Although they were both Kais, their appearance could not be more different: North was taller than West, had sky blue skin while the other tended towards a more violet shade; the North wore small eyeglasses with darkened lenses, while the West had an ivory-rimmed monocle which he treasured. And now a further difference was made by the halo on North's head, which had caused the hilarity of West, who never stopped making fun of him for a moment.
Newone, however, did not listen to their bickering; he stood aside, having apologized to both monarchs, asking for time to himself to calm down and reflect.
He couldn't understand what was happening to him; it wasn't uncommon for him to lose his temper or have outbursts of anger, but they had always been contained events or at most ended up in a fistfight with some infernal soul with whom for better or worse he had befriended (without King Kai knowing anything about it obviously) .
This time it had been completely different.
He had felt something... an anger... no... A fatal and vengeful rage that had almost been unleashed, coming from a part of himself that he didn't know he had... and of which he was slowly discovering that he was afraid of.
Newone had never been a soul like any other.
He did not belong to a deceased person, he had no past, no memories to cling to for comfort. He was simply born there, in the Underworld, on a not very specific day and of which he remembered little to nothing.
He had been raised by the Underworld demons and King Yama, although he could not see any of them as a possible father figure, but for whom he had a deep affection, and when, already at an early age, he had demonstrated a certain power, under the advice of King Yama himself had gone to develop his own qualities under the guidance of King Kai.
The monarch was initially perplexed, but eventually agreed to train him... and now that he thought about it...
No, that wasn't the first time he'd lost control!
The blond's eyes widened with that awareness, while his mind tried to bring out that distant memory, surrounded by a strange fog that prevented him from making the images clearer, the colors more vivid...
Just when he thought he had finally succeeded, an explosion of light caught him off guard!
A cloud of dust enveloped everyone present and only after it had cleared, among the various dust could the figure of an elderly man with a youthful demeanor be seen, dressed in jeans, vest and vintage t-shirt, ankle boots and orange leather gloves , and trendy sunglasses; he had pure white hair, long almost down to his back and combed back and resting between his ear and shoulder he was holding an old radio from which rock music was coming.
Grand Master King Kai had entered the scene.
- How is it going? -, he asked with a captivating smile, approaching them at a dance pace, then placing the radio on the ground and finishing the song with a pop-star style pose, before returning to an upright position, peering at them curiously from behind his mirrored lenses.
- Sovvy if I intevvupted youv convevsation -, he began after a few seconds with a strange accent that surprised both Goku and Newone, before addressing Paikhuan directly, - Paikhuan listen, would you mind dvopping by the Hell fov me? -.
That question, to which Paikhuan answered promptly and affirmatively, surprised everyone. What should the warrior have gone to do in the Underworld?
- Heve, I have a pvoblem that I want to solve befove it's too big... A cevtain Cell has just been sent to Hell by King Yama, and he's giving us a lot of pvoblems -.
Upon hearing Cell's name, both Goku and King Kai were immediately alarmed; they didn't think that even in death that damned thing would continue to cause damage!
- He made some fviends over there, including Fvieza, and togethev with him he gets into cvushes and jokes -, continued the Grand Master, also attracting the attention of Newone with the name of Frieza, taking the guy out from his corner, listening in silence.
As I thought, the troubles that I feared would come sooner or later have begun...
- This is a real shame! Hey Newone did you know anything about this? -, King Kai of the North turned towards the young man with a questioning expression, shifting everyone's attention towards the blond; the latter, hearing himself called into question, took some steps forward.
- I admit that I am not aware of the latest events in King Kai, but I know for a fact that the Hell is going through a period of crisis, given that the Dematerializer of the Northern Galaxy stopped working a while ago...-.
- WHAT? -, North was taken aback by that news, - And how long has it been out of operation? -.
Newone's gaze turned accusatory as his eyes moved to Goku: - More or less since a certain someone decided to misuse the Dragon Balls and bring the various souls back and forth between life and death -.
Goku frowned, slightly offended by that obvious accusation against him. - If I was forced to use the Spheres it was only to bring back to life the people killed unjustly by those who tried to destroy the Earth -.
- If they were killed it meant that their time had come, you had no right to interfere -, replied Newone in a stern tone, approaching him, - Each of them had the time they deserved to live, and although it may seem unfair to you you have no right to choose the life or death of others. It's Destiny that decides, not you -.
The tension between the two was rising; Goku's gaze hardened further, finding the young man's words totally unfair.
- Are you telling me that innocent people whose lives were destroyed by evil beings should have remained in the Afterlife? It's unfair! -.
- Playing with other people's lives is unfair - Newone retorted, without being intimidated, - Many of them were promised Paradise for their good deeds, but do you know what happened when they came back to life? -, he waited a few seconds, to let the brunette try to imagine the result on his own, - Knowing what goal they had been guaranteed they let themselves go, convinced that nothing could change the final result, condemning themselves with their own hands -, he hissed the last part angrily, remembering the disappointment in the eyes of the souls he himself had to escort to the Underworld, their screams and protests against that decision.
Goku didn't know how to respond to that statement, confused by learning that turn of events; had it really been like this? Had he really caused harm in the belief that he was doing good?
Sensing his uncertainties, King Kai decided to intervene in favor of his pupil, interjecting himself in the conversation, placing a hand on Newone's forearm to keep him from further abusing the Saiyan's morals with his words:
- My boy, now please stop. I can assure you that Goku had no intention of causing any harm to the people he thought he was helping, so don't be too quick to judge him this way. I guarantee you that he has a heart of gold and the last thing he would think of doing is to set himself up as a judge and act against the forces of good.
The blond moved his gaze to the monarch, and then met Goku's one last time, before taking a few steps back, relaxing his shoulders and posture.
- If you say so, King Kai... You knows that I trust you judgement -, he murmured condescendingly, but Goku could read very well in his eyes that that young man felt something more than simple anger towards him.
In his gaze, he saw disdain.