This Godzilla is unique among most other incarnations of the character in that he is a completely new species spawned by nuclear waste dumping, rather than an ancient creature roused by nuclear testing. Godzilla was mutated by feeding on nuclear waste that had been dumped into Tokyo Bay 60 years prior, which gave it the unusual ability to mutate its own DNA and rapidly evolve itself to adapt to new situations. Godzilla remained underwater until the present day, when it suddenly developed legs and came ashore in Tokyo, leaving behind a trail of destruction. Godzilla evolved once again into a third form before returning to the ocean. It later returned in a larger fourth form, which annihilated a large portion of Tokyo with an atomic breath generated by its body before entering a state of hibernation. Anticipating a nuclear strike against Tokyo by the U.S. to destroy Godzilla before he reawakened, a ragtag team of Japanese bureaucrats and volunteers enacted a complex plan codenamed Operation Yashiori, which succeeded in disabling Godzilla's blood cooling system and freezing him solid. Godzilla was halted for the time being.