On the shore of Kuroshio Island.
The MAC Macchi 2 Alpha parked there, its length of over twenty meters taking up a massive amount of space. While it looked compact on television, in reality, it was a colossal beast.
Not far from where the Alpha was parked, Minghui and Dan Moroboshi lay side by side.
Minghui felt as though all the strength had been drained from his body, and his chest, where the Magma Alien had attacked him, throbbed with excruciating pain. Still, he forced himself to summon some spirit, turned to look at Dan Moroboshi beside him, and grinned. "Well, Captain Dan, you saw that, didn't you?"
Clutching his injured leg, Dan Moroboshi wore a painful expression and chose to ignore him.
"Captain! Minghui! Are you alright?"
Having transformed back into his human form, Feng Yuan ran over from a distance, looking anxious.
"Feng Yuan, why did you act without orders!"
Seeing Feng Yuan, Dan Moroboshi clenched his teeth, hoisted his body up, and scolded him sternly.
Uncomprehending of Dan Moroboshi's anger, Feng Yuan couldn't help arguing, "But I won!"
"You only fought the alien to avenge the destruction of your own planet, didn't you?" Dan Moroboshi questioned.
Faced with Dan Moroboshi's questioning, Feng Yuan froze. "This..."
Minghui, standing nearby, found it hard to watch any longer. He pushed himself up using the bit of strength he had just recovered and spoke up, "Captain Dan, Feng Yuan isn't that selfish. Although he is desperate to avenge his homeworld, that's not his reason for this battle. He did it for the thousands of civilians living on Kuroshio Island!"
"Even so, the situation you two were in was extremely dangerous. Do you have any idea how close you came to losing your lives?"
Hearing Minghui put it that way, Dan Moroboshi's expression softened slightly.
In his view, Feng Yuan could not yet be called a qualified Ultra Warrior—not in terms of strength, but in terms of mindset and disposition. Feng Yuan was still far too hot-headed, and unlike other Ultra Warriors, he lacked a fierce protective instinct for the weak. Instead, the hatred in his heart was far too dominant, and Dan Moroboshi did not want him to continue down that path.
Yet, judging by the present, Feng Yuan was already growing toward becoming a qualified Ultra Warrior.
"Could it be... was that you just now, Captain...?" Feng Yuan seemed to realize something, his expression stunned.
Minghui sighed, taking the blame upon himself. "Feng Yuan, I was indeed reckless this time, and my consideration fell short. Our combined strength alone was not enough to defeat the enemy, nor could we even drive them away! If Captain Dan hadn't used Ultra Telekinesis in the nick of time... and besides, using that technique drastically drains Captain Dan's lifespan!"
As he spoke, Minghui's expression grew increasingly guilty.
In truth, however, Minghui did not feel the guilt he was projecting. He had considered everything before coming; practically all of this was within his expectations. After all, Feng Yuan's training had been brief, and he had yet to master the Rotating Flying Kick, making it difficult to defeat the Gillas Brothers. Nor did he think a rookie Ultraman like himself could turn the tide of this situation.
Therefore, his ultimate trump card was none other than the crutch-wielding alien himself—Lord Seven!
And Lord Seven certainly did not disappoint, arriving on the scene the very moment the battle began.
With Lord Seven's Ultra Telekinesis backing him up, Minghui had nothing to worry about.
As for the issue of Ultra Telekinesis draining one's lifespan—if it was draining Seven's lifespan, please, an Ultraman's lifespan was measured in tens of thousands of years at least. That little bit of life force was nothing; he had never heard of an Ultraman dying of old age.
And if it was draining Dan Moroboshi's lifespan... the man would be heading back to the Land of Light to enjoy retirement in just a few dozen episodes anyway, and the Land of Light could even create life, so that was even less of an issue.
As for why he had said all those words...
Minghui secretly glanced at Feng Yuan beside him.
Feng Yuan clenched his fists and muttered with remorse, "Damn it! If only I could try a little harder!"
Ah, perfect~
Seeing that his words had achieved the desired effect, Minghui appropriately dropped his act, struggled to his feet, patted Feng Yuan on the shoulder, and said, "Don't blame yourself, you've already done very well."
"Of course, you must keep working hard from now on."
"Yes!" Feng Yuan nodded heavily, his expression earnest.
