True Power

ps:

Regarding Fused Zamasu's power scaling.

In the manga, Fused Zamasu was completely overwhelmed by Super Saiyan Blue. His raw strength was set at restrained Blue, which was roughly Goku's Super Saiyan Blue at full power.

But in the anime, Zamasu had briefly suppressed Vegito in certain exchanges.

He was fundamentally beyond the level that a single Super Saiyan Blue could even hope to challenge. Judging from his feats, even Son Goku's Super Saiyan Blue combined with Kaio-ken would not have been his match.

Considering that this book used Dragon Ball's multiple parallel timelines as its backdrop, this timeline's Fused Zamasu had been set, in terms of raw strength, at a level slightly weaker than Goku's Ultra Instinct Sign during the Litchi Tournament.

Then, factoring in the compatibility boost from his immortal body.

Taken together, An Xiu had placed him at a level equal to the protagonist An Xiu's current limit in his normal state.

An Xiu pressed his blade against Zamasu's neck.

He did not press his advantage. He merely stood where he was, looking down at Zamasu from above. His face was expressionless, but his eyes brimmed with mockery.

Staring at his own body, severed at the waist, Zamasu was filled with disbelief. But soon, realization suddenly dawned on him.

"HAHAHA!"

"I have an immortal body!"

"As one with an immortal body, the word 'defeat' does not exist in my dictionary!"

As he spoke, the upper and lower halves of Zamasu's body slowly fused back together.

Countless crimson-purple flames erupted from the surface of his body, transforming into dark-red blades that shot continuously in every direction, destroying everything in their path.

Seeing this, An Xiu had no choice but to temporarily avoid the edge of his attack.

With his body restored, Zamasu slowly rose into the air. He stared unblinkingly at An Xiu and muttered, "Only by defeating you and exterminating all humans can I obtain a world that will never be defiled!"

"You seem to have misunderstood something. You no longer have an immortal body," An Xiu reminded him expressionlessly.

Zamasu paused. "Oh?"

"Have you forgotten..."

An Xiu looked up at Zamasu, his tone calm.

"There is still a human named Son Goku inside your body. He does not have an immortal body."

Upon hearing that, Zamasu was first stunned, then looked at An Xiu with a solemn expression.

"That is correct. It is exactly what I desire!"

"You Saiyans symbolize the failure of the gods who created this universe!"

"That is precisely why I chose to become one with this Saiyan called Son Goku!"

"I will bear the sins of humanity and the failures of the gods!"

"This is the duty of a god..."

"You really can spin some bullshit."

An Xiu's ears were practically growing calluses from listening to him. He looked at Zamasu with utter ridicule. "You said you can only fulfill that twisted ideal of yours by defeating me. Then unfortunately for you, that ideal will never come true for as long as you live."

"Hmph, arrogant human!"

With a sweep of both hands, Zamasu instantly condensed a sky full of Death Rays and fired them at An Xiu.

An Xiu did not waste words. Using his palm like a blade, he formed a light sword several meters long. Before any of the Death Rays could reach him, the light sword instantly cut them apart and detonated them.

He rapidly closed in on Zamasu and swung his blade down. But this time, Zamasu had already prepared himself.

CLANG!

Their light swords collided.

After several exchanges, the two faced off and began testing their strength against each other. But Zamasu was clearly weaker than An Xiu. The arm holding his sword trembled continuously.

Seizing that opening, An Xiu suddenly exerted force.

The next second.

With a sharp SWISH, Zamasu's right arm was severed at the shoulder by An Xiu!

"Argh..."

Zamasu retreated a step and used Instant Transmission to widen the distance between them. His face twisted in pain as he clutched the stump of his arm and cried out, but he soon came back to his senses.

I clearly have an immortal body...

Why did I scream?

Why was I afraid?

I have an immortal body. What is a wound like this?!

With that thought, Zamasu immediately lowered the left hand covering his severed arm and looked at An Xiu with an extraordinarily vicious smile.

"Heh."

An Xiu sneered and instantly appeared behind him, delivering a kick to his neck.

Zamasu had no time to react. His head snapped to one side as he was kicked tens of thousands of meters away.

He flew from the city district to the distant suburbs, only barely stopping after crashing into a mountain.

