The entrance hall of the King of Hell's palace fell silent as Toji faced the Three Heavenly Kings.
Golden chains clinked softly around his limbs as he surveyed his opponents, the mechanical breathing of his helmet filling the vast space with its steady rhythm.
In... out. In... out.
Satan observed from a distance, his features revealing nothing as his amber eyes tracked every movement.
The golden chains binding his own wrists glinted in Hell's crimson light as he leaned against a pillar, the very picture of casual interest.
"The Duskborn faces our champions," Satan murmured to himself, a hint of amusement coloring his voice. "How... entertaining."
The Three Kings had positioned themselves in their practiced triangular formation – Cooler at the apex, Raditz and King Piccolo forming the base.
It was a position they had perfected over countless battles against Satan, designed to trap opponents in a deadly crossfire.
Toji stood relaxed despite his chains, his posture betraying no concern. The mechanical breathing continued its steady rhythm as he studied the Kings.
"I'll make this simple," Toji stated, his modulated voice echoing through the hall. "Step aside, and you live. Stay, and you don't."
Cooler's bio-gems pulsed with crimson light as he scoffed. "Your arrogance is remarkable, even by mortal standards. Do you truly believe you can defeat the three of us simultaneously?"
"I don't believe it," Toji replied calmly. "I know it."
Cooler's eyes narrowed as he raised a single finger, a pinpoint of deadly energy forming at its tip. "Allow me to educate you on the difference between belief and reality."
A barrage of Death Beams erupted from Cooler's finger, each one precisely aimed at Toji's vital points. The crimson beams cut through the air, fast enough that most beings couldn't even track them.
Toji used his black lightsaber to block. The obsidian blade hummed as he moved it in a series of arcs, deflecting each Death Beam. The redirected beams struck the palace walls, carving smoking furrows into the ancient stone.
"Is that all?" Toji asked, his tone almost bored.
Without waiting for a response, he flicked his free hand toward King Piccolo. Chunks of debris from the damaged walls hurtled through the air. The green giant was forced to dodge, disrupting the Kings' carefully maintained formation.
Raditz seized the opening, charging forward with his shadow-like hair extending into weapon-like tendrils. "Die, human filth!" he roared, the shadowy extensions slashing at Toji from multiple angles.
Toji deactivated his lightsaber and dropped into a crouch. As Raditz's attack passed overhead, Toji executed a perfect spinning kick that caught the Saiyan squarely in the midsection.
The impact sent Raditz flying backward, crashing through one of the massive pillars supporting the hall.
"Predictable," Toji commented, rising smoothly to his feet. "Your brother has better technique, and he was raised on Earth without any Saiyan training."
Raditz's face contorted with rage as he extracted himself from the rubble. "Don't you dare compare me to that weakling Kakarot!"
"Why not?" Toji asked, his head tilting slightly. "He's stronger than you. Smarter than you. Better than you in every way that matters. Must be difficult, knowing your little brother surpassed you so completely."
Raditz's hair began to writhe more violently, his power visibly increasing as his anger grew. "Shut up! SHUT UP!"
King Piccolo stepped forward, his third eye glowing ominously. "The great Demon King Piccolo shall silence this insolent worm! Your soul will feed my power for eternity! Bwahaha!"
"Still with the third-person references?" Toji sighed, the sound distorted through his vocoder. "You know, your son eventually grew out of that. I guess some demons just can't evolve."
King Piccolo's face twisted with fury. "How dare you compare me to that weakling! That... that disappointment is nothing but a pale shadow of my greatness!"
"Actually," Toji countered, "he's everything you could have been if you weren't so obsessed with your own ego. He's stronger, wiser, and actually has friends. Meanwhile, you're stuck here, playing second fiddle to a frost demon with daddy issues."
Cooler's eyes narrowed dangerously at the insult. "You speak of issues with fathers? How amusing, considering your own father abandoned you and your mother to poverty."
"Oh yes," he continued with a smirk behind his face mask, "I have heard all about the tragedy of the 'oh so great' Lord Duskborn. The abandoned boy, who sacrificed all for a mother who still died and left him all alone. Too weak to even take vengeance on his own father."
