That morning, Sakura woke up very early. She planned to take care of a few things before attending the third stage of the chunin exams. It was something of great importance—a series of high-level battles where the finalist genins would test their strength before none other than the Feudal Lords.
Yet her mind was tangled with too many thoughts. Even though she was already dressed in her usual outfit, she couldn't bring herself to go downstairs. Instead, she sat on her bed for several minutes, hugging her knees to her chest, chin resting on them.
It was impossible not to notice the photo of Team 7: Kakashi striking a playful pose, ruffling Naruto and Sasuke's hair as they glared at each other, and in between them, the smiling pink-haired kunoichi, happy to be on the same team as the coveted Uchiha.
"Sasuke…" The name slipped from her lips in a thin thread, heavy with pain and melancholy. She couldn't stop worrying about that strange mark on his neck, and just recalling his state of madness in the Forest of Death weighed on her. He had become as fierce as a demon, and she had to admit she was terrified by the cruelty and sadism he showed toward the Sound genins.
"Idiot..." she muttered, remembering how Trunks had beaten him.
Yes, there was a certain resentment between them. Sakura hated Trunks's arrogance, which was ironic, since it was a trait both the Saiyan and the Uchiha shared.
But Brief wasn't much better. At first, he hardly cared about Sakura at all, but now he was exasperated by how she behaved around Goten. She reminded him of Goten's mother, who, in his opinion, did nothing but annoy. To him, Sakura was unbearable—a complete nuisance.
"No wonder he likes Ino… He's an idiot!"
By now, it wasn't a secret to anyone. Even if Trunks never admitted it, it was obvious in the way his face turned as red as a tomato and he stammered like Hinata whenever the blonde visited him in the hospital. He would have to look away to try to speak normally.
Then, Sakura suddenly remembered what she had to do. She planned to visit Goten before the matches began, though she was sure she'd find him asleep as always.
She didn't really mind. Often, she'd end up chatting nonsense with Naruto while keeping him company. Still, she couldn't complain about the times she had visited alone, when she felt calm just watching him breathe and sleep like a baby. What amazed her was how fast he recovered—so fast that even the nurses couldn't believe it.
"SAKURA! WHEN ARE YOU COMING DOWN TO HELP?"
The kunoichi snapped back to reality and let out a heavy sigh.
"I'M COMING! I'M BUSY!"
"AND WHEN DO YOU PLAN TO STOP BEING BUSY? I DON'T THINK YOU HAVE MUCH TO DO UP THERE!"
Her Mother was right—her room was small, and obviously, she was lying. Irritated, she jumped to her feet and left the room. By that time, Ino was already helping her mother at the flower shop, Hinata was training in her father's dojo, and Tenten was likely finishing her session since Gai, the obsessive early riser, never allowed his team a day of rest—something Rock Lee loved, of course. The springtime of youth!
Sakura, in contrast, had done nothing all morning. Compared to her peers, she was being lazy. Even so, she stomped firmly down the wooden stairs, part of her bad mood stemming from frustration. She felt left behind compared to Sasuke and Naruto, who had also gone off to train—only with Jiraiya.
"Good morning, dear!" her father greeted cheerfully, raising a steaming cup of green tea to his lips. "Planning to visit your friend 'Lower Sky' today?" He paused, stroking his chin with a wide grin that could only mean one thing—he had come up with a bad joke. "I wonder if by chance his father's name is Goku! HAHAHA!"
"Dad, please, it's way too early for that," Sakura muttered, almost disgusted as she eyed the food on the table.
Without sitting down, she grabbed a glass of orange juice and drank it quickly. She wanted to leave before her mother came out of the kitchen and insisted she eat breakfast, so she slipped away quietly.
She reached the entrance silently enough that even Kizashi didn't notice. She crouched carefully to put on her blue sandals.
"I'm leaving!" she called as her hand turned the doorknob.
"Sakura, aren't you going to eat—" BAM! Too late. The slam of the door answered for her.
"I worry about that girl. She should eat better in the mornings…" her mother sighed.
Her father, however, was preoccupied with something else.
"Could it be she didn't get my wordplay? But it was perfect!"
...
She was quiet, but not at all calm. On the contrary, she was nearly seething at the arrogant remarks of the platinum blonde walking beside her, who carried a pair of daffodils in her hands. Both were heading to the hospital.
Instead of her usual purple kunoichi outfit, Ino had chosen to dress as a civilian that day: an orange shirt and gray shorts. Simple enough.
"Cheer up, billboard brow! The monkey boy will wake up eventually. Though I admit it's a shame you wasted so many flowers and visits. At least Trunks had the decency to welcome me."