"Blergh..."

Zamasu's stomach churned, and he uncontrollably spat out a mouthful of purple blood.

The white halo above his head also dissipated from An Xiu's kick.

He reached out and touched the blood at the corner of his mouth. Witnessing the undeniable fact that he was bleeding threw his entire mind into chaos, leaving him utterly dazed.

"No, that is impossible!"

"I am a god! I have an immortal body!"

"—HAAAH!"

Unable to accept this cruel reality, Zamasu flew into a complete rage. The crimson-purple flames around him became like tangible inferno, setting the surroundings ablaze.

Their range was so vast that they seemed to blot out the sky.

Even from dozens of kilometers away, they occupied An Xiu's entire field of vision.

His constantly soaring aura announced that Zamasu had entered an entirely new realm.

His originally lean, muscular body swelled without end, growing several times larger. His severed right arm also regrew, but its original skin tone had turned into an ugly purple, making it barely look human.

"Oh?"

An Xiu was somewhat surprised as he watched Zamasu in this state.

Just as he was marveling at it, Zamasu, who had still been in the distance, suddenly used Instant Transmission to appear beside him.

BAM!

Using his right arm, which was as large as An Xiu's entire body, Zamasu threw a punch at An Xiu's head.

A dull sound rang out.

The powerful shockwave flattened everything within a hundred meters.

An Xiu only had time to raise an arm to block before he was sent flying.

So strong...

Feeling the throbbing pain in his forearm, An Xiu was deeply surprised. Before he could stabilize himself in midair, Zamasu caught up, giving him no room to catch his breath.

BAM!

Caught off guard, An Xiu was sent flying again.

He smashed through several buildings in succession before managing to stop himself, but the incoming energy blasts forced him to flee in a hurry.

"Give up your resistance, human. To have fought this god for so long, you may die without regrets!"

Zamasu pursued An Xiu without giving him an inch.

He threw several punches in succession, but every one of them missed.

Although Zamasu now surpassed An Xiu in both strength and defense, there was still a gap in speed.

However, that gap seemed to be gradually erased with the passage of time. Little by little, he was already able to keep up with An Xiu's movements.

CRUNCH!

Zamasu's arm, wrapped in terrifying energy, directly shattered the light sword An Xiu had condensed in his palm with a single punch.

He then spun around and kicked An Xiu hard in the abdomen, sending him flying.

Though that punch had sliced his forearm in half, it healed in the blink of an eye under the blessing of his immortal body.

An Xiu flew through the air for an unknown number of kilometers, smashing through an unknown number of buildings before finally crashing heavily into a field of ruins.

Feeling the intense pain radiating from his abdomen, An Xiu stared blankly into space, as though his consciousness had left his body.

He did not even notice Zamasu approaching him.

"How pathetic, An Xiu."

"This is the consequence of opposing a god."

Looking at An Xiu lying motionless among the ruins, Zamasu was filled with emotion.

Considering the special nature of the Saiyan race.

This time, he did not waste much time talking.

Zamasu slowly raised his arm and condensed a Death Bullet in his palm, intending to finish his opponent once and for all.

Just then.

Suddenly!

—BOOM!

A rocket from nowhere interrupted Zamasu's charge-up.

It was followed by a second, then a third...

At the same time, countless bullets rained down from all directions.

Enduring these harmless attacks irritated Zamasu. He knew who was responsible.

—Those damned humans whom Trunks had once protected, still struggling on in miserable survival!

At that moment, a voice came from a building amid the ruins not far away.

"Hang in there, big brother!"

It was a child's voice, shouting itself hoarse in encouragement.

By the time it reached here, it was not very loud.

But An Xiu still heard it.

He had been meditating, thinking about certain matters, but that voice forcibly dragged him back from his dissociated state.

He turned his head and saw two children standing by the window of that building.

A boy and a girl.

An Xiu remembered them. He had seen Dragon Ball Super before and recalled that they were a pair of siblings.

At the same time, following An Xiu's gaze, Zamasu also noticed the siblings.

He revealed a cruel smile and casually raised his hand, condensing a crimson-purple energy wave before firing it at them.

—BOOM!

A violent explosion resounded through the sky.

Seeing this, Zamasu wore a triumphant smile.

