The sky was blue.

  Too blue.

  So blue it made him sick.

  Goku Black stood atop a high cliff, arms crossed behind his back, cloak dancing in the breeze. Below him stretched forests untouched by war. Mountains stood proud. Rivers sparkled with life.

  It was peaceful.

  It was wrong.

  “This world...” he muttered, eyes narrowing, “...has not yet known divinity.”

  A bird chirped nearby. He raised one hand and incinerated it without looking.

  He didn’t know how he’d arrived here. One moment, he’d been clashing with Trunks, blade against righteous fury—his crusade nearing its crescendo. The next... darkness. Pain. Then light. Then this.

  No Zamasu. No fusion. No Time Ring.

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  Only him.

  And this timeline, disgustingly intact.

  He sensed it before he saw it: that familiar ki signature, bold and pure. Too pure. That cursed beacon of mortal defiance.

  “Kakarotto.”

  With a hum of ki, Black vanished.

  ---

  BOOM!

  The plateau quaked under the force of battle. Goku and Vegeta traded blows like thunder gods, fists cracking through the air, kicks splitting the sky.

  “Come on, Vegeta!” Goku laughed, hair blazing gold. “You’re slowing down!”

  Vegeta snarled, aura erupting. “You wish, Kakarot!”

  “Kamehamehaaaaaa!!!” Goku bellowed, thrusting his hands forward.

  A blue beam roared across the training ground, blasting apart a rock formation as Vegeta shot into the air.

  “Big Bang Attack!!!” Vegeta shouted, hurling his counter down.

  The two beams collided, detonating in a brilliant explosion that shook the sky.

  Hidden in the cliffs above, Black watched silently, cloak fluttering.

  He hated how strong they were.

  He hated that their smiles still existed.

  “So... you thrive in this timeline,” he whispered, voice low and cold. “But you know nothing of true loss. True justice.”

  He turned his gaze on Goku, the original body. His body. Laughing. Grinning.

  Mocking him.

  “Your voice is an insult, Kakarotto.”

  The wind shifted. Black turned his head slightly.

  A young Namekian, Dende, hovered nearby, unseen by the warriors below. He scanned the area, brows furrowed, sensing a disturbance—but unable to locate the source.

  Black smirked. His divine ki was too refined. Too pure.

  He would remain hidden. For now.

  Let them believe the world was safe.

  Let them lower their guard.

  Let Goku laugh.

  Because when Black struck, it wouldn’t be like before. No grand entrance. No declarations.

  Just death. Beautiful, godly death.

  He whispered to himself, voice as sharp as his blade:

  “この世界には…死が訪れる (Kono sekai ni wa… shi ga otozureru). Death will visit this world.”