Toji remained unnervingly still, his breathing never faltering. "Is that the best you can do? Bringing up childhood trauma? Amateur hour."
He turned his attention back to Cooler. "Speaking of daddy issues, how does it feel knowing your father always favored your sister? The second child, yet she got the better territories, the bigger army, more of daddy's attention. Must have been hard, always being the disappointing eldest."
Cooler's composed expression cracked slightly. "You know nothing of my family dynamics."
"I know enough," Toji replied. "I know Freeza was born with a power level of 120 million while you had to train to reach her and yet still she always kept up. I know your father gave her the prime territories while you got the leftovers. I know that no matter what you accomplished, it was never enough to earn daddy's approval."
The three Kings launched their attacks simultaneously, their coordination momentarily restored by shared rage.
Cooler unleashed a barrage of energy discs that curved through the air. King Piccolo fired a massive beam from his third eye, while Raditz hurled ki-infused hair-weapons from all directions.
Toji dodged with ease, his body flowing between the attacks like water. He deflected Cooler's discs with precise swings of his lightsaber, redirecting them toward King Piccolo's beam where they exploded in a shower of energy.
As Raditz's hair-weapons closed in, Toji created a telekinetic shockwave that sent them scattering in all directions.
"My turn," Toji said quietly.
He launched himself toward Cooler, his lightsaber carving a black arc through the air. Cooler dodged backward, as he countered with a roundhouse kick aimed at Toji's head.
Toji caught Cooler's ankle with his free hand, using the frost demon's momentum to flip him through the air. Before Cooler could recover, Toji slammed him into the ground with enough force to crack the obsidian floor.
"You know what's interesting about you, Cooler?" Toji asked conversationally as he dodged a desperate punch. "You're actually the most intelligent of the Cold family. More strategic than Freeza, more forward-thinking than your father. Yet somehow, you're the least successful."
Cooler snarled with rage as he created distance between them. "My achievements speak for themselves. I ruled the Eastern Quadrant with efficiency your primitive mind cannot comprehend."
"And yet," Toji continued, "here you are, dead and serving as a glorified enforcer in Hell. Meanwhile, your sister is still alive, ruling alongside my son, who will inherit everything you built. Funny how things work out, isn't it?"
Cooler's composure shattered completely. "Supernova Evolution!" he roared, raising his hand skyward. A massive sphere of energy formed above him, growing rapidly until it dwarfed everything in the hall. The ball pulsed with enough power to destroy an entire galaxy.
"This attack destroyed countless worlds!" Cooler declared, his voice trembling with rage. "Let's see if it can erase a anomaly as well!"
He hurled the massive energy sphere downward with all his might. The attack moved fast, the air itself seeming to warp around its power.
Toji deactivated his lightsaber and raised his hand. The Supernova Evolution struck his palm and... stopped.
The massive sphere of energy remained suspended against his outstretched hand, its force contained by Toji's will.
"Impressive," Toji acknowledged, studying the attack as if examining an interesting specimen. "Your power has definitely increased since your death. But still..."
With a casual flick of his wrist, Toji redirected the Supernova upward. It crashed against the Palace, and went through the upper part of it, continuing into Hell's crimson sky where it eventually dissipated harmlessly.
Before Cooler could react, Toji closed the distance between them with blinding speed. His telekinesis immobilized Cooler's limbs as he landed a series ofstrikes against the frost demon's bio-gems.
Each impact created spider-web cracks across the glowing surfaces.
"You're intelligent, Cooler," Toji said as he systematically damaged each gem. "But intelligence without wisdom is just another form of stupidity."
Cooler struggled against the invisible bonds, his eyes wide with disbelief. "This is impossible! You're chained by Heaven itself!"
"Heaven's chains bind my power," Toji agreed, "not my will."
A thunderous impact shook the hall as King Piccolo slammed into Toji from behind, his massive fist connecting with Toji's back.
The blow would have shattered worlds, yet Toji merely staggered forward a step before regaining his balance.
"The great Demon King Piccolo strikes from the shadows!" the green giant boasted, his third eye glowing brightly. "Your defeat is inevitable! Bwahaha!"
"You know," Toji said, turning to face the Namekian, "that laugh is really starting to get on my nerves."
