Vegeta saw it clearly in an instant.
16 was going to lose.
Going by the energy level Kakarot was putting out — even without going Super Saiyan, his base form had already reached what used to be his full-power Super Saiyan level.
There was no way 16 could compete with that.
No wonder Kakarot told all three of them to come at once.
Could it be that Kakarot had his dormant power awakened by Old Kai as well — the same way Gohan did? An Ultimate Form?
That would explain it.
Vegeta found his mind running in several directions at once.
16's expression grew heavier by the moment, cold sweat sliding down his face.
Why is Goku's power this strong?
17 and 18, with no energy sensors of their own, couldn't feel Goku's power at all.
"16 — what's wrong?" 18 asked, puzzled. "Don't tell me you're going to run."
"I think... Goku may be right. We might need all three of us — and even then our chances are slim." 16 said, voice flat.
18: "..."
17: "..."
Both of them were utterly speechless.
"16 — stop building him up and tearing yourself down! The nerve of it." 17 said darkly, exasperated.
You're embarrassing us Androids.
"I'll beat all of you as quickly as I can — please be ready." Goku smiled and turned to Krillin. "Krillin — start the count."
"Ah — alright." Krillin nodded.
17 and 18 glanced at Krillin, then back at Goku.
Is he actually going to beat all three of us in ten seconds?
"Begin! Ten!" Krillin called out.
Whoosh!
Goku's form blurred — and vanished from the spot.
In the blink of an eye, he had materialised directly in front of 16, moving at extraordinary speed.
16's pupils snapped tight, his eye twitching, and he swung a fist at Goku with full force.
Snap!
Goku raised his left hand, effortlessly blocked 16's punch, and drove an elbow straight into his chest.
"Nine!" Krillin called.
"Pfft—"
16 coughed up a spray of hydraulic fluid and felt the world go unsteady around him, his face going pale with shock.
This big a gap?
Snap!
16 felt as though his entire body had short-circuited. His legs went weak and he slumped forward onto Goku's shoulder.
17 and 18 stared.
Both of them wide-eyed, hardly able to believe what they were seeing.
16 got knocked out in one hit?
"16 — you're that weak? I never should have woken you up." 17 was genuinely speechless.
How did Dr. Gero produce something this underpowered?
This is embarrassing for all Androids.
"17 — you're next!" Goku set 16 down gently on the ground and turned to 17 with a cheerful look.
"Hmph — 16 was just weak. Did you think I'd go down that easily?" 17 snorted.
Whoosh!
Goku immediately threw an energy ball straight at 17.
"Pathetic! You think one little energy ball can get past me?!" 17 gave a dismissive laugh and raised a hand to swat it away.
"17 — dodge it! Or put up a barrier — right now!" 16 went white and shouted urgently.
"What — what did you say?" 17's eye twitched.
"I have an internal energy scanner. I can feel exactly how strong that energy ball is — it's terrifying." 16 called out the warning immediately.
"You have an energy scanner in your body — why didn't you say so?!" 17 was startled.
Looking at the energy ball closing in at speed, 17 dropped his casual attitude entirely and threw up a barrier.
Snap!
The energy ball and the barrier made contact head-on.
Crack!
17 was stunned — the barrier he had deployed was cracking, splintering under the pressure of Goku's energy ball.
"What — how is that possible?!" 17 was shaken to his core.
Fortunately — though the barrier had cracked, it held. The energy ball was stopped.
Both the ball and the barrier shattered together, dissolving into scattered sparks.
17 was completely thrown. The disbelief written across his face didn't fade.
How?
My barrier is incredibly powerful.
Goku just threw a casual energy ball — and it nearly broke right through my defence?
In truth, 17 had no way of knowing — Goku had measured the power of that blast very carefully. If he had accidentally put too much into it, 17 might have been killed on the spot.
17, still shaking, looked back at Goku.
Whoosh!
Goku flickered — and reappeared directly behind 17.
17 turned mechanically, his face draining of all colour.
Crack!
Goku drove a kick into 17's body.
17 was sent tumbling — head skipping along the ground, leaving a long groove in the earth.
"Pfft—"
When 17 finally came to a stop, he coughed up a thick spray of blood. He felt as though his entire body had come apart.
18's face had gone white.