Woohoo~ I've got a leg to hug~
Having a powerhouse to rely on was great, but having a hardworking and dedicated powerhouse made one feel even more at ease!
Above them, the MAC Macchi 2 Beta and the MAC Macchi 3 hovered past and landed not far from the three of them, several MAC team members stepping out.
"Captain!"
Seeing Dan Moroboshi half-lying on the ground with a painful expression, several team members cried out in alarm as they ran over and helped him up.
"I'm fine." Supported by Kuroda Akio, Dan Moroboshi waved a hand.
Ichiro Aoshima found Dan Moroboshi's crutch nearby and handed it back to him. Turning around, he caught sight of Feng Yuan standing to the side and instantly knitted his brows. "Feng Yuan, why didn't you obey orders and return to headquarters?"
Feng Yuan opened his mouth, momentarily speechless, not knowing how to explain.
"It's fine." Minghui shot him a look and stepped forward. "The situation was so critical that by the time Feng Yuan hurried back to your headquarters, it would have been too late for anything. Besides, Feng Yuan wasn't just standing around doing nothing; during this crisis, he saved quite a few people. Or is protecting the safety of civilians from monsters not part of the MAC team's duties?"
Ichiro Aoshima did not answer Minghui's question; he merely frowned and asked, "Who are you?"
"Alright, that's enough." Dan Moroboshi cut off their exchange, then turned his head to look at Feng Yuan. "Agent Feng Yuan, let this be the last time."
Dan Moroboshi's words brushed the matter aside, and the other MAC team members said no more upon hearing them. Only Ichiro Aoshima looked somewhat resentful, though he kept quiet.
"The monsters could make a comeback at any moment. Feng Yuan, stand by on the ground for now. Everyone else, return to headquarters!" Dan Moroboshi ordered once more.
"Yes!" "Yes!"...
The crowd acknowledged the order one after another and began preparing to evacuate.
Dan Moroboshi walked at the very end, paused for a moment, turned back to look at Minghui, and said, "Why don't you join the MAC team as well!"
Hearing this, Feng Yuan's face lit up with joy. He was still somewhat unaccustomed to the atmosphere within the MAC team; if Minghui joined as well, it would put him much more at ease, and future missions would surely be much smoother.
Minghui shook his head with a smile. "I'll pass. I prefer a bit of freedom. Besides, the MAC team headquarters is far away in space. If trouble arises on the ground in the future and Feng Yuan happens to be away, I can at least hold the line for a bit."
Are you kidding me? With the kind of coworker relationships they had in the MAC team, he wouldn't dare go near it!
Better leave that to Feng Yuan, the stress-resistant little champion.
Dan Moroboshi nodded and did not press the matter further. "Then I'll leave it to you."
"Um..." Minghui hesitated, but couldn't help speaking up. "Captain Dan, I don't think setting up the MAC team headquarters in space is a good choice. Not only is it far from the ground, making it too slow to respond to emergencies, but if the headquarters is attacked by a monster—you know as well as I do that the MAC team's combat power won't be able to stop it, and when that time comes..."
As he spoke, Minghui raised both hands and made an exploding motion.
"I know." Dan Moroboshi nodded. As the captain of the MAC team and also Ultraman Seven, no one understood this better than he did. "But the Cosmic Monsters are far too dangerous. We have to prevent them from breaking into Earth, even at the cost of our lives. That is our duty!"
"Still, what you said makes sense. I will consider strengthening the ground forces."
Dan Moroboshi smiled, then turned to look at Feng Yuan. "Feng Yuan, you must master the Rotating Flying Kick before the Gillas Brothers appear!"
"Yes, Captain!" Feng Yuan nodded.
Soon, the members of the MAC team boarded their fighter jets and left Kuroshio Island.
Watching the fighter jets fly into the distance, Minghui let out a breath and said, "Feng Yuan, let's get going too."
"Yeah, when we get back, I'm going to master the Rotating Flying Kick as soon as possible!" Feng Yuan was full of motivation.
"Uh... but it seems there's a problem." Minghui scratched his cheek, looking somewhat awkward.
"How are we getting back?"
"..."
The two of them stared at each other in blank dismay, looking at the fighter jets that had already vanished from sight, and fell silent.