King Piccolo grew larger, his body expanding until he towered nearly twenty feet tall. His third eye pulsed with energy as he studied Toji's movements. "The great Demon King Piccolo sees all! Your next move is already known to me!"
Toji feinted left, then right, watching as King Piccolo's third eye tracked each movement. The Namekian's confidence grew with each successful prediction, his massive form shifting to counter Toji's apparent strategy.
Then Toji did something unexpected – he stopped moving entirely. The mechanical breathing continued steadily as he simply stood, making no attempt to attack or defend.
King Piccolo's third eye darted frantically, trying to anticipate what wasn't coming. "What trickery is this?" he demanded, his confidence wavering.
"No trick," Toji replied. "Just an observation. Your third eye can predict physical movement, but it can't see intent. It's a fancy tool in the hands of someone who doesn't know how to use it properly."
Without warning, Toji unleashed a blast of telekineses that King Piccolo couldn't predict. Invisible force slammed into the Namekian from multiple angles simultaneously, causing him to stagger backward.
"The great... Demon King... will not be... defeated so easily!" King Piccolo gasped, purple blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. He raised his hands, acid dripping from his claws as he prepared his next attack.
A wave of corrosive liquid erupted from his palms, surging toward Toji like a tsunami of destruction. The acid sizzled through the air, dissolving everything it touched.
Toji created a telekinetic shield, the acid splashing harmlessly against the invisible barrier. "Acid attacks? Really? That's the best the 'great' Demon King can manage?"
"Do not mock the great Demon King Piccolo!" the Namekian roared, his attacks growing increasingly erratic.
"Why not? You make it so easy," Toji replied. "Always referring to yourself in the third person like some cartoon villain. 'The great Demon King Piccolo' this, 'the great Demon King Piccolo' that. It's pathetic."
King Piccolo's attacks became wilder, his massive form trembling with rage. "I am the Demon King! The rightful ruler of Earth! The most powerful Namekian to ever exist!"
"You're none of those things," Toji countered calmly. "You're not even the most powerful Namekian at this point in time. That would be Piccolo Jr. – you know, your great son, the guy who's actually alive and protecting Earth instead of rotting in Hell. One who actually learned from his father's stupidity."
As King Piccolo roared in fury, Toji made his move. He fired a ki blast directly at the third eye, striking it with unerring accuracy. The eye burst in a spray of purple blood, causing the Namekian to howl in agony.
"MY EYE! THE GREAT DEMON KING'S EYE!"
"Still with the third person," Toji sighed. "You really never learn."
A green blur suddenly filled Toji's vision as Raditz launched himself forward, his power noticeably greater than before. The Saiyan's fist connected with Toji's helmet, actually forcing him back several steps.
"Interesting," Toji murmured, genuinely surprised by the increased strength behind the blow. "You're getting stronger."
Raditz grinned savagely, green ki flickering around his form. "That's right, human! My power grows like the great Saiyan I am! Soon I'll surpass even you!"
Toji studied the Saiyan with newfound interest. The green energy surrounding Raditz seemed familiar somehow – reminiscent of... Broly.
"Let's test that theory," Toji decided, deliberately lowering his guard.
Raditz didn't waste the opening. He unleashed a flurry of punches and kicks, each strike carrying more power than the last. The shadow-like extensions of his hair formed additional limbs, attacking from multiple angles simultaneously.
Toji blocked or deflected most of the blows, but allowed a few to connect, gauging the increasing power behind each impact.
There was something unusual happening with Raditz's ki – it wasn't just growing stronger, but changing in quality, becoming wilder and more chaotic.
'His power level is rising dramatically,' Toji noted internally. 'Started around 65 trillion, now approaching 85 trillion. This isn't a normal Zenkai boost or rage enhancement. Something else is happening here.'
"What's wrong, human?" Raditz taunted, his confidence growing with his power. "Not so arrogant now, are you?"
"Just curious," Toji replied honestly. "Your power is increasing in a way that shouldn't be possible for well, you. You're a nobody, and yet, It's almost like..."
He didn't finish the thought, instead choosing to observe as Raditz's power continued to climb. The green energy surrounding the Saiyan intensified, his hair writhing more violently as his muscles expanded.