In that moment, 18 realised — it was not that 16 was weak. It was that Goku was far too strong.
17 was proof of that. If even 17 had been beaten this easily, 18 knew without a doubt she stood no chance.
Whoosh!
Goku flickered again — and appeared directly in front of 18.
18's lips trembled violently. Her whole body was shaking.
"Still want to keep going, 18?" Goku grinned.
18 dropped into a fighting stance — and couldn't stop trembling.
"18 — just surrender! You're no match for Goku!" Krillin blurted, stepping forward urgently.
18 turned and looked at Krillin.
A brief pause.
"I... I give up." 18 said quickly.
"Goku — 18 has surrendered. Take it easy on her." Krillin shouted, terrified Goku might damage her.
Because when Krillin had taken a careful look, he had to admit — 18 really was quite beautiful.
If I were to bring her home as a wife... that might actually not be a bad option at all.
And Goku said she can have children.
Mmm... built from a human body?
"Got it, Krillin." Goku smiled and left 18 alone.
18 finally breathed out, the tension leaving her body. She looked at Krillin with a quiet flash of gratitude.
Goku stepped forward and crouched beside 16, helping him to his feet.
16's eyes shifted slightly. In a single fluid motion — he turned and locked his arms around Goku in a tight bear hug.
Goku: "..."
"Surprised, aren't you, Goku?" 16 said coldly. "I admit you're strong. Your strength is far beyond anything I anticipated. But I have a powerful bomb inside this body. You're standing this close — no matter how strong you are, the blast will kill you. This is the end, Goku. We go together."
Goku's head started to ache.
I completely forgot about this.
16 really did hate me during the Cell Games.
"I apologise to all of you — my bomb has a large blast radius. Please get as far away as you can." 16's eyes filled with absolute resolve as he prepared to detonate himself along with Goku.
Everyone present went pale.
None of them had seen this coming.
"Dad!" Gohan shouted and was the first to move.
"Gohan — stay back!" Goku called out urgently.
Piccolo reached out and pulled Gohan back.
Krillin, Tien, and Yamcha all desperately wanted to run — but felt too embarrassed to do so in front of everyone.
"16 — don't do anything rash!" 17 wiped his face, shaking his head in exasperation.
Going to kill Goku was just something we said. How did you take it this literally?
"16 — please think this through!" 18 pleaded.
Vegeta: "..."
Vegeta's expression darkened.
What an idiot, Kakarot. He walked right into it.
This is getting complicated.
I wonder if I can get everyone out of this.
"16 — don't you want to protect nature?" Goku said suddenly, the idea coming to him in an instant.
16 blinked, startled. He stared at Goku.
How does Goku know I care about nature?
"If you detonate yourself here, the natural environment around us will be destroyed." Goku asked. "Those birds resting nearby — they'll be caught in the blast too, won't they?"
16: "..."
16 went completely still.
"You love the birds and the animals of this world — so let's work together. Let's both do our part to protect this planet." Goku said, smiling gently.
16 said nothing.
"Let me go, 16. We're not enemies." Goku said warmly.
16 looked at Goku for a long moment.
A quiet pause.
16 slowly released his grip and let Goku go.
Vegeta: "????"
Vegeta stared at what had just unfolded, still struggling to process it.
How did Kakarot know 16 cares about nature?
Who told him?
Every person here — I can say with certainty — has never met 16 before today.
How could Kakarot possibly know what 16 cares about?
They clearly just met for the first time.
And in Trunks' timeline, 16 never even existed.
So there's no way Kakarot could have learned anything about what 16 is like.
Unless...
Unless Kakarot was also reborn.
Vegeta felt a chill run through him. His eyes widened.
That can't be a coincidence, can it?
There's really no other explanation.
Not even Old Kai would spend every hour watching the Earth.
That old man doesn't know anything about 16 either.
I need to go ask him about it.
In that moment, Vegeta finally had real grounds to be suspicious of Goku — and the more he thought about everything Goku had done over the past three years, the more it didn't add up.
Vegeta smacked himself on the forehead, feeling quietly unsettled.
I assumed I was the only one who had been reborn.
And now Kakarot turns out to be the same?
"Hmph — Goku, you got lucky this time." 16 gave a grudging snort, his expression still hard.
