The silhouettes of the Saiyans slowly left the preliminaries hall, both walking through the massive, smoking hole recklessly carved out by the impulsive Trunks, who, obsessed with the fight, hadn't bothered to find the proper exit.
He no longer cared. If things got a little out of control, he had already decided to leave. Maybe it was a rash choice, but if he had to keep away from the rest of his comrades with Goten, he saw little difference in going somewhere distant until Shenlong came back for them.
He was young and acted on impulse, nothing more.
Only silence ruled the place with absolute authority. Once Goten and Trunks stepped out of the tower, they took flight and gradually disappeared from sight. They didn't even look back.
Kakashi fixed his attention on Asuma. Confusion was exchanged in their glances, but there seemed to be a shared question that neither had the courage to voice: "Now what?"
"I suppose now you're finally going to tell me what's going on." Kurenai broke the tyranny of silence on her own, clearing her throat first so her voice wouldn't sound like a thread.
"It's complicated."
"Don't start, Kakashi." She planted her hands on her hips, stabbing him with a fierce pair of red eyes. "I've got all day. And I don't think it's so complicated that I wouldn't understand. We're adults."
She felt humiliated at being so blatantly dismissed. She was the newcomer, sure, but that didn't make her any less of a jounin than her peers.
"Maybe it's not that complicated for you, but…" Without finishing, he dragged a heavy hand through his silver hair, his gaze shifting to the stunned faces of Sakura and Naruto. The kunoichi had stopped crying, but tears still streaked her cheeks.
"I don't think there's a point." With a trembling hand, Asuma pulled the last cigarette from his pocket, smiling at the madness he was about to voice. "I'll do what I have to do. After all, one of my students is about to fight, and I'm not missing it for anything in the world."
It wasn't just about daring to watch the dangerous fight of the kids—he had locked eyes on his father the whole time and, with absolute defiance, disobeyed him as he hadn't in years.
He leapt over the railing and set his feet on the battered ground of the combat arena, feeling a strange air fill his lungs. Nothing compared, but going against his father made him feel like he did when he first left the village to become one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja of the Fire Daimyo.
Sarutobi watched him from above without saying a word, letting his son choose. He trusted him—he was a man now, and the Hokage no longer had the energy to interfere. Still, he felt relief when, with a swift movement, Kakashi followed suit and stood at Asuma's side.
The old Hokage couldn't help but smile. He felt a strange emotion, one that only wise and seasoned people understand when the moment comes to admit a mistake. It was the joy of realizing, with certainty born from the decisions of his two subordinates, that maybe he had been wrong all this time.
At once, the memory of his earlier stance toward the jounins forced its way back into his mind.
Two days ago…
"With all due respect, sir, don't you think this decision is a little drastic?"
The old man seemed to completely ignore the jounin's words, far more focused on the pale rings of smoke that rhythmically drifted from the end of his faithful pipe.
"Not at all, Asuma…" He fell silent for several seconds, long enough for both him and Kakashi to think he wouldn't say another word. "Had I known beforehand that those two children could turn out to be so dangerous, I would have acted very differently."
"What do you mean?"
The old man finally pulled the pipe from his mouth, set it aside on the desk, and fixed a somber gaze on his son.
"I wouldn't have allowed them to set foot in the village. Of course, it would've been worse to reject them outright and risk another nation taking them in, but I could've arranged shelter for them in some nearby, humble village with few inhabitants, under constant watch from ANBU hunters to keep them from drawing too much attention. It might have worked. After all, it's we ourselves who forced them to reveal part of their power." He sighed heavily, pressing the bridge of his nose between two fingers. "I admit my mistake in allowing them to participate in the Chunin Exams as a test. Luckily, they'll remain here until…"
"Until that mysterious dragon comes to take them away."
Kakashi finished the thought. The old Kage gave him a faint smile, grateful, because the words themselves sounded like pure madness coming from his own mouth.
That was what Trunks had told the Copy Ninja on the first night of their watch. None of those present dared to say it was a lie, or just some bedtime story for children. By now, they were prepared for almost anything from them.
"In conclusion, given everything that has happened, I believe it may be too dangerous for Goten and Trunks to continue living normal lives before everyone's eyes. Clearly, their dimension—or whatever it is—cannot be compared to our world. We are very different."
"I apologize for interfering, and above all, with the respect you deserve, Lord Hokage, but I still don't think it's as serious as it seems. I can assure you Trunks knows what he's doing and can control his power… I know it might look otherwise, but I believe…"
"I'm sorry, Asuma, but my decision is final."
He cut him off immediately. The jounin locked eyes with the old man's steady, unflinching gaze.
He didn't want to give up so easily.
Asuma placed a hand gently on the desk, leaned slightly toward Sarutobi, closed his eyes, and drew a deep breath before continuing. He looked more like a merchant trying to convince a client.
"Please, I ask you now not as a shinobi, but as your son." Despite his imposing stature, every gesture, every expression of the jounin radiated a serene, almost pleading aura.
His own words surprised him, as if he were nearly humiliating himself in search of the slightest understanding from his father, shattering protocol by stripping away what the position of Hokage meant, and his own role. Personal feelings or family ties had no place here. Yet he was leaning on blood ties to plead for reconsideration.
"Maybe I haven't known him long, but I know the boy's worth—he just needs to mature a little. Besides, I've seen with my own eyes the small positive changes he's sparked in his teammates in such a short time." He had to pause for a moment, a genuine smile crossing his face as he remembered certain things.
"For example, Shikamaru has shown more interest in his Shogi matches… You'd be impressed to see how smart Trunks is! He grasped the rules so quickly that he's already become a better player than me! Of course, he still hasn't beaten Shikamaru, but he's put him in tight spots more than once, and despite his laziness, I've seen him genuinely motivated at the challenge of facing someone more skilled than most. He even sits down as if it were a serious matter!"
He began to grow nervous, realizing his words weren't moving the old man in the slightest. It was as if he didn't care at all.
