They decided to split up.
Taichi never thought he'd be the one to suggest a plan that in any other story would be pure suicide. But there was simply no other way. Although Shibuya seemed small on a map, a detailed search would take an unknown amount of time. Splitting up was far riskier, but it would save precious time. If their bodies and souls were separated for too long, they might die. If that happened, Taichi would have lost, and the price would be the deaths of tens of thousands of people.
As for turning into Ultraman X and using his abilities to search... while X might have a related skill, Taichi was worried that his appearance would cause the culprit to despair and take tens of thousands of lives down with them. So, unless he found the culprit and a way to get the bodies back, Taichi couldn't transform.
"Mordred, Yukino's safety is in your hands," Taichi said, looking at Mordred and Yukino on the motorcycle. "No matter what happens, Yukino's safety is the top priority." Yukino was smart and observant; she might discover something. In their team, her mind was the most crucial element.
"You can count on me! I haven't been talking to... ahem, X for nothing these past few days!" Mordred almost said X's name but corrected herself in time. She beat her chest plate, guaranteeing, "I won't be reckless and put Yukino in danger!"
"You guys, on the other hand... be careful," Mordred said with a hint of worry. Although Taichi was wearing her gauntlets, he was inexperienced. He could handle the weaker monsters one-on-one or one-on-two, but a larger group would be a problem. On top of that, he had Akane, a girl with no combat ability, with him. Their only ace in the hole was X's telekinesis. But X had used his telekinesis so many times over the past two days; no one knew if he was holding on by a thread.
"Our goal is to find clues, not to fight monsters," Taichi said, his lips twitching. "Akane and I will be discreet." For this reason, Taichi didn't even use Takemi's motorcycle. Instead, he "borrowed" an unlocked bicycle from the side of the road.
"Riding a bike with someone on the back—what a rare feeling of being a delinquent!" Akane said, swaying back and forth on the back seat.
"I'm wearing gauntlets; it's hard to brake. You'd better sit still," Taichi warned. "And try to keep your voice down. I don't want the monsters to hear you and come chasing us."
"Tutturu~"
"What? Is there a Steins;Gate anime in this world?" Taichi asked, turning his head in surprise.
"I'm not sure. Doctor Takemi doesn't have a computer at home, only in her first-floor clinic," Akane explained, shaking her head. "I was rewatching Steins;Gate before I came here, so I said 'Tutturu' without thinking."
"But, Naruto, are we really going to search one place at a time like this?" Akane asked, getting off the bike after Taichi parked it by a wall. "It feels like this will take a month or two."
"We'll do it by deviation," Taichi explained. "We're not going to check every single place. For example, open areas that you can see in a glance, we won't go in. As for apartment buildings, if there's nothing obviously wrong, we'll just do a quick scan."
"The places we need to investigate in detail are sewers, places with a bad vibe, abandoned buildings, and shrines or temples—places related to the supernatural. Those few areas need a thorough check."
"We're really at a disadvantage with so few people. Otherwise, I'd want to scrape off the paint from the walls and check everything bit by bit," Taichi said, looking around. After confirming with X that there were no strange energy fluctuations, he got back on the bike and rode off with Akane.
"Can we somehow control those monsters?" Akane asked in a low voice, leaning forward to Taichi's ear, as they passed an umbrella monster and a headless student.
Taichi flinched, almost losing control of the handlebars.
"If X can successfully analyze the new energy system, maybe there's a chance."
"Also, I'm holding the handlebars right now, so please sit still." The feeling of her body against his back instantly disappeared.
"Oh, does that mean, Naruto-kun, that you're still a virgin?" Akane asked, poking his back with her finger in a teasing voice.
"Is there a problem with that?" Taichi shot back calmly. His tone was perfectly steady. After all, in the country he was from in his previous life, there wasn't a culture that mocked men for being virgins at an older age. At most, they'd just make jokes about "becoming a great sorcerer if you're a virgin at thirty."
"...Never mind," Akane said, losing interest when Taichi didn't even flinch. She changed the subject and returned to the current situation. "Speaking of which, it's been so long since this happened. Is there no movement from the outside world?"
"Well, this is Japan. It's not a political norm to waste time pushing blame?"
"But even if they wanted to do something, they probably couldn't," Taichi said, looking up at the distant Tokyo Tower. "After all, there's an unknown barrier."
"Taichi! I found something!" X suddenly yelled in an excited voice. "At Shibuya Central Hospital! A person wearing a Hannya mask just went inside! I'm tracking them now!"
"Shibuya Central Hospital! Mordred! Did you hear that?! Take Yukino and get there now! I'll be there to support you right away!" Taichi used their subtle connection to inform Mordred.
"Ah... got it... on my way..." The connection was successful, but maybe because of the barrier or Taichi's own limitations, the message was cut short.
"Shibuya Central Hospital? Did X find something?" Akane asked, clutching Taichi's waist to steady herself.
"A person wearing a Hannya mask went inside! X is tracking their movements now," Taichi replied. "Akane, you'll have to hold on tight now. I'm going to speed up!"