Trial Tower
"Ribut, why aren't you heading home yet?" Arno asked softly, as he usually did, waiting until the other Ultra had left before inspecting and repairing the equipment floor by floor. When his gaze fell upon Ribut, who was still hard at work practicing his combat skills, he couldn't help but smile faintly.
Hearing the voice, Ribut stopped what he was doing and turned to look at Arno. "Arno... I feel like there's still a lot of room for improvement in my combat scores, so I wanted to train a little longer. I'm so sorry to be a bother." Ribut bowed deeply in apology.
Arno walked over to Ribut, patted him on the shoulder, and instructed him gently, "It's fine, you can train as long as you want, but remember to take proper breaks. Otherwise, your body won't hold up. I'm going to go check the equipment first, we can head back together in a bit, alright?"
Ribut nodded in response, "Okay."
After Arno turned and walked away, Ribut threw himself back into the intense training.
Arno finished his inspection of the equipment. He came over to Ribut's side, looked at his friend—who was covered in sweat yet still completely focused on his training—and called out to him, "Ribut."
"Coming."
—
The two Ultras walked side by side, chatting about their recent lives, when Ribut suddenly spoke up, "Oh right, Arno, do you want to come see the Eleking and Gomora I'm raising?" His eye lamps flickered with an excited glow as he extended a sincere invitation.
"No, thank you," Arno replied expressionlessly, his voice cold and leaving absolutely no room for negotiation. He knew very well in his heart that the other guy definitely harbored no good intentions in making such a request.
Based on his understanding of this Ultra, nine times out of ten he wanted him to go give those monsters physical examinations or bathe them. Arno secretly resolved within himself that he must never be fooled by those innocent eyes of his again! He'd stake his Ultragear on it.
One had to know that once monster cubs started acting up, they were far more difficult to handle than Ultraman cubs. Just thinking about that kind of chaotic scene gave Arno a headache. Therefore, facing such an unreasonable request, he chose to refuse without the slightest hesitation. He had no desire to keep playing the role of the "bad guy" anymore!
Seeing Arno's resolute attitude, Ribut couldn't help feeling somewhat regretful. He let out a helpless sigh, "Fine!" It seemed finding an Ultraman willing to help bathe monsters wasn't an easy task after all! Even his close friend had rejected his request. Not that he wanted to think about how many times he had already fooled Arno in the past?
Ribut began pondering other possible candidates, like Ace? But he quickly shook his head and dismissed the thought. After all, Ace was a notoriously fierce battle maniac; he might just end up beating the monsters he raised until their heads and bodies were separated! Better forget about it!
"Watch out!" Arno's reactions were lightning-fast. Without the slightest hesitation, he shoved the Ribut beside him hard and quickly fired a light bullet in the direction from which the beam had come.
"After them!" Ribut snapped back to his senses and hastily urged Arno to pursue the sniper together.
However, Arno grabbed the impulsive Ribut by the arm and said calmly, "Don't rush, let's send an Ultra Sign to the Garrison first."
With that, Arno hurriedly raised his left wrist, tapped his bracelet, and instantly a screen of light appeared before the two of them.
Seeing this, Ribut immediately understood what Arno had just done and hurriedly sent out an Ultra Sign as well. Immediately afterward, the two Ultras flew together toward the Garrison headquarters.
—
When the two Ultras arrived at the headquarters, they found that Zoffy, Zearth's predecessor—no, the original Ultraman, Jack, and all the other core members of the Space Garrison had already arrived. After all, anyone who dared to ambush an underage Ultra of the Land of Light—did they think they had lived too long?
"What just happened? Someone actually dared to ambush you two?" Zoffy asked with a solemn expression.
Ribut looked at Arno, who was currently tinkering with the light screen, and recounted the entire ambush in detail.
At this moment, Ace stared suspiciously at Arno—who was still tinkering with the light screen—and asked in puzzlement, "Since you were attacked, why didn't you go right after them?"
Arno gave Ace a "benevolent" smile and explained, "I just planted a tracker on that fellow. Look, here is that guy's location info."
"This locator carries five sub-locators. As soon as he rendezvous with his accomplices, the sub-locators will fall onto his accomplices," Arno introduced the tracker's functions to the Ultras present. Ribut couldn't help but admire his friend's talent.
"Mm, this thing is pretty good!" Zoffy nodded in satisfaction, showing his approval. This thing could totally be vigorously promoted and applied within the Garrison! The reconnaissance system on the Security Bureau's side was already great, but the Garrison had to use them all too! He had to figure out a way to get Arno to equip the entire Garrison with these gadgets. To be honest, he was drooling over the equipment Arno made; should he just carve out a separate department for Arno alone?
Zoffy's sharp gaze suddenly locked onto Arno, and an ominous premonition surged within him like a tide.
"Well then, I'll take my leave first, wait for me to send you news." Smiling brightly, Arno inched backward cautiously. Under Zoffy's murderous stare, Arno's form transformed into a ball of light and rapidly vanished into the horizon.
"Arno..." Zoffy called out in a slightly trembling voice. This wouldn't do; once this matter was resolved, he definitely had to carve out a separate department for him, and all technological equipment had to be made by Arno for the Garrison, Zoffy roared internally. "Everyone just wait for Arno's news for now!"
Zoffy quietly gazed at Arno's receding figure and sighed helplessly, "Sigh! It's all debts owed; children grow up and they're always a handful! They love sticking their noses into trouble, rushing wherever there's danger—ah, it's great to be young!"
Subsequently, Zoffy cast a gentle gaze toward Ribut, who was standing off to the side looking exceptionally well-behaved, and asked softly, "And what about you?"
Faced with Zoffy's sudden inquiry, Ribut immediately became somewhat nervous, his speech turning stuttering, "I... I... I... going home." Ribut had a very realistic self-awareness of his own limits.
Zoffy nodded slightly, indicating that this child was more obedient than Arno, and then comforted him, "Once the matter is settled, naturally someone will notify you of the relevant situation."
Having received his reply, Ribut—under Zoffy's "benevolent" gaze—scurried home trembling with fright. The only one who dared to talk back to the Captain of the Space Garrison was Arno, after all.