The wind howled across the barren plains, kicking up red dust and shards of shattered obsidian. Twin suns hung low on the horizon, their golden light casting long shadows across the cracked earth. In the distance, jagged mountain spires rose like the bones of some long-dead titan. The planet, once a testing ground for warriors, was silent, save for the rumble of shifting power.
And then—
BOOM!
Goku was sent hurtling across the landscape by an invisible wave of ki. His body skipped like a stone, carving trenches into the ground before he crashed through a boulder, shattering it on impact.
From a nearby cliff, Yondu stood with his arms folded and a weathered Ravager coat whipping in the wind. His sharp eyes tracked the boy's descent.
"That kid's gettin' thrashed," Yondu muttered, lips curling around a grin. "Good. 'Bout time someone knocked some fight into him. He's been cruisin' with us like a mascot. Needs to learn what real power feels like."
Goku didn't stay down for long.
He flipped backward off the rubble, dirt flying as he landed in a crouch. His hands dug into the earth for balance. Eyes narrowed. His hair flicked upward as a raw, unrefined aura erupted around him, white-hot, unstable, yet brilliant.
"Again," he muttered.
And then he leapt.
CRACKOOM!
The earth split beneath him. Chunks of rock shot upward as he launched forward with explosive momentum, body a blur. His fist was raised, the wind wailing past his ears.
Standing atop a nearby plateau, William watched him come.
Still. Calm. The dust coiled around his feet, and the wind tugged at his bronze lantern suit with the sigil of resolution emblazoned on his chest, catching glints of sunlight.
At the last second, William's smile crept in.
He reached one hand backward, without even facing his opponent.
BANG!
A shockwave erupted behind him from a delayed ki burst, destabilizing the ground and momentarily catching Goku off guard.
"Smart move," William said without turning. "But let's keep it simple. I'm not dodging."
Goku's eyes widened, too late.
William turned, caught Goku's fist in mid-air, and with smooth brutality flipped him over his shoulder—
BOOF!
—and slammed him spine-first into the dirt. The plateau cracked.
WHAM!
William's boot drove into Goku's stomach, blowing the air from his lungs and ripping the back of his gi. Before Goku could tumble away, William vanished and reappeared above him, fist cocked—
POW!
The punch struck Goku's jaw like a comet. He plowed into the dirt, bouncing once before collapsing in a broken heap.
Silence returned.
From above, Yondu squinted into the dust. "Damn."
Goku groaned. His limbs twitched. Dust choked his lungs as blood pooled in his mouth. He rolled over, spitting crimson into the dirt.
"Move. Come on…"
His hands dug into the soil. Every muscle screamed.
A shadow fell across him.
"Enough," William said. His tone wasn't mocking, just firm. "You're fighting wild. Strong, but wild."
Goku didn't answer. He just clenched his teeth and reached again for balance.
William crouched, pulling a small, pale green bean from his belt.
"Eat it. It'll heal you."
Goku stared at it. "What is it?"
"Senzu bean. It'll restore everything. But you have to chew it."
Suspicion warred with desperation. Finally, Goku snatched the bean and shoved it into his mouth.
CRUNCH.
His face contorted. "BLEH, it's awful!"
Then, whoosh.
Heat. Pressure. Lightning in his veins.
His body lit up as ki surged through every muscle. Wounds healed. Skin tightened. Blood vanished. His aura exploded in a pillar of white fire.
He stood in seconds.
Staring down at his trembling hands, wide-eyed.
"...Incredible!"
He looked back at William, eyes full of that same spark, the spark of someone who wasn't giving up.
But William just smirked again.
That smirk lit a fire in Goku's chest.
BOOM!
Goku erupted forward again, faster now. Cleaner. His movements were honed by pain, his stance sharper. A glowing sphere of ki pulsed in his hands.
He darted straight at William, then stopped just inches from his face.
"HAAAAAA!!"
BOOOOOOOOM!