Sakura wanted to hit her. She hadn't even planned on seeing her—she'd passed right by the flower shop since, for once, she'd decided not to bring anything to Goten. Even so, her effort wasn't enough to avoid the unwanted encounter.
"If he were awake, I bet he could say a full sentence without stuttering like that idiot Trunks."
Ino took offense. Still, losing her composure wasn't in her plans that morning. She'd woken up in a good mood, and she wasn't going to let Billboard Brow ruin it.
"I get that you can't understand it, forehead girl. When a boy falls for a girl as beautiful as me, it's normal for him to act that way." She lowered her chin slightly, still walking with her head high, proud of her words. She tilted her gaze toward Sakura. "But don't worry, Sakura. Someday, maybe forty years from now, you might find someone who notices you. Not all is lost—ugly girls can get attention too."
Sakura kept silent. She preferred to keep her eyes forward and completely ignore the unbearable blonde. Easier said than done, since Ino kept pushing her limits—not necessarily on purpose, but their personalities clashed badly.
"Did I tell you Trunks is kind of like a prince of an entire race?" A vein pulsed on Sakura's large forehead—her patience was running out. "When I asked him about his father, he told me something like that. That means Trunks comes from royalty; he's got blue blood." She glanced at her companion. "Tell me, do you know if Goten is royalty, too? I mean… oh! Sorry, Sakura! I forgot—you still haven't managed to talk to him!"
Sakura let out an ironic chuckle, faking amusement at Yamanaka's pretentious words. She couldn't believe someone could be so vain and empty-headed.
"I see… since Sasuke will never look at a pig like you, you had to settle for Trunks. What a shame, lowering yourself like that…"
Ino stopped dead. Just half a block from the hospital, it was tempting to knock out Haruno right there—it'd be a favor, given their proximity to the ER.
"I haven't given up on Sasuke, billboard brow." Each word dripped with anger. Ino thought letting Sakura win would be the worst humiliation imaginable. "He would never go for someone as hideous as you."
"Then why the sudden interest in Trunks? If he's as great as you say, why visit him every single day?"
Combo Breaker.
Ino panicked—she couldn't hide it. Sakura had a good point, and she scrambled for a response.
"Wh-who says I'm interested in Trunks? It's obvious he likes me, I can't help that!" She marched ahead, planting herself firmly in front of Sakura, the hospital now right behind her. "Don't you dare say that again! You're dead wrong if you're implying what I think!"
"I'm not implying anything." Sakura shrugged, feigning indifference despite Ino's threatening closeness. "I just told the truth. You visit him daily and act differently around him, like you…"
"It's just duty!" Ino raised her voice desperately, cutting her off before she could say it. "Trunks is on my team. It's my duty to check on his recovery, to see if he's fit to train again. That's all I care about." She relaxed, relieved she'd silenced Sakura, who looked stunned. Ino mistakenly believed she'd left her speechless, so she pushed further. "How could you suggest such nonsense? I'd never be interested in Trunks. Haven't you realized? He's a freak, just like Monkey Boy! Some kind of alien that doesn't even belong here! And my behavior toward him—it's just not to crush his delusions. Me, interested in Trunks? Ha! Tell me a better joke, billboard brow!"
It wasn't true, and Ino feared her feelings showed too easily. To be honest, she didn't even know what she felt for Trunks. She still liked Sasuke, but after what happened in the forest, she wasn't so sure anymore. She couldn't deny, though, that Trunks made her knees weak just by showing up—and he wasn't a bad guy either.
"Ino…"
Her blood ran cold. That voice!
She turned, stunned, and there stood Trunks beside Goten, who had his hands linked behind his head, oblivious to the tension. Both were in Super Saiyan form, which left the kunoichis completely shocked.
They looked different—normal, if you could call it that. Just a couple of blondes with nearly white hair, nothing more. And the usual violent golden aura was gone.
They'd been discharged, but not before a monumental scolding from the nurses and doctors, who ordered them to replace all the food they'd devoured as soon as possible. Goten had even eaten cotton, thinking it was candy floss. On top of that, Kakashi had already told them they'd need to repair the damage from their fight.
"Tr-Trunks? Wh-what are you doing here?"
He heard it all. Sakura's eyes widened—she'd seen them arrive right behind the loud, clueless Yamanaka.
"We were discharged, we're better now." His face shifted. Ino could swear he looked shaken when he said her name. But soon his usual stern expression returned, the demonic aura of someone hiding behind armor tougher than his own body. He was Vegeta's son, no doubt. "You shouldn't have bothered visiting me every day. Asuma was keeping track of my condition."
He walked past the petrified blonde, so stunned she dropped the daffodils she loved so much as a child, the same ones she used to collect in the fields, while in another universe, Trunks battled the pink demon.
