Chapter 310: Humans Should Learn to Defeat Monsters
The deathly silent mountains and dense forests had become a rarity in today's highly advanced technological age.
With the rapid rise of science, regions once too treacherous for humans were now mapped, covered in surveillance, and gradually conquered by technology's reach.
At the same time, monsters that had hidden deep within those mountains—and alien creatures plotting in secret to conquer Earth—were being forced out, their ancient hiding places disappearing one by one.
…
"This is what? The ninth alien invasion? Will these guys ever stop?"
Riding in the underground GUTS Drill, a massive machine shaped like a drill, Vice Captain Seichiro Tsukamoto complained as he and Rena Yanase of GUTS sped toward the source of an abnormal energy reading.
"Deputy Captain, the communications unit just picked up a radio signal from a nearby team."
Rena ignored his grumbling and stayed focused, her hands firm on the controls. "It's from the GUTS Dig Team—digging operations."
"We're almost at the site. Let's return to the surface to assess the situation directly."
Tsukamoto nodded, issuing orders while simultaneously reporting back to TPC Headquarters and trying to establish contact with the digging team.
"Dig team, do you copy?"
A crackling voice replied over the radio—familiar and rough. "That voice… Deputy Captain? Clear as day!"
"Is Daigo with you?"
Tsukamoto asked quickly, his eyes scanning the data from the surface—reports from HQ, fluctuating readings, and a growing sense of unease.
"No, he went down the mountain."
The voice of the dig team member, Masami Horii, came fast. "He's piloting GUTS Wing 1, trying to break through the fog."
"Went down the mountain...? At this moment? Don't tell me…"
Tsukamoto's expression darkened. Neither he nor Rena could pick up any signal from GUTS Wing 1. The comms didn't even register Daigo's presence.
"Deputy Captain, we're breaching the surface."
Rena's voice was steady, but her tone betrayed a hint of tension.
Moments later, the drill emerged from the earth, its armor shedding soil and dust. Through the viewport, thick fog filled the horizon—dense with ashes, like the aftermath of a wildfire.
Yet deep inside, a radiant light pulsed—blinding, almost holy.
"Target the light. That glowing meteorite—it's the fog's energy source!"
Horii's voice returned over the comms, heavy with regret.
"Copy!"
Tsukamoto didn't hesitate. The suspected death of a comrade weighed on his heart, but he knew what had to be done. Even without HQ clearance, he gave the order to fire.
Rena was already locked in. With expert timing, she unleashed the laser cannon, channeling the vehicle's full power into one shot meant to annihilate the source in a single blow.
Screeeee—
A high pitched sound split the air as the monster's energy beam and the drill's laser collided. The light between them warped and twisted from the impact.
But it didn't take long—the monster's energy easily overpowered the cannon, pushing it back with crushing force.
"The system's failing!"
The GUTS Drill's instruments began to spark and glitch under the immense pressure. Alarms flared. Lights dimmed.
But Tsukamoto and Rena didn't panic.
Veterans of GUTS, they had survived far worse. Years of facing the unimaginable had forged them into iron.
"Prepare for evacuation."
Tsukamoto's voice was calm as he studied the fading screen.
Thankfully, the armor held—barely. Even under the onslaught, the exterior hadn't fully collapsed, buying them precious seconds.
As the two prepared to escape, a sudden voice came through the helmet radio.
"There's a ninja out there! Like that Uchiha Sasuke guy!"
The digging team's report was laced with disbelief.
Tsukamoto and Rena exchanged glances—then moved faster.
With their main sensors fried, they had no visual. But if Horii's voice was right, they had a new variable.
Then it happened.
The monster's roar continued to shake the air—but no new attacks followed. Their drill, vulnerable and half exposed, was left untouched.
Once they reached the outside, they activated the secondary detection units in their helmets and scanned the area from afar.
They froze.
"A… woman?"
Atop the monster's massive body stood a lone figure—a woman with long blue hair and an athletic form. She moved with impossible grace, aiming precisely at one of the monster's weak points.
"No! She doesn't know!"
Rena's eyes widened.
"That thing absorbs energy from living beings!"
Her voice, full of warning, was lost in the chaos—drowned by wind, debris, and the monster's shrieking howls.
But they didn't see her as a threat. No, not like the monsters. She was human. At least... she seemed human.
A ninja.
Unlike the unrelenting, incomprehensible destruction wrought by monsters, a ninja was still someone they could relate to—even trust.
GUTS had long heard of ninjas.
But it was Uchiha Sasuke who shattered their old notions of what that word meant. A man whose strength rivaled the Giants of Light themselves.
When Sasuke first appeared, he had no grasp of modern tech, no understanding of their world. His presence had caused havoc—and earned him international wanted status.
But once the monster crisis escalated, everything changed. Alliances shifted. Lines blurred.
Sasuke, once a fugitive, had become an unofficial ally—assisting GUTS, exchanging information, and coordinating from the shadows.
He was the only ninja they knew.
Until now.
"There's… more of them?"
Tsukamoto's voice was heavy. His thoughts raced.
If Sasuke was a lone prodigy, that was manageable.
But if there was an entire group of professional ninjas—with his level of power—then the world's balance was about to shift.
