In an area not yet struck by the tsunami, Dan Moroboshi stood on a reef, his leg still injured, watching the increasingly intense battle with a grave expression.
When he first saw the unfamiliar giant, he had been delighted, thinking another warrior had joined the fight.
A streamlined silver body with sharply defined muscles, adorned with golden patterns formed from human light.
At just one glance,
Dan Moroboshi felt that this giant was anything but ordinary, someone who could surely turn the tide of battle.
However, the fighting style that followed made his heart sink, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.
Damn it… misjudged him.
Another rookie with zero combat experience.
Leo at least had some foundation in martial arts, but this newly appeared Ultraman looked like he genuinely knew nothing at all.
One rookie was already hard enough to train—now there was another. It gave Dan Moroboshi a headache.
The only consolation was that although this unfamiliar giant was inexperienced, he didn't seem stupid.
What? Shameless sneak attacks?
Nonsense! That's called adapting to the situation and using tactics to create an advantage!
Still… the more he looked at him, the more familiar the giant seemed.
Frowning, Dan Moroboshi realized something wasn't right. Have I seen him before?
Faces of Ultramen he knew flashed through his mind. When the face of the First Ultraman appeared, his expression froze.
The unfamiliar giant's face overlapped almost perfectly with the First Ultraman's. If his body stripes were red instead, he'd look exactly the same!
Masaka!(No way!)
Dan Moroboshi's eyes went wide in shock.
He remembered that back when the First Ultraman was protecting Earth, he'd once had a romantic relationship.
Could it be…
His imagination ran wild with a cross-species love story. Dan Moroboshi's expression became incredibly complicated as he stared intensely at the unfamiliar giant on the battlefield.
Then he noticed the giant seemed to be losing ground.
"Oh no!"
Dan Moroboshi's face changed slightly. Looking closer, he realized the unfamiliar giant didn't have an energy timer on his chest!
Whether an Ultraman could truly be considered a warrior often showed from whether they had an energy timer.
Most ordinary Ultramen from the Land of Light didn't have one, since they were constantly exposed to the Plasma Spark's light.
Another possibility was—
An underage Ultraman.
"I can't let him fall into danger!"
Dan Moroboshi immediately clenched his fists and crossed them over his chest. Ultramind power surged forth like a crimson torrent!
As for Leo—who was being battered back and forth by the twin monsters, his chest light flashing furiously—Dan didn't even spare him a glance.
On the battlefield, Xia Yan was desperately dodging Magma Seijin's attacks.
The sharp spear swung back and forth relentlessly, putting him in constant peril. Several times, he was just a hair's breadth away from being struck.
Xia Yan felt he wasn't just "bad" at fighting—
He was terrible.
Stopping Magma Seijin was out of the question; even escaping alive felt uncertain.
If only he had brought some lime powder… he might have had a chance to turn things around. But all around was seawater—no sand to grab, no dust to throw.
By now, Magma Seijin had realized the newly arrived giant was completely ineffective.
Enraged at having been tricked, it flew into a fury.
Just as Magma Seijin was about to command the twin monsters to launch a pincer attack—
A surge of red psychic energy slammed violently into its mind.
Magma Seijin staggered, its body swaying as though it might collapse at any moment.
The twin monsters spinning nearby were also forced to stop under the psychic interference.
The red psychic power continued to swirl and disrupt them. Seeing this familiar scene, Xia Yan knew that Dan Moroboshi was helping—just like in the original storyline—by releasing Ultramind power.
He wasn't about to waste such a perfect opportunity.
Xia Yan rushed up to Magma Seijin and snatched the sharp spear straight from its hands!
Your weapon is now my weapon!
Thud!
The spear pierced straight through Magma Seijin's back!
The intense pain snapped it awake, but by then it was far too late.
With a fatal wound through its chest, even full consciousness couldn't give it the strength to fight back.
After driving the spear through its body, Xia Yan immediately released it and leapt backward, wary of a last desperate counterattack.
Magma Seijin collapsed into the sea, struggled briefly, then tilted its head and went still.
Only after confirming the kill did Xia Yan finally let out a breath of relief.
Turning to the other side, he saw Leo shakily getting back to his feet.
Leo looked like his entire body was about to fall apart, clearly having no idea what was going on.
His big, glowing eyes stared at the swirling red psychic energy as he looked around in confusion.
Seeing this, Xia Yan quickly called out:
"Leo! Now's your chance! Use your beam attack and finish off the twin monsters!"
With the twin monsters restrained by psychic power, it was the perfect moment to destroy them.
But instead of firing a beam, Leo leapt right beside them.
Slash! Slash!
Two hand-blades struck in rapid succession, severing the monsters' heads instantly.
Leo then jumped back to Xia Yan's side.
Moments later, flames erupted from the monsters' corpses!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Magma Seijin's body exploded in the sea as well.
With all enemies eliminated, Xia Yan turned to Leo and asked in confusion,"Why didn't you use your beam attack?"
He'd wanted to observe up close how an Ultraman released energy beams.
"Well… I'm not very good at it yet," Leo replied awkwardly, looking honest and a bit embarrassed.
He wanted to use beam attacks, but not only was his energy limited—he hadn't fully mastered the technique yet. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't.
Xia Yan paused, then realized that this was still the inexperienced Leo, not yet fully grown.
Not being able to use beams reliably made sense.
With Magma Seijin and the twin monsters defeated, the pressure weighing on Xia Yan finally lifted.
The glowing patterns on his body rapidly dimmed.
Exhaustion crashed over him like a tidal wave. His body instinctively initiated reverse transformation.
A flash of white light—
Xia Yan reverted to human form and fell from the air.
Leo, who had been about to ask the unfamiliar giant's name, was startled.
He quickly reached out and caught him.
Even though he'd been slapped earlier—and then tricked afterward—they had still fought side by side.
Leo wasn't about to let him die.
Still, holding the unconscious man left him at a loss.
Fortunately, after scanning the area, he spotted Dan Moroboshi nearby.
Leo's chest timer was flashing so rapidly it looked like an afterimage. His energy was nearly depleted.
He leapt into the air, transformed into a beam of light, and vanished.
On the reef, Dan Moroboshi's face was pale, a silvery-white sheen surrounding his eyes.
A side effect of overusing psychic power.
Sweat poured down his face as his body swayed—then plop, he collapsed onto the ground like someone completely drained.
Even so, he felt relieved.
At that moment, Gen Otori—now reverted to human form—came running toward him, carrying Xia Yan on his back, shouting anxiously:
"Captain! Captain! Take a look at him—what's wrong with him? Captain!"