"Ha ha — from now on, we're all friends." Goku laughed.
16 set his jaw and said to Goku flatly, "Get one thing straight — I was built to kill you."
"Well... ha ha..." Goku scratched his head, entirely unfazed.
He knew the truth. 16 was just being stubborn.
He was, at his core, a kind Android.
If 16 had genuinely intended to self-destruct while holding me, he wouldn't have said a single word.
One moment of silence, and the explosion would have come.
Even Gohan might have been caught off guard and hurt.
But he didn't do it. In the end, he let go of whatever was holding him.
"Goku — don't celebrate yet. We'll be back to beat you one day." 17 growled, clenching his fists.
"I look forward to it. Come whenever you're ready." Goku laughed and nodded.
"Let's go." 17 snorted, shot into the air, and flew away.
16 fell in behind him.
"18, I—" Krillin worked up his courage and walked over to 18, trying to start a conversation.
18 looked at him, blinking once.
Krillin suddenly went tense.
Pop!
18 leaned forward and kissed Krillin on the cheek.
Krillin's mouth fell open. He stood there frozen, face burning scarlet.
Do Androids really just... do that?
No wait — she's not an Android in that sense.
Goku said she was built from a human body.
She can have children.
"Heh — thank you for earlier. See you around." 18 gave Krillin a cheerful smile and launched herself into the sky.
The three Androids grew smaller in the distance.
Krillin replayed the feeling of 18's kiss in his mind and genuinely felt as though spring had arrived.
Then a string of strange things Goku had said came back to him all at once.
Goku asked if I had a girlfriend...
Was he trying to introduce me to 18?
But that doesn't make sense.
18 might be beautiful, but Trunks said those two Androids were monsters — the entire future world is in ruins because of them.
"Goku — you're really just letting those three Androids go?" Yamcha stepped forward urgently.
"Let them be. They're nothing like the Androids from the future." Goku smiled.
"How is that possible?" Yamcha was baffled.
"It's probably because Trunks coming back from the future to this world caused some changes to history." Piccolo gave the nearby Gohan a meaningful look, then casually shifted the blame to Trunks.
"That's right — I've been to the future with Trunks myself, and the 17 and 18 from this world are completely different from their future selves. The future 17 and 18 were emotionless killing machines — but the 18 from this world just... kissed Uncle Krillin." Gohan nodded.
Krillin: "..."
Krillin's face went even redder.
Gohan, was it really necessary to single me out like that?
You're embarrassing me.
"Gohan's right!" Yamcha's eyes lit up and he immediately turned into a gossip machine, sidling up to Krillin. "Krillin — quick, give it a sniff. Was that kiss just now saliva or hydraulic fluid?"
Krillin: "..."
Krillin's face went dark. The world felt slightly wrong.
"Yamcha!" Krillin was shaking with indignation.
You and your whole family are hydraulic fluid.
"Pff — ha ha ha!"
Yamcha burst out laughing, loud and unrestrained.
Krillin's forehead veins were bulging.
"Just a joke, just a joke!" Yamcha grinned even wider, clapping Krillin on the shoulder. "But Krillin — in all seriousness, even if you want a girlfriend, you shouldn't be going after an Android. She's more or less a robot, right? Bulma could probably build you something similar. She could make you a mechanical companion."
Krillin: "..."
Snap!
At that moment, Vegeta dropped from the sky and landed in front of the group.
Everyone turned and looked at him.
Vegeta ignored them all and fixed his eyes solely on Goku.
"Vegeta — have you been watching from up there this whole time?" Goku asked pleasantly.
"Kakarot — have you ever heard of someone called Zamasu?" Vegeta asked, ignoring the question entirely.
"Zamasu? Who's that?" Goku scratched his head, drawing a blank.
Vegeta: "..."
Kakarot doesn't know who Zamasu is?
Does that mean he's not a rebirth?
Or did he come back before Zamasu's time?
"What about Hit? Have you heard that name?" Vegeta pressed.
Goku: "????"
Goku shook his head blankly.
Vegeta: "..."
He doesn't know Hit either?
That's very strange.
"What about Champa? Surely you know him." Vegeta said.
"Champa? Who's that?" Goku looked increasingly puzzled. "Vegeta — who are all these people?"
