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For years, the Five Great Ninja Villages had a quiet understanding of each other's strength. The Kage all knew where the balance of power stood.
But warriors from another world?
That was something else entirely.
They knew nothing about these outsiders. And when you're dealing with the unknown, the only way forward is trial and error.
Their method of trial and error?
Blood.
Living, breathing people thrown into the dark to map out what lurks there.
The Raikage, A, refused to let his future end that way. What kind of Kage couldn't protect his own people? The thought of that helplessness, sinking deep into his bones, was something he would never allow himself to experience.
So…
Their trump card had to be developed at any cost. Pour in every resource. Push the research harder. Finish it as soon as possible.
"…Looks like the budget's still not enough. Time to collect a little more tribute from the daimyo."
At the same time, deep within Uchiha Obito's shadowy underground lair—
"Obito. Nagato has recalled all Akatsuki members. They've gathered at the hidden base in Amegakure."
Black Zetsu's upper body rose ghostlike from the stone floor, his voice dry and rasping like bark scraping together. His eyes gleamed with calculation.
"Anything else?" Obito narrowed his eyes behind the mask. His gaze never left the massive projection screen before him, where the world-shaking battle continued to play.
"The moment everyone arrived, Nagato pushed his sensory ability to the absolute limit. The entire village is sealed tight. I can't slip in even a thread."
There was irritation buried in Black Zetsu's tone.
He had manipulated events from the shadows for a thousand years. And now? The script he'd woven so carefully was spiraling off course.
Nagato had begun doubting Obito's identity as "Madara." Worse still, Obito himself had started to grow wary of Black Zetsu.
For someone who prided himself on long games and flawless control, that loss of grip was suffocating.
As if that weren't enough, the Five Great Villages had collectively lost their nerve after watching the broadcast of "Five Kage vs. Madara." Now they were aggressively reforming their entire ninja combat systems.
They'd been shaken to the core.
Obito felt his temper nearing its limit. This was the closest he had ever come to freeing Mother Kaguya. The odds had never been better.
And yet—
That damned Multiverse Projection Platform had crashed into existence like a cosmic variable, tearing his perfect plan to shreds.
Even Black Zetsu, master schemer that he was, had no immediate solution.
"Zetsu… tell me," Obito said quietly, his voice low and dangerous. "Outside the shinobi world we know… do you think there are other humans? Or perhaps… completely different species?"
Behind the mask, his crimson Sharingan glinted.
Black Zetsu's heart skipped.
This wasn't idle curiosity. This was a test.
If he revealed even the slightest hint about extraterrestrial origins, Obito—sharper and more cautious than ever—might connect the dots all the way to Kaguya.
"…Who can say?" Black Zetsu replied after a suffocating pause, tone flat and unreadable.
"Is that so…"
Obito gave nothing away. His eyes remained locked on the screen—on Son Goku, who was unleashing a Kamehameha powerful enough to scorch the heavens.
No one knew where Obito's thoughts had drifted.
The footage surged forward like an erupting volcano.
Cell had clearly been caught off guard by Goku's sudden, near-teleport-level maneuver. In the next instant, he was swallowed whole by a Kamehameha driven to hellish extremes.
Goku meant to finish him.
Even as Cell's form disappeared within the blinding white beam, the torrent of destructive energy didn't weaken in the slightest.
The Kamehameha tore across the sky and gouged a massive scar into the earth, like a prehistoric serpent had slithered through the land and burned it from existence.
"Haa… haa…"
More than ten seconds later, Goku finally cut off the flow. He stood there, panting heavily, body drained.
Before him lay what remained of Cell—only the lower half of his body, charred and still.
"We did it! That was amazing! Of course—Goku can teleport! Everyone, he beat Cell!"
The scene cut to Tenshinhan, Yamcha, and the others. Yamcha's face was red with excitement, nearly jumping as he shouted in celebration.
But the camera swept across Krillin, Trunks, Piccolo, Vegeta, and Gohan.
