"It really has been a long time… Sha—Captain Zoffy!"
Yuzhou almost slipped into teasing Zoffy again, but caught himself just in time.
Cracking the same joke every time they met probably wasn't a good idea.
"You were about to say Shafurin, weren't you?"
To Yuzhou's surprise, Zoffy calmly said the name outright.
"Ah—wait…"
Yuzhou froze, staring at Zoffy with a suddenly complicated expression.
"Didn't you call me that before?" Zoffy continued. "I was puzzled for quite a while, wondering why you kept addressing me that way."
"No—no! Sir—no, Captain! I've mistaken you for someone else! Please don't take it seriously!"
Yuzhou hurriedly tried to explain, waving his hands.
"By the way, Tiga," Taro interjected, clearly uninterested in their exchange, "why did you suddenly appear here? This is the headquarters of the Space Garrison. It's not a place just anyone can enter."
"I know that," Yuzhou was about to reply, but Zoffy spoke first.
"Seven mentioned it before," Zoffy said. "The first time Tiga came to the Land of Light, he was transported here by a mysterious spatial vortex. This time should be the same situation."
"Now that you mention it, that does sound right," Taro nodded after recalling the moment.
"A spatial vortex suddenly appeared, and then Tiga—in human form—was spat right out."
"Then… what time period is it now?"
After explaining why he had appeared here, Yuzhou asked Taro and Zoffy.
But thinking about it, even if they told him the date, he still wouldn't know where it fit in the broader timeline.
So he changed his question.
"Has Z (T/S: Pronounced Zetto) gone to Earth yet?"
"Z?" Zoffy frowned slightly, searching his memory before realization dawned.
"You mean the child Ace adopted?"
"Yes, that's him!" Yuzhou nodded quickly.
"He should still be training at the Ultra Colosseum," Taro answered.
"Taiga is currently in charge of his training."
"That kid really admires Zero," Zoffy chuckled.
"He keeps telling everyone that he's Zero's disciple."
"Haha, that's true," Taro laughed, shaking his head.
"Every time Zero sees him, he gets a headache."
"But Tiga," Taro asked curiously, "how do you know about that child?"
"I ran into Zero before," Yuzhou replied smoothly.
"He mentioned it to me."
Of course, he couldn't exactly say he knew it from watching television.
If Z was still training at the Ultra Colosseum, then the timeline had to be before Z pursued the space monster Genegarg to Earth.
Outside the Land of Light.
A golden wormhole, as though tearing through time and space itself, opened in the vastness of the universe.
A massive, muscular figure emerged and hovered silently.
From head to toe, the figure appeared to be clad in golden armour. Its eyes glowed a sharp pale blue.
On its abdomen were eight silver abdominal plates, gleaming prominently.
Its face, too, was silver—carrying a faint resemblance to an Ultraman.
"What a beautiful place…"
The golden figure gazed at the emerald-like planet before him, his voice filled with admiration.
Then, he turned and departed.
Yuzhou remained at the Space Garrison headquarters as a guest.
According to Zoffy and Taro, Zero was still busy dealing with the matter of the Devil Splinters, leaving him with little free time.
Yuzhou knew a bit about those fragments.
Back when Belial invaded the Land of Light, Taro's Strum Ray had injured him, scattering fragments of Belial's body across the universe.
Although Belial had since been purified—becoming the so-called "Old White"—the fragments still contained Reiblood genetic factors, making them extremely dangerous.
"I heard Geed also stepped in after learning about the Devil Splinters," Taro added.
"He said he wanted to clean up his father's mess."
As he spoke, Taro deliberately mentioned Geed.
Truth be told, the Ultramen of the Land of Light generally viewed Geed favourably.
Aside from being Belial's son, there was nothing objectionable about him.
If Belial weren't currently living together with Geed, the Space Garrison would have already invited Geed to join.
"Geed really is a filial son," Yuzhou nodded in agreement.
"Speaking of which," Taro suddenly asked,
"Tiga, you've been living on Earth in other universes all this time, right?"
"That's right," Yuzhou replied.
"My universe has also been invaded by darkness, so monsters appear quite frequently."
"I really haven't eaten Earth food in a long time," Taro said nostalgically.
He recalled the days when he had first merged with Kotaro Higashi.
Back then, he had practically eaten his way through Earth's cuisine.
He had even invited his brothers down to Earth for barbecue.
"I still remember that!" Zoffy nodded with a smile.
"You invited us to Earth for barbecue—but the Alien Empera attacked at the time, so I didn't get to eat any."
"Next time, I'll treat you!" Taro said enthusiastically.
"Grilled chives, grilled cucumbers, grilled chicken wings, grilled beef—"
"Wait a second," Yuzhou scratched his head.
"How did this turn into a food show? Weren't we talking about monsters?"
"By the way," he added, "Why haven't I seen the other Ultra Brothers?"
After being here for so long, he had only seen Taro and Zoffy.
"They'll be back soon," Taro explained.
"They're tied up with official duties at the moment."
"I see."
Just then, an Ultraman rushed into the Garrison hall, flying straight toward them in obvious urgency.
His body was patterned with silver and red, radiating a righteous presence.
"This is bad, Captain Zoffy!"
The Ultraman hurried up and spoke anxiously.
"Calm down, Ribut," Zoffy said firmly.
"Take your time and explain."
"So it's Ribut," Yuzhou observed, giving him a slight nod.
At this point, Ultraman Ribut was still a Planetary Civilization Observer.
Unlike the Ultra Brothers, his observation post on Earth had been located primarily in Malaysia.
"Ultraman Max has been attacked on Planet Mikarito!"
Ribut spoke rapidly.
"He's been injected by the Sran alien with cells of the Gudis!"
"He's about to undergo beastification!"