Chapter 97: I Cannot Be the Only One Suffering

Things went far more smoothly than Qiao Zhe had expected.

The Tokyo government simply could not withstand the pressure and urgently suspended the Marunouchi urban project.

Several local officials kept saying sorry in interviews, bowing again and again in apology.

The final demolition plan was naturally canceled.

On reflection, that was only to be expected. Gaia’s world was not like the neighboring Showa Earth.

Those at the top of humanity might make mistakes, but they would not cling stubbornly to them and keep making blood-pressure-spiking decisions.

Of course, part of that may also have been thanks to XIG.

Ishimuro understood the identities of Qiao Zhe and Gamu.

Since Fujimiya had acted this way, Jojo and Gaia must have agreed.

What could humanity do to stop the work of three Ultramen?

It was only a land development project; there was no need to go head-to-head with an Ultraman over it, especially when humanity was not in the right this time.

Ishimuro understood all of that, so of course he could not order XIG into action.

By now, they all knew that the Earth’s monsters were also among the forces protecting the planet.

And besides, Dragon God had not been destroying the city. There was no reason to strike at an ally.

As for the earlier water and power outage, if no one mentioned it, who would know?

After arranging a few matters, Ishimuro walked to the window and watched the EX craft catapult out of the base and disappear into the distance.

He had no idea what Qiao Zhe and Gamu intended to do this time. Why were they heading for the great waterfall at Flying Dragon Shrine?

Ishimuro did not ask in detail. He merely arranged for ground personnel to seal off the area.

Watching the EX craft recede, he thought back to this Dragon God incident.

For the power of nature, even as technology continued to develop, people ought still to keep a measure of reverence in their hearts.

That geomancer is impressive.

Since he knew so much about Dragon God, perhaps he should have Tokyo government contact Kuroda Kei and ask her to examine the feng shui, so that no further problems would arise in the dragon veins.

Large-scale land development could still proceed, but it depended on how it was carried out.

Everything humanity built was, in truth, also part of the earth. It could make new winds and waters flow.

As long as it was combined properly with the feng shui of the dragon veins, forming a balance favorable to them, then large-scale land development was by no means impossible.

This involved the knowledge of leading the dragon and guiding the vital energy in feng shui theory, and he did not know whether Kuroda Kei understood it.

At that thought, Ishimuro walked over to Atsuko and asked her to contact the woman.

Meanwhile.

After the Dragon God matter was resolved, Fujimiya changed to another secret base.

Inamori did not follow this time; she was researching the Earth environmental protection plan.

Ever since she had personally seen Fujimiya vanish into light several years ago, she had been doing everything she could.

Unfortunately, because the Radical Destruction Bringer was currently the higher priority, none of the plans she proposed had passed. Still, Inamori did not want to give up.

The EX craft flew at great speed, and with Qiao Zhe pointing out the location, it quickly found Fujimiya.

Inside the underground room came the clanking and thudding of weights. Fujimiya was once again lifting iron.

A silver-white light curtain appeared beside him.

Fujimiya merely glanced over and knew at once that it was Jojo arriving, and his hands did not stop moving.

As his arms pulled the bar, the clanging continued.

The moment he arrived and saw Fujimiya training so diligently, Qiao Zhe raised an eyebrow and looked at Gamu.

“Look at how hard Fujimiya is working. And you?”

That made Gamu look a little embarrassed.

Come to think of it, ever since going to university, he had not exercised in a very long time.

“But this is only the most basic level,” Qiao Zhe said. He looked at Fujimiya and reached out to grip his wrist. “Stop. Training like this is far too inefficient.”

The great force transmitted through his wrist stopped Fujimiya’s arm from moving any further. He looked at Qiao Zhe in confusion.

“Do you have a better method?”

As he spoke, he stopped lifting. Once Qiao Zhe released him, he took a towel and wiped the sweat from his face.

Qiao Zhe walked over to the side, picked up a weighted barbell plate, and, under the gaze of Fujimiya and Gamu, casually bent it in both hands.

Bang!

The plate was snapped cleanly in half on the spot.

Fujimiya’s expression changed in shock. Was that even still human strength?

Gamu’s mouth fell slightly open as well. He knew Jojo’s human body was extraordinary, but he had never personally seen it like this before.

“Want to learn?” Qiao Zhe asked them.

At once, Fujimiya’s eyes lit up. He strode up to Qiao Zhe and said earnestly, “Teach me!”

“Very spirited,” Qiao Zhe said, patting Fujimiya on the shoulder before waving to Gamu. “And what are you standing there for?”

Gamu hurriedly stepped forward.

With Fujimiya in one hand and Gamu in the other, Qiao Zhe seized each of their shoulders and directly unfolded a teleportation curtain. Their figures vanished from the underground room.

The Nachi waterfall at Flying Dragon Shrine.

This was a famous tourist spot, but under Ishimuro’s arrangements, there was now no one else left here.

Even with XIG’s authority, it could not remain sealed off for too long.

A silver-white light curtain appeared by the pool.

After Qiao Zhe brought Fujimiya and Gamu over by teleportation, he looked at them with a solemn expression.

“You only have one day to learn!”

“If you can’t master it by then, I’ll have to take you out to sea for training.”

That made Gamu swallow unconsciously.

“One day is too short, isn’t it?”

He wanted to bargain for more time. He truly did not want to go out to sea.

“You have no other choice!” Qiao Zhe rejected him mercilessly with a stern face, adding, “Keeping this place sealed for one day was already Ishimuro doing us a huge favor.”

“I see...” Gamu fell silent.

Fujimiya still looked puzzled, not quite understanding what was going on. “What exactly are we supposed to learn?”

“Ripple,” Qiao Zhe said, his gaze dropping to the pool below as he pointed downward. “Now then, both of you jump into the water.”

“Yes!” Gamu answered loudly.

Then he turned to Fujimiya, his words carrying a deliberate challenge. “Fujimiya, if you’re afraid, then give up the power of Agul.”

As he said this, Gamu felt a little pleased with himself. So this was how Jojo felt when he said such things.

As soon as the words left his mouth, he leaped down and plunged into the pool.

“Damn it!” Fujimiya was enraged by Gamu’s words, his face darkening at once. He immediately followed and jumped in. “You’re not in any position to lecture me!”

Two splashes rang out in succession.

Gamu rose from the water and turned to see Fujimiya following him down, and at that, he could not help feeling secretly delighted.

He had been afraid Fujimiya would refuse and leave him alone to train, so he had deliberately provoked him just now.

They were all people who protected the Earth; there was no reason for him alone to suffer. Of course this kind of thing had to be shared.

Their position was at the edge of the pool, where the water was not very deep.

Qiao Zhe then leaped down, his feet wrapped in Ripple energy, and stood on the water’s surface as though upon solid ground.

Seeing this extraordinary sight, Fujimiya and Gamu both turned their eyes toward him.

“This is only one of the effects of Ripple,” Qiao Zhe said, walking a few steps across the water before continuing. “Once you learn it and master it, your physical endurance will increase dramatically.”

“And even when you transform into Ultramen, you can still use it. You’ll be able to restore your own energy simply by breathing!”