Lapis vs. Son Goku

"Smack!"

Lapis tossed Vegeta in front of Son Goku and the others as casually as if he were throwing out the trash.

"Dad!!"

"Vegeta!"

Trunks cried out and hurried over to help Vegeta up.

"Don't worry. I didn't hit him that hard. He's still alive."

Lapis's airy voice reached their ears.

Mo Yuan gave him a strange look.

Well, would you look at that. This kid had such a pretty face, yet he was quite the show-off.

You'd beaten Vegeta into that sorry state, and you still claimed you hadn't hit him that hard?

What, was not killing him the same as going easy?

Mo Yuan had seen the fight clearly.

If nothing else, Lapis had at least smashed one of Vegeta's kidneys.

And he still hadn't hit him that hard?

Was Vegeta just too fragile to take a beating?

Son Goku quickly pulled out a Senzu Bean and gave it to Vegeta.

After eating the Senzu Bean, Vegeta was instantly back to full strength.

Even his shattered kidney grew back.

Mo Yuan couldn't help marveling at the miraculous sight.

After recovering, Vegeta must have felt too humiliated to say anything. He stood off to the side in silence.

Son Goku and the others didn't go over to talk to him, either.

Vegeta would have to come to terms with it on his own.

Nothing anyone else said would help.

Son Goku looked at Mo Yuan and the others, his expression serious. "Why are you at the Lookout? Did you do something to Mr. Popo?"

"Goku!!"

Hearing Son Goku's question, Mr. Popo hurried over.

"Mr. Popo, are you all right? Did they bully you?"

"No, no. Mo Yuan and the others didn't bully me. They're my good friends, not bad people."

Mr. Popo hurriedly waved his hands as he explained.

"Huh?" ┌(.Д.)┐

Mr. Popo's words left Son Goku and Trunks so shocked their eyes nearly popped out.

The Androids weren't bad people?

Could they really be good people?

Son Gohan hesitated, then tugged at Son Goku's clothes. "Dad, I don't think they seem like bad people, either."

"A few days ago, they went to Kame House looking for you. When they heard you hadn't recovered from your illness, they left. And it seems they haven't killed anyone at all."

For some reason, Son Gohan just didn't think the Androids were bad people—except for Cell, of course.

"Impossible!! How could the Androids possibly be good people?" Trunks refused to believe Mr. Popo.

The Androids had left his timeline in ruins.

At a time like this, he wouldn't believe anyone who told him they were good.

Whenever he saw Lazuli and Lapis's faces, rage surged through him.

He wanted nothing more than to grind them to dust and vent his hatred.

Trunks probably wouldn't be able to stand it if he returned to the Future Timeline and saw what it had become with Cell around.

"It's true. They can even ride the Flying Nimbus." Seeing that they still didn't believe him, Mr. Popo dropped another bombshell.

"The Flying Nimbus?!"

Son Goku was stunned.

Not even Master Roshi could ride the Flying Nimbus, and neither could Krillin or Bulma.

Anyone who could ride the Flying Nimbus had an exceptionally pure heart.

"Is that true?" Son Goku asked Mr. Popo seriously.

Mr. Popo nodded firmly.

"Mr. Son Goku, the Androids absolutely can't be good people!"

Seeing that even Son Goku seemed to believe it, Trunks grew agitated.

"Trunks, calm down." Son Goku hurried to soothe him.

Then he continued, "You can tell this timeline is already completely different from history, right?"

"In the history you remember, only two Androids ever appeared. Now, there are already seven."

"If history has already gone off course, then it's possible the Androids have become good people, too."

Trunks lowered his head.

He knew it was possible, but he couldn't bring himself to believe it. He didn't want to believe it, either.

If the Androids were good, that would be for the best.

If they weren't, the future's nightmare would happen all over again.

The stakes were too high. He didn't dare take that gamble.

"Son Goku, judging by the way you look, you've recovered from your illness, right?"

Just then, Lapis walked over.

He'd been waiting a long time for this day.

He'd spared Son Goku last time because he hadn't wanted to fight a sick man.

This time, nothing could stop him.

"Yeah, I'm better." Son Goku watched Lapis warily.

"Then let's fight and settle things between us."

Mo Yuan didn't stop Lapis.

He had no reason to.

Some grudges needed to be settled.

Though it was true that revenge should be aimed at the one responsible, it was Dr. Gero who had turned them into Androids and harmed their families.

But Son Goku also bore some responsibility.

If he had wiped out the remnants of the Red Ribbon Army back then, Lapis and the others wouldn't have suffered.

Today's consequences stemmed from yesterday's actions. This fight was unavoidable.

The only one to blame was Son Goku for not cutting the weeds and pulling out the roots.

Son Goku had seen how easily Lapis defeated Vegeta.

He knew he probably wasn't a match for Lapis.

After all, while he'd been sick, Vegeta had grown far stronger than him.

If even Vegeta, that powerful, had been beaten so badly by Lapis, how could Son Goku possibly win?

Even so, Son Goku wasn't afraid.

If anything, he was excited.

Fighting a powerful opponent was his lifelong wish.

Besides, it wasn't as if he had no chance of winning.

Son Goku seemed to think of something, and a confident smile curled his lips.

The two faced each other in midair.

Every muscle in Son Goku's body tensed as he assumed a fighting stance, ready for battle.

Compared to him, Lapis looked far more relaxed. He stood with his arms folded, utterly at ease, looking less like he was about to fight and more like he was going on an outing.

"Ah!!!"

Son Goku roared, golden spirals of energy swirling around him.

In an instant, golden flames erupted from his body and blazed fiercely. His cold, emerald eyes fixed on Lapis like two icy beams.

"Ha!"

The golden aura around Son Goku surged. He became a streak of golden light as he charged at Lapis, his right fist swinging with an earth-shattering force.

"Boom!"

Lapis answered with a punch of his own. Terrifying energy erupted where their fists met, shaking the air and whipping up a gale that swept the clouds away.

The two separated after that single clash, then immediately resumed trading blows.

Son Goku's face twisted with effort. He threw every punch and kick with all his might.

The smile at the corner of Lapis's mouth never faded. He handled Son Goku's attacks with ease, effortlessly deflecting each one.

As he turned aside Son Goku's blows, Lapis occasionally struck him from tricky angles.

The intense pain made Son Goku grit his teeth, his expression growing more contorted.

"Boom!!"

Son Goku used the force of Lapis's punch to put some distance between them.

"Huff! Huff!"

Son Goku panted heavily.

Lapis watched him calmly, making no move to press the attack.

"You're strong. No wonder you beat Vegeta so easily."

Son Goku wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and praised him.

His expression, however, grew even more serious.

"Heh. Son Goku, your fighting power is nowhere near Vegeta's." Lapis folded his arms and looked at Son Goku with utter disdain.

"Dad..."

Son Gohan watched his blood-spitting father with concern.