*****
100G Mountain,
Area 7 boasted the largest landmass of any continent on the planet—an incredible 840 million square kilometers.
Yet right now, the attention of nearly every living creature on the continent has shifted toward a single direction.
They could all feel it.
A power capable of disrupting the very ecosystem of the continent had appeared.
And it wasn't only the creatures of Area 7 that sensed it.
Even Heracles, the other Eight Kings in their respective territories, and numerous powerful individuals scattered across the planet turned their attention toward Area 7.
Whatever was happening there was powerful enough to make even the strongest beings in the world take notice.
Meanwhile—
Back at 100G Mountain.
The mountain had fallen completely silent.
Lev stood motionless beneath the immense gravitational pressure, facing Bambina.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then—
His fists clenched.
His head lowered.
A tremor ran through his body.
At first, it was barely noticeable.
A faint vibration beneath his skin, as though something deep within him had begun to awaken.
Lev's breathing grew heavier.
His muscles tightened as an immense pressure began building inside his body.
The ground beneath his feet began to crack.
Tiny stones and fragments of bone rose from the earth as the overwhelming force radiating from Lev seemed to disrupt even the surrounding gravity.
His eyes widened.
Then narrowed.
His teeth clenched as he struggled to contain the overwhelming rage surging through his body.
The air suddenly changed.
And then—
Lev screamed.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
BOOM!
A tremendous shockwave erupted from his body.
Dust and debris were blasted away in every direction.
His black hair began to rise.
One strand after another lifted from his forehead, standing rigidly upward as an invisible force surrounded his body.
His entire body trembled violently.
Then—
His hair began to change.
The familiar black gradually gave way to a brilliant golden hue.
His eyebrows followed.
His eyes shifted from their usual dark color into a sharp, piercing turquoise.
Golden energy suddenly exploded from his body.
Lev's scream grew even louder.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
His aura surged violently toward the sky.
Then—
FWOOOOOOOSH!
A towering golden aura engulfed him, roaring like a living flame.
It surged into the sky, illuminating the surrounding landscape beneath its radiance.
The earth beneath Lev's feet shattered.
Cracks raced across the ground as his power continued to rise.
The pressure became suffocating.
Mountains trembled.
The sky itself seemed to recoil from the tremendous force pouring out of him.
Lev slowly raised his head.
His expression had changed.
The cheerful and carefree attitude he usually displayed was gone.
What remained was an intense, almost primal determination.
His golden hair stood proudly against the raging aura, while electricity began snapping through the air around his body.
KRAK!
A bolt of energy flashed across the battlefield.
Then another.
Lev's aura surged once more.
The transformation was complete.
He had crossed the boundary that countless Saiyans in the world of Dragon Ball Z had sought for generations.
The legendary warrior had finally awakened.
Super Saiyan.
And for the first time, Lev could feel the enormous power that had been sleeping within his blood.
His fists slowly relaxed.
He looked forward.
His turquoise eyes burned with absolute resolve.
"It's time to get serious, Bambina."
His voice was quiet.
Yet the moment those words left his mouth—
BOOOOOOM!
The golden aura behind him erupted once again.
The entire mountain shook.
The power of a Super Saiyan had been unleashed.
On the other hand, Bambina's smile grew slightly wider.
He could feel it.
The person standing before him now was finally capable of playing with him without holding back.
The sudden transformation Lev had undergone had also sparked something within the Monkey King.
Bambina's body suddenly began to change.
Its fur started shedding.
One layer after another fell away, finally revealing its true, uncontained form.
The webbing covering its body disappeared completely, while its long, ruffled fur transformed into short, sleek fur.
The patterned appearance around its mouth vanished as well.
Its ears, previously hidden beneath its fur, were revealed to be small and rounded, positioned atop its head.
Its fur also took on a much brighter tone compared to its original dark coloration.
Bambina's true form possessed another distinctive feature—skin flaps beneath its arms, giving it an appearance somewhat similar to that of a flying squirrel-like primate.
The restraints that had concealed Bambina's true form were now gone.
The skinny and frail-looking monkey that had previously appeared before Lev was no more.
Its body began expanding.
Its muscles swelled.
Its frame grew larger.
And larger.
And larger still.
Until Bambina's body finally expanded to its true size.
The Monkey King was no longer holding anything back.
At this moment—
Both Lev and Bambina were serious.
The two stood facing one another.
Neither moved.
They simply stared.
Sizing each other up.
Measuring the opponent standing before them.
Then—
They vanished.
In less than a millisecond, the two collided.
BOOM!
Their fists struck each other's faces at almost the exact same moment.
A tremendous shockwave erupted from the point of impact.
The surrounding landscape shook.
And before the dust had even settled—
BOOM!