The blast engulfed the plateau in a dome of light and flame. Rocks liquefied. The wind howled.
Yondu stepped back instinctively, shielding his face.
Goku hovered mid-air, panting, smoke rising from his hands.
"I got him…" he whispered.
Then, SNAP.
A hand shot from the smoke and seized his wrist.
"…Not quite," William said calmly, stepping through the blast radius unscathed.
Goku's pupils shrank.
WHAM!
William pulled him in and sent him flying with a forearm to the gut. But Goku flipped mid-air, caught himself on a rock ledge, and rebounded back down.
They clashed in mid-air, fists, knees, elbows, a flurry of strikes.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
The ground below quaked. Craters formed with each failed landing. Trees uprooted. A nearby river evaporated under the heat.
Goku ducked under a haymaker and retaliated with a sharp rising knee, but William caught it with his elbow, twisting his torso just enough to send Goku spinning mid-air. The younger fighter landed in a crouch, panting, his knuckles bloodied, his eyes sharp.
"I can feel it…" Goku muttered, grinning despite the bruises. "I'm starting to see the rhythm."
William adjusted his stance. "Good. Then let's turn up the tempo."
A moment of stillness.
Then...
CRACK!
Both fighters vanished from sight.
Yondu's eyes widened. "Well I'll be damned."
The air above the plains fractured under the pressure of their speed. To the untrained eye, it looked like lightning warping between clouds, flashes of bronze and white colliding in erratic bursts.
Each time they reappeared, it was only for a heartbeat: a punch grazing skin, a kick narrowly dodged, a shoulder crashing into ribs. Then gone again. The terrain buckled beneath the force of their aerial ballet. Mountains in the distance crumbled. The twin suns pulsed behind the storm of ki.
Goku's mind was razor-focused, instincts screaming louder than thought.
Left! Feint! Counter, no, he's baiting...
Too slow.
William reappeared behind him and drove both palms into his back, sending him screaming across the sky like a comet. Goku crashed into a rock formation, reducing it to smoking gravel.
This time, he didn't get up right away.
William floated down slowly, expression unreadable.
"I've fought gods," he said, voice low. "Aliens. Monsters. Myself. What makes you think raw spirit is enough?"
A cough answered him.
Then laughter.
"Heh… I don't know," Goku rasped, pushing himself up on one arm, battered but grinning. "But it feels like it should be."
He stood, one eye swollen shut, hair matted with sweat and dirt. His aura flared once again, more controlled now, a lean fire, not a wildfire.
"It's like every time I fall," Goku continued, chest heaving, "something wakes up. Like I'm built to break limits. Like there's more just under the surface... and I wanna dig it out."
William studied him.
Then, slowly, he nodded.
"Alright, then. Let's see what you can dig up."
He extended one hand.
Goku blinked. "What's this?"
"No tricks. Just ki. Focused and pure. I want you to match it."
A soft hum filled the air. William's palm glowed, bronze light swirling into a tight sphere. It pulsed in a rhythm like a heartbeat. Calm. Contained. Terrifying.
Goku exhaled and mirrored the motion.
A ball of white ki flickered into life. Rough at first. Then steadier. It danced like fire, but held form.
William's voice echoed through the wind. "This is how it begins. Not with rage. Not with desperation. With control."
They launched at the same time.
BOOOOOOOOM!
Their orbs collided mid-air and detonated, a flash of gold and white erupting across the plains. The explosion carved a crater into the earth, sending shockwaves for miles.
When the dust settled, both fighters stood opposite each other, untouched by the blast but visibly strained. Goku's knees buckled slightly. William's breath came slower, his expression solemn.
"Again?" Goku asked, hopeful.
William chuckled.
"You're like a puppy with fists."
"Hey!"
"Alright," William said, flexing his fingers. "But no more kid gloves."
Suddenly, the air thickened, growing heavier and denser, as though gravity itself had doubled its pull.
William's calm gaze sharpened, his chest rising steadily with measured, deliberate breaths.
