Vegeta watched Goku Black return to his base form, unable to tell what he was planning.
Goku Black opened his eyes again with a vicious smile.
"I've finally reached a realm that mortals like you can never hope to comprehend."
"What's he doing now?" Goku asked, studying him from a distance.
Goku Black threw back his head and roared.
Rosé-colored light erupted around him, flooding the ruins with a divine glow. His aura climbed higher, and his hair changed with it, every black strand turning a vivid shade of pink.
"Pink?" Goku leaned forward, openly fascinated by the unfamiliar form.
Vegeta could only stare as the pressure rolling off Goku Black continued to rise.
"Magnificent," Zamasu said, delight spreading across his face. "So when a god surpasses Super Saiyan, his divine nature turns the transformation rosé."
Goku Black admired the energy flowing around him.
"I'll call this form Super Saiyan Rosé."
The power behind that transformation immediately convinced Goku that the situation had changed.
"Vegeta, we should fight them together."
"Don't be ridiculous." Vegeta refused without taking his eyes off Goku Black. "You deal with the other one. Every time I beat this impostor down, Zamasu heals him and makes him stronger."
"I can heal you too."
Vegeta's patience snapped.
"That doesn't help! His power rises every time he recovers. Mine doesn't, and I still have Senzu Beans."
"Oh. Right."
Goku pointed toward the immortal Zamasu.
"Hey, you're Zamasu, aren't you? I'll fight you."
"With pleasure."
The two moved toward the roof of a nearby tower and settled into fighting stances.
Vegeta swallowed another Senzu Bean, restoring every trace of energy he had spent. Once both battles were set, the four fighters launched themselves forward.
Goku transformed into Super Saiyan Blue and drove a fist toward Zamasu's face.
Zamasu slipped around the punch and formed a purple energy blade, but Goku avoided the counter with room to spare. He caught Zamasu by the wrist, swung him overhead, and smashed him into the street below.
The impact left Zamasu buried in broken pavement and struggling to regain his bearings.
"You're not very strong," Goku said, unable to hide his disappointment. "Using Blue against you was a waste."
Zamasu's face darkened.
With a sweep of his hand, divine power lifted chunks of concrete, twisted metal, and shattered masonry from the ruins. The debris converged on Goku from every direction.
"I could avoid this with my eyes closed."
Goku did exactly that.
Ultra Instinct guided his body through the storm without a single piece touching him. Zamasu redirected a steel reinforcing bar toward his heart, hoping the narrower attack would catch him off guard.
"I should probably fight back once in a while."
Goku opened his eyes and flicked one hand.
The steel bar reversed direction so quickly that Zamasu had no time to move. It pierced his chest, tore through his heart, and burst from his back.
Trunks and Mai watched in astonishment.
Compared to Goku Black, the second Zamasu seemed almost harmless.
Goku let Super Saiyan Blue fade, keeping only an ordinary Super Saiyan transformation to conserve his strength. He descended until he stood across from the impaled Zamasu.
"It's not too late to fix this. Use the Dragon Balls from this timeline and restore Earth."
Zamasu's answer came as a low, unsettling laugh.
He wrapped one hand around the steel bar and tore it out of his chest. Metal clanged against the pavement, and the wound sealed before Goku's eyes.
Trunks leaned forward in alarm.
"He healed instantly."
"We destroyed the Dragon Balls after making our final wish," Zamasu said. "Even if you wanted to restore this world, there's nothing left to use."
"What did you wish for?" Goku asked. "And why can't you be injured?"
"I know I'm weak compared to fighters like you. Unlike my other self, however, I refused to sacrifice my divine power for greater strength." Zamasu spread his arms, presenting his restored body. "So I wished for immortality."
The answer caught Goku and Trunks completely off guard, while Mai struggled to follow the exchange from farther away.
"You'll do anything to get what you want," Goku said, disgust tightening his voice.
Zamasu raised one hand.
The pouch of Senzu Beans vanished from inside Vegeta's armor and appeared in his palm.
"Hey, those are Vegeta's!" Goku shouted. "Vegeta, he stole your Senzu Beans!"
Still trading blows with Goku Black, Vegeta reached inside his armor and found the pouch gone.
"You bastard!"
"Divine power can be remarkably convenient."
Energy gathered around Zamasu's fingers as he prepared to destroy the pouch.
Goku lifted his own hand.
"I can do that too."
The Senzu Beans disappeared from Zamasu's grasp and reappeared in Goku's.
He shook the pouch with a triumphant grin.
"See?"
Zamasu's expression soured.
He summoned the pouch back.
Goku reclaimed it an instant later.
The Senzu Beans began jumping between their hands, vanishing and reappearing so quickly that Trunks and Mai could only exchange a baffled look.
Vegeta finally lost patience.
"Kakarot! Stop playing with the damn beans!"
"Yeah, you're right."
That brief distraction was enough. The pouch appeared in Zamasu's palm one final time, and divine power crushed it along with every Senzu Bean inside.
Goku stared at the empty space in his hand.
"Vegeta, that was your fault. You distracted me."
Vegeta's anger nearly became visible smoke.
Kakarot had wasted time playing with the pouch, yet somehow Vegeta was to blame.
"It doesn't matter," Goku added with a grin. "I can heal us."