"That was quick, wasn't it?" He stopped, turned, and looked at Ino with a cocky smirk. "We've recovered from worse. Saiyans heal faster than ordinary humans." He nearly spat out the last two words. "If you'll excuse me, I've got more important things to do. I'm heading to the gravity chamber. Coming, Goten?"
Goten had been distracted by the chirping birds on a nearby branch. At the call of his friend, he snapped back from his daydream.
"I'm going to watch the matches. You're not coming?"
"To that nonsense?" Trunks scoffed, turning on his heel to leave. He raised a hand in farewell without looking back. "Have fun. Cheer for Shikamaru for me."
"Trunks, wait!"
Too late. To prevent Ino from following, he vanished instantly, with the familiar buzz of his imperceptible movement.
"Looks like you blew it…" Sakura wanted to laugh, savoring a strange sense of victory.
But Ino was too shaken to react. Her clan's heightened perception told her clearly: beneath that hard front, Trunks hadn't taken those words well.
It hurt him.
"You have to find him!" She grabbed Goten's pristine orange gi by the collar, desperate. "You have to find him and tell him it's not true! You can sense his ki, do it!"
Goten froze in fear, his jade-green eyes darting to Sakura for help.
"W-what are you talking about? What isn't true?"
Ino sighed, giving up. It was pointless to ask Goten—he hadn't even realized what had just happened. She let go of him and turned away, head hung low, heading back to the flower shop.
"It doesn't matter." Her voice cracked. Ino wasn't cruel—she felt awful knowing Trunks had heard all that. Worst of all, she'd only spoken lies. "See you later at the matches…"
Sakura had to admit she felt a little sorry for her, mostly because she herself had pushed Ino into saying it all. But it wasn't her fault. Ino blurted out whatever popped into her head. Maybe this would teach her not to be so arrogant.
Pushing those thoughts aside, she turned her attention to Goten. She hadn't expected this—just yesterday, he was unconscious, and now he looked perfectly fine.
"Goten, why are you… You know, like that?"
The boy raised his eyes, trying to look at his own hair as he pointed at it with his finger. He pursed his lips in confusion, as if he'd completely forgotten.
"Oh, this?" Then he gave Sakura the one thing she'd missed most in the past two weeks: his genuine smile. "It's just a training method! My dad came up with it years ago!"
Sakura went speechless for a few seconds. What fascinated her about Sasuke was his cold demeanor, his piercing eyes, the silent mystery that made him irresistible. That's why she couldn't understand the strange warmth flooding her chest when Goten smiled at her like that.
He was Sasuke's opposite in every way—the absolute antithesis. Maybe it was his kindness, his innocence, his sincerity when he spoke, when he expressed himself, when he addressed her. She couldn't fathom how someone so fierce in battle, so powerful in combat, could also be so gentle, overflowing with nobility when he flashed Goku's smile.
"What's wrong, Sakura?" His smile faded into concern. He stepped closer, placing his hands gently on her small shoulders and shaking her a bit. "Are you ok?"
"N-no, it's nothing, really!" Her words tumbled out awkwardly. Again, she was thankful that Goten was incapable of reading between the lines of her behavior. "By the way, what's your dad's name?"
"My dad?" His face lit up, proud just to say the name of the man he admired most. "His name's Goku!"
Sakura froze for a moment, furrowing her brows. She leaned forward, her shoulders shaking in spasms, clutching her small stomach with both hands. And then she burst out laughing harder than she could remember.
Goten panicked, not understanding her reaction. Was his father's name really that funny?
Sakura couldn't stop, no matter how hard she tried. Tears streamed down her cheeks, her chest hurt as if something were breaking inside, and her laughter grew ugly, almost pathological. She'd give anything to stop, but she was a prisoner to the uncontrollable fit.
It took a full minute for the laughter to fade into gasps and weak groans, remnants of the overwhelming effect of hearing Goten's father's name.
Only Naruto's cheerful voice calling from afar as he approached managed to distract her—if only a little.
Thanks to Bulma's newest gravity chamber, the monstrous weight of 500G didn't seem to affect it much. Still, Trunks wasn't free from danger—the machine might not withstand that much pressure and could explode, just like it did once during his father's training.
He kept doing push-ups without stopping, thick drops of sweat rolling down his strained face from the effort and splattering heavily onto the red floor. In fact, everything looked red, as if the crushing gravity even warped the atmosphere of the cramped room.
He did them fast. As soon as he hit 10,000, he lay on his back, which anyone would think was to rest—but far from it. He went straight into an unbroken series of sit-ups, likely to reach thousands, without taking even two seconds to breathe.
