Hesitation Leads to Defeat (Second Update)

Unlike those who had no understanding of Ultra Warriors, Daigo, being an Ultra Warrior himself, naturally understood that they were transformed from humans.

Jostar's undisguised support during this operation made Daigo start to grow suspicious.

Zhou Hong appeared in the combat zone every single time, and Jostar would appear as well. Furthermore, those seemingly identical, robust muscles—could they be proof that Jostar was, in fact, Zhou Hong?

Long after returning to the base, Daigo lay on his bed during a rare day off, still pondering this very question.

He had far too many doubts he wanted to ask.

But if Zhou Hong turned out not to be Ultraman Jostar, wouldn't he have exposed himself?

Recalling how Zhou Hong could beat him half to death during training while still holding back, Daigo did not believe he could pull out his Spark Lens and transform.

How should he put it? Hiding one's identity like this was much like a game of Werewolf.

Or perhaps he should try to test the waters with Zhou Hong after transforming into Tiga?

No, no, what if the transformation time ran out and a monster appeared today?

The more he thought, the more dizzy Daigo felt, until he finally gave up on thinking altogether.

He took off his GUTS uniform, changed into a suitable training suit, checked the time, and walked toward the Rookie Squad training room.

As usual, he silently sought out Zhou Hong and, after waiting a few moments, watched him finish his current set of exercises.

"Kept you waiting." Zhou Hong set the barbell down lightly, wiped away his sweat, and walked toward the combat area to the side.

"Ah-Hong, could we spar in a private room this time?" Daigo asked abruptly.

This was beyond Zhou Hong's expectations. Looking at Daigo's expression—one of wanting to speak but hesitating—he already understood what Daigo wanted to say.

Daigo was a very easy person to read.

"This room is soundproof; nothing outside can be heard," Zhou Hong said quietly after locking the door. "There are no surveillance cameras or anything of the sort."

As soon as he said it, Zhou Hong felt his words were strange, carrying a sense of burning intensity.

Daigo remained silent, simply settling into his stance.

Zhou Hong didn't mind; he rubbed his hands together to keep them warm, rose onto the balls of his feet, and began to bounce slightly.

Suddenly, his right foot stomped hard into the ground, and with the momentum of his immense strength, Zhou Hong lunged toward Daigo as if flying.

Even though Daigo was on guard, his mind was still racing, and his body's reaction was inevitably a fraction of a second slow, leaving his footing unstable.

A heavy punch hammered into Daigo's forearm, the surging power lifting him clean off his feet.

Daigo stumbled backward in a hurried, panicked retreat, his footsteps exceptionally chaotic.

But Zhou Hong pressed the attack relentlessly; pivoting on his left foot, he bent his body slightly and swept his right leg toward Daigo's calf with a sharp, piercing whistle through the air.

The collision of bone against bone sounded like a fracture, and the pain followed instantly.

In a single moment, Daigo lost his sense of balance, his body involuntarily toppling to the left.

As his body slammed heavily into the floor, Daigo realized just how arrogant he had been.

The one he was fighting was not Shinjoh or Horii, but that humanoid beast.

Realizing this, Daigo rolled over on the floor, preparing to regroup, but a heavy fist carrying a terrifying aura—like a harbinger of death—stopped steadily right before his eyes.

The wild gust from the punch messed up Daigo's hair, giving him a very clear sense of the autumn chill.

"What are you hesitating for, Daigo?" Zhou Hong said, opening his fist and pulling the prone Daigo up.

Daigo fidgeted, not knowing how to begin.

"Hesitation leads to defeat. The more you think in your head, the more you'll be unable to distinguish the truth in complex situations."

He took a deep breath and asked softly, "Ah-Hong, you are Ultraman Jostar, aren't you?"

"Ah, that's right. I am Jostar."

He answered so readily!

Daigo was dumbfounded; now, he couldn't understand at all what he had been hesitating about before.

"This isn't a secret you can't speak of to me, is it, Tiga?" Zhou Hong replied with a shrug.

Daigo gave a bitter smile. He was always going missing, and Commander Munakata and the others naturally wouldn't suspect anything, assuming he had just wandered off or was slacking off.

But Zhou Hong, being an Ultra Warrior himself, could naturally see clearly what he had been doing.

It was nothing more than finding a place to pull out his transformation device and then kicking some monster butt.

"If you have something to ask, ask quickly. We can't fall behind on our daily training."

As straightforward as ever, Daigo stopped hesitating. "Why did Tiga choose me? As Ultraman, what exactly are we fighting for?"

Daigo rambled on, asking who knows how many questions, making Zhou Hong's head buzz.

"Stop, stop, stop!" Zhou Hong hurriedly made a gesture to make Daigo stop his list of questions, which sounded like someone reciting a menu.

"I can't properly answer those questions of yours."

"As for why Tiga chose you, go ask Tiga yourself." Zhou Hong's words nearly made Daigo choke on his own saliva.

I'm the one transforming into Tiga right now, not the original Tiga—is he asking me to ask myself?

"Why don't you think about the reason for fighting yourself? Why do you always have to be the one to step up?"

"As for those other questions, please, those are your problems. You're asking me what I want to do—are you trying to make me a psychiatrist?"

"I don't know how to do that; I only know how to do this." As he spoke, Zhou Hong raised a fist the size of a sand pot. "So, do you need me to give you some treatment?"

Daigo's smile turned even more bitter, looking exactly like someone who had just downed three doses of traditional medicine without any sugar to chase it.

"Instead of wasting time overthinking things, you'd be better off training more to make yourself stronger."

"As long as you become strong, you'll have plenty of time to ponder such questions after you've dealt with the enemy." Zhou Hong felt that after spending so much time with Joneus, he had picked up a bit of his style.

Daigo thought about it and decided it made sense.

Ever since he had been getting hammered day after day, his intense training had started to give his Tiga form a hint of muscle definition, and he felt the power behind his punches growing stronger each time.

The solid, robust feel of his pectoral muscles gave him a sense of security.

Watching Daigo have his sudden epiphany, Zhou Hong nodded. "Then let's begin the second round."

Although he had come here specifically for training, the thing that improved the most every time was his ability to withstand a beating.

However, Daigo deeply engraved every one of Zhou Hong's attacks into his mind, just waiting for the day he could use them on some monster.

Perhaps this wave could be called the transmission of light.

It's just that the monster might not be able to bear the weight of this light.

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