"Now this is getting interesting..."
Betkas stared at the three figures before him, suppressing the boundless excitement stirring deep in his blood.
"Beep! Beep! Beep!!!"
For once, Betkas switched off his Scouter, no longer bothering to wonder how powerful the three opponents were. This was the Fusion Technique—a move that had produced miraculous results several times in the original story. Its power went without saying. The three of them had to be at least over one hundred thousand.
After all, each of the original six had a power level above ten thousand. If their fusion didn't result in a power level of at least one hundred thousand, then the technique would hardly be worth much.
"Though I'd rather not do this... just in case..."
Betkas slowly raised his right hand, then created another Artificial Moon and tossed it into the sky. Unlike Vegeta, who had to expend energy to make one, a Saiyan at full strength barely had to use any.
The moment it left his hand, the three opponents charged at him as one. In the blink of an eye, they had reached his front, back, and left sides, each launching an attack. They were so fast that Betkas could barely dodge.
But in the next instant, he saw the fist coming at him from the front and leaned slightly aside, avoiding it. When another fist came at him from behind, Betkas released a burst of ki and abruptly retreated a short distance, dodging again. But then a third fist came at him, leaving him no way out. He could just barely avoid two of their attacks, but the third fighter's punch still connected. Its tremendous force sent Betkas flying hundreds of meters, smashing through countless small rocky hills along the way.
"Cough, cough... Damn it. I can clearly see what these guys are doing, but my body just can't keep up..."
Betkas crawled out from a pile of rocks and coughed a few times, grumbling in frustration. He could clearly see the fused trio's movements, even track them and react, but his body simply wasn't fast enough to keep up.
That was the misery of being too weak. He had once used Great Explosion to break through to a power level of five to six million, greatly increasing his strength. But after Bardock hit him with the Saiyan Seal, his power had been reduced to just over twelve thousand. His perception hadn't weakened, though—only his speed and attack power had.
That was why he'd barely dodged two of their punches when all three attacked at once, only to be struck by the third.
"But... is Great Ape Transformation really my only option?"
Betkas's mood grew heavy. In his current state, forget defeating them—even escaping would be a problem.
He really wanted a thrilling battle, but these guys were ganging up on him, not facing him one-on-one. This was a disadvantage that even a Saiyan, who grew stronger as a fight went on, would struggle to overcome. The same went for anyone else. It was one thing for the enemy to be stronger than you, but to be stronger and gang up on you? That was just messing with you.
And Betkas had to consider whether he could still take them on after transforming into a Great Ape. The transformation would multiply his strength tenfold, but would that be enough to defeat them?
The original story never specified how many times stronger a fusion was than its components.
So Betkas had no way of knowing the gap between them. The one thing he could be sure of was that the trio's power level couldn't possibly exceed five hundred thousand.
But even if one of them had a power level of two hundred thousand, Betkas would still have a hard time dealing with them as a Great Ape...
Right now, Betkas really wished he knew Kaioken. Then he'd have a chance to fight back.
Unfortunately...
That wasn't going to happen.
"Tch! Whatever! Sure, I'll be a huge target as a Great Ape, but my strength will increase tenfold. That's an unshakable fact!"
Betkas spat on the ground and stood up. Seeing the Fusion Trio flying toward him at high speed, he looked toward the Artificial Moon he'd created earlier.
"Oh no... Is this guy about to transform?!"
The Fusion Trio had just arrived when they noticed Betkas's body beginning to change. Their expressions shifted. Great Ape Transformation was famous among Saiyans, but few knew about the Artificial Moon. It was a technique known only to high-ranking Saiyans, which was why the three of them hadn't tried to stop him when they saw him launch the ball of light earlier.
Betkas's face twisted and contorted. His hair began to change color, and his body seemed to have something about to burst out of it as it kept swelling. His arms grew ever more muscular, veins bulging across them. His pupils vanished in an instant, leaving his gaze vacant, while black fur began to grow over his body.
His body continued to grow larger... until he stood as tall as a great mountain range...
"Roar!!!"
As soon as Betkas finished transforming, he let out a perfunctory roar, shaking the earth.
"Finish it quickly! If he goes berserk, this planet will be in for a disaster!"
One of the Fusion Trio—a man with bluish-white hair—spoke gravely. The other man and woman nodded, and all three began releasing powerful ki that enveloped their bodies. Blue, green, and white Ki Blasts took shape in their hands.
"Dragon... Fist... Ki... Blast!!"
Seeing that the trio were preparing to attack without holding back, Betkas didn't hesitate. His enormous body sprang into motion. He held his hands facing each other, leaving a small gap between them, and brought them to his waist. A golden Ki Blast began to form, then shot forward in an instant.
"Roar!"
A dragon's roar rang out as a golden dragon head surged toward the Fusion Trio. The three, looking solemn, fired their three-colored Ki Blasts, merging them into a single blast of pure three-colored energy. It collided with the golden dragon head.
"Zzzzt! Crack, crack, crack!"
The forces unleashed by the two attacks were so powerful that lightning erupted from the center of the clash and swept through the surroundings. Gale-force winds surged, and huge cracks split the earth. Even pebbles began to fly into the air, while the sky darkened and grew gloomy, like the end of the world.
The power released by this fierce collision made everyone on the planet tremble with fear!
Before you continue