Ultraman Legend of the Light Chaser

Such scenery was commonplace for the Naga. In countless unchanging years, they had seen far more vast starry seas and more magnificent galaxies. Asteroids falling into the atmosphere were merely a change of pace, and galaxy mergers were just fleeting glimpses in a long journey.

But for Kazuki Takemoto, simply looking at Earth from outer space was a precious experience, one that he would cherish for a lifetime.

Captain Takemoto felt as if he had split into two. One was a Naga, observing coldly as a "god of the universe," with his heart always set on order and the vast starry sea; the other was an Earthling, connected to every blade of grass and tree on the blue planet as the former captain of the space force.

Every time he saw the movements of the transformed team members, he couldn't help but want to look at them more. "Captain Takemoto" didn't understand this behavior—when the silver-gray people appeared, he felt very uncomfortable. His calm mood felt like he was jumping off a cliff. Below the cliff was cold and deep water, but he still wanted to jump down, as if there was something he cared about there.

“Tiga, of course he left a long time ago. He returned to Orion 30 million years ago. The ‘Tiga’ on Earth now is just a human who inherited his stone statue,” Captain Takemoto said. “There are tens of thousands of humans on Earth with ancient genes… Why should we restrict them?”

"I am using an Earthling's body, yet you still believe I am the leader. Does that mean that Earthling using Tiga's body has become Tiga himself?"

The heir paused, "What you said isn't wrong..." but something still felt off.

The leader pressed on, saying, "Badbu forced us to remain hidden in peacetime. If the Tomb Keepers defeat Badbu and humanity triumphs over Gobnew, I think, out of concern for the protection of this 'potential new civilization,' we should not use neutron bombs to disintegrate its home planet."

“But we have already made a promise to the dinosaur people and the Earthlings’ ‘New Human Project’ organization.” The heir said, noticing that the leader had walked away from him.

“I don’t recall making any promises to them,” the leader waved his hand. “You made this mess, so clean it up yourself. What a pain.”

...

...

Within the realm of Meita.

Just as the Naga had analyzed, Samuel thought that the other party only restricted him from dealing with Gobnew, but did not say that he could not dismantle Badbu. From the conversation with the Naga, it could be heard that Badbu was a more advanced thing than Gobnew. Even if some material samples were sent back, it would probably be enough for the researchers at the Equipment Development Center to show expressions of winning the lottery.

What else is there to say?

Bring back as much as you can! Technological leaps forward! That's just around the corner!

Furthermore, Budab chased the Naga from the sky to the earth. Who knows if it will also target the Earthlings after the Earthlings defeat Gobnew?

If Gobneu's outpost was a "military post," then Badbew was a large base: it appeared from the direction of Jupiter's orbit, or more precisely, in the asteroid belt, and Samuel guessed that it might have been squatting there all along, trying to capture Naga ships operating in the nearby area.

"Which civilization left behind this?" Samuel wondered. "If they possessed technology that could shackle other civilizations and even make the Naga wary, why did they perish?"

Chapter 129 A Tumultuous Time

From outer space to various bases hidden on Earth, all sides are in motion. TPC will not just wait for the aliens to take action before deploying. In fact, one of the most important tasks is already coming to an end.

Director Office.

Contrary to outside speculation, Sawai Soichiro neither went to a secret location to hide and save his life because of the attack on headquarters, nor retreated to the police station's headquarters because of the aliens' activities, and he was not protected by the GUTS team.

He was drinking tea and reading the newspaper.

The tea is Uji tea from Nara Prefecture, and the report is a work briefing from various departments.

Currently, the Victory Team is tracking down other weapons that may be hidden in various locations based on the data of the mechanical dinosaur and neutron bomb discovered in the K17 area; the Special Investigation Team continues to cast its net and has already identified two places that are highly likely to contain large bases—Kumamoto City and Shishigaki Forest.

The Mars Pioneer Station was tasked with closely monitoring outer space activity, while Gipda 3, engrossed in Jupiter's atmosphere, finally received new instructions: to perform a trajectory change and launch an investigation based on the station's report of a "spaceship" in the asteroid belt, with Delta Force and Lunar Carlo Base providing full assistance.

“These are turbulent times…” Sawai handed the briefing in his hand to the person sitting at the table: “Would you like to take a look? The information department’s materials are quite good.”

"Of course he did a good job of deceiving his superiors and subordinates." Tetsuji Yoshioka never showed any mercy and was known for his strictness within TPC. It was rumored that if he glared at them, the police officers would run away with their heads in their hands.

As a representative of the hawks and Sawai's long-time partner, he certainly had the confidence to be ruthless. What was not widely known was that he also held the position of head of the inspection office. Leaving aside the political balance for the moment, he certainly did a good job in keeping secret.

Even today, other departments still believe that the leadership of the Inspection Office is not yet complete. No one knows that the person they consider to be the head of the Inspection Office is actually Yoshioka's deputy.

