"Pfft!"
Sid, who had been the butt of jokes recently, couldn't help but let out a crooked laugh.
Kneeling on the ground, Minato Yoko turned her head with difficulty to glare at him. But as soon as he remembered the situation, he quickly suppressed his laughter and moved to help her up.
Sid waved lazily, tossing out three Watermelon Lockseeds, then pulled out a special Lockseed marked with an "S". He attached it to the Sonic Arrow.
[Lock On!]
[Connecting!]
Three shimmering energy arrows condensed, striking the Lockseeds mid-air. Instantly, they deployed into three massive, unmanned Watermelon Armaments.
"Take them down!" Sid ordered.
The unmanned Watermelon units rushed toward Ryuga like machines of war.
"Don't get into close combat!"
While Ryuga raised his bow to parry, Yoko rolled out of the line of fire, joining Sid and Sengoku Ryoma at a safer distance. Together, they supported the assault with long-range harassment fire from the Watermelon Armaments.
Now surrounded and under siege from six directions at once, Ryuga clicked his tongue and used a Watermelon unit as a platform, launching himself backward to put distance between them.
Is this even reasonable? If I go all-out, the enemy will crumble too fast… I can't show off my upgraded forms that easily, can I?
He glanced over. "Sengoku Ryoma, I heard all Lockseeds are your creations, right?"
Ryoma narrowed his eyes. "What are you getting at?"
Ryuga grinned. "Oh, nothing. I just want you to judge this Lockseed of mine!"
Under Ryoma's growing unease, Ryuga revealed an unfamiliar orange Lockseed and slammed it into his Driver.
[Kachidoki! (Sheng Hong!)]
[Lock On!]
[Soiya! Kachidoki Arms!]
[Ready! For Battle!]
[Ei-Ei-Oh!]
Heavy crimson armor slammed down onto his body. A battle standard unfurled across his back. The ground shook with power.
Kamen Rider Gaim: Kachidoki Arms—Advance with honor, march to victory!
Ryoma's eyes widened. "What is this?! A completely unknown form—this Lockseed shouldn't even exist!"
"This is impossible!" he roared, completely losing his composure. "You're wielding a forbidden evolution! That thing must be eradicated!"
Whoa, relax. Pulling the 'out-of-print' card already? Did you peek at the script, Old Man?
Ryoma dashed forward, attacking furiously with the Sonic Arrow. He darted around like a man possessed, hammering Ryuga from every angle, sparks flying with every blow.
But it was pointless.
Clang! Clack! Sparks flew and arrows bounced harmlessly off the Kachidoki armor.
This armor is all defense. Even if I AFK right now, this guy still couldn't scratch me.
If they were in the Ex-Aid universe, a string of "MISS! MISS! MISS!" would be flashing across the screen right now.
Ryuga yanked the battle flag off his back and casually bonked Ryoma on the head with the pole like swatting a fly. The crazed scientist collapsed in a heap.
"Professor!" Yoko called out, motioning for Sid to intercept. "You distract him. I'll pull Ryoma back!"
Sid's face turned pale. "Me? Against him? Now?!"
But he had no choice. Sid drew the Sonic Arrow and dashed forward.
…Only to stop dead in his tracks as Ryuga casually tossed aside the battle flags and pulled out a massive DJ Gun—his signature weapon in cannon form.
"Hi Sid. Bye Sid."
Sid: "...???"
[Lock On!]
DJ Gun – Cannon Mode!
BOOM!
A fiery explosion tore through the air. Sid was sent flying like a ragdoll, his Driver dislodging from his waist as he skidded across the dirt. His eyes spun like spirals.
Minato Yoko had just finished dragging Ryoma to safety when she turned back and saw Sid KO'd in a single shot.
Before she could react, Ryuga was already standing in front of her.
Since we're all friends here, I'll make sure you're all KO'd equally.
He drew the Musou Saber, slotted it into the DJ Gun—
[Lock On!]
[One, Ten, Hundred, Thousand, Trillion, Billion, Million, Infinite Numbers!]
[Kachidoki Charge!]
With a mighty swing, Ryuga unleashed a shockwave of explosive power, engulfing Yoko and the Watermelon armaments charging in from behind her.
Inside the venue, as the joint dance battle reached its climax, the doors burst open.
Standing silhouetted against a backdrop of smoke and fire—one man in full heroic pose.
"Ryuga, Costa Rica!" shouted Kouta proudly.
Mitsuzane: "…"
Zack: "…"
Ryuga: "…"
I was just trying to look cool by myself—why are you yelling like I won a FIFA match?!
Clearing his throat, Ryuga de-transformed and pointed at the unconscious enemies behind him.
"These three are done. Feel free to loot their Drivers. No binding protocols on Genesis Drives."
He casually pocketed Ryoma's Genesis Driver and Lemon Energy Lockseed for himself.
Zack gave an awkward grin and shouted, "Thanks, Bro Long!" He and Kouta collected Sid's Cherry Energy Lockseed.
Ryuga grinned, teasing, "See how polite Zack is? Now if only someone else could learn from that…"
Mitsuzane: "…"
"Anyway, let's go in. The dance battle isn't over yet!" Zack redirected the group, and the four of them walked in as if nothing had happened.
Oh right—almost forgot…
Ryuga turned back and dragged the unconscious Oren from inside the venue and lined him up neatly with the other three KO'd Riders outside.
Now four lay in a row, like a bizarre collection of fallen statues.
When the event ended and the venue cleared out, a lone figure sneaked out—Jonouchi Hideyasu, apprentice to the fallen Oren.
"…Why me?! Why do I always end up doing this kind of grunt work?" he wailed bitterly as he dragged the bodies one by one back inside.
He had originally joined Oren to gain support, only to become… a glorified pastry assistant.
Life really is a coffee table—nothing but cups.
He looked up at the sky and sighed. "Hase… where are you?"
But Hase would never return.
After being defeated by Kureshima Takatora, he had desperately consumed Heim underworld fruits in a failed bid for power. He turned into an Inves—and was swiftly eliminated by Sid.
The World Tree buried the truth. No one ever found out.
In the days that followed, Ryuga recommended Kureshima Takatora—now in possession of a Genesis Driver—to join Mitsuzane's Demon Ring Squad.
Driven by the promise of the Golden Fruit and tales of the Overlord-class Inves, Takatora dove deep into the Heim underworld.
But despite his efforts, he found nothing.
So Ryuga decided to throw Mitsuzane and Takatora together, letting them chase shadows.
Let them do the work. When the fruit ripens, I'll just walk in and pick it. No wasted effort.
Both Takatora and Mitsuzane—one driven by justice, the other by power—had no idea they were being played by Ryuga like chess pieces.
Their hunt for the Overlords had only just begun…