Beerus steadied himself in the air, rage burning hotter than the pain.
"You fat idiot. I'm not letting you off this time!"
He shot toward Buu, ready to tear into him again, only to slow down the instant he got close. Something had changed. Buu's body still had the same round shape, but red divine fire rolled across him, and the pressure coming off him had jumped far beyond what it had been moments ago.
Beerus's face darkened. "You absorbed Bardock, didn't you?"
Buu nodded. "Mm-hm."
"You think that's enough to beat me?" Beerus said, though his expression had already turned serious. He could feel the difference. Buu's strength had climbed close enough to be troublesome, and worse, this fat monster could regenerate from almost anything. Even being blown apart by destruction energy had not killed him.
Buu did not bother answering. His arm stretched across the distance like rubber, snapping forward before Beerus could finish judging him.
The punch landed squarely on Beerus's face.
Beerus's head tilted slightly from the impact, a fist mark pressed into his cheek. Buu pulled his arm back and grinned.
"How was that?"
"Nothing special," Beerus said, but the look in his eyes said he wanted to kill him.
"Then I'll do it again."
"I've played around long enough." Purple-red light erupted from Beerus's body, spreading through his fur as his power rose. "I'm going to fight seriously now. I'll erase you first, then destroy this planet. That will do nicely as a celebration for the day I woke up."
Buu's grin faded, and his eyes widened.
"You should never have annoyed me," Beerus said.
He disappeared.
Buu threw a punch at the space in front of him, but Beerus slipped past it and drove a knee deep into his stomach. Buu howled, his body bending around the blow, and before he could recover, Beerus seized the antenna on his head.
Beerus held him in place with one hand and punched him with the other, again and again, each strike smashing Buu's face into a new shape. When that was not enough, he swung Buu by the antenna in a vicious circle, faster and faster, until the pink Majin blurred into a spinning ring.
Then Beerus let go.
Buu shot across the battlefield and slammed into Ken's barrier. The impact rang through the sealed space like a bell, but the barrier held. Buu, on the other hand, splattered flat against it and slid down like a soft pink pancake.
Beerus smiled. "Still nothing special."
Buu peeled himself off the barrier and puffed back into shape, round body restoring itself with a pop.
Beerus's eyes narrowed.
Annoyingly durable.
Buu raised both hands and flicked his fingers through the air. Ki blasts burst out one after another, filling the space around Beerus until hundreds of glowing spheres hovered in every direction.
"You're finished, stupid cat," Buu said.
Beerus glanced at the surrounding attacks with open contempt.
Buu clapped his hands together, and every blast rushed in at once.
"Hakai."
Destruction energy spread from Beerus in a purple wave. The ki blasts popped the instant they touched it, bursting like bubbles against his aura. In less than three seconds, every attack Buu had prepared was gone.
"Cheap tricks," Beerus said. "Even after absorbing Bardock, you still aren't my match."
He had barely finished speaking when Buu appeared in front of him backward, rear pointed straight at his face.
Beerus's eyes twitched.
Buu let one rip.
The foul burst hit Beerus head-on, and the God of Destruction nearly lost focus from the smell alone. Buu twisted around at once, pleased with himself. If Beerus wanted to fight with fists, Buu could answer with something much worse.
A punch followed the fart and struck Beerus in the face.
This time, Beerus did not move.
Buu froze, eyes widening. He had landed the hit cleanly, but Beerus stood there like nothing had happened.
"You fat bastard."
Beerus grabbed Buu by the head and drove him straight down. Buu tried to twist free, but Beerus kept pushing, dragging him toward the lower edge of the barrier at frightening speed.
Buu's face hit the invisible wall with a heavy boom. His head flattened against it like dough, while the shock from the collision shot back up Beerus's arm. Beerus hissed and pulled his hand away, his forearm numb from the impact.
"Whis!" Beerus shouted, shaking out his arm. "Why did you put a barrier on the ground?"
From far away, Whis answered lightly, "Beerus-sama, that barrier was not mine."
"Then whose was it? Your apprentice brother's?"
"Which apprentice Angel does Beerus-sama mean?"
Beerus's expression soured. "Your brother, obviously!"
He paused, then glanced toward Capsule Corporation's yard as if remembering something. "No, that's impossible. He is not that strong. There was another female Angel with you. I remember her. She was Universe 18's Angel."
"Beerus-sama has an excellent memory," Whis said.
"Didn't she disappear with Universe 18?"
