Eighteen years had passed in a dizzying flash, the memory of the smoking crater in the textile factory roof now just a grim legend whispered among the League's veterans.
In a subterranean training ground carved deep beneath the old factory, Smith Doyle—the "God"—stood poised, a study in lethal focus. Arrayed before him were the surviving pillars of the Assassin's League: Mr. X, Cross, the Butcher, the Repairman, the Gunsmith, and the Pesticide. They were seasoned killers, masters of their dark crafts, and today, they were his final test.
Facing the simultaneous siege of six of the world's most elite assassins, Smith did not feel the slightest flicker of panic or dread.
Had this sparring match been scheduled even two days prior, he would have been overwhelmed, forced to rely on pure defensive tactics and the well-honed, but ultimately human, skills he had acquired. But now, he was entirely different.
Smith Doyle crouched, his hands naturally forming twin claws, pressing his center of gravity low to the floor. The next second, he exploded from his stance, running directly and impossibly fast towards the encircling crowd.
"Lang Fang Wind Fist!" he roared, a battle cry learned not in a dingy gym, but from the echoed memory of a mobile game.
Seeing the sheer, blinding velocity at which Smith was running—a speed that defied human physics—Mr. X and Cross were both utterly shocked. Relying on instinct honed over decades, they simultaneously activated their signature ability: Bullet Time.
Bullet Time was their only physical advantage, an extreme mental focus that allowed them to perceive the world in slow motion, thus granting supreme accuracy in shooting and a crucial edge in close combat.
"Bang. Bang. Bang."
However, in the next second, the League members felt less like they were fighting a man and more like they had been hit by a stampede. A hungry wolf, a blur of motion and raw, concussive force, rushed through their formation. Smith's attack was a whirlwind of strikes and shoves.
Every assassin was struck and violently knocked away. Even Mr. X and Cross, shielded by the temporal bubble of Bullet Time, were overwhelmed instantly, their perception simply unable to keep pace with the force and frequency of the blows.
Fox, Cross's son and Smith's peer, watched everything from the side of the ring and exclaimed with wide eyes: "Oh my God, Smith, you are so powerful!"
Wesley, standing next to him, echoed the sentiment: "Too strong! God is genuinely too strong!"
Looking at the six masters who now lay sprawled and winded on the ground, Smith smiled, a genuine, easy grin. "Uncles, I think there's no need to continue this particular sparring match."
The Butcher groaned, slowly sitting up and inspecting the painful bruises already blooming across his torso. If not for his formidable bulk, he was certain several of his ribs would be fractured. Panting heavily, he conceded: "Smith, it seems we don't need to spar anymore. Not like this."
Cross and Mr. X, recovering more quickly, also sat up. They raised their hands in a gesture of unanimous defeat.
"You win," Mr. X affirmed.
"We acknowledge that in terms of sheer, raw fighting ability, you are fully qualified as a God," Cross concluded, a note of awe in his voice.
Smith smiled, accepting the hard-won praise. The truth was, his impossible victory was not solely due to the League's grueling training; it was thanks to the successful loading of his system just two days ago.
Smith Doyle, in fact, was not a native of this universe. His original name was Feng Yi, an ordinary person from Earth. Before his unceremonious cosmic journey, he had been engrossed in the mobile game Dragon Ball FighterZ. After staying up late to play, he'd placed his phone next to his pillow to charge before drifting off.
He awoke to find himself the miraculous infant who destroyed the Loom. He eventually pieced together that he had landed in a dangerous, hybridized world that included elements of both Marvel Comics and the Wanted Universe. The presence of Captain America's history, the Howling Commandos, and the colossal Stark Industries advertisement in Times Square confirmed his location.
However, the Wanted plot had been irrevocably changed. The black leader Sloan was dead, and Cross—the supposed father of the film's protagonist—had remained a loyal operative of the Assassin Brotherhood, instead of being sent out to live an ordinary life.
The Dragon Ball FighterZ game he had been playing before crossing over had become his Golden Finger. It was his greatest source of frustration, however, that for eighteen long years the system interface had only displayed a 'Loading...' screen. This forced him to rely on the League's intense, real-world training.
The Pharmacist: Taught him the delicate art of poison and recovery, including the painful but effective wax bath to seal wounds.
The Gunsmith: Imparted the advanced technique of curved bullet shooting.
The Repairman: Provided traditional, brutal fighting skills and counter-surveillance tactics.
The Butcher: Taught him the impossible feat of using a knife edge to split incoming bullets—a pure test of speed and precision.