He wore weighted training clothes to push his body even further. He hadn't dropped his Super Saiyan form, determined to use it nonstop until he had fully adapted to it.
At night, they had to revert to their base forms, since the fool Goten insisted they needed to sleep that way, and honestly, trying otherwise was nearly impossible.
Trunks panted hard with every flex of his abs, trying to let the adrenaline flooding his veins distract him, to keep his mind focused on the brutal training. Maybe that's why he was pushing himself too far.
It didn't matter. He was only halfway when he had to stop—not from exhaustion, but because he couldn't stop thinking about it.
"He's a freak, just like that monkey boy! A kind of alien that doesn't even belong here! And the only reason I act that way around him is not to break his illusion."
The blonde's voice pierced his thoughts. He never cared about making Ino like him, but… did she not even see him as a friend?
Her excuse of visiting him to check on his recovery was nothing but a lie—he knew that. Asuma came to the hospital almost daily to handle that. There was no reason to send Ino. So why did she bother visiting him all those days?
He stormed to the center of the machine and shut it down, hitting the console with a sharp burst of anger.
"I don't need anyone's pity…"
That had to be it. Ino just pitied him, nothing more. Learning everything new about this world, combined with what she already knew from when she peeked into his mind about Majin Buu, only added up to one thing: the girl pitied the Saiyan and felt some false duty to stick around while he recovered. Trunks' insecurities clouded his thinking, making him jump to conclusions.
The training wasn't enough to make him forget—but something else hit him like lightning. He felt a ki. No, several ki, all tainted with negative energy. They were closing in on Earth. They were powerful.
And they were moving fast—arriving at any moment.
"Damn it! I have to find Goten!"
The Saiyan shot to his feet in an instant—so sudden it drew the attention of those beside him. His fists clenched so tightly that thick veins bulged along the backs of his hands. His expression hardened, eyes fixed on the heavens, yet focused on nothing in particular.
Sakura could swear the tense atmosphere in the stadium was responsible for his behavior. Every single spectator sat rigid, expectant to see how the talented Uchiha, scaling one of the arena's massive walls with chakra on his feet, would hurl himself down at maximum speed—Chidori blazing in his left hand—toward Gaara's perfect sand defense.
But something was wrong. The Saiyan's jade eyes were looking in the wrong place. Kakashi noticed. He knew immediately something wasn't right.
"Goten, is something the matter?" he asked, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder to draw his attention. Sweat was pouring down Goten's face, and even from the Hokage's balcony, one could see the muscles of his tense jaw.
"They have to leave! They're coming here—I know it!"
A chill ran unpleasantly down the jounin's spine. The way Goten said it… nothing good could follow.
"Who? Do you know them?" Kakashi pressed. The boy shook his head.
"You must leave now! I'll find Trunks and get you all away from here!"
"G-Goten, what the hell is going on?" Sakura was nervous now. Her eyes stayed glued to Sasuke's sprint, unwilling to miss the moment his Chidori collided with the dense sphere of sand encasing Gaara.
Even Ino, more entranced than most by the fight, turned her attention to the Saiyan. Choji, for the first time that afternoon, stopped munching on his chips. Even he understood they needed to spread the word—but who would believe them? None of them even knew what was happening to them.
"Hey kid, shut it and sit down!" barked the hot-headed Kotetsu a few rows ahead, causing Kiba and Hinata to glance toward Goten.
"How weird! Had to be the monkey kid!"
Any other girl might've smacked Kiba in the ribs for that remark—but standing next to him was Hinata, so the idea was impossible.
Goten froze. Whoever those beings were, they were approaching Earth far too quickly—perhaps even faster than one of his own Kamehamehas in the vacuum of space.
It all happened in fractions of a second—those moments that pass instantly, yet feel eternal. He saw Hinata's wide, pearl-white eyes staring at him in unshakable fear. Sakura's gaze—less afraid but deeply concerned. Then he looked around at the crowd: innocent, unsuspecting, engrossed in the epic battle before them. Finally, his eyes shot back to the sky… and his mouth fell open.
It was impossible not to notice. Kakashi and even Gai, who had hurried over, mimicked Goten's upward stare. From the heavens, five strange objects plummeted, trailing fire like meteors—except these were spacecraft tearing through the Earth's atmosphere.
For the first time, the shinobi would experience what countless defenseless alien races had suffered when such machines shattered the peace of their worlds: that terrible moment when children pointed skyward, and their mothers clutched them close, certain of the impending doom of their kind. The shinobi might not understand the meaning of what they saw, but the unknown breeds confusion, doubt, and fear all the same.
