Chapter 9 – Chi-Chi Confronts the Emperor Again
Chi-Chi approached the cliff, silently this time.
The air hummed around Zhou Fan, but she did not flee.
"I know you are not Goku," she said, voice firm despite the quiver in her chest.
"I know you are something else. Something… terrifying."
Zhou Fan turned fully toward her. The black-gold aura coiled like a sleeping snake.
"I am what he could not become," he said.
"But he remains alive. Do not mistake this for malevolence."
Chi-Chi's fists clenched at her side.
"I don't care what you are," she said.
"If you hurt him… or us…"
Zhou Fan inclined his head slightly.
"…Noted."
He did not smile. He did not nod.
A single statement. Absolute. Immutable.
Inside the mind, Goku exhaled slowly.
"…She trusts me to trust him," he whispered.
"…Even if I can't touch it yet."
The moonlight glinted off Zhou Fan's eyes.
"Influence restored," he thought.
"Control… optional."
And for the first time since entering this body, he allowed a trace of restraint to coexist with dominion.