Threat

Tens of thousands of kilometers away.

Trunks shuddered. The instant those silver-white eyes fixed on him, a bone-chilling cold shot from the soles of his feet straight to his scalp.

He suddenly realized the truth: he had been exposed!

Gohan's instructions rang through his mind. Without hesitation, Trunks unleashed all his energy and turned to flee into deep space.

"You still think you can leave?" Kakarot sneered, raising his right hand and closing his fingers into a fist.

Hum!

Miracle Power disregarded the physical space separating them, tens of thousands of kilometers wide.

Whoosh! Trunks's vision blurred. In the next instant, he was on the battlefield, less than two meters from the demon.

The crushing weight of a powerful rule left Trunks unable to move, holding him firmly beside Kakarot.

"Die!"

A murderous glint flashed in Son Gohan's eyes as his energy burst forth.

He became a streak of purple lightning that tore through the universe, hurtling straight toward Kakarot.

Faced with Son Gohan's sudden attack, Kakarot only twitched a finger.

"Stop! Or I'll kill this brat right here!"

With that arrogant shout,

countless sharp blades formed from white light and rules appeared all around Trunks, hemming him in.

Boom!

The raging streak of light hurtling toward them came to an abrupt halt less than ten meters from Kakarot.

Son Gohan stopped in midair, his chest heaving. Purple-black Destruction Energy crackled wildly around him.

His purple eyes fixed coldly on Kakarot.

He had been so close to snatching Trunks back. But Kakarot's Miracle Power no longer had any casting delay. All it would take was a thought, and Trunks would be reduced to a corpse.

"Gohan... I'm sorry..." Trunks's eyes reddened. He gritted his teeth, trying not to cry out. He hated himself for his recklessness. If he hadn't approached on his own, Gohan wouldn't have been forced into this impossible position.

"Forget about me! Kill him!" Trunks forced the words out of his throat with all his strength.

"Shut up, you brat." Kakarot casually waved his hand. The white light became a heavy slap, smashing half of Trunks's face into a bloody pulp and sending teeth flying.

"Trunks!" Son Gohan's aura flared for an instant.

"Don't move." Kakarot immediately pressed the blade of light at Trunks's side closer, just barely slicing his skin. "Or you can find out for yourself—which of us is faster?"

Son Gohan stayed silent, his fierce gaze scraping across Kakarot's face like a tangible force.

He frantically ran through every possibility. Could he use his speed to get behind Kakarot? Blast him from a distance with Destruction Energy? Or attack without regard for Trunks, bringing him into the blast's range as well?

No. None of it would work.

Miracle Power's causality was utterly unreasonable. Kakarot had already given the order to kill Trunks. If Son Gohan made even the slightest move, the power of the rules would erase Trunks in an instant. Even if he could tear Kakarot to pieces in a second, he still wouldn't be able to save Trunks.

What was he supposed to do?

Son Gohan took a deep breath. He looked at Trunks, his face covered in blood as he shook his head in despair.

There was nothing left in the Future Timeline. Trunks was his only companion, and the last hope of that timeline. He couldn't just stand by and watch him die here. He absolutely couldn't.

If he couldn't attack, then he'd have to keep Kakarot calm and look for an opening.

"Let him go. You can do whatever you want with me." Son Gohan's voice was cold, devoid of warmth.

A flash of delight crossed Kakarot's eyes. He'd gambled right. The fool really did care about those pointless bonds!

"Power down and return to your normal form." Kakarot looked down at him. "Then get on your knees!"

Son Gohan's gaze tightened.

During the brief standoff, his mind raced.

"Fine."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Son Gohan withdrew all his surging Destruction Energy and the raging aura of Super Saiyan 4.

His red fur quickly receded, and his waist-length hair shortened. His body shrank, his left arm vanished, and his imposing purple eyes turned deep black once more.

The moment he reverted, the vast energy dispersing from him became a thick white mist, briefly blocking Kakarot's vision.

Son Gohan's right hand moved with incredible speed, sweeping into the pouch at his waist. Two emerald-green Senzu Beans shot into the air and landed perfectly in his mouth.

He didn't chew them. Instead, he hid them beneath his tongue.

By the time the mist cleared, Son Gohan had fully returned to his normal form, without a trace of his divine aura.

Kakarot watched Son Gohan return to normal and felt how weak his energy was now, like that of an ant. At last, all the frustration and fear in his heart disappeared.

"Ha ha ha! Hahahahaha!" Kakarot burst into a crazed laugh, his face twisting into a nauseating grimace. "What a joke of a God of Destruction! I, Kakarot, am the only true god!"

"Get on your knees!"

Son Gohan stood straight. Ignoring Kakarot's taunts, he simply stared at him in silence.

"I said get on your knees! Can't you understand me?!"

Kakarot roared and abruptly swung his left hand.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Two thick white chains, made of solidified Miracle Power, shot through the air. They moved far faster than Son Gohan in his normal form could react.

Squish—!

The sound of blades piercing flesh followed.

The two white chains, like sharp iron hooks, violently pierced through both of Son Gohan's collarbones.

"Urgh!" Son Gohan groaned. Blood instantly stained his chest. The tremendous force flung his body backward, then the chains snapped taut, leaving him dangling helplessly in midair.

Excruciating pain tore through his nerves. The chains carried the power of rules; they didn't just pierce his flesh, they seemed to burn his soul. Blood dripped from them onto the floating rubble below.

"Gohan!!" Trunks let out a heart-wrenching scream, tears pouring down his face. "You bastard! Kill me! Come after me!"

"Why the rush? Once I'm done torturing him, you're next." Kakarot didn't even glance at Trunks. He simply clenched his fist around the invisible chains.

Crack, crack, crack.

The chains tightened sharply, dragging Son Gohan right in front of Kakarot.

The two were less than half a meter apart.

Son Gohan endured the tearing pain in his collarbones, cold sweat covering his forehead, but he didn't make another sound. His dark eyes held none of the fear or pleading Kakarot wanted to see, only determination and calm.

"Go on, scream. Why aren't you screaming?" Kakarot was infuriated by that cold stare. "I said scream!!"

He had the absolute advantage. He had pierced the man's bones and hung him in midair. So why wasn't he afraid?

Why wasn't he begging for mercy like a dog?!

At the thought, Kakarot pulled harder on the chains.

"Doesn't hurt? Is that all you can do?" Son Gohan's lips curled into a mocking smile as blood trickled down his chin. "You're nothing but a coward who hides behind others. You don't even know how to torture someone."

"I'll teach you to put on an act! I'll teach you to talk back!"

Kakarot's eyes turned bloodshot. His silver-white aura roiled across his body like blazing flames, and he used the chains to spread Son Gohan's three limbs wide, pulling him into a star shape.

The neatly arranged silver-white blades in the air whistled toward Son Gohan in a dense rain.