He turned back toward An Xiu.

He wanted to see despair, rage, unwillingness, twisted anguish, and pain on his opponent's face... because that would bring him great pleasure.

Yet when he turned around, he froze.

An Xiu was no longer there.

Suddenly, Zamasu's eyes widened as he stared in utter disbelief at the smoke from the explosion.

Within a glowing green barrier, An Xiu and the two children stood completely unharmed.

Impossible...

This guy...

Zamasu was dumbfounded, unable to make sense of it no matter how hard he tried.

When?

When exactly did this guy get over there?!

Grinding his teeth, Zamasu charged at An Xiu with a ferocious expression.

"Die, you disgusting human!"

He punched the barrier, and the powerful impact destroyed every building within a hundred meters.

The barrier did not budge.

The three inside remained completely unscathed.

Yet the next second, the barrier suddenly shattered. Just as Zamasu was feeling pleased with himself, An Xiu and the two children inside instantly disappeared from where they stood.

His all-out attack had missed.

Where... where did they go?!

Zamasu froze, then quickly realized that An Xiu had escaped using Instant Transmission.

Damn it!

Just as Zamasu's rage had nowhere to go, a rocket exploded squarely on top of his head.

Sensing the auras of the humans hiding nearby, Zamasu immediately decided to clear out these irritating ants first.

"You pests who defile the purity of this world, let this god use the power of divine light to cleanse every last one of you!"

Zamasu flew into the air and looked down over the entire city.

A pure white divine halo condensed behind him once more. A Death Beam capable of indiscriminately erasing every living being present was about to descend.

Meanwhile, after placing the siblings Haru and Maki somewhere safe.

An Xiu returned to the battlefield.

Before that, he had wanted to use the intense pain Zamasu had caused him, the frustration of being suppressed, and the pent-up feeling in his heart to see whether he could transform into a Super Saiyan or gain some insight in that regard.

But things did not go as he wished.

An Xiu still was not angry enough.

Or rather, the emotion in his heart felt too deliberate.

He could not find that feeling.

That rage...

Or rather, the feeling of breaking through a critical threshold, of emerging reborn from a cocoon.

Even in his normal state, as long as he went all out, An Xiu could still suppress Zamasu until his stamina ran out. But he did not do so.

He watched the few surviving humans on Earth, about to be reduced to ashes beneath Zamasu's "divine punishment."

He watched Zamasu gathering his energy not far away.

An Xiu immediately decided to stop holding back.

"Grrr..."

He let out a low growl. A green aura slowly emerged around his body, his already toned physique gradually becoming more muscular, while his black pupils instantly turned golden.

An Xiu had drawn upon the power of his Great Ape Transformation in human form. Of course, this was not yet his full strength, because he could still stack Kaio-ken on top of this state.

Sensing An Xiu's suddenly surging energy, Zamasu was so shocked that he could barely speak coherently.

"No, that's impossible!"

"How could a human possess such immense power?!"

As a god, Zamasu's perception of energy was extraordinarily sharp. Naturally, he could sense exactly how drastically An Xiu's strength had changed.

No matter how arrogant and conceited he was, Zamasu understood at this moment that this was absolutely not something he could contend with.

Yet when the thought of losing arose in his mind, Zamasu could not accept it.

"No... impossible... a human..."

"Yes, this universe, this world... how foolish must it be to allow humans to wield such tremendous power?"

His thoughts were locked in fierce conflict, and he was nearly driven mad.

"Human, your existence proves this world's error to me. And as an envoy of justice, I was born to correct that error!"

Zamasu's energy rose without end. Roaring, he charged at An Xiu, having long since cast aside his plan to deal with the remaining humans first.

His purple fist, wreathed in an aura of destruction, carried all his power as he slammed it viciously into An Xiu's chest.

An Xiu neither dodged nor moved.

Bang!

After a muffled, thunderous impact.

An Xiu did not budge in the slightest. He had taken the punch head-on with his chest.

Zamasu felt as though the force behind his punch had struck against the weight of an entire world.

It was unimaginable. Unbelievable.

He looked at An Xiu, and An Xiu met his gaze.

"Let me show you what true power is..."

With that, An Xiu slowly raised his right fist.