Piccolo finally allowed himself to breathe.
"Good. In thirty minutes, we'll have them try it as Super Saiyans. If they don't mess it up, this might actually work."
Vegeta folded his arms, still irritated. "Kakarot dumps the work on us and disappears."
He and Piccolo had been stuck drilling the three brats through Fusion practice, while Kakarot wandered off to who knew where.
Infuriating.
Zarotenks lifted a finger and wagged it with a smug grin. "Don't look down on me. I can beat Majin Buu right now."
"Don't be stupid," Piccolo said. "You saw what Buu did to Vegeta. You're strong, but you're not ready for him."
Zarotenks snorted. "Then I'll bring back his corpse and prove it."
Zarotenks launched himself toward the sky, already turning in the direction where Buu's energy should be.
He barely made it above the Lookout before Vegeta was there, cutting him off with his arms folded and that familiar look of contempt on his face.
"Oh?" Zarotenks grinned. "You're stopping me, Vegeta? Fine. I'll beat you first."
Vegeta's mouth curled.
Zarotenks rushed him, ki flaring hard around his body.
Vegeta sidestepped the punch without effort.
He had kept his Super Saiyan 4 form active the entire time, and Zarotenks was still below him even with three boys fused together. The difference was clear the moment they moved.
Vegeta struck him in the back.
Zarotenks plummeted toward the Lookout like a cannonball.
Dende's face changed. "He'll punch straight through it!"
"Vegeta, you idiot!" Piccolo snapped. "Why send him down here?"
He transformed at once.
Orange Piccolo launched himself forward, stretched his arm out, and caught Zarotenks before he could smash through the floor. Then he stepped in and kicked him back into the sky.
Vegeta intercepted Zarotenks above the Lookout and drove him back down with another kick.
Piccolo shot up and caught him before he could crash. "Are you trying to destroy the Lookout?"
"Not my problem," Vegeta said.
Piccolo stared at him for a second.
Then he smiled.
"All right. Let's make it your problem."
He kicked Zarotenks away from the Lookout entirely.
Zarotenks tumbled through the air and dropped toward the world below.
Vegeta hovered with his arms folded, looking far too pleased with himself.
Piccolo smiled slightly. "You still haven't noticed?"
Vegeta frowned. "Noticed what?"
"The direction he's falling." Piccolo nodded toward the distance. "I think that's close to your house."
Vegeta's face changed.
"You—"
Piccolo's smile widened. "Call it returning the favor."
"Damn Namekian!"
Vegeta shot after Zarotenks, caught him from behind, hurled him upward, and kicked him back toward the sky.
Piccolo flew up and smashed him down again with one heavy palm.
Vegeta kicked him back.
Piccolo caught him with an outstretched arm.
"Are we done?" Piccolo asked. "Or do you want to fight me properly?"
Vegeta snorted. "Don't embarrass yourself. You're not my opponent."
"Oh?" Piccolo said. "You sure about that?"
Vegeta glanced at Zarotenks, who had roughly twenty minutes left before the Fusion ended. "Fine. That's enough time. I'll give you ten minutes, finish you in one, and spend the other nine dragging you back to Dende."
Piccolo pointed toward a distant uninhabited island. "There."
Neither of them hesitated. They flew off at once.
Zarotenks crashed back onto the Lookout in a heap.
Dende and Mr. Popo stared at him.
Zarotenks groaned, then glared up at Dende. "What are you waiting for? Heal me."
Dende pressed a hand to his forehead, caught somewhere between laughing and crying.
On the deserted island, Vegeta and Piccolo faced each other.
Vegeta smirked. "Go on, Piccolo. I'll let you start."
Piccolo smiled back.
Then his power rose.
The island shook beneath him as Orange Piccolo's ki rolled outward in heavy waves. The air tightened. The ground cracked. Vegeta's smirk faded little by little as the pressure kept climbing.
By the time Piccolo finished powering up, Vegeta was no longer laughing.
Universe 7, Sacred World of the Kai.
Piccolo's ki could not reach this place.
It was not because he lacked power. In fact, his current strength had already gone far beyond the Super Saiyan Three Goku of the original story.
The problem was distance.
Piccolo was in Universe 6. Gohan and the others were in Universe 7's Sacred World of the Kai. Even a power like his could not simply cross that gap.
Universe 7's Sacred World of the Kai remained quiet in comparison.
Goku had already fallen asleep. Caulifla had found a place to rest as well, while Cabba stayed nearby, occasionally glancing Goku's way as if he still did not fully trust him.
Elder Kai kept circling Gohan and humming his strange little tune.
