"You are incredibly strong!" Goku exclaimed, his eyes shining with amazement, still surprised by how he had defeated Cell without barely moving from his spot.
Zaiko smiled broadly, genuinely enjoying being flattered.
"I already told you," Zaiko replied quite naturally, crossing his arms again. "I am the most powerful warrior in the entire universe."
Goku smiled, scratching his cheek, remembering the introduction his son from the future had made a few moments ago.
"Oh, right... Hey, you also said you were a God-Saiyan. What exactly does that mean?" Goku asked, tilting his head with sincere curiosity.
At that moment, Vegeta couldn't take it anymore.
Sick of so much chatter and that the tournament had turned into a ridiculous talk, he jumped and landed abruptly in the combat arena.
"Dad, wait!" Trunks yelled from behind, trying to stop him in vain.
Vegeta planted himself in front of Zaiko, defiant and with his brow deeply furrowed, staring at him.
However, due to the evident difference in height, Vegeta turned out to be almost two heads shorter than him, being forced to look up to hold his gaze.
Zaiko observed him from above and couldn't help but think to himself that Vegeta was quite a dwarf.
Having that thought, he curved his lips into an amused smile at the image of the furious, short prince.
Seeing that mocking smile directed right at him, the vein on Vegeta's forehead throbbed violently.
"What are you laughing at, you insect?!" Vegeta exclaimed, extremely annoyed and clenching his fists.
Zaiko simply ignored him completely.
He looked away from the Saiyan Prince as if his presence didn't matter in the slightest and turned his attention back to Goku to answer his question.
"My mother was a goddess," Zaiko explained, speaking to Goku with a calm tone, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Therefore, I was born with Divine Ki. My soul is that of a god, so I am a God-Saiyan."
In his mind, Zaiko widened his smile with satisfaction. «I'll never get tired of calling myself a God-Saiyan», he thought to himself.
Processing his words, Goku's face suddenly went pale.
He stumbled backward a couple of steps awkwardly, waving his hands nervously in front of his face while breaking into a cold sweat.
"W-wait a minute... W-what do you mean by that?! Isn't Chi-Chi your mother?!" Goku stammered, panicked.
Zaiko snorted in amusement.
"No."
...
Meanwhile, at the quiet residence of the Son family, on Mount Paozu...
The reporters' cameras, which hadn't stopped recording for a single second since the start of the Cell Games, were now pointing directly at Goku and Zaiko.
Thanks to the proximity and the powerful microphones, they were capturing every word of their conversation live and broadcasting it to the entire planet.
Chi-Chi was sitting in front of the television next to her father, the Ox-King.
Hearing Zaiko state so confidently that he was Goku's son from the future, she couldn't help but bring both hands to her mouth, deeply surprised.
She knew perfectly well about the existence of time travel thanks to Trunks, Bulma and Vegeta's son.
In fact, Chi-Chi was tremendously grateful to that boy, because if it weren't for him and the medicine he brought, her Goku would have died from that strange heart disease.
And right now, another boy from the future appeared out of nowhere, this time claiming to be her husband's son.
Chi-Chi couldn't help but remember how Goku had recently asked her to have another child and brought her hands to her face, blushing completely as she remembered what happened that night.
W-was she perhaps already pregnant...?
Beside her, the Ox-King stood up from the couch and let out a loud, deep laugh that shook the room.
He gently patted his daughter's back with his hand, radiant with happiness.
"Hahaha! It seems in the future you will give me more grandchildren, my little Chi-Chi," her father told her with a big smile. "Aren't you happy?"
Chi-Chi smiled slightly at first, looking at her father, but almost immediately frowned, adopting her typical strict posture and crossing her arms.
"I don't know, dad... this Zaiko guy seems like quite a rebel."
Hearing this, the Ox-King blinked a couple of times and let out a nervous chuckle.
"It's obvious that in that future I haven't raised him well at all! I've failed as a mother!" Chi-Chi continued talking, raising her voice and frowning even more. "Look at him, he's just like Goku! No son of mine should be out there fighting! Zaiko should be studying at a desk to be a great scientist, just like Gohan will be!"
However, right in the middle of her speech, both Chi-Chi and the Ox-King heard Zaiko's voice with absolute clarity through the television speakers.
They heard him explain that his mother was a goddess. They heard Goku's terrified question. And, above all, they heard Zaiko's answer stating that Chi-Chi wasn't his mother.
Silence flooded the living room.
The Ox-King slowly turned his large head toward his daughter.
A thick bead of cold sweat slid down his temple as he swallowed loudly, deeply terrified by the aura starting to emanate beside him.
At that moment, Chi-Chi jumped up.
She kept her gaze fixed on the floor, her entire body shaking uncontrollably. A thick and threatening shadow completely covered the upper half of her face, obscuring her eyes.
When she finally looked up, the image was terrifying. Chi-Chi was gritting her teeth hard, her face dyed a deep, burning red, consumed by fury.
