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At last, the earth could take no more.
The ground beneath Son Goku and Cell gave way with a thunderous roar, collapsing under the sheer force of their clash. The two humanoid calamities had literally stomped a bottomless crater into existence—an abyss so deep it made the heart tremble just looking at it.
In that instant, the monstrous aura erupting from their standoff condensed into something tangible—an all-devouring energy field. Countless chunks of shattered rock defied gravity, rising straight into the sky as if hoisted by some unseen titan.
The smaller fragments couldn't withstand the crushing pressure. Midair, they disintegrated into dust, erased from existence. Even the massive boulders scattered across the battlefield were drawn upward like iron filings to a magnet, accelerating so fast it made the scalp tingle.
Blinding arcs of lightning crackled wildly around the "energy core" formed between Goku and Cell. It was pure power overflowing, manifesting as savage thunder. Any unlucky rock that brushed against those bolts vanished instantly, vaporized without even ash left behind.
This was world-ending force.
Then the stalemate shattered.
Goku and Cell exploded into motion at the same time, becoming two blurred streaks of light. Their first collision in midair sent shockwaves ripping through the sky, fists meeting with power capable of splitting mountains and seas. They were blown apart for a heartbeat—no more than a tenth of a second—before crashing into each other again in a storm of sparks.
In one second of extreme combat, dozens of heavy blows slammed into heads and torsos. Each impact detonated the air with a violent boom.
Neither seemed to feel pain. Their will to fight had long surpassed the limits of flesh. They poured their strongest attacks into each other without restraint.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Each punch rang out like drums of war, the raw sound of fist smashing into bone and muscle. Amid the levitating debris, they carved out a personal death zone at the center of the battlefield—an empty void where nothing dared intrude.
Outside the screen, Krillin swallowed hard, his voice hoarse with shock.
"This fight… even 'unprecedented' feels too weak to describe it. Since the moment they started, neither Cell nor future Goku has shown the slightest drop in power."
"That bastard Cell is a world-ending demon! What kind of dimensional crack did that thing crawl out of?!"
A wave of dread tightened in his gut. They all knew this footage showed a future battle that would inevitably happen.
And yet… they still didn't even understand who or what "Cell" was. How were they supposed to stop something like that?
Yamcha nodded grimly. "Cell's terrifying, sure… but Goku's no better. At this point, both of them are monsters we can't even comprehend."
In the video, after hundreds of lightning-fast exchanges, Cell abruptly broke off and unleashed a barrage—hundreds of densely packed energy blasts roaring toward Goku.
The sky collapsed in explosions. A blinding mushroom cloud swallowed the entire airspace where Goku had been.
Before anyone could recover from the shock, a streak of light burst out from the epicenter and shot toward the heavens.
It was Goku.
Confusion rippled through the spectators. Why fly that high?
They had already seen it—once airborne, their speeds were nearly identical. No matter how fast or high Goku flew, Cell would chase him relentlessly.
So what was he planning?
The answer came a second later.
High above, Goku stopped abruptly. His eyes flashed with icy resolve as he looked down at Cell. Then he drew his hands together at his side.
A stance that made everyone's hearts stop.
"Kaaa… meee… haaa… meee… HAAAAAA!!!"
He was actually charging it in the sky?!
"T-That's impossible! Goku! You're not seriously going to fire a Kamehameha from up there, right?!" Tenshinhan shouted in disbelief from the Demon Realm, staring at the screen.
Goku glanced at him innocently. "How would I know? It hasn't even happened yet."
Krillin's mouth twitched. Even through the screen, he could feel it—the pressure from that forming Kamehameha.
It made the soul tremble.
On-screen, the enormous blue sphere had fully formed in Goku's hands, radiating an apocalyptic aura. He shifted into firing stance.
And then—
He vanished.
Instant Transmission.
In the blink of an eye, he reappeared directly in front of Cell.
"KAAAA… MEEE… HAAAA… MEEE… HAAAAAA!!!"
It was the ultimate play.
Not just Cell, but countless powerhouses watching across worlds froze in shock.
The brilliant blue beam engulfed Cell instantly. There was no time to react. His so-called perfect body was torn apart, shredded, atomized within the blinding light.
"This is insane!" Yamcha's eyes nearly popped out. "That kind of power…!"
They couldn't imagine how Goku had trained to reach that level.
Was this even within human possibility?
...
The Sanctuary World
"Damn it… Saga escaped after all. Any word on Athena?"
...
In the world of Saint Seiya, Mu frowned deeply.
Ever since the "Heavens Projection Platform" exposed the true identity of the Pope, the Gold Saints had rushed to the Papal Palace—only to discover the Pope was indeed the traitor Saga in disguise.
Furious, they launched a joint assault. Saga couldn't withstand so many Gold Saints, especially without Athena's Cosmos.
Just when his capture seemed certain, a shocking twist occurred: the Cancer Gold Saint defected mid-battle. Though he was ultimately slain by Virgo Shaka, Saga used the distraction to escape the Sanctuary, gravely wounded.
Athena remained missing.
Unable to find her, the Saints turned their attention to the projection platform that had revealed Saga's secret. So when a new battle video appeared, nearly all of them watched immediately.
Virgo Shaka, eyes closed as always, nonetheless perceived every detail of the battle as if it were etched directly into his mind.
"The power this Son Goku displays… surpasses my Cosmos," he said calmly.
Shock rippled through the hall.
Shaka—the man closest to God—was admitting someone stronger?
"I speak only facts," Shaka continued. "Though his power system differs from ours, I can clearly sense it. There is strength within him capable of destroying stars."
He paused, then sighed softly.
"And deeper still, within his body, sleeps an even more terrifying force. It has not yet awakened. In other words… this is not his limit."
Silence fell.
"And Cell's true strength," Shaka added, "may be even greater than Goku's current state."
Impossible.
Cell had just been obliterated on-screen.
"Keep watching," Shaka said, closing his eyes again. "Cell's foundation is not so simple."
...
The Ninja World – Raikage's Office
It was late at night in the Raikage Tower, but the Fourth Raikage, A, couldn't sleep.
The pressure from Goku and Cell's battle had blasted away any trace of drowsiness. Even through a screen, it felt suffocating—far beyond the chakra of any Tailed Beast.
Kumogakure had two perfect Jinchūriki. Even if Yugito and Killer B went full Tailed Beast transformation, their power wouldn't match even a fraction of the pressure leaking from that blue beam.
What level had those beings reached?
A didn't know.
But he knew one thing—if they wanted to erase the ninja world, it would be easier than crushing an ant.
One Kamehameha would flatten the continent the Five Great Nations stood on.
"That's it," A growled, teeth clenched. "Speed up development of the Chakra Annihilation Cannon. At any cost."
He couldn't sleep another minute otherwise.
Because the fear of unknown, overwhelming outsiders… far outweighed his concerns about rival villages.
And somewhere in the shadows, Black Zetsu could only think:
I'm so damn tired
"....."