"And there's also Choji… well, he hasn't changed much, but I can assure you that on Trunks' recommendation, he's cut back a bit on fried food. According to him, one less bag of chips a day. Yes, maybe it doesn't sound like much, but it's a good start, and most importantly, he didn't take it badly. It might even help him slim down a little."
Again, no response whatsoever. Kakashi looked at him with a touch of pity, completely opposed to his colleague bringing personal feelings into matters concerning their students.
"There's still one more thing." The jounin hurried on, as if his father's stare demanded more explanation, when in truth the man was on the verge of losing his patience. "I never thought Ino could stop being so stubborn and arrogant. She's still rude, no cure for that." He smiled faintly again, remembering how the girl had first regarded the Saiyan as a freak, utterly rejecting him out of fear of the unknown. "I can't explain it, but something changed in her… she seems more tolerant of him. The incredible thing is, it happened overnight. Maybe at first glance, Ino still seems the same, but I can assure you, somehow Trunks had something to do with it… something to do with her becoming more understanding toward anything related to him."
His smile faded as he realized that instead of convincing him, the Hokage's expression only hardened. The old man looked up at him from his chair without raising his head, his hat casting a shadow that made his profile seem even grimmer.
"Anything else?"
It was like a kick to the gut. Asuma pulled his hand back from the desk as if it had burned him, straightening up again, and realizing how pathetic his behavior had been. He had let himself be carried away.
The Hokage shifted his gaze to Kakashi, asking silently if he had anything to add.
The silver-haired jounin only smiled beneath his mask and raised an eyebrow in amusement.
"I don't think Goten will take it too badly. He's made a lot of friends among the kids, but he tends to forget things quickly, as if nothing really matters much to him."
It wasn't true. He just wanted to avoid making the same mistake as Asuma. He wouldn't contradict or negotiate with the Hokage.
Still, he wasn't happy with the decision. He knew of Goten's noble nature and his inability to harm others. In fact, his students were alive because he had protected them from Orochimaru.
Besides, neither of them believed the best option was to isolate the boys, rather than integrate them as normally as possible with the others. This whole matter could end up affecting them negatively.
"Well, I believe that's all." The old man closed the discussion, taking up his pipe again and turning his attention to some papers on the desk. "You may go."
Present...
He couldn't help but laugh in resignation. The old man closed his eyes and slowly removed the pipe from his mouth. "Maybe Kakashi and Asuma know how to handle things better than I do. Perhaps the right thing is to leave the kids in their hands."
"Be careful," Kakashi warned his comrade as they both left the tower through the hole Trunks had created. "We need to keep a safe distance so we'll have enough time to react to anything unexpected. You saw that energy blast. It was like a flash of light—so fast that if not for its size and glow, I wouldn't have been able to see it."
"You know something?" Asuma's question sounded like the start of a new topic, completely unrelated, as if Hatake's words had been spoken in some strange language he couldn't understand and chose to ignore. "I don't care how long Trunks… I mean, the two of them stay here. I just don't want them to leave with a bad impression of all this."
In a way, he wanted to make sure that the Saiyans' brief stay in Konoha wasn't remembered as one where people welcomed them out of interest, only to later reject or distrust them.
He didn't even care much about how Trunks saw him—which already seemed pretty damaged—but at least he wanted the boy to keep spending time with his students like he had been. As if he were just a normal kid.
"Don't worry, I don't think that will happen." Kakashi's voice, calm at first, grew heavier, a clear sign of the weight he wanted his words to carry. "But keep in mind, if you want to continue, you'd better put those ideas aside. Stay focused—treat this like a mission. After all, it wouldn't be crazy to think you could die."
Like a gray blur, both vanished in a swift movement, sprinting toward the possible battle site, leaving behind a small group of shinobi who stepped away from their spots on the balcony.
A few meters away, Kurenai stared in shock at the massive, smoking hole in the tower's concrete wall. She stood beneath it as if it were a doorway, looked up, and saw it was more than six times her height. Trembling, she reached out and placed two fingers on the pierced wall that was over a meter thick.
"Ouch!" She pulled back immediately, burned as if she had touched a pot of boiling water.
It wasn't just destructive, but capable of incinerating anyone in its path. And the boy had done it like it was nothing, without the slightest sign of effort.
"This is such a drag. What are we even supposed to do now?"
Ino shook her head, pushing back the flood of emotions in her mind, and fixed her attention on Shikamaru with a scolding expression.
"Isn't it obvious? I'll go check it out! You can stay here lazing around like always if you want!"
Nara just closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers.
"I don't know why I bother asking." He dropped his frown and gave the blonde a sharp look. "Do you at least realize it's dangerous? Did you see what he did to the wall?"
"Of course I know! Or do you think I'm stupid?"
Nearby, Naruto was about to open his mouth, but Yamanaka's piercing blue eyes shut down whatever he was going to say. At last, the blond took Shikamaru's wise lesson to heart: don't contradict a woman, it's way too troublesome.
"Goten will win. Everyone knows that…"
Ino robotically turned her head, only to find the wide forehead grinning at her provocatively, clearly trying to annoy her and push her over the edge.
"You mean the little monkey? Ha! I must've hit your big forehead way too hard in our match! Trunks is way better! That's why they put him on my team, not with a loser like you."
It wasn't just her words, but Ino's smug tone and vain posture, hands on her hips, that drove Sakura crazy.
Her teeth clenched, fists tightened, and a vein pulsed dangerously on her massive forehead. She wanted to lunge at her and rip out the few badly cut blonde strands she had left. But she didn't, unwilling to be the one who lost her composure. She'd rather die than end up covered in blood.
"Maybe you're right, except for the tiny detail that the loser… is you. Think about it—if Trunks is better, it's only because you're worse. They had to balance things out, didn't they, little piggy with the extra weight?"
She called her fat again—and worse, did it with style.
