5:00 a.m. – Tokyo Bay, off the coast of Haneda. A boat was waiting for a man’s return.

「Uuu, Rintaro, I never thought you’d go to Antarctica to pick up a girl……」

「Stop whining, Medic Captain Swordminas! A soldier’s heart should always be a ruthless killing weapon!」

「I’m not a medic captain, a soldier, or a killing weapon……!」

Waiting on the boat was a tall, black-haired beauty named Swordminas. And Colonel Usanyi-chan, a girl in a military uniform and an eye patch, and a few other zako fighters.

It was an unusual combination, but there was a reason for it. This was the first attempt in the history of the Ark Dominion to make a round trip to the South Pole. Moreover, since communication with Rintaro and his team had been cut off for a whole day, it was highly probable that they were involved in some kind of trouble.

Colonel Usanyi-chan, who excels in mission execution and leadership, was selected to make sure everything was in place to welcome the returnees.

The crew of this boat was selected by the leader of the teaching corps, who was in charge of training new recruits, and was the Hundred Beasts Legion’s number two.

「In the unlikely event of frostbite or other serious physical damage, you need to receive immediate medical attention, even if you are a mysterious being. We are counting on you to do your best.」

「Upusu…… I’ll do my best…… By the way, how much longer do we have to sway……?」

Swordminas, the most medically knowledgeable woman in the Ark Dominion, was struggling with her seasickness. The boat, as it were, was an ambulance with the best driver and the best doctor the Ark Dominion could provide.

However, the boat had already been swaying for five hours at sea in the middle of winter, and at this rate, Swordminas herself was going to become a sick person.

「The earliest we can get there is a couple of hours.」

「T-two hours……?」

It was only a few hours ago that they received a radio call from Samecchi that they had succeeded in retrieving the Victory Falcon. Since then, they have not been able to contact them, perhaps because of the Victory Falcon’s subsonic flight, or perhaps because of radio interference.

「Don’t worry Medic Captain Swordminas, this mission is not that difficult. In other words, it’s just a pickup.」

In the “protection” mission of the Ark Dominion, the most alarming thing is the intervention by the hero headquarters.

In particular, the “Darkness Mysterious being Drakirika” to be protected this time is said to be of extreme importance to the Hero Headquarters.

However, Hero Headquarters, which had just suffered a devastating blow in Jimbocho, did not seem to have the power to interfere. In fact, Hero Headquarters had already failed once to take custody of the newly awakened Kirika.

There’s nothing to worry about, Colonel Usanyi-chan told herself. However, disturbing news arrived at the commander’s rabbit ears.

「What?　Evacuation order has been issued for Ota Ward?」

「Uiii!」

Colonel Usanyi-chan looked at Haneda Airport in the distance with her red eyes. The red light of the control tower was the only light flashing at the entrance to Tokyo, which was still in the dark of night.

…………

The Victory Falcon, a Mach 1 aircraft, can fly from Antarctica to Tokyo in a little more than half a day. Although the time difference was a factor, the horizon seen from the cockpit was leaking morning light.

「Aniki!　I see the Tagaden Tower, ssu!」

「Oh, it’s still huge even when you look at it like this!」

『This is Haneda Control. Victory Falcon, approach 34R.』

「This is Victory Falcon, copy.」

Victory Falcon was on a landing course for Haneda Airport.

The reason why he took the risk of landing at the airport was that there was a possibility that the “suspicious aircraft” would be intercepted once it entered Japanese airspace. Even though Rintaro had a private pilot’s license, he did not want to get into a dogfight with the heroes.

Rintaro followed the instructions of airport control while pretending to be the passionate man behind him. The air traffic controller would have no way of knowing that the Victory Falcon had been hijacked.

「What do we do when we land?」

「We have a boat waiting near Haneda, ssuyo. When we land, we’ll jump onto the boat and dash, ssu!」

「You are good, As expected of the reliable Samecchi!」

Rintaro holds the control stick with one hand while his spare hand strokes Samechi’s head.

Using the satellite radio on board King Victory, Samecchi were in close communication with Ark Dominion.

She was able to repair it in just a few hours from a near-junk state, showing that she has a dexterous hand. It is only natural, since she was mass-producing bombs as if she was breathing.

Samecchi turned up her nose and puffed out her chest as if to say something to Kirika.

「Fufufu…… Samecchi is a good woman who can do a good job as well, ssu！ Mufufun, ssu!」

「Senpai, I also successfully stole the plane right. I haven’t received my headpat, though.」

「Are you by any chance asking me to stroke you guys with both hands? Hey, can you see? Senpai is going for the landing right now, you know?  ……Hmm?」

Rintaro felt some discomfort at the sight of the Haneda Airport site outside his window. However, since the aircraft was on its final approach course, it landed directly on the runway of Haneda Airport without making a return flight.

With a slight thump, the red aircraft finally touched down in Japan.

The Victory Falcon slowly decelerates and then came to a complete standstill.

「Okay, it stopped. We need to get out of Haneda Airport now!」

「Aye aye, ssu! The boat should be heading this way as well, ssu!」

Rintaro and his team opened the hatch, jumped down onto the runway, and ran toward the edge of the airport at a quick pace. As long as they could reach the sea, Shinagawa’s Tagaden Tower, the secret underground base of Ark Dominion, would be just a stone’s throw away.

Samecchi, who was running in the lead, suddenly called out to Rintaro.

「This is Samecchi’s first time visiting the airport, but it’s surprisingly lonely, ssune.」

「That’s because it’s mostly runways. It’s the terminal that’s busy.」

「There are no airplanes at all, ssu. Samecchi wanna see airplane, ssu.」

「……What?」

Rintaro’s feet came to a stop.

Looking around again, they could not see “an airplane” other than the Victory Falcon they had flown in.

Haneda is one of the world’s leading international airports, with approximately 1,200 takeoffs and landings per day. Is it really possible that there are no planes parked anywhere?　

What should be there is not there. The true nature of the feeling of discomfort was this.

In the face of this bizarre scene, a siren went off in Rintaro’s head, signaling a danger signal. There is only one possibility.

「What’s wrong, aniki?　We will reach the sea soon, ssuyo!」

「Samecchi, run! Run like your life depends on iiiit!」

As soon as Rintaro shouted, from the sky, from the sea, from the earth.　 Warriors in colorful suits appear from all over the place.

The vast grounds of Haneda Airport were quickly filled with the colors of justice.

「Sky Sentai Air Jetter! Brilliantly advanced from the stratosphere!」

「Seafood Sentai Dancurious!　Let’s eat seafood and power up!」

「Boss Sentai Jirochouger! A total of 29 people, all gathered!」

「Onsen Sentai Hokkoriger! Come to Kusatsu and Ikaho at least once!」

「Kirameki Sentai Dark Romeo Five! Perish, with the tune of my Requiem」

Rintaro’s group of three were completely surrounded by a total of 1,000 heroes gathered from all over eastern Japan.

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<74: Farewell, Loneliness, Till We Meet Again
76: Haneda Encirclement>