Daima's fist stopped inches from Beerus's face.
Not because the God of Destruction had blocked it. Not because Daima had hesitated. But because in that split second before impact, a thought crashed through his battle-ready mind like a freight train.
Wait. WAIT. What am I doing?!
He hung there in mid-air, arm extended, Super Saiyan 4 aura blazing around his adult form, while Beerus regarded him with a mixture of curiosity and amusement.
"Having second thoughts?" The God of Destruction asked, one eyebrow raised. "That's disappointing. I thought you had more—"
"No," Daima interrupted, pulling back and landing on the ground. "I'm not backing out. I just realized something."
"Oh? And what's that?"
Daima powered down from Super Saiyan 4, his body shrinking back to its child-sized form. The Z-Fighters watching from the sidelines murmured in confusion.
"What's he doing?" Krillin whispered to Gohan. "He had that awesome form and he just... dropped it?"
"I don't know," Gohan replied, his analytical mind working overtime. "But there's something different about this Goku. The way he fights... no, the way he THINKS. It's not like Dad at all."
Regular Goku was practically vibrating with anticipation. "Come on, come on! Fight already! I wanna see what happens!"
"Quiet, Kakarot," Vegeta snapped, though his eyes never left Daima. "Something's happening."
Daima stood in his base child form, facing Beerus with a calculating expression that looked utterly foreign on Goku's face. Because it WASN'T Goku's expression. It was Derek Thompson's expression. The expression of a man who had spent countless hours analyzing power levels and transformation multipliers.
I almost made a huge mistake, Daima thought. I was about to go all-out immediately against BEERUS. But that's not how you gather data. That's not how you PROVE anything.
If I want to settle the debate once and for all—if I want to know EXACTLY where Daima Goku stands compared to Super's power scaling—I need to test each form systematically.
I need to do this scientifically.
"Lord Beerus," Daima said, his childish voice carrying across the silent party grounds. "I have a proposal."
Beerus tilted his head, intrigued despite himself. "A proposal? From the one who just charged at me without hesitation? This should be interesting."
"You came here looking for a Super Saiyan God, right? A worthy opponent after millions of years of boredom?"
"That's correct."
"Then wouldn't it be more entertaining if this fight lasted longer than thirty seconds?"
Beerus's eyes narrowed. "Explain."
Daima gestured to himself. "I have multiple transformations. You saw a few of them already. But I didn't show you everything, and more importantly, I didn't show you how they stack up in actual combat." He paused, choosing his next words carefully. "What if, instead of me going all-out immediately and you ending this in one punch, we do something more... educational?"
"Educational," Beerus repeated flatly.
"I'll start with my lowest transformation and work my way up. Each time you overpower me, I'll ascend to the next level. That way, you get a longer fight, I get to test my limits, and everyone watching gets to see exactly how strong each form really is."
Whis let out a delighted laugh. "Oh my! What a fascinating approach! It's almost like a structured experiment. Lord Beerus, I do believe this child is proposing a power scaling demonstration."
Power scaling demonstration. The words hit Daima right in the soul. That was EXACTLY what this was. He was about to conduct the ultimate power scaling experiment, with himself as the test subject and a God of Destruction as the measuring stick.
All those Twitter arguments. All those Discord debates. All those spreadsheets and calculations. It all comes down to this.
Beerus was silent for a long moment. Then, slowly, a smile spread across his feline features.
"You know what? I like it." He settled into a relaxed stance, arms crossed. "Fine. Start from your lowest form. Impress me as you climb. But I warn you—" His aura flickered ominously. "—if any form bores me too much, I'll end this regardless of your 'experiment.'"
"Fair enough," Daima agreed.
Okay. Okay. This is happening. I'm about to fight Beerus in a systematic power scaling test. This is literally my dream scenario.
Don't screw this up.
He took a deep breath, centered himself, and reached for the first transformation.
Super Saiyan.
The golden aura exploded around Daima's small form, his hair shifting to brilliant yellow, his eyes turning teal. Even at this level, the transformation felt incredible—power coursing through every cell, senses sharpening to superhuman levels, strength multiplying exponentially.