Once again, Naruto had to make a couple of clones to hold Sakura back by the arms, while Choji and Shikamaru restrained Ino.
Both girls hurled insults, cursed, kicked at each other, and even spat again like delinquents.
They earned a fair share of embarrassed looks from the others—Gaara's whole team, and even Tenten, who couldn't believe how immature they were.
But perhaps no one looked at the scene with more disgust than Neji. The whole display was far too vulgar for his taste.
The Saiyans had already reached the clearing where Goten had fought Orochimaru.
The place was practically new: a wasteland littered with broken logs and small craters everywhere, all created by young Son, who had torn through 200 hectares of dark forest that once had been covered by dense, impenetrable vegetation.
"You went overboard." He clicked his tongue, not with disapproval, but with a mocking smirk as he bent his wrists in a final stretch before starting.
"You're just jealous it wasn't you who fought the snake." Grinning, he pointed his thumb back at Manda's massive, decapitated corpse.
It was so far away that Trunks hadn't noticed it at first, yet the snake was so ridiculously huge that he could still see it even from that distance, though with some difficulty.
"Man, it really was huge! No wonder the forest wouldn't stop shaking."
They spoke of it like it was nothing. Soon, they set aside their stretches, ready to begin at last. They rose into the air simultaneously, without needing to say a word, floating almost 50 meters above the ground, face-to-face.
They hadn't even thrown the first strike when they sensed two presences approaching.
"Damn it! What do they want now?" Trunks muttered irritably as he turned and saw, like two tiny dots below, Kakashi and Asuma scanning the skies to locate them.
"I knew they'd come!" Goten, on the other hand, seemed happy to see them, apparently unaware of the danger they were in.
Trunks gave a small start, sighed heavily, and gave his friend one last warning.
"Stay firm. Take the hits with your body as much as you can." He glanced one last time at the jounin, who had already spotted them and was pointing from below. "You don't want to get blown away and hurt someone by accident… or wreck this place even more."
That last part put Goten on edge. Sometimes, being blown back by a heavy strike actually helped lessen the damage, since the momentum spread out the impact. But taking the full force of a blow without moving an inch didn't disperse anything—it just sent the pain searing through every inch of your body. Young Son knew that well. For fighting, he was smart.
Before long, the rest of the group that had remained at the tower appeared right behind Kakashi and Asuma.
Everyone was there: Gai's team, Gaara's team, Dosu, Kakashi's students (except Sasuke), Asuma's team, Kurenai with only Shino, and even Hayate himself. They hadn't been able to contain their curiosity and decided to see what was about to happen between those two.
It was almost funny to see the old Hokage running so fast in his long, flowing robes, trailed closely by Anko, wrapping up the caravan of shinobi who had hurried there.
"What happened? Where are they? Why are you just standing here?" Naruto shouted like a maniac, getting only Kakashi's finger pointing upward in reply.
Everyone automatically tilted their heads at the same time, spotting the Saiyans floating high above.
Then, in an instant, they vanished into thin air, as if they had never been there. All eyes widened in shock, unable to follow the boys' overwhelming speed.
BAAAAAAMMMM!
A deafening explosion rang out without warning when Goten and Trunks slammed their fists together. That single impact was enough to shake the ground and drop Naruto flat on his butt.
The other shinobi quickly channeled chakra into their feet to stay grounded. Still, the delayed shockwave that struck their bodies nearly knocked them all over, chakra or not.
"Whoa! That's insane! Did you feel that?" Naruto asked, eyes still glued to the sky as he scrambled back to his feet. No one answered. The question was too dumb, and besides, they were stunned.
Then the Saiyans unleashed a storm of precise, savage punches and kicks, so strong that the ground trembled each time one of their brutal strikes was blocked.
Every clash of their bodies shook the earth, and the few trees still standing threatened to snap apart.
Shikamaru turned his head, watching in awe as tree bark cracked open. Some even shot out splinters, the surface of the trunks shattering under the shockwaves from every blocked strike.
"W-what the hell is this?" Ino stammered, instinctively clutching Shikamaru and Choji's arms just to keep from losing her balance and rolling to the ground. "Is this some kind of earthquake?"
Asuma didn't reply. He simply kept watching the indescribable display in the sky, chakra steady in his feet to hold his stance.
One of the most shaken was Gai. A taijutsu expert, he couldn't comprehend how two kids possessed such inhuman physical strength. To even come close to their power, he'd need to open at least the Seventh Gate, maybe more… Damn it! They were making the whole damn forest tremble just by colliding with their bodies!
A small opening in Goten's defense was enough. Trunks slipped in a blinding punch straight to his cheek, making him spit saliva and blood. Caught unprepared, young Son plummeted like a meteor, tearing through the air with a piercing whistle.
KABOOOOOOM!
His body smashed into the ground of Area 44, resulting in a massive explosion. The gusts of wind that erupted from that single impact seemed to come from a gigantic hurricane, threatening to blow everyone away like insects. And that was even though Goten's landing had been more than half a kilometer away.
What was impossible to miss, however, was the enormous column of dust and debris rising nearly 20 meters into the air, resembling a mushroom cloud from an atomic bomb.
Kakashi and Asuma began running to get a closer look, the rest following right behind them.
When they arrived at the landing site, the dust had already begun to settle. All they could see was a monstrous crater, not very wide but at least 10 meters deep.
"Goten!" Sakura cried, covering her mouth in shock. She had never seen Goten hit like that, and fear completely overtook her.
She was about to run to him, but Kakashi anticipated her move and blocked her with his arm. Just as she was about to protest, a sound caught everyone's attention.
Like a blur of orange, the boy appeared at the edge of the crater, completely unharmed.
"Damn, that actually hurt a little…" he muttered with a wide grin, resting both hands on his hips and bending back and forth as if he were doing his morning stretches.
Then, Goten dug his feet into the hard earth, cracking it beneath him, and launched himself at Trunks with explosive speed. The ground erupted from his takeoff.
