Chapter 208: Ultraman, Assemble! (Third Chapter, Request Monthly Tickets!)

As everyone sensed an odd smell and fell silent, Yamana spoke up.

He said: "There's nothing wrong with it—if one day I die, and a kind-hearted alien takes my form to comfort Maya and care for her, I have no objection."

Though he often acted foolishly, Yamana's attitude toward his fiancée was impeccable.

The Zadabi alien sighed: "At first, I wanted to atone."

"But without realizing it, I fell in love with this planet."

"Though I was pretending, my feelings for Hisako and Nami were entirely real."

He meant his wife and daughter.

Nearby, Hikari's expression grew complex.

The Zadabi alien's attitude toward Earth reminded him of his own past attitude toward Alber.

He could fully understand the feeling of falling in love with a foreign land, its creatures, and wanting to stay with them forever.

Nishijo Nagi said nothing; she didn't care about such domestic trivialities—her immediate priority was dismantling the deadly bomb.

"Let me go—I'm the one who understands the Planet Destruction Bomb best," said the Zadabi alien.

Nishijo Nagi instinctively objected—it was too dangerous; what if this alien turned hostile? How could Earth's survival be entrusted to an alien?

But Hikari agreed: "Fine. I'll go with you."

Qi Ming: "Don't rush—wait until everyone's here. We need absolute certainty before acting."

Aizen Makoto and Fujimiya still had half an hour before arriving.

…………………………

Meanwhile, in Tokyo.

Hishiyama Jun rode his motorcycle through streets and alleys, searching for that peculiar fluctuation.

"The fluctuation appeared and vanished—is the thing deliberately hiding itself…?"

Hishiyama Jun pulled over at an intersection, closed his eyes, and searched for Heizou King as he once had for the Alien Beast Vibration Waves.

Suddenly, a girl climbed onto the back of his bike without asking: "Save me—a vicious alien is chasing me."

Hishiyama Jun froze: "What? An alien!"

Before he could ask more, he heard a man's heart-wrenching cry from a nearby overpass.

"Kaori, Kaori, my daughter, where have you gone!"

"It's all my fault! My fault! Kaori, come back! I'll buy you a new phone or anything else!"

"Come back, Kaori!"

The girl on the back seat wore an expression of utter embarrassment: "This is so embarrassing. Hey, just drive."

Hishiyama Jun immediately understood: "So the 'vicious alien' is your father?"

The girl looked disgusted: "He's not my father—he's a Dad-Planet alien from Dad Planet."

"He complains my skirt's too short, tells me to stop playing and study harder, nags me endlessly—I'm sick of it."

"Let's go to Shibuya. It's fine—it's just a little runaway."

Hishiyama Jun gave her a flat order: "Get off."

Her age made him unconsciously think of Sera, who died in the battlefield.

Sera, an orphan, had relied on him, and ultimately perished on the battlefield.

Yet this girl had family who cared for her, lived in a peaceful environment, and yet took it all for granted—it disgusted him. "Stingy," the girl muttered, stepping off the back of his bike.

"Hey, you left something behind," Hishiyama Jun said, noticing a doll on the seat. But the girl, sulking, walked away without looking back.

Hishiyama Jun shook his head silently. He didn't chase after her like Musashi in the original series—he simply called out to the man on the overpass: "Sir, your daughter dropped something!"

Kaori's father turned, eyes widening.

After learning what happened, he bowed deeply to Hishiyama Jun: "I'm sorry for the trouble."

"It's nothing," Hishiyama Jun said, not caring—but the father insisted on sitting down with him, treating him as a confidant.

"Not long ago, Kaori was a little girl who wanted me to carry her. Now she calls me an idiot, refuses to go to the bathhouse with me, and can't even stand being near me…"

Hishiyama Jun listened patiently: "It's just rebellion. Normal."

"But it still breaks my heart. My good daughter is gone. When you have a daughter, you'll understand," the man said.

A daughter…

Hishiyama Jun smiled silently. That kind of life was too distant—he'd probably never know it.

Kaori's father suddenly realized something and bowed again to Hishiyama Jun: "By the way, I'm Kusano, in charge of Natto Ramen at Higashibuki Foods. Here's my card."

After handing out his card, he apologized once more to his previously impolite daughter before leaving.

Hishiyama Jun looked at the card he'd left behind, then prepared to resume his search.

"Hey, what were you talking about with that guy?" Sōhara Ryū, on patrol for the Defense Force, approached.

After news of Heizou King's attack on the Space Development Bureau reached them, everyone mobilized, determined to resolve the matter before TPC did, to prove the Defense Force's reliability to the public.

Hishiyama Jun glanced at his uniform: "We talked about his daughter's rebellion."

"I see. But you'd better be careful—don't get too close to him," Sōhara Ryū warned kindly.

"Why?" Hishiyama Jun's mind stirred. After reflecting, he too felt something strange about the man named Kusano.

"Not sure, but our Special Forces once put him on a surveillance list. Nothing abnormal has been found yet, but…" Sōhara Ryū trailed off—further details would breach military secrecy.

He reminded Hishiyama Jun to stay safe, then continued searching for Heizou King.

Left alone, Hishiyama Jun studied Kusano's card for a long time, then moved again.

…………………………

Meanwhile, Aizen Makoto and Fujimiya finally arrived at the scene.

Qi Ming began deploying forces.

"If anything happens, I'll transform into Ultraman Gaiya and lead the charge—Mogaton, as an Earth monster, should respect Ultraman Gaiya."

"If any other troublemakers show up, Aizen, I'll count on you to handle them from behind."

"If any unforeseen situation arises, Fujimiya—you, still recovering—transform into Agul to make the final appearance."

Moritaka added: "My body's much better now—I can help with Ultraman psychic power."

Qi Ming, Moritaka, Aizen Makoto, Fujimiya, Hikari, and Hishiyama Jun, still chasing Heizou King from afar.

This was a joint operation by every single Ultraman on Earth—its scale nearly matched "The Peak of the New Generation"!

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Third chapter of the month—please vote for monthly tickets!

Tomorrow might have four chapters—we'll finish this battle in one go and jump straight to everyone's favorite part.

(End of Chapter)