Though the crafts landed thousands of kilometers away—perhaps 4000—the explosions as they slammed into the Earth reached the ears of every spectator as a faint, dreadful thud.
They had landed in the Land of Sky. Not that anyone knew.
Goten acted fast. He did the only thing he could to draw everyone's attention and spark an evacuation of the massive stadium. He vanished.
Meanwhile, Sasuke was euphoric. The lightning surging through his body was intoxicating, impossible to describe. Perhaps by driving his arm through that sand sphere—harder than any rock—he would find answers.
His speed was unmatched, rivaling even Rock Lee with his weights removed. Two weeks of training had brought astonishing results. That was what it meant to be a Uchiha: a genius far above ordinary shinobi.
Then came a grip—firm, powerful, overwhelming—that shook his entire arm. Pain exploded through his left arm, bursting at the shoulder. Fragile, compared to the one who held him. A strangely familiar sensation—only this time, the one inflicting it was someone else.
"You!" Sasuke's red eyes blazed with hatred. If they could, they would've erased young Son from existence on the spot. "Why do you interfere? This is none of your concern!"
No answer. Goten's jade eyes clashed mercilessly with Sasuke's crimson Sharingan. The Saiyan only tightened his grip until Sasuke grimaced in pain—and then, the deadly Chidori fizzled out.
Goten released him, and Sasuke retreated in a blur of acrobatic flips, kunai in hand, body tensed in fighting stance. He knew the difference in their power—but prideful as any Uchiha, he would face the consequences. He hadn't seen the Saiyans' clash firsthand. If he had, perhaps his thinking would be different.
From the stands, Temari shouted, "The monkey brat's already recovered?!" Kankuro's jaw nearly hit the floor.
The invasion plan was falling apart—or so they thought. Either way, there would be an invasion that day.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing, interfering with the match?!" Genma Shiranui, referee of the exam's final stage, mustered all his composure to confront him. If Sasuke's speed had been absurd, the appearance of this blond boy who halted his Chidori so easily was incomprehensible. "This is a grave violation! Leave this instant or—"
"Believe me, Genma," Kakashi's voice came, heavier than usual, from behind the stunned chunin, "the real danger is about to begin. If anyone should leave now, it's you—unless you want to die."
The crowd erupted in boos and insults, furious at the disruption. They had waited for the fight, the highlight of the entire exam, the subject of endless bets—and now two intruders had ruined it.
From the Kazekage's balcony, Orochimaru was practically giddy. His dark prayers had been answered, and he would witness a surprise. Invasion or not, it didn't matter. Nothing could be done about the tail-bearing boy—who now, curiously, sported blond hair.
Suddenly, silence. Every gaze turned westward in awe of a spectacle too magnificent for words.
A pillar of purple light rose like a colossal column, thick as an island yet, at a distance, no more than a glowing thread. It tore the clouds in two, stretching impossibly high into the sky.
From space, a violet dome the size of the Land of Fire flared against the planet. Earth trembled once again, fragile and helpless beneath the powers of Saiyans.
The Land of Sky was gone. Reduced to dust.
The explosion ripped across the seas, cleaving them apart, and even scarred the deserts of the distant Land of Wind—though far from Sunagakure, sparing its people.
"Bastards!" Goten roared, golden tail bristling like that of a beast. His knees bent, fists clenched, ki flaring dangerously. "They just killed thousands of people!"
Kakashi's blood ran cold. His face paled beneath the mask, which twisted into a rictus of horror. His very skin crawled.
It wasn't their raw power that terrified Goten—Nappa alone could've erased a city larger than Konoha with two fingers. No, the horror was in the casualness. A flick of the wrist, and an entire nation was gone. If they reached Konoha, the damage would be unthinkable.
"You all need to leave now, or else—"
Too late. Their speed was incomprehensible. One, two, three seconds…
Zuum! Zuum! Zuum! Zuum! Zuum!
Five soft hums, and they were there—standing silently before the stunned stadium. Their boots touched the ground with the gentlest tap.
Sasuke staggered back, shocked at their appearance.
Genma's eyes nearly bulged from their sockets, his throat choking on air, unable to form words.
Orochimaru was… in ecstasy. He couldn't deny a shiver of dread, but it was worth it to glimpse such a spectacle of ki.
"Perfect!" declared their leader, a tall woman nearly 1.8 meters with purple skin, defined abs exposed, massive chest, and a pair of black horns jutting from her skull. Strange neuron-like ridges marked her forehead, partly concealed by her violet bangs. "Couldn't have planned it better. We've got a whole audience for our debut! Jiisu!"
What followed left the world dumbstruck.
