After sealing Gomora into the Ultimate Battlenizer, Yuzhou nodded to Z and then flew straight back toward Earth.
Z and Haruki had no intention of lingering on the Moon either, and soon followed him back.
"By the way… this Medal should be something Haruki and the others are collecting, right?"
Inside STORAGE's restroom, Juggler finished his business and casually pulled out a Medal from who-knew-where.
When Yuzhou looked closely, he raised an eyebrow.
It was Dyna's Medal.
So it really was true—Juggler and Dyna seemed to share an inexplicable, ill-fated connection.
"That's right. When Genegarg attacked the Land of Light, it snatched away a batch of Medals," Yuzhou said. "You went out picking them up that day too?"
"Yeah, I did," Juggler nodded. "But I only found this one. Damn unlucky, if you ask me."
Yuzhou could only smile helplessly.
It was obvious—Juggler still held a deep grudge against Dyna.
That said, it didn't really matter. Dyna wasn't going to show up here anyway. Ever since the early events of Ultraman Orb, Dyna had never again appeared before Juggler.
"Right. Take this."
As Yuzhou spoke, he retrieved a device from his spatial ring and handed it to Juggler.
It was a Z-Riser.
This particular unit had been obtained from the Monster Research Centre's warehouse. In the original timeline, it would have ended up in Celebro's hands.
But Celebro was already gone.
Which meant this thing was now effectively ownerless.
"What is this? A Z-Riser?"
Juggler recognized it at a glance.
"Yes. It's a transformation and power-amplification device invented by Ultraman Hikari of the Land of Light," Yuzhou replied. "It was also brought to Earth after being swallowed by Genegarg."
"Hikari can mass-produce these, so you don't need to worry about him coming after you for it."
"Then I'll accept it without complaint."
Juggler examined the Z-Riser with clear satisfaction before tucking it away.
Until now, every time he transformed, he could only choose between Speed Type or Power Type, which noticeably limited his combat performance.
With the Z-Riser, he could supplement himself with the powers of other Ultramen—an undeniable upgrade.
"Still, I won't be using this guy's Medal."
With visible disdain, Juggler tossed Dyna's Medal back to Yuzhou.
Yuzhou had no choice but to accept it.
"Then take these instead. I don't really need them."
After a moment's thought, Yuzhou handed over three Medals—Seven, Taro, and Ace.
Each suited Juggler well.
Seven would enhance his combat technique.
Taro would strengthen raw power.
Ace would expand his arsenal of skills.
"Ultramen from the Land of Light, huh… yeah, not bad."
Juggler accepted the three Medals without hesitation.
According to him, because Earth already had STORAGE and possessed basic anti-monster capabilities, he had never transformed into Ultraman in front of humans.
As a result, Z and Yuzhou's Tiga were the first Ultramen to officially appear before the public on this Earth.
As for Z and Tiga, the Earth Defense Force adopted a neutral stance—continued observation.
Behind the scenes, however, they were already treating Ultramen as benchmarks, aiming to develop humanoid weapons that could surpass them.
"By the way," Yuzhou suddenly asked, "why does this Earth even have Sevenger?"
"That… I don't know either," Juggler shrugged. "STORAGE's Special Tactical Machine No.1, Sevenger, was built by Yoko and Yuka's team—led by Yoko's mentor, Yuka Ota."
"Yuka…"
Murmuring the name, Yuzhou nodded.
Back when Ultraman Z first aired, many viewers had speculated that Yuka might be Astra, Leo's younger brother, in human form.
But that theory was never true.
"Sevenger performed well today," Juggler continued. "The higher-ups have already approved the budget. They're preparing to build Special Tactical Machine No.2."
"And that would be…?"
"Windom."
"Windom…"
Yuzhou already knew that No.2 would be Windom.
What puzzled him was how humans even knew about Windom in the first place.
After all, both Sevenger and Windom were originally capsule monsters belonging to Ultraman Seven.
Days passed.
STORAGE's Windom was completed and quickly deployed in actual combat, working together with Ultraman Z to defeat the subterranean monster Telesdon.
Yuzhou did not intervene.
Instead, he immersed himself in study, researching Earth's scientific and technological systems.
The technology of the Land of Light had already been engraved into his mind through data chips. But that knowledge belonged to the Land of Light.
Even if it surpassed most civilizations, Yuzhou still wanted to understand the technologies of different planets.
Unfortunately, just as he was settling into peaceful research—
Trouble descended from the sky.
Dark clouds spiralled overhead, black miasma rolling as snow suddenly began to fall.
A monster plummeted from the heavens, smashing into the ground with a deafening crash.
The road shattered instantly.
White mist poured from the creature's mouth, freezing entire rows of buildings into ice sculptures.
Yuzhou's residence was, unfortunately, within the affected area.
Standing inside his home, Yuzhou stared at the scene before him, utterly speechless.
Everything visible indoors had frozen solid.
The outdoors was even worse.
"…You've got to be kidding me."
Gritting his teeth, Yuzhou smashed through the frozen door and rushed outside.
There, a monster flapped its twin wings violently while letting out a piercing cry.
It looked like a seal—
but it definitely wasn't one.
"Damn it—it's you!"
Yuzhou recognized it instantly.
The same monster he had once encountered during Ultra Galaxy Fight 2, after being thrown into the wrong time and place amid an icy wasteland.
The freezing monster—Peguila.
Back then, Yuzhou had sealed it away, condemning it to endless suffering.
Yet somehow, the seal had now been broken.
Just as Yuzhou was about to transform and deal with it personally—
Special Tactical Machine No.2, Windom, flew in from the sky.
Inside the cockpit was Yoko, a member of STORAGE—and the female lead of Ultraman Z.
"…Fine. I'll let them handle it."
Yuzhou put away his transformation device, then took out his phone and called Juggler.
"Moshi Moshi. This is Snake Warehouse."
Juggler picked up almost immediately.
"Snake Warehouse," Yuzhou said bluntly, "send Haruki over. Windom alone won't be able to handle this monster."
"Of course," he added calmly, "you could also come in person."
"…Hmm."
Juggler was silent for a moment.
"I'll send Haruki."