Gouketsu

Gouketsu debuts in the Murata remake around chapter 109 and does not appear in the original ONE webcomic.

He is a gigantic humanoid monster, several dozen meters tall, with four vertically split eyes, a heavily scarred face, and a body covered in spikes.

He serves as one of the Monster Association’s key executives and enjoys the trust of Orochi, the Monster King.

His official threat classification is Disaster Level: Dragon.

Gouketsu commands a trio known as the Three Crows, who together are classified as Disaster Level: Demon.

These three were once his human disciples and now are monsters who prefer to eat martial artists.

He was once the first champion of the inaugural “Super Fight” tournament, which had the largest number of entrants in the event’s history.

Several years before the current story, he was defeated by a powerful monster (strongly implied to be Orochi), taken to the monsters’ den, and transformed into a monster by eating monster cells to fulfill his ambition of ruling everything through violence.

Although he is cruel to his enemies, he retains traces of human sensibility, occasionally lamenting the decline of martial arts or describing his mindless ex-disciples as “kind of cute” in their own way.

Described by Genos as stronger than any monster he had faced before, Gouketsu is nevertheless killed instantly by Saitama, who claims he could not tell Gouketsu apart from other monsters.

Gouketsu’s defining trait is a blend of cold rationality and brutal sadism.

Unlike many rampaging monsters, he does not lash out aimlessly but instead moves with clear goals, such as recruiting strong fighters for the Monster Association.

He shows no mercy to those who defy him or try to flee.

He drags hospitalized tournament fighters back to the arena to force them into monsterization, demonstrating that he has no intention of letting anyone escape.

When heroes like Lightning Max and Sneck attempt to resist him in the Super Fight arena, he disposes of them casually with a single kick.

He instructs the newly turned monster fighters to kill Suiryu when the latter refuses to submit, showing that disobedience is punished with death.

At the same time, Gouketsu is pragmatic and capable of strategic thinking.

When Suiryu defeats multiple monsterized fighters alone, Gouketsu recognizes his potential and offers him a chance to join the Monster Association as a possible executive rather than killing him outright.

His recruitment pitch is notably composed and even somewhat polite compared to other monsters, reflecting the lingering discipline of a former human martial artist.

However, when Suiryu rejects the offer with the insult that he does not want to become “an ugly thing like you,” Gouketsu instantly drops the pretense and beats him nearly to death, breaking his body and then ordering the Three Crows to eat him.

Despite his ruthlessness, Gouketsu has faint remnants of human sentiment.

He finds a twisted kind of affection for his ex-disciples who became mindless crows, calling them “cute” in their own way.

He also unintentionally lets his nostalgia slip when he observes that the Super Fight roster looks weak and mutters that the standard of modern martial arts has declined.

He even answers politely when the excited tournament announcer confirms his identity, revealing that he can still follow basic social cues.

Gouketsu is arrogant and talks down to everyone, including Monster Association strategist Gyoro Gyoro.

Even when Gyoro Gyoro orders him to retreat, Gouketsu talks back, though he does not deny Orochi’s superiority and openly declares that Orochi is the strongest being on Earth.

Overall, he sees himself as a tyrant who rules through fear and power but not as the ultimate existence.

His sense of hierarchy, respect for Orochi, and occasional flashes of reason make him more complex than a simple berserker.

Before becoming a monster, Gouketsu was a famous human martial artist.

He won the first-ever Super Fight tournament at a time when it had more participants than any other year, establishing him as a top-tier fighter.

Several years before the current story, he challenged a mighty monster, heavily implied to be Orochi, and was utterly defeated.

The world assumed he died, but in reality he was taken alive to the monsters’ base.

There, he encountered monster cells, a substance that grants monstrous power only if consumed willingly.

Because he already nurtured an ambition “to seize everything he desired through violence,” he had no hesitation in eating the monster cells.

He thus became Gouketsu the monster, a being with his original martial arts foundation amplified by monstrous physiology.

From that point on, he served the Monster Association and rose to the rank of an executive under Orochi, entrusted with important missions such as recruiting elite human fighters.

His former disciples later consumed monster cells as well but lacked the willpower to retain their egos.

They turned into the Three Crows, mindless but deadly monsters who now follow Gouketsu’s orders unquestioningly.

Martial Arts Skill

As a former champion of Super Fight and a renowned martial artist, Gouketsu possesses extremely advanced hand-to-hand combat skills.

His technique, positioning, timing, and ability to read opponents are all at an elite master level even before taking his monstrous enhancements into account.

He easily handles the attacks of Suiryu, a fighter portrayed as far above the average martial artist and capable of defeating most monsters.

Suiryu’s flurries of techniques, including moves that can destroy a large truck, are brushed aside effortlessly.

Gouketsu’s defensive instincts let him block or catch Suiryu’s supposedly devastating strikes with a single hand.

He reads Suiryu’s intentions with ease and never appears pressed or forced into desperation.

Monster Physiology

Gouketsu’s body is that of a Dragon-level monster, giving him immense physical power and durability.

He is many times larger than a normal human, towering over buildings and fighters alike.

His musculature allows him to generate titanic force in his blows.

