Chapter 6: Operation Rat Trap

Tokyo had not slept since the Rat-Man incidents began.

Three banks hit.
Two stores emptied.
One sewer worker missing without a trace.

The city trembled beneath the weight of fear.

Saiga Noburu tossed a stack of case reports onto Natsumi’s lab table, frustration etched on his face.

“There’s more than one.”

Natsumi looked up from her console.

“Explain.”

Saiga pointed to three different claw mark samples.

“These aren’t from the same creature. Different sizes. Different regeneration speeds. This is a group, Kanzaki—not an individual.”

Natsumi went silent.

Then—

“…So the Orga specimens survived in multiples.”

Saiga tightened his fists.

“How many got out?”

“Unknown.”

A cold pressure pressed against Saiga’s ribs.

This isn’t just one monster… it’s a spreading infection.

He slammed his fist on the table.

For a split second—
A surge of black aura rippled from him.

Dark. Heavy. Wrong.

Natsumi instinctively stepped back, eyes narrowing.

“…Saiga-kun. Your energy just—”

He cut her off.

“We don’t have time. We’re hunting tonight.”

Metal scraps resembling gold ingots.
Jewelry replicas.
Distress call recordings simulating injured civilians.

Together, they formed the bait.

Natsumi monitored her handheld scanner closely.

“Movement detected. Sewer line C-14.”

Saiga nodded.

“Let’s finish this.”

Before they left, Natsumi handed him something wrapped in cloth.

“Here. You’re incomplete without a true weapon.”

Saiga unwrapped it.

A sleek black-and-gold Sentai pistol with astral conduits glowing faintly.

“…A gun?”

“A prototype firearm using unregistered Astral output.”
She tapped the handle.
“Activation: Exceed Charge. Firing mode: Burst Shooter.”

Saiga held it reverently.

“Kanzaki… thank you.”

She turned away.

“Don’t thank me until you bring something back alive.”

The sewers beneath Tokyo felt like a forgotten underworld.

Cold. Damp. Echoing.

Natsumi’s scanner beeped.

“Two signatures… No—three.”

Saiga inhaled sharply.

“So it’s true.”

Then—

SCRAAAATCH—
THUD.
THUD.

Three Rat-Men emerged from the shadows.

Their eyes glowed crimson.
Their teeth dripped with corrosive saliva.
Their bodies moved with twitching, unnatural rhythm.

Saiga raised his weapon.

“ASTRAL DRIVE!”
“SENTAI CHANGE!”

Light burst across the tunnel as Saiga transformed into the Black Sentinel, Natsumi into Yellow.

The Rat-Men charged.

Saiga fired first.

“EXCEED CHARGE! BURST SHOOTER!”

A blast of compressed astral energy erupted, slamming one Rat-Man into a concrete wall.

Natsumi spun into action, delivering electrified strikes to the second creature.

But the third lunged sideways, grabbing Saiga by the throat and slamming him into the ground.

Even through armor—
He felt the impact.

Saiga roared and broke free.

Then the fury came.

He grabbed the Rat-Man by its jaw—
Lifted—
And slammed it into the ground.

Once.
Twice.
Again.

His voice cracked with rage.

“How many of you are out there!?”
“How many people will you hurt!?”
“How many families will you destroy!?”

A dark aura surged from his body.

A pulse of black energy rippled outward.

Natsumi stumbled back.

Her visor flashed warnings:

<UNIDENTIFIED ENERGY OUTPUT DETECTED>

“…Saiga-kun… what are you?”

But Saiga didn’t hear her.

His fist rose again—

Until a memory stopped him.

Souta’s trembling voice:

“Would Red be mad… if I gave up?”

And Minato’s fading whisper:

“Don’t lose yourself, Saiga-kun.”

Saiga froze.

His fist trembled.
Then slowly lowered.

The dark aura dissolved into nothing.

Natsumi let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding.

“…You nearly lost control.”

Saiga stared at the trembling Rat-Man beneath him.

“I won’t become a monster to fight one.”

Natsumi looked at him differently then—
Not with annoyance.
Not with superiority.

But with the beginning of respect.

The Rat-Men attempted to flee.

Saiga lifted his pistol again.

“EXCEED CHARGE!”

“BURST SHOOTER!”

Astral bullets pinned their limbs to the ground, freezing them long enough for Natsumi to bind them in containment cables.

A flash of light sealed their capture.

The moment word spread, all of Japan erupted.

NeoNet feeds overflowed.
HoloStream clips looped endlessly.
SphereFeed headlines blazed with excitement:

#TheNewSentai
#BlackAndYellow
#HopeReturns

Citizens cheered.

“They did it!”
“The Sentai are coming back!”
“Black Sentinel and Yellow Sentinel—amazing!”

Reporters swarmed them the instant they exited the sewer.

Microphones flew toward Saiga.

“Black Sentinel! Will you be joining the new Sentai unit?”
“Is this an official comeback?”
“Will Tokyo have protectors again!?”

Natsumi looked at him.

The world held its breath.

Saiga clenched his fists.

Then slowly, confidently—

“Yes. I’ll join the team.”

Gasps. Cheers. Applause.

Far away, in a small veterinary clinic—

Yumesaki Chisa sat before a small TV, eyes trembling.

She whispered:

“…That aura. That strength… just like Minato. No—stronger.”

She smiled softly.

“Someone worthy has risen. The world will have hope again.”