One of them—a red-skinned woman with flowing white hair, a curvaceous figure, no taller than 1.65—set a radio on the ground. She pressed a button, and a bizarre song blasted out, its chorus shouting "Ginyu Force!"
And then… they began.
The first was a towering amazon of nearly two meters, with crimson hair and breasts rivaling Tsunade's. She struck a dramatic pose.
"UUUUAAARRGH! RIKUUMU!"
If Gohan had been there, the traumatic flashbacks of his Great Saiyaman days would've consumed him.
Next, at the other end of the row, stood a woman with light blue skin, short cobalt hair with a blonde streak like a skunk's stripe, red eyes, and a chest as oversized as Tsunade's.
"OOOOOAAAH! KI KIAAA! BAATA!"
They froze in place, statues awaiting their comrades' turn.
"OOAAARRRGGH! JIISU!" cried the red-skinned one, kneeling with arms spread like a crane stance. Kakashi's single visible eye drifted downward despite the absurdity.
"FUUUUUOH! GURUDA!" came the smallest—a green-skinned girl, barely 1.20 meters tall, body thin and undeveloped like Sakura's at twelve, though fully grown. Messy green hair partly concealed two extra eyes on the sides of her head. She mimicked Jiisu's pose.
Finally, the leader in the center.
"GINYUU!"
She bent forward, sticking her head between her legs, hands raised beside her face like a Taiyoken. Kakashi nearly had a nosebleed from the close view of her rear.
"TO—!""DAS—!""SO—!""MOS—!""THE GINYUU FORCE!"
The radio's chorus screamed "Ginyu Force!" as their poses locked in perfect sync.
That day, the shinobi world witnessed an extraordinary phenomenon: the very concept of sound itself died for a few seconds.
Even the passing breeze rolled a tumbleweed across the stage in silence.
Sweat beaded down every shinobi's neck—even the stoic Uchiha's. Naruto squinted in disbelief, Shikamaru gawking at the sheer stupidity.
Only one person liked it. Goten.
"Th-th-that was awesome…" he stammered, struck dumb—but for entirely different reasons than the rest. After all, he'd always found Gohan's Great Saiyaman poses cool.
"Great job, girls! That was perfect! Just look at them—speechless!" the Captain declared proudly.
"We never could've done it without your amazing direction, Captain Ginyuu!" Jiisu exclaimed, as always, the first to flatter her.
"That's right, you're the best!" the other three chorused.
"Oh, girls, stop it! You're making me blush in front of everyone! Hahaha!"
"They're abnormal, aren't they?" Shikamaru was still so stunned he couldn't even answer Naruto.
The blond walked toward Sakura and the others, desperate for answers. He hadn't seen the moment those beings arrived—he'd been running with Shikamaru through the stadium halls, trying to warn them to stop Sasuke's fight before Gaara, that psychopath, killed him.
"Don't ask," Sakura cut in, eyes locked on the arena. "Th-they… don't seem that dangerous. Maybe Goten exaggerated."
No one understood what the pillar of purple light really meant—the annihilation of an entire shinobi nation. Only Kakashi grasped the truth, and that was thanks to Goten's words. Otherwise, he'd have been just as clueless as the rest.
It was as if Sakura had summoned bad luck itself—or worse, defied fate. She would've done better to stay silent.
"Hey, Captain! Look at that!" Baata pointed at the strange sphere of sand where Gaara remained shut inside, muttering like a deranged sorcerer. She flicked on her scouter and read the energy. "Hah, seems there's some trash in there with barely 60 units of power."
"For real? What a disgrace! How dare he ignore our glorious entrance? This is how he repays us for such a magnificent performance?" Hands on her hips, she strode toward the sand prison. "Hey, you! Get out of here this instant! Or don't you know tha—?"
CRAAAASSHHH!
She got within a meter when jagged spikes erupted from the surface of the sand sphere, hard as diamond, stabbing straight toward the purple woman. A sharp smack echoed as she swatted the assault aside, shattering the deadly spikes like fragile glass before springing back with a ground-skimming leap.
Kakashi's eyes narrowed—this was no joke. She had reflexes.
"How dare you, you wretch?" Ginyuu raised her hand, thumb cocked like a child playing cops and robbers, her finger pointed at the sphere. "This will teach you some manners!"
"Wait!" Goten realized too late. He only managed to shout and raise an arm—then cursed his distraction.
BAAAM!
A beam of light fired from her fingertip, slicing through the sand prison like butter and punching clean through the stadium wall, leaving a bullet-sized hole. Only Goten saw the blast itself; Kakashi and the rest only caught the flash. The woman knew Freeza's technique. Fast as light, though weaker than the original's.
"I'M BLEEDING! IT'S MY BLOOD, MYYY BLOOOOD!"