A faint hum emerged, deep and resonant, vibrating through the cracked earth and swirling dust.
His bronze aura flickered erratically, then flared brilliantly with bursts of white light.
Slowly, he clenched his fists, muscles tightening, veins pulsing like molten rivers beneath his skin.
Golden sparks, tiny flecks of burning sunlight, began to swirl around him. They flickered, dimmed, and then intensified, crackling with raw, untamed energy.
His hair stirred, caught in an invisible wind, glowing faintly gold.
With another deep breath, his eyes closed, and the golden light radiating from his core expanded outward. Instead of exploding all at once, it pulsed rhythmically.
Pulse. Pause.
Pulse. Pause.
The ground trembled with each surge, sending shockwaves rippling through the plains.
Goku's eyes widened, his breath quickening.
He could feel it, waves of immense power crashing against his own aura like relentless tidal surges.
Then, with a final guttural roar, William's energy erupted outward in a blazing corona of gold.
His hair shot upward, blazing and radiant like molten fire.
His eyes snapped open, pupils narrowed to sharp points, glowing with molten gold intensity.
The sigil on his chest burned brighter than ever, searing with pure energy.
William staggered briefly, the wind roaring around him as the transformation solidified.
He let out a low, guttural growl, a mix of release and raw power, before locking his piercing gaze on Goku.
The younger fighter froze, his breath catching. The sheer weight of William's power pressed down on him, overwhelming and suffocating.
For the first time in their battle, Goku faltered.
William smirked, his golden aura crackling and alive.
"Now," he said, his voice low and fierce, "let's see if you can keep up."
William's golden aura ignited, tendrils of raw energy swirling like sentient flames around him. Each movement exuded a chilling, deliberate precision, as if the very earth trembled in reverence of his power. The air crackled with energy, heavy, suffocating, undeniable.
Goku blinked hard, his breath coming in shallow gasps under the oppressive force. His limbs felt sluggish, his once-sharp reflexes muted. That trademark fierce grin of his wavered.
William moved.
Not with speed, but with calculated purpose.
The first strike came like a whisper on the wind, a subtle jab that barely brushed Goku's ribs, yet unleashed a shockwave that rattled his core.
Before Goku could regain his footing, William was behind him, fingertips grazing his shoulders. A pulse of searing bronze-gold energy surged through Goku, throwing him off balance.
"You're strong," William murmured, his voice calm yet cutting, "but strength without control is chaos."
In the blink of an eye, William's fist drove into Goku's side, sending him spiraling through the air.
Goku crashed into the fractured ground with a thunderous impact, but before he could regroup, William was already upon him, closing the gap with impossible speed.
Wham!
William's elbow struck Goku's jaw with brutal force, sending him careening upward.
Goku's arms flailed in a desperate attempt to steady himself.
William smirked, his golden energy blazing brighter, casting an almost divine glow around him.
"Keep up."
Another strike, precise, merciless, sent Goku hurtling through the air once more.
This time, the world became a dizzying blur.
The ground surged toward him as William's fist struck his chest, driving him downward with crushing force.
CRASH!
Goku collided with the earth, the impact unleashing tremors that rippled across the plains.
Before he could regain his footing, William seized him by the collar, hefted him effortlessly, and with a guttural growl, hurled him toward the river snaking through the valley.
Goku spun uncontrollably, crashing through the dense tree line, roots snapping, branches shattering in his wake.
He hit the river with a tremendous splash, skimming across the water's surface like a skipping stone on ice.
The current roared around him, icy, unyielding.
For a moment, the world dissolved into a chaotic swirl of rushing water and jagged rocks.
Then, with a desperate gasp, Goku broke the surface, coughing and sputtering, his eyes blazing with determination.
William stood calmly at the riverbank, his golden aura settling into a steady, radiant glow.
"Rest up," he said, his tone measured.
Goku's chest heaved, but through the pain, a defiant smile broke free.
"Next round?"
William's grin widened.
"Next round."