Chapter 144: Gaia/Agul: Good Brother, If You’re Going to Expose a Fake JoJo, Be Sure to Call Me!

"Gamu, an enemy is approaching!"

Even as Jojo warned Gamu, a teleportation screen of light enveloped him and Rena Nanase, whisking them outside the research facility.

This sudden turn of events made Gamu's expression tighten. He raised a hand, hoping to catch a free ride, but the light screen had already vanished completely.

Gamu stood with his hand outstretched, a slightly dazed look on his face. *Jojo, you always used to take me with you.*

*Why aren't you taking me now?*

Right now, however, was no time to dwell on such matters. Gamu hurried outside the research facility.

Upon reaching the exterior, he spotted Jojo and Rena Nanase both gazing up at the sky.

The sight of the towering adult and the small girl standing side by side made Gamu inwardly mutter complaints to himself.

*Jojo claims he finds things troublesome, but inside, he's probably ecstatic.*

And Gamu's intuition was spot on.

Back in his own universe, Jojo had once had a wife, only to end up an isolated old man later in life.

Joseph's deeply fulfilled family life had filled him with immense envy.

The old man had children, and eventually grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Compared to all the other generations of Jojos, he was an absolute winner in life.

As Gamu raised his gaze to the heavens, a blue light and a silver light collided high up in the stratosphere!

Boom!

A shockwave of energy swept outward, and Agul immediately took the worst of it.

The blue radiance transformed into the shape of a giant, plunging from the high altitude straight toward the ground.

"Fujimiya!"

The sight came as a sudden shock to Gamu, who immediately drew the Blue Spark Lens from his tunic.

"Gaia!!!"

A crimson light bloomed across the Blue Spark Lens.

With no strangers around the vicinity of the research facility, Gamu had no need to worry about revealing his identity.

The silver-and-red giant soared forth from the illumination!

Meanwhile, XIG had also detected the anomaly.

Watching Agul plummeting from the sky, Ishimuro and his two companions wore expressions of profound tension.

Ishimuro, Tsutsumi, and Chiba were all already aware of the true identities of the three Ultramen on Earth.

At this very moment, both Jojo and Gaia were away from Earth, yet the enemy had seized the opportunity to invade.

And the intruder was once more a Metal Lifeform.

Judging by that silver radiance, it had clearly mimicked a fake Jojo, meaning Agul was likely outmatched.

Just then, Gaia's body surged with a faint glow as he soared upward, catching Agul by the underarms from behind.

The scene was instantly broadcasted to the main screen in the command room.

Chiba cried out in astonishment, "Gaia!?"

"They—" Tsutsumi caught himself mid-sentence, swiftly changing his tune. "Both Ultramen have appeared, that's wonderful!"

"Lightning Team, be advised! That silver radiance is a Metal Lifeform—it's a fake Jojo!"

"Understood!" ×3

The responses of Kajio and his two subordinates echoed through the communication channel.

aboard Lightning No. 3, Ogawara gripped his flight stick tightly. "Another Metal Lifeform! This time we'll teach you a lesson!"

XIG's fighter jets had recently been upgraded by Gamu, thanks to him pulling continuous overtime deep into the night.

"Ogawara, Kitada, the enemy's defensive capabilities are likely formidable. Engage light-bullet attack mode!"

Kajio, piloting Lightning No. 1, issued instructions to his two wingmen!

"I've been dying to try this out," Kitada said, a look of excitement flashing across his face.

Ogawara chimed in, "Mode activation complete!"

"Splendid! Attack!" Kajio guided Lightning No. 1 and pressed the fire button first.

Bang, bang, bang! Orange energy light-bullets streaked through the air!

Lightning No. 2 and Lightning No. 3 followed suit, unleashing volleys of energy projectiles!

Unlike the previous bullet-like laser beams, these light bullets utilized high-purity energy sources.

This was yet another invention of the Alchemy Stars, which Gamu had quickly put into practical use.

However, due to the limited time since its creation, he had only managed to retrofit the Lightning Team's fighters and had yet to produce spares.

Fortunately, the method wasn't overly complex; once handed over to the logistics and maintenance department, all fighter jets would soon be upgraded.

For now, though, only three ships were equipped.

As Agul and Gaia touched down on the terrain below, both giants lifted their gazes upward.

The dense barrage of orange light-bullets rained down, and as one struck the silver radiance, Argyros was forced out of concealment.

The Lightning Team did not let up their assault.

Struck by the light bullets, Argyros erupted in showers of sparks, transforming into a metallic liquid as it plummeted toward the ground.

Normally, a simulated fake Jojo should have been impossible to hit with light-bullets, but Argyros had grown a bit too greedy moments prior.

It had attempted to simultaneously simulate the light of Gaia and Agul alongside Jojo, aiming to fuse all three into one.

However, whether from the data provided by Mepharde Generation 1 or Generation 2, nearly all research had focused on the human brain.

There was very little data concerning Ultramen.

Lacking sufficient intelligence, Argyros failed in its attempt at simulated fusion and could only revert to mimicking a single light source.

Even so, Argyros possessed abilities far superior to Apatate.

Most notably, it possessed two absurd capabilities.

Cosmic Intellect, which allowed it to analyze and acquire the enemy's abilities and combat prowess, copying them for its own use.

And the Liquefaction and Deformation ability, enabling its body to shift into liquid metal and freely reshape into any desired form.

During its collision with Agul just moments ago, Argyros had managed to harvest a fraction of data.

The liquid metal crashed onto the earth, detonating with a thunderous roar as a cloud of dust billowed upward to obscure it.

Agul fixed his gaze intently ahead.

"Gaia, this opponent is somewhat unusual. We must eliminate it as quickly as possible!"

During their previous impact with the entity, he had felt as though every move of his had been thoroughly seen through.

Hearing this, Gaia acknowledged Agul's meaning.

He nodded toward his fellow Ultraman, and both immediately began channeling their energy!

Currently, Gaia and Agul possessed power roughly equivalent to V1+ strength.

Once Gaia shifted into his red form, he could ascend to V2.

Agul's current coloration bore similarities to his V2 form.

Some of his black markings had been replaced by silver under the blessing of the celestial light, while his chest bore the red armor representing the light of the earth.

Similarly, Gaia's post-transformation appearance mirrored his V2 state.

Because the infused light was incomplete, the two of them possessed only V1+ strength.

With their energy condensation complete, true masters remained true masters. Lowering his stance in a deep bow with his left fist drawn back to his waist, Gaia raised his right arm into an L-shape to unleash a beam single-handedly.

At the same time, Gaia pressed his palms together, rubbing them back and forth.

Agul released the Agul Stream and Quantum Stream!

A blue-and-white beam and a red-and-white beam combined in a coordinated twin attack.

Merging into the Stream Destruction Ray, the combined blast speared straight toward the smoke-shrouded zone!

Realizing its disguise had been pierced, Argyros immediately mimicked a radiant glow.

Ding—

Silver-white brilliance flared. This time, without attempting fusion, it directly simulated a fake Jojo.

A pillar of energy surged straight up into the firmament, and as the column of light dissipated, a towering silver giant materialized in midair.

Argyros looked down toward the ground, fixing its gaze upon Gaia and Agul, and let out a sound akin to a taunting chuckle.

"Ho-ho—"

The sight caused both Gaia and Agul to halt their beam attacks and look upward. Upon recognizing the appearance of the fake Jojo, both Ultramen felt a jolt of shock in their chests.

Things had just gotten troublesome!

And indeed they had, for Jojo's formidable strength was a matter of public record.