One Slash, Severed in Two!

The Fourth Form of Susanoo possessed strength equal to that of a tailed beast.

Even without using any ninjutsu or skills, its raw strength surpassed Little Goku in Great Ape form.

But the price was—

Blood tears began streaming from the corners of Uchiha Hikari's eyes again, and her entire body felt the heavy burden imposed by the Mangekyo.

"Sure enough, once Susanoo reaches the Fourth Form, the rate of ocular power consumption rises drastically. My healing speed is starting to struggle to keep up..."

"However, once the pain accumulates to a certain point, it seems to stop increasing. That must be the balance point between depletion and healing. Maybe if I hold on a little longer, it'll gradually ease... Even if it doesn't, this level of pain is completely bearable."

But Uchiha Hikari suddenly realized another problem.

At this moment, the greatest limit on how long she could sustain Susanoo was no longer the physical burden she had to endure, but—

Her total Chakra reserves!

Activating Susanoo required powerful ocular power, but maintaining it consumed an enormous amount of Chakra.

And it was a continuous drain.

Uchiha Hikari could feel that from the instant she activated the Fourth Form, the Chakra within her body had been drawn into Susanoo like a great whale drinking water.

But...

This consumption did not count as "damage."

It was closer to physical exhaustion.

Uchiha Hikari did not have the Chakra-starved constitution of Itachi Uchiha or Kakashi, but neither did she possess reserves as absurd as those of the two reincarnations of Indra. Besides, her body was only thirteen years old and still in a period of rapid growth. Using the Fourth Form of Susanoo with the amount of Chakra she had at this age was truly pushing it.

"If I don't use Yachihoko to draw Chakra from others for replenishment, then with only my own total Chakra reserves, I should be able to maintain this state for..."

"About ten minutes!"

"Once I exceed that time, the amount of Chakra remaining in my body will become dangerously low."

"Roar!!!"

Taking advantage of Uchiha Hikari's moment of distraction, the Great Ape pinned beneath her suddenly let out a roar. It wrapped both arms around Susanoo's left leg and heaved with all its might.

The two of them tumbled together once more.

However, Uchiha Hikari's margin for error had increased greatly in the Fourth Form.

Although it was her first time piloting such a large "mecha," and she lacked experience, she still relied on Susanoo's immense strength to quickly regain the upper hand after a brief loss of balance. She suppressed the Great Ape's movements again, then seized an opening and grabbed its tail.

The Great Ape whimpered and immediately stopped moving, going rigid.

Seizing the opportunity, Uchiha Hikari raised her other hand and held her fingers together like a blade. Her Chakra cloak surged, forming a sharp edge beneath her palm as she slashed down with force!

One slash, severed in two!

As the tail was cut off.

Little Goku's body gradually shrank until he finally returned to normal.

Uchiha Hikari also dismissed Susanoo. Her whole body slowly fell from the sky, and she used Susanoo's still-dispersing form to cushion her descent before landing safely. She also caught Little Goku on the way down, so the little guy would not be jolted awake by the fall.

The moment her feet touched the ground, Uchiha Hikari's knees went weak, and she nearly lost her footing.

It was not entirely because of physical exhaustion.

It was because she was just a tiny bit afraid of heights...

The Fourth Form of Susanoo stood around forty meters tall, and she had been positioned in its head—equivalent to standing atop a building more than ten stories high, looking down through a pane of glass, then jumping straight from the rooftop... It had been quite a thrill to her senses.

"Hikari, Goku!"

"Are you two all right? What... what happened just now?"

Only after the battle ended did Bulma, Oolong, and the others cautiously emerge from their hiding place and approach Uchiha Hikari.

All around them, Pilaf's entire castle had essentially become ruins. The few buildings that had not collapsed were on the verge of doing so. As for Pilaf and his two subordinates, they had somehow freed themselves from their ropes and fled in an airplane.

Uchiha Hikari swept her gaze over the surroundings. She did not pay much attention to Pilaf, instead looking at Bulma. "You're hurt?"

"Yeah, a rock pinned me while I was running away and hit my leg, but it's not serious."

Bulma gave a brief explanation, then asked worriedly, "But your eyes, Hikari..."

"It's fine. It just looks scary."

Uchiha Hikari wiped away the blood tears at the corners of her eyes and smiled faintly.

Just as she had expected, after dismissing Susanoo, that healing ability continued mending her eyes. With a little more rest, they should be completely healed.

Meanwhile.

Yamcha and Oolong stared blankly at the devastation around them.

"Miss Hikari seems a little too strong..."

"And Goku too... You're not all aliens, are you?"

"..."

Uchiha Hikari silently thought that he was right.

Little Goku was a Saiyan.

And she came from another world, so in a sense, she counted as an "alien" too.

As things finally settled down, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. They found a relatively clean spot, took out bread and bottled water, and began discussing their plans for what came next.

"After we succeed in making our wish this time, we'll have to wait until next year to collect the Dragon Balls again. What are you all planning to do during that time?"

"Well..."

While Bulma and the others talked.

Uchiha Hikari sat nearby, studying Bulma and Yamcha with an amused look.

Perhaps because she had told Bulma about Yamcha beforehand, including how they would break up in the future because of his womanizing, Bulma and Yamcha's relationship had not progressed as smoothly during this journey.

They were friends, at least, but still far from becoming lovers.

However, Bulma was a girl with strong opinions when it came to relationships, so Hikari probably did not need to worry about it for her.

"Well then... if none of you have anything urgent to do, how about coming to my house as guests? I'll treat you to a big meal. Whenever you want to leave afterward, I can take you back."

Bulma ultimately extended the invitation.

Yamcha and Oolong looked at each other, then agreed one after the other.

As for Little Goku, he had yet to wake up, but once he did, he would most likely go train with Master Roshi.

After they waited a while longer, dawn gradually broke.

Once Little Goku woke up, they exchanged a few more words before splitting into two groups. Uchiha Hikari and the others took an aircraft back to West City, while Little Goku took the Dragon Ball Radar Bulma had given him and rode the Flying Nimbus home.

Next.

Uchiha Hikari first followed the original plan and gave Dr. Brief a vial of the Blood Sample collected from Little Goku, asking him to study it whenever he had time.

Then she bade Bulma farewell and prepared to set off for Korin Tower.