Flying like a torpedo straight at his friend, he pulled one leg back, ready to strike—adding the force of his speed to the power of his kick.
BOOOOOMMM!
The side kick landed, but Trunks blocked it with both arms crossed in front of him. Another explosion shook the ground. It didn't look like a fistfight anymore, but rather a war of bombs detonating one after another.
And that wasn't all. Gai noticed something others might have missed: what sounded like a single blow was actually dozens of strikes, fired so fast that their impacts blended into one overwhelming crash. Even he couldn't count the exact number.
Goten prepared another sidekick, going through all the motions. But just before landing it, he stopped.
Trunks looked at him in surprise, lowering his guard, not understanding why he had halted. The boy in the orange gi just grinned at him.
"Is this even allowed?" Without warning, Goten vanished.
Sensing his ki, Trunks quickly looked up and spotted him several meters above.
Goten swung down with an axe kick—too far to actually hit him. That's when Trunks realized the trick, but it was already too late.
A powerful blast of air slammed into him, knocking him violently to the ground. This time, Trunks was the one who carved a deep crater into the earth, far from where Goten had landed earlier.
"At this rate, there won't be anything left!" Asuma was completely stunned, the unlit cigarette falling from his mouth without him noticing.
The sight of another mushroom-shaped cloud of smoke in the distance painted a nearly terrifying scene.
Kakashi and Gai were also shocked, but for a different reason. Goten's attack hadn't been an ordinary strike. He had used his ki to unleash a massive blast of air, like a cannon shot. The young Saiyan had so much power that his energy could bend the very environment around him.
This time, Ino covered her mouth, trying to stifle a gasp that escaped against her will.
Shikamaru placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her.
"If Goten could take that, you can bet Trunks can too." Nara tried to sound as calm as possible, though in truth, he was deeply unsettled.
ZAAASSS!
Trunks shot out of the freshly made crater, a dozen meters deep, completely unscathed, brushing some dust off his shoulders.
—NO, IT'S NOT ALLOWED! It's way too dangerous! You could miss and accidentally hit someone!
"Heh, I guess you're right!" Goten replied from above, absentmindedly scratching the back of his head.
He looked just like Goku during the World Martial Arts Tournament against young Piccolo Daimaku—wearing nothing but his orange pants.
Kurenai couldn't believe it. Her body trembled uncontrollably, unable to grasp not only how the kids withstood each other's blows but also how they slammed into the ground and walked away unfazed.
It wasn't surprising. Some shinobi could unleash jutsus of immense destructive power, but their physical endurance was another story. At the end of the day, they were still human—vulnerable to kunai cuts or sword thrusts. That's why strategy, evasion, deception, and camouflage were essential tools on the battlefield.
—You've got to tell me what kind of tricks they're using! —she demanded of Asuma, terrified in a way that echoed Mr. Satan the first time he saw Goku and his friends fight, only to deny reality and pass it off as cheap parlor tricks.
—There are no tricks. What you see is what they are. Their endurance goes beyond…
CRAAASSHHH!
The deafening crack cut Asuma short. Turning around, he saw two massive trenches carved into the ground, each stretching in opposite directions. Both Saiyans had struck each other at the same time, unable to stop their momentum, and crashed into the earth—blasting off in opposite directions.
But they didn't stop. Their bodies continued plowing through the ground, carving out deep paths as the impact sent tremors across the entire area. The shinobi had to cling to whatever they could to keep from falling over.
Once again, Naruto ended up flat on the ground, but this time Asuma's entire squad landed on top of him, since Ino refused to let go of Shikamaru, and he in turn clung to Choji. The blond was buried under the three stooges.
Sakura almost burst out laughing at the sight, until Ino, still sprawled on the ground, discreetly grabbed her by the ankle and yanked her down on top of the pile.
When the two boys finally stopped their skid, they launched out of the trenches at the same time, before the furrows could stretch even farther.
They landed side by side, cloaked in cobalt-blue auras swirling violently around their bodies. Standing face-to-face, less than ten meters from the spectators, every eye was glued to them.
—Hey Trunks, if the plan was not to go flying, we're failing pretty hard. —Goten scratched his head, pretending to think.
—Like I don't know that? How about you do your part too, you animal!
Kakashi dragged a hand down his face, like what he was watching was too embarrassing. Despite their ridiculous power, the two still behaved like immature kids.
Trunks kept his eyes locked on Goten, trying to anticipate his next move. Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind, and a mischievous grin spread across his face. He dropped his fighting stance and started fishing through his pockets.
Goten watched him closely, realizing what his friend was up to.
He pulled out a capsule and, without explanation, tossed it into the air.
BOOOOMMM!
Everyone thought it was a smoke bomb—everyone except Kakashi's and Asuma's teams, who had seen capsules before. They immediately realized what Trunks had summoned.
A sword, spinning in the air.
The Saiyan caught it by the hilt, but his eyes widened as he stumbled forward a little. For some reason, the sword weighed at least a ton.
—Whoa! You brought Tapion's sword? Why didn't you tell me? —Goten shouted, buzzing with excitement.
—Because I figured you wouldn't care. —Trunks muttered, not even looking at him, too focused on the weapon in his grip— Damn thing's heavy! Looks like that bastard Piccolo knew I had it and made it heavier, same as our clothes. Guess he's still pissed about all the pranks we pulled on him!
Unexpected as it was, Trunks quickly regained control. Now he swung the blade around with ease, as if it were made of wood.
—What the hell is he planning? Kakashi-sensei, do something! That's not fair! —Sakura begged the copy-nin, terrified Goten might get cut.
Naruto stayed silent but stared at the jounin, demanding an answer with his eyes. Kakashi just shook his head.
—During the preliminaries, any weapon was allowed. We're past that now, but they're fighting under their own rules. I can't interfere. —He glanced at the panicked kunoichi, scolding himself for what he was about to say. It felt stupid to even try to comfort her—. Sakura, remember when we fought Zabuza? If Trunks is using the sword, it's because he knows it won't hurt Goten.
