Golden rain continued to fall.
It was the life that had been violently torn away from this dead world, now returning to its rightful place through sheer divine force.
On the outskirts of the newly restored West City, a rough hand suddenly gripped the edge of a freshly reconstructed concrete slab.
Future Gohan gasped for air.
His lungs expanded and contracted violently, as if they had forgotten how to breathe.
There was no smell of smoke.
No suffocating stench of death.
Only the scent of wet earth after the rain and the fragrance of fresh grass.
"I..."
"Didn't I die?"
Gohan stared blankly at his own body.
He was still wearing the same orange gi from his final battle.
It was stained with dried blood.
The blood left behind when Androids 17 and 18 had beaten him to death.
The pain was still there.
Instinctively, he tried to push himself up with his left hand.
His body immediately tilted.
He nearly fell.
His left side was empty.
The empty sleeve fluttered helplessly in the breeze.
That familiar sense of imbalance snapped him fully awake.
This wasn't a dream.
Hell wouldn't feel this real.
"Trunks!"
Gohan suddenly raised his head.
His lone eye widened in panic.
The last thing he remembered...
He had knocked Trunks unconscious before going alone to face the two Androids.
If he was alive...
Then what about Trunks?
Ki.
Closing his eye, Gohan spread out his senses like a radar.
Normally, releasing even the slightest trace of ki in this world would attract those two monsters.
But he no longer cared.
"...What?"
His entire body froze.
The number of ki signatures...
Was completely wrong.
Near Capsule Corporation...
Several incredibly powerful energies filled the air.
The first was sharp as a blade.
That was Trunks.
And he was unimaginably stronger than Gohan remembered.
The second was vast and deep like the ocean.
Uncle Piccolo?!
Impossible.
Piccolo had died over a decade ago while protecting everyone.
The third was arrogant and explosive.
That was...
Uncle Vegeta?
He was alive too?
There was another unfamiliar energy.
It felt strangely similar to Uncle Krillin's...
Then there were...
Two completely identical ki signatures.
Gohan's pupil contracted violently.
That warm, boundless aura...
It felt like the sunlight he remembered from Mount Paozu when he was a child.
It was the presence he had dreamed of feeling again countless nights.
"...Dad?"
"That's impossible..."
The rock beneath his feet shattered.
His body transformed into a streak of orange light as he rushed toward the source without hesitation.
The wind howled past his ears.
Below him...
The city was no longer in ruins.
The streets were spotless.
Trees lined every road.
Buildings that should have been reduced to rubble stood tall once more.
Yet...
That impossible peace only terrified Gohan even more.
Did the Androids trap me in some kind of illusion?
Or...
Is this the afterlife?
If this is heaven...
Then why am I still missing an arm?!
"I'm here!"
Gohan slammed to a halt.
The shockwave scattered dust in every direction.
The courtyard of Capsule Corporation was filled with people.
That green-skinned figure...
Was that Dende?
The man leaning against the wall in Saiyan armor with an irritated expression...
Was Uncle Vegeta?
The tall figure standing with folded arms as his cape fluttered...
Uncle Piccolo?
Yamcha.
Tien.
Chiaotzu.
Everyone...
Everyone was alive.
Everyone was smiling.
At the very center of the crowd stood two men with the same unmistakable spiky hairstyle.
Both were scratching the backs of their heads while chatting with...
A gigantic bald man?
"...Dad..."
Gohan's voice came out rough and hoarse.
Like sandpaper scraping against stone.
Goku's ears twitched.
He turned around.
The moment he saw the young man standing atop the wall...
One arm gone.
His body covered in scars.
His eyes filled with the fear of a wounded animal...
The smile on Goku's face disappeared.
He had grown older.
He had suffered.
He had been broken.
But that ki...
Those eyes...
"...Gohan?"
Future Goku called cautiously.
Those two words became the trigger.
Gohan jumped down from the wall.
He stumbled slightly upon landing.
He didn't dare move too quickly.
He feared that if he did...
The illusion before him would shatter.
Step by step...
He slowly approached.
His only remaining hand clutched the edge of his gi so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
His entire body trembled.
"...Are you..."
"...Dad?"
Goku's heart ached.
What had this child endured...
To become afraid of believing in hope?
"You silly kid."
Future Goku strode forward.
Without hesitation, he wrapped both arms around the young man who had grown even taller than himself.
Warmth.
A strong heartbeat.
That familiar aura carrying the warmth of sunlight instantly surrounded Gohan.