"Amarella's Angel power remained, so she has been recovering slowly."
"Whatever. Next time someone puts up a barrier, tell me first. My arm nearly went numb." Beerus looked down at Buu, whose head was still spread flat against the shield, and kicked him back into the air.
Beerus appeared above him again and hammered him downward with another heavy punch. Buu crashed into the lower barrier like a cannonball, making the whole sealed field hum.
He twitched, gritted his teeth, and forced himself upright, but his body was already swaying.
Beerus descended in front of him with a cold smile. "I told you. You should never have annoyed me."
He reached out and closed one hand around Buu's throat.
Buu clawed at Beerus's wrist, but no matter how he struggled, he could not break the grip. After a moment, his eyes shifted. His head suddenly narrowed, becoming thinner than his own neck, and he slipped free like a piece of soft candy squeezed through a ring.
Beerus blinked, surprised despite himself.
Buu stumbled back several steps, breathing hard. Fatigue was finally catching up with him.
"You're better than Quitela overall," Beerus said. "I'll give you that. But you still can't beat me."
Buu rushed him again anyway.
Beerus answered with a tight series of punches, each one landing cleanly. Buu's face swelled, his body folded, and he hit the ground again. This time, he stayed there a little longer.
Beerus stepped on his face.
"Where did all that arrogance go?" he said, grinding his foot down. "Go on. Be arrogant again."
Buu turned his head just enough to spit at him.
Beerus avoided it easily.
His foot came down harder, pressing a deep print into Buu's flattened face. "You still dare insult me? And you call yourself the Little God of Destruction? I'm the strongest God of Destruction, and even I don't use a ridiculous title like that. Who gave you the right?"
Back at Bulma's house, the mood had turned grim.
Mr. Satan's eyes were red, and in his panic he had grabbed Oolong by the head without realizing it.
"Hey! Why are you grabbing me?" Oolong cried.
"Sorry!" Mr. Satan let go at once, fists shaking at his sides. "When I get nervous, I grab my family's pet by habit. Buu! My Buu! Fight back!"
"Who's your family pet?" Oolong shouted. "Watch your mouth!"
Videl stared at the projection with tears in her eyes. "Buu…"
Goku's face tightened. "This is bad. Buu's in danger, and so is Dad."
He turned toward Vegeta. "I'm going to ask the Supreme Kai for another Potara. Vegeta, fuse with me when I get back."
Vegeta gave a short, irritated snort. It was not agreement, but it was not a refusal either.
Goku raised his fingers, ready to go, but Vegeta suddenly reached out and stopped him.
"Kakarot, wait."
"There's no time. Whatever it is, say it after I get back."
"Someone's coming." Vegeta looked up. "It feels like Broly."
"Broly?" Goku's face lit up.
Across the yard, the others were just as tense. Most of them were worried for Buu, but even more worried for Bardock. If Beerus destroyed Buu while Bardock was absorbed inside him, Bardock would die with him.
At Ken's table, Merus watched with his brow furrowed. Buu had absorbed Bardock and still could not gain the advantage. Beerus was simply too strong. Even if both of them were level 58, the hidden difference behind the number mattered. If Buu was closer to 58.1, Beerus was already near 58.9, only a step from level 59.
At that level, the gap was crushing.
Then Merus felt it too. He looked toward the sky. "Broly is back."
"Right on time," Ken said.
Inside the barrier, Beerus was still beating Buu.
He kicked the flattened Majin into the air, struck him from every direction, then grabbed and squeezed his body as if he were molding clay. Within half a minute, Buu had been forced into the shape of a pig.
Beerus looked pleased with the result. "This suits you better."
He slapped Buu back down against the ground-level barrier and flattened him again.
"Little God of Destruction?" Beerus sneered. "With this kind of strength? What a joke."
Buu lay there like a pig-shaped sheet of pink flesh, barely wriggling enough to prove he was still alive.
"I won't kill you this time," Beerus said. "But from now on, whenever you see me, you kneel. If you don't, I'll beat you until even regeneration won't save you. Did you hear me? Make a sound if you did."
Buu answered with another fart.
Beerus's face twisted with rage. He stomped down at the source of the insult and crushed Buu's rear flat against the barrier.
"You never learn."
The words had just left his mouth when Beerus felt something behind him.
He turned his head.
A man had appeared in the sealed space without warning.
Black hair. God of Destruction attire. A cold face.
And hovering above his shoulder was a small, flickering ball of light.
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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