—Yeah, billboard brow, you think Trunks is some killer? Try using that huge forehead of yours for once!
Sakura wasn't having it. She clenched her fists, ready to shut Ino's stupid mouth with a good punch, but before she could do something rash, Kakashi spoke again, easing her anger just enough.
—Trunks knows what he's doing. He'd never hurt Goten on purpose. He's only doing this for fun.
—Some fun that is! —Kurenai snapped, unconvinced by Hatake's explanation.
—Alright, Goten, here I come. Make it worth it, and don't break the damn thing. —Trunks warned before dashing at blinding speed toward his friend.
The Saiyan raised the sword overhead, ready for a vertical strike. Goten simply hopped aside, letting the blade smash into the ground where he'd been standing. The impact shattered the earth like brittle glass, splintering it into massive chunks.
But the onslaught didn't stop there. With blistering speed, Trunks swung the sword again and again, cutting through the air with surprising finesse. He wasn't a master, but he practiced often enough to polish his swordsmanship. Even so, Goten dodged every swing with ease.
He slipped out of range, ducking, leaping, sidestepping—whatever the strike demanded. Whenever Trunks made a wider swing, Goten simply jumped back, though it did him little good since Trunks would leap after him and follow with another fierce strike.
Maybe it was the year without practice dulling his once-sharp technique. Maybe it was the sword's weight. Maybe both. Whatever the reason, frustration began creeping in as Trunks realized his friend was casually avoiding every blow.
Still, the speed was staggering. No one could follow what was happening. At best, they caught the deadly hiss of the blade slicing through the air, a sound so rapid it blurred into a single continuous buzz. In mere seconds, Trunks had swung hundreds of times.
What they could see, however, were the explosions and clouds of dust erupting everywhere, almost simultaneously in multiple spots, whenever Trunks missed and drove the blade into the ground.
It was a ground fight this time. No flying, no energy blasts. Just relentless attacks and dodges, woven together with acrobatic flips.
KLAAAANG!
Trunks shot out of the freshly made crater, a dozen meters deep, completely unscathed, brushing some dust off his shoulders.
"NO, IT'S NOT ALLOWED! It's way too dangerous! You could miss and accidentally hit someone!"
"Heh, I guess you're right!" Goten replied from above, absentmindedly scratching the back of his head.
He looked just like Goku during the World Martial Arts Tournament against young Piccolo Daimaku—wearing nothing but his orange pants.
Kurenai couldn't believe it. Her body trembled uncontrollably, unable to grasp not only how the kids withstood each other's blows but also how they slammed into the ground and walked away unfazed.
It wasn't surprising. Some shinobi could unleash jutsus of immense destructive power, but their physical endurance was another story. At the end of the day, they were still human—vulnerable to kunai cuts or sword thrusts. That's why strategy, evasion, deception, and camouflage were essential tools on the battlefield.
"You've got to tell me what kind of tricks they're using!" she demanded of Asuma, terrified in a way that echoed Mr. Satan the first time he saw Goku and his friends fight, only to deny reality and pass it off as cheap parlor tricks.
"There are no tricks. What you see is real. Their endurance goes beyond—"
CRAAASSHHH!
The deafening crack cut Asuma short. Turning around, he saw two massive trenches carved into the ground, each stretching in opposite directions. Both Saiyans had struck each other at the same time, unable to stop their momentum, and crashed into the earth, blasting off in opposite directions.
But they didn't stop. Their bodies continued plowing through the ground, carving out deep paths as the impact sent tremors across the entire area. The shinobi had to cling to whatever they could to keep from falling over.
Once again, Naruto ended up flat on the ground, but this time Asuma's entire squad landed on top of him, since Ino refused to let go of Shikamaru, and he, in turn, clung to Choji. The blond was buried under the three stooges.
Sakura almost burst out laughing at the sight, until Ino, still sprawled on the ground, discreetly grabbed her by the ankle and yanked her down on top of the pile.
When the two boys finally stopped their skid, they launched out of the trenches at the same time, before the furrows could stretch even farther.
They landed side by side, cloaked in cobalt-blue auras swirling violently around their bodies. Standing face-to-face, less than ten meters from the spectators, every eye was glued to them.
"Hey Trunks, if the plan was not to go flying, we're failing pretty hard." Goten scratched his head, pretending to think.
"Like, I don't know that? How about you do your part, too, you animal!"
Kakashi dragged a hand down his face, like what he was watching was too embarrassing. Despite their ridiculous power, the two still behaved like immature kids.
Trunks kept his eyes locked on Goten, trying to anticipate his next move. Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind, and a mischievous grin spread across his face. He dropped his fighting stance and started fishing through his pockets.
Goten watched him closely, realizing what his friend was up to.
He pulled out a capsule and, without explanation, tossed it into the air.
BOOOOMMM!
Everyone thought it was a smoke bomb—everyone except Kakashi's and Asuma's teams, who had seen capsules before. They immediately realized what Trunks had summoned.
A sword, spinning in the air.
The Saiyan caught it by the hilt, but his eyes widened as he stumbled forward a little. For some reason, the sword weighed at least a ton.
"Whoa! You brought Tapion's sword? Why didn't you tell me?" Goten shouted, buzzing with excitement.
"Because I figured you wouldn't care." Trunks muttered, not even looking at him, too focused on the weapon in his grip, "Damn thing's heavy! Looks like that bastard Piccolo knew I had it and made it heavier, same as our clothes. Guess he's still pissed about all the pranks we pulled on him!"
Unexpected as it was, Trunks quickly regained control. Now he swung the blade around with ease, as if it were made of wood.
"What the hell is he planning? Kakashi-sensei, do something! That's not fair!" Sakura begged the copy-nin, terrified that Goten might get seriously injured.
Naruto stayed silent but stared at the jounin, demanding an answer with his eyes. Kakashi just shook his head.
