"I know he's strong." Gohan nodded. "Which is exactly why I think it's my turn."
Trunks: "..."
Vegeta's brow furrowed. He studied Gohan carefully.
Confident little kid.
You already know Majin Buu is strong — and you still think you can fight him?
Fine. I'll hold off. If Gohan wants to go, let him go first.
You're surprised that Trunks unlocked Super Saiyan 2, but you clearly don't understand how strong Majin Buu really is yet.
"Master Gohan — please. I used the grief of losing Dad to push myself to get this powerful... and I'm still not his match. Hold him off for now, Master Gohan — and then take Mr. Goku and go back to your world!" Trunks' instinct kicked in, and he stepped forward, putting himself between Gohan and Buu.
"No — I've already run the numbers." Gohan smiled faintly, reached out, and gently pulled Trunks behind him. "My power should be greater than Buu's."
"You... what did you just say, Master Gohan?" Trunks stared at him, jaw slack, completely unable to believe what he was hearing.
"I've been training hard too." Gohan breathed in deep and clenched his fists.
Buu came stalking back with a scowl, glaring at the figure who had just kicked him in the face.
"Another one here to die?" Buu said flatly.
"The one who's going to die is you." Gohan said — and power erupted from his body without restraint.
BOOM!
Immense energy expanded outward from Gohan in every direction, kicking up wave after wave of wind.
In that moment, Gohan unlocked his Ultimate Form.
Goku had taken Gohan to Old Kai and had him spend over ten hours having his dormant potential drawn out completely. From that day on, Gohan too had access to his Ultimate Form.
The sheer intensity of the energy pouring off Gohan sent a visible shockwave through Majin Buu — his eyes went wide, his mouth fell open, and he could not form a single word.
Vegeta: "????"
Vegeta's expression went through every colour.
What is happening.
That's the Ultimate Form. Gohan's Ultimate Form.
How is this possible?
Vegeta was genuinely thrown.
Am I in the wrong story?
Gohan is six years old.
You're six years old — and you've already unlocked your Ultimate Form?
That is wrong.
This is impossible. It shouldn't be possible.
How could Gohan at this age unlock the Ultimate Form?
Vegeta stared hard, then slowly:
I must be seeing things.
There is no way the Gohan of this era can be in the Ultimate Form.
As Gohan's enormous ki washed outward, Trunks was thunderstruck as well.
Master Gohan's ki — it's enormous. The energy readings are many times higher than mine.
That can't be right.
I just went Super Saiyan 2.
Master Gohan's energy... exceeds even my Super Saiyan 2?
Gohan's mouth curved up. There was a quiet smile on his face.
Buu's expression darkened. Something in his gut told him this small child was not ordinary.
I need to be careful with this one.
Thud!
Gohan moved — fast. A single punch, straight to Buu's fat cheek.
"OWWW..."
Buu let out a cry of pain as his cheek caved deeply inward.
If Vegeta's and Trunks' hits before had done physical damage to Buu's body, what Gohan's punch did was something different — it shook him at a deeper level.
That single, seemingly simple punch carried an extraordinary amount of concentrated force.
Buu nearly blacked out from it. His head rang. He was dizzy and his footing went unsteady.
Slap!
Buu staggered backward several steps and sat down hard on the ground.
And when he looked closer — blood was dripping from Buu's mouth.
Vegeta was floored.
Trunks could not believe his eyes.
One punch.
One punch from Master Gohan — and Buu was bleeding.
Before this, between the two of them, Trunks and Vegeta had beaten Buu's body apart completely and never drawn so much as a drop of blood.
How had Master Gohan done it?
Was Master Gohan's power really that far above theirs?
"Get up, Buu." Gohan's voice came out sharp and cold.
"Damn you... I'm going to turn you into chocolate and eat you!" Buu snarled through his teeth, and his antenna swung down — aiming straight at Gohan.
Gohan's expression flickered.
Dad warned me about this. Buu's most dangerous ability is his magic.
He can transform people into chocolate and eat them — and he can absorb people.
I absolutely cannot let him absorb me. Or turn me into chocolate.
"Turn into chocolate!" Buu cried, and the antenna crackled with energy.
A beam of light shot toward Gohan at full speed.
