The sea wind pushed at the flags along the temple.
Zuki's ribbons lay in tatters. The monks hadn't moved her body.
Kaiden didn't move right away. He stood over the cracked tiles, silver eyes cutting through the haze like blades. His aura hissed against the air, snapping arcs from stone to stone.
He spoke not to the crowd, King Kai, but to Goku.
"Do you know how it feels to lose everything you love?" His voice was low, steady. The kind of calm that hurts more than shouting. "It just sits in your chest and eats you alive."
Goku's throat tightened. He stayed still, listening.
Kaiden's gaze didn't waver. "When you've lost everything, there's no mercy left to give. No kindness. You learn that the world doesn't care if you're a boy or a monster —the weak die and the strong survive."
He took a step forward. The tiles cracked underfoot.
"I survived." His voice sharpened. "That's why I'm standing here, and she's not."
The crowd shifted, uneasy—even Johnny.
Goku finally spoke, his voice rough but honest. "…Why, why did you do it, Kaiden?"
Kaiden's eyes widened slightly, like the question had hit a nerve.
"Why?" His voice climbed. "You don't get to ask me why!" Lightning cracked outward, blasting a crater at his side.
His voice broke into a snarl. "You don't remember. But I do."
The courtyard held its breath.
Kaiden's hand trembled as sparks crawled down his arm. "I remember the night it happened—the screams. My brother telling me to run. To live. While he stayed behind." His jaw clenched, the words ripping out of him like wounds reopening. "I saw it. That monster. The monster you became. You burned everything."
He stabbed a finger toward Goku's tail, his voice cracking. "You killed everyone. My brother. My family. My home. All of it!"
His breath shook. "And then you—" Kaiden's voice twisted between fury and grief. "You kept living. Laughing. Training. Eating like nothing happened." His silver eyes burned hotter, arcs splitting the air. "While I carried the ashes of everyone I loved."
Kaiden's voice broke, teeth grinding as arcs split the stone beneath him. "And I saw them. The Guardians of the Globe. They knew what you did…" His eyes narrowed to slits. "…and they let you walk away."
The words sent a murmur through the crowd.
Kaiden's fists shook. "You destroyed our home, and they let you go back to yours. They showed you mercy. But what about my brother?"
"You think I wanted this?" His teeth grit, his voice breaking. "You think I wanted to live while he—" He stopped, chest heaving, fists trembling.
Goku swallowed, eyes fixed on him. "…Kaiden…"
"Shut up!" Kaiden snapped.
The tiles under his feet shattered, sparks swirling like shards of glass. His silver eyes locked on Goku's tail, the living reminder of everything he'd lost.
"You don't belong in this world. Not after what you did. This fight ends here!"
Kaiden's ki swelled. Sparks screamed across his shoulders, leaping from stone to stone like veins of living silver. The air grew heavy, bending under the weight of his aura.
"Godspeed," he muttered, and the storm answered.
Light ripped down the sky. Lightning had struck point-blank, forcing fighters and monks alike to shield their eyes. When the glare faded, Kaiden's form blurred in arcs of silver, his cloak snapping in a current no wind could carry.
Johnny cursed under his breath. "…I've never seen this much ki in my life!"
Iroh leaned forward. "Kaiden's power is skyrocketing."
King Kai's brows lowered, his usually playful eyes sharp. He didn't move to interfere — not yet.
Across from him, Goku swallowed hard. His ribs still ached under the bandages, but his feet planted themselves without asking. His fists clenched. "I'm sorry."
Kaiden's eyes flashed silver. "You should have died."
Kaiden didn't strike immediately. His silver eyes burned, his words cutting sharper than his blows.
Goku's fists trembled, not from fear but guilt. "I… didn't know. I didn't mean—"
"Don't you dare say you didn't mean it!" Kaiden roared. The tiles cracked beneath his boots, the sound echoing through the courtyard. "Intent doesn't matter to the dead. They don't care if it was an accident. They're gone, and you're still here."
And then he moved.
The first step cracked the tiles. The second step blurred. By the third, Kaiden vanished in a streak of light.
Goku barely saw the fist before it slammed into his face. The impact rang through his body like a gong, sending him skidding across the ring. His heels dug trenches into the stone.