"During the preliminaries, any weapon was allowed. We're past that now, but they're fighting under their own rules. I can't interfere." He glanced at the panicked kunoichi, scolding himself for what he was about to say. It felt stupid to even try to comfort her. "Sakura, remember when we fought Zabuza? If Trunks is using the sword, it's because he knows it won't hurt Goten."
"Yeah, billboard brow, you think Trunks is some killer? Try using that huge forehead of yours for once!"
Sakura wasn't having it. She clenched her fists, ready to shut Ino's stupid mouth with a good punch, but before she could do something rash, Kakashi spoke again, easing her anger just enough.
"Trunks knows what he's doing. He'd never hurt Goten on purpose. He's only doing this for fun."
"Some fun that is!" Kurenai snapped, unconvinced by Hatake's explanation.
"Alright, Goten, here I come. Make it worth it, and don't break the damn thing." Trunks warned before dashing at blinding speed toward his friend.
The Saiyan raised the sword overhead, ready for a vertical strike. Goten simply hopped aside, letting the blade smash into the ground where he'd been standing. The impact shattered the earth like brittle glass, splintering it into massive chunks.
But the onslaught didn't stop there. With blistering speed, Trunks swung the sword again and again, cutting through the air with surprising finesse. He wasn't a master, but he practiced often enough to polish his swordsmanship. Even so, Goten dodged every swing with ease.
He slipped out of range, ducking, leaping, sidestepping—whatever the strike demanded. Whenever Trunks made a wider swing, Goten simply jumped back, though it did him little good since Trunks would leap after him and follow with another fierce strike.
Maybe it was the year without practice dulling his once-sharp technique. Maybe it was the sword's weight. Maybe both. Whatever the reason, frustration began creeping in as Trunks realized his friend was casually avoiding every blow.
Still, the speed was staggering. No one could follow what was happening. At best, they caught the deadly hiss of the blade slicing through the air, a sound so rapid it blurred into a single continuous buzz. In mere seconds, Trunks had swung hundreds of times.
What they could see, however, were the explosions and clouds of dust erupting everywhere, almost simultaneously in multiple spots, whenever Trunks missed and drove the blade into the ground.
It was a ground fight this time. No flying, no energy blasts. Just relentless attacks and dodges, woven together with acrobatic flips.
KLAAAANG!
The sound, strangely, came out metallic.
Goten gathered some ki into his index finger and stopped one of Trunks' vertical strikes. Despite the strength the young Briefs put into it, his friend remained immovable, not giving an inch, though his clenched teeth betrayed the effort it cost him.
"There they are!" Anko suddenly pointed out, making most of the onlookers turn toward the boys, who had somehow shifted more than 30 meters away, now standing behind everyone.
"He stopped it with his finger!? How is it possible the blade didn't cut him!?" Tenten was a little shaken, nervously biting her lower lip. Her question seemed to fall on deaf ears—everyone else was too absorbed, staring in complete silence.
The Saiyans' energy began to crackle, peeling away the bark of nearby trees with the static their presence generated. Pebbles floated slowly around them, lifted by the ki that continued to rise with each passing moment.
The blue aura of both boys flared again, and the scene grew even more violent. Though they only seemed to be struggling in place, the force between them produced tremors so strong they shook the ground like an earthquake.
Their muscles swelled, fueled by the monstrous energy gathering inside them, threatening to tear their fibers apart. Thick veins stood out across their hyper-defined arms and torsos.
The sight was overwhelming, all the more because they were just standing there, fully exposed to everyone's eyes. Every detail was visible, which only made it more staggering. The power pouring off them was so immense, so crushing, so savage, that fear seeped into every shinobi watching, each to a different degree.
Even in Konoha, the vibrations of the seismic event could be felt clearly, frightening many innocent villagers. Earthquakes were practically unheard of in the village.
Inoichi Yamanaka happened to be hosting Choza Akimichi and Shikaku Nara at his home. They were chatting casually, reminiscing about old glories, when they froze as the tremors began. They didn't even manage to exchange a word before the windows of the house suddenly shattered without warning. And the Yamanaka estate was still far from the Forest of Death.
What could be said when the impassive Hiashi Hyuga, whose mansion lay at the opposite end of the village, watched in confusion as the wooden floor of his dojo cracked and splintered beneath him, while little Hanabi lost her balance mid-training and landed on the floor?
And then, the bowls at Ichiraku! A towering stack of dishes wobbled side to side while the poor old man struggled desperately to keep them steady, only to fail as half his shop's plates came crashing into shards on the ground.
When the boys were billed for public and private property damage, Trunks would probably have to hand over half of Capsule Corporation just to settle the debt.
Trunks used his free hand to grip the hilt of his sword, pushing forward with both arms at once. He leaned in to add more power to his thrust.
Goten couldn't hold on any longer and dropped a knee to the ground, but quickly used his free hand to grab his muscular forearm for support, pushing back with equal force to even out the struggle between the sword and his finger. Neither had the upper hand.
Realizing they were stuck, the two Saiyans leapt back at the same time, breaking off their pointless contest. The ground beneath them gave way under the unbearable strain, collapsing into a noticeable crater at least two meters deep.
Without letting up for even a breath, Trunks charged again, swinging the sword overhead in another vertical strike that shattered the ground into countless fragments of solid rock.
Goten moved so fast he simply reappeared atop the severed trunk of a massive tree—one he had sliced earlier with a Kienzan when he killed Manda. He sat casually, hands clasped behind his head, mocking his friend.
"If you keep this up, you'll destroy everything. You'll have to spend your whole life fixing this mess," he teased with a mischievous grin, driving Trunks mad. "And I'm not helping! I'm not helping! I'm not helppppping!" he finished, planting his hands on his hips and wiggling his rear in the middle of a childish sing-song.
The sword had a different weight than Trunks was used to. Each second it felt a little lighter, but he still needed at least a few days of practice to fully adapt. For now, Goten dodged him with ease, leaving him looking like a fool.
