Son Goten stood there, stunned. So Xiaotong had leukemia, and that was why she... I was such an idiot back then. If I'd noticed something was wrong, maybe I could have seen Xiaotong at least one more time...
That's right, one last time. I can't do anything now, but at least I can see Xiaotong one last time...
At the thought, Son Goten stopped caring about anything else and hurried forward. At least he could see Xiaotong one last time.
The city hospital, in a leukemia ward.
Xia Yutong, with little time left, lay alone in her hospital bed. Not a single family member was around. She lay there all by herself, holding a small photograph in her hand, her eyes full of tenderness.
"Brother Xiaotian, I'm sorry. I really don't want to die like this. I haven't married you yet, or had a child with you. I really don't want to die like this..."
Xia Yutong broke down in tears, sobbing uncontrollably. Son Goten, invisible to those around him, gritted his teeth and struggled not to cry out loud.
A tear traced down Son Goten's cheek. His heart was torn between love and hatred, and the misunderstanding his predecessor had held about Xia Yutong was finally cleared up. The original Sun Xiaotian, overwhelmed by the shock, had shut himself in his room and become obsessed with the fictional world, trying to forget Xia Yutong. He had succeeded, too. If not for these memories, perhaps he would have forgotten her completely.
"Brother Xiaotian, I... lo... love you." With that, Xia Yutong drew her last breath and passed away.
"Xiaotong!" Son Goten could no longer hold back his grief and sorrow. Tears streamed down his face as all the despair in his heart burst forth at once.
The scene shifted, and he was back in that pitch-black space.
"Hey, are you really just going to give up?"
As Son Goten wept in grief, a familiar voice came from behind him. He turned around instinctively and saw a little boy wearing an orange gi over a blue long-sleeved shirt, with a crab-shaped hairstyle, smiling at him.
"You're... Son Goten!" Son Goten's eyes widened. He hadn't expected there to be another Son Goten. "Son Goten" looked at himself, now back in his original child-sized body as Sun Xiaotian.
Sun Xiaotian (I'll use his original name for now) looked at the Son Goten in front of him in confusion. "You're Son Goten. Didn't I transmigrate into your body? Why are you still here?"
Son Goten chuckled. "I don't know either. I only know that when I appeared, I saw you crying."
"Son Goten, are you still inside that body?" Sun Xiaotian asked uneasily. After all, the Son Goten in front of him was the body's original owner. He was only an intruder.
"I'm not sure. I only know you haven't fully gained all my power. We'll only become the real Son Goten once we fuse," Son Goten said casually.
"But don't you hate me? I stole your body," Sun Xiaotian said.
"It's fine. Besides, you'll be better at being Son Goten than I was. And after we fuse, you'll be me," Son Goten said seriously.
"But I feel like I owe Xiaotong so much. If I die, maybe I'll get to see her," Sun Xiaotian said, hanging his head. He had lost the will to live.
Son Goten gripped Sun Xiaotian's shoulders, frustrated with him for giving up. "Don't forget, if you could transmigrate, why couldn't Xiaotong? And Dad and the others are still waiting for you!"
Son Goten's words jolted Sun Xiaotian awake, clearing the fog from his mind. That was right. If he could transmigrate, maybe Xiaotong had, too. And he had a family to protect now. He wasn't the weakling Sun Xiaotian he used to be.
"Now that you've figured it out, hold out your fist. From now on, you are Son Goten." Son Goten extended his fist toward Sun Xiaotian.
"Yeah." Sun Xiaotian held out his fist and bumped it against Son Goten's.
In an instant, golden light flashed between their fists. It gradually enveloped them both, filling the entire space with radiance as Sun Xiaotian and Son Goten's souls fused together.
"Roar!"
The Great Ape suddenly froze, giving Son Gohan, who had been awaiting death, a chance to escape.
Most of the wounds on Son Goku, Son Gohan, and Trunks had come from fighting the Great Ape. Son Goku had also run out of too much energy and reverted to his normal form. He had less than half an hour left in the living world.
"What's wrong with Goten?" Trunks asked in confusion, watching the Great Ape come to a stop.
Where was Majin Buu? Well, the Great Ape had scared him so badly that he still didn't dare show his face.
"Roar~~"
The Golden Great Ape suddenly threw its head back and let out a deafening roar. Golden light burst from its body, and its energy surged dramatically once more. The others tensed up in alarm. Its power had nearly killed them just moments ago, and now it had gotten even stronger. How the hell were they supposed to fight that?
Golden light engulfed the Great Ape. In the soul realm, Sun Xiaotian had perfectly fused with Son Goten. They would never separate again.
"From now on, I am Sun Xiaotian, an Earthling, and I am also a Super Saiyan—Son Goten!"
Son Goten's defiant shout rang out from the depths of his soul. Within the golden light, his terrifying power felt like a massive boulder pressing down on everyone's chest, leaving them barely able to breathe.
The golden light kept contracting, eventually taking the shape of a tall figure. The light faded, and a tall man appeared out of nowhere.
The man had long, black hair that fell over his shoulders. Beneath his black eyebrows were red eye sockets, and his golden eyes, each with a black pupil, gazed up at the moon. Red fur covered his body except for his pectorals and four abdominal muscles, and a red tail swayed behind him. He stood perfectly still, yet the energy within him was astonishingly powerful—even Super Saiyan 3 Son Goku was nowhere near his equal.
"Hey, who are you? Where's Goten?" Trunks demanded, pointing at the man.
"Who am I?" The man's lips curled into a faint smile. His gaze shifted to Trunks, then to Son Goku, Son Gohan, and the Supreme Kai, all of whom watched him warily. He opened his mouth, and his voice boomed in their ears like thunder.
"I am Son Goten."
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