Don't Think I'll Be Fooled!

Vegeta calculated the time in silence, his teeth clenched tight, his body trembling even more violently.

"Actually, the reason I gave you a halftime break just now," Soro said suddenly, his tone flat, "is because Nappa is likely dead."

"Hmph." Vegeta let out a cold snort, his mouth twitching, "If a piece of trash like that is dead, then so be it! I have no need for useless Saiyans!"

He was not particularly surprised by this.

Nappa had already been severely injured; if left unattended, the chances of him surviving were slim to begin with.

If he was dead now, then he was dead!

The main problem now was to deal with this fellow named Soro!

"Oh dear." Soro sighed softly, his tone carrying a hint of feigned concern, "I'm running out of energy; it seems I can't use the Flash Technique anymore. This is truly terrible."

"Hmph." Vegeta grunted, lifting his chin even higher, "Put away your deceptive little tricks. Do you think I'll fall for it? I simply won't open my eyes!"

He kept his eyes tightly shut, his eyelids trembling slightly from the effort.

"Don't think you can trick me!"

"Are you really not going to open your eyes?" Soro asked with a smile, tilting his head to observe Vegeta's expression.

Vegeta simply chose to ignore Soro.

He stood his ground with his arms crossed, eyes firmly closed.

Anyway, there's nothing you can do to me; your pathetic combat power certainly can't break my defenses.

Otherwise, you would have attacked me already!

And once you do attack, as long as I can get my hands on you...

You're dead!

Vegeta felt immensely smug, a smirk even curling at the corner of his mouth.

Even though his eyes hurt terribly and tears were still streaming out.

"Smack!"

Just as Vegeta was indulging in these pleasant thoughts, Soro stepped forward and delivered a resounding slap directly across his face.

The collision between palm and cheek produced a crisp, sharp sound.

Vegeta's head was knocked to the side.

He was stunned for a moment, his pupils shrinking to pinpricks.

Immediately following was a burst of uncontrollable rage, the veins on his forehead bulging.

"You... you're courting death!"

Vegeta let out a roar and threw a punch toward Soro.

His fist tore through the air, carrying a wave of pressure.

Soro had long since dodged, his figure flickering slightly as he vanished from his spot.

Vegeta's punch hit nothing but empty air.

"Smack!"

Soro delivered another slap, striking the other side of Vegeta's face.

The sound was even louder than before.

Vegeta's head was whipped to the other side, two red marks appearing on his cheeks.

"Aaaaaah!"

Vegeta was beside himself with fury, a guttural roar erupting from his throat.

He lashed out at the air with a flurry of punches and kicks, his limbs leaving afterimages in the sky.

"Didn't you say you wouldn't open your eyes?" Soro's voice rang out from behind and to the side of Vegeta, his tone relaxed.

"Whoosh!"

Vegeta performed a magnificent turn, rotating his body 180 degrees.

He fired an energy blast from his hand, a sphere of light shooting out from his palm.

The energy blast streaked toward Soro's position at high speed, trailing a tail of light through the air.

Soro reached out, splayed his fingers, and caught the energy blast Vegeta had released, his fingers hooking around the edge of the light sphere.

Then, he gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Pop!"

The energy blast detonated in Soro's hand, flames erupting from between his fingers.

"Ah..." Soro exclaimed, his voice laced with exaggeration.

Yet, a moment later, he remained floating in the air, calm and unruffled as if nothing had happened.

His palm remained completely unscathed, not even a patch of skin broken.

"Heh heh heh." Vegeta gave a smug laugh, the corners of his mouth curling upward. "How was that just now?"

He tilted his head, eyes still firmly shut.

"Got hit, didn't you? A low-class warrior is a low-class warrior after all! Even if you sealed my eyes, did you think I'd be helpless against you?"

"So," Soro asked with keen interest, arms crossed over his chest, "can you open your eyes now?"

Vegeta: "..."

Vegeta fell silent, his mouth twitching.

The more Soro said that, the less Vegeta dared to open his eyes.

At this point, those flashes of white light had already left a psychological shadow on Vegeta.

His eyelids felt as if they were glued shut, impossible to pry open.

"Hmph." Vegeta huffed, chin tilted slightly upward as he abruptly changed the subject. "You must have been injured just now, otherwise you wouldn't have cried out!"

"Injured?" Soro chuckled, glancing down at his shoes. "Doesn't exist. My shoelace just came undone."

He bent down, making a show of tugging at his laces.

"Don't... don't bluff!" Vegeta expressed deep skepticism.

"Open your eyes already!" Soro's smile grew even brighter, his tone laced with provocation.

Vegeta drew a breath, his chest swelling.

He clenched his fists tightly, his knuckles cracking.

Then, he placed his hands in front of his face, using his fingers to prop up his upper and lower eyelids, prying them open bit by bit until a thin slit appeared.

However, the moment Vegeta's eyes opened just a fraction, Soro slapped his hand aside.

His hand was knocked away, leaving his eyes completely exposed.

And then, Vegeta's eyes made intimate contact with the white light once more.

The white light poured directly into his pupils.

"Ah..."

Vegeta let out a painful wail, his body recoiling backward.

He was once again met with a world of pure, blinding white; he couldn't see a thing.

"Bastard!" Vegeta roared in exasperation, his voice cracking.

The problem was, even though his eyes had opened a sliver, he still couldn't locate where Soro was.

In fact, because of that momentary flash, his vision had regressed back to square one.

With things having progressed to this point, the thought of leaving this planet began to form in Vegeta's mind.

He gritted his teeth, his brow furrowed.

But if he were to use the remote to call his spaceship now...

Soro would surely kick the ship away the moment it arrived.

Right!

His speed isn't as fast as mine!

Why don't I just run far away, then sneak back later to finish him off?

Vegeta calculated in his mind, a cold, sinister smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

At this moment, Son Goku was riding the Flying Nimbus, approaching the area at high speed.

The Flying Nimbus left a golden trail across the sky.

From far away, Son Goku saw a mass of blinding white light that looked exceptionally conspicuous in that region.

The white light was like a sun that had fallen to the ground, bleaching the surrounding sky.

"What is that white light?" Son Goku scratched his head, feeling a bit dazzled.

He squinted, trying to see clearly.

However, after staring at the white light for just a few seconds, his eyes were stung shut.

Tears welled up in his eye sockets, streaming down his cheeks.

"Is that a Solar Flare?" Son Goku muttered to himself, bewildered. "How could there be such a strange Solar Flare?"

He raised a hand to wipe away his tears and blinked his eyes.

Immediately after, Son Goku looked down at the Sunglasses in his hand, suddenly feeling that Korin was incredibly thoughtful.