Vegeta was genuinely stumped.
Kakarot doesn't know Champa?
He really doesn't seem to be faking it.
Kakarot rarely lies — and if he knew these names, he wouldn't deny it.
"Then what about Beerus? You know that name, at least." Vegeta said.
"Oh — Lord Beerus? Yes, I've heard of him." Goku nodded.
Vegeta paused.
Was Kakarot reborn right around the time Beerus first came to Earth?
That would explain why he doesn't know Champa or Hit.
"Wait — to be more accurate, I wouldn't say I know him." Goku corrected himself. "I've only heard of Lord Beerus. I've never actually met him. People say he's incredibly powerful."
Vegeta: "..."
Vegeta's expression stiffened. He was at a loss.
Kakarot has only heard of Lord Beerus?
Never met him?
Then what is the point of being reborn?
"Goku — what are you two talking about?" Krillin asked, thoroughly confused.
"You — stay out of it." Vegeta said flatly.
Krillin: "..."
Krillin closed his mouth and said nothing more, chastened.
Piccolo watched Vegeta with quiet attention. The questions he was asking felt oddly pointed.
"Who told you about Beerus?" Vegeta asked.
"Old Kai, of course." Goku answered honestly.
Vegeta had nothing left to say.
It was that old man who mentioned Beerus to Kakarot.
Kakarot has never met Lord Beerus at all?
He genuinely hasn't been reborn?
But then how did he know about 16?
Vegeta couldn't work it out, and he wasn't going to burn any more thought on it now. He suddenly sensed a familiar ki signature nearby.
Trunks.
Trunks had come back from the future.
Vegeta dropped the subject and launched immediately into the air, flying toward Trunks' direction.
Goku scratched his head.
Who are all those people Vegeta mentioned?
Is the world Vegeta was reborn in completely different from the one I came from?
My past world never had a Lord Beerus.
But judging by the names Vegeta brought up — Beerus seems to exist in Vegeta's world.
Goku rubbed his chin and thought quietly.
"Dad — what's wrong with Uncle Vegeta?" Gohan leaned in with a hushed question.
"Vegeta might be from a different world than us." Goku mused.
"Is Uncle Vegeta really a reborn person?" Gohan wondered.
"Maybe." Goku gave a slow nod. "We can think about Vegeta later. Let's go."
"It turned out exactly like you said, Dad — the Androids of this era are completely different from the ones of my time. They seem like good people." Gohan smiled at his father.
Ever since Trunks had destroyed the future Androids, Gohan's hatred of them had softened considerably.
After all, he had grown much stronger himself.
The hatred had come from a time when he could never beat them, no matter how hard he tried.
"Is that Trunks?" Krillin rubbed his bald head and looked at Goku.
"Yeah — Trunks has come back from the future. Let's go see." Goku nodded.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The group took off as one.
Trunks hovered in the sky, staring down at the shattered remains of Android 19 on the ground, expression completely vacant.
Who is this Android?
Has history changed dramatically again?
As Trunks stood there, momentarily dazed — two familiar faces came flying toward him from a distance.
His eyes widened. His expression hardened with intense, burning hatred.
Androids 17 and 18.
And who is that third Android?
This is completely different from my future.
Whoosh!
Trunks launched himself toward the three Androids and cut off their path.
"And who are you?" 17 blinked, brow furrowing.
"Android 17. Android 18!" Trunks clenched both fists.
17: "????"
18 turned to look at him wordlessly.
16 stayed silent.
"So you actually came to be born." Trunks said coldly. "But I will not let you run rampant in this world. Prepare yourselves."
Trunks extended both hands, energy gathering between his palms.
"What are you trying to do?" 17's brow furrowed. "You want to fight?"
"Who is this person? There's nothing in our database about him." 18 murmured.
"Based on facial structure, there is an 86% similarity to Vegeta. Age-wise, he is too old to be Vegeta's son — more likely a younger brother." 16 quickly scanned Trunks.
"Die!"
Trunks showed no mercy. He went Super Saiyan immediately, and blasted a massive burst of energy from both hands.
The wave surged toward all three Androids at full speed.
"His energy is enormous — everyone move!" 16 went white and shouted out a warning.
To be continued…
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