One Punch Man: Did Saitama Took Some Damage Against Garou?

Garou vs. Saitama’s fight is currently at its peak, and if not for Blast’s quick thinking to teleport them both to IO (one of Jupiter’s moons), the earth would have been destroyed just as IO has been shattered into million pieces. In the last panel of chapter 167, Garou and Saitama throw fists at each other faces, and it seems like Saitama was hurt for the first time in the series.

At the start of One Punch Man series, Saitama was an ordinary guy who had no purpose in life; however, after being in contact with a mysterious being, Saitama remembers his Childhood dream of being a hero and starts training. His training is nothing special, just 100 sit-ups, 100 push-ups, 100 squats and a 10 km run every day. After 3 years of regular training, he became so powerful that he could beat any enemy with a single punch.

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Before fighting the cosmic Garou, the only time Saitama took damage was by a cat. In volume 8 of the manga, in a bonus chapter titled ‘Lost Cat,’ Saitama is tasked with a mission to find the lost cat, which belonged to one of the hero association’s executive daughters. After finding the cat, Saitama holds the cat in his hand, and the cat winds up scratching Saitama’s face. That is the first time Saitama was visibly seen hurt.

Until now, it was believed that nobody could compete with Saitama. In fact, Saitama is bored because no enemy has pushed him to his limits to actually enjoy fighting, so hurting Saitama in any way is just out of the question. However, Garou might actually have pushed Saitama to limits, as we can see Saitama using his serious punch for the first time in the series. Another impressive feat of Cosmic Garou is that not only he has withstood consecutive serious punches, but he managed to land some counter punches to Saitama.

In the final panels of chapter 167, we see Saitama and Garou fighting with their fists. Although it seems like Saitama is getting the better of Garou, the Cosmic Garou manages to land a serious punch on Saitama (Garou is currently copying Saitama). We see what looks like blood coming out of Saitama’s mouth.

Not many readers are okay with the idea of Saitama getting hurt in battle, so theories are circulating on social media that this is not blood but the shattered pieces of Garou’s fist. What are your thoughts on this manga panel? Do you think Saitama took some damage from Garou? Let us know your opinion in the comment section.