Before going home, Shinji gave the USB drive given by Jugglus Juggler to Ritsuko.
"These are mecha files from another world, and they look much more advanced than the Evas."
Ritsuko opened the computer and froze right there.
Inside the USB drive, there were not only analytical blueprints for the Special Airborne Armors Ultraseven Plus and Windom, but also blueprints for the weapons they used.
"Anti-monster missiles, Hard Star Iron Fist Shells, Laser Beams..." Ritsuko looked in disbelief at the Special Airborne Armors' weapons in front of her.
To put it without exaggeration, if any of the weapons inside hit an Angel, the Angel would at the very least sustain heavy injuries.
The data also came with the manufacturing processes and materials for these weapons, all of which were materials that could be obtained on Earth.
Along with very precious thruster blueprints and fuel blueprints, if these could be transplanted, the Evas would gain the ability to fly.
"This is simply too precious... Why has the technology in that world developed to this extent?"
"Jugglus Juggler said they've been fighting monsters even more ferocious than the Angels for twenty years."
"It's not surprising at all that the technology in this area is so developed," Zero explained.
"According to what Ultraman senior said, the Earth in my world had invasions of monsters and aliens solved by the joint efforts of the populace and the police force even before the first defense team, the Science Special Search Party, ever appeared."
"I hope you all learn a thing or two from them," Zero glanced at Ritsuko and muttered.
There is no comparison without contrast.
"Analyzing these blueprints can be left to me and the technical department; the blueprints are still written very clearly," Ritsuko took the blueprints away.
"I will experiment as soon as possible, and then install this equipment onto the Evas."
The Zero Riser could be folded up, making it fit just right in the inner pocket of the trench coat.
Shinji clipped the Capsule Case to one side of his body, where it could be just right concealed by the trench coat.
That night at home, Shinji took the initiative to ask Zero to train him.
Having witnessed Belial's fused beasts, Shinji acutely felt the inadequacy of his own strength, and he needed to continue training.
"Brother Zero, to protect the Lights of Every Home well, I need more powerful strength; I can't let my practice go to waste!"
"Alright! I'll open the space right now." Zero deeply admired Shinji's courage.
The Light Gate opened, and just as Shinji prepared to step inside, he was stopped by Asuka.
Asuka demanded, "Idiot, are you in that much of a rush to go train? Not even resting for a bit?"
"My combat awareness and proficiency are still not enough," Shinji replied.
"Um... can you guys include me in your training?" she asked with a hint of tsundere pride.
"Sure, anyway bringing along an extra person doesn't consume much energy." Before Shinji could answer, Zero eagerly agreed first.
After all, the more proficient teammates, the better.
And he indeed had the idea of training Shinji and Asuka's combat synchronization rate. Since Asuka brought it up on her own initiative, he smoothly went along with it.
This method would definitely elevate their combat synchronization rate and tacit understanding when fighting; after all, Angels still needed to be dealt with by the Evas as much as possible, and the trump cards had to be pulled out at the very end.
With his back to them, Zero smiled mischievously.
"Wait for it, you two little ones."
Shinji and Asuka walked into the Light Gate together.
After the light around them dissipated, Shinji and Asuka found themselves arriving at a vast open area.
"Are we going to train in a place like this?"
"Come on, Brother Zero, release a monster." Shinji thought it was going to be the same training as before.
The sound of an engine reached their ears.
Shinji and Asuka looked toward the source of the sound, and they saw a jeep.
A life-sized Zero was sitting right on top of it.
Zero removed one of the Head Blades from his own head, subsequently turning into Dan Moroboshi's appearance, and the Head Blade also elongated into a cane.
"Hey! What kind of training requires a jeep?!" Asuka was very puzzled.
"The brakes on this car aren't very responsive, and I don't know why either," Zero answered irrelevantly.
"The upcoming training is a special drill for your combat synchronization rate."
With that, Zero started the jeep and charged right toward them.
"Ah! Are you out of your mind?!" Asuka turned around and ran, while Shinji hurriedly sprinted in another direction.
Zero slammed on the brakes, leaving two deep and long skid marks on the ground.
"Forget it, it looks like I have no choice but to add something to you two." With a wave of Zero's hand, the two of them were pulled back by psychokinesis and stood together in a lump.
Zero waved his hand, and a patch of light particles enveloped Shinji and Asuka.
Once the light dissipated, Shinji and Asuka felt their bodies suddenly sink, and they were astonished to find a layer of armor fitted onto themselves.
At the same time, the wrists of the two were bound together by a chain.
"This set of armor is called the Training Armor. Although it can't compare to the one I wore back in the day, it's more than enough to protect and restrict you."
"Now..."
Zero started the vehicle once again.
"Honk honk!"
"Charge toward the jeep for me!"
"Ah!!!"
Watching the incoming jeep, Shinji and Asuka disregarded the somewhat heavy Training Armor and immediately began to run.
The jeep came speeding toward them.
Zero was definitely doing it on purpose, easing up on the gas pedal and then pressing it down again, acting very leisurely.
"Hey! Don't run away, charge toward me!"
The two of them pushed past their limits at that moment, actually managing to barely outrun the jeep.
Shinji looked back at the rapidly approaching jeep and shouted at Zero, somewhat breaking down.
"Brother Zero, I don't get it!"
Asuka cursed even more angrily.
"Idiot Zero, you're just a bastard!"
"What kind of life-threatening training is this?!"
Zero accelerated and stepped on the gas pedal, and Shinji and Asuka undoubtedly flew up into the sky like two bowling balls.