Not one of them looked happy.
Their faces were grave.
This should have been the end.
Yamcha and Tien's excitement froze.
"…What's wrong with you guys? Why do you all look so serious?"
Before the question could settle—
"GOKU! LOOK OUT!!!"
Krillin's scream tore through the sky like a thunderclap.
On the ground, Cell's supposedly lifeless lower half jerked upright in a grotesque motion. At the severed waist, flesh began writhing and twisting unnaturally.
In less than a breath—
His upper body burst out from the stump in a sickening surge.
Cell had regenerated.
Outside the screen, Yamcha and Tenshinhan felt their scalps go numb.
Only now did Tenshinhan understand why Krillin and the others had looked so tense. Their strength had far surpassed his; their instincts for danger were on another level entirely.
Inside the footage, Goku calmly watched the reborn Cell.
"I figured as much. You've got regeneration like Piccolo."
"Even though my Kamehameha vaporized your upper half, your ki didn't disappear completely. As long as even a trace remains… you can come back."
His tone was steady—but deep in his eyes burned wild excitement.
The real Goku standing beside them shone with the same battle hunger, as if he might leap into the screen at any moment.
For Son Goku, nothing in the world was more exhilarating than a desperate, all-out fight.
Not even Chi-Chi yelling at him to come home.
Cell smirked. "Sharp as ever, Goku. But don't act like you're in great shape. You're gasping for air. We've both burned through a lot of energy."
He clenched his fists, aura surging.
"Let's continue. But don't bother trying that trick again. Long-range attacks like that will just waste what little stamina you have left. I'm not interested in a boring war of attrition."
Goku grinned.
"I know!"
His ki erupted like a tidal wave.
This was it—the kind of battle that made every Super Saiyan cell in his body blaze like it was thrown into a furnace.
Cell's aura exploded in response.
In an instant, they were gone—reduced to overlapping afterimages.
Fists and kicks rained toward vital points: face, chest, abdomen. No mercy. No hesitation.
They were clearly more worn than at the start, but every strike still carried lethal intent.
The ground screamed beneath them. The shockwaves felt like a magnitude ten earthquake.
Watching across countless worlds, beings were stunned.
This was just hand-to-hand combat—yet it carried apocalyptic force.
Chunks of rock were flung skyward, only to be pulverized into dust by the aftershocks.
Every one of Goku's punches seemed capable of tearing space itself. If Cell failed to dodge—
Mountains shattered.
Boulders disintegrated.
The landscape reshaped in seconds.
Cell's counterattacks were no less devastating.
Anyone who understood combat could see it: neither of them was holding back. This was a life-for-life struggle.
Whoever hit their limit first—
Would lose.
And lose meant death.
Krillin, Tien, Yamcha—everyone watching held their breath.
No one could predict how this second round would end.
Master Roshi sat back in his chair, thick sunglasses hiding his eyes. But every so often, his gaze shifted from the projection… to the real Goku standing nearby.
"…What is he thinking?" Roshi murmured.
One decision in that future battle had deeply confused him.
He believed he understood Goku better than anyone.
But the Goku in that footage… felt different.
What was he planning?
Most others brushed off the odd feeling. They were too absorbed in the godlike clash unfolding onscreen.
"That Kamehameha drained them both badly," Yamcha muttered in awe. "And they're still fighting at this level… Goku, how the hell did you train like that?"
The real Goku scratched his head, baffled.
Why was everyone asking him? That was future him! How was he supposed to know what kind of insane training he'd gone through later?
Meanwhile, in the sky—
Goku and Cell shot upward, battling all the way into the upper atmosphere, their speed so extreme they left layered afterimages behind.
They collided again and again, energy flaring without end.
Then—
A sudden shift.
Goku's straight punch slammed into Cell's cheek at the exact same moment Cell's iron fist smashed into Goku's face.
They were blown apart like twin meteors.
But while Goku gasped heavily—
Cell recovered far faster.
A sharp flash—
And he moved again.
"....."