Of course, to the onlookers, the boy was swinging the weapon so fast it was invisible, as if it weighed no more than a few grams.
With a sigh of frustration, Trunks let it go. The weapon smashed into the ground, its overwhelming weight obliterating the surface. No one had imagined the sword could be that heavy.
Gai Sensei and Rock Lee gawked, yanking at their bushy eyebrows in shock, nearly plucking them bald. The taijutsu master couldn't believe they were moving so fast under such weight.
"Th-the sword! Did you see what the sword just did?!" Naruto grabbed Shikamaru by the collar and shook him. For once, the normally unbothered boy didn't resist—he was too stunned.
Temari and Kankuro couldn't believe it either. No way could they risk an invasion with monsters like these on Konoha's side. Gaara stayed silent, but even he shuddered deep in his bones.
Trunks pulled out the capsule he had never revealed to Goten. Tossing it onto the sword, he made it vanish and slipped the capsule back into his pocket.
"Damn you, Piccolo! You made me look like an idiot! All I've done is give Goten more reason to mock me!"
Ignoring the stares, Trunks reset his fighting stance and launched himself at Goten, who was still shaking his rear in mockery. His takeoff obliterated everything behind him—but that wasn't all that was about to break.
When their forearms clashed, the giant tree beneath Goten split cleanly in two, the force of the attack tearing it apart vertically. As the halves fell, they exploded into splinters before touching the ground, pulverized by the sheer ki radiating from both fighters.
Neither of the young warriors paid any mind to their surroundings, too locked into their battle. Their strikes were lethal—trading punches for elbows and knees, attacks far more brutal, using the hardness of their bones to deal greater damage.
Sometimes their blows were blocked, crashing together and shaking the earth. Other times, they slipped through, each impact echoing like thunder.
When Goten landed an elbow to Trunks' chest, Trunks gritted his teeth, grabbed his friend's shoulders, and drove a vicious knee into his gut.
The exchange was too fast for anyone else to see. Only bursts of white energy waves appeared in the sky, sparking with each devastating clash, scattered everywhere and nowhere at once.
No one knew where to look. Their heads whipped around, trying to follow the energy surges bursting across the battlefield. The power was so immense it became tangible, born from the raw collision of fists, kicks—even headbutts. Yes, headbutts.
The two idiots had decided to smash skulls like rams, testing whose head was harder.
They reappeared on the ground, grappling each other by the shoulders, shoving with everything they had, neither giving an inch. When brute force failed, they went right back to headbutts.
The "fragile" ground beneath them gave way each time their skulls collided, caving deeper under the relentless impacts.
Asuma watched with a grimace, imagining what would happen if a normal human took even one of those blows—their skull would burst like a rotten melon on the first hit.
BAAAAMMM! BAAAAMMM! BAAAAMMM! BAAAAMMM!
After so many headbutts, they sank into a deep crater, hidden from view. Only the deafening booms and endless tremors proved the fight hadn't stopped.
Sakura, in her usual foolishness, took a timid step forward, about to peek into the crater. Kakashi yanked her wrist roughly, pulling her back and shaking his head sternly at her reckless idea. It was bad enough that the genin were witnessing this at all.
Realizing the futility, both fighters finally broke apart, leaping out of the crater to opposite sides.
Fifteen meters now separated them—the sheer scale of destruction, and they hadn't even landed a direct blow on anything. All of it was collateral from their strikes' overflowing energy.
"You've got one hard, empty skull," Trunks said with a grin, rubbing his forehead. Goten mirrored the gesture, trying to shake off the pain.
Then, for no clear reason, Goten started laughing mischievously. Sakura noticed—it was the same sly laugh his father used when he blackmailed the Supreme Kai of fifteen generations with a photo of Trunks' mother.
"Trunks, promise me you won't get too mad!" Goten shouted, still grinning from ear to ear.
"Mad? And why would I—" He didn't finish his question when he saw what his friend was about to do.
His shock was so great, he couldn't move faster than the light—unlike Goku against Ten Shin Han in that old tournament.
Goten raised his hands close to his face, fingers spread wide and pointed at his own eyes, finishing with the words…
"TAIYOOOKENNNN!"
A blinding, searing white light flooded the entire forest, forcing all the spectators to cover their eyes, trying to shield them from the painful glare that mercilessly stabbed into their retinas.
Even in the wide-open space, under full sunlight, it was impossible to resist such dazzling brightness.
Kakashi thought his Sharingan was going to fry like an egg, judging from the groans of pain he let out. He cursed Goten in his head.
When the light finally faded, the ninjas slowly began uncovering their eyes, blinking repeatedly to clear their vision and make out their surroundings again. Whatever Goten had done, it had completely blinded them for a few seconds.
Trunks cautiously opened his eyes. The strange thing was that during the whole stunt, he barely felt Goten's ki shift at all—as if he had been careful not to be detected and instantly countered. Eyes weren't everything for warriors like them.
"This yours?" Goten asked from a few meters away, holding up his orange belt.
The only thing Trunks felt was a freezing chill across the lower half of his body.
When he feared the worst, he looked down—his friend had pulled down his pants, along with his underwear, leaving him completely naked in front of everyone.
Yes, naked. Like Goten, he had left all his clothes in the tower and only wore his green pants. Now, not even those.
The ground itself seemed to quake louder than any earthquake as every single shinobi, including the old Hokage, fell on their backs from the sheer stupidity of what they had just witnessed. So much fuss from Goten, only for something so childish.
Trunks was so stunned that he froze for a few seconds, doing nothing. Then, turning slowly, he realized all eyes were on him—front and back. Once again, everyone toppled over in disbelief.
Only Naruto was laughing uncontrollably, rolling across the floor, clutching his stomach with both hands. The blond thought something inside his chest would snap from laughing so hard. He even had to wipe away tears that streamed down his face.
