Ultraman: It turns out this is the easy mode.

Lately, Daigo feels like he's been stuffed into a tangled ball of yarn, and he can't seem to untangle it no matter what he does.

Every time his fingertips inadvertently touched the faintly visible Spark Lens on his chest, he could clearly recall the awe-inspiring transformation into Ultraman Tiga—the fifty-meter-tall giant body, the light energy gathered in his palm, the vast perspective overlooking the earth; these images replayed repeatedly in his mind like movie clips. But after the awe came a heavy pressure, so heavy that he was even somewhat absent-minded during training.

Especially after the last "conversation" with Tiga in the consciousness space, this pressure has doubled.

At that moment, Tiga's voice rang in his mind, carrying the composure unique to the ancient giant: "Daigo, do your best. I've prepared a lot of my old rivals for you."

Daigo was stunned. He opened his mouth in his mind but couldn't utter a word for a long time—"Prepare for an old rival"? What kind of operation is this? He originally thought that he would only have to deal with the monsters that appeared from time to time, but he didn't expect that he would also have to face Tiga's past enemies. Those beings that can be defined by the three words "old rival" are definitely far stronger than Golza and Melba!
"No way, do you have to put so much pressure on me?!" Daigo wailed in his mind. "This is a bit too much! I've only just learned how to control my transformation, and I haven't even mastered my beam attacks yet!"

Tiga seemed to realize that his "encouragement" was a bit too direct. After a few seconds of silence, his tone softened: "I know this is difficult for you, but these opponents will come knocking sooner or later. It's always better to be prepared than to panic at the last minute." He paused and added, "But don't be afraid. If you're unsure what to do, you can go to Cui Ming."

"Go find Cui Ming?" Daigo hesitated for a moment, then immediately recalled how Cui Ming usually trained them strictly, yet was the first to come to his rescue when his plane malfunctioned. "The instructor?"

“That’s right, he and I are old friends.” Tiga’s voice was more certain. “He has been through a lot of battles and understands the power of light. Go to him and he will tell you what to do.”

After receiving Tiga's advice, Daigo struggled for several days. He wanted to ask Cui Ming for advice—after all, he was really unsure of himself in the face of an unknown "old rival"; but he was also a little embarrassed to ask, feeling that his "pressure" was probably nothing in Cui Ming's eyes, since Cui Ming wasn't even worried about fighting monsters alone.

After training that day, Daigo watched Cui Ming leaning against the assault vehicle organizing his equipment. After hesitating for a long time, he finally dawdled over to him.

"Instructor," Daigo scratched his head, his eyes darting around, "I...I have something I'd like to ask you."

Cui Ming put down the equipment in his hand, looked up at him, and immediately saw his nervousness: "About the transformation into Ultraman Tiga?"

Daigo looked up abruptly, his eyes filled with surprise—how did the instructor know?

Cui Ming smiled and patted his shoulder: "Don't be nervous, I noticed it a long time ago. You've been spacing out a lot during training lately, and there are occasional fluctuations of light energy in your chest. Besides the transformation, what else could be bothering you so much?" He paused, then softened his tone, "Are you feeling too much pressure?"

Upon hearing the words "under great pressure," Daigo seemed to have found an outlet and couldn't help but nod, recounting his conversation with Tiga and his worries about his "old rival."

After listening, Cui Ming didn't speak immediately. Instead, he took a bottle of water from his pocket and handed it to Daigo: "Drink some water first, don't rush." ​​After Daigo finished drinking, he spoke, "Tiga's 'old rival' is indeed difficult to deal with, but you don't need to be afraid. First, you're not fighting alone; the GUTS team is your support, and Megumi and I will help you too. Second, you have a strong learning ability; with more training, you'll quickly master Tiga's power. Third," Cui Ming changed the subject, a smile playing on his lips, "Even if you encounter an opponent you can't beat, don't you still have me? When I fought those guys with Tiga back then, I had far more experience than you do now."

Seeing Cui Ming's confident demeanor, Daigo felt a significant reduction in his own pressure. He suddenly understood why Tiga had sent him to find Cui Ming—because Cui Ming not only possessed the strength but also knew how to help him shed his burdens and find his way forward.

"Thank you, instructor!" Daigo straightened his back, his eyes regaining their sparkle.

Cui Ming patted him on the back: "No need to thank me, but you'll have to work harder in the upcoming training. If you lose to Xincheng again in the next simulated match, don't come begging me for mercy."

"I won't lose!" Daigo immediately retorted, his eyes full of a defiant spirit—with a direction and a support system, the "pressure" that used to give him a headache seemed to have turned into motivation to move forward.

Choi Myung patted Daigo on the shoulder, his eyes instantly sharpening, just like when he stared at his teammates during training: "Very good! Now that you've figured it out, let's start the special training! Don't think that being able to transform into Tiga means everything will be fine. The power of the Titans is a backup, but your own body must keep up—you can't rely on transforming every time you encounter danger, can you?"

Upon hearing the words "special training," Daigo froze on the spot, his lips twitching: "...Special training again?" He recalled the scene of being forced by Choi to run ten kilometers and do push-ups with weights, and his arms subconsciously began to ache.

“That’s right! It’s special training!” Cui Ming nodded without hesitation, his tone full of “you can’t escape”. “Don’t worry, this special training is very ‘practical’. I will train you to the point where you can beat a bear to a pulp with one hand!”

"?!?!?!?!" Daigo's eyes widened, and his voice changed. "Is that... is that even human?! Making a bear vomit with one hand? Even a professional wrestler couldn't do that!" He imagined himself holding a bear with one hand and making it vomit, and he found it so absurd that it seemed unreal.

"Believe in yourself, and even more so, believe in the potential of humanity." Cui Ming said earnestly, not at all feeling that his goal was exaggerated. As he spoke, he took two steps back, his gaze locking onto a steel pipe as thick as a bowl next to him—it was a prop used for obstacle training at the TPC training ground, made of hard material, so that even if you hit it with a hammer, it would only leave a dent.

Cui Ming took a deep breath, stood with his feet shoulder-width apart, clenched his right fist, and instantly tensed his arm muscles, shouting at the steel pipe: "Just like this knight, fist!!!!"

Before he finished speaking, his fist slammed into the steel pipe with the force of a whirlwind!
"boom!"

After a loud bang, the once intact steel pipe instantly cracked with countless fissures, and the next second it shattered into several pieces with a "crash," the fragments scattering on the ground with a crisp sound. (End of Chapter)