"Damn it…"
The Alien Celebro merely wanted to play a game—a game of destroying civilizations.
Before arriving on Earth, it had already wiped out the civilizations of several planets.
Its method was always the same:
interfere with a civilization's development, guide them into creating a power they could not control, and then use that very power to annihilate the planet itself.
Celebro understood this well—
Giants of Light would never interfere with a civilization that destroyed itself.
In that sense, the Alien Celebro was exceptionally cunning.
However, in another timeline, it encountered the "Ohss Ultraman" who piloted the Z Special Airborne Armor.
(t/s: That's the original Haruki. He usually says ohsu when transforming.)
Against that absurdly idealistic power, Celebro lost.
Fortunately, Tartarus rescued it and brought it to this point in time.
As for why this timeline seemed to lack its own existence, Celebro did not bother to think about it.
The mission Tartarus gave it was simple:
Stall Ultraman Tiga.
When it came to Tiga, Celebro's strongest memory was from the moment it evolved into Five-King Beast, only to be smashed by a Tiga phantom released by Ultraman Z's Gamma Future form.
It had also heard that in ancient times, Ultraman Tiga once appeared on this planet—
but after sealing a single monster, he vanished and never appeared again.
Rampaging through the Heisei Three District, Celebro knew it was merely repeating what it had done countless times before.
This was the only way it knew to draw the attention of Ultramen.
Under Juggler's command, Haruki and Yoko arrived at the scene.
Yoko piloted Windom, while Haruki remained on the ground assisting civilians with evacuation.
"Haruki," Yuzhou said as light particles gathered beside him, "I've always wondered—there are so many people in the Heisei Three District. Why are you the only one helping civilians evacuate?"
This was something Yuzhou had wanted to complain about ever since watching the original storyline.
Now he finally had the chance.
"…You're absolutely right, senior!"
Haruki smacked his forehead in sudden realization.
Yuzhou: "..."
"Forget it," Yuzhou sighed.
"Stop doing pointless work. Yoko can't beat Three-King Beast."
He pointed toward the battlefield.
Haruki followed his gaze—and at that moment, Three-King Beast landed a heavy punch, blasting Windom straight out of the fight.
In terms of raw strength, Windom was no match.
Without hesitation, Three-King Beast fired multiple energy blasts at Windom, intending to finish it off.
"Senior Yoko!" Haruki shouted.
He immediately pulled out the Z Riser and pulled the trigger.
A Gate of Light opened along a Z-shaped slash in space.
Haruki leapt inside.
Inside the Gate of Light, time flowed differently—
one minute inside equalled one second outside.
Roughly two seconds later, Yuzhou saw a tunnel of light appear—
and Ultraman Z, Beta Smash form, burst out.
"Using strength against strength," Yuzhou nodded.
"Haruki has grasped the basics. But when your strongest power can't overpower the enemy, choosing a power-based form becomes a mistake."
As expected, Z charged in with a flying kick and knocked Three-King Beast to the ground.
But in the next instant, the monster grabbed Z by the leg and dragged him down with it.
Rolling over, it pinned Z beneath its massive body.
"Yuzhou-san, you're here too!"
At some point, Riku and Zero—who looked like a younger Moroboshi Dan—had appeared beside Yuzhou, calmly observing the battle.
Riku enthusiastically greeted him.
"Where's your dad?" Yuzhou asked, not seeing Belial.
"He didn't come," Riku replied helplessly.
"He doesn't think this monster is worth his time."
In reality, Belial was currently wandering through a shopping mall, his cart filled with instant noodles of various flavours.
"Z still hasn't improved," Zero said, shaking his head as he watched Z pinned down.
"That's not true," Yuzhou countered.
"He understands the concept of using strength against strength. It's just that the opponent is too powerful."
"Beta Smash hasn't been fully mastered by Z and Haruki yet," Juggler said quietly as he appeared behind them.
"Juggler-san," Riku greeted politely.
...
Z and Haruki had no idea that a group of top-tier veterans were watching them from below.
All they knew was—
the thing crushing them was extremely heavy.
Very heavy.
Z extended his arm, forming a Spear of Light, and thrust it violently into Three-King Beast's back.
Roaring in pain, the monster rolled off him.
Z seized the chance, sprang to his feet, and leapt backward to create distance.
"ROAR!"
Three-King Beast stood up again, glaring at Z.
Then—
strange heads emerged from each of its arms.
One was Gan-Q.
The other was Reicubas.
Five-King Beast.
"This time, I will definitely defeat you!"
Celebro snarled from within Five-King Beast.
"Haruki, use the medals of those three seniors!"
Z instructed.
"Ohss!" Haruki replied.
He pulled the medals from the blue case at his waist and inserted them one by one into the Z Riser.
"Tiga-senpai!"
"Dyna-senpai!"
"Gaia-senpai!"
The Riser slid over each slot, reading the data.
"Tiga."
"Dyna."
"Gaia."
"Shout my name!"
"ULTRAMAN Z!!!"
Ultraman Z — Gamma Future!
A pillar of white light descended from the sky.
Clear, bell-like chimes echoed within the radiance.
Golden armour gleamed under the night sky,
silver–purple–red patterns flowed across his body,
and the crystal on his forehead reflected light like a flawless diamond.
Striking an outrageously stylish pose, Z extended one finger toward Five-King Beast.
"…Unbelievable," Yuzhou muttered from the ground.
"So Agul got fused into the pose."
He was genuinely impressed.
He had always wanted to learn posing from Agul, the undisputed king of style—
yet to this day, he had never truly met him.