Ino's clone vanished from where it stood. She headed first to the ruins of the Demon Realm Supreme Kai's temple in the Demon Realm, where she freed Toppo from the spatial rift he'd been trapped in. After getting a brief rundown of everything that had happened there, she raised one hand and, with a single palm strike, shattered the apocalyptic vision the Demon Realm Supreme Kai had left behind — the one prophesying that the multiverses would ultimately march toward annihilation.
When she reappeared, she was already in the Sacred World of the Kai of the Tenth Universe.
The immortal body was going to be a bit of a hassle to deal with. Better to cut things off at the source first.
Old Kai Gowasu sat beneath a tree in quiet meditation. In the next room, Zamasu was unhurriedly preparing tea — hands perfectly steady, gaze sharply focused. But one look at his expression was enough to tell the whole story: he was clearly making his final preparations to slay his master and claim his path to godhood.
"Do you really want to go through with this?" Ino appeared before him without warning, asking the question out of nowhere.
Zamasu stared at her for several long seconds.
She spread her hands open. "This is only a clone of mine — my main body is busy elsewhere. But do you truly intend to... kill Lord Gowasu? Even an outsider like me can see it plainly: Lord Gowasu has been like a father to you. You respect him. You care for him. Don't you?"
Zamasu understood her purpose immediately. "You're here to stop me," he said.
"I'm here to talk you out of it."
"And how do you intend to do that?"
Ino thought for a moment. "I don't think you need to push yourself this hard. This world — this universe — doesn't belong to you alone. To kill the one old man who truly values you, all for the sake of some unknowable future... will you really have no regrets?"
Zamasu's brow furrowed deeply. Ino's words were entirely in the vein of sacrificing the greater good to protect one's own small circle — completely at odds with his worldview.
"Let me skip the abstract examples and show you something closer to home," Ino said.
She pointed a finger. It was close to home in a manner of speaking — what she showed him was something that had happened in a different timeline.
She showed Zamasu the moment the Six Paths of Pain killed Jiraiya. "Where I come from, slaying one's master has practically become a tradition... This man called Nagato also believed that what he was doing was righteous. But in his final moments, he was filled with regret."
Seen from Pain's side, it had looked utterly emotionless — just killing Jiraiya without a flicker of feeling. But those bodies were nothing more than tools. The one pulling the strings carried real emotions.
The Nagato of that timeline — after Jiraiya sank into the depths of the sea, his face had been a mask of anguish. Before he acted, he had believed his ideals were magnificent. But after the deed was done, regret consumed him. For days on end, he had been lost in grief and remorse.
"I am not some fragile mortal," Zamasu said, his expression blank.
"But the fact that Lord Gowasu values you — that he has guided and taught you with such earnest care — that's not something you can dismiss, is it?" Ino shot back.
Zamasu stood ramrod straight, thinking in earnest for a moment. "If you've appeared here, then that means my plans have already succeeded, correct? You coming here to stop me can't actually change the future — so what you want to change is the present?"
A Supreme Kai was well-read and worldly; the sheer breadth of his knowledge meant he wasn't easy to fool. Ino clicked her tongue, thought for two seconds, and shifted her approach.
"What you're describing is a relative concept. For the Zamasu who stole the Time Ring, the damage done to the 'grid' of time objectively exists — that cannot be changed. But for you, the Zamasu of this moment, on the 'line' of the present timeline, you can still choose again.
You haven't made a move this whole time. You're even standing here talking to me right now. Deep down, part of you actually wants to be stopped. Doesn't it?
I've always admired your conviction and your sense of justice. Think carefully. Don't do something you'll regret. Step back from the edge."
Zamasu's brow creased in thought for a moment. "This world of ours will ultimately slide into an unknowable abyss. Greed will destroy everything beautiful before us. I don't possess the great authority you wield — but I can still tell the difference between what is real and what is illusion. That was a real future. If you cannot solve this problem, then even if you killed me today, tomorrow some other god or mortal would walk this same path. Supreme Kai of Time — have you considered that?"
Ino was momentarily at a loss for words. The reach of this guy's concern was truly something else. She was already spending enormous effort negotiating the future of the multiverses with Grand Zeno and the Grand Minister — and now she had to go through it all again with him?
She let out a short, dismissive laugh. "You know that Grand Zeno is the highest authority in our world, correct?"
"I do," Zamasu confirmed with a nod.
As an Apprentice Supreme Kai, he had no standing to seek an audience with Grand Zeno — but he certainly knew the name of the big boss. In his imagination, Grand Zeno was probably some imposing, domineering elder figure...
Ino pointed straight at him. "The principle of everyone fulfilling their own role — I'd think you'd understand that. You are the Apprentice Supreme Kai of the Tenth Universe. You are not Grand Zeno. You have no right to manage the future of the multiverses."
She could see that Zamasu was about to bring up the fact that Grand Zeno didn't actually govern anything, leaving each universe to fend for itself — so she got there first. "Very soon, Grand Zeno will issue a decision that will determine the final fate of eight universes within the multiverses. When that happens, perhaps you'll have a change of heart."
Zamasu didn't know about this. He thought it over, then asked, "When?"
Ino checked the near future. "Soon. Four hours in the main timeline — or 500 Takas after this moment in multiverse terms."
Zamasu was briefly taken aback. He was deeply anxious about the future — itching to charge out and "save the world" this very instant — but four hours was nothing. He could wait. No matter how urgent things felt, they weren't so urgent that he couldn't wait a little while.
In the end, he was persuaded. "Very well. I promise you — I will wait for that decision to be handed down."
Ino left the Tenth Universe. The Zamasu of this timeline had, for now, stood down.
Mission progress: 2 of 3.
The Zamasu of Future Trunks' timeline had killed far too many people. There was no going back for him. That one could only be resolved by force.
Mai's body had taken a heavy toll in the earlier battle. Possessing it was fine — but actually fighting in it would be dangerous.
Against a Zamasu with an immortal body, Future Trunks and Future Gohan were struggling to keep up. This crisis would need outside help.
...
The Seventh Universe's Destroyer's Realm.
Ino went there directly and laid out the situation.
"A Supreme Kai actually wanted to take over my body?" Son Goku stared in disbelief, feeling like the whole thing was somehow absurd.
Vegeta listened to the full account, crossed his arms, and wore a thoroughly sour expression.
One after another, they all set their sights on Kakarot's body. Why did no one ever come to take over the body of this Prince? Was everyone looking down on him?
Beerus sat to the side, listening in on the conversation. He dug a finger lazily in his ear and closed his eyes in contentment.
There was a Supreme Kai of Time right here, and the aggrieved party was right here. What did any of this have to do with him? Time for a nap.
Both Son Goku and Vegeta were willing to follow Ino into the future to deal with Zamasu.
"As for the immortal body — do you have a way to handle that?" Whis raised the key question.
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