Three Zamasus.
The question echoed through Raditz's mind as he stood in Gowasu's courtyard. What are they planning? Why gather three versions together?
He shook his head, dismissing the absurd thought. Whatever Zamasu's strategy, it didn't matter. Now that several versions had congregated in one place, they'd actually made his job easier—eliminate them all in one decisive strike.
"Lord Shin, Lord Gowasu," Raditz said, turning to address the gathered Kais. "I'm going after them immediately. With your permission, I'll take my leave."
"Do you even know where they went?" Shin asked with concern.
"The Time Rings operate on paired temporal nodes," Raditz explained. "Our present era corresponds to Trunks's future timeline. That's where they've gone—I'm certain of it."
"I see!" Understanding dawned on Shin's face. "But it's far too dangerous to pursue them alone. Kibito and I should accompany you—"
"I'm going as well!" Gowasu interjected, his grief transforming into determined resolve.
Several metaphorical stress lines appeared on Raditz's forehead. Oh no. Taking them would be more dangerous than going alone! If Zamasu managed to kill Shin or Gowasu, their respective Gods of Destruction would die automatically. Universe 7 might survive the chaos, but Universe 10 would be left completely unprotected.
"With all due respect, Lord Kais, your presence isn't necessary," Raditz said firmly, already activating his Instant Transmission. "Trunks and I are more than sufficient for this task!"
He vanished before anyone could protest further.
The three Kais stood in stunned silence, the awkwardness thick enough to cut with a blade.
In Trunks's devastated future timeline, the surviving remnants of humanity huddled in underground shelters, clinging desperately to hope.
Word had spread quickly through their scattered network: witnesses had seen the battle between Trunks, a mysterious warrior in red, and the Dark Man. Better yet—the Dark Man had been defeated, driven away by overwhelming force!
The news electrified the resistance. For the first time in months, maybe years, humans dared to feel something other than despair.
Mai—the de facto leader of the human survivors—listened carefully to the scouts' reports. She was young to bear such responsibility, but circumstances had thrust leadership upon her. When the Dark Man's genocide had scattered humanity to the winds, Mai had been the one to gather survivors, establish safe havens, organize supply runs. Without her resourcefulness and determination, most of these people would already be dead.
Now, survivors looked to her for guidance, for hope, for salvation she couldn't promise to deliver.
"You're certain you saw them defeat the Dark Man?" she asked, studying the scouts' faces for any hint of exaggeration or false hope.
"Absolutely!" one scout insisted, his eyes shining with excitement. "The warrior in the red aura—he completely dominated! The Dark Man didn't stand a chance!"
"But where are they now?" another voice called out. "After the battle, everyone vanished. Did they pursue the Dark Man? Did they—"
"We can't afford to let our guard down," Mai interrupted, her tactical mind refusing to accept easy victories. She'd survived this long by assuming the worst and planning accordingly. "I have a feeling the Dark Man isn't finished. We need to remain vigilant until—"
BOOM!
The shelter trembled violently as explosions erupted somewhere above. Dust rained from the ceiling. Emergency lights flickered.
"What was that?!" someone shouted over the chaos.
Mai was already running toward their makeshift surveillance station—a collection of salvaged security cameras and jury-rigged sensors that monitored the surface. The grainy image that appeared on the cracked screen made her blood run cold.
The Dark Man had returned.
He floated above the ruins, shirtless now, revealing a physique that radiated terrible strength. And from his outstretched hands, energy blasts rained down like artillery shells, each explosion vaporizing what little remained of the city's infrastructure.
"Why is he here?!" Mai's mind raced. "Is someone still outside? Did we miss an all-clear signal?"
"The reconnaissance team!" someone gasped. "They were doing a perimeter sweep—they should have returned by now!"
"He found them." Mai's jaw clenched, fury and helplessness warring in her chest. Another group of survivors about to be slaughtered, and she was powerless to—
No. She refused to accept that.
"Where are you going?!" hands grabbed at her as she strode toward the equipment locker. "Mai, don't be reckless!"
"I can't just watch more people die!" She yanked open the locker and withdrew a long black case. "If there's even a chance I can save them, I have to try!"
"Against that thing?! With a rifle?! You'll get yourself killed!"
"Maybe." Mai's hands moved with practiced efficiency, checking her ammunition. "But I'm not abandoning our people without a fight."
The other resistance fighters exchanged uncertain glances. Then, one by one, they began arming themselves as well. "If you're going, we're going," one of them said simply. "We're all that's left of humanity. We stand together, or we die alone."
Mai felt her throat tighten with emotion, but she forced it down. Sentiment was a luxury they couldn't afford. "Let's move. Quietly."
They crept to the surface through concealed exits, emerging into the hellscape that had once been their city. Ruins stretched in every direction—twisted metal, pulverized concrete, the omnipresent stench of ash and death.