"Ha!"
Gohan swept both hands forward through the air.
An immense force of ki surged outward and intercepted the oncoming beam.
The beam from Buu's antenna struck the wall of ki — and its direction reversed. It bounced straight back toward Buu.
Splat!
Buu's own beam hit himself.
The next instant — Buu's body began to twist and warp.
In the blink of an eye, Buu had turned into a human-shaped lump of chocolate.
Vegeta: "..."
Trunks: "..."
Both of them were completely speechless.
Two moves. Gohan had defeated Majin Buu in two moves.
"Hmph." Gohan stepped forward and stomped the chocolate Buu into pieces underfoot.
Vegeta and Trunks stared, unable to speak.
Buu... was that it? Is he dead?
Gohan was not about to take any chances. He flooded his hands with energy and directed every last bit of it toward the remaining chunks of chocolate.
BOOM!
With a thunderclap, every fragment of Buu-turned-chocolate was obliterated — not a single cell left behind.
Majin Buu — deceased.
Vegeta: "..."
Vegeta had nothing left to say. It sat badly.
That thing — the one that had taken everything he had — was just casually eliminated by Kakarot's kid in three moves.
If he hadn't seen it himself, he would never have believed it.
In that moment, Vegeta felt that there was no longer any point in keeping up the performance.
Whoosh!
Vegeta flickered and reappeared at Gohan and Trunks' side.
At the sight of his father alive, Trunks rubbed his eyes, genuinely confused.
"Dad! You're... you're alive?!" Trunks asked, overwhelmed.
"Hmph." Vegeta ignored Trunks entirely. He looked at Gohan, up and down, eyes sharp.
Gohan's mouth twitched. He quickly powered back down to normal, scratching his head sheepishly, and offered Vegeta a smile.
"Gohan — that form you were just in..." Vegeta asked through his teeth.
"Ah... this is something Dad and I worked out together during training..." Gohan laughed awkwardly.
The fact that Dad and I were reborn — I probably shouldn't tell Uncle Vegeta.
It would sting.
Uncle Vegeta has always been in Dad's shadow.
If he found out Dad was reborn, how would he ever think about catching up?
And my Ultimate Form just now...
Was that a bit much?
I kind of went overboard and wiped out Majin Buu without meaning to.
But I don't regret it.
If I had let that drag on, there was a real risk of getting absorbed or turned into chocolate — and that would have been a disaster.
Vegeta stared at Gohan long and hard.
Something isn't right.
You trained with Kakarot and suddenly you can unlock the Ultimate Form?
I don't buy it.
Kakarot and Gohan are hiding something from me.
I'm going to pay close attention from here on.
Something feels off.
No matter how strong Kakarot has gotten... could he really surpass my Super Saiyan Blue?
He can't.
I was trained by Whis himself.
I achieved the God transformation.
Vegeta's mind kept turning, but one thing he kept coming back to was: no matter what Kakarot has pulled off, he cannot be stronger than my Super Saiyan Blue.
The Divine Realm — the Sacred World of the Kais.
The first thing Supreme Kai and Kibito did every morning was check on Majin Buu's seal down on Earth.
As long as the seal was still in its safe location, the two of them could breathe easy.
Same as always, first thing that morning — Supreme Kai and Kibito turned their gaze toward where the seal should have been.
What they saw drained the colour from both their faces in an instant. It was as though their minds had been struck with a sledgehammer.
Majin Buu's seal was gone.
Vanished.
Supreme Kai and Kibito rubbed their eyes, again and again, looking back at the same spot.
Still no seal.
"How — how did this happen?" Supreme Kai's expression crumpled.
"Could it be... could it be he broke out on his own?" Kibito's voice trembled. His whole body was shaking.
"That's impossible! The seal was airtight! There's no way he could have escaped on his own!" Supreme Kai shook his head, his voice dropping lower.
"Maybe the two Androids running amok accidentally hit Majin Buu's seal and knocked him loose!" Kibito suggested.
"Damn it... if only we had dealt with those two Androids sooner!" Supreme Kai squeezed his fists, the veins in his forehead rising, feeling like the sky had just collapsed.