Kaiden was already in front of him again, cloak snapping, silver arcs lashing like whips. His knee drove for Goku's ribs — Goku blocked high, but the shockwave blasted him off his feet. He flipped back, landed in a crouch, and grinned despite the sting.
Kaiden's silver eyes narrowed, "You can't run away."
He was gone again.
This time, Goku moved first, ducking under the arc of light. Kaiden's palm swept over his head, silver sparks tearing a crater into the stone. Goku popped up inside the guard, swung for Kaiden's jaw—
—but Kaiden caught his wrist, sparks exploding on contact. With a twist and a shove, he hurled Goku across the ring.
Goku rolled to his feet, breathing hard.
The crowd could barely follow their movements now. Fighters who had trained their whole lives leaned forward, squinting to track the arcs of silver and orange darting across the arena.
Gyro leaned forward, eyes wide. "He's… Goku is actually reading him."
Iroh's tea cup lowered, "It shouldn't be possible. Kaiden, in his form, is untouchable."
King Kai's gaze sharpened. "No. Not impossible. Goku has gotten stronger. He's growing mid-fight again. Just like with Udon and Iroh."
From the sidelines, Johnny shouted, "Come on, Goku!" but even he knew the difference in speed was unreal.
Kaiden lifted his hand, lightning screaming into shape. "I'll show you what I saw the night my world burned. The day you took everything — and now, it'll take you."
And then he raised his hand. Sparks swirled, shaping into a spear of pure lightning.
The lightning spear pulsed in his hand, arcs snapping across the ring.
Kaiden hurled it.
The courtyard was lit white.
Goku's eyes widened—too close, too fast—his hands flew up without thinking.
Light burst outward, raw and uneven, wrapping around him in a trembling shell of blue. The spear struck it head-on.
BOOM.
The shockwave tore tiles from their roots, exploding dust into the air. Monks braced against the blast, and fighters shielded their faces.
When the haze cleared, Goku was still standing—arms shaking, barrier flickering—but alive.
Johnny's jaw dropped. "He… stopped it?!"
Iroh's eyes narrowed, calculating. "He did this in our fight."
King Kai leaned forward, lips tight. "That kid… he's learning to use ki defensively."
The barrier sputtered out. Goku's chest heaved, sweat dripping, but a grin tugged faintly at his mouth.
"Thank God that worked."
Kaiden snarled, silver arcs clawing across his skin. "Don't mock me!"
He vanished again—lightning ripping in his wake.
But this time, Goku was ready.
He ducked under the first strike, pivoted into Kaiden's guard, and his fist connected with his jaw. The impact cracked like stone splitting. Kaiden staggered.
Gasps rippled through the courtyard.
Gyro muttered, "He hit him!"
Kaiden's silver eyes burned hotter. "You think landing one hit means anything?"
He blurred forward, palm striking, but Goku slipped past, countering with a knee to the ribs. It landed.
Johnny shouted, "He tagged him again!"
For the first time, Kaiden looked rattled.
But only for a second.
His aura spiked, arcs whipping like blades. "Fine. Let's see you survive this."
He spread his arms wide—silver storm. The entire ring flashed as threads of lightning webbed out in every direction, enclosing the courtyard like a cage.
Goku crouched low, palms at his side. His chest swelled. His breath steadied.
Blue light sparked between his hands.
"Kaaa…"
Kaiden's eyes widened—then narrowed.
"…meee…"
The energy closed in.
"…haaa—"
The glow sputtered. Flickered. Died.
Goku's hands shook. His ki was gone. His aura fizzled like smoke.
The storm swallowed him whole.
Kaiden grinned, teeth bared. "Pathetic. Even your power abandons you."
The crowd went silent.
Johnny's voice broke the quiet, low and shaken. "He… he couldn't do it."
King Kai's gaze darkened. "He's out of energy."
Kaiden lowered his head, his voice low, trembling with rage.
"You're not winning this."
The storm didn't lash outward this time.
It folded. Tightened.
The arcs crawled inward, lacing across Kaiden's arms like veins of molten silver. The glow in his eyes sharpened, pale and merciless, like blades.
The air hummed, high and sharp, the sound drilling into skulls. Even the monks at the walls pressed their palms harder together.
Goku's chest heaved, sweat dripping, arms trembling. His ki was gone, his body already pushed to the limit.
"Kaiden… what are you doing?"
Kaiden raised his hand. The lightning cage shuddered. Its arcs bent inward, folding around Goku like walls closing in.
