his face. Saitama arrives and effortlessly punches Demonic Fan out of the building. Glasses voices how he is just a normal man at his limits fighting crime, that he isn't cut out to be a hero. Saitama hears this and states that nothing decides their limits, giving Glasses the determination to continue as a hero

Back in the present, Glasses stands his ground, grabs Garou by the shoulder and tries to punch, but Garou is too quick and pummels the hero bloody. Stinger tries to jump into the fray but Death Gatling holds him back, thinking it was just a trap. However, Stinger can no longer bear to see his disciple beaten further and charges forward with Gigantic Drill Stinger. Garou sees this and uses Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist to stop the attack and pummels Stinger unconscious. Glasses tries to make a last stand but is finally knocked back and defeated by Garou, too slow and injured to fight. With Death Gatling the last one standing, he makes the decision to use his final move Death Shower as the downed heroes are away from the path of fire. Garou tries to warn him that a kid, Tareo , is inside the shed behind him but the hero doesn't listen to his "lie". Death Shower is activated and a storm of bullets flies at Garou. Using Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist again, he deflects nearly all the bullet around him and the shed, saving Tareo, at the cost of a few hitting him. An utterly shocked Death Gatling sees Garou still standing and takes aim, but Garou doesn't flinch. He taunts him by mentioning how Death Shower expends all his ammunition at once. A proud Garou states that Death Gatling has proven firearms don't work on the Hero Hunter and taunts the hero by echoing the same words he said to him earlier, "This shouldn't have happened". He insults him further that they should have just bothered to call in an S-Class hero and the situation would have been different. A defiant Death Gatling voices how despite not being S-Class, he and the other heroes still risk their lives to stop evil. The hero raises a blade and charges at Garou, only to be knocked away without Garou flinching. Garou calls the A-Class hero's efforts pathetic and crushes his Gatling gun to pieces. Tareo walks out of the shed and approaches Garou, but when he turns to see him still alive, Tareo only sees the defeat of the heroes and the blood lusted Hero Hunter in front of him and runs away in fear, calling for help. Garou tries to raise a hand to call at Tareo but decides against it, instead pulling out the arrows in his back.

Victorious but heavily injured, Garou walks away when a sudden blast erupts behind him. Genos arrives, summoned by a distress call from Glasses, and fully powered by a new body after his defeat by Gouketsu. Despite his injuries, Garou attacks back and a battle rages in the forest. Both sides seem to tie in speed and power with Garou's skill matching Genos' upgrades. Genos uses Machine Gun Blow to pummel Garou when he attacks back with Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist and kicks Genos into the ground, burying him in rock. Garou leaps in the air to finish Genos when the earth around him begins to light up in flame. A blast fires from Genos' hand and hits Garou, knocking him back. Garou wonders how he tricked him into attacking and falling into his trap and Genos wonders it isn't a surprise he's defeated the heroes when he has the skills such as Rock Smashing Fist.

Meanwhile, Saitama seems about to win his first match against King when he suddenly uses a combo and defeats him, making it 81 wins to King and 0 to Saitama. An angered Saitama slams his head to the ground and King says how he let Saitama think about his imminent victory only to trick him. He further states how he is simply button-mashing to win and how he can easily win the match with his eyes closed, to Saitama's growing frustration. King gives the suggestion to give him his console to help him practice when his phone receives word of a monster. An excited Saitama readies himself to fight when King further mentions how the battle may already be over since S-Class heroes have arrived. Saitama then raises the question as to why so many monsters appear in Z-City but King only states how unsanitary that would be. King then asks Saitama on Genos's whereabouts and mentions how the Monster Association has been a big issue lately and a monster recently defeated him. Saitama brushes the concerns away, stating "he is Genos after all".

Garou states how Genos both has incredible speed, a similar level of strength to Tanktop Master and his incineration cannon in his hand. As Garou walks away seemingly in defeat, Genos tells him to continue walking as there is no escape from him. Garou suddenly slows down and changes his stance, hunching his back and bringing his arms closer to him. Remembering Watchdog Man's moves, Garou adopts them and leaps around the trees with incredible speed, shocking Genos. Garou speeds around the forest and makes his way behind Genos before he can seemingly notice. The Hero Hunter rips away the cyborg's right arm when the arm grabs his throat automatically and releases cables from the hand, ensnaring him at a nearby tree. Genos tells him that the Monster Association is now a bigger issue and that the heroes have no time to deal with "small fry" like him. Garou becomes enraged and decides that defeating the S-Class hero would make society fear him more. As Genos fires his cannon at Garou, the Hero Hunter breaks the tree holding him, moving him away from the blast. Garou rips away and rubs his blood into his hair, staining it as red as his bloodshot eye. Genos readies another blast when monsters appear to assist Garou. One of them asks Garou to join forces with the Monster Association only to be ignored. When it asks again, Genos has finished carving through all of them with blades from his forearms and kills the final monster, shocked that Garou has contact with the Monster Association.

Learning from the previous day, Genos voices his determination that despite knowing there are monsters that eclipse him in power, he would never let his guard down. He recalls his "Saitama-sensei"'s words that he must train to the height of herodom. Garou becomes shocked at this "Saitama-sensei" and Genos responds that he is the ultimate hero and no monster can defeat him. As Genos readies his incineration cannon at Garou, Bang arrives and brutally kicks his former disciple in the face, knocking him away. Bomb arrives soon after to help Genos, with Bang handling Garou and Bomb dealing with the remaining monsters. Bang looks at Garou and talks to him, saying" Long time, no see". Recognizing the voice of his hated former master, Garou stands up to face him. As Bang readies his fighting stance, Garou cracks his hands and straightens his arms, setting the bones back. Garou remembers his childhood in the dojo, asking if his master was strong and questioning him. Sour Face arrives and berates the young boy for talking ill of Bang when Garou suddenly falls backs and sleeps on the floor. Sour Face asks if he could throw the boy out of the dojo when the master instead suggests giving him something to eat when he awakes. Remembering this, Garou charges forward, with sharpened teeth and Rock Smashing Fist ready, at the man who taught him what he knows now.

Characters in Order of Appearance