"Super Saiyan," Beerus observed. "The base transformation. Show me what you can do with it."
Daima didn't hesitate. He launched himself at Beerus with everything he had.
His fist connected.
Actually CONNECTED.
Beerus's head turned slightly from the impact—barely a millimeter, but it MOVED. The God of Destruction's eyes widened fractionally.
"Interesting," Beerus murmured.
Daima didn't stop to celebrate. He pressed the attack, throwing a rapid combination of punches and kicks that his muscle memory executed flawlessly. Jab, cross, hook, uppercut, spinning back kick—each strike landed, each impact sent tiny shockwaves rippling through the air.
Beerus blocked most of them with casual efficiency, but he was BLOCKING. Not ignoring. Not tanking without acknowledgment. Actually defending.
"He's... he's keeping up?" Krillin's voice was incredulous. "With Super Saiyan?!"
"That's impossible," Vegeta breathed. "When Kakarot fought Beerus on King Kai's planet, Super Saiyan 3 wasn't even enough to make him flinch. How is this child—"
"The energy output is different," Whis explained, watching the fight with keen interest. "Our Goku's Super Saiyan form at this point in time has a certain... ceiling. But this Daima's version seems to be operating on a higher baseline. It's as if the same transformation has been optimized for a different dimensional frequency."
Regular Goku was watching with stars in his eyes. "He's so COOL! Look at him go!"
Daima was thinking similar thoughts, but with considerably more panic underneath them.
I'm actually fighting Beerus. I'm actually HITTING Beerus. This is insane. This is absolutely insane. My arms are moving on their own and I'm somehow not dead yet.
The muscle memory is real. Daima Goku's combat instincts are actually carrying me.
But I can feel it—I'm not hurting him. I'm making contact, but there's no real damage. Super Saiyan isn't enough to actually FIGHT him. It's just enough to not get instantly obliterated.
Beerus caught one of Daima's punches, holding the small Saiyan's fist in his palm. "Not bad. For a warm-up. But I think we both know this level isn't going to cut it."
He flicked Daima in the forehead with one finger.
The impact sent Daima flying backward, crashing through three of Bulma's decorative hedges before he managed to stop himself in mid-air. His vision blurred, his head ringing.
Okay, ow. That HURT. A lot. But I'm not dead. I'm not even unconscious. In Super Saiyan.
Beerus one-shot Super Saiyan 3 Goku in canon. But Super Saiyan 1 Daima Goku just took a hit and I'm still standing.
The power scaling... it's REAL.
He shook off the cobwebs and grinned—a genuine, excited grin that felt strange on his face but also somehow natural.
"Alright," he called out, his voice steady despite the ringing in his ears. "Super Saiyan isn't enough. Time for level two."
Super Saiyan 2.
The transformation was like adding a nitro boost to an already powerful engine. Lightning crackled around Daima's golden aura, his hair growing more rigid and defined, his power output jumping dramatically.
He could FEEL the difference. Super Saiyan had been impressive. Super Saiyan 2 was on another level entirely.
"Round two," Daima said, launching himself at Beerus again.
This time, his punches had WEIGHT. Each impact forced Beerus to actually adjust his stance. The God of Destruction was still blocking easily, still utterly composed, but there was a new light in his eyes.
"Better," Beerus acknowledged, catching a kick and spinning Daima around. "Much better. You're actually making this interesting."
Daima recovered in mid-air, firing off a rapid barrage of ki blasts. Beerus batted them aside like they were annoying flies, but the explosions forced him to move—actually MOVE—to avoid the blasts he couldn't dismiss.
"His ki attacks are more refined too," Piccolo observed from the sidelines. "Each blast is compressed, efficient. No wasted energy. It's like someone designed them for maximum output with minimum expenditure."
That's because I spent hours analyzing the optimal ki attack patterns, Daima thought as he pressed his assault. Even if I didn't know I'd ever USE this information, I memorized it all. And now Daima Goku's body is executing techniques I only ever saw on screens.
He closed the distance, engaging Beerus in close combat. Their exchange was faster now, more intense. Daima could actually FOLLOW what was happening—his enhanced Super Saiyan 2 senses keeping up with the God of Destruction's movements.