Satan watched from the sidelines, a small smile playing across his perfect features. 'So he's noticed,' the fallen creator thought. 'Clever little boundary-breaker.'
Cooler had recovered enough to rejoin the fight, though his not healing injuries limited his power. "Don't just stand there!" he shouted at King Piccolo, who was still clutching his ruined third eye. "Attack together!"
The three Kings converged on Toji from different angles, their attacks synchronized.
Cooler launched strikes aimed at vital points, King Piccolo unleashed waves of Ki, and Raditz attacked with more and more powerful blows.
Toji shifted his strategy, as he with grace countered all three simultaneously. His lightsaber became a blur of black energy, deflecting Cooler's attacks while he used telekinesis to redirect King Piccolo's energy waves.
Against Raditz, he employed physical counters, using the Saiyan's own momentum against him.
"You fight well together," Toji acknowledged. "But there's a fundamental flaw in your approach."
"And what might that be?" Cooler asked, barely avoiding a telekinetic grip aimed at his throat.
"You don't trust each other," Toji explained, parrying a strike from Raditz while simultaneously forcing King Piccolo back with a telekinetic push. "Cooler thinks he's superior to both of you. King Piccolo believes he should be in charge. And Raditz..."
He paused, studying the Saiyan whose power level had now reached approximately 100 trillion. "Raditz just wants to prove he matters. That he's not just Goku's forgotten brother or Bardock's disappointing son."
"SHUT UP!" Raditz roared, his power spiking dramatically as green energy erupted around him. "I AM RADITZ, FIRSTBORN OF BARDOCK! I AM THE TRUE SAIYAN WARRIOR!"
The outburst sent a shockwave through the hall, forcing even Cooler and King Piccolo to brace themselves. Raditz's hair had become like living flame, writhing and lashing with emerald energy.
"Fascinating," Toji murmured, watching as Raditz's power level climbed past 110 trillion. "There's definitely something of the Legendary Super Saiyan in you. Not the full transformation, you're a nobody after all, but a fragment of that power."
Raditz charged forward, his speed and strength dramatically increased. His fist connected with Toji's chest, actually forcing the dark warrior back several paces. "I'll show you a nobody!" he snarled, following up with a barrage of strikes that grew increasingly difficult to fully block.
As Raditz's power approached 120 trillion – approximately half of Toji's own – the dark warrior decided it was time to end the experiment. The Saiyan's uncontrolled growth could potentially become problematic if allowed to continue.
"You've impressed me, Raditz," Toji said, his mechanical breathing steady despite the intensity of the combat. "That's more than I expected. But this ends now."
Toji suddenly increased the intensity with which he fought, moving with speed and precision that made his previous fighting seem casual by comparison.
He slipped past Raditz's guard and landed a palm strike to the solar plexus, an elbow to the temple, and a spinning kick that sent the Saiyan flying across the hall.
Before Raditz could recover, Toji was there, grabbing him by the throat and lifting him off the ground. "Your power is impressive, but uncontrolled. You lack discipline, strategy, and purpose."
With a casual toss, he hurled Raditz toward Cooler and King Piccolo, forcing them to scatter. As the three Kings regrouped, Toji went on the offensive, moving between them.
He systematically dismantled Cooler's defenses, targeting the frost demon's already damaged bio-gems with precise strikes. Each blow further cracked them, injuring Cooler more, limiting his ability to maintain his power output.
(For injuries weaken one's power level.)
"You were right about one thing, Cooler," Toji said as he landed a particularly devastating blow to the central bio-gem on Cooler's chest- remembering Cooler's taunt on Namek when he said the older brother should protect his sister.
"Family is important. That's why I'm not going to erase you from existence. Your father might want you back someday."
Cooler collapsed to one knee, his bio-gems flickering weakly as he struggled to maintain consciousness. "You... you think my father cares? He... he left me here to rot..."
"Perhaps," Toji acknowledged. "But that's between you and him. My business is with Mereum, not the drama between you two. You may now be my brother-in-law, but I'm really not in the mood to deal with you two's issues."
King Piccolo attempted to take advantage of the momentary distraction, launching himself at Toji with acid dripping from his claws. "The great Demon King Piccolo strikes!"
