Chapter 169 (Online)

"Daybreak" (夜明け, Yoake, Tonari: 214) is the 169th chapter of the One-Punch Man manga series.

Summary
With his power taken away, Garou reels in shock and pain, wondering what had hit him and believing the force was powerful enough to put Saitama to shame. As he looks up, Garou sees several heroes looking at him and asking if he is the Hero Hunter.

Saitama and Genos discuss the core the former is holding; Saitama states that he was holding it when he regained his senses, as well as having his pant crotch torn. Genos decides to plug the core to himself to verify its authenticity. Upon making a connection, the cyborg is overwhelmed by the core's memories; having travelling through time with Saitama, the core displays pivotal moments to Genos, such as the heroes' deaths due to the radiation, his own demise at Garou's hands, Saitama's battle on Io, and travelling through time to now.

Genos gathers himself and states that the core is indeed his, but from another time. He asks Saitama about what he remembers, believing that the core and he had both come from the future. He then explains his hypothetical belief regarding a possible parallel world or theoretical multiverse, believing the core had possibly come from an alternate time due to Saitama's actions. He states that though it is unknown how the divergence into different times had happened, it can be confirmed that there was a new Saitama that separated from the original, that has time travelled and now merged with the past Saitama in the completed timeline. He notes that the timing of the separating and merging may be a clue to what point in time the two worlds have separated. He goes further by stating that in the future that the core had arrived from, he was killed by Garou. But even if he had held back his strength, it is unfeasible to believe that Garou had overpowered him. He believes that no matter possible parallel worlds may in fact exist, even in the worst possible scenario of his' and the heroes' collective deaths, Saitama's act of transcending time and space, and the laws of causality is inescapable proof of his selfless, flawless heroism.

He tries to relay his theory to Saitama on how he could have possibly travelled through time by initially theorizing that surpassing the escape velocity within an black hole's event horizon can allow your mass to increase, possible to the scale of his serious attacks, allowing him to use different relativistic physics, but Saitama is unable to keep up, much less comprehend the scientific logistics that Genos is explaining.

Overwhelmed by his long explanation, Saitama gently pats him on the shoulder and states he is glad to see Genos the same as ever. In Genos' eyes, Saitama is modestly allowing the heroes to take credit for their bravery, as he did with his battle with the Deep Sea King. In reality, Saitama simply doesn't remember anything. Regardless, Saitama has travelled time and space to save everyone, something that Saitama and he himself only knows.

When Genos smiles at the thought, Saitama asks about what he finds funny. Though he wants to inform everyone about his deed to save everyone, he decides to let it slide, instead thanking Saitama for arriving in the nick of time to save everyone. Confused, Saitama tells him that he usually on time anyway, but Genos states that "you definitely made it in time".

Elswhere, Tareo suddenly gets up, awoken by a voice calling to him. He sees a vision of Garou but watches as it fades away. Scratching his eyes as if he woke up from a dream, he hears a ruckus in the distances and walks to it.

The heroes overwhelm and beat Garou. Strangely, he does not fight back. After losing his power from a mysterious punch, he has accepted defeat without resistance. When Garou mocks their hits as pathetic, Metal Bat steps up and yells that Garou has had enough. The heroes are livid at the S-Class' desision, with Amai Mask mentioning how Garou had went berserk earlier and believing he could incinerate them all. Seething with rage, the A-Class hero proclaims that as a full monster, Garou must be executed, something that Metal Bat vehemently disagrees to. Saitama joins the commotion and agrees with Metal Bat in sparing Garou.

When he asks who it was that defeated Garou, Flashy Flash states that a naked man had appeared from nowhere and struck the Hero Hunter once, before flying away; he mentions that the movement used was similar to something Blast uses. Amai Mask is in disbelief that Blast had helped, much less helped while naked. Genos speaks up and claims that Saitama has the lone right to deal justice to Garou. At this, Saitama states that he doesn't know much about rights and dealings, noting that the heroes are beating Garou anyway, albeit without hurting him. As Garou is continuously beaten, to Bang's shock, Zombieman appears and asks Garou a question.

He states that a human cannot become as powerful as him through solely being a monster; he inquires about a potential alternate source of his strength, like "God" perhaps. He mentions that a cadre of the Monster Association was similar; Flashy Flash is surprised to hear Zombieman mentioning "God", as Blast had spoken of something similar. Instead, Garou laughs at his question, disbelieving his idea and claiming that everything that has happened is due to him. As Zombieman hears Garou begging him to kill him, he sees the Human Monster no longer has a desire to live any longer. Upon hearing his pleas, Amai Mask steps up and prepares to kill Garou.

Suddenly, Tareo holds onto his leg, with Waganma and King in disbelief at his actions. Tareo calls out the heroes for beating Garou, explaining that he was saved by him several times in the past and begging Garou to flee. Amai Mask sees this as Garou luring a child to his side but Tareo denies this. He calmly states that the heroes will civilly treat Garou instead, asking the boy to step aside; Tareo instead repeats his words that he was going to execute him. As the heroes argue over Garou's fate, a powerful rumbling travels through the air.

With his King Engine on Maximum Output, King singlehandedly silences everyone. Amai Mask asks if they have done something wrong in dispelling justice but King remains silent. Bang speaks up and states that he will not be willing to let him slip his life away easily, telling him he must make up for his actions by saving others. Annoyed, Garou stays quiet. Saitama mentions that saving people is "what Absolute Evil is best at".

The hero states that everyone present has shown his true self. Garou is in disbelief that they are willing to spare him, stating that they will regret it. Saitama mentions that he doesn't regret anyone, adding his thanks to him for being the one who saved Genos and King from Platinum Sperm and Evil Natural Ocean. Previously, King and Saitama spoke about his intentions with Garou's fate, with Saitama mentioning that it was in fact Garou who rescued him earlier. Garou instead tells the Caped Baldy that he disgusts him, before disappearing. Everyone is shocked to see the Hero Hunter vanishing instantly, with Amai Mask angered at the fleeing fugitive; Saitama is the only one to track him leave, believing he would be fine.

Erupting from the ground, Metal Knight appears in a giant drill. Seeing the threat is over, he calls in thousands of drones in order to begin repairs. He states that the ship he had created, the Gotz Okkie, had detected the presence of a nuclear blast. He announces that there will be mandatory testing and decontamination for everyone present.

Walking away with Genos, Saitama audibly sighs; when his disciples inquires why, Saitama plainly mentions that for now, it would be best for him to be fixed, before they can look for what remains of their apartment. Genos states that their apartment is in fact in the tide pool they are standing in.

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