Chapter Thirty-Seven: Masaki Keigo

In recent days, life seemed to have returned to a state of peace; the group of men in black had not appeared again. Longze Yue continued to go to work at the kendo dojo as usual, and the students were still the same familiar faces. Occasionally, that stingy man, Masao Chiba, would bring his beloved son, Tano Chiba, to the dojo to take a look around, inspect the place, and spar a little with Longze Yue.

The outcome was always the same—Masao Chiba inevitably ended up losing, which only made the students admire Longze Yue all the more. Even Shuichi Nanno, the senior disciple, was gradually changing his opinion of Longze Yue along with the rest. During this period, everyone became even more aware of the sincerity and easy-going nature of this young and powerful coach, as well as the touch of depth in his dark eyes.

Everything seemed beautiful and tranquil.

On a certain street in Japan at night, a cold wind howled as people hid in their homes enjoying the warmth, leaving the streets nearly deserted.

After work, Longze Yue, instead of heading to the abandoned factory to practice his sword-drawing technique as usual, chose to eat ramen at a street-side stall.

“How I miss the taste of Obikura Ramen,” he sighed, resting his sword by the table leg, slurping a steaming bowl of noodles. The thin strands slipped swiftly into his mouth, and the sweat beading on his forehead was a testament to his satisfaction.

“Young man, want another bowl?” The ramen stand owner, a bearded man with a hearty voice, greeted him enthusiastically.

“No thanks, sir, I'm already full,” replied Longze Yue, waving his hand as he reached for his wallet to pay.

“What is that!” The owner, who had come over to clear the dishes, suddenly cried out, pointing at a building in the distance where a massive shadow, several dozen meters high, was slowly moving, exuding a heavy sense of dread.

Beneath the building, a dark brown robot was ambling along. Its head bore a row of small round holes resembling eyes, each glowing with an eerie yellow light.

Longze Yue narrowed his eyes, stood up, took his sword from the table leg, paid, and strode unhurriedly toward the robot under the ramen vendor's astonished gaze.

The robot seemed to sense something and turned its head, moving toward Longze Yue with an awkward gait, its feet pounding like cast iron.

A flash of sword light—his sword slid cleanly from its sheath with a ringing clang, swift as thunder. In an instant, the robot’s hard head fell to the ground, and its body collapsed, scattering components everywhere.

The ramen vendor stared at the limbs and head lying in the distance, so shocked he sat down hard on the ground, eyes blank.

Longze Yue crouched, picking up the robot’s fallen head. Inside, it was hollow—no complex circuitry or chips, just an empty shell!

This defied human understanding.

“As expected, it’s hollow,” Longze Yue murmured, raising an eyebrow. He vaguely remembered that this robot was connected to a power technology TPC was developing, something called the Magus Power System.

It had been so long since he first crossed from the real world to the Ultraman world that some of the plotlines had faded from memory. For now, this was all he could recall about the robot.

That night, similar empty-shell robots appeared in several Japanese cities. People began calling them “Steel Masked Men.”

On another cold night, many Steel Masked Men wandered the streets.

After work, Longze Yue returned as usual to the abandoned factory to practice his sword-drawing technique, and was on his way home.

By now, none of the factory’s walls remained intact; many had been reduced to rubble under Longze Yue’s sword. His technique had become ever more refined, though he was still far from being a true master.

A true master of the sword-drawing art could strike so swiftly that by the time you saw his sword drawn, you would already be a corpse. Longze Yue was still a long way from that level.

He hummed a cheerful tune, his improved skill putting him in a good mood.

“Longze Yue.”

A deep, magnetic male voice sounded behind him.

“Who’s there?” Longze Yue snapped around, sensing danger.

“So it really is you, the one who inherited the Light.”

The man was tall and handsome, with an aura of danger in his gaze.

“Interested in working with me, Black Ultraman?”

“You...” Longze Yue’s brow furrowed deeply—how could this man know his identity?

“My name is Keigo Masaki. Like you, I, too, am an inheritor of the Light.” Keigo Masaki smiled darkly, sending a chill down one’s spine.

“Keigo Masaki?” Longze Yue sneered. So this was that brilliant physicist who had gone astray!

In the original story, Keigo Masaki was supposed to approach Daigu, but now he had come to him instead. Recalling Kirino as well, Longze Yue found it odd—why were all those who should have sought out Daigu instead coming to him? He instantly understood Keigo Masaki’s intentions, though compared to the original plot, his actions seemed a bit premature...

“We should talk face to face. Where is your real body? This is just a projection created by your extraordinary intellect, isn’t it?” Longze Yue, having understood the other’s plan, remained calm.

“Heh, so you’re not so simple yourself. That’s right, my mind is far beyond that of you luck-driven inheritors of the Light!” Keigo Masaki was supremely confident, and not without reason—he was indeed a rare genius, though his path had strayed.

“We’ll meet tomorrow,” Keigo Masaki said, and with that, his apparition vanished into the night.

“Could the combined power of three Ultramen break through the barrier between worlds?” Longze Yue wondered after Keigo Masaki disappeared.

A bold idea occurred to him: help Keigo Masaki complete his plan and let him become an Ultraman as well! If the dimensional barrier in this world was thin enough, perhaps the combined power of three Ultramen could break it! Even if it failed, he could easily subdue Keigo Masaki.

With that thought, Longze Yue’s spirits lifted even higher. Carrying his sword, he paid no heed to the Steel Masked Men roaming the streets and cheerfully made his way home.

Not long after Longze Yue left, Daigu and Shinsya arrived in a patrol car. As in the original story, they encountered the Steel Masked Men and collected them. That night, the TPC base recovered a large number of dismantled Steel Masked Men.