"'A-San?'" the boy's father asked curiously. "That name… I don't quite understand its meaning."
"Meaning?" Yu Zhou blinked, scratching his head. "It means 'Three.' You know, the number three."
As he spoke, Yu Zhou raised three fingers to illustrate.
However, the father and son just looked at each other, confused, clearly not understanding his explanation.
Yu Zhou sighed helplessly. "Looks like the ancient people's language isn't quite the same as mine…"
"Traveller," the man said after thinking for a moment, "that gesture you made with your fingers — it means Tiga, right?"
"Tiga…" Yu Zhou froze on the spot.
Wait a second. In this ancient era, their way of pronouncing numbers must be different from modern times.
So… the word for "three" here was Tiga — the same as Tiga, as in Ultraman Tiga.
"If that's your name, traveller, then its sound is really close to the giant's name you mentioned earlier," the man continued, nodding thoughtfully.
"Ah… yeah, I guess it is kind of similar," Yu Zhou said awkwardly, forcing a smile. Then, quickly changing the subject, he added, "Anyway, fate brought us together tonight, but every meeting has its end. Let's hope we meet again someday!"
With that, Yu Zhou vanished into the dark night like a gust of wind.
"What a strange fellow," the middle-aged man muttered, scratching his head.
Still, being a simple fisherman, he didn't think too deeply about it.
He simply went back to fishing with his son, but he had already decided that come morning, he'd brag to the neighbours about how he'd seen a towering giant from the sea — one called Tiga.
Back at the rocky shore, Charija was already half asleep, barely keeping his eyes open.
Seeing no other option, Yu Zhou released his spaceship and set it up as their temporary base.
It wasn't a large ship, but it had everything — small bedrooms, a compact kitchen, and even a stove for cooking.
"Go get some sleep," Yu Zhou told Charija.
After tucking him in, he turned on the ship's cloaking system, rendering it invisible. Then, Yu Zhou stepped out alone, back to the quiet beach.
The father and son were still there, fishing under the pale moonlight, while Yu Zhou sat quietly by the shore, watching the waves roll in.
The dark sea stretched endlessly, peaceful yet mysterious.
As the hours passed, the fishermen finally packed up their catch and left. Silence returned to the beach.
"Tiga himself… where could he be hiding?" Yu Zhou murmured, gazing at the horizon.
He had a clear goal — to find Ultraman Tiga, the true one from the ancient era, and gain the power to save Camilla.
But the world was vast, and he didn't even know where to begin.
The first people he met in this ancient time turned out to be clueless fishermen — not exactly the best source of information.
"I guess I'll check if there's a nearby city after sunrise," Yu Zhou decided. "Tiga's a legend — someone's bound to know something."
Just as he stood up to return to the ship, his stomach rumbled loudly.
"Right… haven't eaten since who knows when."
He rubbed his belly. "Might as well treat myself."
With that, he turned toward the sea.
Plenty of ingredients around — no need to starve.
A quick wade through the shallows earned him a pile of ancient seashells, scallops, and a surprisingly large fish — one he'd never seen before.
"Eh, like Bear Grylls said, just chop off the head and cook it. Should be fine."
He grinned and carried his haul back to the spaceship.
Moments later, the scent of grilled seafood filled the air.
Charija, supposedly fast asleep, sat up instantly, sniffing like a hound.
Without hesitation, he grabbed a bowl of fish soup and started gulping it down.
"I thought you were sleeping?" Yu Zhou asked, deadpan.
"I was," Charija said seriously, slurping down the last of the broth. Then he collapsed back into bed and immediately started snoring.
Yu Zhou: "…"
The Next Morning
Yu Zhou woke Charija early, packed up the ship, and stowed it away.
By then, the nearby fishermen were already hard at work.
Without disturbing them, Yu Zhou asked one for directions.
Apparently, beyond the forest ahead lay a town called Akaru.
"Alright, then that's our destination," Yu Zhou said as they entered the so-called Greenwind Forest. "Let's hope we can find some news about Tiga there."
"I knew I should've just stayed by the sea…" Charija muttered bitterly — right before slapping his thigh to squash a mosquito the size of a truck tire.
Yu Zhou squatted down to inspect the corpse of the monstrous insect, eyes wide.
"What the hell — prehistoric mosquitoes are this big?!"
He then glanced at Charija's leg — the spot where he'd been bitten had swollen into a lump the size of a fist.
"Bro, that's not a bite, that's a tumour," Yu Zhou said, poking it.
Charija's face twitched. He channelled energy into his leg, and the swelling quickly faded.
"Wait—" Yu Zhou suddenly raised his hand, listening carefully.
"Do you hear that? Something's moving… and fast."
Charija frowned. "Yeah, sounds like—something flying?"
"RUN!" Yu Zhou yelled suddenly, bolting forward.
Charija turned — and his eyes widened.
Behind them, a massive black cloud was rushing their way — a swarm of truck-sized mosquitoes.
"Son of a—!"
Charija didn't even finish before sprinting after Yu Zhou.
The two of them tore through the forest at full speed, branches snapping, ground trembling, the buzzing of wings deafening behind them.
The swarm chased them relentlessly.
One particularly fast mosquito caught up — and stung Charija right on the butt.
"AHHH! YOU BASTARD!" Charija yelped, clutching his rear in agony as his body tensed.
He spun around, furious, eyes blazing.
"DIE, YOU BLOODY BUGS!"
With a roar, he pulled out a capsule and threw it.
"ZOIGER — FIRE BLAST!"
A bright beam shot from the capsule, summoning a Mini Zoiger in front of them.
The creature opened its mouth — and unleashed a torrent of blazing fireballs, exploding amidst the horde.
The entire forest lit up in flames.