Johnny's eyes widened. "Wait… that technique—"
Zuki's ribbons stirred faintly in the wind where they lay. Gyro whispered, almost reverent:
"…That's hers. Zuki's illusion trap. He copied it."
Kaiden's voice carried, low but sharp enough for all to hear.
"I'll show you the night my world ended."
And then darkness swallowed him whole.
"Where… am I?"
The ground beneath him felt wrong. He knelt, brushing it with his fingertips. Ash.
A cold wind pushed smoke.
He turned around, ruins of houses, dead bodies.
Goku's chest tightened. The silence pressed heavily, broken only by the creak of wood ready to fall.
"You recognize it." Kaiden's voice broke the silence.
The ash crunched louder under Goku's sandals as he stumbled forward. The fires flared higher with every breath.
"No… this isn't me," he whispered. His voice shook. "I didn't mean to—"
Kaiden's voice thundered through the dark.
"You killed them."
The world shuddered.
The fire snapped into place, shaping itself — walls, rooftops, streets. Goku's eyes widened. It wasn't just ash anymore. It was a town. Alive. Whole.
And then it burned.
Flames ripped across the rooftops. Screams filled the air. Goku's ears rang with them, and his stomach lurched as people ran through the streets, fleeing for their lives.
Then he saw it.
Towering above the chaos. Red eyes. Fur. Claws.
The ape stumbled closer, sneered, and its teeth dripped light like molten fire.
"You are me," it said.
"No…" Goku whispered. "No, stop—"
The monster roared, flattening houses with one swing of its arm. Its tail smashed through walls. Its mouth glowed — and the beam carved fire through the street, reducing everything to rubble.
The illusion didn't let him look away.
Goku's hands trembled. "That's… me…"
"Yes," Kaiden spat. His voice cracked between grief and fury. "That was you. The night my brother died, I saw you shrink. It took me longer to recognize you, but everything connected once I saw that tail."
The fire bent again, narrowing. A boy appeared in the wreckage — older than Goku, but not by much. Silver eyes, frightened but fierce. His hand pushed against another boy's back, shoving him.
"Run," he cried. "Run, Kaiden!"
The younger Kaiden escaped just in time to see his brother swallowed by the blast.
That moment kept looping until it became unbearable.
Goku clutched his head, dropping to his knees. His heart pounded so loud it drowned out the screams.
"Stop it…" His teeth grit. "Please… stop it!"
But the illusion didn't stop.
Instead, it went deeper.
Goku saw something else through the fire — not Kaiden's memory, but something foreign. A red sky. A towering city. A planet lit by fire. A man in armor, scarred and sharp, his black hair wild. His eyes were the same as Goku's, but harder, colder.
Behind him, a beautiful woman was cradling an infant. The baby cried, the sound piercing.
"What—?" Goku staggered, staring.
Kaiden's voice wavered. "…What is this?"
The ruins twisted, and Kaiden was unsettled by what his illusion had dragged to the surface.
"Whose memory is that?"
The images flashed rows of pods, warriors, and a planet shaking again.
Then back to ash. Back to fire.
The voices wouldn't stop.
"Think you strong? You're weak and a coward." Johnny spoke.
"You couldn't even save me. You can't protect anyone." Zuki laughed.
"You destroyed everything. You deserve to die." Kaiden muttered.
The ape's roar swallowed them all.
Goku staggered through the ruins, clutching his ears, but the voices were inside his skull. The ash beneath him turned to blood, soaking his sandals. The bodies on the ground weren't strangers anymore — he saw faces. Johnny. Kaiden's brother. Master Roshi. All staring at him with empty eyes.
"I didn't… I didn't mean to—" Gokus throat cracked.
The reflection in the glass sneered again. "But you did."
The soldier's face leaned closer, dark hair whipping in the firelight. "You are Saiyan. You were born to conquer."
Goku shook his head violently. "No! That's not who I am!"
The soldier's eyes burned red, bleeding into the ape's. "Then what are you?"
Goku's breath caught. He had no answer.
The world bent again. The sky cracked into white veins, the ground falling away beneath Goku. He plummeted through the void, the voices still tearing at him, ripping him into pieces.
"Monster!"
"Failure!"
"Coward!"
"Who are you?"
The words clawed into him until his chest felt hollow.