BANG!
BOOM!
BANG!
One shockwave after another exploded throughout 100G Mountain.
The battle had finally reached a level where the entire area could feel their presence.
High above them, the Emperor Ring finally manifested.
The enormous phenomenon spread across the sky, announcing the clash between two apex predators.
The creatures living near the periphery of the Zero Mountain Range immediately began fleeing.
None of them wanted to be caught in the battle between the Monkey King and the mysterious apex predator that had challenged him.
Meanwhile—
BOOM!
Lev and Bambina continued exchanging blow after blow.
Neither backed down.
Neither retreated.
Their muscles bulged as they traded punches, sometimes blocking and sometimes allowing the attacks to strike their bodies directly.
There was no complicated strategy.
No attempt to overwhelm the other with elaborate techniques.
They simply fought.
Like two warriors testing each other's raw physical strength.
Punch after punch.
Blow after blow.
They wanted to discover one thing—
Who would last longer?
And more importantly—
Who was stronger?
BOOM!
Bambina's long tail suddenly lashed out.
The attack struck Lev and sent him flying.
BOOOOM!
Lev crashed into a nearby mountain.
The impact completely destroyed it, sending enormous chunks of rock flying in every direction.
Yet Lev immediately rose from the rubble.
He wiped away the dust and shot back toward Bambina.
He wasn't about to allow the Monkey King to control the momentum.
BANG!
BOOM!
BANG!
BOOM!
The two continued exchanging blows.
Neither showed any intention of backing down.
Then—
Lev finally decided to break their contest of pure physical strength.
His arms became coated in Armament Haki.
But unlike ordinary Armament Haki, Lev's was no longer black.
It glowed with a brilliant golden color, perfectly complementing his golden hair and raging aura.
But Lev wasn't finished.
He infused the golden Armament Haki with his Supreme King Haki.
The pressure surrounding his fist intensified.
Then—
Lev punched Bambina.
BOOOOOOM!
This time, it was Bambina's turn to be sent flying.
The Monkey King crashed into a nearby mountain, completely destroying it upon impact.
Yet, just like Lev, Bambina quickly rose from the destruction.
Rather than showing anger—
It smiled.
A smile filled with excitement.
Then Bambina suddenly opened its mouth.
FWOOSH!
A powerful beam erupted from its mouth and shot directly toward Lev.
But—
Lev had already anticipated it.
His evolved Observation Haki had allowed him to perceive the attack before it reached him.
He was already prepared.
Lev planted his feet firmly against the ground and cupped both hands together beside his body.
A brilliant blue light began gathering between his palms.
His golden aura erupted around him, while his clothes whipped violently under the pressure of his rising power.
"KA…"
The energy between his hands grew brighter, condensing into a blazing sphere.
"ME…"
Lev pulled his hands farther backward.
His muscles tensed as the gathered power continued surging and crackling between his palms.
"HA…"
The ground beneath his feet began trembling.
"ME…"
His turquoise eyes locked onto the incoming beam.
"HA!"
With a powerful thrust of both hands—
Lev unleashed the accumulated energy.
"KAMEHAMEHAAAAA!!!"
FWOOOOOOOOOOOSH!
A massive blue beam exploded from his palms, roaring forward like a raging torrent.
The sheer force of the blast tore through the air.
The earth beneath Lev's feet shattered from the recoil as he continued pouring his energy into the attack.
The blue beam surged forward, meeting Bambina's incoming attack head-on.
And the collision of the two devastating energies shook the entirety of 100G Mountain.
Not long after, Lev's Kamehameha finally collided with Bambina's beam attack.
The two attacks immediately entered a fierce contest of power.
Neither Lev nor Bambina backed down.
Both continued pouring more energy into their respective attacks, refusing to let the other gain the slightest advantage.
Yet neither side could overpower the other.
Eventually, they both chose to stop.
The moment the two beams disappeared, the accumulated force erupted outward.
BOOOOOOM!
A tremendous shockwave spread across the battlefield, its force traveling throughout the continent.
The aftermath left 100G Mountain covered in thick smoke and dust.
For a moment, neither Lev nor Bambina could be seen.
Then—
ACHOO!
Bambina sneezed.
The enormous sneeze created a powerful gust of wind that immediately scattered the smoke and dust across the surrounding area.
At the same time, Lev released his aura, further clearing the battlefield.
Once their surroundings became visible again, the two looked directly at each other.
Then—
They smiled.
Both of them had clearly enjoyed the battle.
However, Lev's expression soon became more thoughtful.
Through his Cooking skill, Lev could sense something that he didn't want to happen yet.
PAIR was approaching its limit.
He could tell that Bambina's PAIR would eventually be ready to fall.
Of course, Lev genuinely wanted to obtain it.
