"So nobody's going to fight me?" Buu said, his good mood souring.
Piccolo forced himself to speak before Buu decided to make the choice for them. "There is someone who can fight you. But we need time to prepare him."
Buu looked at him. "How long?"
"Two hours." Piccolo corrected himself the instant Buu's eyes narrowed. "No. One hour. One hour is enough."
Buu thought it over, then smiled. "Fine. For that hour, you give me a massage. If it's bad, I'll turn you into poop."
Piccolo's face twitched.
Buu conjured a long massage table, flopped onto it, and pointed at his back. "Hurry."
Piccolo looked like he would rather be swallowed by the floor, but he turned to Mr. Popo first. "Wake Zarek and the boys. Get them into the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. Even one hour outside should give them about fifteen days in there."
"What about Vegeta?" Mr. Popo asked softly.
"Him too. Wake him up, have him take them in, and make him train with them."
Mr. Popo nodded and hurried off. Dende rushed toward Vegeta to heal him, while Piccolo stepped up to Buu's table with the expression of a man walking to his own execution.
"Harder," Buu complained almost immediately. "Didn't you eat? Put some strength into it."
Piccolo clenched his teeth and pressed harder.
Buu relaxed with a pleased sigh. "Better."
Piccolo's face darkened.
He had once been Kami. Before that, he had been the Great Demon King.
And now he was giving Majin Buu a massage.
He wanted to destroy him.
He wanted it badly.
But Super Saiyan 4 Vegeta had gone down in one punch. Piccolo was only a little stronger than Vegeta. Against Buu, that difference meant nothing.
For now, Zarotenks was their only hope.
Dende's healing worked quickly. Vegeta stirred, opened his eyes, and stared up at the blue sky with a hollow expression.
Had he really been knocked out in one punch?
By that thing?
"Vegeta," Dende whispered urgently, "Piccolo is buying time. Take Zarek, Goten, and Trunks into the Hyperbolic Time Chamber and train them."
Vegeta did not answer.
Years of training. Years of tearing himself apart for power.
And he still could not beat Majin Buu.
"Vegeta, snap out of it," Dende said. "If those three train properly, they may be able to defeat him."
Vegeta's eyes finally moved toward him, but he still said nothing.
"Vegeta!"
Dende's raised voice made Buu glance over from the massage table. Dende went pale and dragged Vegeta behind the grass before Buu could pay them any real attention.
Once Buu looked away again, Dende let out the breath he had been holding. "Please. Take them in and train them. We need you."
"I can't," Vegeta said at last. "I used up my time."
"Your time?"
"That room only allows forty-eight hours in a lifetime. I used mine seven years ago during the fight with Cell."
"Oh." Dende blinked. "I upgraded it. There's no lifetime limit anymore."
Vegeta slowly turned his head.
Then he grabbed Dende by the collar and lifted him off the ground. "Why are you telling me this now?"
Dende stared back at him, baffled. "Was it important?"
"Important?" Vegeta's teeth ground together. "A day in there gives me a year. Give me one year, and I'll crush that pink bastard."
Dende lowered his head and wisely kept his mouth shut.
He remembered another time Vegeta had said something very similar.
One day would be enough to beat Cell.
Then Cell had arrived, and Vegeta had barely been able to do anything.
And now he was making the same kind of promise again.
Vegeta shoved him aside and strode toward the room where the boys were sleeping.
Zarek, Goten, and Trunks were sprawled across the bed in a disaster of limbs. Goten had one foot shoved near Zarek's mouth. Zarek's arm was draped over Trunks's neck. Trunks's leg was stretched toward Goten's face, and Goten kept smacking his lips in his sleep as if he had found a drumstick in a dream.
Vegeta looked at them for one silent second.
Then he flicked a small ki blast into the middle of the bed.
The explosion sent all three boys tumbling awake.
Zarek shot up, furious. "Vegeta, you bastard! What are you doing? You nearly scared the crap out of me!"
"Wake up," Vegeta said. "Buu is on the Lookout. If you don't want to die, follow me and train."
He turned and walked away.
The boys rushed after him, still half-asleep, but the moment they saw Buu lying on a massage table while Piccolo worked on his back, all three of them went quiet. None of them needed another explanation.
They slipped after Vegeta and entered the Hyperbolic Time Chamber.
Universe 7, Sacred World of the Kai.
"How much longer?" Goku asked, unable to keep still.
"It should already be done by now," Shin said, frowning. "I don't understand why Elder Kai hasn't finished."
"I wonder what's happening on Earth." Goku scratched his head and focused his gaze toward Universe 6.
His expression changed almost at once.
"Buu is on the Lookout!" he shouted. "That's bad!"
Shin's face tightened. "Already?"
"Goten and Piccolo are in danger."
Gohan heard his father and grew uneasy. He looked at Elder Kai, hoping to see some sign that the ritual was nearly finished.
Elder Kai was reading manga.