Gohan stood there in silence, regretting every choice that had led him to this ritual.
Shin and Kibito stayed too. Neither of them seemed sure they were helping, but leaving felt even worse.
Meanwhile, in Universe 6's outer space, Ken and Merus were on their way back to Earth when a red flash appeared ahead of them.
Bardock emerged from the light and knelt before Ken.
Ken gave him a nod. "Get up."
"Yes."
Merus watched the exchange with a complicated look.
Ken already had Bardock serving as a God of Destruction. He also had Broly as the Great God of Destruction. Meanwhile, Merus still had no God of Destruction under him at all.
That stung a little.
Then Merus's attention shifted toward Earth. "Ken, there are two very strong energies down there."
Ken raised his staff. "Let's have a look."
The crystal sphere shimmered, and an image appeared inside it.
On the screen, Orange Piccolo and Super Saiyan 4 Vegeta stood facing each other on a deserted island.
Bardock stared at them. They were familiar, but only barely.
"That's Vegeta?" he asked.
"In his own words, it's his Primal transformation," Ken said. "It draws out the Saiyan's Great Ape power without losing the body or the mind. Since your form is called Super Saiyan God Three, I'm calling this one Super Saiyan 4."
"Super Saiyan 4," Bardock repeated.
Merus tilted his head. "Wait. If Bardock's is Super Saiyan God Three, shouldn't Vegeta's name have 'God' in it too?"
Ken looked at him. "Not important."
Merus went quiet.
It was absolutely important.
Bardock's gaze moved to Piccolo. "And him? His energy is nothing like I remember. Seven years really changed him."
"Piccolo asked Shenron to draw out his latent power," Ken said.
Bardock nodded. "That would explain it."
In the image, Vegeta gave Piccolo a measured look.
"So this is what Shenron pulled out of you," Vegeta said. "Not bad. You were holding back against the Supreme Kai."
"If I had gone all out, that idiot would be dead," Piccolo said.
Vegeta beckoned him forward. "Then show me. Let's see what that dragon really gave you."
"Shenron didn't give me anything. He brought out what was already there."
"Same thing."
Piccolo settled into a fighting stance. "I'm coming."
"Then come."
Piccolo disappeared.
Vegeta barely had time to react before Piccolo was in front of him, driving an elbow into his face. The blow snapped Vegeta's head back, and before he could recover, Piccolo's arm stretched out, caught him by the hair, and dragged him into a brutal headbutt.
Vegeta grunted through his teeth.
Piccolo did not let up. His next kick buried itself in Vegeta's chest and sent him skidding across the island, both boots tearing long tracks through the ground before he finally forced himself to a stop.
For a moment, Vegeta did not move.
Then his fists tightened.
A Namekian.
A Namekian was forcing him back.
He had reached this form. He had dragged the Great Ape's power into his own body and made it obey him. He was the prince of all Saiyans.
And Piccolo's energy had still brushed dangerously close to his own.
Vegeta roared, and his ki surged.
Piccolo's expression sharpened.
Watching from the staff's image, Merus frowned with interest. "Piccolo is stronger than I expected. He's not that far below Vegeta."
Ken nodded.
He had seen Orange Piccolo before, back in his previous life, when Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero first came out. Fans had argued endlessly about where that form belonged.
Some had placed it near Ultra Instinct Sign.
Ken had never bought that.
From what he could sense now, Orange Piccolo had clearly passed ordinary Super Saiyan Blue. But Ultra Instinct Sign was still higher. If Ken had to compare it, Piccolo's current level was closer to Super Saiyan Blue Kaioken, or the manga's mastered Super Saiyan Blue.
Gohan's Beast form was a different story. That one had later been shown trading blows with Goku's silver-haired Ultra Instinct, though Ken had always suspected Goku still had more in reserve.
There had been other fights after that too: Beast Gohan against Broly, Vegeta joining in, and then Goku jumping into the brawl because watching from the side was never going to satisfy him. They had wrecked Beerus's world so badly that Beerus's face had turned darker than thunder.
Afterward, Goku had returned to Earth and met Pan.
Then the manga had gone on hiatus.
Those events helped bridge the gap between Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball Super, leading toward the point where Goku would eventually meet Uub.
But for Ken, none of that had happened yet.
He had crossed over before that future could unfold.
On the island, Piccolo and Vegeta kept fighting.
Vegeta's face twisted with fury.
Losing to Kakarot was already unforgivable.
No, even that was not something he could simply accept.
But struggling against Piccolo?
That was a humiliation he could not swallow.
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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