Aboard the prisoners' ship, Moro was mildly surprised when Saganbo informed him that Seven-Three had already switched to the abilities he had copied from Moro.
"So he's using my abilities already?"
"My apologies, Moro-sama." Saganbo bowed. "We intended to keep them as a last resort."
Moro frowned, though not for the reason Saganbo expected. "His Copy Ability is useful, but having him grab the back of my neck every time he needs another copy is unpleasant. Tell him not to use mine unless it's necessary."
"My apologies!"
Moro let the complaint go and leaned back with a grin. "Still, you have to admit my abilities are useful."
Saganbo immediately recognized an opportunity to flatter him. "Of course. We can show you the battle live if you'd like." He opened communications again. "Shimorekka, switch to video."
Another prisoner activated a projector, and an image of the battle on Earth appeared before Moro. Unfortunately, the enormous distance and unstable connection reduced the supposed live broadcast to a jerky mess of frozen frames and broken movements.
Moro's expression soured. "What's wrong with it?"
"The signal is weak, Moro-sama. I'm afraid this is the best quality we can get." Saganbo turned toward one of his subordinates. "Kill the engineers responsible for this system and replace them."
Moro stared at him.
"No. Finding new engineers would take too long."
Saganbo immediately withdrew the order. Moro's decision had nothing to do with mercy; killing everyone responsible for maintaining the ship would become inconvenient the next time something broke.
"We'll have to put up with the bad signal," Saganbo said.
"It's enough."
Even through the choppy transmission, Moro could see that Seven-Three's copied abilities had completely changed the battle.
The artificial warrior continued drawing energy from Gohan, Kale, Piccolo, Krillin, and Jaco until all five were visibly weakening. Gohan could barely keep himself upright, while Kale's Legendary Super Saiyan Two transformation collapsed entirely and left her back in her normal state.
"My body feels heavy..." Gohan muttered through clenched teeth.
"Gohan-nii, me too. I can barely move."
Piccolo finally understood just how miserable Moro's ability was to fight against. It wasn't simply stealing ki from an opponent; the longer they remained near Seven-Three, the less strength they had available to resist him.
Jaco looked even more miserable. "How did things get this bad?"
Shimorekka flew over to Seven-Three and made sure he understood one important restriction. "Don't drain the planet itself. Earth's energy is being saved for Moro-sama."
"I know. I'm only taking energy from these five."
Back aboard the main ship, Moro pointed toward the screen. "What was that artificial one called again?"
"Seven-Three."
"How long can he keep using abilities after copying them?"
"Thirty minutes," Saganbo explained. "That's why they need to finish the fight quickly."
Moro rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Seven-Three's Copy Ability was more versatile than he had initially given it credit for, although the time limit prevented it from being truly perfect.
Saganbo was more interested in the people Seven-Three was fighting. "I never expected Earth to have warriors this powerful."
"Ten million years ago, Earth was little more than a world of monkeys," Moro said with an amused smile. "Apparently they've developed quickly."
On Earth, Seven-Three finally stopped draining the defenders once he had taken most of their remaining strength. That was the signal Shimorekka and Yunba had been waiting for.
They rushed the exhausted fighters immediately.
Gohan and the others had been far stronger only minutes earlier, but Moro's ability had reduced them to the point where even defending themselves became difficult. Shimorekka knocked Kale down before she could properly counter and kicked Piccolo away when he tried to intervene, while Yunba went straight for Gohan.
The huge bear-like prisoner leaped into the air and dropped his full weight onto Gohan's stomach.
"Gah!"
Yunba remained sitting on him and began hammering punches into his face, enjoying himself far more than necessary.
"Gohan-nii!"
Kale forced herself up in fury, but Shimorekka intercepted her before she could reach him. "You should worry about yourself first."
His punch knocked her back down, and when Piccolo tried to attack from the side, Shimorekka caught him with a kick that sent him tumbling across the ground.
Piccolo dragged himself upright, breathing heavily as he fought against the weakness spreading through his body. He knew they had lost control of this fight, but Shimorekka's smug expression irritated him enough to force out a warning.
"Enjoy this while you can. Even if we lose here, Goku and Vegeta will defeat you."
Shimorekka paused. "Goku and Vegeta? Who are they?"
Seven-Three answered from nearby. "Names of the two Saiyans encountered on New Namek."
"Oh, those two." Shimorekka looked back at Piccolo. "What about them?"
Krillin managed to push himself onto one knee. "They're training so they can beat you. Goku and Vegeta aren't going to let Moro do whatever he wants."
The conversation reached Saganbo through the broken transmission, and he quickly turned toward Moro.
"Did you hear that, Moro-sama? Goku and Vegeta are the two Saiyans from New Namek. They're associated with the Galactic Patrol, and apparently they're training so they can fight us again." Saganbo shook his head. "If we let the Galactic Patrol keep interfering, they'll only become more annoying. We should consume Earth now and get rid of the problem."
Moro didn't answer immediately.
Ken's words returned to him.
The terrifying man had promised to release the little demoness and send them both back to the Demon Realm if Moro defeated Goku and Vegeta. Moro had never been entirely certain whether Ken intended to keep that promise, but everything happening now was lining up exactly with the confrontation Ken had described.
If those two Saiyans were training for a rematch, then Moro saw no reason to rob them of the opportunity.
"Wait."
Saganbo and the surrounding prisoners turned toward him.
"They're both training?"
"Yes. They escaped us once, but apparently they still haven't learned when to give up."
"Then call Shimorekka back."
Saganbo blinked. "You want them to leave Earth?"
"For now." Moro's expression settled into a confident smile. "We have nothing to fear from the Galactic Patrol anymore. Let Goku and Vegeta become stronger. Once they're ready, we'll go to Earth and settle everything in one battle."
Saganbo didn't completely understand the sudden change of plans, but Moro's orders were absolute. "Understood."
The recall order reached Shimorekka a moment later.
"All right, Captain. We're coming back." He closed the communicator and called across the battlefield. "Yunba, Seven-Three! We're leaving!"
Seven-Three immediately consumed the energy he had gathered from the defenders, while Yunba looked over in confusion. They had their opponents helpless and could have finished them right there, so retreating made little sense to him.
"Why are we leaving now?"
"Apparently Moro-sama wants to wait for those two Saiyans."
"Goku and Vegeta," Seven-Three supplied.
"Yeah, those two."
Yunba grunted in disappointment. "What a waste of time."
Before leaving, he walked back over to Gohan and gave him one last kick.
"Looks like you got lucky."
The three prisoners regrouped, leaving Gohan, Kale, Piccolo, Krillin, and Jaco struggling to their feet with barely enough energy left to stand. None of them understood why an enemy who had already won would suddenly abandon the fight.
Krillin glared after them, still clutching his battered body.
"Hey! What the hell is going on? At least explain why you're leaving!"
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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