Goku's fists clenched. "…Who am I?"
"Goku."
A voice — warm.
The screams became muffled, like water rushing over stone. The void softened into moonlight.
The fire stopped burning for the first time in what felt like forever.
And standing before him, clear as moonlight, was Gohan.
"Grandpa…?" Goku whispered, tears streaking his ash-stained cheeks.
The man nodded gently. "Yes, Goku. It's me."
Goku didn't run to him.
He stood, wary, breath hitching. "If this is your trick," he said to the dark, "it won't work."
Gohan smiled as he only did—soft at the corners, a little tired. "I know that face. That's your 'I'm pretending I'm not scared' face."
Goku's fists tightened. "Kaiden is making me see things. I can't trust this."
Gohan nodded, not offended.
"But… how are you here?"
"I placed a seal on you long ago," Gohan said, walking closer. "In case the night of the crater ever repeats. If you were ever about to lose yourself again, this seal would open… and I'd be here. Even if only in spirit."
Goku's throat tightened. "Then… you saw it? You knew what I did?"
Gohan's smile faded, his eyes heavy. "Yes."
And that was all it took.
The dam broke.
"Grandpa!" Goku's voice cracked, raw. "Why?! Why didn't you tell me what I was?! That I turn into that—that thing! That I killed people! That maybe I'm not even from here!" His fists shook, pounding at his chest. "I keep hurting people! Zuki, Kaiden, you—everyone around me! I don't know what I am, or what I'm supposed to be!"
The words tumbled out faster, breaking between sobs. "Am I a monster? An alien? Just some kid with too much power? I don't even know why I'm fighting anymore! I don't know who I am!"
The silence stretched.
Then Gohan stepped forward and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You're my grandson."
Goku froze.
"That's all I ever needed to know. And all you need to remember."
The warmth spread through him again, the same weight that used to steady him as a child when the nightmares came.
"But… the ape… the destruction…"
"Yes," Gohan said, not flinching. "That's part of you, too. You can't erase it. But you can choose what to do with it."
Goku swallowed, voice shaking. "Choose…?"
"Choose who you want to be," Gohan said. "Do you want to run from it? Or do you want to live with it, guide it, and protect the people you love from the part of you that once destroyed?"
Goku's breath hitched. He looked down at his fists—shaking, bloodied, small compared to the ape's shadow.
Then he whispered: "I… I want to change."
The seal pulsed brighter.
Gohan smiled. "Good. Then stand. Say your name."
"…I am Goku."
"Again," Gohan said.
"I am Goku!"
The ape's roar cracked into static.
The seal burned through the ash and fire, light spreading outward.
"I am Goku! And I'll protect them! I'll protect everyone I love!"
The ape's form shattered, dissolving into sparks.
The seal burst.
The illusion began to collapse.
The world cracked like glass. Shattering into shards of red light that fell away into nothing.
Goku stumbled forward — and the temple returned.
The lightning cage around him began to break. Whole web sections had burned out, frayed by the seal pulsing inside him.
Across the ring, Kaiden's eyes widened. His hands twitched, sparks jumping erratically.
"…You escaped?"
Goku stood taller. His tail curled at his side.
"I know who I am," he said quietly. "I'm Goku."
The words weren't loud, but the courtyard felt them. Johnny's chest swelled with relief. Iroh's brow lifted. Even King Kai's usual smirk softened into something smaller, prouder.
Kaiden's jaw clenched. His voice dropped into a growl.
"Knowing your name doesn't change what you've done. It won't save you."
The arcs along his body shrieked louder, flaring as he prepared to strike again.
Kaiden blurred.
The tiles split where he'd been standing, cracks spider-webbing outward. He reappeared before Goku, fist raised high, silver arcs screaming around his arm.
Goku crossed his arms just in time.
BOOM.
The blow rattled the ring, dust blasting outward in a circle. The crowd stumbled back, shielding their eyes.
But when the haze cleared—
Goku was still standing. His arms shook, but he hadn't moved an inch. His silver eyes locked on Kaiden's.
Kaiden's fist pressed harder against Goku's guard, sparks screaming around his arm. The tiles beneath them shattered, dust rising in choking waves.
"Fall!" Kaiden roared, his aura howling louder.
But Goku held. His feet slid inches, but he didn't break. His teeth clenched, his arms straining against the storm.
