Lucas was currently at the level of Super Saiyan Two.
Now he also possessed a divine domain, which meant his body could transform energy into an even more powerful divine power.
That left several possible paths for further improvement.
The first was the Super Saiyan transformation itself.
Thinking about this, Lucas frowned.
The level beyond Super Saiyan Two had always been somewhat unclear to him, because even in the original Dragon Ball story the portrayal was strange.
First, there was the issue of the power limit of Super Saiyan Two.
Anyone familiar with the Super Saiyan system knew that Super Saiyan Two supposedly doubled the power of Super Saiyan One—bringing the total multiplier to 100 times base power.
But later developments in the series showed that this value wasn't actually fixed.
Take Future Trunks, for example.
Setting aside Toriyama occasionally changing his own lore, and ignoring the differences between the manga and Toei's anime adaptations—
Future Trunks' Super Saiyan form was one of the most interesting examples.
In the Dragon Ball Super storyline, when he returned from the future and entered Super Saiyan Two (Rage), his power multiplier reached nearly 400 times.
At the time, even Goku's own Super Saiyan Two couldn't match him.
Goku had to transform into Super Saiyan Three just to continue the fight.
Of course, it was possible that Goku wasn't treating Trunks as a true life-or-death opponent and was merely sparring.
Even so, it still demonstrated how enormous the power boost of Trunks' Super Saiyan Two had become.
Therefore, Lucas concluded that Super Saiyan Two's multiplier wasn't strictly fixed at 100 times.
It could climb far higher depending on the user.
---
The second issue was Super Saiyan Three.
If Super Saiyan Two's multiplier wasn't fixed, then was the transformation to Super Saiyan Three even necessary?
Looking at the original series, only Goku and Gotenks ever achieved Super Saiyan Three.
But judging from its portrayal in the story, the explosive power and potential of Super Saiyan Three were extremely impressive.
Lucas once had a long discussion about this on an online forum with another fan.
They came to the conclusion that Super Saiyan Three was actually very powerful.
After all, merely transforming into Super Saiyan Three was enough to shake an entire planet.
Among non-divine transformations, only Super Saiyan Three could achieve something like that.
Many fans only remembered how powerful Mystic Gohan was during the Majin Buu arc.
But in the end, it was still Goku's Super Saiyan Three that played the decisive role.
And at the time, Goku was fighting under several restrictions.
First, because he existed as a spirit with a temporary physical body, his ability to use energy in the living world was limited.
Later in the battle, Majin Buu had already absorbed Super Saiyan Three Gotenks and Gohan, which made him absurdly powerful.
Even so, Goku still relied on Super Saiyan Three to fight him.
And ultimately, it was Super Saiyan Three that defeated Kid Buu.
The Old Supreme Kai once called Super Saiyan transformations a "dangerous and unnatural path."
But that was mainly because the transformations overexert a Saiyan's potential.
From the perspective of someone at the level of the Supreme Kais—beings who had witnessed the power of Gods of Destruction, Angels, and the Grand Priest—calling Super Saiyan a reckless method wasn't unreasonable.
However, the Old Supreme Kai hadn't realized that Super Saiyan could eventually evolve into a divine transformation.
That had been his miscalculation.
---
This led Lucas to another question:
Super Saiyan God.
Logically speaking, Lucas had already become a godlike being.
So he should theoretically be able to transform into Super Saiyan God, the red-haired divine form.
But he had tried it already.
It didn't work.
Lucas remembered something Zamasu once said to Goku and Vegeta.
He claimed that Super Saiyan God was merely a "pseudo-god" transformation, not a true god.
When Lucas had first read that line years ago, he hadn't understood what it meant.
But now, combining that statement with the knowledge he had gained in this world, he could finally interpret it.
Goku and Vegeta possessed divine power, but they lacked a godhead and a divine domain.
In other words—
Their godly state was like a floating rootless plant, a god without a true foundation.
In the Dragon Ball universe, a true god's authority is tied to a divine concept.
For example:
The God of Destruction represents destruction.
The Supreme Kai represents creation.
Angels possess authority over time.
The Grand Priest governs cosmic rules.
Zeno embodies absolute erasure.
Even the weakest planetary deity—like Earth's former Guardian—possessed a form of divine authority.
(In the Majin Buu saga, Piccolo was the only one who immediately recognized the Supreme Kai's identity because he had once been Earth's god.)
Lucas realized that what he had gained was divinity and divine power, but not the Super Saiyan God transformation itself.
Once he understood that, the reason became clear.
He couldn't transform into Super Saiyan God yet because he lacked the proper method.
Normally, the transformation required the ritual involving several Saiyans.
Without that, he currently had no solution.
Lucas could only sigh.
He would have to solve that problem in the future.
---
After reviewing everything, Lucas summarized his path forward.
In terms of power, he needed to:
Continue accumulating spiritual strength.
Further temper his body and energy.
Unlock more of his latent potential.
After reaching this conclusion, however, a new problem appeared.
Normal gravity training was now almost useless to him.
If he wanted to improve his combat ability further, he would need opponents who were equal to him—or capable of pressuring him.
As for divine power, according to Hela—
Lucas narrowed his eyes.
"It seems… it's time to start exploring the universe."
Then he added quietly:
"But before that, there are still some troubles here on Earth that need to be dealt with."
---
Five Minutes Earlier — The White House
"Mr. President, we've just received confirmation."
"Mr. Lucas has returned to Earth."
Hearing the report, President Ellis finally let out a long breath.
He swore that in his entire life before becoming president, he had never experienced as many crises as he had in the last two years.
And every single one of them had been terrifying enough to cause heart attacks.
America alone had already faced several disasters this year.
The presidential election had even been postponed.
However, Ellis wasn't worried about the election.
Before it was delayed, his approval rating had already reached an astonishing 65.2%.
What did that mean?
It meant that even if all the other candidates combined their support, they still couldn't beat him.
He was practically guaranteed to win the next election.
In fact, several candidates had already withdrawn from the race.
Officially, they claimed that Ellis far surpassed them in both ability and public support.
But Ellis understood the real meaning behind their words:
"Sorry… we can't handle the pressure like Ellis can."
"He's the perfect person to take the blame."
In the current global situation, everyone knew the truth.
Earth had been targeted by extraterrestrial forces.
And as the leader of the nation with the most advanced military technology on Earth, the responsibility on Ellis's shoulders was crushing.
Because if something went wrong—
He would be the one standing in front of the lightning rod.
.....
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