Kamen Rider from the ancient times

"So, you're not a Kamen Rider from the Hongshang Foundation?"

"Ah."

"Then why should the president listen to you!"

"Because he's afraid I'll destroy the world, right?"

"………ah?"

Minako didn't know what to say. She just stared in disbelief as the man in front of her calmly uttered some terrifying words.

Kawahara then laughed and said, "Of course, I won't do that. After all, there are still Kamen Riders in this world. After Kamen Rider OOO, you will be the Kamen Rider of this world."

Minato Miharu swallowed hard and looked away: "I don't quite understand what you mean. Don't make it sound like I'm the one who saved the world..."

Kawahara smiled and took out a timer: "It's okay if you don't understand. Just swim a lap within 30 seconds. Get ready to start timing."

Minato Miharu: "..."

He looked at the swimming pool in front of him, which was about fifty meters long.

It's impossible!

"start!"

"Shh-"

Although she was very reluctant to be trained by this guy, Minato Miharu jumped into the water and rushed out the next second.

Because if he doesn't do as instructed, he will appear in the deep sea the next second, and after a fierce struggle, he will have no choice but to become Kamen Rider Aqua to save himself.

Then he got beaten up again by that guy who turned into a red Kamen Rider...

So, between "enduring the discomfort of water" and "not only enduring water but also getting beaten up," Minato Miharu chose to suffer less.

Although he complained about it, saying, "Since I already have the Poseidon driver, why should I continue to use Aqua for training? I won't be using Aqua again anyway, right?"

"You can't even control the power of water, yet you want to control the power of the sea god?" Kawahara asked doubtfully.

"...Well...I can now use the power of water to transform, and I've even learned to swim. I guess I'm pretty much ready now!"

"You'll be satisfied when you can transform with Aqua without looking constipated."

"........."

In the end, Minami Miharu swam away in resentment.

……

Besides her daily close contact with water, Minato Miharu also has to take care of her job as "Masked Rider Aqua" to deal with the future Devouring Monster.

And while he was fighting the monster, someone would leisurely stand by and keep track of the time. Even if he was in danger, they would not transform to help him, and would even point out his abilities with a disappointed look.

This made Minato Miharu even more indignant.

If you're not satisfied with his fighting ability, then don't just watch!
Minato Miharu felt like she was about to turn into the shape of the secretary in the back room—practicing swimming with a blank expression every day, transforming into Kamen Rider Aqua to fight monsters with a blank expression, and then being trained by that guy in his red knight form with a blank expression.

Then it seemed like he suddenly understood.

I understand why the secretary in the story is too lazy to make facial expressions anymore.

"You're progressing quite quickly!"

It was another rainy night.

Kawahara watched as Kamen Rider Aqua fiercely beat up the Devouring Monster, seemingly faking the beating as if he were the one being beaten. A smile of interest appeared on his face.

The Devouring Monster of the future is indeed not easy to deal with.

Compared to the previous Devouring Monsters, which were created by "Greedy Ones" using Cell Coins from human desires, the Devouring Monsters of the future will not need any additional medium and can be born directly from desires.

This has led to a feeling that monsters are endless, and they are even being born more and more due to the ever-increasing desires of humankind, plunging human life into misery.

However, the Devouring Monsters do not proliferate without reason.

The same goes for the cell coins that mint them.

Of course, Chairman Hong Shang also indicated that there was more to this than met the eye when Kawahara asked him in a friendly manner.

--"king!"

With a mysterious expression, Guild Master Hong Shang said, "The madness of the Devouring Monster is to welcome the king who will soon be resurrected in this world, the greatest king of all things!"

Although this guy talks in a cryptic way, Kawahara can automatically translate the settings of the Kamen Rider world.

In short, the Hongshang Foundation failed to revive OOO, but successfully revived the King who created the Core Medal eight hundred years ago, which led to the future Devouring Monster completely losing control.

In a sense, the "king" from eight hundred years ago was also OOO, so isn't this a kind of successful resurrection in a different way?

So after being tormented to the point of near death once again, Minamoto asked with a sorrowful expression when his special training would finally end.

Kawahara then set a goal for him.

—Defeat the King!

Minato Miharu looked at him in disbelief: "Is this something I can do?"

Kawahara smiled gently: "If you want to protect this world, then defeating the king is a must. Don't expect me to save the world for you, because I will leave on the day you go to war."

Minato Miharu: "...Are you serious?" Unlike the other rookie Kamen Riders that Kawahara had interacted with, Minato Miharu had a decent willpower, but was also a very ordinary young man.

When faced with something they dislike, most people's first thought is to escape, and Minami is no exception; she even gives up on herself outright.

