"No need to go that far." Vegeta's voice was cold. "Putting you in your place won't take long."
Zarotenks had barely finished suggesting they move the fight away from the Lookout before Vegeta crossed the distance between them. The speed caught him off guard, and before his confidence could turn into a proper guard, Vegeta's fist smashed into him and drove him straight down.
The Lookout cracked under the impact.
Zarotenks punched through the floor, out the underside, and disappeared below the floating platform.
Piccolo stared at the hole.
Dende covered his face, already pale.
Please do not destroy the Lookout.
"Vegeta!" Piccolo snapped. "Did you do that on purpose?"
Vegeta only snorted and dove through the hole after Zarotenks.
Below the Lookout, Zarotenks recovered enough to swing at him, furious. "You think I'm going to lose to you?"
Vegeta caught his arm, locked his grip around it, and began spinning. The faster he turned, the more the air around them twisted into a violent storm.
Piccolo leaned over the broken floor. "Vegeta, you bastard! Are you trying to tear the Lookout apart?"
Vegeta ignored him.
He released Zarotenks at full speed, sending the fusion screaming across the sky until he vanished from sight. A few seconds later, the distant earth shook, and the boom that followed rolled all the way back up to the Lookout.
Vegeta dropped after him.
Far below, over a wide stretch of ocean, the sea had caved inward from the crash. Waves rushed into the hollow like the ocean itself was trying to fill the wound.
A golden streak burst out of the water and stopped in front of Vegeta.
"Still feeling proud of yourself?" Vegeta asked.
Zarotenks wiped his mouth, teeth clenched. "Just wait until I get stronger. I'm going to beat you properly."
"Then get stronger," Vegeta said. "Don't stand here barking."
Zarotenks suddenly looked past his shoulder. "Bardock?"
For an instant, Vegeta's face changed.
He turned.
Zarotenks grinned and lunged for his stomach.
Vegeta caught the punch without even looking impressed.
Zarotenks's grin died.
"You thought that would work on me?" Vegeta drove a knee into his gut and bent him over the blow.
Zarotenks gagged, and Vegeta showed no mercy. Several sharp slaps cracked across his face one after another, swelling it until the fusion looked more like a stuffed bun than a warrior.
"Get out of my sight."
Vegeta kicked him upward, chased after him, and kept knocking him higher with one brutal kick after another. By the time Zarotenks crashed back onto the Lookout, he was unconscious before he even hit the floor.
Super Saiyan Zarotenks was still a fusion of three people, and he had reached Super Saiyan on top of that.
Against Super Saiyan 4 Vegeta, it still was not enough.
Piccolo and Dende looked at the hole in the Lookout, then at the unconscious fusion, then at Vegeta.
Even Mr. Popo seemed at a loss.
Dende sighed. "Mr. Popo, could you repair the Lookout?"
"Yes, Kami-sama," Mr. Popo said, already hurrying off.
A little later, the Fusion finally ended, and Zarotenks split back into Zarek, Goten, and Trunks.
Piccolo stood over them with no patience left. "From now on, the three of you train seriously. Fusion only multiplies what you already have. If your own strength doesn't improve, the fused warrior won't either."
Zarek sat up, rubbing his face. "Trunks is clearly the one dragging us down. Goten and I should just fuse by ourselves. We'd be stronger that way."
"No." Piccolo shut that down at once. "The two of you aren't in the same state. Fusion may not even work properly."
Zarek rolled his eyes. "It's all divine power. Why wouldn't it work?"
"The nature of that power is different," Piccolo said. "What I need from you is simple: after fusing, find a way to reach Super Saiyan God, or enter that destruction form of yours."
"You make it sound easy," Zarek muttered. "Must be nice giving orders from the side."
Piccolo stared at him.
This kid really knew how to make someone want to hit him.
At Mr. Satan's house, Buu had finished eating and bathing and now looked perfectly content.
"Satan, I want a bedtime story," Buu said.
Mr. Satan blinked. "Didn't you just sleep for seven years?"
"I still need two or three more minutes." Buu grinned.
Mr. Satan had no answer for that.
What kind of person needed a bedtime story for a three-minute nap?
Still, Buu looked happy, and it had been a long time since Mr. Satan had read to him. So he pulled out a children's picture book, sat beside him, and began reading in the most serious voice he could manage.
Buu listened with a wide smile.
Halfway through the story, a snot bubble swelled from his nose, and his breathing softened.
Mr. Satan lowered the book. "Already asleep?"
He smiled at Buu with a fondness he did not bother hiding.
"Still just a kid."
Three minutes later, Buu sat up.
Mr. Satan stared at him. "You really meant three minutes."
Buu rubbed his round belly. "Now what should I do?"
"Want something else to eat?"
Buu thought for a moment. "I gave them a day and a night. Time to go play with them."
"With who?"
"I'm going to fight." Buu floated into the air and smiled down at him.
"Who are you fighting?" Mr. Satan shouted.
"I'll be back soon!"
Buu waved and flew off.
Videl stepped into the yard just after he left, watching his pink figure shrink into the distance. "Dad, where did Buu go?"
