Androids Attack

At that moment, Son Gohan stored the Tree of Might fruit in his internal space and rose to his feet.

He activated the Dimensional Seed within him, and the seven-colored crystal trembled lightly in his dantian.

A dazzling spacetime passage split open before him, countless colors intertwining and flowing like a vivid rainbow aurora.

He stepped into the passage, and the entrance behind him slowly closed.

Familiar streams of light swept past him.

Within the spacetime fragments embedded in the passage walls played scenes from different parallel universes—some familiar, some strange. He did not stop, simply pressing onward.

Then, he reached the exit.

Son Gohan stepped out, his feet landing on familiar ground.

He had returned to Earth—his original timeline.

He closed his eyes and spread out his ki senses.

Son Goku, Vegeta, Piccolo, Krillin—the battle had already begun.

But he was not worried. The Son Goku and Vegeta of this timeline had long since surpassed their original canon levels of strength.

Two Super Saiyan 2s were more than enough to handle two energy-absorbing androids.

He withdrew his senses, flared with a white aura, and flew toward Mount Paozu.

The dome-shaped house sat quietly amid the mountains and woods. Son Gohan landed at the door and pushed it open.

Chi-Chi was wiping the table. Hearing the door, she turned around.

The rag in her hand fell to the floor.

"Gohan!"

Chi-Chi rushed over, grabbed Son Gohan's arms, and looked him over from head to toe.

Her face was full of longing and heartache. Her lips moved; she had too much she wanted to say, but in the end, only one question came out.

"Was training hard? Were you tired?"

"I'm not tired, Mom." Son Gohan looked at her, his voice softening.

Chi-Chi reached out and smoothed the lock of hair sticking up on his forehead, her brows tightly furrowed. Clearly, she did not quite believe him.

But before she could question him further, Son Gohan spoke first.

"Dad is fighting the androids. I can't just stand by and do nothing."

Chi-Chi opened her mouth as if to say something, then swallowed the words back down.

She knew this father and son too well. No one could stop them.

"I'm going to wash up and change clothes."

Son Gohan walked into the bathroom and turned on the faucet. Cool water splashed over his face, refreshing him considerably.

He changed into that orange martial arts uniform and glanced at himself in the mirror. It fit perfectly—clean and sharp.

When he came out, Chi-Chi was already waiting by the door. She crouched down and straightened his collar.

"Be careful, no matter what."

"Don't worry, Mom." Son Gohan nodded. "With my current battle power, I can take care of these androids in just a few moves."

He walked to the door.

He immediately powered up, his body transforming into a streak of light as he shot into the sky.

Chi-Chi's voice called after him, stretched farther and farther away by the wind.

"Be careful—Gohan!"

The worry in her voice was impossible to hide.

Son Gohan flew through the air, but he did not head toward Son Goku and the others.

He changed direction and flew toward the city.

His true targets were not Android 19 and Android 20.

They were Android 16, Android 17, and Android 18.

He remembered everything from the original story. Android 18 and Krillin getting together—that came later.

"But this time, in this timeline, I can only say—Uncle Krillin, Android 18 has an infinitely powered, android-modified body. You can't handle her."

"This is something I'll have to take care of."

"I'm young and strong, and I have the Dimensional Seed's incredible recovery ability. These waters run deep—better let me handle them."

He flew at tremendous speed, the wind shrieking past his ears.

Elsewhere, on the wasteland.

Son Goku, Vegeta, and Future Trunks stood in a row, while Piccolo watched coldly from the side.

Across from them were Android 19 and Android 20: one a fat white man, the other wearing a black hat. Both bore signs of battle, but they were clearly at a disadvantage.

Android 19 opened his palms, absorption devices embedded in them like miniature black holes.

Android 20 stood beside him, coldly calculating the battle.

The two androids' tactic was simple—wait for their opponents to fire energy blasts, absorb the energy, then counterattack.

Son Goku and Piccolo exchanged a glance and did not rush to attack.

But Vegeta was already growing impatient.

He stepped forward, raised both hands, and golden aura erupted around him.

Prince's Battle Technique. A barrage of energy blasts poured from his palms, densely raining down on Android 19 and Android 20.