"GOKUUUUUU!!" she screamed at the television screen at the top of her lungs, making the window panes rattle. "YOU BASTARD!! HOW DARE YOU DO THIS TO ME?! UNFAITHFUUUUUL!! TRAITOOOOOR!!"
Meanwhile, everywhere in the world, the tension and terror that had paralyzed the entire planet began to quickly transform into a sea of confusion.
On the streets of big cities, in bars, and in the dining rooms of houses, billions of people watched the live broadcast with furrowed brows, exchanging looks of disbelief.
The scene playing out on their televisions began to seem so absurd and surreal that people simply couldn't process it as something real.
Quickly, people started convincing themselves that everything related to this Cell guy, the tournament, and this flamboyant warrior from the future was, in reality, simply a gigantic hoax to promote a new sci-fi movie.
Just like that, people started going back to their normal lives as if nothing had happened.
As if Cell hadn't murdered hundreds of thousands of people a few days ago...
...
Back at the arena, Goku had finally calmed down after the initial scare.
Although, inside, he was still breaking into a cold sweat and feeling somewhat scared imagining the terrifying reaction Chi-Chi would have when she found out about all this... living in blissful ignorance that she already had.
Vegeta took a step forward and looked at Zaiko, feeling curiosity eating away at him inside.
"Hey, you! Explain to me immediately what the hell Divine Ki is! Speak up at once!" he demanded.
Zaiko, keeping his arms crossed, simply looked down to meet his eyes.
"If you want an answer... you already know the proper way to ask," Zaiko replied calmly, forming an amused smile.
Vegeta's face contorted.
He felt deeply embarrassed and humiliated being treated like an immature child, and to top it off, by Kakarot's son.
The mere thought of being forced to say the word "please" to ask for something for the first time in his life made his blood boil with anger.
"You...!" Vegeta exploded.
But before he could continue, Goku intervened quickly, scratching the back of his neck.
"Hey, Zaiko, the truth is I'm also really curious," Goku said. "Could you explain to us what Divine Ki is, please?"
Zaiko snorted in amusement and didn't miss the opportunity.
Still smiling, he looked away toward Vegeta.
"See, Vegeta? That's exactly how you're supposed to ask for something."
Vegeta looked away, clenching his fists while the vein on his forehead throbbed ready to burst.
"Damn insect... how dare you mock me like this..." he muttered through his teeth, completely furious.
Both Kakarot and his son, Zaiko, seemed to share the same ability to easily get on his nerves.
Only then, Zaiko turned his attention back to Goku and began to explain, while Vegeta listened.
"The reason you can't sense my Ki is because Divine Ki cannot be sensed by mortals. It can only be perceived by those who also possess Divine Ki inside them," Zaiko revealed to them with complete calm. "You will have to train very hard for a long time to even hope to sense it... and even so, very few mortals are capable of at least feeling the heavy pressure it emits."
Saying this last part, Zaiko's gaze shifted slightly to the side, locking onto Piccolo, who, from a distance, was watching and listening to every word with his sharp hearing.
Piccolo, seeing Zaiko looking him right in the eyes at the exact moment he said that, clicked his tongue stealthily and frowned, feeling as if he had been caught eavesdropping.
To finish his explanation, Zaiko focused back on Goku and Vegeta.
"In short, Divine Ki is an immensely superior form of energy used only by the gods."
Hearing this, Vegeta's ambition won out over his pride and he took a step forward.
"And how can I acquire that Divine Ki?!" he demanded to know.
Zaiko, still with his arms crossed, was blunt and cruel with his words.
"You are still too weak to even think about approaching the realm of the gods."
Vegeta gritted his teeth so hard it almost seemed they would break, his eyes burning with rage at being called weak right to his face.
Goku, on the other hand, reacted the opposite way.
His eyes shone with excitement and he clenched his fists in front of him.
"Then there's no choice but to keep training and get much stronger!" Goku exclaimed, laughing enthusiastically at the prospect of reaching new limits.
Vegeta clicked his tongue in annoyance at Kakarot's attitude, but, deep down, he was thinking the exact same thing as him.
Both Saiyans fixed their gaze intensely on Zaiko, with their minds already working in overdrive, thinking about how they should approach him to train, given that right now he was, by far, the most powerful individual they knew.
Only by facing opponents stronger than them could they surpass their limits and get stronger.
At that moment, Zaiko clapped once in front of his face, drawing the attention of both of them.
"Well, the conversation is over."
Instantly, all three turned their heads in the direction of what remained of Cell's body.
There, before their eyes, they saw how from the bio-android's legs a new torso began to grow rapidly, followed by strong arms and, finally, a complete head.
Cell had managed to regenerate and recover completely, breathing heavily.
And from the bloodshot look he directed at them, he was angrier than ever.
-----------------
In the next chapter, Zaiko finally shows everyone the difference in power between gods and mortals.