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Time seemed to stand still inside the preliminary arena.
The two blue energy spheres, pulsing with destructive power that threatened to blow the stadium roof off, reached their critical mass at the same time.
Goku and Kaiju stared at each other across the distance, both with tense arms, sweat evaporating from their skin from the extreme heat of concentrated Ki.
—HAAAAA! —they both roared in unison.
Two immense torrents of sapphire light shot from his palms. The beams crossed the shattered Tatami D at lightning speed and collided precisely at the geometric center of the platform.
¡KABOOOOOM!
The impact was so massive that the sound deafened half the audience for several seconds. A spherical shockwave erupted from the point of impact, tearing away the remaining wooden tiles and turning them into splinters that rained down on the spectators. The air smelled of ozone and burnt stone.
At the center of the clash, the two Kamehameha blasts pushed against each other, creating a sizzling barrier of static energy.
Kaiju dug his boots into the stone, clenching his teeth until his gums bled. His arms trembled violently. He was draining every last drop of the physical Ki he had cultivated over the past year and a half. He felt as if his muscles were about to tear from his bones.
"I could win," Kaiju thought for a split second, temptation whispering in his ear. "If I activate my Celestial Eyes right now... if I summon Energy Synchronization or use the Kaio-ken twice... I'd crush him. I'd steamroll his attack."
But he immediately dismissed the idea.
"No. I'm a fan, but I'm also a martial artist. If I cheat now, all my effort will have been for nothing."
On the other side of the torrent of light, Goku was in a similar position, pushing with all his might. However, his face didn't reflect the Kaiju's agony. It reflected pure, untamed joy. Goku stepped forward, steadying his stance, and a spark of golden power flickered briefly in his black eyes.
"You're amazing, Number 84!" Goku's voice managed to rise above the roar of energy. "But I'm going to win this tournament! HAAAAAA!"
With a final shout, the Saiyan pushed his hands one millimeter further forward, releasing an additional burst of Ki that he had kept in reserve.
The balance was broken instantly.
Goku's Kamehameha devoured the torrent of Kaiju, pushing it back with overwhelming force. Kaiju opened its one good eye wide as the wall of blue light hurtled toward it. It crossed its arms in front of its face in a final act of instinctive defense.
The lightning struck him directly.
Kaiju shot backward, its boots leaving two long trails of smoke on the ground as it was dragged out of bounds. It flew through the air and slammed brutally into the pavilion's thick retaining wall, leaving a spiderweb-like dent in the concrete.
The blue beam dissipated towards the ceiling, and a heavy, astonished silence fell over the entire room.
Kaiju fell to his knees, coughing and panting, his training clothes singed and his body covered in scrapes. He looked down. His feet were clearly on the concrete floor outside the tatami area.
The referee monk, who had been hiding behind a column, poked his head out, trembling. He looked at Kaiju, then at the line of the platform.
"Participant number 84 is out of bounds!" shouted the referee, raising a flag in favor of the Saiyan. "The winner is Son Goku!"
A murmur of disbelief and relief rippled through the other fighters. They had witnessed a fight that was leagues above the level of the preliminaries.
Goku let his arms fall to his sides, taking a deep breath, and wiped the sweat from his brow. A radiant smile lit up his face as he trotted swiftly toward Kaiju, leaping over the rubble of the ring.
"Hey! Are you alright?" Goku asked, extending a friendly hand. "That was an amazing fight! I haven't had that much fun in a tournament in ages. You have to show me how you got so tough."
Kaiju stared at the outstretched hand of his childhood hero. His entire body ached. He had lost in the first round. His participation in the 23rd World Tournament was officially over.
And suddenly, the mask of the stoic and mysterious warrior cracked and fell into a thousand pieces.
A gigantic, bright, and ridiculously excited grin spread across Kaiju's scarred face. He grabbed Goku's hand and propelled himself upward, but instead of letting go, he began shaking his hand with maniacal enthusiasm.
"GOKU!! Damn it, you're real, it's really you!" Kaiju shouted, his voice losing all its rehearsed gravity, finally sounding like the teenage otaku inside him. "I can't believe I just had a Kamehameha clash with you! It was spectacular! Your reflexes are insane!"
