The silence shattered.
A gust of wind ripped through the ruins as four titanic auras collided. Dust swirled, buildings groaned, and the cracked pavement beneath their feet splintered further.
Trunks was the first to move. With a roar, he blurred forward in golden light, his sword flashing in a deadly arc at Android 17. The blade cut through the air like a streak of lightning.
CLANG!
17 lifted his arm with inhuman speed, catching the sword on his forearm. Sparks erupted as steel met synthetic skin, the sheer force sending tremors down the street.
"You're faster than last time," 17 smirked, "but still sloppy."
Before Trunks could push through, 17's other fist slammed forward. Trunks barely crossed his sword in time, the impact sending him skidding backward, boots carving trenches through stone.
Meanwhile, Rudra raised his hand—and the ground itself answered. Shakti Sanchalan (Flow Of Energy) surged through him, pulling energy from the earth, air, and his own reserves. With a sharp motion, he unleashed a wave of compressed force toward Android 18.
She smirked coldly and flipped through the air, the blast tearing through a building behind her and reducing it to rubble. Landing lightly, she countered with a palm thrust—her attack invisible but sharp, a shockwave strong enough to crack the street in half.
Rudra stood his ground. His aura shimmered like a shield, dispersing the wave in ripples that faded into nothing. "So," he said calmly, "you do bleed destruction with every step. How fitting."
18 narrowed her eyes and darted in, her movements sharp and elegant. Her fist came for Rudra's temple—only for her knuckles to meet his open palm. The impact thundered like a cannon, a shockwave tearing outward and toppling nearby debris.
For a moment, the two locked eyes. 18's cold glare met Rudra's steady, unshaken focus.
"Interesting," she muttered. "You're not breaking like the rest."
Trunks rejoined, leaping high with golden aura blazing. "He's stronger than you think!" he shouted, descending with a diagonal slash.
17 ducked under the blade, spinning low. His foot shot up, catching Trunks under the ribs and launching him through a half-destroyed skyscraper. The building collapsed in a storm of dust and steel, burying Trunks in rubble.
"Trunks!" Rudra called out, but his distraction cost him.
18 capitalized, twisting in midair and delivering a ruthless kick to Rudra's chest. The impact sent him flying backward, smashing through the side of a building. The walls collapsed around him in a storm of shattered concrete.
17 dusted his hands off casually. "Well, that was easy."
But before his words faded, the rubble exploded outward.
Trunks burst free, golden aura flaring with furious intensity. His hair crackled with sparks, his eyes burning with rage. "You're not going to destroy this world again!" he roared, both hands gripping his sword.
At the same time, Rudra emerged from the debris, dust falling from his shoulders. His calm had not cracked; his aura shimmered brighter, resonating with a deeper hum, as if the very air aligned with him. His voice carried like thunder:
"This isn't the future you choose. It's the one we end here and now."
He raised his hand, gathering pure streams of prana that condensed into a glowing spear of light—Prana Shastra ( Weapon Of Breath ). The weapon pulsed with energy, sharp enough to slice through the false eternity of the androids' power.
For the first time, 17's smirk faltered.
"Rudra!" Trunks shouted, charging in. "Let's do this together!"
Rudra nodded once, hurling the blazing spear toward 18 just as Trunks swung his sword at 17.
The battlefield exploded in blinding light and deafening sound—steel, spirit, and machine colliding in the first true clash of the war.
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