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"ROOOAR——!!"
The roar tore through the entire forest. Birds that had just settled on the branches exploded into the sky again. The group barely inside the Ecological Dome nearly jumped out of their skin.
"What?"
"What's that big guy doing?" Jared squinted behind his sunglasses, watching Kong in the distance with full-body wariness.
Was this ape really about to pick a fight the second they walked in?
Did he still remember that photo someone took of his backside all those years ago?
He'd been pretty sure he hadn't been caught...
"Kong doesn't attack humans without reason."
"There's nothing to worry about." Dr. Vivian, walking beside Dr. Serizawa, calmly explained to the old men. Kong was different from other Titans.
But Jared watched that burning gaze and the restless energy coiling through Kong's massive frame, and felt his conscience twist.
He turned his head, looking for Old De. Could use a quick word right about now.
Old De's bald head was already drenched in sweat.
Wait. You did something too?!
"I feel like..." Natsuki looked up and found Kong's eyes already on him. Two intelligent gazes locked together. "...he's coming for me specifically."
The Ultra Old Man really wanted to clarify: I know I look like I'm on vacation, but I have zero interest in your bananas.
"Are you sure he won't lose it?" Natsuki asked Dr. Serizawa and Dr. Vivian, and didn't bother hiding the doubt in his voice.
The ground shuddered. The ape was already moving toward them.
The MUTO had looked at him the same way back then. That look meant one thing: it wanted to know what he tasted like.
At that moment, all three old men , for their own separate, deeply personal reasons , arrived at the same conclusion.
Time to go.
"Wait!"
"There has to be some misunderstanding here!" Jia caught Kong breaking into a run and immediately pulled at Dr. Ilene Andrews' arm, urging her to call out.
The two of them took off after him, the tall woman and the small girl moving as one.
"Shit, he's coming for me!"
"No, I think he's coming for me!"
"Doesn't matter, split up and run!"
The three old men scattered in three different directions, crashing through the green jungle without slowing for even a second.
They were nowhere near fast enough.
Kong launched himself in a single flying leap. The landing hit like a dropped mountain. Natsuki felt the light inside the Ecological Dome vanish.
He turned around.
A colossal ape stood right behind him, slowly drawing himself up to full height, blazing eyes locked on target.
Right. It really was coming for me.
"Hey, big guy."
"What do you want?" Natsuki held his ground, hesitated exactly two seconds, then decided to try talking first. He kept his tone easy, friendly.
Kong saw Natsuki stop running. He lowered his head slowly, studying this thing that looked almost like a human but wasn't.
"ROAR!" He bellowed once, then drove both fists against his chest in two heavy, rolling thumps.
Through the telepathic connection, Natsuki caught the rough translation.
Leave. Or be eaten.
Jia had told Kong many times that this Ecological Dome existed to protect him. The people stationed here always moved like they were guarding against something. Now a strange intruder had walked right through the front door, and Kong's instincts delivered a single, simple verdict: enemy.
Natsuki hadn't tried to mask his presence, not even a little. The moment he stepped inside, Kong had felt it , a wave of dense, heavy energy, like a Titan arriving unannounced, though the exact scale of it was hard to read.
This thing looked human enough on the outside. Kong knew better.
And that energy... it made something in him stir. Something hungry and curious. He genuinely wanted to know what it would taste like.
"Listen. I'm not here to cause trouble."
"And I can help you." Natsuki sent the words directly into Kong's mind.
This wasn't some invader. No conflict of interest, no real beef between them. The old man really wasn't looking for a fight.
"Roar. Roar roar?" Kong narrowed his eyes. Skeptical on two counts.
Whether Natsuki was worth trusting at all , and what exactly someone this small thought he could offer.
He leaned down, one enormous hand reaching out, clearly planning to pick Natsuki up for a better look.
The old man's eyebrow went up.
Oh, so we're not respecting our elders today?
Monarch's files put Kong younger than most Titans. He'd only recently crossed into adulthood. Back in '73, he'd been about forty meters. Standing in front of him now, Natsuki was ancient by comparison.
"Fine." Natsuki watched the giant hand descending and felt his eyes go sharp. He raised his right arm. "I guess everyone wants a fight before they'll actually listen."
"BOOM,, "
A sound like a thunderclap cracked across Skull Island. Jared and Old De, still running in opposite directions, skidded to a stop and spun around.
Jia and Dr. Ilene Andrews stared at the column of light blasting into the sky and went completely still.
"ROOOAR—, !!"
One moment Kong had been reaching down. The next, a shockwave hit him like a wall, launching him backward. He crashed down onto a hillside behind the treeline, rocks and dirt exploding around him, his head ringing.
"Roar... roar..."
He shook it off and looked up.
A giant stood in the forest where Natsuki had been. Red and silver, lean and tall, long-limbed, with two bright eyes staring directly at him.
How did it just get bigger?
That was the little guy's real form?
Kong braced against the hillside and pushed himself upright. He grabbed the nearest large tree, ripped it up by the roots, snapped off the branches and root mass in one motion, and leveled it like a spear. He fixed his gaze on the giant standing not far away and felt the battle-hunger rising inside him.
His instincts were clear: this thing wasn't from Earth.
"ROOOAR, , !!" Kong leveled the tree-trunk spear and roared a full challenge at the giant.
He would drive out anything that might harm Jia.
On the other side of the Dome.
Monarch personnel monitoring the situation inside were erupting into chaos, calls flooding in one after another to Dr. Ilene Andrews, the outpost commander. Dr. Andrews had no answers to give them. She didn't know what was happening either.
She brought Jia back to Dr. Serizawa's position. The full group came together.
"That giant." Dr. Andrews turned to Dr. Serizawa. "Is that the one you mentioned? The one who killed the Zero Monster?"
She ran this outpost. She'd seen the internal reports.
"Yes." Dr. Serizawa didn't hesitate. "He is our friend. An important friend."
Beside them, Jia tugged at Dr. Andrews' sleeve. Her hands moved quickly through a short exchange of signs, ending with both wrists crossed over each other.
"She says she doesn't want Kong and the giant to fight," Dr. Andrews translated quietly.
Dr. Serizawa paused. Then he reached out and rested his hand gently on top of the girl's head.
He looked up at the giant standing tall in the trees , that broad, steady silhouette , and said, "Don't worry. He's only helping Kong calm down. You can trust him completely."
➤ Next: Suddenly Clear — The Fight Begins
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