Hugging My Strong Self

There was a reason Ultraman Ace was known as the Director of the Meat Processing Plant.

Any time a Super Beast fell into his hands, it never came out in one piece.

They always ended up in chunks: a head here, a kidney there.

He had his Ultra Guillotine to thank for it—a technique so forbidden that even the Land of Light required special permission to use it.

But getting permission every time was too much trouble, so Ace found a shortcut. Thanks to that skill, he developed countless other guillotine techniques.

Vertical Guillotine, Horizontal Guillotine, Circular Guillotine, and so on.

They were all excellent for cutting meat.

It was worth noting that these guillotine techniques were variations of the Ultra Guillotine, but their power hadn't been reduced—and they weren't forbidden techniques.

Zhou Hong opened his slightly dazed eyes, already somewhat numb. How many times had Ace cut him down in the Space of Light by now?

A cold autumn draft kept slipping through the gaps around the window, making Zhou Hong shiver. It swept away his awful memories and brought him back to his senses.

He slowly wrapped his arms around his strong self.

If there had been cigarettes here, Zhou Hong would have lit one and recounted the miserable experiences of the past few days.

Fighting Joneus had only left him sore. Training with Nexus had mostly meant taking a few beams. But when he trained with Ace, he could see his own magnificent body getting carved up every now and then.

For some reason, he just couldn't learn Ace's cutting techniques, even with Ace guiding him hand over hand. His progress was painfully slow.

Wrestling with Joneus♂ had made his combat skills improve at an absurd rate, so the burly Joneus suggested that Jostar experience Ace's techniques firsthand.

At any rate, Jostar didn't think Joneus was a good Ultra for suggesting that.

But after gritting his teeth, Jostar still agreed to let Ace use his techniques during their sparring matches.

Since no one could die in the Space of Light, Ace brought the same ferocity and skill to bear as he did against Super Beasts. His ceaseless barrage of different fighting moves and cutting beams left all kinds of injuries on Jostar's powerful muscles.

It was honestly a bit too demoralizing.

As it turned out, Ace's guillotine techniques couldn't be learned through physical memory. But little tricks like the Ultra Slash had been etched into Jostar's mind after Ace repeatedly scraped him with them.

Maybe the guillotines were just too fast—his body couldn't even react in time.

And having Ace hold an Ultra Slash in each hand and hack away at him wasn't exactly a pleasant memory, either.

I'm completely stunned.

Wrestling with Joneus could somewhat relieve his frustration, but it wasn't nearly enough to let him vent.

As Jostar grew stronger, Joneus gradually increased his own strength, too. Jostar was almost always on the receiving end.

With his eyes slightly bloodshot, Zhou Hong kept diving into the sea near headquarters for pressure training. But even the deep ocean couldn't suppress his frustration, and the calm waters couldn't dispel those awful memories. He kicked his legs and swam toward the light above.

The cold seawater gradually turned warm. The comfortable feeling was like soaking in a hot spring, and Zhou Hong nearly lost himself in it. But in the end, he surfaced.

After letting out a long sigh in the chilly autumn wind, Zhou Hong slowly swam back to base.

He was getting ready to start his next training session as usual when Hibiki Gousuke came over.

"Has anything happened lately?" Hibiki Gousuke, who often walked around the base, was undoubtedly an excellent source of gossip.

"The Nanase Kikan was attacked by aliens on its return to Earth. It happened last night, and GUTS has already set out." Hibiki Gousuke sighed. "I hope he's all right."

They had long since confirmed the existence of aliens, but this was the first time an attack on the Nanase Kikan had been identified as an alien invasion.

Ligatron was a robot, so it didn't count as an alien.

Zhou Hong's ears immediately perked up. "I think I just heard a familiar surname."

"What, Ahong? Do you know the Nanase Kikan?" Hibiki Gousuke stopped exercising and asked curiously.

He doesn't know me, but I know him. I guess that counts as knowing him.

With that thought in mind, Zhou Hong nodded and said, "Captain, I'd like to take the day off. I want to help, too."

Since the matter involved someone like this, Hibiki Gousuke couldn't very well refuse. He approved Zhou Hong's leave, then added, "I'll come help, too."

Zhou Hong wanted to refuse, but Hibiki Gousuke's stern expression made it clear there was no point. He could only nod stiffly.

The other three people in the training room hurried over and offered to help, too. Hibiki Gousuke kept them inside by telling them, "You haven't even finished your basic training. Wouldn't you just get in the way?"

Inside the brand-new T-1, Zhou Hong clutched the Hyper Gun he had borrowed from GUTS and let out a long sigh.

Captain, you brought this on yourself.

The T-1 left behind a sonic boom. It had flown a long way before the "whoosh" reached them.

When they reached the site where the Nanase Kikan had crashed, Hibiki Gousuke stumbled as soon as he stepped out of the T-1. Zhou Hong had expected it and caught him in one swift motion.

Hibiki Gousuke's old face flushed red. He waved a hand. "Don't worry about me. Go help."

Zhou Hong nodded and sprinted off like a leopard, darting through the forest. In no time, Hibiki Gousuke had vanished from sight.

Zhou Hong had no intention of interfering in the story between Daigo and his future father-in-law. Once he had run beyond Hibiki Gousuke's line of sight, he stopped and leaned against a tree, quietly waiting for that scummy alien to grow giant.

His enhanced Ultra vision kept watch on GUTS's movements.

The evil alien, Alien Reicuran, was truly a loathsome sort. He had abandoned his family, then used their deaths as an excuse to launch an invasion.

Zhou Hong thought this scumbag would be a perfect target for trying out the technique he had just learned.

Because Rena's father was involved, GUTS moved even faster. They put every ounce of strength into it, and before long, they had rescued Nanase Makoto.

When a sixty-meter-tall alien rose up in a forest where the trees were barely more than ten meters high, Zhou Hong straightened up.

Veins like flowing lava spread across his body as Zhou Hong began to grow. In no time, Jostar stood face-to-face with Alien Reicuran.

They weren't far apart. Alien Reicuran's gaze traveled slowly up those bulging muscles until he looked straight into a pair of eyes filled with "kindness."

What the hell is that thing? Are Ultra Warriors really this muscular? That look doesn't resemble those Ultra Warriors at all!