"Levos, what's your next move?" Trunks asked, clearly intrigued.
Trunks' sudden appearance had been an unexpected windfall. From a power standpoint alone, this Trunks stood on par with Goku, possibly even slightly stronger.
Regardless, he was now a top-tier member of Levos's team.
And his value wasn't limited to just combat power. As Trunks had revealed, he was also an apprentice Supreme Kai.
Even though he wasn't native to this timeline, his healing abilities hadn't disappeared.
Offense and support in one package he was easily the core of the team.
What's more, Levos's earlier idea of having Goku fuse with someone could now be fulfilled with this very Trunks.
Goku and Trunks fused together.
Just the thought of it made Levos's heart race with excitement.
But first, it was time to regroup with the rest of their allies.
"I'm planning to reunite with Goku and the others," Levos said with a smile. "I'm guessing you're eager to see them too?"
"Absolutely. I've been looking forward to seeing Goku again," Trunks replied, his eyes gleaming.
"Then let's check out Korin Tower."
Without another word, the group placed their hands on Levos's back.
Whoosh!
In the blink of an eye, the towering pillar of Korin Tower appeared before them.
A startled squirrel froze mid-stride at the sudden appearance of several strangers.
Levos bent his knees and launched himself skyward in a single explosive leap.
Buzz.
Within three seconds, he'd reached where the Lookout used to be.
Trunks quickly followed, ascending with ease.
"Levos, what happened to the Lookout?" Trunks asked, scanning the empty space.
"It doesn't look like it's been cloaked," Levos muttered. "It's more likely Dende relocated it elsewhere."
Then he turned to Trunks. "Try releasing your energy right here. Not too much, just enough to catch Goku's attention."
Trunks nodded and began to power up.
"Haahhhhhh!"
His loose blue hair stood on end and instantly turned a brilliant gold.
Golden light flared around his body as intense energy surged outward.
It was Levos's first time witnessing a Super Saiyan transformation up close, and he couldn't help but feel a pang of envy.
If only he could become a Saiyan himself. After all, that had been his childhood dream.
With help from both Bulma and Dr. Hedo, gaining Saiyan blood might not be impossible.
But such experiments would have to wait until they survived the current crisis. There was no time to pursue Saiyan biology now.
Power continued to pour from Trunks's body, his energy growing more intense by the second.
Levos remained on high alert, scanning the surrounding area for any hostile ki signatures.
And then
Whoosh.
A figure appeared in front of Trunks in a flash.
Levos tensed, but upon seeing the kanji for "Go" on the man's gi, he relaxed.
"Goku!" Trunks retracted his aura and greeted him happily.
"Huh? Trunks?" Goku scratched the back of his head, looking baffled. "Weren't you training at the Lookout? What's going on?"
Levos stepped forward and gave a brief explanation of this Trunks's origin.
Goku stayed silent for a while afterward. "Still not sure I get it all, but if he's fighting on our side, that's all that matters."
This Goku had never met this version of Trunks before, nor did he have any connection with him.
Goku reached out with a smile. "Nice to meet you, Trunks. I'm Goku."
Once their introductions were done, Levos wasted no time.
"Goku, could you take these Dragon Balls to King Kai for safekeeping?"
He pulled four Dragon Balls from his backpack.
Originally, they'd collected five. The last one was stored in a shielding case currently held by Bulma.
"You sure?" Goku asked.
"The Frieza Force must've developed a way to track the Dragon Balls," Levos explained. "Carrying them around will only draw more attacks."
This way, the other factions wouldn't be able to find them, and Levos would be free to focus on his next moves.
"Got it." Goku nodded, then vanished with the Dragon Balls.
Moments later, he reappeared near Korin Tower.
"King Kai's got them now. He's been watching everything happening on Earth," Goku said seriously. "He asked me to thank you for everything you've done."
"I'm just doing what needs to be done."
Back on the ground, Levos introduced Mai, Dr. Hedo, and the Gammas to Goku.
"Please take us to the Lookout," Levos said calmly.
Whoosh.
In a flash, the seven of them arrived at the Lookout.
Mr. Popo greeted them with his usual warm smile.
Piccolo, who had been sparring with Gohan, paused and relaxed slightly when he saw who had arrived.
Meanwhile, this timeline's Trunks stared in stunned silence at the person who looked exactly like him.
"Who… who are you?"
"Hello," the future Trunks said with a faint smile. "I'm you. From another timeline. I didn't want to disrupt your lives, but this world's future is too grim to ignore."
As everyone exchanged greetings, Levos walked directly up to Earth's new Guardian.
"Dende, what changes did you make to the Dragon Balls?"
Dende looked a little nervous. "Levos, I removed most of the restrictions on resurrection. Now, unless someone's already reincarnated or died of natural causes, the Earth Dragon Balls can bring them back."
"Really?" Trunks's eyes lit up, then he hesitated. "But I heard you need the full body intact to revive someone."
"Not anymore," Dende explained. "Shenron can now rebuild the body from scratch."
"How many wishes can Shenron grant now?" Levos asked.
"T-Three. I thought Earth was in too much danger, so I… I made that decision on my own." Dende glanced nervously at Levos.
"You did great, Dende!" Piccolo said, the sternness on his face giving way to rare warmth.
Everyone was visibly uplifted by the news.
"Dende, why didn't you tell us this sooner?" Goku grinned and pumped his fists in excitement. "I thought you only removed the resurrection limits!"
Under everyone's gaze, Dende looked both shy and guilty. "I'm still new to being Guardian. I acted without permission, and not being able to revive you before really weighed on me."
"Dende, you've done an incredible job," Levos said with deep appreciation.
Next, he planned to ask Goku to teach everyone the Fusion technique from Planet Metamor.
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