Goku blinked, completely taken aback by the sudden change in personality. The fierce and cold fighter from just a few seconds ago now seemed like an excited puppy who'd just been given his favorite treat. "Uh... thanks? You're very..."
"No, no, no, you're the best!" Kaiju interrupted, bouncing in place despite his injuries. "I've waited years for this! I'm your biggest fan! Hey, can you sign my belt?! No, better yet, the back of my jacket! Tohka! Tohka, get down here quick!"
From the upper stands, Tohka watched the humiliating yet strangely endearing scene. She sighed deeply, rubbing the bridge of her nose with two fingers, and floated down, landing gracefully beside them.
—Mental note number 9505—Tohka dictated aloud, looking at her Creator with a mixture of affection and utter exasperation—. The Creator has lost all public dignity. His deity ego has been replaced by the psyche of a prepubescent fanatic.
"Put down the notes and take a picture!" Kaiju pleaded, ignoring the pain in his ribs to put an arm around the bewildered Goku's shoulders, posing with his thumb up and a wide grin. "Say 'Kamehameha,' Goku!"
"Kamehameha!" Goku instinctively responded, laughing and also raising his thumb, used to the oddities of the world but still feeling that this was one of the strangest.
Tohka crossed her arms, her amethyst eyes glowing faintly before a small spider-shaped drone emerged from her armor, projected a flash, and took the perfect photograph of the moment.
Kaiju let out a long sigh, feeling more alive, lighter, and happier than ever. This universe's Earth was safe in the hands of that Saiyan, and he had just fulfilled his greatest fantasy before returning to the harsh reality of the demon world. All the suffering, sweat, and broken bones had been worth every damn second.
...
The immense, dark-framed mirror vibrated with a deep hum in the center of the treehouse laboratory. The liquid crystal surface rippled violently before spitting two figures out onto the cold, metallic floor.
With a soft "POP!", the interdimensional rift closed behind them, sealing their connection to the Z Warriors universe.
Kaiju landed on its feet, breathing in the familiar air of its sanctuary in Kuoh City. Beside it, Tohka floated down with her usual grace, brushing an invisible speck of dust from her astral dress. The small spider-robots that maintained the place hurried around them, emitting welcoming beeps.
The teenager, still bruised and with his clothes singed from the fight, didn't go straight to the infirmary or the showers. Instead, he let out a stifled chuckle that quickly transformed into a malevolent and triumphant laugh.
Tohka glanced at him sideways, raising a perfectly straight eyebrow. "Mental note number 9601," the AI dictated, crossing its arms. "The Creator is exhibiting symptoms of post-combat hysteria. Or, he's about to reveal the product of his tactical kleptomania."
Kaiju stopped laughing and turned to face her, his eyes gleaming with pride. He reached inside his tattered jacket and pulled out a garish orange bundle of fabric, holding it up in the air like it was the Holy Grail.
It was a martial arts gi. Specifically, Son Goku's spare gi, with the kanji for the Turtle School on the chest and back.
"Behold, Tohka!" exclaimed Kaiju, almost crying with joy. "The ultimate prize!"
"At what point did you steal the humanoid primate's clothing?" Tohka asked, genuinely puzzled, scanning the garment. "My optical sensors didn't register the theft."
"Shunkan Ido isn't just for traveling between planets, Tohka!" Kaiju explained, puffing out his chest. "While I was asking for his autograph and we were posing for the photo, I used micro-teleportation jumps and telekinesis to pull his spare uniform out of his canvas bag in the locker room. I was a ghost! Goku never even noticed!"
—Adding "Dimensional Pickpocket" to your list of formal titles—Tohka sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose.
Ignoring his assistant's moral judgment, Kaiju walked toward the main wall of the laboratory. He closed his good eye, and when he opened it, the iris lit up with an immaculate, radiant white.
The Absolute Transmutation altered the reality of the room. Kaiju extracted titanium from the walls and pure quartz from the park's subsoil through the tree's roots. In a matter of seconds, a massive, ostentatious display case materialized before him. It had bulletproof glass, internal LED lighting, and a crimson velvet background.