Dramatically.
"The United Nations won't ignore this…"
—---
"…Chakra is being absorbed!"
From a distance, Hinata—who had been scaling the monster's grotesque body in an attempt to strike at its vulnerable-looking mouthparts—suddenly felt an abnormal rate of chakra depletion mid-climb.
The realization struck immediately.
"We need to retreat."
Assessing her current distance from the monster, Hinata decisively abandoned her original plan.
She had thought the creature's enormous size would be its weakness—but it seemed she had underestimated this bizarre species.
Her body moved with trained precision. With a light leap and a twist through the air, she nimbly dodged the monster's claws and landed on the ground, scattering dust beneath her boots.
Since deciding to grow stronger, Hinata had completed a rigorous foundational body-training regimen under Ryosuke's guidance.
Her temperament and will had always been resilient. Enduring physical pain was nothing new for a woman born into a clan founded on harsh physical discipline.
In just a few short months, she adapted fully to the body-training levels one through ten using medicinal liquids. With Ryosuke's personal supervision, she had absorbed those medicines completely, allowing her physique to reach a level that surpassed ordinary ninja. It marked the true beginning of her path toward advanced body training.
However, Ryosuke had advised halting before advancing to the level-eleven tier—the stage where the pain would begin to surpass human thresholds.
Medicinal liquids above level ten weren't just training tools—they were trials by fire.
Hinata had delayed her training for too long. Diving straight into that torment would've been unwise. Instead, Ryosuke shifted focus: honing her combat talent through practical missions.
And so—he chose this battlefield of monsters as her proving ground.
"Go to the Ultraman World and gather useful materials from three different monsters. That's your current training mission."
"You chose this path. If you seek growth, you must pay the price."
"I won't accompany you. Only by confronting death yourself will true transformation begin."
…
Ryosuke's words still echoed in her mind.
She had pushed the Byakugan to its limit, scanning the monster's anatomy inside and out—but finding a true weakness was no simple matter.
During her earlier climb, she'd already felt the brutal density of its bumpy, tumor-like shell. At her current strength, it would be nearly impossible to inflict meaningful damage without exploiting a soft point.
She had experienced the raw strength of this creature when it swung its claws at her—its sheer wind pressure and murderous intent had made her entire body scream in alarm.
A single blow could easily take her out of the fight.
And that wasn't all.
The monster hadn't used the same devastating energy beam it fired at the tank during their brief encounter.
Apparently… it didn't consider her a worthy threat.
"We'll need another strategy."
Hinata's speed and ninja training allowed her to avoid its direct attacks without much difficulty. The beast's massive size, though powerful, also slowed its movements.
But survival wasn't the goal of her training—victory was.
She needed to kill it, retrieve the required materials, and complete her mission.
"You're from the Victory Team, aren't you?"
Hinata's voice cut through the rustling of the forest as she landed beside Munakata and the others. Her movement had been so swift that their hands barely twitched toward their weapons before she was already beside them.
"Who are you…?"
Munakata narrowed his eyes. The woman before him wore unfamiliar, anachronistic clothing—eerily similar to Uchiha Sasuke's.
"Hyuga Hinata," she replied without pause. "Technically, I'm Uchiha Sasuke's superior."
Before coming to this world, Hinata had absorbed as much intelligence as possible from Sasuke—including everything about the Victory Team.
With Ryosuke and Sasuke sharing a cooperative relationship, and Hinata serving as Ryosuke's superior and clan leader, the chain of authority was clear.
She wasn't about to flaunt her power for no reason—but in this world, the only name they respected was Sasuke's. Leveraging that influence would avoid unnecessary resistance.
"His superior…?"
Munakata studied her closely.
He didn't buy it.
From what he'd seen earlier, she was far from Sasuke's level. If Sasuke had been fighting that monster, it would've been a completely different scene. That man could summon a dark purple warrior larger than the average monster and overpower beings like Golzan with brute strength alone.
"Strength doesn't define hierarchy."
Hinata's gaze didn't waver. "I may not match his power, but he still follows my commands."
"I'm sure you understand how that works. Based on the intelligence he provided me, your Victory Team's captain is a woman—someone not particularly strong, correct?"
"The Captain's job is coordination and command!"
Munakata snapped, unable to let that slide.
Hinata said nothing more. She simply looked at him—calm and unwavering.
A silence passed between them before Munakata exhaled, letting go of the tension in his shoulders. He slowly released the grip on his weapon.
"Fine. I'll accept that you're Sasuke's superior. So… what's your plan?"
"Didn't he send a message before he left?"
Hinata's voice turned slightly sharper. "He said he would be leaving the planet temporarily. As for how—well, that's Hyuga business. Not something I can disclose."
The monster remained active nearby. She had no interest in dragging this out further.
"I'll be frank. I need the Victory Team's assistance."
She gestured toward the direction of the creature. "Clearly, something's happened to Tiga. The monster's been on a rampage this long, and he still hasn't appeared."
"But we humans… we can't just wait around."
"If Tiga won't come, then we must act."
In a few simple words, she placed herself at the helm of the crisis.
Munakata and Rena exchanged glances. The air between them shifted.
"…So what do you need the Victory Team to do?"