"He said he was going to fight," Mr. Satan said, still looking at the sky. "Apparently he'll be back soon."
Videl did not ask anything else.
Buu crossed the sky at high speed.
Halfway through his flight, gunfire cracked from a small town below.
He slowed and looked down.
In the outskirts of the town, a blond young man with slicked-back hair was crouched behind cover with a sniper rifle, using the people below as targets. A man's head burst from one shot, and the blond ducked back out of sight, laughing like he had just won a game.
"That was great!"
The middle-aged man beside him was sweating. "Young Master… this is going too far."
"Idiot. This town is remote, and there are barely any cameras. I checked." The blond grinned. "Live targets make it more fun."
The older man fell silent.
"There. That dead man's friend is coming over." The blond shoved the rifle into his hands. "Shoot him."
"I…"
"That's an order."
The middle-aged man took aim with shaking hands and pulled the trigger.
Another person dropped.
The shock on his face gave way to excitement. "You're right. This is fun."
"Good. Now we switch to machine guns and sweep the town."
The blond tossed out a capsule, and a hover car appeared with two machine guns waiting inside. They each grabbed one and started the vehicle.
That was when they noticed the pink figure standing in front of them.
The blond frowned. "Who are you?"
"He looks like a ball of meat," the older man muttered.
The blond loaded his gun and aimed at Buu. "Where did this thing come from?"
Buu dropped in front of the hover car, blocking the road as if he had been waiting for them.
The blond only stared for a second before raising his gun. Bullets hammered into Buu's round body, opening soft holes through his chest and stomach. The older man froze at first, but when Buu simply stood there taking every shot, fear twisted into excitement, and he joined in until both guns were smoking.
When the gunfire stopped, Buu looked down at the holes in his body with mild curiosity.
The blond's grin started to spread.
Then Buu blinked.
His body gave a soft bounce, the holes closed, and the bullets spilled out of him in a clattering rain across the road.
The blond's grin vanished before it fully formed.
Buu looked at the older man. "Turn into poop."
A thin beam flashed from his antenna, and the man disappeared on the spot. In his place sat a steaming, foul-smelling pile on the road.
The blond stared at what was left of his companion, his face emptying of all confidence.
Whatever this pink thing was, it was not human.
Buu pointed at the pile. "Eat it."
The blond did not move.
"Eat it," Buu said again, smiling now, "or I kill you."
Panic took over. The blond slammed his foot on the accelerator and drove the hover car straight into Buu, but the car crumpled around him as if it had hit a wall. Pieces of metal scattered across the road, and the blond was thrown out onto his back.
Buu crouched in front of him, still smiling.
"Hurry."
The blond scrambled backward, hands slipping against the ground.
Buu caught one of his arms and squeezed until the bone snapped.
The scream tore out of him.
"Still no?" Buu asked, reaching for his other arm.
"I'll do it!" the blond sobbed. "I'll do it!"
"Then hurry."
He lowered his head, gagging before he even got close. Tears streamed down his face, and after one broken attempt, his fear collapsed into hysteria.
"Just kill me!" he screamed.
Buu tilted his head. "You said it. I wasn't going to."
He tore off one of the blond's legs, stood up, and left him shrieking on the road.
"You'll probably die now," Buu said cheerfully. "So die slowly."
Then he flew off toward the Lookout.
As the town disappeared beneath him, Buu's mood brightened again. "Satan told me to do more good things. That counted, right?"
On the Lookout, Piccolo and Vegeta felt him coming at the same time.
Piccolo's eyes narrowed toward the sky. "Buu is coming here."
Vegeta clenched his fists. "So he can track our energy now."
Buu appeared above the Lookout moments later, smiling proudly as he looked over everyone gathered there.
Piccolo went tense.
Vegeta stepped forward, already drawing out his power.
"I gave you a whole day to train," Buu said. "Are you ready now? Who wants to go first? Or are you all coming together?"
"I'll deal with him," Vegeta said, Super Saiyan 4 power surging around him.
Buu tilted his head. "You got stronger."
Then his smile widened.
"Still weak."
His arm stretched out and struck Vegeta across the face before Vegeta could force his body to react. Super Saiyan 4 power flared around him, but it did nothing to stop the blow. Vegeta tore across the Lookout, bounced hard along the stone, and crashed into a building with enough force to bring the wall down over him.
Dust rolled across the platform.
When it cleared, Vegeta was buried in the rubble, unconscious.
Piccolo had already started forward.
He stopped where he stood.
That was Super Saiyan 4 Vegeta. He had been transformed, guarded, and ready to fight. Buu had not tricked him, ambushed him, or caught him relaxed.
He had crushed him head-on.
Piccolo felt the truth settle in with a cold weight.
This was not a gap they could close by trying harder.
Buu turned toward him. "You started this. Are you next?"
His gaze drifted past Piccolo to Dende and Mr. Popo, and both of them stiffened under it.
Zarek, Goten, and Trunks were asleep after the Fusion training. Vegeta was down. Goku and Gohan were not here.
Piccolo forced himself to breathe and kept his voice steady.
"I'll admit it," he said. "No matter what I do, I'm probably not your opponent."
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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