It is not even the same core.

The core is unique part of Genos. You can't tell me the Doctor would suddenly have the need to magically swap the screws binding the core together for no reason.

Upon closer look, there is also complete lack of inner area of the core visible, like the sides powering up the nuclear fusion inside.

The most worrying small detail is the very small, black cube in the middle. On top of the text.

And honestly speaking?

If Garou pulls the core out first, why is there even so much of Genos' blood in it? Or smudges of what we think is his blood?

And there is more...

If Garou had actually smashed through the core itself, it would either be broken or his hand would be seen grabbing the core. Otherwise it would just fly off into the distance.

The side perspective makes it look like he really smashed through the middle, but trying to bend myself into this position irl, the perspective makes no sense anymore either. The looks like he smashed the side of his chest instead.

--

The conclusion?

The moon battle? It's so damn fake. To make Saitama open up a neural pathway to his subconscious again and make the subconscious conscious thought and feel immense emotional guilt.

To the point his hand monsterized and we never noticed it because we've been led to think it's his glove that was ONLY added later...just like the destruction of his hero suit, to symbolically tell he lost his confidence in his own heroism, was later "fixed".

(Garou shredding his heroism with a martial arts move that shreds it's targets with killing intent like a monster hand...sounds symbolical enough to be used...)

I was wondering why his glove looked like a monster hand at first glance and I was like hold on...but again, Hand turning evil reference. He's not actually channeling his power into anything but his bare hand and basically charging that left hand of his with TONS of negative emotion and thoughts.

Same hand is glued to Tatsumaki rn, because of this. He's subconsciously using his power and does not know this.

But his loss of confidence would've happened way earlier and his suit should've been shredded during serious punch2. Again, his hero suit does not disappear. Because he can still trust his sense of heroism, as long as the core stays with him. He was probably never naked in the first place and when you think about it...his hero suit is just as important to him as Genos has become. If he can protect a simple core, why can't he protect his suit at the same time? Why is the dead core symbolically more important than his heroism when his heroism is REQUIRED to keep the fake core intact?

Lack of multitasking? Psh please, he subconsciously protects his suit all the frikken time.

The only time he loses belief is when he feels like he has to muster killing intent. If he has no belief in his heroism...then he might as well be a villain and that is a cognitive dissonance in itself. He never stopped believing himself to be a hero, but it was done so he would lose confidence in himself and how to do heroic acts and so, lose his willpower to do morally good heroic acts.

The perspectives in this "memory" worries me a lot too. Genos sees his own death from Saitama's perspective BEFORE he got the core in his hands.

This perspective can't be Saitama's perspective at all.

The core never glows with divine power. Genos himself is the one who glows. Because the inner divine power is not stored in his stupid core no, it's stored...in the head. That's why their eyes glow to denote divine power.

Saitama is basically sending all his grief to an empty hand.

How do I know there's something more funky going on?

He magically swaps the core between his hands, and then back again at the next panel. Which I had originally thought was just a drawing error...but it is insidiously clever ploy.

Care to imagine like...if someone suddenly tossed the core at him and he caught it with his right hand...and was told-

"Aren't you a bit late to the party?"

Then he would suddenly remember. Probably Genos' birthday or something.

And then finish it with a phrase "Hey stop juggling it! Why didn't you grip it tightly? You dropped it you klutz!"

Saitama would look back at that same hand...and find missing. Like it never existed. And look at his left hand, a monster hand and find it missing too. And remember that feeling of missing his soulmate and associating it with the core.

And basically the pit of his heart would tell him he lost the only connection to his soulmate he had in this world because he was just extremely callous and careless, instead of protective and tender. His very hands are monstrous.

Saitama as we know him, would completely shatter. This is too much mental trauma to recover from.

This, alongside Tatsumaki twisting their chi, can all be devastating paths of purgatory.

--

So, do I have anymore evidence?

In fact yes.

The core's aura changes from normal light source that may or may not be Saitama's normal divine power because he connects to Genos and his psyche while touching his hand...to divine power empowered. But it is not happy-go-lucky divine power, this is the sun eclipse, same aura as Garou and monsterized sun. The screws are once again, different. Real core has pentagon shaped (haha) screws, new one has round ones... Carl Jung "self" reference like Psykos scarf.

I have a feeling our dearest heroes may have fallen under hypnosis. Not unlike Infinite Tsukuyomi from Naruto. But Saitama definitely is under a lot of suggestion currently.

Who here is betting he was hypnotized when he broke out under the rocks and put to sleep so he could not make it to Genos in time? He was already tired and stressed out, it would've been easy.

In the New Age community, techniques such as autosuggestion and affirmations are believed to harness the power of the subconscious to influence a person's life and real-world outcomes, even curing sickness. Skeptical Inquirer magazine criticized the lack of falsifiability and testability of these claims. Physicist Ali Alousi, for instance, criticized it as unmeasurable and questioned the likelihood that thoughts can affect anything outside the head.

Affirmations

Autosuggestion

Binaural beats

Hypnosis

Subliminal message

Good thing Genos never tried to verify the claim that the core memories were even correct or even possible eh? Eh? That's an autosuggestion if I've ever seen one.

--

In light of this...

ONE and Murata-sensei, if you had Genos assassinated so you can character assassinate Saitama later when you break the spell on him, as the reddit so often complains you keep on doing...you absolute monsters and madlads. How dare you. But also, bravo. What a plan.

--

What a possible crisis and a crime about to happen indeed. Dear me.

I feel like I have to do something here to help out Saitama, Genos and rest, since this ain't looking too good. Also so Genos' sacrifice won't be in vain. Welp.

King.

You have my utmost confidence in this. I believe in you.

Take my spare key and go save the world of One Punch Man.

Inside you will find hopes and dreams for the future, psychostimulants and 1-UP if you need them.

Have this Bag of Holding with supplies and rations too.

Oh and a navigator. "It's dangerous to go alone, take this!"

I shall make you my secret agent. As for what you do with that power, you already know that fully well.

We'll need these people home. In One Piece.

Don't let poets of the fall lock up the sun.

I'm the pretty sailor soldier of love and justice, Sailor Moon! In the name of the moon, I will punish them!

Take these buffs with you.

Rallying cry of the dragonslayer. Lok'tar Ogar, For the Horde!

Also my abilities Temporal shield, Alter time and Timewarp. So you can turn back the clock.

Oh and give Saitama this crumpled note message. It's code. Use the first letter of each line.

Good luck, 007. Don't cock it up.