"It's nothing," Goku said with an easy smile. "Krillin was just talking."
"Goku's stepping in," Gine murmured to Bardock, her voice tight. "He'll be fine… right?"
"Yeah. Leave it to Kakarot," Bardock said, then lowered his voice. "Besides, he's not trying to end it yet. He's testing Cell first. He's got his own plan."
"What plan?" Gine asked, blinking.
"You'll see," Bardock said.
"Future Supreme Kai, go get him!" Zeno-sama shouted.
Goku glanced up toward the hilltop and gave Zeno-sama a small nod.
"Future Supreme Kai?" Cell echoed with a sneer. "That's rich. Since when did you start mixing with gods, Goku?"
"You don't need to know," Goku replied, calm and steady.
Cell shrugged. "Fine. Then come on." He curled his fingers at Goku in invitation.
Goku answered with movement. He burst forward in a streak of gold and whipped a kick at Cell's head.
Cell raised an arm and blocked it with a solid thud.
Still hovering, Goku drove a punch in. Cell caught that too, then swung back for a counter.
Goku slipped away, and the ring filled with rapid impacts as they traded blows faster and faster.
After a short exchange, Goku sprang back to open space.
Cell charged in and snapped his head forward like a battering ram.
Goku crossed his arms and absorbed the hit, boots digging into the platform. Then he leaned back and fired both feet up into Cell's torso, launching him into the air.
Goku shot after him, palms already cupping ki.
"Kamehameha!"
A golden beam tore upward.
Cell simply slapped it aside, knocking the blast away as if he'd swatted a ball.
Goku flickered behind him in the same instant and drove a punch into Cell's back.
Cell hissed, twisting, and clipped Goku with a blind counterpunch. Before Goku could reset, Cell clasped both hands together and smashed them down in a brutal follow-up.
Goku dropped, but stopped himself just before impact and landed cleanly.
Cell appeared in front of him again, composed.
"That's enough warm-up," Cell said, smiling.
The commentator's eyes nearly fell out of his head. Beside him, Mr. Satan looked like he'd forgotten how to breathe.
That guy is terrifying, Mr. Satan thought. Is he even stronger than Buu?
"That… that unknown fighter looks seriously strong," the commentator stammered, turning to Mr. Satan. "What do you think, Mr. Satan?"
Mr. Satan shot him a look. "What do I think? I'm watching, aren't I?"
The commentator froze.
That was not the answer I expected…
"All right! Future Supreme Kai!" Zeno-sama shouted, waving his arms again.
Goku scratched his head and smiled awkwardly toward the hilltop.
Jiren watched, expression unreadable.
Zeno-sama definitely favors Goku, he thought. Is it just because he's the one fighting?
If I stepped in, I'd drop that green monster instantly. Honestly, even if Goku and Cell attacked together, it wouldn't matter.
Should I show Zeno-sama what real strength looks like?
The thought came and went. Zeno-sama was the greatest god in creation. One wrong move, one wrong impression, and you could be erased.
And Buu had been stuck as a little pony for ages now, hadn't he?
No thanks, Jiren decided. I'm not becoming a pony.
Ken kept his eyes on the ring, quiet and observant.
Goku's intent was obvious.
Why wasn't Goku using Super Saiyan God and ending it properly?
Ken already knew. Goku was looking past this fight. He wanted to use it to push Gohan.
After returning from the future, Goku had realized Gohan could already become a Super Saiyan. More than that, Goku could feel Gohan's strength had risen to a level not far behind the Goku from Trunks' timeline.
That thrilled him.
With a chance like this, letting Gohan sit on the sidelines would be a waste—especially after everything Piccolo had done for him.
So Ken could tell: Goku wasn't here to finish Cell right away. He was setting the stage.
"Goku," Cell said, voice light, "how about you stop playing and show me what you can really do?"
"All right," Goku said, inhaling slowly. "Let's see what four years in the future gave me."
His aura swelled outward, heavy and intense, pushing the air into rolling gusts.
Ken felt the pressure and narrowed his eyes.
Even without training exactly the way the original timeline had, Goku's strength had reached full-power Super Saiyan territory. That meant he'd trained hard—no shortcuts.
What Ken didn't know yet was where Goku's Super Saiyan God stood now.
Could he reach Super Saiyan Blue?
Vegeta's face tightened as he felt it.
Kakarot… When did you get this strong?
Even in pure Super Saiyan training, he's pulled ahead again.
It made Vegeta's blood boil.
Still, he forced the thought down.
I've still got the Golden Great Ape. In that form, I won't lose to you.
Even if you can use Super Saiyan God, you're not beating me.
Jiren watched, unimpressed.
That's it? This doesn't even touch level 1.
So you're really just playing with this Cell thing.
Trunks stared, stunned.
The last few years, I was rebuilding Earth with Gohan. I didn't train seriously. I only trained for one year in that strange room in this era.
And Goku is already this strong?
Back when he used Super Saiyan God, I couldn't even sense his strength clearly. Now his ki is… overwhelming.
"Goku's incredible," Krillin said, almost bouncing with excitement. "He's this strong without even using Super Saiyan God!"
Gohan stayed quiet, but his stomach sank.
He's going to make me fight, isn't he?
"Hey!" Zeno-sama blurted, suddenly shocked. "The future Supreme Kai is glowing!"
