Goku Black.
The dark Saiyan stood in Gowasu's courtyard like a cancerous shadow given form, and his mere presence sent shockwaves through everyone present.
Raditz recognized him instantly—this was the same enemy who'd escaped from Trunks's timeline mere hours ago, the one who'd fled half-dead through a Time Ring portal. Yet here he stood, completely restored, radiating power that exceeded his previous showing.
Zamasu must have healed him, Raditz realized with growing frustration. As Gowasu's apprentice, he has access to divine restoration techniques. And healing from a near-death experience allowed Goku's Saiyan biology to trigger a zenkai boost.
Goku Black's aura had indeed grown stronger. He'd broken through to new levels, possibly even approaching the threshold of Super Saiyan 3. For most opponents, such rapid growth would be terrifying.
But Raditz remained utterly calm. Because no matter how much Goku Black improved, his ceiling was fixed. The stolen body had limits—and those limits fell far, far short of where Raditz currently stood.
Goku Black's confident smirk faltered slightly as he met Raditz's eyes. Some instinct warned him that this Saiyan was different, dangerous in ways he couldn't quite quantify. "You're... stronger than you should be," he muttered, confusion bleeding through his arrogance.
"That's... that's actually Goku's body," Shin breathed, his voice strangled with horror. Seeing Raditz's warnings proven true—witnessing a god who'd committed the ultimate blasphemy of stealing a mortal's form—shook him to his core. "I knew what you'd said intellectually, but seeing it with my own eyes..."
The philosophical implications were staggering. Was this pragmatic brilliance or absolute depravity? Trading divine essence for mortal flesh, all in pursuit of greater power?
"How convenient," Goku Black said, his smile returning with vicious satisfaction. "The Supreme Kai of Universe Seven is here as well. I can eliminate all of you at once and save myself considerable effort." His killing intent exploded outward like a physical wave, bending grass and rattling ancient trees.
"Who... who are you?!" Zamasu—the present-day version who stood accused but not yet condemned—backed away instinctively from this dark reflection. His ambitions had been exposed, his future plans laid bare. Trust had become impossible. This creature wearing Goku's face claiming to be his future self? It could easily be a trick, a trap designed to destroy him!
"I am you, Zamasu," Goku Black said with theatrical flair, touching the Potara earring adorning his stolen ear. "Your future self from another timeline. The you who succeeded in claiming the power necessary to cleanse creation."
Zamasu stared in disbelief, his mind racing. This is me after successfully stealing a body? But why would I take Goku's form instead of Raditz's? He'd watched recordings of the Universe 6 tournament. Raditz had dominated that competition, proven himself superior to Goku in every meaningful way. So why—?
The answer, though Zamasu didn't yet know it, was simple: in Goku Black's original timeline, Raditz had died decades ago during the Saiyan invasion. He'd never existed as a candidate for body theft. The timelines had diverged, creating different versions of the same corrupted Kai with different targets.
But Zamasu didn't know this yet. All he knew was confusion and mounting dread.
Goku Black stepped forward protectively—or perhaps possessively—placing himself between Raditz and his past self. "This time will be different," he declared with absolute conviction. "I won't lose to you again, Raditz."
"Oh?" Raditz's lips curved into a slight smile. "So you've done your homework. Last time we fought, you didn't even know my name. I'm impressed you bothered to research your opponent after fleeing."
"Don't mock me!" Goku Black's face twisted with rage, divine arrogance mixing with very mortal indignation. "I don't know why you're so abnormally powerful in this timeline—but your fatal mistake was failing to finish me when you had the chance!" His eyes blazed with hatred and promised vengeance. "Now you'll pay that price!"
His aura detonated with explosive force. Golden light erupted around him as lightning crackled through the air like dancing dragons. The ground trembled. The sky darkened.
Super Saiyan 2.
The transformation pushed his combat power to new heights—genuinely formidable strength that would overwhelm most opponents. Against the full might of Goku at this level, even supremely powerful warriors would struggle.
"Pathetic," Raditz said flatly.
He moved.
The distance between them—perhaps twenty meters—vanished in less than a heartbeat. Raditz's form blurred into invisibility, moving with speed that transcended visual tracking. He appeared directly in front of Goku Black and drove his fist into the dark Saiyan's abdomen with devastating precision.
BOOM!
The impact generated a shockwave that rippled outward in concentric circles, pulverizing the ground beneath them. Goku Black's mouth hung open mid-taunt, his boastful words dying unspoken as agony overwhelmed every nerve ending.
His black gi top disintegrated under the force. His abdomen caved inward grotesquely, ribs cracking audibly. His spine arched backward as his body tried to accommodate the impossible trauma. For a brief, terrible moment, he looked less like a divine being and more like a broken toy.
My soul... it feels like he punched my SOUL out of my body!
Blood erupted from Goku Black's mouth in a crimson spray. His Super Saiyan aura flickered and died like a candle in a hurricane. A single blow had reduced his confidence to dust and his body to ruin.
But Raditz wasn't finished.
BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM!