“Deceiving your superiors and subordinates,” Zejing chuckled. “You’re so certain, there must be a result.”

On matters involving TPC's core interests, Yoshioka rarely clashed with Sawai. He nodded and said, "Ultimately, it's the lingering influence of TPC's early days. We were motivated to unite because of attacks from extraterrestrial life, but not because of an intrinsic need for 'Earthlings to unite.' When the aliens openly restrained their methods, and TPC disarmed itself due to the peace agreement, resulting in a poor initial response to the monsters, a sense of unrest arose among the people."

Yoshioka held up three fingers and listed them one by one: "Those who harbor bandits to enhance their own importance, those who snatch chestnuts from the fire, and those who have rickets... The Information Department has become a disaster area because of its extensive external exchanges and many dispatched personnel. Similarly, there are other peripheral work stations in other branches."

Sawai was unfazed by the various types of people he described; such groups existed in every era and period, not to mention the chaotic present with monsters and aliens: "The charges can be counted during the trial. I just want to know... are the inspection office and the police department ready?"

“My people are no problem,” Yoshioka said. “I just need the support of the equipment development center and the Victory team, and—you have to give me special permission for a building. I think the auditorium for holding press conferences would be nice.”

"Hello, Halloween has been over for a while now, and the New Year is just around the corner. We haven't distributed our holiday gifts yet, have we?"

“This reason is much fresher than holding meetings all the time,” Yoshioka said with a rare genuine smile. “Then, in the name of the Inspection Office, we will send letters to all departments, requesting them to carry out pre-holiday warning education. Then, we will have the General Staff take the lead and have all departments jointly carry it out under the pretext of ‘being busy with work and saving time.’ After the warning education is over, we will distribute gifts as a matter of course.”

Sawai leaned back and sipped her tea: "You've thought this through."

“Then, following the normal procedure, I’ve asked the Inspection Office to send a letter,” Yoshioka tapped the table. “Hurry up and approve a note so I can take it to the Equipment Development Center and the Victory Team. Even Nanbara is too busy to find anyone, and you’re just drinking tea!”

Sawai put down her teacup: "Would you like some? I have quite a few herbal teas too."

“I can’t compare to you,” Yoshioka couldn’t stand seeing his old partner looking so sluggish after not seeing him for days, and couldn’t help but goad him: “I’m in the executive department, while you only need to give orders.”

"Even if I wanted to rush to the front lines, no one would..."

"Yes, the first thing to surround me was your police station," Sawai replied. "I've thought it through now. Our young people are all good. Unless it's a truly desperate battle, why would we need an old man like me to risk my life? Aiba is right, as long as I'm here, TPC won't fall into chaos."

What he said made sense, but to Yoshioka, it sounded like Sawai was provoking him again... even the white steam floating above his teacup seemed to be mocking him! But if he continued along with the conversation, he would seem petty.

Yoshioka decided to change the subject: "The auditorium will be emptied at that time. You can make up any reason. As for the possible damage to the building... you should be mentally prepared."

"Just don't tear down the headquarters; our second base isn't finished yet."

……

A few days later, the Victory Team, who were out tracking Maru Sakunaza, received a temporary mission.

"Security at the press conference center?" Everyone looked at each other, and Horii said, "It's the police department's job, isn't it... not appropriate for us to do it? It would affect unity."

Through PDI, Megumi reminded him, "Check where the letter came from."

"Inspection... Ah..." Then it's alright, Horii swallowed the words back down.

The Victory Team rushed back from out of town, and after a short rest, the auditorium of the press conference center was newly decorated in accordance with the requirements of the "Pre-Holiday Warning Education and New Year Celebration Meeting".

Daigo and the others, having received the mission details, waited in the annex outside the auditorium. Through the monitor screen, they saw Sato Takuma strolling in with an air of nonchalance, as well as his colleagues from the General Staff and the Police Department, who, following the usual practice, were looking for seats but happened to have the Information Department sandwiched in the middle.

"It's a bit early this year. Usually, it doesn't open until almost the end of the year?" someone commented.

“Things are different now. Where were the monsters last year?” A colleague unfolded the meeting materials, complained about the long and tedious speech, and continued, “During the holidays, we’ll definitely have to send everyone out to strengthen security in the city, so we can only hold the celebration party early.”

“You’re just worried your speech will be too long,” the man teased him. “I actually hope the director’s congratulatory speech is as long as possible, so you can sit up straight and be in the line of sight of the inspection office, and I can sneak a nap…”

"And didn't you notice this year's gifts?" He pointed to a line of large trucks outside the door: "Things are definitely different now. Headquarters has gone all out to encourage us to continue fighting monsters and aliens."

Chapter 130 Settling Accounts After the Autumn

We need to investigate the matter thoroughly before drawing any conclusions, but we don't have to wait until autumn to reach a conclusion.

Settling accounts during the Lunar New Year is a double celebration.