"But the Androids only destroyed cities — they showed no sign of heading anywhere near the southern mountain region..." Kibito said gravely. "The area around Buu's seal — there's not a single person within a hundred kilometres."
"We let our guard down! I kept telling myself I'd deal with those Androids soon..." Supreme Kai was consumed with regret.
"But Supreme Kai — we only just found out about the Androids. The main issue is that we weren't keeping watch on the rest of Earth... If we had known, we never would have let those two run wild." Kibito wiped cold sweat from his brow and sighed. "And the Supreme Kai oversees the entire universe. It's impossible to have your eyes on Earth at all times."
"Kibito, stop making excuses! I admit I fell short!" Supreme Kai lowered his head, consumed with regret. "I made a mistake. Now the entire universe could be facing a crisis!"
"Supreme Kai — look over there — there seem to be people!" Kibito suddenly pointed toward where Gohan, Vegeta, and Trunks were.
Supreme Kai immediately turned and looked — and wore a mildly puzzled expression.
"Isn't that Vegeta and Trunks? Who's the small child?" Supreme Kai murmured.
"I thought Vegeta had been killed by the Androids. How did he come back to life?" Kibito was baffled.
"Let's go see." Supreme Kai made up his mind immediately.
Kibito nodded.
"Kai Kai!"
Supreme Kai used Instant Transmission at once, bringing Kibito along.
Whoosh!
In a blink, the two of them appeared near Vegeta's group.
"Supreme Kai?" Vegeta recognised him instantly.
"Hm? Supreme Kai?" Gohan recognised him too and blurted it out.
After all, Gohan had spent more than ten hours at the Sacred World of the Kais having his dormant power drawn out by Old Kai — of course he knew what Supreme Kai and Kibito looked like.
Vegeta studied Gohan again, his expression unreadable.
How does Gohan at this age know who Supreme Kai is?
And that Ultimate Form... could it be that Old Kai was the one who brought it out?
That's supposed to be the only way Gohan could access that form.
But Kakarot knowing Supreme Kai at this point in time — how?
Something is deeply wrong here.
"Who... who are you people?" Trunks tensed, sizing up Supreme Kai and Kibito warily.
"I am Supreme Kai, and this is my attendant — Kibito!" Kibito announced with proud authority.
"Supreme Kai?" Trunks blinked.
"And for the record, Supreme Kai is the greatest god in this universe!" Kibito added helpfully.
Trunks was speechless.
The greatest god in the universe just showed up on Earth. Why?
"Majin Buu — where is he?" Supreme Kai asked, face dark and careful. "Have you seen him?"
"Hmph — you mean that pink fat thing?" Vegeta glanced at Supreme Kai, then at Kibito, and smiled faintly.
These two idiots.
Acting like the greatest gods in the universe.
They have no idea Whis and Beerus even exist, do they?
And Supreme Kai's life is bound to the Destroyer God's. Eliminate Supreme Kai and the God of Destruction disappears too.
Lord Beerus figured that out and sealed the old Supreme Kai into the Z Sword to keep him safe — in case Supreme Kai died and Beerus vanished in his sleep.
"Yes... that's right... have you... have you seen him?" Supreme Kai swallowed hard, his expression shifting.
"We saw him." Vegeta said plainly.
"Where is he now?" Supreme Kai asked urgently.
"Dead." Vegeta answered.
Supreme Kai's expression froze.
Dead?
Did I hear that correctly?
Majin Buu is dead?
That's not possible.
"Please don't joke about this. This is no time for jokes!" Kibito was the first to push back, snapping, "You're Vegeta, aren't you? I don't know how you came back to life — but that joke isn't funny!"
"Vegeta — Kibito is right. Now is not the time for this..." Supreme Kai's face was deeply serious. "Just tell me — where did Majin Buu go?"
"Hmph — wasn't I clear enough?" Vegeta rolled his eyes. "He's dead."
"Dead?" Supreme Kai truly looked blank.
"How?" Kibito asked.
"Gohan took care of Majin Buu in a few moves." Vegeta pointed at Gohan.
Supreme Kai and Kibito immediately shifted their gaze to Gohan, their eyes filled with shock.
Gohan scratched the back of his head awkwardly, stepped forward, and greeted them. "Hello, Supreme Kai... Mr. Kibito."