And then, through the crackle of lightning and thunder, his voice rang out — raw.
"I'm not running anymore!"
The words weren't shouted with anger, but with resolve.
Kaiden's eyes widened. His grip faltered for a fraction of a second.
The exact words he had screamed to himself.
His silver eyes hardened again, fury crashing back in like a tide.
"Don't you dare!" Kaiden snarled, slamming his other fist forward. Sparks detonated against Goku's guard, forcing him back. "Don't you dare say those words like you understand!"
Kaiden blurred forward, faster than lightning.
Goku barely had time to cross his arms before the strike landed. The blow sent him flying across the ring, his back slamming into shattered stone. He coughed blood, but his legs pushed him upright again.
Kaiden sneered, his voice low and venomous.
"I saw it. I saw what's inside you. That ape. That monster. You can't change who you are."
Goku's chest heaved, sweat dripping down his chin. His fists trembled, but his voice steadied.
"Maybe that's who I was. But it's not who I'm going to be."
Kaiden's teeth grit. His aura flared, lightning spears forming in both hands.
"You think you can decide that?! Change isn't something you choose—" his voice cracked, rage spilling.
He hurled the spears.
Goku's eyes narrowed. His palms glowed faintly. The barrier shimmered to life around him, thinner than before, but steadier.
The spears struck.
The courtyard shook. Tiles ripped free from their roots as the lightning spears detonated against Goku's barrier.
For a moment, it looked like he was done.
But when the dust cleared.
Goku was still standing, arms trembling, knees buckling. The barrier cracked like glass about to shatter.
But it held.
Kaiden's eyes widened. Not from fear—rage.
"STOP PRETENDING!"
He blurred forward, fists sparking. Each strike came faster than the last — jabs, hooks, knees, lightning screaming with every blow. Goku staggered under the weight, each block shaking his bones.
A fist slammed into his ribs. A knee cracked against his jaw. His body screamed at him to fall—
—but his legs locked.
His tail lashed once behind him, balancing him, anchoring him.
Kaiden saw it and sneered.
"That tail is proof. Proof you'll never be human. Proof you'll never belong!"
He stepped closer, his aura clawing at the air. "And when I'm done with you, I'll erase everything that ever dared to love you. Master Roshi. That fool Johnny. Gohan. I'll burn it all the way you did my home."
The words hit harder than the blows.
Goku froze. His breath caught. The faces of Johnny, Roshi, and Grandpa Gohan flashed through his mind. All of them.
His tail lashed, muscles tightening like a coil ready to snap.
Blood ran down his chin, but he raised his head.
His eyes met Kaiden's, steady for the first time.
"…I'll protect them."
The air shifted. Goku's aura flickered—first faint, then burning. The storm pressed in, but his ki pulsed outward, blue light straining against the silver arcs.
Kaiden's teeth grit, his snarl breaking. "Protect? YOU can't even protect yourself!"
His fist shot forward, wrapped in lightning.
Goku caught it.
The impact shook the tiles under their feet, but his grip didn't break. His arms shook, blood dripping, but his eyes never looked away.
"…I'll protect everyone I love. Even if it kills me."
His ki flared. The blue light burned brighter, wrapping his body and scattering sparks from his skin. The crowd gasped as the storm of lightning bent outward, forced back by sheer will.
For the first time, Kaiden's expression cracked.
"You think you can change by saying it?! That vow means nothing!"
He reeled back, lightning exploding into a storm around his arm.
"I'll make sure you don't get the chance either!"
The strike came down, a silver storm condensed into one blow.
Goku's palms snapped together at his side. His breath steadied, his voice low but firm.
"Kaaa… meee…"
The courtyard gasped.
"haaa… meee…"
The storm swallowed him, lightning biting his skin, blood running down his arms.
"…HAAAAAA!"
The Kamehameha burst from his palms, blue light tearing through the storm.
The clash lit the entire temple.
The courtyard split with light. Blue and silver raged against each other, twisting the air like a storm caught between two suns.
Kaiden's spear howled, every arc of silver shrieking like claws tearing through the sky. His teeth bared, veins bulging across his temples. "You're no protector, you're a monster pretending to be human!"
Goku's feet dug trenches into the stone, his arms trembling from the force. His Kamehameha wavered, sputtering against the spear's crushing weight. His ribs screamed. His lungs burned. The beam threatened to collapse back onto him.
