The ocean began to move.
At first, it looked like nothing more than the aftermath of Frieza's earlier attacks.
The water was still settling from the enormous waves they had created.
But Goku noticed it.
King Kai noticed it.
And Frieza definitely noticed it.
Brian stood roughly thirty meters above the ocean surface.
Frieza hovered another twenty meters higher, placing him almost directly above Brian.
Between them, mist drifted through the air.
Behind Brian, the coastline had been reduced to a jagged collection of cliffs.
To Frieza's right, several enormous pieces of rock floated above the water, suspended by residual ki.
Brian looked down.
Then up.
Then down again.
His eyes narrowed.
"Okay..."
He raised one hand.
The water beneath him trembled.
Frieza's expression became suspicious.
"What are you doing?"
Brian grinned.
"Trying something."
"How reassuring."
Brian's fingers curled.
The ocean suddenly rose.
Not as a wave.
As a column.
A massive spiral of water erupted beneath Brian, climbing toward the sky.
Frieza immediately moved upward.
Brian followed.
The water followed him.
Frieza accelerated.
The column accelerated with him.
Frieza stopped.
Brian stopped.
The water continued rising.
Frieza's eyes narrowed.
Brian smiled.
"Got you."
Frieza looked down.
The water column had become enormous.
Hundreds of meters wide.
Its upper end surrounded both fighters.
Brian had essentially turned the ocean into a temporary arena.
King Kai shot out of his chair.
"He's using the water!"
Goku nodded.
"Yeah."
"But why?"
Goku's eyes remained fixed on Brian.
"Because Frieza likes open space."
King Kai's eyes widened.
"And Brian just took it away."
"Exactly."
---
The water suddenly collapsed inward.
Frieza vanished upward.
Brian immediately followed.
The entire column exploded.
Water scattered in every direction.
For a moment, both fighters disappeared inside the mist.
Frieza emerged first.
He rose above the cloud of water, now roughly one hundred meters above the ocean.
Brian was nowhere in sight.
Frieza looked down.
Nothing.
Left.
Nothing.
Right.
Nothing.
Then—
A flicker beneath him.
Frieza moved.
Brian shot through the water from below.
His fist missed Frieza's jaw by centimeters.
Frieza twisted aside.
Brian didn't pursue.
Instead, he kicked the water beneath himself.
The resulting burst propelled him sideways.
He disappeared into the mist.
Frieza's eyes followed.
There.
Brian came from the left.
Frieza blocked.
But Brian wasn't aiming for him.
His palm struck the water beside Frieza.
The compressed ki detonated.
The ocean surged upward.
Frieza was forced higher.
Brian used the opening to dive downward.
Frieza immediately pursued.
Exactly as Brian expected.
Brian smiled.
There.
He reached the lower edge of the mist.
Frieza descended behind him.
Brian abruptly stopped.
Frieza's hand passed over his shoulder.
Brian twisted around.
Instead of punching—
He grabbed Frieza's wrist.
Both fighters hung suspended above the ocean.
Brian's feet were roughly ten meters above the surface.
Frieza was slightly higher.
They stared at each other.
Brian smiled.
"Gotcha."
Frieza's eyes narrowed.
"What?"
Brian released him.
Then kicked downward.
A massive pulse of ki struck the ocean.
The surface beneath them collapsed.
Water rushed inward.
A gigantic depression formed.
Frieza realized what Brian was doing.
His eyes widened.
"Impossible."
The water surrounding them began rushing toward the center.
Brian had created a temporary vacuum in the ocean.
Water from every direction surged toward them.
Frieza immediately accelerated upward.
Brian went the opposite direction.
He dove.
Straight down.
Frieza escaped the collapsing water.
Brian disappeared beneath the surface.
The ocean closed over him.
Frieza hovered above the disturbance.
For several seconds—
Nothing.
Then Frieza smiled.
"Predictable."
He raised one finger.
A thin beam of energy shot downward.
It pierced the ocean.
Then another.
And another.
Frieza wasn't trying to hit Brian.
He was forcing him toward the surface.
Brian understood immediately.
He's controlling where I can move.
He grinned underwater.
Good.
Brian closed his eyes.
His ki spread through the water.
The ocean suddenly became his sensory field.
He could feel the vibrations of every beam.
Every movement.
Every disturbance.
And then—
He felt Frieza.
Above him.