Even casual strikes create shockwaves powerful enough to blast holes in the stadium’s spectator stands.

His durability is extreme, as none of Suiryu’s attacks visibly damage him, even though those same techniques are lethal to ordinary monsters.

He withstands flurries of blows from monsterized Bakuzan without any sign of harm and counterattacks at his leisure.

Gouketsu’s speed is also high for his size.

He can blitz Genos with an unseen strike and move around the arena so quickly that the human fighters stand no chance of evasion.

Overall Threat Level

Within the Dragon tier, Gouketsu is portrayed as a top-echelon threat comparable to monsters like Black Sperm and Elder Centipede.

He is clearly much stronger than monsterized fighters who are themselves tentatively rated Dragon-level.

Genos, who by this point can defeat Demon-level monsters solo, is taken out of the fight in a single blow, even if partially by surprise.

This encounter leads Genos to conclude that Gouketsu is “stronger than any monster I’ve fought before” and that his depth of strength reminds him of Saitama.

Genos goes so far as to say that confronting Gouketsu would require all S-Class heroes and Saitama together to bring him down.

When the heroes later infiltrate the Monster Association hideout, memories of Gouketsu still haunt Genos as a benchmark of terrifying power.

Gyoro Gyoro, observing Gouketsu’s extended stay at the Super Fight arena, warns him that if multiple S-Class heroes arrive simultaneously, even he would struggle.

This is framed as “it would be troublesome,” implying that Gouketsu would not be easily defeated but might be forced into a difficult battle.

Gyoro Gyoro later expresses shock upon discovering Gouketsu’s corpse.

Orochi also finds it difficult to believe that both Gouketsu and Elder Centipede could be slain by ordinary heroes and labels the unknown force behind their deaths as an “incomprehensible existence.”

Gyoro Gyoro’s own analysis suggests that only four heroes—Terrible Tornado, Dr. Bofoi (Metal Knight), King, and Blast—have any realistic chance of defeating Elder Centipede.

Since Elder Centipede requires a combination of Bang, Genos, and Bomb just to be held off without being seriously wounded, placing Gouketsu in the same threat conversation emphasizes that he is not just any Dragon-level monster but a top-tier one.

Encounter with Genos

As part of the Monster Association’s plan to recruit strong human combatants, Gouketsu heads into the city.

At the same time, Genos is patrolling and defeating monsters that threaten civilians.

Gouketsu crosses paths with Genos and engages him briefly.

Despite Genos’s growth and his ability to defeat Demon-level monsters alone, Gouketsu incapacitates him instantly with a single powerful attack.

This one-sided defeat shocks Genos and becomes a reference point for how terrifyingly strong Gouketsu is.

Genos thereafter regards him as the strongest monster he has ever fought and as a danger requiring multiple S-Class heroes plus Saitama to handle.

Invasion of the Super Fight Arena

Gouketsu then moves to the Super Fight martial arts tournament, where Saitama is secretly participating under the disguise of Charanko.

The tournament has just ended, and many strong fighters are gathered in one place—a perfect recruitment opportunity for the Monster Association.

With the Three Crows in tow, Gouketsu attacks the arena during the closing ceremony.

He orders that all fighters, including those being transported from the hospital, be brought before him.

With the crowd gathered, Gouketsu offers them a chance to eat monster cells and become powerful monsters under the Monster Association.

To drive the point home, he demonstrates the terrifying power and allure of monsterization, promising strength far beyond human limits.

Some fighters give in to fear or temptation and accept the cells.

Benpatsu, Hamukichi, Volten, Choze, and others eat them and transform into monsters, joining Gouketsu’s side.

Others try to resist.

Lightning Max and Sneck attempt to fight but are easily defeated with a single kick each, unable to make any dent in Gouketsu’s defenses.

Suiryu’s Resistance

Suiryu, one of the strongest fighters in Super Fight and the reigning champion, initially treats the situation lightly but quickly realizes the gravity of the threat.

Gouketsu orders the newly transformed monster fighters to kill Suiryu, intending to use him as a demonstration of their power.

Despite the numbers and the boost from monsterization, Suiryu manages to defeat the monsterized fighters one by one.

His performance impresses both the audience and Gouketsu.

Watching Suiryu’s skill, Gouketsu decides it would be a waste to kill him.

He offers Suiryu a chance to join the Monster Association and even hints he could qualify as a fellow executive.

Gouketsu’s offer is effectively a promotion into the upper ranks of monster society, showing how highly he values Suiryu’s talent.

However, Suiryu flatly rejects the proposal, saying he wants nothing to do with becoming a monster—especially not an ugly one like Gouketsu.

Offended and done negotiating, Gouketsu responds with “Then die,” and proceeds to brutally pummel Suiryu.

He hits him so hard that Suiryu’s bones break and his body is left shattered, unable to stand or fight back.

Once Suiryu is completely helpless, Gouketsu orders the Three Crows to eat him alive.

This moment emphasizes Gouketsu’s total lack of mercy and his willingness to use his own ex-disciples as executioners.

Clash with Monsterized Bakuzan

While Gouketsu is at the arena, Bakuzan—anothe