Fanfic / What If Zamasu Did Nothing Wrong?

"So what Beerus said would be quite apt for this story— 'I now firmly believe that Zamas did nothing wrong.' And I think that you will believe that too, and also shed a tear for all of his subjects."

—MasakoX

What If Zamasu Did Nothing Wrong? is a Dragon Ball What If? fanfic by Lawrence Simpson aka MasakoX of Team Four Star fame as part of his Dragon Ball Discussion series of Youtube videos. This particular topic started on September 24th, 2019.

As the title suggests, he explores his interpretation of an alternate version of the story where Zamasu, instead of trying to kill all mortals like in the "Future Trunks Arc", decides to try to uplift mortals in hopes that they can change their ways and he can prove his worth as the new Supreme Kai.

You can find the playlist for it: here.

See also Masako X - Dragon Ball What-If which explores other possibilities in the Dragon Ball verse.

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What If Zamasu Did Nothing Wrong? has the following tropes:

• Adaptational Badass: One of the Barbarians, Decraf, ends up being stronger than Zamasu after a while. The Kais' Healing Hands gets an upgrade as well, as they were merely that, hands that heal wounds. But here they give Decraf eternal life.
• Adaptational Heroism: As opposed to the Omnicidal Maniac he was in canon, Zamasu here actually steps in to civilize the Barbarians.
• Adaptational Villainy: Played With. While the God of Destruction of Universe 10; Rumsshi, wasn't shown in prominent detail in the anime, he is shown to be a neutral figure who just performs his duties. In this story, he is shown to be a Jerkass to Zamasu, Decraf and even trying to erase Decraf upon first meeting him. Interestingly, this puts him in line with more of his version in the Super manga, where he is shown to blame Gowasu for Zamasu's actions and even threatening to erase him for his actions.
• A Day in the Limelight: Unlike most of MasakoX's scenarios, this one doesn't focus on any characters from Universe 7 such as Goku and his friends, as the titular Zamasu and Universe 10's other inhabitants instead get a chance to shine here.
• Ain't Too Proud to Beg: Zamasu begs the Grand Priest to revive the ravaged planet Barbari as well as Gowasu and Rumsshi, all of whom were destroyed by Future Zamasu and Goku Black. He obliges but it requires Zamasu to pay a price due to it breaking the balance of things.
• Batman Gambit: Decraf pulls one in order to learn to use Destruction energy by asking Kusu to have Rumsshi target him with Destruction energy, due to Decraf knowing that Rumsshi would refuse if Decraf asked himself but would be delighted to use Decraf as target practice if his attendant were the one to suggest it.
• Be Careful What You Wish For: Zamasu initiates his experiment to uplift the Barbarians in hopes that he can use it as proof that he should be promoted to the position of the Supreme Kai sooner. He unintentionally gets his wish after Gowasu is killed by Goku Black and the Grand Priest offers to make him the new Supreme Kai of Universe 10. Though Zamasu refuses the call due to wanting Gowasu to live again.
• Bittersweet Ending: Zamasu and Decraf manage to stop Future Zamasu and Goku Black with the assistance of the Grand Priest. Barbari, Gowasu and Rumsshi are revived by the Grand Priest. However, Zamasu has to offer his life to the Grand Priest to balance things out, much to Decraf's dismay. Though this is somewhat negated as it is revealed that Decraf is actually Zamasu reincarnated.
• Bullying a Dragon: Despite being shown that Decraf has potential as God of Destruction candidate by surviving Destruction energy, Rumsshi still takes every opportunity to antagonize him during his training. This backfires when Decraf is able to reach his Destroyer Form due to Rumsshi being overzealous in torturing him during his training.
• Civil War: The Barbarians fall into a state of religious civil war over the fact that two factions of them have different interpretations over the teaching of the original prophet Roward left behind and their views on the "creator", who is Zamasu.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Decraf and Goku Black are evenly matched even after the latter goes Rosé, but when the Barbarian busts out his God of Destruction powers, he easily overpowers and kills Black.
• Condescending Compassion: Zamasu is originally still the same Holier Than Thou Kai in training, though instead of becoming a Knight Templar hellbent on destroying all mortals, he decides to uplift the Barbarians as an experiment in the long-term goal of improving Universe 10 and as a form of "mercy" to them.
• Cruel and Unusual Death: The fate of Goku Black, whom Decraf (in his God of Destruction form) literally rips to pieces mercilessly.
• Deadpan Snarker: Aside from his open dissatisfaction towards the rest of his species being "idiots", Decraf's responses to a lot of things are snide, even to his "maker" Zamasu. Especially to his "maker" Zamasu.
• Divergent Character Evolution: Zamasu himself has this in four different characters. Present Zamasu and Future Zamasu are reflections of Zamasu's Character Development with Present Zamasu becoming the Good Counterpart to his Future version. Also Decraf and Goku Black, both in terms of powers and personality due to both being versions of Zamasu.
• Elderly Immortal: When Zamasu healed Decraf to save his life, it had the side effect of giving him eternal life, but not eternal youth. This is later fixed by the Dragon Balls.
• Evil Counterpart: Goku Black to Decraf, as they are both Zamasu.
• Evil Me Scares Me: In the final part, Goku Black and Future Zamasu show up, carry out, and explain their crusade against mortals. It deeply disturbs and baffles the Zamasu of this timeline.
