Out in the vacuum of space, after unleashing his Final Flash, Vegeta remained surrounded by blazing golden flames. His Super Saiyan aura still raged violently around him.
"This time… he should be completely erased."
He muttered to himself, but he still didn't relax.
Even if Cell's ki signature had disappeared, Vegeta wanted absolute confirmation.
And the fastest way to confirm—
was simply to ask the one person who could verify it instantly.
Through telepathy, Vegeta contacted King Kai.
What surprised Vegeta wasn't King Kai's answer—
it was the fact that King Kai had already been watching the entire thing.
The moment he sensed Vegeta's explosive burst of power across space, he tuned in.
So by the time Vegeta struck Cell down, King Kai had already contacted King Yemma for verification.
Cell's case left King Yemma momentarily confused.
Cell wasn't a lifeform native to this timeline, yet he died in this timeline—so his soul had to be processed here.
Still, the verdict was simple.
Hell.
Even if he had only been in this era for a month or two, the number of lives he devoured was horrifying—tens of thousands, possibly hundreds of thousands.
All those deaths were counted against him.
Once Vegeta received confirmation that Cell had arrived in Hell, he finally exhaled.
As for what Cell would face down there?
Vegeta simply didn't care.
Even the original Super Perfect Cell had been easily subdued in Hell—
let alone this incomplete, weakened version.
He wondered briefly what Frieza and King Cold's expressions would look like when they ran into Cell.
The "former emperors of the universe" amounted to almost nothing to him now.
Vegeta let his transformation fade and, with a single Instant Transmission, returned to West City—directly into Bulma's home.
Bulma and Nappa were already waiting.
Dr. Brief, however, was nowhere in sight.
"Is it done?" Bulma asked immediately when she saw Vegeta back in normal form.
"Yeah. It's done."
Vegeta nodded, then reached into his pocket and pulled out a capsule.
He tossed it lightly to Bulma.
"This is the time machine. I brought it back for you to study. After all, the one who created it in the future was you."
Bulma caught it, eyes lighting up in excitement.
She whispered under her breath, equal parts shocked and thrilled.
A machine created by her own future self—
a device capable of traveling through time.
Without hesitation, she grabbed Vegeta's hand and dragged him toward the backyard.
Naturally, Nappa followed eagerly behind.
When the capsule popped open, the time machine materialized before them.
Vegeta had already seen it, so he wasn't impressed.
He also knew the original story, so nothing about it surprised him.
But Bulma and Nappa reacted completely differently.
"So this is the time machine? Honestly, future me… I'm brilliant." Bulma said proudly as she circled it.
Nappa's jaw dropped.
"This thing can really go to the past and the future?"
"Of course. Otherwise how do you think that Cell got here from twenty years ahead?" Vegeta replied casually.
Nappa's expression shifted.
He turned toward Vegeta, eyes full of a sudden idea.
"So… if we can jump through time… does that mean we can go back and stop Frieza from destroying Planet Vegeta? Then our Saiyan race wouldn't go extinct."
His words made Vegeta pause.
Even Bulma—previously absorbed in the machine—looked over immediately.
He had a point.
If Vegeta traveled back with his current power, killing Frieza before the genocide would be effortless.
But doing so…
Would not change anything in the present.
Because altering the past doesn't rewrite the timeline you currently stand in.
Vegeta answered bluntly:
"Didn't think you had enough brains to consider that. But yes, you could do it. And no, it wouldn't change a thing here. You'd only create a new timeline. A parallel past."
He added:
"Just like how Cell came here—this world isn't identical to the past he remembers."
Nappa didn't understand a word.
Bulma, however, instantly understood.
"So you're saying… the moment Cell arrived, our timeline diverged? We're now on a different future path than what originally would've happened?"
"Exactly," Vegeta confirmed.
In truth, the divergence had begun even earlier—
the moment he was reborn in this world.
This timeline was no longer the one destined for Future Trunks' arrival.
Yet Cell's appearance proved that certain fixed points in history were still intact.
This time stream still belonged to the "canonical flow."
Even if Vegeta altered many events, certain major nodes persisted.
Destroying Frieza and King Cold meant the future Cell couldn't collect their genetic material.
He wouldn't have their advantages.
He would be weaker.
After finishing his explanation, Vegeta gave Bulma the rest of the details.
Unexpectedly, Bulma launched into a deep discussion about spacetime theory—far beyond his ability to understand.
If even he couldn't follow it, Nappa definitely couldn't.
Only when Dr. Brief returned did Bulma finally find someone able to hold a proper scientific conversation with her.
Vegeta quickly lost interest.
Their father–daughter discussion was far too advanced.
Staying felt like a waste of time.
He was considering taking Nappa to Planet Vegeta-79 when—
Nappa's stomach suddenly growled.
Loudly.
Loud enough to shake everyone present.
Good grief.
He really sounded like a starving ghost resurrected.
"I… I haven't felt hungry in half a year," Nappa muttered awkwardly, scratching his bald head. "There's no food in Hell. Now that I'm alive again… I can't help it. Do you… uh… have anything to eat? King… Queen…"
Vegeta sighed.
He understood, actually.
He glanced toward Bulma—
But she was already ahead of him.
"I'll have the home-service robots prepare something. Dad, do we still have ingredients in the house?"
Dr. Brief nodded.
"Plenty. You've been gone for months, but the supply schedule you set up kept running—everything's stocked."
"Good," Bulma said.
~~~~~~
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