Future Trunks lay on the grass, Bulma knelt beside him, hands shaking. Vegeta stood rigid, arms crossed so tightly his gloves ripped alittle. Goku, Piccolo, Gohan, Krillin all watching, waiting, unsure what nightmare had happened to Trunks.
And me, hands glowing softly, pouring healing energy into Trunks's body.
Warm light pulsed under my palms. Torn muscle reknit. Cracked bone fused. Ruined organs stabilized. Almost fully healed, just that would take a little time.
His breathing steadied.
His pulse strengthened.
Then....
Space split.
Literally.
A black tear opened in the sky above Capsule Corp, shaped like a vertical wound in existence itself. Space inside it rippled like dark water reflecting a dead universe.
Everyone looked up.
Goku blinked.
"…Huh?"
Vegeta's eyes narrowed.
Piccolo's cape fluttered in wind like normal.
And from that black portal…
A figure stepped through.
....
He descended slowly, boots touching the air itself as though it were solid ground. black gi trimmed in grey. A red sash. Potara earring on one ear.
And a face identical to Goku's.
Except his hair.
Pink.
He looked down at us like a god inspecting insects.
"So this is the past…" he said calmly. "How filthy it remains."
Goku stared.
"…He looks like me."
Krillin gulped.
"Yeah, I noticed."
Vegeta's teeth clenched.
" But the ki isn't Kakorot…"
Bulma pulled Trunks closer protectively.
Future Trunks, still half-conscious, weakly lifted his head. His eyes widened in terror.
"…Black…"
....
I didn't wait.
The moment I saw that pink-haired doppelganger step fully into our world.
This thing was going down.
I inhaled sharply.
And held my breath.
...
Everything froze.
The breeze halted mid-air. Dust hung motionless. Goku Black's raised foot locked in place above the ground. Even sound ceased.
Absolute stillness.
Only I moved.
In the silent world of stopped time, I stepped away from Trunks carefully, making sure healing energy remained stable in his body. Then I turned.
Goku Black stood motionless, eyes half-closed, unaware.
Even gods without proper time resistance were nothing inside stopped time.
I scratched my head.
'Alright baby… it's mafuba time.'
I walked casually toward Capsule Corp's house. Through the frozen garden. Through the sliding door. Into Bulma's kitchen.
Pots and pans hung in the air where Bulma's cook had been cooking. A kettle floated mid-pour.
I opened a cupboard and grabbed the nearest thing with a lid.
A rice cooker.
A Classic.
I placed it on the counter. Then grabbed paper and pen.
I stuck the note firmly to the side of the cooker.
Then I walked back outside, carrying the rice cooker under one arm like groceries.
Back through frozen air. Back across the garden. Back before Goku Black's unmoving form.
....
I set the cooker on the ground.
Placed my hands forward.
Green sealing energy spiraled into existence, twisting like dragon coils around my arms.
Even in stopped time, the Mafuba responded.
I pointed at Goku Black.
'Start shooting, this man is black'
The vortex opened.
A spiraling funnel of sealing wind sucked inward, dragging even divine essence along with it.
Goku Black's frozen body lifted slightly, pulled toward the swirling void of the Mafuba.
In normal time maybe he would resist.
But in stopped time...
Bitch please.
His form compressed, drawn into the spiraling seal, and shot directly into the rice cooker with a sharp clack as the lid snapped shut.
Done.
I picked up the cooker.
And exhaled.
"ZA WORLD"
....
Sound returned.
Wind moved again.
Everyone blinked.
The black portal still hung in the sky… but Goku Black was gone.
Goku looked around, confused.
"…Where'd he go?"
Krillin scratched his head.
"Did anyone else just see a weird pink-haired Goku or did I imagine that?"
Vegeta scanned the area.
"Where is he?!"
Bulma held Trunks even tightly.
Piccolo narrowed his eyes at me.
"…You did something, didn't you."
I simply set the rice cooker down beside me, calmly returning to healing Trunks.
"Handled it."
Everyone looked at the cooker.
....
For a brief moment, peace returned.
Then...
The black portal pulsed.
A powerful suction force erupted from it.
The rice cooker rattled violently.
I reached for it, but the pull was too sudden.
With a flash, the cooker shot upward, dragged screaming through the air, pulled straight back into the black portal.
The cooker vanished into the tear in reality.
And the portal sealed shut like a closing wound in space.
Gone.
Just like that.
....
The garden was quiet again.
Everyone stood frozen in shock.
Goku scratched his cheek.
"…Did we just lose an evil version of me into the future?"
I nodded calmly.
"Yep."
Krillin swallowed.
"…Is that bad?"
Trunks suddenly groaned.
His eyes opened fully now, awareness returning as my healing completed its work.
He pushed himself up slightly.
"…What happen…?"
Bulma hugged him again.
"Trunks, you alive, Thank goodness!"
Trunks looked up at me, urgency burning in his eyes.
"A monster popped in my timeline," he said hoarsely. "and i neeed your help."
Vegeta crossed his arms.
"So explain."
Everyone gathered around as Trunks, still weak, told his story.
....
He spoke of his ruined future.
Of a being wearing Goku's face who called himself Goku Black, preaching "divine justice" while exterminating everyone on earth.
And Trunks was fighting desperately at first as he was winning, but Goku Black got stronger and stronger over time, Trunks even transformed to Super God Blue, that fight lasted days, until he finally left by escaping through time back to us.
As he finished, the night time fell.
Even Beerus, still nearby eating leftovers, paused mid-bite.
"…You know Time travel is illegal, kid," he muttered.
Whis smiled faintly.
"…Quite."
Trunks bowed his head slightly.
"i know, and i am deeply sorry."
Then I clapped my hands.
"Alright. Problem understood. We go to the future, beat the pink idiot, fix everything. Easy."
Goku grinned.
"Yeah! Sounds fun!"
....
Everyone turned toward the smoking wreck near the garden wall.
The machine was split. Circuits exposed. Hull warped.
Bulma stared at it.
Then scratched her head sheepishly.
"…It's not completely destroyed."
Trunks blinked.
"…How long to repair it?"
Bulma shrugged.
"…Honestly? I don't know. A month? A year? Depends how much of the temporal drive survived."
Vegeta exhaled sharply.
"So we wait."
Trunks looked devastated.
"My world doesn't have time to wait…"
I walked up and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Relax," I said. "We'll get you home. And when we do…"
I smiled.
"…I'll deal with your many problems."
Trunks stared at me, then nodded.
"Thank you"
The night settled again over Capsule Corp.
Ben's power level: Boo Saga Super Saiyan 3 Goku x [god ki x175,010,000]