The fiery explosions merged into one continuous blaze. Deep craters were blasted across the ground as rubble and dust flew through the air.

Android 19 remained unhurried, raising both hands as his absorption devices activated.

The energy blasts were sucked in the moment they reached him. A counter on Android 19's abdomen began climbing wildly.

Vegeta curled his lips into a smirk and continued firing.

The explosions grew even larger, and the flames nearly swallowed half the wasteland.

Android 19's absorption speed increased as well, but Vegeta showed no intention of stopping.

"Go on, absorb it," he sneered. "I want to see how much you piles of scrap metal can take."

His expression was proud and disdainful, as though the enemies before him were merely slightly larger ants.

Piccolo stood nearby with his arms folded, making no move.

A fight at this level did not require him to step in.

In the city square.

Explosions rang out from several streets away, while thick smoke rose into the sky.

The road had been blown apart, cars had burned down to metal frames, and the pedestrians had long since fled. The streets stood empty, with only fire and smoke spreading through them.

Son Gohan followed their energy signatures and flew over.

He landed at the entrance of a shopping mall that had been blasted half apart.

Android 16 stood in the middle of the street, his towering body like an iron tower.

With his mohawk and expressionless face, he stared up at the sky. He seemed uninterested in the destruction around him and showed no desire to attack, merely standing there quietly.

Android 17 stood atop a wrecked car with his hands in his pockets. The black-haired youth wore a red scarf, his face cold and stern.

He casually flicked an energy blast at a nearby building, blowing out an entire wall of floor-to-ceiling windows. Shards of glass rained down like falling rain.

The corners of his lips lifted slightly, cool and carefree, as if none of this mattered to him at all.

Android 18 emerged from a clothing store by the street.

She pushed open the half-shattered glass door, carrying several outfits in her hands and holding them up beneath the sunlight to compare them.

Her short golden hair swayed slightly, her skin was fair, and her features were exquisite. She radiated the commanding yet alluring presence of an older sister.

She neatly folded the clothes she had chosen and placed them in a bag beside her, moving with complete composure as though the explosions outside had nothing to do with her.

Son Gohan landed in front of them.

Android 16's gaze shifted down from the sky and settled on Son Gohan.

The scanning device in his eyes activated, rows of data flashing deep within his pupils.

"Son Gohan," Android 16 said in a steady electronic voice. "Son Goku's son, age eleven.

"Combat power—data anomaly. Accurate assessment impossible."

Android 17 jumped down from the car roof and gave Son Gohan a once-over, his expression utterly indifferent.

"Oh? Another one."

Android 18 set the bag of clothes aside, turned to look at Son Gohan, and a trace of curiosity appeared in her eyes.

"You don't have to listen to Dr. Gero," Son Gohan said calmly. "You don't have to kill Son Goku."

"You still have a long life ahead of you. Isn't living your own life better than anything else?"

He looked at Android 16.

"You like small animals and nature. Can those things coexist with killing?"

Android 16 fell silent for a moment. He looked down at his broad palms, then at the green mountains in the distance.

He had never liked fighting to begin with. The programming Dr. Gero had implanted in him contained no passion for killing.

Android 17 and Android 18 also fell silent. The siblings exchanged a glance. Ever since they had been modified into androids, no one had treated them as people.

Dr. Gero had treated them as tools, as humanoid weapons.

Several seconds passed in silence.

Android 17 was the first to snap out of it. He tossed his hair and let out a cold snort.

"You think a few words are enough to make us switch sides? It won't be that easy."

Android 18 made no statement, merely setting the bag in her hand farther away.

Son Gohan looked at them, the corner of his mouth curling slightly.

"Sure enough, you're not going to listen without getting beaten first."

He rolled his wrists, his joints cracking twice.

Then he assumed an opening stance as well, feet spread apart and center of gravity lowered.

The two sides faced off.

Smoke still hung over the street, flames continued to burn, and explosions rose and fell in the distance.

Facing Son Gohan, Android 17 took up a fighting stance, every muscle in his body tensed, ready to erupt at any moment.

A glint of cold light flashed through Android 17's eyes. With a push off the ground, he moved first.