He landed a solid punch to Beerus's midsection.
The God of Destruction grunted.
Actually GRUNTED.
"Did... did that hurt him?" Trunks whispered in disbelief.
"No," Whis said, though he was smiling. "But it did register. Which is quite impressive for this level of power."
Beerus's expression shifted from amusement to something more serious. "Alright, little one. You've proven Super Saiyan 2 is viable. Now show me what's next."
He moved faster than Daima could track.
One moment Beerus was in front of him. The next, a palm strike hit Daima's back, sending him hurtling toward the ground. He crashed into the tile, creating another crater, his Super Saiyan 2 aura flickering.
Okay. Okay. Still conscious. Still alive. Super Saiyan 2 let me actually fight him, but the gap is still too big.
Time for the big guns.
He pushed himself up, golden lightning still crackling around him.
"Super Saiyan 3," he announced.
The transformation HURT.
Even with Daima Goku's body being accustomed to this power, Super Saiyan 3 felt like holding a nuclear reactor inside your chest. Energy poured through him in overwhelming waves, his hair exploding outward and down past his waist, his brow ridge becoming more pronounced.
But the POWER—god, the power was incredible.
If Super Saiyan 2 had been a nitro boost, Super Saiyan 3 was strapping a rocket engine to his back. Every muscle in his small body was saturated with energy, every nerve firing at maximum capacity.
"Now THIS is more like it," Beerus said, his aura flaring to match. "Show me everything, little Saiyan!"
Daima didn't hold back.
He blitzed Beerus with everything Super Saiyan 3 had to offer. His attacks were faster, stronger, more devastating than anything he had thrown before. The shockwaves from their clashes shattered windows throughout West City. The ground beneath them cracked and cratered from the force of their exchanges.
And this time—THIS time—Daima was actually FIGHTING.
Not just surviving. Not just making contact. But engaging Beerus in legitimate combat.
I'm doing it, Daima realized as he traded blows with the God of Destruction. I'm actually fighting Beerus at a level that matters. Super Saiyan 3 Daima Goku is keeping up with the same Beerus who one-shot Super Saiyan 3 Super Goku.
My power scaling was RIGHT.
He pressed the attack, driving Beerus back with a relentless assault. The God of Destruction was still clearly stronger—his blocks were effortless, his counterattacks devastating—but he was ENGAGED. He was actually taking this seriously enough to put in effort.
"INCREDIBLE!" Regular Goku shouted from the sidelines, his fists pumping with excitement. "He's amazing! I wanna fight him SO bad!"
"Shut up, Kakarot," Vegeta snarled, but his voice was hollow. He was staring at the battle with an expression of barely suppressed fury and inadequacy. "How... how is this possible? He's a CHILD. Even with Super Saiyan 3, he shouldn't be at this level..."
"The dimensional variance," Whis repeated. "His power exists on a fundamentally different scale than ours. It's quite fascinating, really."
Beerus and Daima broke apart, both floating in mid-air. Daima was breathing hard—Super Saiyan 3's stamina drain was real, even in this body—but he was smiling.
"Impressive," Beerus admitted. "You've exceeded my expectations at every level so far. Super Saiyan 3 from your dimension is clearly superior to the local version." He cracked his neck, his aura intensifying. "But I'm still not using even ten percent of my power. You'll need more if you want to actually challenge me."
"Good thing I have more," Daima replied.
Super Saiyan 4. But not the adult version. Let's see what the mini version can do first.
He let go of Super Saiyan 3, feeling the relief as the immense energy drain faded. Then he reached for that different power—not the explosive ki-based Super Saiyan path, but the primal, biological Saiyan essence that powered Super Saiyan 4.
But this time, he didn't let it push him to adult form.
He stayed small.
Super Saiyan 4—Mini.
The transformation was WEIRD.
Red fur sprouted across his small body, covering his arms, chest, and back. His hair remained black but grew wilder, more untamed. His eyes shifted to gold with red outlines. A crimson aura blazed around him, but his body stayed child-sized.
He looked like a tiny red teddy bear with Goku's face.
But the POWER—the power was no joke.
"Oh my," Whis murmured, his eyes widening. "That's... unexpected."