Brian opened his eyes.
His grin widened.
Found you.
---
King Kai stared at the crystal ball.
"What is he doing?"
Goku smiled.
"Something stupid."
King Kai turned.
"That doesn't narrow it down!"
Goku laughed.
Brian suddenly shot upward.
Not toward Frieza.
Toward one of the beams.
He allowed it to pass beside his body.
Then grabbed it.
King Kai's jaw dropped.
"HE GRABBED THE BEAM?!"
Goku's eyes widened.
"Whoa."
Brian twisted his body around the energy stream.
The beam bent.
Frieza's eyes widened.
Brian used the beam's trajectory like a rope.
He swung around it.
Then released.
He launched himself directly toward Frieza.
Frieza crossed his arms.
Brian's fist slammed into the guard.
The collision produced a thunderclap.
Frieza was driven backward through the mist.
Brian followed.
For once—
Frieza was the one retreating.
---
Goku leaned forward.
His grin disappeared.
"He's getting better."
King Kai glanced at him.
"You sound happy."
"I am."
"WHY?!"
Goku pointed at the crystal ball.
"Because Brian isn't just getting stronger."
He watched Brian maneuver through the mist.
"He's learning how to use everything around him."
King Kai's expression softened.
Then Goku continued.
"But..."
His eyes narrowed.
"He's still making one mistake."
King Kai frowned.
"What mistake?"
Goku pointed at Frieza.
"He's giving Frieza time to think."
King Kai froze.
Below them—
Frieza stopped retreating.
Brian stopped too.
They hovered inside the enormous cloud of mist.
Water dripped from Brian's hair.
Frieza slowly raised his head.
His expression was completely calm.
Too calm.
Brian's smile faded.
Frieza looked around.
At the water.
At the mist.
At the floating debris.
At Brian.
Then—
He laughed.
Quietly.
Brian's eyes narrowed.
"What's funny?"
Frieza lifted one hand.
"Do you know what I find fascinating about you?"
Brian didn't answer.
Frieza's eyes remained fixed on him.
"You continuously transform the battlefield whenever you encounter a disadvantage."
Brian's expression became serious.
"You turn obstacles into weapons."
Frieza's smile widened.
"You improvise."
The water around them began trembling.
"And you've convinced yourself that this makes you unpredictable."
Brian's stomach tightened.
Frieza's aura ignited.
The mist instantly evaporated around him.
The ocean beneath them churned violently.
"But you've overlooked something."
Brian's eyes narrowed.
Frieza raised his hand.
The energy wasn't gathering around his body.
It was gathering around the entire battlefield.
The ocean.
The air.
The remaining debris.
Everything.
Frieza wasn't trying to destroy Brian's environment.
He was taking control of it.
Brian's expression changed.
"Oh."
Frieza smiled.
"You aren't the only one capable of adapting."
The ocean beneath them suddenly rose.
But this time—
Brian wasn't controlling it.
Frieza was.
A wall of water hundreds of meters high erupted between them.
Brian shot upward.
Frieza appeared above him.
Brian twisted.
Frieza's knee struck his ribs.
BOOM.
Brian was sent sideways through the wall of water.
Before he could recover, Frieza appeared on the other side.
A backhand.
Brian ducked.
The strike passed over his head and vaporized the water behind him.
Brian countered with a palm strike.
Frieza moved aside.
Brian's attack missed.
Frieza's tail wrapped around Brian's waist.
Brian's eyes widened.
The tail tightened.
Frieza spun.
Brian was thrown downward.
He smashed through the surface of the ocean.
The impact created a crater in the water itself.
Frieza descended after him.
Brian surfaced.
His breathing was ragged.
His body was beginning to feel heavy.
He looked upward.
Frieza hovered directly above him.
Brian wiped water from his eyes.
Then laughed.
Frieza frowned.
"Again?"
Brian smiled.
"Yeah."
He raised his fists.
"Again."
His aura erupted.
But this time—
Something else changed.
The energy around Brian became denser.
Sharper.
More controlled.
His eyes narrowed.
He wasn't trying to overpower Frieza.
He wasn't trying to predict him.
He wasn't trying to copy him.
He was going to do what he'd always done.
Adapt.
Only now—
Frieza was adapting too.
And King Kai realized something that made his blood run cold.
This fight had finally reached the point where neither fighter could afford to make the same mistake twice.