Before leaving Sakaigai's home, Hayata spent considerable time reassuring him that Earth's Super GUTS would definitely resolve this matter. But once outside, looking up at the sky, they fell silent.
Dense clouds gathered on the horizon, drifting eastward in a grayish mass, with heavy rain seemingly ready to pour down at any moment.
"Perhaps it's not a costume, but actual living flesh," Hayata suggested.
They had learned the origin of the photograph: Sakaigai had taken it while returning home. He had spotted "Ultraman" from a distance, surprised that someone would wear an Ultraman cosplay outfit in this era. Everyone knew about "Tiga" and "Dyna" Ultraman, but not the origin of the name "Ultraman." Sakaigai discovered the original "Ultraman" tokusatsu series while researching, and despite being only thirty-nine episodes, it had profoundly impressed him.
"It's possible. The disappearances might indeed be connected to this 'Ultraman,'" Sena said, opening her PDI to contact their teammates.
"Fuyugokoro, Yanagitake, please respond!" Soon, Yanagitake's face appeared on the PDI: "Deputy Captain, this is Yanagitake. Progress here is good; I've recorded several strange incidents from the past few days."
Sena nodded: "Return to the town entrance now. Let Fuyugokoro continue investigating. We have new discoveries here."
"Understood!"
Minutes later, Yanagitake ran to their side, leaning against the GUTS Hawk's hood: "Captain, what's your situation?"
Sena briefly explained. After hearing it, Yanagitake responded incredulously: "You've got to be kidding... What kind of thing is this? A costume becoming flesh?"
"Don't jump to conclusions. It might just be an alien who enjoys mimicry," Sena cautioned.
"What's the situation on your end?" Hayata asked.
Yanagitake took out her notebook and summarized: "I've organized two main points. The day before the reporter spotted 'Ultraman'—three days ago at noon—someone saw a middle-aged man in a suit at the edge of town, behaving strangely. He carried a black briefcase, held a black umbrella, and was corpulent. This man kept asking if anyone had seen Tiga; he was looking for Ultraman Tiga. Most people thought he was insane since Tiga and Dyna haven't appeared for over a decade. He lingered in town for a long time, disappearing only after sunset."
Sena and Hayata exchanged puzzled glances. "Let's set that aside for now. Continue."
"Second, two days ago at noon, townspeople discovered numerous brownish-red mushrooms in the surrounding forest. They've only recently emerged from the soil but haven't caused any unusual effects. Third, since the suited man's disappearance, large-scale power outages occur nightly in different parts of town. All missing persons reportedly come from these blackout areas. That's all the information I've gathered."
Hayata's brow furrowed slightly: "Ultraman, a suited man searching for Tiga, brownish-red mushrooms, power outages with disappearances... They seem unrelated yet occur simultaneously. This isn't simple."
Sena smiled lightly: "We often encounter such seemingly unconnected events. Once we find the thread linking them, everything will make sense. Now we have new directions to explore."
She turned to Yanagitake: "Team member Yanagitake, go to the mushroom growth site and collect about a pound to send back to headquarters for analysis."
Yanagitake nodded firmly: "Yes, Deputy Captain. I'll go right away."
Sena then instructed Hayata: "Team member Hayata, contact headquarters and have them retrieve data on electrical and magnetic field fluctuations in this town. I'll join Fuyugokoro to visit the victims' families for new leads."
With that, she walked toward town, leaving Hayata alone.
Hayata returned to the vehicle and used his PDI to contact TPC Far East Headquarters. Soon, Captain Anzhu appeared on screen, eating breakfast with a rice ball in hand.
"Hey, team member, how's the evidence collection going?"
"Fairly well. Though we don't have clear leads yet, we've basically confirmed that the Ultraman the reporter mentioned isn't a cosplayer but more likely some unknown creature."
"Huh? A monster? Ultraman became a monster?"
"The photograph reveals crucial information—what appears to be an Ultraman suit is most likely not a costume but its actual body."
"Keep talking like that and I'll lose my appetite... That's creepy." Anzhu hastily swallowed his rice ball and asked, "So, have you encountered difficulties?"
"Yes, we need you to compile data on electrical and magnetic field activity in this town over the past three days, or just inform us of any anomalies."
Anzhu nodded: "Alright, I'll have Aida and Horii start investigating immediately. Anything else?"
"One more thing," Hayata's face broke into a mischievous smile, "You might want to skip breakfast. I'm afraid you'll get sick." "Huh?"