Ken, Merus, and the others fell silent.
He's been glowing the whole time, Merus thought. You're only noticing now?
Ken leaned in toward Merus and dropped his voice. "Now I understand why he gets along with Mr. Satan."
Merus's eyes widened. He hurriedly waved both hands.
Stop. Don't say that.
That's unbelievably rude.
Ken grinned. "Relax. He can't hear me."
Merus glanced at Zeno-sama. Zeno-sama's attention was fixed on the fight.
But the right guard's attention wasn't. He was staring at Ken's back with an ugly look in his eyes.
"He heard you," Merus whispered.
"I meant for him to," Ken replied, smiling.
Merus went silent.
Can we not start trouble right now?
Cell gave a sharp, cold laugh. His golden aura flared violently, the pressure whipping the air into a sudden storm.
The blast of wind sent Mr. Satan, the commentator, and the cameraman tumbling.
Piccolo gritted his teeth and held firm, sliding back about a meter before stopping.
Vegeta dug in as well and scoffed.
Don't underestimate me.
I'll show you what the Golden Great Ape can do.
And Kakarot—don't you dare use Super Saiyan God. I want to see you try to beat him like this.
Goku and Cell faced each other with faint smiles.
Goku walked in until he stood less than a meter away.
"Come on," Cell said, beckoning.
"Sure," Goku said, then drove a punch straight into Cell's stomach.
Cell's body dipped from the impact.
Goku followed with a sharp elbow to the back of Cell's head, then snapped a kick that launched Cell upward again.
In the next beat, Goku was beside him, smashing him down with a heavy punch.
Cell hit the ring, bounced once, and then steadied himself in midair like nothing had happened.
"Not bad," Cell said, wiping a smear of blood from his mouth with the back of his hand. "Those hits had some weight."
"I thought so too," Goku said, nodding.
Cell's smile widened. He raised both hands and began gathering ki.
Goku's expression changed instantly. "Stop! That's too much—if you fire that here, you'll blow up the Earth!"
Cell ignored him and kept charging. The energy in his hands grew denser, heavier.
Goku's face hardened. He shot up into the sky and called down, "Cell! Fire at me!"
Cell didn't hesitate. The blast screamed upward.
Goku calmly pressed two fingers to his forehead.
Instant Transmission.
He reappeared behind Cell.
Cell sensed it a heartbeat too late.
Goku's kick snapped into Cell's head and sent him flipping before he managed to recover his balance.
Cell stared, shocked.
"Yes! Future Supreme Kai!" Zeno-sama shouted, thrilled. "That was great!"
Zeno-sama clapped like he'd just seen the best thing in the world.
Merus and the others stared, sweating.
Great? Merus thought. By our standards, that was… average at best.
Merus, Jiren, and Bier all felt cold sweat slide down at the same time.
Zeno-sama turned toward them. "You don't think that was good?"
The gods snapped into action and immediately clapped along.
Merus forced a smile and joined in. Ken clapped once or twice as well.
From Zeno-sama's point of view, it probably was exciting.
Piccolo and Vegeta glanced toward Zeno-sama, both speechless.
Who is that guy?
Even Goku looked embarrassed and glanced up toward the hilltop.
Cell's face darkened.
That "mascot" cheering is getting on my nerves.
"What was that?" Cell demanded, voice hard. "I hit you earlier, and you disappeared like that before."
"That's Instant Transmission," Goku said honestly. "A technique I learned."
"Instant Transmission…" Cell muttered. "Annoying."
"And I want to ask you something," Goku said. "If I hadn't pulled you into the sky just now, were you really going to destroy the Earth?"
"Of course," Cell said with a smug smile. "Why keep it? I can survive in space. You Saiyans can't."
"Don't think like that," Goku warned. "If you keep pushing that line, you're going to regret it."
"Oh?" Cell sneered. "You think you can kill me? You really believe you, Goku, can defeat Cell?"
Goku didn't answer.
Cell moved first.
He vanished in a blur and drove an elbow into Goku's face. Goku rocked back and swung a counter—Cell was faster. A heavy punch slammed into Goku's back and drove him down.
Goku sprang up immediately.
The moment he lifted off, Cell appeared behind him and slapped him out of the air.
Goku landed cleanly again.
Cell was already behind him once more.
"My speed is my pride," Cell's voice said from behind Goku's shoulder. "Not quite Instant Transmission… but close enough."
Goku jumped forward and opened space.
"Not bad, Cell," Goku said, genuinely impressed. "You're stronger than I expected."
"Hmph. Good," Cell said, even more pleased with himself. "At least you understand."
"Show me again," Goku said with a grin.
Cell blinked. "What?"
"Your speed," Goku said. "Show it again. I wasn't ready earlier."
Cell's smile sharpened. "Fine. If that's what you want."
He surged forward at full speed—
Goku simply shifted aside, clean and relaxed, then snapped a hand strike into the back of Cell's neck.
Cell hit the ground hard.
For a heartbeat, he just lay there, stunned.
How did he dodge that?
Cell sprang up and charged again.
"Wait," Goku said, raising a hand.
Cell stopped, face dark.
"Goku," Cell said, voice icy, "don't tell me you're about to say something stupid like your shoelace came loose."
"It's not that," Goku said, smiling. "I just realized your speed is perfect for training Ultra Instinct."
Cell stared at him, completely lost.
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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