So, if he faces an enemy like "Wang" who is impossible to defeat without exerting his full strength, and if there is always an even stronger entity protecting him from behind, he will inevitably become somewhat complacent.

Therefore, Kawahara did not intend to give him that opportunity.

"Hongshang Guangsheng has been collecting the coins you defeated the Devouring Monster. When the number of Cell Coins is large enough, the 'King' will naturally be born from the coins. At that time, perhaps the whole world will be under the rule of that 'King'."

"Wait, why would President Hong Shang do something like this? Isn't he helping us deal with the Devouring Monster?" Minako asked, confused.

"Because he longed to witness powerful forces and wanted to create such forces, his mind was somewhat dull, just like his ancestors."

"Uh……"

To prepare him mentally for confronting the King, Kawahara even took him to see Chairman Kougami's collection, where piles of coins left Minato Miharu completely stunned.

He used to only focus on fighting, and each time he transformed into Kamen Rider Aqua, it was like a challenge to his will. He never noticed that the coins dropped by those monsters were being collected behind the scenes by the Kougami Foundation.

Here, Minato Miharu also saw core coins in other colors that were different from the "Poseidon" series.

"What are these?"

“Those are ‘future core coins’ modeled after the core coins of the five ‘Greedy Ones.’ The set I gave you is the ‘non-existent’ seventh one,” Kawahara explained.

"Oh, the seventh one... huh?"

Minato Miharu astutely spotted the blind spot: "Why is it the seventh? Shouldn't it be the sixth?"

Kawahara smiled and said, "Because the sixth one, like you, is already taken."

"Who?" Cou Weiqing asked instinctively.

"Kamen Rider OOO, Eiji Hino".

"Eh……"

Minako was stunned.

After he began to formally contact the Hongshang Foundation, he felt like he was hearing the name all the time, but no one had actually mentioned it to him. It was just that he had this feeling for no reason.

This made Minato Miharu feel a strange longing for the real "Kamen Rider senior" she had never met.

So what kind of person is he that everyone keeps talking about?
Although he had never met him, Minato Miharu believed that the person was definitely a powerful yet gentle senior who was completely different from the guy in front of him!

I wish they could have a chance to meet even once.

"What are you spacing out for? Come over here."

As Wei Qing was staring at the future bird-type combo and letting her thoughts wander, she heard a man's usual nonchalant tone from not far away, so she instinctively walked over.

Not far away, there was something covered by a black cloth. After he came over, Kawahara lifted the tarpaulin to reveal a yellow-green camouflage motorboat underneath.

Minako looked at the motorboat in surprise.

Happy Birthday!!

Before he could react, a sudden shout from the darkness startled him. Even though Kawahara was somewhat prepared, he was also taken aback by the unexpected loud voice.

Still shaken, Minato turned around and, unsurprisingly, saw Chairman Kougami with a beaming smile and Secretary Richinaka holding a cake with a blank expression.

President Hongshang took the birthday cake from his secretary and walked up to him with a sense of satisfaction and joy.

"Hey~ Miharu-kun, to celebrate that you finally completed the 30-second 100-meter freestyle challenge, this is your birthday present—the Aqua Miharu!"

"..."

Minami covered her face.

Let's not celebrate this kind of challenge!
That's because someone was chasing and killing him, which is why he could swim so fast. And why did he even tell others about this?
Cou Weiqing glared angrily at the culprit.

Kawahara crossed his arms and laughed, "Aqua's knight mech is a motorboat. It's been ready for a while, but even if I gave it to you before, you wouldn't have been able to use it. So, Chairman Kougami originally intended to give it to you along with 'Poseidon'."

Upon hearing this, Minami automatically filled in the unspoken subtext in his mind—but he kept it to himself, just like with "Poseidon"!

Then he suddenly realized something.

"Then give it to me now..."

Minato Miharu's eyes lit up slightly, and she asked expectantly, "Am I finally able to inherit the power of 'Poseidon'?"

Kawahara's smile widened: "Yes!"

Minato Miharu excitedly turned around and saw that the secretary in the back had brought up another tray from behind, on which was the "Poseidon Driver" that he had used once before!
"Great!"

But being able to become "Kamen Rider Poseidon" again wasn't actually what made Minato Miharu happiest.

He was happy because it meant he could finally get rid of someone's shadow!
Kawahara waited for him to calm down before gesturing for him to look at the mountain of Cell Coins in the warehouse and the row of Future Core Coins of different colors on the table.

"Then next, you must confront your destined final boss—the King!"

"........."

Cou Weiqing's smile froze.

...(End of this chapter)