• Fantastic Racism:
  • Like in the original version of Super, Zamasu initially has a low opinion of mortals, looking down on them even when trying to help them improve their worlds. However, he does later grow out of this mindset after he takes Decraf as his prophet.
  • Goku Black and Future Zamasu still try to rid the multiverse of mortals through the "Zero Mortal Plan".
• Friend-or-Idol Decision: Played With. After Gowasu disovers Zamasu's trip to Universe 7 and confronts him about it, Zamasu has an internal dilemma about whether to kill Gowasu so that Zamasu and Decraf can become the new Supreme Kai and God of Destruction or to simply be honest with him. Zamasu at first seems ready to kill him but remembers how much his master cares for him and opts to try to explain his decisions.
• God Guise: Zamasu takes up the role of a god for the Barbarians.
• Immortality: Decraf became immortal after Zamasu used Healing Hands on him and lives to be several hundred years old. He's later granted eternal youth when Zamasu wishes on Earth's Dragon Balls.
• I Owe You My Life: Decraf's loyalty towards Zamasu drastically increases after the latter saves his life from being killed by healing him.
• Jerkass Has a Point: Zamasu isn't wrong when he thinks that Rumsshi is complacent in his position as even Gowasu admits that Rumsshi is attached to the position while Kusu's desire to train Decraf was influenced by the fact that Rumsshi didn't train or keep himself in shaper anyone.
• Manly Tears: Decraf sheds them after Zamasu offer his life to the Grand Priest to revive planet Barbari as well as Gowasu and Rumsshi.
• Mirror Match: Present Zamasu vs Future Zamasu, his Evil Counterpart. Also, Decraf vs Goku Black, since both of them are actually versions of Zamasu.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Present Zamasu's continuous use of the Time Ring for his quest to uplife the Barbarians attracted the attention of Goku Black and Future Zamasu, who decided to destroy the mortals in Present Zamasu's time.
• Nominal Hero: Zamasu, at first. In the beginning of his quest to uplift the Barbarians, he merely treats it as an experiment for him to prove himself to his master Gowasu, as a worthy replacement to be the new Supreme Kai. Though he later mellows out.
• The Paranoiac: Rumsshi, Universe 10's God of Destruction, after Decraf becomes a candidate for his replacement, due to being worried that his time is up and becoming scared to Decraf. Though judging from Zamasu and Decraf's plans, he is more Properly Paranoid then anything else.
• Please, Don't Leave Me: Decraf pleads to Zamasu to not sacrifice himself for the sake of reviving Babari, as well as Gowasu and Rumsshi. Zamasu refuses to listen, much to Decraf's sadness.
• Reasonable Authority Figure:
  • Gowasu, Zamasu's master, who is shown to be an encouraging mentor to him.
  • The Grand Priest, like in Super. He even helps Zamasu defeat Future Zamasu and restore all those who were killed by Goku Black.
• Servile Snarker: Despite originally being Zamasu's subordinate, Decraf cannot resist taking chances to Troll his master.
• Stable Time Loop: It was revealed in the finale that Decraf was Zamasu, reborn as a Barbarian after he sacrificed his life for his wrongdoings, through predestination paradox.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork:
  • Zamasu and Decraf originally didn't see eye to due to the fact that Zamasu forced Decraf to become his prophet by threatening him. Though the two later develop an Odd Friendship.
  • Zamasu is annoyed by Goku when getting Earth's Dragon Balls, but avoids getting into a fight with him.
• Took a Level in Badass: Decraf was shown to be slightly skilled at Ki Manipulation when he first encountered Zamasu. After being mentored by Zamasu, he further improves his skills and grows in power. After Zamasu leaves and several hundred years pass, Decraf is able to train himself to the point where Zamasu believes that he had surpassed him, even being able to withstand Rumsshi's "Destruction Energy". After training with Kusu, he is able to attain the "Destroyer Form" and even beat Goku Black in his Super Saiyan Rose.
• Took a Level in Kindness:
  • Zamasu goes from a Holier Than Thou Insufferable Genius to a more kinder Jerk with a Heart of Gold who learns to understand his master's lessons about the value of mortals unlike his canon self. He even offers his own life to the Grand Priest to undo all of the destruction that Future Zamasu and Goku Black caused.
  • Rumsshi takes one after he learns from the Grand Priest that Zamasu and Decraf saved Universe 10 and that Rumsshi owed his life to Zamasu's sacrifice, causing him to drop his vendetta against Decraf.
• Training from Hell: Rumsshi subjects Decraf to this, in contrast to Kusu, who is more mellow, but is shown to be a far more effective teacher. Though Rumsshi was just looking for a excuse to torment Decraf without an issue.
• The Usurper: Zamasu's second plan to improve Universe 10 is for Decraf to usurp Rumsshi as the God of Destruction, so that the two of them could work together to guide the universe in Zamasu's image.
• "Well Done, Son" Guy: A large part of Zamasu's motivation is to prove himself as a worthy successor to his master Gowasu.
• What the Hell, Hero?:
  • Rumsshi chews out Zamasu for violating the divine laws of the Supreme Kais direct non-interference with mortal life, stating that he would report Zamasu to the Grand Priest if he performed something like that ever again.
  • Gowasu gives Zamasu one when he finds out that Zamasu went to Universe 7 without telling him.
• You Are a Credit to Your Race: Despite his initial distain for the Barbarians due to their brutish nature, Zamasu has shown to developed a fondness for his first prophet; Roward and his second prophet (and disciple) Decraf.