Your Kaiju — Chapter 302 - Plan Works — Face to Face

"This... theoretically speaking, that is indeed the case."

"This classmate, please don't rush off after class. Stay a moment." Gamu had already sensed something unusual about this student. He said it quietly, then gestured for Natsuki to sit back down.

Natsuki's answer had gone well beyond the syllabus, but the other students didn't think much of it. In this world, there was an organization called [Alchemy Stars], full of geniuses exactly like Teacher Takayama. These people had reset everyone's expectations of what exceptional actually looked like.

Besides, some of the terminology Natsuki had used was simply meaningless to anyone who hadn't been to the Land of Light.

"Now that the parallel universe theory is gradually being refined, our exploration of quantum physics continues to advance as well..." After that brief interruption, Gamu picked up where he'd left off and finished the lecture.

The class ended quickly.

The bell rang, and students climbed reluctantly out of their seats. Before half of them made it to the door, a small crowd had already broken toward the podium. Teacher Takayama's autograph. His name carried too much weight out there in the world. The authorities had quietly tried to reduce media coverage of Gamu over the years, but there was no erasing what too many people had seen with their own eyes twenty years ago.

This generation grew up on the story of Ultraman Gaia. A living legend was standing right in front of them. The excitement and admiration were completely understandable.

Only after waving goodbye to the very last student did Gamu let out a quiet breath. He stepped down from the podium and looked across the tiered lecture hall toward the man in the floral shirt.

"Are you a warrior from the Land of Light?" Gamu asked, genuinely curious.

Someone who gave off that distinct, inexplicable feeling of otherness , and who could casually reference Land of Light scientific theory , clearly had more than a passing connection to that place.

Earth had been at peace for twenty years now. Humanity and the planet's native Kaiju had reached a fragile but functional coexistence. He wanted to know what had actually brought this person here.

"That's right."

"My name is Natsuki. I'm a member of the Space Garrison." Natsuki stood and raised his right arm, tilting his wrist so Gamu could see the bracelet. Proof of identity.

"I see." Gamu nodded. "First time meeting. I'm Takayama Gamu — or Ultraman Gaia, whichever works for you."

Natsuki's face wasn't one he recognized. As far as he could tell, this was their first meeting.

He'd spent most of his life on Earth, though he had visited the Land of Light once or twice and fought alongside its warriors. The name Natsuki didn't ring any bells.

"Try my other name. Lias." Natsuki read the expression on his face and cut to it.

That landed. Gamu looked up.

He remembered now. When he'd visited the Land of Light, he'd heard the Ultra Warriors there mention that name. Lias was well-known within the Space Garrison.

"The main reason I came here..." Natsuki gave him a brief overview , his Earth, the organization he was tracking down, and the real purpose of this visit: special training. Specifically, learning a skill called Earth's Blessing.

Gamu had traveled to other universes before, so he followed all of it without difficulty. When Natsuki got to Godzilla and the other Titans, his interest sharpened considerably.

A being like Godzilla, one that maintained the natural balance and stood as the authority over all the other Titans. His Earth had something like that too. The leader of all Earth's Kaiju: Ryuuon, who had given them critical support during the final battle against the Radical Destruction Bringer.

"I think I have a reasonable picture of your situation, senior."

"If you need my help, I'll give it. That's not the issue." Gamu paused. "The issue is that I genuinely don't know how to train you to master Earth's Blessing."

He didn't even know what Earth's Blessing actually was.

From the name alone, he could guess it was probably an ability tied to combat within the Earth itself.

His own power — the light he wielded — came from the Earth's land-light. A strength the Earth had entrusted to him. Fighting on Earth felt like fighting on home ground, an instinctive advantage baked into everything he did.

Teaching that instinct to someone else was a different matter entirely. Even for a scientific mind like his, the question gave him pause.

"Do you have any ideas?" The problem didn't have an obvious answer, so he figured he'd ask the one who'd posed it. Gamu looked at Natsuki with open curiosity.

He wasn't doubting Natsuki's ability to pull it off , he knew what the Land of Light was capable of. He was just very curious about the process.

"Well. Ideas."

Natsuki heard the question, ran back through every training session he'd survived, and felt the color slowly leaving his face.

Last time, with Ultraman Cosmos, the method had been simple: Cosmos blasted him with Full Moon Wave continuously, purifying every emotion out of him one by one.

By Barbaru's name, which genius came up with these methods?

"Based on previous experience," Natsuki said, forcing himself forward, "sparring tends to be the most efficient approach."

He knew exactly what Gaia's combat power looked like.

Even now, with his body mostly recovered, he wouldn't claim he had a real shot at beating Gaia in a straight fight. The man had multiple fully upgraded combat forms.

Whether his old bones could survive that kind of workout was, honestly, an open question.

"Sparring is straightforward enough."

"Come to my lab first. I'll put together a few plans and we can run targeted training from there." Gamu nodded and led the way out of the lecture hall.

Natsuki fell into step behind him, privately relieved. A scientist to the end , no jumping straight to the bluntest method, just structured plans and deliberate training. That was already more reassuring than anything Cosmos had ever offered him.

......

Deep inside the MonsterVerse Earth.

Beneath the APEX building, in a vast underground facility, a titan of high-strength metal stood in silence.

"Operating system overhaul and energy replacement are both complete."

"Once those terrorists draw attention away from us, we activate Mechagodzilla."

"The giants have very limited time to operate on Earth. That's a weakness they can't overcome." Jefferson spoke from the observation room overhead, his eyes on Simmons below. "To beat them, that window is everything."

"Understood."

"Your plans are solid. All that's left now is execution."

Simmons studied the massive frame of Mechagodzilla, his expression calm, almost reverent. The way a man looks at something he's been building toward for a long time.

"The Titans can't stop us." A faint smile crossed his face. "Neither can the giants."

➤ Next: Earth's Protection