"He looks ridiculous," Vegeta said flatly.
"He looks AWESOME!" Goten and Trunks chorused together.
Daima looked down at his small, fur-covered hands. This was the form he had seen in the Daima anime—the compact version of Super Saiyan 4 that retained the child body while accessing the primal Saiyan power. It felt different from the adult version he had shown earlier. More compressed. More focused.
Like a spring coiled to its absolute limit.
"A child's version of that form?" Beerus observed, intrigued. "Interesting choice. Why not use the adult transformation you showed earlier?"
"Because I want to see what THIS can do," Daima replied honestly. "I've got theories about how the power scales between the mini and adult versions. Time to test them."
He launched himself at Beerus.
The first punch sent Beerus sliding back three feet.
Actually SLIDING BACK.
"WHAT?!" Vegeta's composure finally shattered completely. "That's impossible! He's SMALLER now! How is he hitting HARDER?!"
"Compression," Whis said, his voice filled with academic excitement. "Oh, how delightful! The smaller form compresses the same amount of power into a smaller frame, resulting in denser energy output. It's less efficient for sustained combat, but each individual attack carries MORE force. Like comparing a sledgehammer to a jackhammer!"
Daima didn't have time to appreciate Whis's analysis. He was too busy fighting.
Mini Super Saiyan 4 was INTENSE. Every movement felt like he was pushing against immense resistance, his small body straining to contain the primal power flowing through it. But the results were undeniable—his attacks were hitting harder than Super Saiyan 3, his speed was at least comparable, and his energy reserves felt more stable.
Beerus was actually DEFENDING now. Not just blocking with casual dismissal, but actively working to counter Daima's assault.
"You're full of surprises," the God of Destruction admitted, catching one of Daima's punches and having to actually BRACE to stop the momentum. "I'm starting to see why you were so confident."
"I'm not confident," Daima admitted between attacks. "I'm terrified. But I'm also CURIOUS."
He ducked under a swipe from Beerus, landed a spinning kick to the deity's midsection, and followed up with a point-blank ki blast that actually pushed Beerus back.
"I spent my whole life—my previous life—arguing about power levels and transformations," Daima continued, not even sure why he was talking but unable to stop. "I made spreadsheets. I analyzed frame data. I calculated multipliers and scaling ratios. Everyone said I was wasting my time. Everyone said it didn't matter."
He launched a furious combination, his small form blurring with speed.
"BUT IT DOES MATTER! EVERY PUNCH I'M THROWING RIGHT NOW PROVES THAT IT MATTERS!"
Beerus caught his final strike, holding Daima in mid-air by his tiny fist.
"You're a strange one," the God of Destruction observed. "Most warriors fight for pride, or survival, or to protect others. You fight to... prove a mathematical hypothesis?"
Daima met his eyes without flinching.
"Yes. Is that wrong?"
Beerus stared at him for a long moment. Then he burst out laughing.
"WRONG?! It's HILARIOUS! I haven't met anyone this entertaining in CENTURIES!" He released Daima's fist, floating back with a genuine smile. "Alright, little power scaler. You've earned my respect with these lower forms. Now..." His aura flared, purple energy crackling around him like contained lightning. "...show me the adult version of that transformation. Show me EVERYTHING you have."
Daima landed on the ground, his Mini Super Saiyan 4 form still blazing around him. He was breathing hard now, the sustained combat taking its toll. But he wasn't done. Not even close.
He looked over at Regular Goku, who was watching with an expression of pure, innocent excitement. Then at Vegeta, whose face was a mask of conflicted emotions. Then at Gohan, Piccolo, Krillin, and everyone else who had gathered to witness this insane moment.
They're all watching, Daima realized. Every person I spent years watching on screens is now watching ME.
And I'm about to go Plus Ultra. Wait, wrong anime. I'm about to go Beyond Super Saiyan.
He let go of Mini Super Saiyan 4, feeling the compressed power decompress as his fur receded.
Then he reached for the full transformation.
Adult Super Saiyan 4. Maximum power. Everything I've got.
Time to see if Daima Goku can really fight a God.
The transformation exploded outward, and Daima felt his body grow once again—