(Self-discipline: start doing sit-ups)
The moment the uninvited guest appeared on the battlefield, both sides froze for a beat.
Wild black hair like a lion's mane streamed in the wind. His whole body was wrapped in savage red fur.
"Goku?"
"Goku's back!"
"Earth is saved…"
The group exploded with joy.
Mr. Satan sneaked a glance at the "Goku" in front of him. The face looked… oddly familiar. Seeing that the man's attention wasn't on him, Satan immediately slipped away like he'd never been there.
"Looks like…" the red-furred monkey narrowed his eyes as he swept his gaze across the battlefield, "…I arrived at the perfect time."
"Hey. Let me ask you something."
"Where did everyone else go?"
For a second, nobody even understood what he meant.
"Uh… Goku, are you asking why Trunks didn't fuse with Gohan?" someone blurted out.
The red-furred monkey's eyes sharpened. "Mm…"
"Trunks was invited to the Saiyan Empire's main planet."
"The Saiyan Empire? Interesting…"
"Right, Goku!" someone asked urgently. "Why didn't Levos and the others come back with you?"
Super Saiyan 4 Goku paused, then answered flatly, "They'll be here soon."
At last, everyone's hearts dropped back into place. Smiles spread across their faces.
Yamcha immediately stepped forward and shouted at Turles and his group, "If you don't want to be wiped out completely, surrender now! You're not Goku's opponent!"
With eyes, anyone could see it: Earth's side was fully in control now.
What needed to be considered next… was how to restore Earth to the way it was.
"Surrender? This guy who suddenly appeared… is he really that strong?" the masked man muttered.
But when his eyes fell on Goku's face, his movements suddenly stopped.
"That face…"
As if something deep inside him was struck, his pupils trembled.
"…Kakarot?"
"Kakarot?" SSJ4 Goku turned his head slightly and his aura detonated outward.
His sharp gaze swept the entire battlefield.
"Stop fighting. All of you."
With Goku stepping in to suppress the field, the Earth fighters finally breathed out and slowed their attacks.
On the enemy side…
The rampaging Bio-Broly still fought like a cornered beast.
But the masked man's attention was almost completely glued to SSJ4 Goku's face.
The more he tried to think, the more violently his body began to tremble.
"Damn it! My head hurts!"
"My memories… why can't I remember?!"
"AAAHHH !"
"What… what is Kakarot to me?!"
Goku's lips curled into a faint, mysterious smile as he drifted toward the golden Great Ape.
"Interesting. Gohan's about to go Super Saiyan 4 too, huh?"
The moment he said it, everyone turned to look.
Sure enough something crystalline flashed in the Great Ape's eyes, and a low voice rumbled out.
"Thank you… for believing in me. This time… I finally didn't let Dad and everyone down…"
That berserk aura slowly pulled inward.
The golden Great Ape completed its metamorphosis.
Gohan achieved Super Saiyan 4.
The two red-furred monkeys locked eyes.
"Dad… I did it!"
Power surged through Gohan's body like a flood. On his scarred, resolute face, excitement flared barely restrained.
Ever since his father died when he was a child, and the Z Fighters fell one after another, the burden of protecting Earth had crushed down onto his shoulders.
And yet, until his final moment, he still couldn't turn the tide.
He'd been forced to place humanity's last hope on Trunks…
He blamed himself.
He believed he had betrayed everyone's trust.
But now
He finally had strength that could stand on its own.
He could lift his chin and say those words to his father's face.
He'd waited for this moment for years. Too many years.
Today, the regret of failing to protect Earth… was finally, finally being repaid.
"So good!"
"Gohan did it too! He reached Super Saiyan 4!"
The Earth fighters erupted into cheers, genuinely happy for Gohan's breakthrough.
The masked man forced down the tremor in his chest. Surprise flickered in his eyes.
"There's a form beyond Super Saiyan 3?"
"And it's tied to the Great Ape power of the Saiyan race…"
"If that's true…"
"Then Super Saiyan 3 is nowhere near my limit."
"I finally have a way to break through that wall!"
Fire reignited in the masked man's gaze.
"If a low-class warrior's son a half-blood brat can do it… then so can I!"
He turned his eyes toward the artificial moon in the sky and secretly began absorbing Blutz Waves.
"Not good! He's trying to go SSJ4 too stop him!" someone shouted.
The Earth crew knew the SSJ4 process too well. That little trick couldn't fool them.
"It's on you, Goku!"
"Heh…" SSJ4 Goku gave a cold laugh, as if he hadn't heard the alarm at all.
He looked at Gohan.
"You did well, Gohan."
"But…"
A flash of cruelty crossed his face.
"You've got the wrong person."
In an instant, evil aura surged up like black smoke.
A giant energy scythe condensed in SSJ4 Goku's hands.
It swung down
Straight at Gohan.
The sudden change was too fast. Gohan couldn't react.
Blood sprayed.
An arm that had raised to block was severed and sent spinning through the air.
At the same time, Gohan's tail was cut off at the root.
"GOHAN!!!"
It was like thunder exploding inside everyone's skull.
The Earth fighters' eyes went bloodshot.
They weren't just furious.
A deep, crushing despair flooded in.
Because this deadly sneak attack didn't just mean betrayal.
It meant "Goku" had turned on them.
And it meant Earth's side had just been gutted of power.
The red fur on SSJ4 Gohan's body faded rapidly. In a blink, he fell back to his base form.
Half-kneeling, clutching his left shoulder, Gohan glared at the red-furred monkey.
"You're not my dad!"
"Who the hell are you?!"
"I am "
SSJ4 "Goku" tore away the last of his disguise and revealed a silver ring on his finger.
"The one and only true god in this world!"
"Not you again!"
"Zamasu!"
"Correct," SSJ4 Black smirked, his grin twisting with malice.
"So you were working with Turles and his people!"
"Don't misunderstand," SSJ4 Black replied coldly. "I would never stoop to keeping company with mortals."
His eyes swept over everyone on the field. The voice that followed was frigid, absolute, and filled with arrogant superiority.
"This is a greeting…"
"From the Dark Demon Realm legion."
"D-Dark Demon Realm legion?" Yamcha swallowed hard. "H-How is that possible?!"
Didn't they just get driven back?
How could the follow-up strike come this fast?!
SSJ4 Black sneered. "Cleaning up humans on a tiny planet doesn't deserve the legion's full power."
"As long as we seize the right moment…"
"A single vanguard squad tasked with surveillance is more than enough."
As he spoke, he tore space open with his bare hand.
Two figures stepped out, appearing beside SSJ4 Black.
"We're all from a rather amusing timeline," he said lightly. "So allow me to introduce you."
"This one is Baby."
"And this one is Omega Shenron."
The Earth side had no idea who either of them were.
"Don't underestimate them," SSJ4 Black said, voice flat. "After receiving the blessing of the Dark Demon Realm's Kaioshin…"
"Their potential has grown to an unparalleled level."
"Their current strength is at least equal to mine."
Despair spread like ink in water.
"Super Saiyan 4…"
"Gohan…"
"Earth's last hope…"
"It's gone…"
"Damn it…"
"How are we supposed to fight this?!"
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