The Pesticide: Trained him in bomb-making and chemical warfare, notably the creation of rat bombs.
It had been an immensely beneficial, albeit dark, education. He had even participated in League missions as an adolescent, a child laborer in the arts of assassination. The only skill he could not gain was Mr. X and Cross's Bullet Time, as it was linked to a specific bloodline (the infamous Loom Weaver's lineage).
On his 18th birthday, the Golden Finger finally, fully loaded, presenting him with a terrifying and thrilling new future. The Shuomie incident—the great intergalactic threat he knew was coming—no longer seemed an insurmountable hurdle.
The system's power was fundamentally different from the Dragon Ball FighterZ game he remembered. The fancy menus and complex game functions were gone, replaced by three core functionalities, or Three Wishes, plus a Backpack interface:
Item Wish Draw
Character Card Wish Draw
Partner Wish Draw
The system revealed that these functions did not require any microtransactions or recruitment scrolls. Instead, they were directly linked to a single, mystical rule: after the first use, the seven Dragon Balls he carried at birth would be activated, and he could only make a wish again after the seven Dragon Balls were successfully gathered and used.
Since the Dragon Balls had scattered across the globe after his arrival, he was currently without them. The cooldown period for a Dragon Ball wish was one year. After a successful wish to the Dragon, he would receive a limited set of three free wish draws (one of each type).
Crucially, the Dragon's ability to grant wishes was intrinsically linked to Smith's personal strength. The stronger he became, the stronger the Dragon's power would be, and the greater the magnitude of the wishes it could fulfill. As his strength grew, the very nature of the Dragon Balls would evolve: from the ordinary Earth Dragon Balls to the larger Namek Dragon Balls, the evil Red Dragon Balls, and eventually, the universe-spanning Super Dragon Balls.
Smith felt a profound connection to his new role, recognizing his similarity to the ancient Dragon Ball makers, the Gods, and the Great Elder of Namek. Without hesitation, he used his initial three draws.
The Three Initial Draws
Item Wish Draw
Smith accessed the interface. He saw his own figure below, launching a tiny Kamehameha towards a small celestial body above his head. This body contained various items, including:
Saiyan single-person spaceship
Namekian spaceship
Super Holy Water
Dragon Ball Radar
Combat Uniform (Generation I & II)
Space Capsule (single and box)
Combat Power Detector
Gravity Chamber
Senzu Beans (highly coveted)
As he chose to draw, his figure blasted the Kamehameha, shattering one of the orbiting light spots.
[Congratulations to Smith Doyle for receiving the Combat Power Tester (Generation II)!]
Smith felt a pang of disappointment that it wasn't the life-saving Senzu Beans or a superior Saiyan combat suit. Although the Combat Power Detector (Scouter) seemed only marginally useful in an assassin's world, it was still a powerful piece of nostalgic tech from his past life.
Character Card Wish Draw
Next was the Character Card draw. The light spots in the 'stars' contained early Dragon Ball characters: Goku, Krillin (pre-Master Roshi), Bulma, Tien Shinhan, Chiaotzu, Yamcha, Chi-Chi (childhood), Nam, Master Roshi, Ranch, and others.
Another burst of Kamehameha, and the draw concluded.
[Congratulations to Smith Doyle for winning the character Yamcha!]
The character card displayed Yamcha dressed like his bandit self, complete with a flowing cape and a sword—Yamcha before he became Master Roshi's disciple.
Skills Acquired: Wolf Fang Fist, Wolf Fang Wind Fist (which he had just successfully used).
Benefit: Upon use, Smith gained Yamcha's bloodline and innate abilities, instantly bestowing him with superhuman physical attributes and martial arts mastery. This explained his victory over the League masters.
Partner Wish Draw
The final draw was for Partners, again featuring early Dragon Ball companions: Puar, Oolong, Big Turtle, King Furry, Upa, Bull Demon King, Bora, Android 8, and others.
[Congratulations to Smith Doyle for receiving his Battle Partner: Puar!]
Puar Abilities: Blade Attack (an energy technique), Puar's Help (likely a utility or transformation skill).
Smith reviewed his gains. The ability to summon a partner like Puar, who could be brought directly into the real world, was invaluable. If he could eventually recruit healing partners, his effectiveness would skyrocket.
As Smith Doyle completed his three wish lotteries, the seven mundane-looking stones scattered across the world also completed their metamorphosis, returning from their inert, stone form to their original, glowing, star-filled appearance, now silently awaiting the day they would be gathered once more.