With meticulous care, almost with religious devotion, Kaiju placed his own tattered jacket in the center of the frame, proudly displaying Son Goku's large signature on the back. Right next to it, he hung the stolen orange gi, smoothing out every wrinkle in the fabric. He vacuum-sealed the glass so the garments would last for eternity.
Kaiju took a couple of steps back, admiring his personal museum. The lights illuminated his bruised face and the scar over his right eye, giving him a ridiculously dramatic look for the situation.
"My life is complete, Tohka," Kaiju sighed, wiping away a fake tear. "I learned martial arts, I flew, I used the Kaio-ken, and I fought Goku. There's nothing more this world can offer me. I could die in peace right now."
"That would be statistically disappointing and extremely counterproductive, Kaiju," said Tohka's soft voice behind him.
The AI's tone wasn't the usual robotic or sarcastic ring. It sounded warm, almost hesitant. Kaiju turned, blinking in surprise.
Tohka wasn't floating. She was standing on the steel floor, holding a small tray in her gloved hands. On it rested something that defied all culinary rules. It was a cake, or at least an attempt at one, with three tiers. It was made almost entirely of sweet dough and covered in an obscene, suffocating amount of Kinako powder. On top, fifteen small, transmuted candles burned with tiny purple flames.
Kaiju was speechless. He looked at the cake, then at the candles, and finally at the amethyst eyes of his creation.
"Tohka...? What is this?" he asked, genuinely confused.
"My databases indicate that today, the planetary rotation cycle coincides exactly with the fifteenth anniversary of your biological birth in this world," Tohka explained, slightly averting her gaze—a purely human gesture of shyness that made Kaiju's heart sink. "I know the concept of 'family' has been…traumatic for you. And I know you forgot the date because you were busy fighting the spiky-haired human. But…"
Tohka looked up, her eyes shining with a devotion and affection that transcended any programming code. "Happy birthday, Kaiju. I won't let you die. We still have so much to live for."
Kaiju froze. Fifteen years. Today was his fifteenth birthday. He had spent so much time surviving, training, forging his body under infernal gravity and dealing with gods, that he had completely forgotten he was a teenager.
In his past life, his birthdays passed unnoticed in the solitude of his apartment. In this life, his biological parents had tried to murder him in his crib, leaving him with the scar on his face.
But here was Tohka, the girl he had created from nothing to keep from going insane, reminding him that he wasn't alone. She was his family.
A lump formed in Kaiju's throat. He sighed, lowering his head for a second to hide how his eyes were moistening, before offering a soft, genuine smile. He approached her, bending down to blow out the fifteen candles.
"Thank you, Tohka," Kaiju whispered, taking a piece of Kinako's strange cake with his fingers and bringing it to his mouth. It was absurdly sweet, thick, and perfect. "It's the best gift I've ever received. Better than flying. Better than the Kaio-ken."
Tohka smiled, a radiant smile that lit up the entire laboratory, and quickly proceeded to devour the rest of her own culinary creation at the speed of light, demonstrating her addiction to Kinako.
Kaiju watched her eat and slumped down on the transformed sofa, feeling the weariness of battle disappear. He gazed up at the laboratory ceiling, pondering his future.
"You know, Tohka?" Kaiju said suddenly, crossing his arms behind his head. "I just turned fifteen. I have the power to destroy continents, steal clothes at supersonic speed, and travel between galaxies. I think it's time I experienced something truly terrifying and unknown."
Tohka swallowed hard, looking at him warily. "Did you detect a cosmic anomaly in this city? Should I prepare the air defenses?"
"No, no, nothing like that," Kaiju laughed, waving his hand. "I'm talking about going to high school. A normal, peaceful, and boring teenage life. I think there's an academy around here... Kuoh, I believe. Tomorrow I'll forge my documents and enroll. Just a normal kid going to classes in a normal town, no monsters or magic involved. What could possibly go wrong?"
Tohka blinked, processing the illogical decision of a god attending math class, but ended up nodding. "As you wish, Kaiju. I'll help you with the paperwork."
Oblivious to the fact that Kuoh was, literally, the epicenter of an impending war between Demons, Angels and Fallen, the fanboy God and his sweet bread-addicted AI prepared to begin the most "peaceful" arc of their lives.