Kaito spoke with absolute confidence — after all, the Eighteen standing beside him was personally modified by him. The materials he used were even better than those used for Seventeen.
Even if both ran on infinite energy, the strength of their energy output was very different.
And right now, the battle raging in the skies was proving Kaito's words true.
Future Eighteen's optic beams were beginning to retract, and a sheen of cold sweat appeared on her forehead.
Eighteen smirked disdainfully, then suddenly increased her energy output. Her beams thickened instantly, overpowering the future counterpart's attack and forcing it back.
"Ahhh!!!"
A scream tore through the air as Future Eighteen clutched her eyes in agony, blood trickling down her face.
Seeing this, Future Seventeen couldn't sit still any longer. No matter what, Future Eighteen was his partner — there was no way he could just stand by and watch her be destroyed.
He darted toward the battlefield, planning to join forces with her. Their teamwork was exceptional; even Future Gohan had fallen to their combined assault.
However, just as he approached, a sudden suction force erupted from below.
"Universal Pull."
"Nani!?"
Future Seventeen froze midair, then felt his body being dragged downward by an irresistible force. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't make himself fly again.
Panic surged within him — this was the first time he'd encountered something so bizarre.
"Damn it! What the hell is going on!?"
He struggled violently, but it was useless — he was soon yanked straight down toward Kaito.
He glared at Kaito furiously, shouting,
"So it was you, bastard! Die!"
He raised his hand and fired an energy blast — but before it could even touch Kaito, it vanished, completely absorbed by an invisible barrier before him.
Future Seventeen's eyes went wide in disbelief. Refusing to give up, he launched several more blasts, only for them to meet the same fate.
Kaito's eyes gleamed with golden light, and in an instant, twin beams sliced through the air — severing all four of Future Seventeen's limbs in one swift motion. The android let out a bloodcurdling scream, teetering on the edge of unconsciousness.
Trunks swallowed hard as he watched. The power gap between Kaito and the androids was terrifying. The same Seventeen who had once given him hell now looked like a toy in Kaito's hands — a toy that had just been cut to pieces.
Kaito grabbed Future Seventeen by the throat, silencing his screams instantly.
"Quiet. Don't interrupt Eighteen's battle."
Future Seventeen stared at Kaito in sheer terror. Since leaving the lab, it was the first time he had ever felt fear.
Above them, the two Eighteens' fight was reaching its climax. Future Eighteen had always been weaker, and now, blinded and injured, she was little more than a punching bag.
Eighteen seized her future self by the hair and began pummeling her abdomen mercilessly. Each heavy thud echoed through the air, making both Bulma and Trunks flinch on the sidelines.
Future Eighteen could barely make a sound anymore, blood spilling from her lips as her consciousness began to fade.
She might have infinite energy, but that didn't mean she couldn't be hurt.
Under Eighteen's relentless assault, Future Eighteen's body grew weaker and weaker — she was on the verge of being beaten to death.
Seeing that her opponent was nearly finished, Eighteen finally stopped, yanking her up by the hair so they were face to face.
"Now," she said coldly, "tell me — who's the fake one?"
Future Eighteen opened her eyes with effort, staring at the identical face before her. Slowly, a chilling smile crept across her lips.
Eighteen frowned and punched her in the gut again. Future Eighteen groaned — then started laughing.
"You're the fake one," she sneered. "Didn't you know Dr. Gero implanted a super bomb inside my body?"
Eighteen froze. She really hadn't known about any bomb.
Seeing her reaction, Future Eighteen's grin turned maniacal.
"Hahaha! So you don't, huh? Then let me show you its power! Let's die together, bitch!"
Her trembling hand pressed against her chest — and a blinding white light began to shine from within.
Eighteen's pupils shrank. Her internal sensors picked up a terrifying energy reaction — but it was far too late to dodge.
Future Eighteen's body swelled rapidly, her laughter echoing through the sky.
At that very moment, golden light flashed in Kaito's eyes below. The blinding white aura surrounding Future Eighteen suddenly vanished, her body shrinking back to normal.
She blinked in shock, staring down at her chest. She could feel the bomb inside her, cracked and unstable, ready to detonate — yet it simply wouldn't go off.
Vados glanced sidelong at Kaito, chuckling softly.
"Kaito, didn't you just tell that Seventeen not to interfere? And now you can't resist joining in yourself?"
Kaito casually snapped Future Seventeen's neck and tossed the corpse aside like trash. His tone was calm as he replied,
"The right to interpret my words belongs to me."
"Tch, you're really domineering, you know that?"
"Come on, don't act innocent. Isn't it way more domineering when a God of Destruction wipes out an entire planet on a whim?"
"Uh..."
Vados was momentarily stunned — she couldn't think of a comeback.
Up in the sky, Eighteen broke out in a cold sweat. If that bomb had actually gone off, things would've gotten very ugly. At such close range, she wouldn't have survived.
Future Eighteen, still desperate, kept trying to trigger the bomb — but no matter what she did, it was useless.
Explosions meant nothing to someone with the Pop-Pop Fruit. Whether something exploded or not was entirely up to Kaito.
Eighteen didn't waste any more time. She hurled the barely conscious Future Eighteen high into the air, then brought her palms together, gathering massive energy between them.
A huge, glowing energy sphere formed, light swirling around it. Eighteen's eyes gleamed coldly as she shouted,
"Go to hell!"
The energy sphere shot upward, slamming into Future Eighteen mid-fall.
A deafening explosion filled the sky, and a massive mushroom cloud rose high above the battlefield — a spectacular, terrifying sight.
Eighteen's optical sensors flickered, displaying a final reading: "0."
Future Eighteen had been completely reduced to ashes.
Eighteen gently brushed back her slightly messy golden hair and began descending slowly toward the ground.