And there, terrorizing the final surviving scout from the reconnaissance team, was Goku Black.
Mai knelt behind a partially collapsed wall and opened the long case. Inside lay her most precious possession: a high-precision sniper rifle with an effective range exceeding two kilometers. She'd trained relentlessly with this weapon, practicing until she could hit targets most people couldn't even see.
Her hands moved with mechanical efficiency, assembling the rifle piece by piece. Stock, barrel, scope, magazine—each component clicked into place with satisfying precision.
She settled into firing position, pressing her cheek against the stock, her eye aligning with the scope. Wind whipped her hair around her face, and energy blasts continued to fall nearby, any one of which could vaporize her in an instant.
But her hands remained steady.
Through the scope, she tracked Goku Black's movements. He was toying with the scout, deliberately missing, prolonging the terror. Monster, she thought coldly. Absolute monster.
The crosshairs settled on his head. She controlled her breathing—in, out, in, hold—
Her finger tightened on the trigger.
CRACK!
The rifle bucked against her shoulder. The bullet tore through the air faster than sound, leaving a supersonic wake that distorted everything around its path.
For a thousandth of a second, Mai dared to hope.
Then Goku Black's hand snapped up with impossible speed.
He caught the bullet. Between his thumb and forefinger. Like plucking an insect from the air.
"How pathetically boring," Goku Black said, his voice carrying across the wasteland with supernatural clarity. He examined the bullet with mild curiosity, then smiled—a cruel, vicious expression that held no warmth. "Human ingenuity is so... limited."
He flicked his thumb.
The bullet rocketed back along its original trajectory, moving twice as fast, carrying exponentially more force.
SPLAT.
One of Mai's companions—a young man who'd been watching through binoculars—simply... ceased to have a head. The bullet obliterated everything from the neck up, the impact so violent that blood exploded outward in a crimson fountain.
His body remained upright for a moment, as though confused about being dead, then toppled backward.
"No!" Mai's scream tore from her throat, raw and agonized.
"Disgusting insects," Goku Black snarled, his amusement curdling into irritation. "Hiding in the rubble, launching cowardly attacks from the shadows. Is this truly the best humanity can offer?"
Brilliant white energy gathered in his palm, crackling with divine malice. Thunder rumbled overhead as though the heavens themselves recoiled from what was about to happen.
"Let me show you the fate of those who resist the gods!"
He hurled the energy sphere toward the fleeing scout.
Mai watched in horror, knowing she was about to witness another death, another failure, another soul lost to this nightmare—
BOOM!
The explosion consumed the scout in a pillar of white fire. When it faded, nothing remained but scorched earth and smoldering ash.
Mai's rifle slipped from nerveless fingers. They'd failed. Of course they'd failed. How could human weapons defeat a god? How could mortals stand against beings who caught bullets and erased lives with gestures?
Goku Black turned toward their hiding spot, his smile widening. "Now then... I believe it's your turn to—"
"No," a new voice interrupted, cold as the void between stars. "It's your turn."
Two figures materialized in the air above Goku Black—one wreathed in golden flames, the other surrounded by crimson light that seemed to cut through reality itself.
Trunks and Raditz.
"IT'S THEM!" Recognition exploded through the resistance fighters. "The ones from before! They came back!"
Tears streamed down Mai's face—relief, hope, gratitude all crashing together in an overwhelming wave. From her hoarse throat, she screamed: "DESTROY HIM!"
"How tiresome," Goku Black muttered, extending one finger skyward. Purple energy gathered at the tip, condensing into a needle-thin beam that shot toward the two warriors.
SMACK!
Raditz's hand moved in a blur, swatting the deadly attack aside like an annoying insect. The beam deflected harmlessly into the distance, detonating against some far-off ruin.
"I said," Raditz's voice dropped to something dangerous and lethal, "it's YOUR turn. Didn't you hear me clearly?"
His aura intensified dramatically, red light blazing so fiercely the air itself began to tremble. The atmosphere vibrated with barely contained fury—not just anger at an enemy, but righteous rage at the wholesale slaughter of innocents.
Goku Black seemed to have forgotten his humiliating defeat mere minutes ago. He laughed—a sound filled with manic confidence and divine arrogance. "Come then! I'll show you the gulf between mortal and—"
The space behind him rippled.
Another figure emerged from nowhere—tall, elegant, wearing the robes of a Supreme Kai. His face was calm, serene, utterly devoid of mercy.
Another Zamasu.
Mai's hope, so recently kindled, began to gutter. Not one, but two of them? How can even these warriors defeat two gods working together?
But Raditz's expression didn't change. If anything, his smile grew sharper.
"Good," he said softly. "I was hoping you'd all gather in one place. Makes cleanup so much easier."
The battle for humanity's survival—and perhaps all mortals across every timeline—was about to begin.