Dragon Ball: I Became Cell in a Doomed Future

Logically, with Trunks protecting Bulma, the two of them could have continued living comfortably in their home. There was no reason for them to move out, unless something terrible had happened on Earth that forced them to leave.

The young man frowned at the thought.

Whoosh.

In the blink of an eye, he reappeared in front of the gang leader.

Seeing his expression, the gang leader was instantly terrified. His legs turned to jelly, and this time, he collapsed completely onto the ground.

"Has another terrifying monster appeared on Earth?"

"Y-Yes!" The gang leader's lips trembled as he struggled to explain where to even begin.

"Is it someone called Babidi? Or Dabura?"

"Yes, yes, exactly! Those two! You must've seen them that day too, right?" The gang leader sensed something was off but couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"What did I see?"

A hint of worry flashed across the young man's face. It seemed he'd arrived a little too late and had already missed something important.

And worse, Babidi and Dabura had shown up much earlier in this timeline than he remembered.

"We all saw it. That Babidi guy announced he was going to hold a Martial Arts Tournament, threatening the entire world to participate. He said he'd destroy the Earth if we didn't comply!"

As the gang leader explained, he kept sneaking glances at the young man, feeling increasingly uneasy.

Hearing this, the young man's brows furrowed even tighter.

Not only had they appeared earlier, but Babidi's tactics were also completely different from what he remembered.

Though, a tournament was indeed a perfect way to quickly harvest the energy needed to resurrect Majin Buu.

I can't let his plan succeed.

At his current strength, he was confident he could take down Dabura.

If those two showed up again, he was certain he could kill them on the spot.

After confirming the time and location of the tournament, he allowed the gang leader's group to leave.

Seeing his companion's troubled expression, the long-haired girl beside him looked worried.

"Trunks, should we try contacting the Supreme Kai and tell him what's happening on Earth?"

The young man was none other than Future Trunks, the Trunks who had lived through the Cell Games and the nightmare of Zamasu's Human Extermination Plan.

His companion was Mai, one of the last survivors of their timeline.

After everything they endured in the Zamasu arc, they'd lost their original world.

They could have stayed peacefully in the main timeline, but because of some careless comments made by Gohan, they chose to return to the past, to a time before Dabura and Zamasu appeared.

Even now, Trunks still felt a sharp ache in his heart whenever he remembered Gohan's words.

"Future Trunks must have built a safe and peaceful world, right?"

"If I ever get the chance, I'd love to visit that world he saved."

"And it would be so nice to meet Future Bulma."

Every word from Gohan had been like a dagger straight into his already broken heart.

Gohan probably hadn't meant anything by it, but Trunks had made up his mind.

This time… I will not let you down, Gohan.

In his mind, the image of a one-armed man's resolute back lingered.

"Mai, the Supreme Kai must be watching Babidi. When the time comes, he'll show up. Besides, we don't even know how to contact him right now."

"For now, let's focus on finding my mother and the other me."

A bitter smile crept onto Trunks' face.

Spirit Room of Time

Two figures blurred, light and shadow twisting as the sound of violent impacts echoed through the space.

Boom.

After a fierce collision, they separated.

"Bulma, take this, Prince's Barrage!"

Levos fired rapid energy blasts, palms thrusting forward in a flurry so fast they were nearly invisible.

"Ah-dah-dah-dah."

In an instant, countless energy blasts wove into a massive net, sweeping toward Bulma.

"Ugh! Not this move again!" came Bulma's exasperated shout from within the thick smoke.

"Just admit it! Once I gain some distance, I can rain down endless energy blasts until you run out of stamina!"

Levos was smug.

When it came to combat talent, of course someone who'd seen the entire Dragon Ball script had the upper hand.

Even a genius like Bulma could only be his stepping stone.

"You seem to have forgotten. I have the same energy you do! Plus, I've already learned all your tricks!"

Bulma snorted coldly and fired back the exact same barrage.

The two launched into a classic Dragon Ball energy duel, neither able to gain the upper hand.

The endurance of their android bodies was simply insane.

At this rate, they could probably keep this up for days without stopping.

Their bodies wouldn't tire, but their eyes would eventually suffer from visual fatigue.

Just as Levos was starting to lower his guard, Bulma suddenly unleashed a rapid burst of energy blasts, much denser than before.

His pupils shrank.

She had been conserving her energy, just like him, and hit him with the move he was preparing to use.

Boom boom boom.

Countless blasts hammered against Levos' energy shield, the deafening explosions reverberating through the air.

"Hah!"

As Levos was caught off guard, Bulma burst through the smoke and landed a fierce punch on his shield.

The barrier shattered instantly, and Levos quickly retreated, firing off two quick energy blasts to force her back.

"Not bad. This time, I won't hold back."

Levos praised her as he landed, taking a solid stance.

"Kame hame ha!"

Even though Bulma desperately tried to disrupt him with energy blasts, she couldn't stop the release of the signature Turtle School technique.

A massive, pale-blue beam erupted from Levos' palms.

"Shield!" Bulma quickly raised a spherical energy barrier.

Rumble.

The entire space trembled, the violent beam illuminating everything.

Bulma gritted her teeth and held on for a full minute before finally calling off the match.

"Enough, enough! I give up!" she shouted.

Levos immediately stopped, grinning. "So, another draw?"

"Of course! Our record stands, ten fights, ten draws!" Bulma's defiant voice rang out.

Their maximum power outputs were identical, their attacks nearly perfectly matched.

And since their energy regeneration outpaced their consumption, they essentially had infinite stamina.

Under normal circumstances, no amount of fighting would ever produce a winner.

But Levos was a Dragon Ball veteran. Whether it was replicating moves or creating new fighting styles, he always had the edge.

If he still couldn't beat Bulma, that would be way too embarrassing.

The problem was, every time Bulma was about to lose, she would immediately call for a draw.

And her reasons were completely solid. Levos couldn't argue.

Back when he watched Dragon Ball, Levos had always felt something was off. How were their clothes always so durable, barely ever tearing in battle?

Well, that little plot armor was officially gone.

His own clothes had long since been obliterated in their first sparring match.

The ones he was wearing now were already replacements, and even those had been changed multiple times.

Bulma's situation was even worse.

Going shirtless was no big deal for Levos, but definitely not for Bulma.

Their matches always ended when one of their outfits fell apart.

Which meant Levos would end up covering his face and muttering "I didn't see anything, I didn't see anything…"

Bulma fully exploited this loophole, forcing Levos to admit every match was a draw.

That, in the end, was the real reason why they could never settle their score.