Gaara's shrieks ripped through the arena. His voice was broken, guttural, deranged—the cries of a boy seeing his own blood spill for the first time.
Temari froze. Whatever else, he was still her brother. Watching him suffer like that tore at her.
The special forces, meanwhile, laughed. To twisted things like them, it was all just a game—a chance to toy with the weak.
The sand shield crumbled away, revealing the panting Suna shinobi clutching his left shoulder, pierced through and gushing blood. He pressed down on the wound desperately, but his eyes blazed with manic fury. Chest heaving, veins bulging, he stretched one hand forward, lips curling into a mad grin. He would make them pay. He had to.
But nothing happened. The sand didn't respond.
"C-could it be…?" He thought it was Shikamaru's Shadow Paralysis Jutsu—something he'd seen but never experienced.
Wrong. It was something far stronger, stranger, more absolute. His body refused him, not a muscle obeyed. Slowly, he began to float upward, helpless and bewildered. The sensation was unreal. He hung three meters above the ground.
Then the pain struck—indescribable, skull-splitting.
"AAAGGHHH! LET ME GO! STOOOP!"
He howled like an animal, his screams chilling everyone to the bone. Blood vessels burst in his eyes until they glowed scarlet, and thin streams of blood ran from his nostrils. His head was being crushed from the inside.
The alien girls cackled, shrill and cruel, like deranged children.
Goten understood then. It was the little green one—using her mind to crush Gaara alive. She looked harmless, with freckles and a childish grin, but her hand clenched slowly into a fist, squeezing the boy's skull without mercy. Ironic—Gaara was about to die the very way he had killed so many others.
For Guruda, it was effortless. With no ki to resist, the boy was like air in her grip. She had never found a target so easy to control.
Gaara's blood gushed faster, and even his sand armor couldn't save him—not unless it could shield his very brain inside his skull.
Panic erupted. The crowd screamed and trampled over one another in their rush to escape, the civilians of Konoha finally realizing the nightmare they were witnessing. The shinobi from the other nations were left frozen, their own invasion plans forgotten in shock.
Jiisu and Baata turned toward the stands, arms raised, ready to incinerate the helpless masses.
Goten's stomach twisted. He couldn't stand by and watch.
"TAIYOKEN!"
Blinding white light exploded. Guruda shrieked, clutching her eyes as pain seared her vision, and her hold snapped. Gaara's limp body dropped like a rag doll, barely conscious. The other aliens cried out too, staggering and covering their faces as the merciless radiance scorched their eyes.
Kakashi shielded himself just in time—he knew the technique, had seen Goten prepare it. Most of the genin and chunin did the same. Everyone but Kiba, Sasuke, and poor Hinata, who at last was blinded completely.
BAAAM! BOOOM! CRAAASH!
The blinded aliens' bodies slammed hard as the boy struck them with a flurry of punches, sending them flying like insects against the massive concrete wall. The impact tore it down in an avalanche of rubble, burying its victims beneath tons of stone. The crash was deafening, like an earthquake. The northern section of the fifty-meter wall was gone—reduced to nothing but a mountain of shattered stone.
KABOOOOOOM!
This impact was stronger than any before.
"You missed two."
"Trunks!"
The Saiyan dropped beside Goten. With a wide, spinning kick, he struck both Ginyuu and the towering Rikuumu—who had only been watching until then, but blinded all the same.
"They can't sense ki," Brief observed grimly, watching debris explode across the stadium, shards embedding themselves in the walls and empty stands. These enemies were tough—they burst free from the rubble as if nothing had happened. "Otherwise, they'd have found us without needing sight."
"Trunks!" Ino cried from her place, her heart leaping with relief at his arrival. A genuine smile spread across her face as she rushed down toward the lower stands, ignoring Asuma's warning. Leaning over the railing, she shouted, "I'm so glad you came! Take them down—you can do it!"
He turned to her, face stern, still carrying his anger.
"Why don't you ask Sasuke to take care of them? Do you only need me now?"
"Don't be stupid!" she yelled back, cupping her hands around her mouth. Small creases pinched the bridge of her nose. Trunks cursed inwardly—she looked far too pretty when angry. "I'm sorry for what I said! Happy now?"
He turned his back on her, arms crossed. He wouldn't forgive so easily. To him, she still sounded too proud. They were more alike than either would admit—stubborn to the core.
Ino sighed heavily. For once, she knew she had to yield.
"Trunks, I… I'm really sorry. Everything you heard was a lie." Her teeth pressed hard against her lower lip before she switched to gnawing the inside of her cheek. Her toes shifted restlessly in her blue sandals. "I know I hurt you, but I swear I didn't mean it. I… I care about you, you know? You matter to me!"
