Above the ruins, the long-forgotten sunlight felt almost blinding.
Trunks stood frozen in place, gripping his battered sword so tightly that his knuckles turned white. The blade was chipped beyond repair, and his entire body trembled uncontrollably.
They had won.
The two demons who had haunted humanity for over a decade...
Were gone.
There had been no earth-shattering final clash.
No desperate last stand.
Only a completely one-sided beating.
The suffocating evil auras that had blanketed the world for years had vanished completely.
All that remained was the smell of smoke... and the faint scent of blood lingering in the air.
"Gohan..."
Trunks slowly dropped to his knees.
His knees slammed into the broken stones, but he couldn't feel the pain.
His vision blurred as tears streamed down his face, splashing into the ash-covered earth.
Memories flooded back like a tidal wave.
The young man who had lost an arm...
Whose body was covered in scars...
Yet still smiled at him with warmth.
The older brother who had knocked him unconscious on that rainy night...
Then walked alone to face death.
"Trunks... you have to live."
"You are our last hope."
Those words had become the only reason he had survived this hellish world.
Every brutal training session until his muscles tore...
Every battle on the edge of death...
Every nightmare that jolted him awake...
He always saw that lonely figure standing before him.
"Gohan..."
"You saw it, didn't you?"
Trunks buried his face in the dirt as his voice broke.
Then he completely lost control and burst into tears.
"We won!"
"We really won!"
"The Android who killed you..."
"He died like a beaten dog!"
"And Android 18... she was..."
As he spoke, the image of Krillin stuffing Android 18 into a Capsule flashed through his mind.
His sobbing paused awkwardly for a second.
Then grief overwhelmed him again.
"Now everyone can finally rest in peace..."
Goku scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
Looking at Trunks crying his heart out, he wanted to comfort him.
But he had no idea what to say.
Despite being a Saiyan, Goku had never been good at handling delicate emotions.
"He's been holding everything in for far too long."
Piccolo looked at the kneeling teenager.
For once, his usually stern expression softened.
He walked over without saying a word.
Instead, he simply placed his green hand firmly on Trunks' shoulder.
It was silent acknowledgment.
And silent comfort from someone who cared.
Trunks looked up through tear-filled eyes.
The Piccolo of this timeline had died long ago.
Yet this Piccolo still carried that same familiar blend of strictness and kindness.
"Uncle Piccolo..."
"What are you crying for?"
"Stand up like a man."
Piccolo's voice remained calm, but it carried reassuring strength.
"Now that you've survived, you have to carry the wishes of the dead."
"Rebuild this world."
"That's what Gohan would have wanted."
Trunks wiped away his tears with all his strength and nodded repeatedly.
"Yes!"
He took a deep breath, calming himself before turning toward Krillin, who was casually drinking a can of cola, and Vegeta, who stood nearby with an awkward expression.
"Thank you... all of you."
"If it weren't for everyone here..."
"I don't think this world would ever have seen another dawn."
He bowed deeply.
This bow came straight from the heart.
Krillin waved a hand dismissively before tossing the empty soda can into his System Storage.
"No need to be so formal."
"We're family, remember?"
"Besides..."
"I got a pretty good reward out of this trip."
He patted the Capsule in his pocket and grinned like a fox that had just stolen a chicken.
Trunks twitched at the corner of his mouth.
Choosing to ignore the Capsule that contained Android 18, he changed the subject.
"Well..."
"If you don't mind..."
"Would everyone come to our shelter?"
"I know Mom would be thrilled to see all of you."
"Mom..."
The silent Vegeta suddenly stiffened.
See... who?
We're going to see her now?
That woman Krillin stole from me?
He suddenly felt like the imaginary green hat on his head had grown ten stories tall.
"I'm not going!"
Vegeta blurted out with a dark expression.
"That kind of pointless thing..."
"Now that the enemies are dead, I'm going back."
"And... and I'm not interested in seeing this future world!"
He gritted his teeth, his eyes darting everywhere except toward Trunks.
"Hahaha! What's there to be afraid of?"
Krillin laughed from the side, his face full of mischief.
"The mighty Prince of all Saiyans."
"Too scared to meet a woman?"
"What are you worried about?"
Well, it was understandable.
Having someone else "steal your future wife" wasn't exactly easy to process.
Vegeta wasn't Yamcha, after all.
"Shut up, Baldy!"
Vegeta exploded, veins bulging across his forehead.
"Who said I'm scared?!"
"I just... don't think it's necessary!"
"Oh?"
"Then why are your legs shaking?"
Krillin pointed at Vegeta's trembling boots.
"That's... muscle fatigue after battle!"
"I see..."
"So one-shotting a piece of trash is enough to make your muscles shake?"
"Looks like your training still isn't good enough."
"You...!"
Vegeta's face turned green with rage.
He wanted nothing more than to blast Krillin with a Galick Gun.
But Krillin wasn't wrong.
He really was a little nervous.
If it were a battle...
Even against someone ten times stronger...
He would charge in without hesitation.
But this...
This was something else entirely.
"Actually..."
Krillin put away his teasing smile and became serious.
"I don't think we should go."
"At least not yet."
"We've got something much more important to deal with first."
"Something more important?"
Trunks asked in confusion.
Krillin pointed toward the devastated landscape stretching in every direction.
"The Androids are dead."
"But this mess is still here."
"Rebuilding cities."
"Restoring nature."
"Do you know how long that would take with only the handful of survivors left?"
Trunks' eyes dimmed.
"You're right..."
"This world has been damaged beyond recognition."
"And Earth's Dragon Balls are gone."
"Restoring everything..."
"It seems impossible..."
"Who said there aren't any Dragon Balls?"
Krillin raised an eyebrow.
"Huh?"
"The Guardian of Earth died, so Earth's Dragon Balls became useless."
"But Earth isn't the only planet in the universe with Dragon Balls."
He snapped his fingers.
"Namek still has them."
Trunks' eyes instantly lit up.
It was as if someone had thrown him a lifeline.
"That's right!"
"Namek!"
"How did I never think of that?"
"If we can find the Namekians, we can use their Dragon Balls to revive everyone!"
His excitement faded just as quickly.
"But..."
"No one knows where New Namek is."
"After Frieza destroyed Planet Namek, nobody ever saw them again."
"The universe is far too vast."
"Without coordinates..."
"We'll never find it."
Krillin rubbed his bald head.
He knew New Namek existed from the original story.
Unfortunately...
He had no idea where it actually was.
"Well..."
Piccolo suddenly cleared his throat.
Everyone turned to look at him.
He looked slightly uncomfortable.
Raising two fingers to his forehead, the antennae atop his head twitched gently.
"I..."
"I think..."
"I might be able to find it."
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