But not yet.
For the sake of the future, he needed Bambina to continue possessing his PAIR—or, more specifically, the organs responsible for producing it.
There was still more he wanted to accomplish before that happened.
"It was nice playing with you, Bambina."
Lev looked at the Monkey King with a smile.
"As much as I want to continue, let's stop for now. We can play again another time."
With that, Lev raised his hand.
He placed two fingers against his forehead.
Instant Transmission.
And in the very next moment—
Lev disappeared without leaving a trace.
Bambina remained where it was.
For several seconds, the Monkey King simply stared at the spot where Lev had disappeared.
It was confused.
Then it began looking around.
Left.
Right.
Behind it.
Above it.
Nothing.
Lev was nowhere to be found.
Bambina's expression slowly changed.
The happiness it had felt moments ago disappeared.
Its face darkened.
Anger began to surface.
A terrifying killing intent unconsciously radiated from its body.
The pressure was so overwhelming that it could be felt from miles away.
Every living creature within its range instinctively froze.
Their bodies trembled.
Their cells seemed to react to the overwhelming instinctive fear of death emanating from the Monkey King.
Yet—
Bambina suddenly stopped.
An idea came to mind.
Perhaps…
They were playing hide-and-seek again.
And this time—
Bambina was the seeker.
The Monkey King's expression immediately changed.
Excitement returned to its eyes.
Without wasting another moment, Bambina began searching everywhere.
It searched across the mountains.
Across the valleys.
Across the forests.
Everywhere.
Lev had disappeared.
But Bambina was determined to find him.
After all—
The game wasn't over yet.
*****
Infinity Castle,
The place Lev had returned to was none other than the Infinity Castle.
Using Nakime's power signature, he had instantly transported himself back to the castle.
Immediately after arriving, Lev released his Super Saiyan transformation.
The moment the golden aura disappeared, a heavy toll suddenly struck his body.
He felt an intense drain of energy and a wave of weakness spreading throughout him.
Fortunately, his immortality quickly restored his condition, and after eating several delicious ingredients, he was soon back to normal.
"If this is how powerful the initial Saiyan transformation is, how much stronger would I become if I unlocked the higher transformations?"
A smile appeared on Lev's face.
"This is exhilarating."
For the first time, he had experienced the true potential of his Saiyan Bloodline.
Truthfully, Lev hadn't been able to transform into a Super Saiyan so easily.
He had tried before.
Even before coming to this world, he had attempted to trigger the transformation several times, but none of his efforts had succeeded.
It was only after fighting against Bambina that the cells and bloodline within his body finally evolved enough to achieve the transformation.
And after experiencing it, Lev had come to another realization.
Strong stimulation through battle was probably the key to unlocking his future transformations.
If that was true, then he now knew what he needed to do.
Fight stronger opponents.
Push himself further.
And continue evolving.
"You've arrived quite early today, Master," Nakime said as she looked at Lev, who had returned to the Infinity Castle much earlier than his usual arrival at night.
"I'm already satisfied with today's training," Lev replied.
He looked toward Nakime.
"So, for the next few days, weeks, or even months, we'll focus on finding the ancient civilization. After that, we'll leave the continent."
Although Area 7 was an excellent place for training, Lev had no intention of remaining there indefinitely.
Training could be done anytime.
And right now, he was satisfied with the results he had obtained from his battle with Bambina.
Besides, there were still six more members of the Eight Kings waiting for him.
Not to mention the numerous powerful individuals scattered across the planet.
He had plenty of opportunities to continue training.
"As you will, Master."
Nakime paused.
"I don't know if I should say this, Master, but I may have already found the ancient civilization we've been looking for."
"Really?"
Lev's eyes widened slightly.
The revelation had caught him completely off guard.
He turned his attention toward Nakime, clearly wanting to know how she had managed to find it.
Seeing Lev's expectant gaze, Nakime immediately began explaining how she had discovered the location.
As she explained, Lev eventually realized that Nakime had actually found the ancient civilization only one week after they arrived on the continent.
And it was all thanks to her Blood Demon Art.
Only then did Lev truly realize just how useful Nakime's abilities could be.
He had never expected her Blood Demon Art to be capable of accomplishing something like this.
"Should we go there right now, Master?" Nakime asked.
"Let's go," Lev replied with a smile filled with anticipation. "I want to see the place for myself."
Ting!
Nakime plucked the strings of her biwa.
In an instant, the surroundings shifted.
Lev's eyes immediately landed on the stone walls surrounding them.
He looked around the room for a moment before taking his first step outside.
And then—
He stopped.
A smile slowly appeared on his face.
They had truly found it.
One of the ancient civilizations of the Gourmet World.
The City of Hope.