Zamasu swept both hands forward before Goku could refocus.
Invisible divine power closed around his body and locked every joint in place. Zamasu drove a kick into his chest, knocking him hard against the ground.
"You may know how to manipulate divine power, but that does not make you a god," Zamasu said. "A mortal could never understand how gods truly fight."
Goku forced himself upright, glaring across the broken street.
"You only know how to use cheap tricks."
Nearby, Goku Black had already taken control of his fight with Vegeta.
An uppercut buried itself in Vegeta's stomach, folding him over the blow and forcing bile from his throat. Goku Black followed with a kick that drove him into the ground.
Vegeta struggled back onto his feet, his Super Saiyan 4 form battered and unsteady.
Goku Black's laughter rolled across the battlefield.
"This endless power has finally fused completely with my body! It no longer matters that you came from Ken's timeline. Even if Ken appeared before me now, I would crush him beneath my feet!"
He spread his arms as the rosé aura blazed higher.
"My power has already surpassed the Broly I once knew!"
Goku Black's next kick lifted Vegeta from the ground and sent him tumbling through the air. Vegeta struck the ruins, rolled onto his side, and lost consciousness before he could rise again.
"Dad!"
Trunks rushed to Vegeta and dropped beside him, searching frantically for signs of life.
Goku Black's attention shifted toward him.
"Trunks. We meet again."
"We need to retreat!" Trunks shouted toward Goku. "If we stay here, they'll kill us. We need time to find a way around their abilities!"
"Retreat?" Goku clearly hated the idea of abandoning the fight.
Zamasu abandoned his own opponent and appeared beside Goku Black.
"You don't need Trunks for training anymore, do you? We should kill him now."
"You're right." Goku Black looked down at Trunks with a grateful smile that only deepened his cruelty. "You helped me grow enormously. I should thank you."
Trunks's hands tightened around Vegeta's armor.
"So that's why I survived all those fights. It wasn't luck. You kept letting me escape because you were using me."
Every battle Trunks had barely survived had been arranged for Goku Black's benefit. He had not escaped through skill or fortune; he had unknowingly helped create the monster now standing over him.
Rage burned through the shame.
"Goku! Mai! Close your eyes!"
"What are you—"
"Taiyoken!"
Trunks brought both hands beside his face.
Blinding light exploded from his body and washed across the battlefield. Goku Black and Zamasu were caught before either could turn away, leaving them trapped in a world of white.
By the time their sight returned, Goku, Trunks, Mai, and Vegeta had vanished.
Goku had taken them to the Sacred World of the Kai in Universe 6.
He immediately knelt beside Vegeta and began healing him.
Mai examined the unfamiliar world around them, overwhelmed by the vast sky and strange landscape.
"Where are we?"
Trunks recognized it from his earlier visit.
"This looks like the Sacred World of the Kai."
"That's right," Goku said without interrupting the healing. "We're in the Sacred World of the Kai in Universe 6."
Vegeta's injuries faded under Goku's power, and awareness returned with them. Trunks helped him sit up.
"Dad, are you all right?"
"That bastard…" Vegeta's fists shook as humiliation and fury surged through him. "I'll tear him apart."
"Your power didn't increase after being healed," Goku said carefully. "You probably can't beat him like this. Let me fight Goku Black next."
The suggestion only struck deeper at Vegeta's pride.
"No. He's mine."
Losing to Kakarot was infuriating enough. Losing to a thief wearing Kakarot's body was unbearable.
His only victory against any version of Goku had come in the tournament against GT Goku, and he refused to let this impostor become another defeat.
Goku recognized that nothing he said would change Vegeta's mind.
"All right."
He turned toward Trunks.
"I didn't know you could use Taiyoken."
"Tien taught me."
"I haven't seen Tien in a long time."
"Tien, Krillin, Yamcha… Goku Black killed all of them in this timeline."
The mention of Krillin brought Goku's anger back in full force.
"I never expected Goku Black to be hiding so much power," Trunks continued. "Now he has an immortal partner who can heal him as often as he wants. We should stay here and wait for Ken."
Mai looked between them.
"How can anyone defeat an immortal enemy who can heal his partner?"
"Ken should know how," Trunks said, though the answer sounded more like hope than certainty.
"We don't need Ken for this." Goku scratched his cheek as an old memory surfaced. "I know a technique that might work."
Vegeta glanced at him from the corner of his eye but said nothing.
"What technique?" Trunks asked.
"Long before I was born, an incredibly powerful enemy appeared on Earth. Master Roshi and his own teacher were the only fighters who could stand against him, but neither of them could win."
"You mean Piccolo?" Trunks asked, wiping sweat from his brow.
Goku looked surprised.
"You know about that?"
"I've heard the story. Piccolo once tried to conquer the world."
Mai kept her face carefully neutral.
She, Emperor Pilaf, and Shu had been the ones who released King Piccolo in the first place. Fortunately, Goku was talking about the period before his original sealing, so no one had any reason to connect her to it.
"Technically, that was Piccolo's father," Goku explained.
"How did they defeat him?"
"Master Roshi's teacher used Mafuba and sealed King Piccolo inside a rice cooker."
Trunks stared at him, unsure whether he had heard correctly.
"A rice cooker? What kind of technique does that?"
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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