Chapter Eleven: Keigo Masaki

Kumamoto City, Saidek Technologies.

Tetsuya surveyed the massive building before him—it was the headquarters of Saidek Technologies, a structure so imposing it had become a landmark of Kumamoto City itself. Tetsuya had come here searching for someone—a man hailed as a true genius, the founder of Saidek Technologies, Keigo Masaki.

Keigo Masaki had been called a prodigy since high school and first made his mark designing computer software. Now he was one of the leading figures in space development. The man was nothing short of legendary: young, wealthy, and, even in the world of Ultraman Tiga, the kind of man women clamored to bear children for. As the chief director of Caro Base—situated on the Moon and partially funded by Masaki—Tetsuya had access to Masaki’s contact information. Otherwise, meeting this man might have required much more effort.

“The chairman is waiting for you in his office on the top floor!” The receptionist, strikingly beautiful and unfailingly polite, smiled even more warmly upon learning the reason for Tetsuya’s visit.

Tetsuya smiled and nodded, then took the elevator straight up to the top floor.

Upon entering the so-called office, he was taken aback. It looked nothing like an office—instead, it had been transformed into a full-fledged gym. A variety of exercise equipment was arranged in perfect order along the sides, and only at the far end was there a single desk and a few file cabinets, lending just the slightest hint of an office environment.

“Tetsuya Hayate?” Keigo Masaki was shirtless, running on a treadmill. His musculature was well-proportioned—not the overly bulky physique of a bodybuilder, but rather suggesting explosive strength and power.

“You’re the director of Caro Base, aren’t you?” Masaki showed no sign of stopping or even slowing down. He merely wiped the sweat from his face with the towel draped around his neck, his tone radiating confidence and authority.

“So, what brings you to me?” he asked.

Tetsuya smiled. In this brief time, he had already sized up Masaki’s character. Placing his office on the highest floor suggested that he enjoyed being above everyone else. Transforming it into a gym spoke to an almost obsessive pursuit of strength. And the fact that he hadn’t even looked Tetsuya directly in the eye upon entry showed he was either supremely confident or outright arrogant.

Such a man possessed boundless ambition. Once he set his sights on a goal, he would marshal every resource at his disposal to achieve it.

“I know you’ve been waiting—chasing after something,” Tetsuya said casually, leaning against a piece of gym equipment.

Masaki frowned, remaining silent, but finally glanced at him, his gaze aggressive and sharp as a hawk’s.

“I’m sure your heart is anything but calm…” Tetsuya could sense Masaki’s interest, yet he deliberately withheld further explanation.

“Because you’ve finally found what you’ve been waiting for, but you’re not sure!” Tetsuya declared.

Masaki stopped the treadmill, fixing Tetsuya with a piercing stare. “The Giant?” he asked bluntly.

Tetsuya snapped his fingers, a smile playing on his lips. “Exactly! The Giant you’ve been waiting for has arrived. Why are you still hesitating?”

Masaki frowned, speaking with caution. “Not necessarily…”

“The Giant is transformed from a human,” Tetsuya said as he walked toward the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing out at the world below, his tone almost careless as he dropped this bombshell.

As expected, Masaki lowered the bottle of water he was holding and moved to stand behind Tetsuya, his voice tinged with excitement. “How much do you want?”

“Thirty million.” Tetsuya replied airily, raising three fingers before Masaki’s eyes. He didn’t truly need the money; rather, he required a pretext—something Masaki could trade for, making his words seem all the more trustworthy.

“Speak. But you’d better guarantee what you say is true. Otherwise…” Masaki’s tone was menacing. “Even if you’re the director of Caro Base, you won’t be able to change your fate.”

Tetsuya was unfazed by such threats. He smiled lightly and answered, “Daigo—a member of the Victory Team. He possesses the ability to transform into the Giant.”

“I don’t believe it…” Masaki shook his head, his tone darkening. “Ever since high school, I’ve felt as if I’ve been waiting for something—something that would grant me limitless power. For that, I trained relentlessly, I founded Saidek Technologies, I became a world-renowned physicist. Everything I’ve done proves that I—more than anyone else—am the best candidate to become the Giant!”

Tetsuya met Masaki’s gaze—eyes brimming with pride and boundless ambition. Yes, you’ve proven your excellence, he thought silently, but becoming the Giant isn’t about how brilliant you are; it’s about the nature of your heart. He would never say this aloud, of course. Instead, he answered Masaki’s doubts with a simple statement:

“You’re missing a few things. First: Yurei’s prophecy. Second: the Spark Stick.” Tetsuya spread his hands and shrugged. “Of course, Yurei’s prophecy might be dispensable—meaningless to you, perhaps. It just serves to prove her existence, and thus the truth of my words. The crucial thing is the Spark Stick. Think of it as the medium for transforming into the Giant. But other than Daigo, no one can use it…”

He paused, glanced at Masaki, and continued, “Still, I believe you’ll find a way.”

Masaki silently digested Tetsuya’s words. The appearance of the Giant—although TPC had temporarily suppressed the news—was no secret to him. But Yurei and Daigo truly caught him off guard, not to mention the even more mysterious Spark Stick.

“Additionally, to transform into the Giant, you need the Giant’s statue…” Tetsuya looked at Masaki, his tone certain. “You already know, don’t you?”

Masaki’s sharp eyes bore into Tetsuya. “Know what?”

Tetsuya shrugged and smiled. “Saidek Technologies is already one of the world’s leading multinationals, and yet your headquarters is in this small city of Kumamoto. I find that hard to understand. Is that really beneficial for your company’s growth?”

Masaki gazed long and hard at Tetsuya, saying nothing. It all began back in high school, during a holiday afternoon in a cave called ‘Tongkararin.’ While playing in the mountains, Masaki had felt a voice calling out to him, luring him into the cave. There, he witnessed a sight that left him forever awestruck.

Deep within that towering cave, two statues—each over fifty meters tall—stood in silent vigil. The foremost was a Giant with a clenched fist, its stone body already damaged in places, while beside it loomed the more complete, fearsomely contorted statue of a monster. That scene left Masaki both deeply shaken and acutely aware of humanity’s insignificance; some primal instinct told him that he was destined to become such a being.

And so, he waited—for an opportunity like this.

For that, he trained himself to the limit. He painstakingly built Saidek into a global corporation. He delved deeply into physics, becoming a world-famous scientist—all in anticipation of this moment.

But now…

Daigo… How dare you!

“Let me give you two pieces of advice…”

Watching the brooding Masaki, Tetsuya smiled and raised a finger. “First, you need a medium—Daigo’s Spark Stick. Find a way to use it!”

“Second… Dr. Tango. He’s currently researching fragments of the Giant’s statue…”