Betkas VS Bardock.

"Too slow!!"

Bardock said with a tone of dissatisfaction, staring coldly at Betkas as he slowly appeared in his line of sight.

"Hey..."

Betkas responded with a grunt upon hearing this.

"You had better prepare yourself. This time, I'm going to use some real skill. If you die... you can only blame your own bad luck."

Bardock clenched his fists tightly, his expression grave. At the same time, Betkas immediately felt the surrounding temperature drop significantly, turning bone-chillingly cold.

"Gulp!"

Feeling the killing intent radiating from Bardock, Betkas couldn't help but swallow hard, yet he felt a strange sense of excitement.

This was the pure Saiyan bloodline acting up during every spar he had with Bardock. Saiyans were not like other creatures; they didn't feel fear or terror when encountering powerful beings. Saiyans only felt excitement, even a desire to engage in combat, regardless of whether they might die. Of course, certain overly ambitious Saiyans were a different story.

"Whoosh!"

In the blink of an eye, Bardock vanished from Betkas's field of vision. Betkas immediately assumed a defensive stance, his eyes darting left and right, occasionally glancing behind him or looking upward.

This was the tragedy of being unable to sense Ki.

He could only rely silently on his physical eyes to observe.

"Too slow!!"

Bardock appeared instantly behind Betkas, driving his left knee directly into Betkas's back.

"Cough...!!"

Betkas endured the intense pain, his body curling into a crescent shape as he lurched forward. Before he could react further, Bardock's next strike arrived.

"When struck by an enemy, you must immediately launch a counterattack that threatens their life! You cannot let the opponent continue to land unnecessary blows!"

Watching Betkas in pain, Bardock shouted again, his right fist surging with immense power as he slammed it into Betkas's hunched back, adding insult to injury.

"Ah!!!"

Betkas was sent flying forward by the punch.

"The moment you are sent flying, don't dwell on the trivial pain in your body. Saiyans never fear pain! They only enjoy the pleasure of battle!"

In the next instant, Bardock appeared a short distance in front of Betkas, his right hand curled at the joint as he thrust it toward Betkas's chin.

"Tch! That's basic knowledge! As the Prince of all Saiyans, how could I not know that?!!"

Betkas desperately fought to regain his consciousness, refusing to dwell on the pain racking his body. He suddenly erupted with his maximum power, his entire body instantly enveloped in a surging aura.

He then gathered two powerful golden energy spheres in his hands, gauged the distance to Bardock, and hurled them forward.

Bardock watched the scene with a cold sneer.

"Boom!!!"

To Bardock's surprise, the two energy spheres exploded right in front of him.

Betkas was blown back by the shockwave of the blast and barely managed to stabilize his footing. A massive mushroom cloud rose up ahead.

"Not bad. To actually control the energy spheres to detonate before hitting the target! Is this one of the special techniques you've mastered?"

From within the smoke, Bardock's voice emerged, sounding rather impressed.

"Heh heh... if I hadn't figured out some tricks after all these days... I'd be a total waste," Betkas said with a hint of pride.

But when the smoke cleared, Bardock appeared before Betkas once more. Aside from being covered in a bit of dust and his clothes being slightly tattered, he was completely unharmed.

"As expected... the gap in strength."

Betkas deeply felt the crushing disparity. No matter how much power he exerted, it seemed so futile against the absolute strength gap of Bardock. He could only cause minor issues that didn't even qualify as a nuisance.

"Now it's my turn. We've been doing hand-to-hand combat for days, so this time, I'll return the favor with a special technique."

Bardock pondered for a moment before speaking. Then, ignoring the look on Betkas's face that suggested he wanted to curse, a blue energy wave gathered in his right palm.

"Oh, crap!!!!"

Betkas really wanted to curse, but Bardock's blue energy wave was already fired. Looking at the massive, energy-filled blue wave that seemed to dye the sky, Betkas realized it was truly terrifying.

"Dragon... Kamehameha!!!"

Betkas couldn't care about anything else; he immediately drew upon his remaining strength. He positioned his hands as if performing a Kamehameha and chanted slowly.

When Bardock's blue energy wave was fifty meters away, Betkas fired instantly. A golden energy wave shaped like a dragon's head surged forward.

When the golden dragon-headed wave collided with the blue energy wave, it triggered a tremor that shook the very heavens.

"The power is quite impressive. It's somewhat similar to the Kamehameha I saw Kakarot use in the future... but your quality seems to be even higher. Did you fuse Kakarot's Dragon Fist Explosion with the Kamehameha? What a formidable guy!"

Bardock looked at Betkas, who was holding his own against him, and appeared somewhat shocked. His face was filled with disbelief; this was the first time he had shown such an expression in front of Betkas.

"Ha!!!!"

Betkas maintained his output with a grave expression, not daring to relax for a second. Under normal circumstances, he might have felt proud, but the current situation didn't allow for it. If he didn't push this attack back, he would likely be finished.

"However... you pass. With this talent and aptitude of yours, becoming a Super Saiyan is only a matter of time! So, I will give you one last push here!!"

Bardock revealed a hint of gratification and shouted aloud. At the same time, he immediately increased his power output. In an instant, Betkas was suppressed, left with no strength to resist.

He could only watch helplessly as Bardock's massive blue energy wave drew closer, unable to move.

"Boom, boom!!!!!"