Inside the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, a sharp sound cut through the stillness. Vegeta flashed into view as a streak of blue light.
They faced each other across the broken wall, four eyes locking.
"Dad..."
Trunks, still in Super Saiyan form, managed a timid greeting.
"What are you doing here?"
Vegeta's gaze slid past him to the other figure beside the temple wall, his eyes turning cold.
"N... nothing. If there's nothing else, I'll head out..."
In a blink, Trunks shot away as a beam of light and left the temple.
Only Vincent Fox and Vegeta remained.
"If you're coming in, then move. The wall will close soon."
Vegeta snorted, but the advice was still a kindness.
Vincent nodded and stepped through.
The stone behind him rustled as the torn slab began to knit back together. The hole Vincent punched through was massive; it would take time to mend.
The instant he crossed the threshold, Vincent felt it. Time itself flowed differently here. The rate was hundreds to one.
One day outside was nearly a year in here.
Scars of battle marked the white expanse. Vegeta had clearly been training here already.
"If you're going to train, then train. This place won't babysit dead weight."
Another snort. Then Vegeta's aura flared as he jumped straight to Super Saiyan Blue and engaged Whis once more.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
Vegeta pressed the attack, but every strike slipped past Whis as if the angel were gliding through falling leaves.
"So this is the power of an angel..."
Watching Whis playfully unwind each assault made Vincent's scalp prickle. Vegeta was hitting with everything he had and still couldn't touch a sleeve.
At Super Saiyan Blue, he could at least trouble a God of Destruction. Yet he couldn't graze Whis.
Not that their fight had much to do with him. Watching others brawl did almost nothing for Vincent's growth. Training himself was faster.
He rolled his shoulders, did a quick warmup, and got to work.
Ten kilometers. One hundred push-ups.
That bizarre routine unfolded in the pristine white world of the chamber.
Vegeta nearly spat blood when he saw it.
You call that training?
He had already filed Vincent in the mental drawer labeled almost as strong as me. For a man like him, ten kilometers was over in the blink of an eye. As for push-ups... even doing them on one pinky would be nothing.
By the time the prince finished fuming, Vincent had finished his set. He checked his status, saw the numbers climb, and relaxed. Then he moved on to practicing the Flight technique Trunks had taught him.
On the endless white floor, Vincent sat cross-legged with his eyes shut.
A moment later, he wobbled into the air, drifting forward and back like a leaf in a draft.
"That... is that Flight?"
Vegeta stared, dumbfounded. How long had it been since he'd seen Flight this bad?
Whis smiled and nodded. "Looks like it."
Vegeta's temper snapped. A guy who treats ten kilometers as a workout and flies like a broken kite was supposed to be his teammate?
He broke off his spar with Whis and strode toward Vincent, intent on a quick test.
"Hold on."
Whis tapped his staff, blocking the way.
"What is it, Whis?"
Vegeta bristled, suspecting this clown had come to humiliate him.
"Watch a little longer," Whis said, calm as ever.
Vegeta swallowed the retort. He folded his arms and glowered, forced to watch Vincent's clumsy hovering.
Time passed. Piece by piece, Vincent's Flight took shape. He could now keep steady, change direction, and even weave simple moves midair.
Haste makes waste. Vincent opened his eyes.
A glance at the time markers on the wall told him that, in chamber time, it was already the second day.
He started day two's routine. Ten kilometers. Push-ups.
Soon after, he wrapped the set, then pulled up his status screen.
Name: Vincent Fox
Race: Human
Constitution: 7371
Spirit: 2213
Strength: 7346
Agility: 6231
Bloodline: Saitama Physique (awakened)
Innate Ability: Flame
Skills: Demon God Descent (upgradeable), Conqueror's Haki, Armament Haki, Observation Haki, Byakugan
Another jump. Vincent grinned.
For the Saitama Physique, the greatest gains came from daily training. The catch was obvious. One round a day. Terrifying progress for a normal person, sure, but not a leap.
In here, though, one day outside was almost a year inside.
One outside day of training meant a year of gains.
With a year of grind under his belt, there wasn't a forbidden zone he wouldn't dare crack.
"Whis, stop getting in my way."
Vegeta shot the angel a glare. All he wanted was to test Vincent's depth.
"Very well."
Whis smiled and lowered his staff.
Vegeta stepped up to Vincent.
No warning.
He struck.
Boom.
No transformation. Just his base form, but even that carried frightening weight. His fist drove straight in.
Vincent turned his head and let it slide past on instinct.
"Fight me."
"Alright."
Vincent took his stance without fuss.
That easy smile only wound Vegeta up tighter. He snapped his palm forward and fired an energy blast.
A thunderclap shook the chamber.
Vincent slid aside and, in the same breath, burst forward. He appeared in front of Vegeta and let a straight right fly. He wanted a read on himself too.
Vegeta answered with golden light and surged into Super Saiyan.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
They collided again and again, detonations ringing across the pale horizon of the chamber.
"Unless you show something real, you're going to lose."
Vincent's voice stayed light as he sent another punch drilling in.
"I'm the one who'll lose?"
Vegeta's snarl frayed to a roar.
"Ha!"
His aura twisted, gold scalding to blue.
Super Saiyan Blue.
At last, Vegeta showed his true power. His speed and strength spiked, the change total and immediate.
"Serious Punch."
Vincent's right fist dipped and drove, carrying a pressure that made the air itself groan.
"What?!"
Instinct kicked in. Vegeta crossed his forearms to guard.
Thud.
Fist met guard with a heavy, ironclad crack.
Vegeta's body rocketed backward, a blue streak tumbling through the chamber's white vastness.
----------------------------------------------------
The deeper he goes, the more the truth unravels. Don't wait read ahead and witness Vincent's rise before the world catches up!
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