Supreme Kai and Kibito stared at Gohan blankly, not quite able to come back to themselves.
A moment later, the two agreed — on reflection, it was probably not true.
This small child defeated Majin Buu?
You're joking with us, right?
By the look of this kid, he's only about six years old.
Majin Buu was destroyed by a six-year-old?
That's science fiction.
A long pause settled over them.
"What's your name, kid?" Supreme Kai looked at Gohan with open curiosity.
"I'm Gohan, Supreme Kai." Gohan answered evenly.
"Gohan... Gohan..." Supreme Kai turned the name over, feeling he had heard it somewhere before but unable to place it.
"Supreme Kai — isn't he... I remember now — isn't he Goku's son?" Kibito leaned in and offered quietly.
"Goku? You mean that Goku who trains at King Kai's place all the time?" Supreme Kai's memory clicked into place.
Kibito nodded vigorously.
"So you're still alive." Supreme Kai looked Gohan up and down, taking in every detail.
"Actually... I'm already dead." Gohan answered, a little sheepishly.
Supreme Kai: "..."
You're standing right in front of me, clearly alive — and you're telling me you're dead.
This kid is talking nonsense.
"Was it really you who defeated Majin Buu?" Supreme Kai pressed.
"It... it was." Gohan nodded.
Vegeta stood to the side, watching in silence, and said nothing.
"How did you do it?" Supreme Kai was still not satisfied — he asked one more time.
"Um... how do I put this?" Gohan rubbed his head, then his eyes lit up. He let his full power burst outward immediately.
An overwhelming ki erupted from him, surging outward from Gohan like a wave in every direction.
Supreme Kai and Kibito were instantly hurled off their feet by the force of it.
The two went flying backward several hundred metres before they finally came to a stop.
Supreme Kai and Kibito stared at Gohan with expressions of pure terror, the scale of his power washing over them — their jaws hanging open.
How does this child have this much power?
Is this some kind of joke?
"Now do you believe me, Supreme Kai?" Gohan smiled and let his energy settle.
Supreme Kai: "..."
Kibito: "..."
The two exchanged a look. This time they believed him.
Even so, Supreme Kai still felt like he might be dreaming.
Majin Buu... is just gone?
The most terrifying being in the history of the universe... dead while I was taking a nap?
"Truly remarkable — a young hero of extraordinary talent!" Supreme Kai stepped forward, studying Gohan with growing delight, unable to stop complimenting him.
Vegeta felt sour.
All that praise should have been going to my son.
And instead every bit of it landed on Kakarot's kid.
Just as the conversation continued —
Crack!
The bright sky was suddenly blotted out — as if a great black hand had swept across it.
The entire sky turned to night in an instant.
Complete darkness. Not a trace of light anywhere.
"What's going on? Why has it gone dark?" Kibito cried out and looked upward.
"Does this planet's sky just... suddenly turn to night?" Supreme Kai was stunned.
Vegeta: "..."
Vegeta cast a sideways glance at Supreme Kai and Kibito.
You're supposed to be the greatest god in this universe.
And you can't even tell that Shenron has appeared?
Kakarot works fast.
He gathered the Dragon Balls already and called him out?
Several hours of effort had gone into it.
Goku had collected all seven Dragon Balls.
While searching for the third one, he had sensed a powerful surge of malevolent ki rising somewhere nearby.
He had recognised immediately who that ki belonged to.
What Goku had not expected was for Majin Buu to emerge from the seal this early.
Concerned, Goku used Instant Transmission to get to the scene and watched from a distance for a moment.
He noticed Vegeta, just after his false self-destruction, quickly pull out a Capsule.
Goku shook his head quietly, and vanished again — off to find the fourth Dragon Ball.
He already knew that as long as Gohan was there, dealing with Majin Buu was no great challenge.
Now, Goku had laid all seven Dragon Balls out on the floor of the Lookout.
They gleamed with golden light across the stone floor.
Dende, the new Earth Guardian, had already swept the whole Lookout clean — and had found a staff from somewhere, which he held in both hands, giving him something of the air of the old Earth God.
"Dende — I'm going to call him now." Goku rubbed his hands together, eyes bright with excitement.
To be continued…
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