"I don't need the reminder!" Vegeta snapped.
"Right. As long as you know." Goku nodded.
The two of them stopped talking and crashed back into each other. Fists, kicks, feints—neither gave the other room to breathe.
Then Goku pulled back and raised a hand.
Vegeta clicked his tongue. "What now? Need to piss?"
"Vegeta, wait. There's a ki on Earth." Goku's face changed at once. "A huge one. It's Majin Buu. How did he wake up?"
Vegeta turned toward Earth and reached out with his senses. The moment he felt that monstrous ki, his eyes narrowed.
"Hmph. That's all?" Vegeta said. "From the way Ken talked, Majin Buu was probably released so we'd have something to sharpen ourselves against. If he's awake, then it's exactly the kind of mess Ken would set up. I know how that bastard works."
"Huh? Ken released him on purpose?" Goku scratched his head. "Then I'll ask."
Vegeta's expression twitched.
Goku looked up at the sky like he was about to call someone across the room.
"Hey, Ken! Vegeta says you released Majin Buu. Is that true?"
Vegeta went rigid.
A chill shot straight through him.
Then he lunged and kicked at Goku with murder in his eyes.
Goku slipped aside. "What was that for? Why'd you suddenly attack me?"
"When did I say Ken released Majin Buu?" Vegeta roared. "I said it was a guess! Stop putting words in my mouth!"
"Oh. That wasn't what you meant?"
"Of course it wasn't!" Vegeta shook with rage. "Are you a child? Why do you run off tattling the second someone says anything?"
"Tattling?" Goku stared at him blankly.
Vegeta almost shook apart on the spot.
Then Goku grinned. "Heh. Relax. I was just messing with you. I didn't actually contact Ken."
Vegeta fell silent.
Every curse he knew tore through his head at once.
Kakarot, you bastard.
What kind of idiot joke was that?
Did he have any idea how terrifying Ken was?
"We should talk about Buu," Goku said, already serious again. "We should head back, right? Gohan and the others might be in trouble."
"Kakarot, your son has a Legendary Super Saiyan with him," Vegeta said. "That girl is no weakling. You know that."
"I know, but…" Goku looked toward Earth, still uneasy. "Does it really make sense for us to keep fighting here?"
"You're not leaving." Vegeta's voice turned sharp. "Not until one of us wins."
Goku hesitated, then let out a breath and raised his fists again.
"All right."
They moved at the same time.
The empty planet shook under the force of their battle.
Earth.
Buu yawned, patted his mouth, then looked around at the people gathered in front of him.
"I'm hungry. I didn't eat enough." His eyes landed on the Supreme Kai. "You. Make me food."
The Supreme Kai's face tightened.
Kibito stepped forward before he could answer. His legs were stiff, but he forced himself to stand between them.
"How dare you speak to him like that?" Kibito barked. "Do you know who you're talking to?"
Buu looked at him.
That was all it took.
Kibito screamed as he shot backward, skipping and rolling across the ground until he finally came to a stop, unconscious.
"Kibito!" the Supreme Kai cried, rushing toward him.
Buu vanished from sight and reappeared in front of him, blocking the way.
"Move!" the Supreme Kai shouted. "Get out of my way!"
He thrust a hand toward Buu's face.
A burst of divine force splashed over Buu's head.
Buu blinked.
Nothing happened.
"Oh." Buu grinned. "That's cool."
He swung both hands up and clapped them hard against the Supreme Kai's face.
Crack.
The Supreme Kai's head twisted from the blow, his features crushed out of shape.
Buu scratched his head. "Oops. Too much."
The Supreme Kai screamed, staggering in the air, barely able to process the pain tearing through his face.
Buu floated above him, turned around, and let one rip.
Boom!
The blast launched the Supreme Kai into the ground like a cannonball, punching a deep crater into the earth.
"The Supreme Kai's in trouble!" Piccolo's face hardened.
He transformed on the spot, orange light blazing over him, and shot toward the crater.
"Piccolo, wait!" Gohan shouted, chasing after him.
"Gohan-nii!" Kale cried, flying after Gohan.
Piccolo reached Buu first and drove a fist straight into his face.
His punch sank deep into Buu's cheek, leaving a clear dent.
For a second, it looked like a solid hit.
Then Buu pushed back with his face.
Piccolo's eyes widened as Buu slowly forced his head back into shape against Piccolo's fist.
Buu slapped him.
Piccolo spun through the air, completely out of control.
"Hey!"
Buu followed up with a lazy hip-check that smashed into Piccolo's body and sent him flying.
Piccolo crashed straight into Gohan, who had just arrived.
Gohan coughed blood before he could even react. The impact drove both of them into the ground, sending them tumbling through dust and broken stone.
When they finally stopped, neither of them moved.
The orange glow around Piccolo faded, and his body returned to normal.
"Piccolo! Gohan-nii!"
Kale froze for half a heartbeat.
Then fury swallowed everything else.
Yellow-green light roared around her body. Lightning cracked through the air as she transformed into a Legendary Super Saiyan.
Buu paused, tilted his head, and looked her over.