A thunderous staccato of explosions filled the air as Raditz unleashed a devastating combination too fast for mortal eyes to follow. His fists became invisible blurs, each strike landing with surgical precision on different vital points. Joints shattered. Bones fractured. Internal organs compressed under repeated hammer blows.
The barrage lasted perhaps two seconds—but in that time, Raditz delivered over thirty strikes, each one carrying enough force to demolish buildings.
Goku Black's body flew backward like a missile, tumbling end over end before finally crashing to the ground. He skidded across the pristine grass for over ten meters before momentum finally abandoned him, leaving him sprawled in an undignified heap.
He couldn't move. Could barely breathe. Every inch of his stolen body screamed with compound fractures and ruptured tissue.
Zamasu watched with mounting horror, his face going progressively paler. Moments ago, Goku Black's oppressive aura had made him tremble with instinctive fear. The dark Saiyan had radiated such overwhelming menace that Zamasu had felt like an insect before a giant.
And Raditz had destroyed him with casual, almost bored efficiency.
All those threatening declarations suddenly seemed ridiculous in retrospect.
"Damn... it..." Goku Black forced words through shattered teeth, blood bubbling between syllables. "Help... me..."
Raditz didn't hesitate. His hands came together, golden-white energy gathering between his palms. Two spheres of devastating power formed simultaneously, one aimed at each target.
This time, he'd make absolutely certain. Both Zamasus would die here and now.
The ki blasts launched—
But in that instant, reality tore.
A massive black vortex erupted in the courtyard's center, its edges crackling with unstable temporal energy. From within that swirling darkness, two arms extended—moving with impossible speed, faster even than Raditz's energy attacks.
The arms grabbed Zamasu and Goku Black respectively, yanking them backward into the vortex with lightning efficiency.
Raditz's ki blasts arrived a fraction of a second too late. They plunged into the rapidly shrinking portal and simply... vanished. No explosion. No impact. Just silence as the dimensional gateway consumed them and collapsed into nothingness.
"He escaped again!" Raditz snarled, frustration boiling over. "And that voice..."
"That was Zamasu," Gowasu whispered, his voice hollow with dawning comprehension. "I'd know my student's voice anywhere. Even altered by divine power, even twisted by corruption..." His old face crumpled with grief. "That was definitely Zamasu speaking from within the portal."
The pieces clicked together with terrible finality. Kibito had explained everything moments ago—Raditz had provided evidence, shown futures, made accusations. But some part of Gowasu had still clung to hope, still wanted to believe his cherished apprentice could be redeemed.
That voice had shattered the last of his denial.
His student had betrayed everything. Had rebelled against the divine order itself.
"Why?" Gowasu's voice cracked. "Why would he... after everything I taught him... why?"
"Choosing disciples requires seeing into their hearts, Lord Gowasu," Shin said gently, though his words carried an edge. "Strength and talent mean nothing if the spirit is corrupt. In Universe Seven, the Old Kai recognized Raditz's true nature immediately—his character, his dedication, his capacity for growth. Despite significant opposition from certain quarters, the Old Kai insisted..." He trailed off, realizing how his explanation was coming across.
"Are you seriously using this crisis to brag about yourself?" Shin interrupted incredulously, catching Raditz mid-tangent. "Really? Now?"
Raditz had the grace to look slightly embarrassed. "Right. Sorry. The point is—Zamasu."
"Indeed." Kibito's expression remained grave. "You said there were two Zamasus in Trunks's timeline—Goku Black and another version hiding in the shadows. But now they've taken this timeline's Zamasu with them. Which means..."
"Three Zamasus," Gowasu breathed, the implications staggering. "Three versions of my student, all corrupted, all working together. What could they possibly be planning?"
Raditz frowned, his mind racing through possibilities. In the original timeline knowledge he'd inherited from his previous life, there had only been two Zamasus—Goku Black and the immortal version. But now a third had entered the equation, changing variables in unpredictable ways.
Why did they specifically come for this timeline's Zamasu? he wondered. They weren't here to fight me. Goku Black's shock when he arrived was genuine—he didn't expect to find me here. Which means the primary objective was extracting their past self.
But why? What advantage did a third Zamasu provide? What strategy required three versions working in concert?
More troublingly—the voice from the vortex had belonged to yet another Zamasu, meaning there was potentially a fourth version orchestrating events from behind the scenes. Or perhaps the immortal Zamasu from Trunks's timeline had simply mastered temporal manipulation techniques?
Too many questions. Not enough answers.
"We need to inform Lord Beerus," Shin said decisively. "And contact the Time Realm immediately. If Zamasu has learned to manipulate timelines this freely, the entire temporal continuum is at risk."
"Agreed," Raditz said, though his jaw remained clenched with frustration. He'd been so close to ending this threat permanently. Two quick eliminations, and the Zero Mortals Plan would have died in its infancy.
Instead, the enemy had escaped again—and potentially gained a powerful new ally in the process.
Three Zamasus, Raditz thought grimly. All with access to Time Rings. All committed to universal genocide. All growing stronger through combat and fusion.
The storm was gathering. And when it finally broke, the devastation would be unlike anything the multiverse had ever witnessed.
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