Piccolo was carrying the unconscious Supreme Kai away from the battlefield at top speed when he suddenly felt the body on his shoulder begin convulsing violently.
"Urghhh—!"
The Supreme Kai let out a scream that barely sounded human as his eyes snapped open.
His purple pupils had shrunk to pinpoints. Blood vessels covered the whites of his eyes, and his entire face twisted into an expression of pure terror.
"Supreme Kai?" Kibito hurriedly stopped.
The moment Piccolo lowered him to the ground, the divine being began spasming like a fish thrown onto dry land.
His fingers dug deep into the rock beneath him. His nails split open, blood seeping out, yet he seemed completely unaware of the pain. A raspy wheezing sound escaped from his throat.
"T-This is..."
Piccolo stared in shock as the Supreme Kai's elegant robes were instantly drenched in cold sweat. The dignified expression that usually adorned his face had vanished, replaced by primitive, uncontrollable fear.
Kibito dropped to his knees and reached out with trembling hands.
"Supreme Kai! What's wrong with you?!"
The Supreme Kai's lips quivered, but he couldn't form complete words.
His gaze lacked focus, as though he were looking through time and space itself at something unimaginably horrifying.
Suddenly, he grabbed Kibito's collar with both hands.
His voice was hoarse and distorted.
"A terrifying presence... can't you feel it? B-Buu... Majin Buu... he's been awakened..."
The sentence seemed to drain all strength from his body.
He collapsed onto the ground.
His purple skin turned a sickly gray, and his divine aura flickered chaotically like a candle trapped in a storm.
Piccolo narrowed his eyes and looked into the distance.
"That energy really is absurdly powerful... but is it enough to scare you into this state?"
"You don't understand!"
The Supreme Kai suddenly screamed.
"That's Majin Buu! A monster capable of devouring gods!"
The instant Buu awakened, a bolt of realization flashed through Goku's mind.
"Wait, Vegeta!"
He immediately shouted.
"Our fight ends here!
A tremendously powerful energy has appeared. Majin Buu must have been revived.
You felt it too, didn't you?"
Vegeta responded with a savage grin and another vicious knee strike.
"Stop making excuses!
Nobody's leaving until we decide a winner today!"
The blow sent Goku stumbling backward several steps.
Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
He wiped it away.
Then his eyes sharpened.
"If you're determined to settle this, then I won't hold back anymore, Vegeta!"
Vegeta sneered.
"Hmph! Not hold back?
Anyone can talk big.
Don't tell me you still have an even stronger power hidden away—"
Before he could finish speaking, Goku slowly straightened his body.
"AAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
With a tremendous roar, his golden aura exploded outward.
At the same moment, his hair began growing.
The clouds overhead were blasted apart by the shockwave.
The earth trembled violently.
His hair lengthened visibly, cascading down to his waist in moments.
His eyebrows disappeared.
His eyes turned emerald green.
Lightning crackled around his body.
Vegeta's mocking expression froze.
"T-This...
Kakarot... what is this...?"
Goku answered calmly,
"This is Super Saiyan 3.
It's a transformation I reached not long ago by accident.
Sorry, Vegeta.
I need to end this fight quickly."
The next instant, Goku vanished.
"What?!"
Before Vegeta could react, Goku's fist slammed into his stomach.
BOOM!
Vegeta doubled over like a shrimp.
His eyes bulged outward as saliva sprayed uncontrollably from his mouth.
Immediately afterward, Goku launched him skyward with a brutal uppercut.
Then he appeared above him in an instant.
Clasping both fists together, he smashed downward.
BOOOOOOM!!
Vegeta plummeted like a meteor.
The impact created a gigantic crater nearly a kilometer wide.
When the dust settled, Vegeta's hair had already returned to black.
He lay unconscious at the center of the crater.
In the distance, the Supreme Kai had only just been thrown into panic by Buu's awakening.
Then he suddenly sensed another explosive surge of energy.
His eyes widened.
Kibito's did as well.
"What's happening?!
Another incredibly powerful energy has appeared!
And it feels like Son Goku's!"
Piccolo swallowed hard.
"It's him...
It's Son Goku.
Unbelievable...
To think he was still hiding power of this level..."