"You bastard!" Kale shouted. "I'll never forgive you!"
She was about to charge when Buu raised a hand.
"Wait."
Kale stopped, thrown off for an instant.
Buu squinted at her. "Hey. Are you Broly and Ai's daughter?"
Kale stared at him.
"What?"
"Oh, wait." Buu tapped his forehead. "I remember. You're that little girl from the Cell Games."
"You hurt Gohan-nii." Kale's voice shook with rage. "I'll make you pay!"
She launched herself at him and drove a full-power punch into his face.
Buu barely flinched. "Don't get in the way. This has nothing to do with you."
Her fist sank into his cheek, leaving another deep imprint.
Buu frowned.
"You're annoying."
He flicked his hand, and an energy ball swallowed Kale whole.
Kale screamed as the blast carried her away, dragging her across the sky until she vanished into the distance.
The Supreme Kai dragged himself out of the crater, teeth clenched, every movement shaking with pain.
He looked toward the energy ball flying away with Kale and glared.
Boom!
The blast exploded in the distance. Kale dropped out of the sky and crashed into the forest below, unconscious and back in her normal form.
Buu turned his head and gave the Supreme Kai a mocking look.
The Supreme Kai forced himself to stand and glared back.
Another wave of divine force wrapped around Buu.
Buu smiled. "You already tried that. It didn't work. Why do it again?"
The Supreme Kai trembled.
Buu widened his eyes.
His own power slammed into the Supreme Kai.
The Supreme Kai screamed as he was hurled backward, scraping across the ground and carving a long trench through the dirt.
Buu hopped after him, flipped through the air, and dropped down hard on his waist.
The Supreme Kai spat blood, despair filling his eyes.
"I just told you to make me food." Buu grabbed him by the hair and yanked his head back. "Why do you need a beating first?"
The Supreme Kai screamed again.
"You thought you sealed me away?" Buu snorted. "I was only taking a nap in there."
The Supreme Kai stopped struggling.
Fine.
Just kill me.
"What should I do with you?" Buu pressed a hand to the back of his head and slammed it into the ground.
Bang!
The Supreme Kai's head smashed into the earth and stayed buried in the crater it made.
Pain swallowed his thoughts. His head barely felt attached anymore.
Through the corner of his eye, he looked across the battlefield.
It was hopeless.
Gohan was down. Kale was down. Piccolo was down.
Only Cabba and Caulifla were still in the air.
"Run!" Caulifla shouted.
She did not wait for an answer. She turned and flew.
Cabba stared after her, stunned.
She actually ran?
He hesitated only a moment before chasing after her.
"Caulifla!" Cabba called. "Are we really just leaving that fat monster to do whatever he wants?"
"Use your head!" Caulifla snapped. "He beat Kale. Kale. What are we supposed to do, fly over there and die politely?"
Cabba had no answer for that.
"…You're right." He looked ahead. "Where are we going?"
"Where do you think? We grab Kale and get off this planet!"
Only then did Cabba realize she was flying toward the place Kale had fallen.
Kale, stay alive, Caulifla thought, fear tightening in her chest.
Buu watched them flee and did not chase.
The Supreme Kai saw them leave too, and the last bit of hope in him went cold.
Those two had crushed Babidi's fighters with ease.
Now they were running without even trying?
At least throw one punch at Majin Buu before you leave.
Buu smacked his lips. "Maybe I should turn you into chocolate and eat you. I've never tasted Supreme Kai chocolate."
The Supreme Kai could not speak.
He only stared back in despair.
On the distant planet, Goku and Vegeta were still fighting.
They traded blows for a while longer before Goku suddenly stopped and looked toward Earth.
Vegeta felt it too.
Buu's ki had surged again.
"He's strong, Vegeta," Goku said quietly. "If Ken was telling the truth, then Majin Buu is worse than I thought."
Vegeta said nothing.
"Ken said even Merus might not be able to beat him," Goku went on, his face grim. "We shouldn't be fighting each other right now. We need to go back."
Vegeta clenched his teeth.
"Fine. Our fight can wait." His eyes hardened. "First, we deal with Majin Buu."
"Vegeta!" Goku's face brightened.
"How many Senzu Beans do you have?"
"Two."
"Give me one."
"Sure."
Goku turned to reach into his belt, smiling as he did. "If we fight together, I think we can give Majin Buu a real—"
Bang!
Vegeta struck him in the back of the head.
Goku's eyes went blank.
He dropped to the ground and passed out.
"Hmph. So much for Ultra Instinct." Vegeta picked up the Senzu Bean Goku had dropped and swallowed it.
Power flooded back through him, restoring his energy to its peak.
"I never said I'd fight beside you," Vegeta said. "Majin Buu is mine. I'll crush him myself, then come back and finish this properly."
He lifted his head and looked toward the stars.
Toward Earth.
Then he went still.
How was he supposed to get back?
Damn it.
He could not survive in space.
Was he really going to wake Kakarot and ask him for a ride?
Vegeta stood there in silence, looking as if the universe had personally insulted him.
At last, he crouched beside Goku and slapped his cheek.
"Hey. Kakarot. Wake up."
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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