The girls, red with embarrassment, covered their eyes to block the indecent scene. But one of them, driven purely by innocent curiosity, peeked through her fingers: Ino.
The kunoichi turned beet red when she saw Trunks. She could even swear she was about to get a nosebleed—but it didn't quite happen.
"DAMN YOU! WHY DID YOU DO THAT? WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU? HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND?" Trunks was mortified, crimson-faced, a vein throbbing on his forehead.
"GOTEN, STOP FOOLING AROUND! WHEN THIS IS OVER, I SWEAR YOU'LL REGRET IT!" Sakura shouted from her spot, clenching her fists so tight her green eyes sparked with fury. She felt humiliated to put up with her friend's idiocy—and worse, that everyone knew he was part of her team.
A shiver ran down Goten's back just imagining the beating Sakura would give him after the fight. For some reason, he feared her far more than the opponent in front of him—and rightly so. He already knew firsthand how hard the kunoichi hit.
"Sakura, please, calm down! It was just a joke! An innocent, harmless little joke!" he stammered, flailing his hands in front of him, terrified.
"A joke? You call that a JOKE!? Could you act normally for once in your life?" Kakashi and Naruto held her back with all their strength, keeping her from charging at Goten and committing first-degree murder on the spot.
If there was one thing Sakura hated, it was utter immaturity. Ironically, she was also immature in her own ways—like when she stopped being friends with Ino over Sasuke.
Meanwhile, Trunks had already pulled everything back up and was storming toward Goten, holding onto his pants so they wouldn't fall again. Furious, he snatched the belt still dangling in Goten's hand.
"It might have been funny, I'll admit… IF WE WEREN'T IN PUBLIC! YOU IDIOT, IDIOT, IDIOT!" he kept yelling, face red with humiliation, fastening the belt tight. "What will Ino think of me now? This is the most humiliating thing I've ever gone through!"
What he didn't notice was that Choji was holding Ino steady by the shoulders, while Shikamaru fanned air toward her. For some reason, she looked a little faint.
"You asked for it!" he snapped at Goten with a cocky grin worthy of Vegeta. "Don't cry later when I beat you down!"
With those cliché words, Trunks stopped pointing at his opponent, clenched his fists at his sides, shut his eyes, and took a deep breath to focus.
FLAAAASHHH!
Everyone, except Goten, shielded their faces with both arms to protect themselves from the strange golden light that suddenly burst from Trunks' body without warning.
Ino instantly understood what was happening. That unusual, almost mystical aura pouring out of Trunks reached her, filling her to the core with the same overwhelming sensation she had felt when she had been inside his mind, when she saw him as the warrior with golden hair.
"Finally! I wanted to become a Super Saiyan too!"
FLAAAASSSHH!
It wasn't a brutal explosion of power, nor a dangerous surge of ki that ravaged half the world in the process. They controlled the transformation so well that they could achieve it without strain or chaos.
"Go-Goten's hair turned blonde!" Sakura's trembling finger pointed right at him. She was stunned to see him like that. When she turned her head, she noticed Trunks was the same.
A fierce, radiant golden aura surrounded them both. Their hair spiked upward, defying gravity, and turned gold. Their eyes shifted to an emerald green, their gazes sharp and piercing—something Sakura felt even more strongly than the dazzling light.
With Trunks, it didn't feel unusual. His stern expression suited it. But with Goten, whose face was usually so gentle and childlike, the contrast was striking and impossible to ignore.
Despite the bright sunlight, the area lit up even more, as though they'd been in darkness and someone suddenly switched on the lights.
The air swirled violently around them, whipped into a storm by the golden energy that pulsed and flared as if alive.
And there was more: their muscles didn't just grow in size, they became more defined—chiseled as if by a master sculptor. But compared to them, even stone would seem fragile.
Though they looked alike, there were differences. Goten's hair was identical to his father's when transformed, while Trunks' hair spread out into a fan-like array of golden spikes, thanks to its longer length.
"I didn't know Goten could do that," Ino admitted, though she remembered suddenly that he had nearly transformed when fighting the Sound genin, nearly consumed by rage when he thought Sakura had died.
"But you did know about Trunks, didn't you?"
The blonde girl lifted her gaze and nodded faintly at her sensei, afraid of being scolded for keeping such a secret.
"I don't know what it means." She looked away shyly, biting at the inside of her cheek. "I think when they turn blonde, they're much stronger…"
"Much, MUCH stronger!"
Everyone jumped in shock when, without warning, Goten appeared in front of them. He moved so quickly they hadn't even noticed.
"Sakura, look! My eyes are just like yours!" he teased, holding her by the arms and leaning close so she could see.
It was brief, fleeting: Sakura's legs trembled without her control.
That golden ki, immense and pure, surged into her body, making her feel warm, alive, and overflowing with renewed energy, as if it carried a stimulating power of its own.
For a moment, she lost herself in Goten's features. That was him. He had shed the fierce look from before, gazing at her now with his large green eyes and raised brows that restored his usual kind, cheerful expression. He had looked good with black hair, but this transformation was stunning.
Almost without realizing it, she reached out a hand to touch his hair… but before she could, he vanished with a buzz, reappearing back where his opponent waited.
"Don't follow us." Trunks warned with a stone-hard stare, his bare feet leaving the ground as he rose into the air. "Ino is right. Our power multiplies many times over in this form—it could be dangerous. This is the transformation of the Saiyans."
"The saiya-what?"
"He said Saiyans, Naruto," Sakura corrected, still staring in disbelief at Goten.
She couldn't believe that was really him. He looked magnificent, bathed in that golden light, as if he didn't belong to this world… magical. It was the kind of vision she would've only imagined in childhood fantasies.
And truly, it wasn't something of the human world. It was the unique legacy of the Saiyan race, now extinct in the Ninth Universe due to a pact made millions of years ago between the Kaio-shin and the Goddess of Destruction.
The Supreme Gods still regretted ever creating such an abomination of a race.