BOOM---!
A fist carrying the force to shatter stars crashed into Zamasu, sending him tumbling head over heels before his body exploded into a spray of fragments. But in less than a second, his form regenerated, whole once again.
Zamasu stood tall with that same deranged grin plastered across his face.
"So what? You can't kill me! I am immortal, undead! But you mortals… you'll be trapped in this timeline forever. Oh, and that's right, you're humans. Pathetic, lowly humans! You'll be stuck in this barren dimension with no resources, starving and helpless. But I, a god, will never succumb to something so base as hunger! Now do you understand the difference between worms like you and divinity like me?"
Zamasu's laughter echoed wildly until it was cut short with a wet squelch.
A lump of pink flesh sealed his mouth shut.
Majin Buu glared and roared, "You talk too much!"
The others fell into silence. Gohan and Bulla exchanged uneasy glances, their hearts heavy with the truth Zamasu had spat at them. Trunks, however, placed a hand on his chin, his mind racing.
(Something's off. The way he raves, it doesn't sound like a lie. And I really can't sense any trace of Namekian ki in this world.)
(No… he's not lying.)
(But…)
(Black entrusted everything to him before he died. That means they had a final trump card!)
Trunks closed his eyes, forcing his thoughts into order, retracing events from the last few days. Black and Zamasu had crossed space-time together, invading their world…
Suddenly, his eyes snapped open, realization striking like lightning.
(It wasn't just Black who had a Time Ring; Zamasu has one too!)
His gaze sharpened on Zamasu. At once, Zamasu felt it, a creeping dread. Against his will, he took several steps back.
Trunks' eyes dropped to Zamasu's fingers. Nothing there. No gleam of a ring.
But suspicion burned hotter.
With a flicker of light, Trunks used Instant Transmission, appearing right behind Zamasu. His hand slammed into the back of the god's neck, forcing him to stumble forward.
In the same instant, Trunks' boot crashed down, pinning Zamasu to the ground.
His hands searched ruthlessly across the immortal's robes.
Zamasu writhed violently, eyes bulging wide. It was the panic of someone whose secret was about to be laid bare.
Trunks' speed was merciless. His instincts had been right all along.
Zamasu was hiding something.
And then, his fingers closed around it.
Around a cold and metallic ring.
Trunks pulled it free, holding it up where all could see. A Time Ring.
A slow, knowing smile curved his lips. His guess had been correct.
"Give that back!" Zamasu snapped, his composure shattering as he lunged desperately for it. But Trunks met him with a brutal backhand, the slap launching him thousands of meters into the air.
WHOOSH--!
In an instant, Zamasu regenerated and reappeared before him, his face flushed with fury.
"CURSE YOU--!"
CRASH---!
Trunks' leg whipped up in a high kick, slamming Zamasu back into the ground with thunderous force.
From the despair in his eyes, Trunks knew beyond a doubt, he was right. This was their trump card. The Time Ring. As long as Zamasu had it, he could slip between timelines, summon the Super Dragon Balls from another universe, and unleash fresh horrors.
Trunks twirled the Time Ring between his fingers, his voice cold as steel as he looked down at the fallen god:
Trunks twirled the Time Ring between his fingers, his lips curling into a taunting smile.
"Hm. Not bad, you're clever. But too bad… you ran into me."
"As a so-called god, is this really the best trick you've got, Zamasu?"
His tone dripped with ridicule.
Finally, Zamasu's composure cracked. His grin faltered, his expression twisting darker as he roared: "So what if you've taken the Time Ring?!"
"That's an artifact only a Kaiōshin can wield! Wretched humans like you could never control something belonging to a god!"
"You're still trapped here, you'll never escape this world!"
His words hung in the air like poison, sinking the group into uneasy silence. Bulla and Gohan lowered their heads, their hearts heavy under the weight of Zamasu's scorn.
Then---
Clap. Clap. Clap.
The sound of deliberate applause broke the stillness. Trunks clapped slowly, eyes gleaming with scorn as he looked down on Zamasu.
"Well said, Zamasu. But tell me, are you a Kaiōshin?"
The words cut the air like a blade and Zamasu's eyes bulged, his mouth falling open in shock.
The truth was undeniable. He wasn't a Kaiōshin. Not yet. He was merely an apprentice, chosen by Gowasu, the Kaiōshin of Universe 10, to be trained as a successor. The only reason he could wield the Time Ring at all… was because he wore a Potara earring.
Trunks' gaze fixed sharply on the earring dangling from Zamasu's ear, swaying ever so slightly.
Instantly, Zamasu felt a chill of dread.
It was the Potara. Without it, he never would've been able to use the Time Ring.
And now… Trunks' eyes lingered on it.
The more Zamasu thought about it, the worse it became. A terrifying realization clawed its way into his mind.
He wasn't truly a Kaiōshin. Only with the Potara did he gain the right to wield the Ring.
Perhaps… anyone could.
Just like Black. He wasn't a Kaiōshin either, just a usurper wearing Son Goku's body. Yet with the Potara, even he had managed to use the Time Ring.
Which meant… if a mere mortal wore the Potara, he too could wield it.
Trunks wasn't after the Ring alone. He was after the Potara.
"No… no!"
Zamasu stumbled back several steps, clutching at his ear.
"Damn you! You'll never have it!" he bellowed.
The sight almost made Trunks laugh. He tilted his head, giving Zamasu a look that said: What on earth are you doing?
And then, with trembling hands, Zamasu yanked the Potara free.
Crack!
The sharp sound of shattering filled the air. His eyes burned with madness as he growled: "The Potara is gone! You'll never go back now!"
Trunks stared at him, dumbfounded, then burst into a dry laugh. His gaze on Zamasu was one of pure contempt, as though he were watching an idiot destroy his own lifeline.
"Hey, Zamasu. What's wrong? Backed into a corner and your brain stopped working?"
"Silence! Keep lying to yourself!" Zamasu snapped back, spitting venom.
"Without the Potara, even I can't use the Time Ring! Now it's useless to everyone! You'll never use it!"
But Trunks only smirked, his tone calm and mocking.
"Oh? So that's what you thought? That I was after your Potara?"
"If I wanted it, you wouldn't have had time to react."
"The Time Ring is mine already. The Potara? Irrelevant."
His smile widened, a final blade of words cutting through Zamasu's bravado.
"Oh, and one more thing…"
"Whoever told you there were no Kaiōshin in this world?"
(End Of This Chapter)
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