Toji didn't even turn to look. His telekinesis caught the Namekian in mid-air, holding him suspended. "You know what I wonder?" Toji asked conversationally. "What would happen if I take you out of here and Piccolo Jr. absorbed you? Would your evil corrupt him, or would his growth purify you?"
With that question hanging in the air, Toji slammed King Piccolo repeatedly into the palace walls, each impact creating a crater in the stone.
The Namekian's remarkable regenerative abilities struggled to keep pace with the damage, purple blood spattering across the floor with each collision.
"Perhaps we'll find out someday," Toji continued, finally releasing his telekinetic grip. King Piccolo fell to the floor in a broken heap, his body twitching as it attempted to heal.
Raditz, having recovered from the earlier assault, charged forward with a primal roar. His power had continued to increase, now approaching 125 trillion.
The green energy surrounding him had intensified, giving his attacks an almost corrosive quality.
Toji met the berserker charge head-on, matching Raditz's wild attacks with precise counters. Despite the Saiyan's growing power, the gap in skill remained insurmountable.
"You have potential, Raditz," Toji acknowledged as he deflected a particularly vicious punch. "More than anyone gave you credit for. But you're still just a nobody- unworthy of the stolen bit of power put into you. You aren't the Messiah of the Saiyans, just a mindless monkey."
With speed faster than anyone there could see, Toji launched a palm strike to the chest, an elbow to the jaw, a knee to the abdomen, and finally a spinning back kick that sent Raditz crashing to the ground. Before the Saiyan could recover, Toji was upon him.
Toji hoisted Raditz overhead, raising him above his head. The Saiyan struggled, but Toji's grip was unbreakable. With deliberate slowness, Toji brought Raditz down across his knee, the impact creating a sickening crack as Raditz's spine broke.
The green energy surrounding Raditz flickered and dimmed as he screamed in agony. Toji tossed the broken Saiyan aside, his body landing in a crumpled heap near his defeated comrades.
"It's over," Toji declared, turning toward Satan who had observed the entire battle. "Tell Mereum I'm coming for him next."
Satan bowed with perfect subservience, though his amber eyes gleamed with something unreadable. "This servant shall deliver your message, challenger."
As Toji turned away from the defeated Kings, a sound stopped him – a pained groan followed by labored breathing. Raditz's body had begun to pulse with intensifying green energy, the broken Saiyan emitting primal roars of pain and rage.
"Interesting," Toji murmured, turning back to observe the phenomenon. "Your power is still increasing despite your injuries. You may be a 3rd rate copy, and a fourth rate warrior, but you do have a fragment of a Legend's power."
"You aren't the Legend yourself, not even close, I can see the cells attacking you, rejecting you, destroying you, but it's still something I suppose."
The palace floor began to tremble beneath their feet, cracks spreading outward from Raditz's prone form. His roars grew louder, deeper, more bestial with each passing second.
Toji remained unconcerned.
Then, a second roar suddenly joined the first, surprising everyone – this one emanating from deep beneath the palace, a sound so primal and powerful that it shook the very foundations of Hell itself.
The Axis Mundi tree at the center of the hall began to crack, ancient wood splitting as something stirred below.
The floor near the sacred tree exploded upward as a massive golden-furred hand punched through, each finger the size of a man. The hand slammed down onto the palace floor, claws digging into the stone as it began to pull something enormous upward.
Two enormous red eyes gleamed from the darkness below, filled with primal rage and unfathomable power.
With a deafening roar that shook Hell to its core, a Golden Oozaru burst through the floor, its massive form dwarfing everything in the hall.
Satan's expression shifted from calculated observation to genuine concern as the massive creature emerged. For the first time since Toji had entered the palace, the perfect servant looked truly worried.
The Golden Oozaru's roar echoed through Hell, sending a shockwave that sent all but Toji and Satan flying.
Toji's eyes behind his helmet were wide, as his raised head gazed upon the massive creature.
"Okay... Shit."
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(Author note: Hello everyone! I hope you all enjoyed the chapter!
Do tell me how you found it- I hope the fight was entertaining.
So, the Golden Oozaru is finally free, do tell me what you think will happen.
Can Toji face this Ancient Saiyan and win?
Well, I hope to see you all next chapter,
Bye!)