Future Trunks blinked, then nodded.
"In the other timeline, my father and Mr. Goku both used it. It's a transformation that lets Saiyans touch the realm of the gods."
"A transformation? Stronger than Super Saiyan Three?" Goku perked up.
"Much stronger," Future Trunks said. "Far beyond SSJ3."
"Whoa! There's a form like that? Trunks, can you teach me?" Goku practically bounced.
"I never saw the ritual myself," Trunks admitted. "I only heard you need several righteous-hearted Saiyans to pour their power into another Saiyan…"
Goku's shoulders slumped at the vagueness. Whis, however, frowned thoughtfully.
"Super Saiyan God… could that prophecy have been true after all?"
"Prophecy? What prophecy, Mr. Whis?" Goku asked.
Whis explained, patient as ever. "A little over ten years ago, after Lord Beerus woke, he spent a long time seeking the 'Super Saiyan God' he saw in a dream."
"And?"
"He tracked down the few surviving Saiyans of this universe and asked them about it," Whis said with a sigh. "He was… disappointed. He even gave one particularly rude Saiyan a sound beating."
Levos, still cramming food into his mouth, managed a muffled question.
"Who cough who was the Saiyan who got thrashed?"
Even eating couldn't smother his curiosity; if Beerus had beaten that Saiyan, it might tie into the current "Saiyan Empire."
"Fufufu, it's been too long I can't quite remember," Whis said lightly. "More importantly, if Super Saiyan God requires a ritual… given the situation, that prophecy may indeed be right."
His eyes slid to Levos.
Levos already knew the conditions. As for the "prophesied one," there was no consensus some swore it was Goku, others Broly, even Bardock or Yamoshi got tossed around.
"In any case," Levos said between breaths, "let's try Trunks' method first."
To trigger the form, five righteous Saiyans must channel the power of their hearts into a sixth Saiyan. In short: at least six Saiyans.
On Earth they had four: Goku, present Trunks, Future Trunks, and Gohan.
Add Puar now in the new Broly's body and that made five.
If Levos himself counted as Saiyan, that would make six exactly.
What, precisely, "the power of the heart" was, Levos couldn't define. But trying came before theorizing and the attempt also gave Beerus a graceful off-ramp. Levos didn't want a full rupture here, especially when he himself was chained to the table by a bottomless, Saiyan hunger.
The Saiyans exchanged looks and nodded.
Four of them stepped into an open space. Whis watched, keen and bright.
They placed their hands on Goku's back and shouted in unison.
"Haaa !"
Four golden pillars flared skyward. Three streams of power flowed into Goku.
Rumble !
The tiles split underfoot, a crater yawning open. A gale howled; Levos immediately threw up a vast shield over the others.
Moments later the light faded. The three donors were spent; Goku stood very still, feeling.
"My power jumped a lot… is this Super Saiyan God?"
"No," Future Trunks said quickly. "SSG hair turns red. And Zamasu mentioned divine transformations too your ki doesn't feel like a god's."
"Then maybe try someone else as the vessel?" suggestions came from all sides.
Whis offered a soft correction. "Simply stacking power won't do. To step into the divine tier isn't that simple."
"Maybe we're short on numbers," Future Trunks mused. "In that other timeline, there were five of us: Father, the other me, Mr. Goku, big brother Gohan, and Goten."
"Eh? Goten?" Goku blinked.
"Goten is your younger son. Gohan's little brother," Trunks explained, wincing.
"In another timeline I've got two sons?!" Goku gaped. Gohan and Chi-Chi looked just as stunned.
"We can table that conversation," Future Trunks said, sweating. "Do we have any other Saiyans here?"
"Levos should count," someone said, looking at the mountain of plates. "But he's… tied up."
"What about Puar?"
"Right Puar's in the new Broly's body! That should count as Saiyan!"
Blue-haired Puar tensed. "B-but I don't even know how to go Super Saiyan yet…"
She had the physique and power, but not the technique beyond basic ki control.
No one knew whether the lack of SSJ would block the ritual, and hesitation rippled through the group.
"Don't worry, Puar," Levos said gently. "Just try."
"And since Trunks mentioned righteous hearts… what you channel probably isn't just raw ki or energy," he added.
Heads nodded. To become a god, you didn't just pile stats.
"All right, new approach," someone said.
This time, they chose Puar as the vessel. Four linked hands and transformed, two pressing their palms to Puar's back.
A few breaths later another failure.
"Does this ritual even work?"
"It's trickier than it sounds…"
Frustration set in until Future Trunks snapped his fingers. "Wait. In that timeline, there were six Saiyans on Earth!"
"Six? Who's the last one?" Eyes went wide.
Trunks swallowed. "Gohan's daughter."
"What?!" Goku yelped. "I'm a grandpa?!"
"What's her name?"
"Who's the mom?!"
The news hit like a bomb. Jaws dropped all around.
Levos dug a finger in his ear, resigned. A simple Super Saiyan God ritual had turned into a flood of family tea, and suddenly the Son clan had picked up two new members out of thin air.
Looked like he'd have to step in himself.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oh, you like the story? Wow, who knew. Go ahead, drop a review and throw some power stones maybe I'll be motivated to keep going.
"Want to stay ahead of the game?Advanced chapters are up on my Patron. If you're enjoying the ride, swing by and check them out."
[email protected]/_theon
Change @ to "a"