Up in the sky, Asuka felt as though her birth mother was waving to her.
The armor Zero had them wear came in handy at this moment; they didn't feel much pain, and the moment they crashed down, they felt as though gravity weakened for a split second.
But this didn't stop Asuka from furiously chewing out Zero.
"Are you trying to get us killed?! You lunatic!"
"What on earth is wrong with your 5,900-year-old brain?!" Asuka angrily cursed at Zero right then.
Shinji had already given up on thinking, panting heavily.
"Brother Zero, I can't do this anymore..."
"When you can jump at the same time and clear the oncoming jeep, the special training is a success!"
"Don't blame me, my master Leo trained me like this back then!"
Zero reminisced about the "good times" on K76.
Leo hadn't failed to turn him into human shape and drag him into the training space to make him intimately acquainted with the jeep.
Zero raised his cane once again, drove the car, and charged toward them.
At that moment, he felt the exact feeling his master had back then, possessing an inexplicable sense of thrill...
"This guy's master is definitely a lunatic!"
"What kind of master treats their own disciple like this! It's simply anti-human!"
On King Planet, Leo, who was feeding Ron, suddenly sneezed.
"Who is cursing me?" He felt a bit uncomfortable.
"It's probably that child Zero talking to others about those things regarding how you trained him again," his younger brother Astra said with a smile.
Back in the training space, Zero drove up beside the running pair, picked up his cane, and swung it down mercilessly.
"Ah!"
"Stop running! Charge straight at the car!"
Although the eyes of the two were blocked by the Training Armor, Zero could see the resentment-filled gazes beneath the masks.
At this moment in Shinji and Asuka's eyes, Zero was even more terrifying than Angels and monsters.
"Zero is still chasing me, dammit!" The two of them had only this single thought in their minds.
"Jump, Asuka!" Shinji finally understood; if you couldn't practice it right, you were just waiting to keep getting hit.
Looking at the approaching jeep and the ferocious-looking Zero holding a cane.
"Jump!" Shinji took the initiative to leap first.
However, Asuka was half a beat slower, and Shinji was dragged right back down.
In the desperate gazes of the two, the front of the jeep crashed rapidly right before their eyes.
"Bang!"
The two went up into the sky once more.
They stared despairingly at the sky, tears welling up without a place to vent.
The honking sound in the distance left them no time to complain to each other; they hurried to scramble up and keep running.
Once again, looking at the drawing-closer jeep, Shinji was struck by a flash of inspiration, grabbed Asuka into his arms, and leaped forward with all his might.
This time, they actually cleared the oncoming jeep.
"Idiot Shinji... have you hugged enough, hurry up and let me down!" Asuka scolded Shinji with a blushing face.
However, Zero's words caused them to deflate like leaking balloons and go limp.
"That doesn't count! Both of you must jump at the same time, do it over!"
After being sent up into the sky several more times, Shinji and Asuka's synchronization rate rose significantly, as did Asuka's physical fitness and reaction speed, and they finally mastered the optimal moment for jumping.
At that moment, they felt that the Training Armor on their bodies was no longer a restriction.
They faced the jeep in front of them head-on.
At this time, the two of them didn't need words to know what kind of action the other was going to make.
Zero suddenly accelerated when driving the jeep right in front of them, but they didn't panic at all, instead jumping together ahead of time.
The actions of the two were completely synchronized, executing the jump and front flip in one go.
Following that, they aimed their feet straight at Zero and kicked down hard, even if Shinji wanted to give Zero a kick at that moment.
A streak of silver light flashed, and the two of them flew out, collapsing onto the ground with their eyes closed and mouths open.
Zero still maintained the posture of swinging his cane.
"Naive."
Zero walked up to the pair collapsed on the ground and helped them up.
"Zero, you really are... a bastard..." Asuka's fist hit Zero limply; she truly had no strength left.
Shinji also weakly said, "Brother Zero, your training is too ruthless..."
Zero smiled, "How can we raise your synchronization rate without being a bit ruthless? Fighting Angels in the future requires a lot of tacit understanding."
"This training method was passed down from my master's master."
"Who is your master's master?" Asuka asked with some curiosity.
"My dad, Ultraseven," Zero answered truthfully.
"No wonder Leo would train Brother Zero like this..." Shinji understood.
When Asuka found out, she said, "I figured... so it's inheriting the family business..."
"Idiot Zero's dad is pretty perverted too..."
At this moment, Ultraseven, who was on an outer-field assignment on a bountiful planet and petting his Capsule Monster Agira, suddenly felt a chill run through him.
"Who is nagging at me?"
Ultraseven shook his head, not wanting to think about these things; right now he was thinking about Zero's affairs.
"When Ultraseven 21 came over a few days ago, he said Zero accidentally got dragged into another world..."
"No, I have to go check on him..."
After pondering for a bit, he decided to take some time off after a while.
Shinji and Asuka's Training Armor was unlocked by Zero, and then they were shoved out of the training space by Zero.
The two had reached the absolute limit of exhaustion, crawled onto the sofa wanting to rest for a bit, but the moment their heads drooped, they fell asleep leaning against each other.
Zero used psychokinesis to fetch a blanket and cover them with it.
At that moment, someone knocked on the door, and Misato came out from inside the room to open it; it was Kaji.
Seeing Shinji and Asuka sleeping while leaning against each other, Kaji smiled secretly.
He asked Zero, "Have their relations gotten this good?"
"I'll strive to make their relations even better in the future." Zero looked at the pair and revealed the smile of an old father.
Before you continue