The Earth warriors looked nervous; Yamcha, standing in the crowd, practically had the word "Danger" written on his forehead.
No. 17 crossed his arms, his expression solemn, giving off a strong "if you want to fight, then let's fight" vibe.
Ino appeared between the two sides at just the right moment. "Stop! Give me some face, don't make a move yet."
No. 16 said in a muffled voice, "No. I must kill Son Goku. This is the only purpose for which I was created."
Ino immediately corrected his mistake. "You want to kill Son Goku, so what does that have to do with Kakarot?"
Everyone, including the two Androids, was slightly stunned.
These words made Krillin's eyes go wide. No way, right? Androids can't be this dumb, can they?
No. 16, however, nodded thoughtfully. "He is Kakarot?"
"That's right." Ino pointed at Son Goku and asked Vegeta, who was standing alone on the roof, "This Saiyan is named Kakarot, am I wrong?"
Vegeta let out a "Hmph," seemingly unwilling to bother with such a boring question.
No. 16 observed Vegeta very seriously, and after half a minute, he nodded gently. "He isn't lying. This person is indeed Kakarot, not Son Goku."
"Alright then, big brother, you go stand over there for now."
"Okay."
No. 16 withdrew from the battlefield.
Ino looked at the Earth warriors. "I have never been fond of fighting in my life, only resolving fights. Today, let me mediate for you all."
Vegeta angrily pointed at No. 18. "This has nothing to do with you! Today I will fight this broken marionette to the dea—"
Before his voice could fade, Ino waved her hand. Swish, swish, swish. More than ten stone pillars rose from the ground. In the blink of an eye, the stone turned into steel, connecting with each other. A pitch-black steel cage appeared out of thin air, directly imprisoning Vegeta.
Vegeta was not an obedient man; he chose to break down the door immediately. Ino's training in the Sacred World of the Kai for the past half-year was no fake; with a thought, the original steel transformed into Katchin possessed with energy-absorbing properties.
The interior of the cage was extremely sealed. Vegeta attacked like a madman, sound waves constantly echoing within the narrow space. Enduring the dizziness, he attacked relentlessly without stopping for a moment.
Ino ignored him and instead looked at Son Goku. "The reason for this matter is actually very simple. Our timeline has already changed. The Androids appearing now are not the same as the Androids from Trunks' timeline..."
Vegeta immediately stopped attacking. His voice came from inside the black prison, sounding somewhat muffled. "Trunks?"
Ino looked at Son Goku, then at Piccolo. You two never told the truth?
Piccolo had merged with Kami, carrying the status belonging to Kami on his body. Facing her, an Apprentice Supreme Kai, he was suppressed severely by her divine status. Just being glanced at by her, cold sweat broke out.
Ino shelved this question and continued her explanation. "The flow of time was changed. Because you arrived at Dr. Gero's research institute ahead of schedule, Lapis and Lazuli..."
No. 17 and No. 18 both wore expressions of discomfort. No. 17 waved his hands at her repeatedly. "Don't call us that, I'm getting goosebumps... Just call us No. 17 and No. 18. We have already abandoned our human names."
Ino expressed indifference to this; a name was just a code. "...Alright. Because you arrived at the institute relatively early, and Dr. Gero was frightened by the powerful combat power of the Super Saiyans, he hastily activated No. 17 and No. 18, who hadn't been completely brainwashed yet. Their humanity is still there; they aren't bad people. Goku, you can feel that, right?"
Son Goku nodded very naturally. "Ah, yeah. I also feel they don't look like bad people."
The expression on Krillin's face went from nervous to anxious, all the way to his current wild ecstasy. "Goku, you say they aren't bad people?"
"Yeah, I don't think they look like bad people. That big guy shouldn't be a bad person either."
Yamcha complained a bit, "Then why did you call us over to fight?"
Son Goku scratched his head, looking puzzled. "I thought this was a good opportunity to improve ourselves. Suitable opponents are getting harder and harder to find. Don't you guys think so?"
Yamcha waved his hand, indicating he still had to go accompany his new girlfriend and had no interest in martial arts contests, then turned and left.
"Chiaotzu is still waiting for me at home." Tien Shinhan also felt the matter was pointless; the gap was too large. He withdrew from the battlefield and went back to his hometown.
Piccolo didn't make a sound. Vegeta was still thinking about the Trunks issue.
"As long as the misunderstanding is cleared up, that's fine. Goodbye." Ino signaled the three Androids to follow her. Krillin looked like he wanted to say something but stopped; ultimately, he didn't say anything. This wasn't fighting monsters to level up in a game; fighting could lead to death. Resolving the incident like this was a good thing for all parties.
The crisis caused by the Androids was lifted, and everyone had to continue their own lives.
Being a martial artist had no future. He didn't have Tien Shinhan's persevering resilience. Among these Earth warriors, Yamcha was the first to fall behind, and he was the second.
Seeing Son Goku having established a family and career for many years, with a child already in school, while he himself was getting older and all alone, no longer possessing the purity of his youth... he should go back and review the traffic police materials, striving to secure the job soon.
Ino brought the three Androids to a roadside restaurant. No. 16 didn't need food or drink, but the other two still had normal human bodies and needed to eat and drink.
"Thank you for helping me develop my potential. Otherwise, if I ran into that guy called Cell, I might really not have been able to beat him." As soon as they sat down, the youth with the red scarf, who distinguished clearly between gratitude and grudges, expressed his thanks.
"Oh? Cell? You killed Cell?" Ino asked.
No. 17 thought about it seriously and said, "Yes. Not a single cell was left, at least that's what I think."
"Beautifully done."
"Hey, are you guys going to eat or not? Are you treating? We don't have any money." No. 18 held the menu and asked Ino.
Ino asked back, "Do you think I look like an Earthling? Eat while we talk. If worse comes to worst, I'll find someone to pay the bill."
No. 17 and No. 18 didn't ask her specifically which big sucker she was going to find. The two ordered a bunch of dishes. Halfway through the meal, Vegeta finally broke open the previous Katchin cage and chased after them in a rage.
No. 18 was eating a bowl of fried noodles, slurping away. With her head down, she held up one hand as a greeting.
Vegeta clenched his fists, considering the difficulty of fighting one against four. "Bastards! You people..."
Ino signaled him to sit down and eat together.
She discussed the details of the work with the three Androids.
Vegeta was originally very angry. Now that he had a family and a child, he no longer had the mindset of his youth where he would fight to the death or self-destruct at the drop of a hat, but he still felt annoyed.
He wanted to ask more about the "Trunks" Ino had mentioned.
Just as he was about to open his mouth to ask, he heard them talking about work matters and listened with about thirty percent curiosity. After realizing that Ino seemed to be treating, he immediately turned his anger into appetite, sat down, and started eating. He alone ate ten times more food than Ino and the two Androids combined.
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