"I'm sorry, Gohan."
Goku gently patted his broad back.
"Dad came too late."
"You carried everything by yourself for so long."
"You've worked so hard."
"WAAAAAAAHHHHH!!"
The one-armed warrior who had survived over a decade in hell...
Who had watched every one of his friends die...
Who had never shed a single tear...
Finally broke.
He was no longer...
"The Last Hope."
He became a child again.
A little boy who cried in his father's arms.
"Dad!"
"It's really you!"
"Waaah..."
Gohan buried his face against Goku's shoulder.
His sobs were heartbreaking.
His lone hand gripped Goku's gi with desperate strength.
As though he were holding onto the only lifeline left in the universe.
"I thought..."
"I thought I'd never see you again..."
"I thought everyone was dead..."
"Trunks..."
"Trunks almost died too..."
"I was so scared..."
"I was really... so scared..."
Silence fell over everyone.
Piccolo turned away.
He quickly wiped at the corner of his eye before muttering,
"Idiot."
"Why are you crying so loudly?"
"You're embarrassing yourself."
Even so...
His own voice trembled.
Future Vegeta had only just been revived.
He looked completely bewildered.
...Why...
...Are there two Kakarots?
He stared at the one-armed young man sobbing in Kakarot's embrace.
Then glanced toward the healthy Trunks standing nearby with an equally complicated expression.
"That's..."
"Kakarot's son?"
Future Vegeta frowned.
"What the hell happened to him?"
"And what exactly is going on?"
"Wasn't I killed by Android 17?"
"Oh?"
"So you're awake."
A casual voice sounded beside him.
Future Vegeta whipped around.
Standing there was...
Himself.
Only younger.
Stronger.
Far more imposing.
Modern Vegeta folded his arms across his chest.
Looking down at his future self with obvious disdain.
"Hmph."
"What a pathetic sight."
Modern Vegeta sneered.
"So the future version of me is this weak?"
"You couldn't even deal with a pair of Androids."
"What a disgrace to the Saiyan race."
Vegeta's forehead bulged with veins.
"Who the hell are you?!"
"And why do you look exactly like me?!"
"I'm your better."
Modern Vegeta answered without missing a beat.
Seeing the two Vegetas on the verge of starting a fight in the middle of such an emotional reunion...
Krillin finally couldn't watch anymore.
"Enough, enough!"
He instantly appeared between them.
Placing one hand on each of their shoulders, he held them apart.
"Seriously?"
"A father and son are having the reunion of a lifetime over there."
"Can you two read the room for once?"
Krillin sighed as he looked around.
In the distance...
Yamcha was touching his own face, apparently checking whether he'd become handsome again.
Tien had pulled Chiaotzu into a tight hug.
Everything...
Had become complete chaos.
Two Gokus.
Two Vegetas.
Two Piccolos.
If everyone started introducing themselves...
Explaining all the timeline paradoxes alone could fill hundreds of thousands of words.
"I've got to get out of here."
Krillin muttered inwardly.
"If we stay any longer, these battle maniacs are definitely going to start asking for sparring matches."
"I'm not playing babysitter."
Right then...
The beautiful system notification finally rang out.
[Ding!]
[Side Mission Complete.]
[Mission: Rebuild the Future]
[Evaluation: Perfect (SSS)]
[Not only did you eliminate the Androids, you also revived the entire planet. This was an unbelievably saint-like performance. Fortunately, you're bald, so somehow it all feels perfectly natural.]
[Rewards Issued:]
[1. Wish Card (Rule-Breaking Version) ×1]
[Can grant one wish without being limited by Shenron's restrictions. Final interpretation belongs to the System.]
[2. Android Blueprint: Dr. Gero Ultimate Edition]
[Contains the complete core data for Androids 17, 18, and Cell, including the discarded bomb design for Android 16.]
"Now that's an amazing reward."
Krillin's eyes lit up.
The blueprints alone were valuable.
But the Wish Card...
That was an absolute game changer.
"Uncle Krillin..."
Trunks walked over.
His eyes were still red from crying.
"I'd really like everyone to stay a few more days..."
"But..."
"I have a feeling that if they remain together much longer..."
"...Earth might get destroyed all over again."
He pointed helplessly toward the two Vegetas, who had already begun powering up and glaring at each other.
"I get it."
Krillin nodded.
He looked toward Gohan, who was still quietly crying in Goku's embrace.
"Before we leave..."
"There's just one last thing we need to take care of."
With that, Krillin strode toward Gohan.
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