The crowd leaned forward, frozen, every heartbeat drowned by the roar of colliding energy.
Johnny whispered, voice shaking. "He's… losing."
The silver light pressed harder. Goku's barrier cracked under it, his beam bending back. For an instant, Kaiden's grin spread wide.
"You can't protect anyone!" he roared. "Not Zuki, Johnny, your master—not even yourself! They'll all die, and it'll be your fault!"
The words hit harder than the spear.
Images flashed—Zuki's body broken on the tiles. Johnny's hand was outstretched, begging. Roshi's face fading into ash. Grandpa Gohan's voice slipping away.
Goku's breath caught, his chest twisting. The beam sputtered again.
Kaiden saw it—and pushed. The silver spear blazed brighter, swallowing more of the Kamehameha.
"Monster!" Kaiden screamed. "You'll never change! You'll never belong! You'll lose everything—AGAIN!"
The beams tore the sky open.
Blue fire clashed against silver lightning, splitting the courtyard into chaos. Tiles ripped free, trees bent at their roots, the monks on the walls shielding their faces from the gale.
Goku's feet slid back. His heels ground trenches into the stone. Every muscle screamed, sweat burning into his eyes. His Kamehameha wavered, folding beneath the sheer force of Kaiden's spear.
"No—!" Goku's arms shook, his knees buckled. The beam shoved him back inch by inch. "I can't—hold—"
Kaiden's roar split the storm. His body convulsed, lightning fracturing his skin in violent bursts. Blood streamed down his jaw, but his grin was wide, manic. "Yes! You're breaking! JUST LIKE I KNEW YOU WOULD!"
The spear flared brighter. The silver arcs doubled, then tripled, shredding Kaiden's cloak into ash. His body cracked under the strain, but his eyes burned like molten steel.
"More!" he howled, veins glowing silver across his arms. "Give me MORE!"
Iroh leaned forward, his tea untouched, eyes burning. "If Kaiden keeps pushing at that level—his body will break before Goku's beam does."
King Kai didn't answer. His expression was heavy, unreadable.
Kaiden's laugh echoed through the ring. "LOOK AT YOU! SHAKING! FALLING! You're nothing but a monster pretending to be human! When I'm done with you, I'll burn your master! I'll cut down your friends! I'll slaughter EVERYONE you ever cared about!"
The spear swelled, slamming against the Kamehameha. Goku's beam faltered, buckling toward collapse. The force hurled him backward, skidding across the ring, his sandals carving sparks from the stone.
The crowd screamed.
Johnny's voice cracked raw. "Come on, Goku! Don't give up!"
But Goku's arms trembled uselessly. His knees bent under the crushing light. The Kamehameha sputtered, dimming, threatening to die in his palms.
Kaiden's voice ripped across the courtyard. "This is it! You can't protect anyone! I'll tear through you—then through EVERYONE YOU LOVE!"
The words stabbed deeper than the beam.
Goku's knees buckled. The Kamehameha faltered, shrinking under the pressure. His arms trembled, shoulders threatening to collapse.
The crowd saw it—he was losing.
Gyro's hands clenched against the railing, knuckles white. "He can't… he can't hold it!"
The silver spear thundered forward, closer, brighter, threatening to swallow the boy whole.
Goku's vision blurred. His beam thinned. His chest screamed for air. His body wanted to fall.
And then images flashed in Goku's head—Grandpa Gohan's smile, Roshi's smirk, Johnny cheering from the sidelines. People he couldn't afford to lose.
His jaw tightened. His eyes widened.
"I won't let you!"
The Kamehameha flickered. Then flared brighter.
Kaiden's grin faltered, just slightly. "What—?"
Goku's arms steadied, though blood ran down them.
The beam roared back to life, surging brighter, steadier.
"I'm not losing!"
Kaiden's eyes widened. His body convulsed. He pushed harder, lightning lashing like wild beasts. The spear swelled one last time—his veins bursting, blood spraying.
But Goku's voice rose over it, fierce and clear.
"I'll protect them! I'll protect everyone!"
The Kamehameha surged forward.
Kaiden screamed, silver lightning fracturing into shards. His body gave way, aura breaking apart.
"NO—!"
The blue beam swallowed the silver. The explosion consumed the ring.
The Kamehameha engulfed him.