Those trained by Tetsuji Yoshioka are always reliable. After the warning education is completed and the director finishes his New Year's greetings, the gifts will be distributed. They will definitely appear happy and cheerful without any compromise.

Four trucks lined up in a row, providing everything from rice, flour, and oil to New Year's cakes and even candy for children. There were even staff from the "canteen kitchen" standing by, giving instructions on how to store the materials. It was so warm and thoughtful that even the stern-looking officials in the inspection office seemed much more pleasing to the eye.

There are four exits to the auditorium, and someone calls out from each exit. Those whose names are called go out, receive their gifts, and then walk away on their own.

The supervisory office and the police department were the first to leave, which is understandable. They were on the list, so it's normal for them to put themselves at the top so they could leave early.

Later, the call to people stopped following the departmental order. Sometimes people were called out in a row from the contact list, and sometimes one or two people were skipped for no reason. When the person asked, the only reply was, "Oh dear, I'm so sorry that the list was checked wrong. We'll wait until the other people in your department have finished calling their numbers and then we'll check who we missed before distributing the cards."

Director Sawai sat on the platform, smiling as he looked at them.

Since the director hadn't left yet, the others didn't want to cause a scene on the spot, so they sat down with complaints about "young people being unreliable" and treated it as a paid slack-off.

As fewer and fewer people remained in the auditorium, the atmosphere gradually grew quiet.

"Yamada Hideji!" the logistics guy called out, and the person in question stood up and ran to the door.

"We've finished distributing the goods on the truck, so we brought another van over there." The "logistics guy" pointed in a direction, and Yamada Hideji thanked him repeatedly.

There was indeed a black van parked in the distance, its side door open, and you could see someone carrying him on their back, seemingly unloading cargo.

Unsuspecting, Yamada Hideji waved and ran over excitedly, only to be bewildered as a group of burly men in black got out of the car and grabbed him onto the vehicle.

"Name!"

Hideji Yamada recognized the guy who was asking the question; he was from the Ground Guard Unit under the Police Department: "Hideji Yamada, we joined TPC in the same batch! Wait, what are you doing?"

"Why don't you know perfectly well what gender is!"

Yamada Hideji opened his mouth: "...Male, twenty-five years old this year, with children and an elderly mother, diligent in self-cultivation, dedicated to his job, law-abiding, animal-loving, punctual, and actively participating in activities..."

"That's quite a smooth story." The man who asked the question gestured with his chin, and the heroes surrounding him all drew their guns and cocked them.

"Hey! What if the car goes off with so many people?!" Yamada Hideji wanted to cover his head and hide under the chair, but the guy who asked the question was completely unforgiving. He immediately reached for a pair of silver bracelets and "clicked" them together, fastening one of his arms to the handrail on the roof of the car.

Unable to burrow underground or jump out of the window, Yamada Hideji was covered in cold sweat and trembling with fear, especially trying to avoid the gun pointed at him: "Let's talk this out... I don't remember doing anything that would warrant the police coming to my door."

"Did you sell a reagent on the 13th of last month?" The questioner smirked. "Since the beginning of this year, you've been stealing..."

They started by selling biological equipment and reagents that were restricted from sale to foreign entities. Initially, it was just about manufacturing laboratories that were difficult to produce, but they grew increasingly bold... until they were directly buying and selling finished reagents!

"I only sold one milliliter!" Yamada Hideji held up his little finger, pinching the tip with his thumb: "Just this little bit, not even enough to drown an ant..."

"Even 0.1 milliliters is top secret!" The person asking the question slammed the notebook in his hand: "If you don't want your son to lose his father, then tell the truth!"

A similar scene unfolded near the auditorium, where individuals who thought they were there to collect gifts were led by staff members posing as members of the surveillance department into an ambush. A quick-thinking individual, sensing something was amiss, tried to escape halfway, only to turn back and find the "logistics guy" grinning at him, the laser beam from his gun flashing up and down in his eyes.

"Phase three is over, it's time to wrap things up." Tetsuji Yoshioka's voice was broadcast to the annex where the GUTS team was stationed. The elite squad immediately moved out and surrounded the auditorium building within two minutes.

At this moment, those still waiting for their numbers to be called finally realized something was wrong. The Victory Team made no attempt to conceal their actions; they could be seen standing outside through the windows, guns pointed towards the auditorium.

They then realized that the supervisor who had gone to the side door to use the restroom had not returned at all—he had even left his personal teacup on the table, pretending that he had only left temporarily!

“All targets whose backgrounds could be verified, whose medical examination data showed no signs of tampering, and who were confirmed to be human have been captured,” Sato Takuma reported to Yoshioka Tetsuji. “Based on their resumes, we visited their elementary and middle school relatives and friends, and their backgrounds were generally clear and their origins simple.”

"Thank you for your hard work. As for the rest..." Through the electronic screen, Yoshioka looked at the restless heads in the hall: "They are the ones whose resumes are questionable and whose backgrounds are unclear?"