The game had long since slipped out of Lance's hands. From the moment he fell, the court became entirely Chiga's stage.
Chiga wasn't particularly skilled in basketball, but his sheer physical ability was overwhelming. Even while holding back, his movements left afterimages that the other players couldn't follow.
Lapis stared in stunned silence, muttering under his breath,
"Is he even human? Was he just pretending earlier?"
Beside him, Lazuli bit her lip, her eyes fixed on Chiga. The mystery surrounding him only deepened.
By the end, the scoreboard glared its final verdict: 100 to 41. When the bell rang, Lance collapsed on his knees, questioning his very existence.
Chiga, meanwhile, walked off the court amidst loud cheers.
Several girls rushed forward, eager to offer him handkerchiefs or small gifts. Yet as they drew closer, they realized Chiga wasn't even sweating. One by one, he declined their gestures politely—until a single bottle of water was extended toward him.
The one offering it was Lazuli.
To Chiga, she was unmistakably the future Android 18. Though he hadn't been entirely certain before, the sight of her twin brother confirmed it. And since Android 18 happened to be his favorite female character from Dragon Ball, he accepted her gift with an easy smile, shattering the hearts of countless other girls.
Lazuli hadn't expected him to actually take it. She had only offered the water because her brother had urged her to. Normally, she would've brushed off such a thing, but this time—because it was Chiga—she couldn't explain why she had gone through with it.
Chiga twisted the cap open, took a drink, and then smiled warmly.
"Thank you, Lazuli."
She forced her voice to remain steady.
"You're welcome. I didn't think you'd be this good at basketball too."
"Haha, good? Honestly, my skill level is worse than a chicken."
She tilted her head, puzzled by his odd answer, the gesture unexpectedly cute.
"Chickens can play basketball?"
"Sure. That chicken can play, sing, and even dance. You could say it's a master of everything."
Chiga exaggerated his gestures comically, making Lazuli laugh despite herself. Her impression of him grew warmer with every passing moment.
The two chatted casually as they walked back toward the teaching building. At her classroom door, Chiga was about to say goodbye when a sudden disturbance rippled through his perception of the Net—the all-encompassing awareness that now blanketed Earth like divine sense. Something foreign had entered the planet.
Chiga lifted his gaze skyward. With the Tenseigan's far-reaching vision, he saw a spherical spaceship plummeting like a meteor. His lips curved into a small smile.
"Finally here."
"What's here? Chiga, what are you talking about?" Lazuli followed his eyes, but as an ordinary human, she saw nothing beyond the blue sky.
"Nothing," Chiga replied gently. "Hope we meet again soon, Lazuli."
As he turned to leave, he hesitated, then pulled out a small golden Flying Thunder God kunai. Handing it to her, he said,
"You're beautiful, Lazuli. That draws both good and bad attention. Keep this with you. If you're ever in danger, just hold it and say my name. I'll be there."
She accepted it, studying the curious weapon. But when she looked up, Chiga had vanished. Hugging the kunai to her chest, she murmured,
"What a strange person…"
---
Far from the city, the spherical ship crashed onto a farm. From within stepped Raditz, his scouter glinting on his ear. He aimed a bullet—stopped midair by his hand—straight at a terrified farmer.
The farmer froze, unable to comprehend how anyone could catch a bullet like that.
Raditz smirked and flicked it back with casual force, sending it flying even faster than before. Yet before it struck, the bullet froze in midair.
Raditz's smirk vanished. Only one explanation existed—someone powerful was here. He tapped his scouter, but it detected nothing. Zero energy readings.
Just as he considered whether the device was malfunctioning, a figure appeared between him and the farmer. A young man in a student's uniform—arms crossed, eyes calm.
Raditz narrowed his eyes. This wasn't an ordinary human. He pressed the scouter again, scanning the newcomer. The number shocked him:
1.
Lower even than the farmer's.
Impossible. That speed just now couldn't belong to someone weaker than a civilian.
Chiga glanced at the scouter, unsurprised. His energy, fully contained within the God Realm, was naturally beyond such crude technology.
Raditz's instincts screamed at him. His battle power of 1500 was nothing compared to the monsters that roamed the galaxy.
"Who are you? Are you really an Earthling?" he demanded.
"Of course," Chiga answered with a faint smile. "Otherwise, why would my battle power be only 1?"
"Don't mock me! Are you saying you're weaker than that farmer?"
Chiga said nothing more. He had come here only to gauge the difference in strength.
A thought passed, and his eyes erupted with golden light. His white hair lifted in an invisible wind, and a divine aura surged outward, blotting out the sun. The very air howled with hurricanes as a crushing pressure spread across the land.
Raditz staggered, terror etched across his face. His scouter shrieked with impossible numbers—20,000, 21,000—and then exploded in a shower of sparks.
______
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