The explosion tore the ring apart, a column of blue fire blasting into the sky. The temple shook, the courtyard split, the crowd shielding their eyes from the searing light.
And then silence.
Smoke billowed across the ruin. The air reeked of ozone and scorched stone.
Goku fell to one knee, chest heaving, sweat dripping from his chin. His hands still trembled, faint sparks flickering at his fingertips.
Across from him, Kaiden's body lay half-buried in the rubble, sparks crawling weakly over his battered frame. His cloak was torn, silver arcs sputtering and dying.
But his eyes—his silver eyes—still burned faintly.
The explosion shook the temple to its bones.
Stone tiles ripped from the courtyard. The monks threw up barriers, robes snapping in the wind. Even King Kai braced himself, his small form planted as the shockwave tore through the air.
Then—silence.
The storm was gone, the lightning had burned out, and the blue fire had faded into smoke.
When the haze finally cleared, the arena was unrecognizable. The once-polished stone lay in ruins, jagged trenches carved deep where the beams had clashed. The banners along the temple walls hung in tatters. Dust drifted like ash through the heavy air.
At the center of it all stood Goku.
His chest heaved, sweat streaking his face. His gi was shredded, his sandals half-burned away. His arms trembled at his sides, but his eyes were still steady, burning with something new.
The boy hadn't fallen.
Across from him, Kaiden lay sprawled in the broken stone. His cloak was torn to ribbons, his body seared with burns where the lightning had eaten his own flesh. Blood streaked his arms, his jaw, his chest. He was still breathing, but each breath rattled like broken glass.
Johnny was the first to move. His raw, shaking voice broke through the silence.
"He… he did it…!"
The courtyard erupted in noise—cheers, gasps, disbelief. Fighters who had never shouted before screamed Goku's name. Even the monks stared wide-eyed, their discipline cracked by awe.
But Kaiden didn't cheer.
His silver eyes flickered open, dim now, clouded by pain—but not empty. He dragged in another ragged breath, then laughed. The sound was hoarse, bitter.
"…You think this… changes anything?"
The crowd stilled again.
Goku's head turned toward him, brows furrowing. He didn't answer.
Kaiden's voice rasped, but the words carried.
"You win a fight… You scream about protecting people… and suddenly think you've changed?" His lip curled, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. "You don't change. No one does. People die the same as they live—monsters stay monsters."
Goku's fists clenched, but he didn't move closer yet. His chest rose and fell, every breath tight.
The crowd murmured—uncertain now, watching.
Kaiden's silver eyes glowed faintly in the smoke, sharp even in weakness. "I saw what's inside you. The ape. That's who you are. You'll kill them all, one day. Everyone you claim you love."
He sneered, voice breaking. "And I'll be waiting for it."
The words hung heavy, sharp enough to cut through the lingering smoke.
"…No."
His voice was quiet at first. Shaking. But it carried.
Kaiden's eyes narrowed. "…What?"
Goku lifted his head. His eyes locked on Kaiden's—no hesitation now, no running.
"I'm not a monster." His voice cracked, but it grew steadier with each word. "I've hurt people… I've made mistakes I can't take back. But I'm not running anymore."
He stepped forward. The broken stone crunched beneath his sandal.
"No matter what—everyone I love, I'll protect them!"
The words struck the courtyard like a shockwave.
Johnny's eyes widened, his throat catching. "Goku…"
Even King Kai's expression softened, the faintest smile tugging at his lips.
Kaiden's breath rasped, his body trembling. His silver eyes flickered—not with power, but with something more challenging to admit. For the first time, the storm in him faltered.
"…Protect?" he whispered, voice bitter. "You think saying it makes it true? You think you're different because you want to change?"
His hand twitched, clawing weakly at the ruined stone. His body wouldn't move anymore, but his words still carried weight.
"My brother…" His voice wavered. "He wasn't perfect. He was reckless, selfish, sometimes. But he had a chance to change. People can change, or they die before ever getting the chance."His eyes narrowed weakly.
Goku voice cracked, but he forced the words out.
"If people can change… then I will. Kaiden I can't erase what I've done. But I won't stop trying. I want to live. I want to change so I can protect everyone I love."
Kaiden's lips trembled with the beginnings of another sneer—but it didn't come. His breath hitched instead. His chest rattled as if his own conviction had cracked.
The silence stretched, broken only by the wind against the torn temple flags.