A trace of hope finally appeared on the Supreme Kai's face.
"That Saiyan...
He's actually become this powerful.
If that's the case...
There may still be hope..."
When Goku arrived at Majin Buu's location, the scene before him left him utterly dumbfounded.
"I am your master!
You will obey my commands!"
Babidi shouted while hopping up and down, waving his little magic wand.
"No!"
Majin Buu sat on the ground with his arms crossed like a sulking child.
"I don't like listening to you!
I'm hungry!!"
"You—!"
Babidi trembled with rage.
Then he noticed Goku approaching and immediately pointed toward him.
"Then go kill that Saiyan!
Now!"
Buu turned his head toward Goku and tilted it curiously.
"Who are you?
Did you come to play with Buu?"
"Play?"
Since Babidi hadn't had the chance to influence Buu much yet, Goku's eyes suddenly lit up.
A bright smile appeared on his face.
"That's right!
I heard Buu is the strongest warrior around, so I came specifically to play with you!"
As he spoke, he pulled out a Capsule from behind his back as though performing a magic trick.
With a click, the Capsule opened.
A gigantic bag of snacks appeared.
These were treats he usually kept around for times when his children pestered him.
Pointing toward the snacks, Goku grinned.
"Look!
I even brought you a present!"
Buu's eyes instantly sparkled.
"So much delicious food!"
He immediately bounced toward the snacks, completely ignoring Babidi.
"Hey!
Don't eat his food!
I'm your master!"
Babidi shouted furiously.
Buu turned around and stuck out his tongue.
The gesture nearly made Babidi explode with anger.
"You idiot!
Majin Buu!
I order you to kill him immediately!
Otherwise, I'll seal you away again—"
The moment those threatening words left his mouth, Buu froze.
Goku crouched down.
He opened what he considered the tastiest snack and handed it to Buu.
At the same time, he lowered his voice.
"That bad guy sure is annoying.
Always ordering you around.
Always threatening to seal you away.
How about I kill him for you?"
Buu immediately stuffed snacks into his mouth.
Upon hearing Goku's proposal, his eyes lit up.
"Really?!
Okay! Okay!"
Cracking his knuckles, Goku walked toward Babidi with a frightening grin.
Babidi stumbled backward in panic.
"H-Hey!
What are you doing?!
Don't do anything crazy!
If you kill me, nobody in this world will ever be able to seal Majin Buu again!"
Goku chuckled.
"You still want to seal Majin Buu?
That's pretty evil, you know.
He's clearly such a kind child.
Why should he listen to you and do bad things?
And why should he be sealed away whenever you feel like it?"
Hearing Goku's words, Buu nodded vigorously.
"Yeah! Yeah!
He's really bad!"
With Buu supporting him yet again, Goku casually raised one hand toward Babidi.
A beam of energy shot forward.
"N-No!
PLEASE—!"
The blast engulfed Babidi instantly.
His terrified screams echoed through the air as the energy tore him into countless fragments.
In the blink of an eye, Babidi ceased to exist.
After finishing the job, Goku turned back toward Buu.
"Alright.
The bad guy's taken care of."
While stuffing snacks into his mouth, Buu happily replied,
"Thank you.
You're a really good person."
Goku smiled.
"I hope you'll be a good person too.
Don't go around killing people.
All those snacks you're eating were made by Earthlings.
If all the Earthlings disappear, there won't be any tasty food left for you.
Did you know?
Earth has more delicious food than any other planet."
Buu nodded repeatedly while chewing.
"Mhm! Mhm!
Got it!"
Watching Buu being pacified so easily, Goku began thinking about how to handle him.
The mission itself offered no real rewards.
There was no punishment either.
He honestly didn't care much about that.
But this version of Majin Buu was unstable.
He couldn't simply leave him alone.
If the evil half were ever separated, the consequences would be unimaginable.
So while keeping Buu calm, he also needed to find a way to separate and deal with that darker side.
Watching the chubby Majin Buu happily devour snacks like a child, a certain person suddenly came to mind.
After all, everyone in the world knew the truth.
Compared to Videl...
Majin Buu was Mr. Satan's true beloved.
And when it came to taking care of Majin Buu...
There was no one more suitable than Mr. Satan himself.
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