His hands were still aimed toward Gohan, apparently drawing out his hidden power, but the sight of him calmly turning pages while Earth was in danger made Gohan's patience snap.
"Isn't it done yet?" Gohan asked, his voice tight. "We're already past the time you gave us. How much longer?"
Elder Kai glanced up. "The time is up? Hmm. Then the delay must be because you have too much hidden power."
Gohan rose to his feet, anger finally breaking through. "Please take this seriously!"
Power surged out of him with the shout.
Cabba and Caulifla both stiffened at the force of it. Kale's eyes lit up, startled and delighted all at once. Goku's expression sharpened, and Shin and Kibito turned toward Gohan in surprise.
"With that lazy attitude, we'll never beat Majin Buu!" Gohan said.
Then he felt the energy pouring out of him.
His anger faltered.
"Wait… my power…"
Kale smiled brightly. "Gohan-nii, that was amazing. Your ki was huge."
"Sit down," Elder Kai said, his face dark. "Unnecessary movement makes the process take longer."
Gohan immediately sat back down. "S-Sorry. And… thank you."
Elder Kai said nothing. He went back to his manga and continued the ritual as if none of this had happened.
Goku stared at Gohan with new excitement. "Incredible. I didn't think he could bring Gohan's power up that much. He's not just some old man."
Shin shot him a look.
What kind of way was that to describe Elder Kai?
"Hidden power means power he already had, just buried inside him, right?" Goku asked.
Kibito's face went blank.
He did not know that?
"That should be correct," Shin said.
"Gohan had that much inside him…" Goku murmured. "For a second there, he felt almost like Kale as a Legendary Super Saiyan."
"Goku, focus," Shin said. "What is happening on Earth?"
"It's settled down for now."
"Settled down how? Is Vegeta fighting him?"
"No. Piccolo is giving him a massage." Goku looked at Shin curiously. "Can't you see it yourself?"
Shin looked away.
Goku blinked. "You can't?"
Shin lowered his head even further.
Instead of teasing him, Goku explained how to focus his divine sight across universes. Shin tried it, and the moment the image of the distant Earth became clear to him, his face brightened like he had discovered an entirely new world.
"So that's all it takes?"
Goku stared at him for a moment. "You really…"
Shin laughed awkwardly.
"Don't laugh too happily," Goku said with a sigh. "Did you forget you offended Zeno-sama?"
Shin's smile died.
His whole body went cold.
He had treated Zeno-sama like an evil magician.
He had no idea what punishment waited for him.
"Maybe Majin Buu is the trial Zeno-sama sent me," Shin said quietly.
"Because you didn't know anything, Universe 6's Earth got dragged into danger," Goku said.
"I'm sorry. Truly."
Goku smiled. "It's fine. For us, this is training too."
Nearby, Cabba and Caulifla were staring at Gohan with open envy.
"Caulifla," Cabba whispered miserably, "it really worked. Gohan's hidden power came out, and it rose by a lot."
Caulifla gritted her teeth. "We messed up. You should have been the one getting that power-up. You pulled out the Z Sword."
"Should we say something?" Cabba asked. "Wouldn't that be awkward?"
"What's awkward about it? I'll say it." Caulifla started toward Elder Kai. "At the very least, we get your strength raised first. That burst just now was nearly on Kale's Legendary Super Saiyan level."
Kale noticed her coming and straightened. "Caulifla-nee, Gohan-nii only has a little time left."
"Quiet," Caulifla snapped. "Look at you, already taking his side."
Kale's cheeks flushed.
Caulifla stared at her. "Why are you blushing? Don't tell me you already think of yourself as one of the Planet Vegeta Saiyans."
Kale had no idea how to answer that.
Caulifla turned on Elder Kai. "Hey, old man. Are you stupid?"
Elder Kai looked up at her.
After what had happened during the smoke incident, he could not quite pretend he did not know her.
"What do you want, little girl?" he asked, wiping the drool from his mouth.
"Cabba is the one who pulled out the Z Sword," Caulifla said. "So why are you drawing out this guy's hidden power?"
"Did I not explain it clearly?" Elder Kai said. "You are from Universe 6. We are from Universe 7. Naturally, I'm helping someone from my own universe."
Gohan kept quiet and tried very hard not to look guilty.
Kale said nothing either.
"That's why I called you stupid," Caulifla said.
Elder Kai's brow twitched. "Then tell me exactly how I'm stupid."
"We're all Universe 6 Saiyans now," Caulifla said. "Don't tell me you didn't know that."
Elder Kai laughed on the spot. "Little girl, don't say nonsense. I am a Supreme Kai. I can tell which universe someone comes from at a glance."
He pointed toward Goku and Gohan.
"Goku and Gohan are Universe 7 Saiyans. Gohan's little girlfriend, you, and Cabba are Universe 6 Saiyans from Planet Sadala. Am I wrong?"
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
[Check out my Patreon to read 20+ chapters ahead]
[[email protected]/BellAshelia]
[Thanks for your support!]