His heart skipped a beat. Yes, he had hoped for an apology—but this was so much more. His harsh expression softened, green eyes flickering with the warmth of joy.
He couldn't even turn to look at her—because the aliens had already freed themselves and stood before them, cracking their necks from the strain of the ambush.
"So you're the ones behind those two power levels," Ginyuu smirked, brushing a violet strand from her eye and tucking it behind her ear. She pressed her scouter, reading their strength. "Hmph. Forty thousand each. Not impressive—but enough to play with."
In truth, their ki could have been far lower, five thousand at most. But they still couldn't fully control the Super Saiyan state—leaking energy no matter how calm they tried to remain.
Sasuke, bitter but not a fool, leapt from the arena to join Naruto and Sakura in the stands. This wasn't his battle.
Sakura couldn't take her eyes off him. He hadn't so much as glanced her way after all this time apart, but he looked better than ever—serious, cold, more mature, even a little taller. His black training gear clung to his lean, hardened frame, shaped by Kakashi's brutal training. Her stomach twisted. She still liked him—he was undeniably handsome.
Of course, shinobi builds were wiry and defined, not like the dense, sculpted physiques of Saiyans. Goten's abs alone were as broad as her clenched fist.
"Sasuke…" she whispered, ignored as he watched his cursed mark carefully, fearing it might break free.
He was so different from Goten. She couldn't understand why she still liked Sasuke, yet couldn't shake the Saiyan from her mind. She had only recently admitted to herself that she had feelings for him, too.
"Is everyone alright?" Kakashi's voice broke her thoughts. The jounin arrived, carrying an injured Gaara over his shoulder.
He laid the boy down gently as Temari and Kankuro rushed to him. Temari nearly wept. Watching her brother's life slip away so fast, so helplessly, had been torture. His screams of agony would haunt her.
"Ino, get back here now!" Asuma barked, alarmed at her proximity. She needed to stay with the others at the far end of the stands.
"Goten, Trunks—good luck!" she cried, her voice brave but trembling. She turned to leave, then spun back suddenly, blurting, "Trunks—when this is all over… we should get ice cream."
Without waiting for a response, she ran off. Team 8 and Kurenai also gathered at the farthest wall, as far from the arena as possible.
"Ice cream? They've got that on this rock?" Rikuumu's gruff voice was hardly feminine. "Jiisu, did you bring the chocolate chips?"
"Of course! You know I never go anywhere without them!" Jiisu struck a pose, hands on her hips. "I left them on the ship, but once we're done with these two, we'll get all the ice cream we want. Plenty of chocolate to go around."
"And then we'll wipe out the humans," the captain mused, tapping her chin. "If we kill them first, we might damage the ice cream. And there could be other sweets worth keeping. What do you say, team?"
"YES, CAPTAIN!" they chorused, fists raised. Guruda even hopped to match their height.
"After that, we sell the planet. Good climate—should fetch a fine price. Just don't wreck it like last time."
"YES, CAPTAIN!"
"…Though, wasn't it you who destroyed that island, Captain?" Jiisu asked hesitantly.
"Doesn't matter. From now on, that's forbidden."
Trunks looked at them with pure disgust. A part of him died inside. He loved his father, and he knew that despite Vegeta's coldness, his family meant everything to him. But to think his father once belonged to monsters like these… How many innocents had fallen into their hands? People like Ino?
"You won't hurt another human." His eyes burned with lethal resolve as he scanned their Freeza-style armor—slimmer, more revealing, tailored to their feminine frames. "If you value your lives, leave now."
The aliens burst into raucous laughter. It was the funniest thing they'd heard in ages.
Ginyuu smirked at Goten's monkey tail. "You're not human—or not fully. You're mutants, just like us. Not everyone hits forty thousand. With power like yours, you could help us conquer worlds. Some of them could even be all yours!"
When their cold stares didn't soften, she tried a different angle.
"You're different. Stronger than any human. The scouter doesn't lie. These people can't give you anything—they can't even understand you. Look at them!" She pointed to the stands, where Kakashi and the others huddled together, tense. "They fear us, but they fear you too. They're pathetic."
Trunks laughed in her face. Her words struck the shinobi like knives—none more so than Ino, whose heart clenched with guilt.
"I'm Earthling. I was born here. This is my planet, and I'll defend it—even if it costs my life." He didn't care if this wasn't his true Earth. Cracking his neck, he readied himself for the fight. He glanced at Goten with a grin, one that the boy returned instantly. "We're no different from them. We feel, we love. That's what you'll never understand. No matter how many worlds you take, you'll never know the value of what we have."