WARNING: The following contains spoilers for One-Punch Man Chapter 157, "Blessing," by One, Yusuke Murata, John Werry and James Gaubatz, available in English at Viz Media and Manga Plus.
Long and epic battles are not uncommon in One-Punch Man, but the clash with Centisennin may have overstayed its welcome -- especially since it's already the fourth iteration of a giant centipede monster. After a couple of chapters dedicated to Centisennin's fight with Metal Bat and Garo, the Hero Hunter has finally put an end to its existence -- and it comes by returning to the basics and looking back to where he came from.
Metal Bat and Garo, who have been out for each other's necks for a long while, surprisingly worked together to fight Centisennin and rescue the fleeing helicopter. Despite their combined attack, the monster proved to be the strongest among its kind. Its regenerative ability quickly undid any damage the two dealt, even after the hero-half-monster partnership's attacks resonated with each other. However, Centisennin finally felt the danger they posed when Garo stole its regeneration core and chucked it into the atmosphere.
Centisennin shot through the sky as it chased its regeneration core. Meanwhile, Garo treaded the monster's now-erect body and reached its head just as Centisennin grabbed its core. Garo used its whisker and regeneration core as leverage to boost his attack and executed an extreme version of a basic martial art technique -- a hand chop -- to split the gigantic centipede in two. Garo's attack was so intense that his hand was glowing and smoking after the deed was done. This monster-killing hand chop proved the might of his own perfected martial arts, causing him to look back to when he first entered Bang's dojo.
During his first day as Bang's student, Garo arranged roof tiles for the newcomers to show their strength. Sour Face, being a senior student, confidently stepped up and volunteered to show the newbies how it should be done. However, the only feat he managed was to make his hand swell. Bang then revealed that the roof tiles were made of ceramic, hence their durability. Sour Face's misfortune didn't stop Garo, however, as the then-new martial artist stacked roof tiles up to his chest and smashed them. However, one single tile remained unscathed.
While the fight against Centisennin offers visual amusement with One-Punch Man creator Yusuke Murata's ever-beautiful art style, it doesn't offer much in terms of plot development. The past few chapters have been a slew of awesome action scenes, but the only highlights they offer come when the focus is away from the giant centipede monster. Nevertheless, Garo finally putting an end to Centisennin's terror warrants cheers and applause. It is also worth noting that despite his allegiance to monsters, Garo does not forget his human roots as he remembers Bang's very first comment on him.
Garo has undeniably gone a long way and it is interesting to witness him go back to the basics as he ultimately eliminates Centisennin, much to readers' delight. Centisennin is already the fourth giant centipede monster introduced in One-Punch Man -- more of them may yet remain.
