Cooler had already guessed that Salza would make secret arrangements once he returned. But when he saw Saigo smiling and holding out his hand, he suppressed the urge to kill the hateful little Saiyan monkey on the spot and forced out a stiff reply.
"Yes, my lord!"
Salza immediately fiddled with his Scouter and began relaying the orders.
"Attention, everyone! Attention, everyone! This is Number One! This is Number One!"
"Lord Cooler is about to duel the King of Saiyans. The victor will have absolute authority over the loser's fate! After the duel, no one is to act without authorization. Anyone who disobeys will be dealt with under military law! Acknowledge! Acknowledge!"
After finishing, Salza deliberately took off his Scouter and pressed the loudspeaker button so Saigo could hear clearly.
Bzzzt~
"Number One, Number One, this is Number Two! This is Number Two! Order received! Order received! Over!"
"Number One, Number One, this is Number Three! This is Number Three! Order received! Order received! Over!"
"Number One, Number One, this is Number Fifteen! This is Number Fifteen! Order received! Order received! Over!"
Salza pressed the loudspeaker button again, put his Scouter back on, then moved behind Cooler and waited.
"Captain Salza, go back and take command of the troops. You might get caught in the crossfire if you stay here," Cooler said without looking back.
He was worried that his trusted strategist might get caught in the crossfire, but he had another reason, too: Salza could keep the army under control in his absence.
Salza held a position of great importance to Cooler, who normally doted on him.
"Yes, Lord Cooler! I'll take my leave!"
Whoosh!
Salza powered up and shot toward the spaceship overhead.
"Well then, little Saiyan King, shall we begin?" Cooler wore a smug smile, convinced victory was assured.
He had no idea that this arrangement suited Saigo even better.
Saigo looked at Cooler as if he were an idiot, a knowing smile on his face, and slowly floated toward him.
When Cooler saw Saigo smile, his own smug grin grew even wider. The Saiyan monkeys had actually made a little brat like this their king. They must have been out of their minds!
Still, it saved him a lot of trouble!
He hoped the little monkey could hold out for a while!
At last, Cooler couldn't stand Saigo's unhurried manner any longer. His blood-red eyes narrowed, and he vanished from the spot, launching an attack with High-Speed Movement!
The next instant, Cooler appeared behind Saigo. He showed his true colors, making no allowances for Saigo's youth. His powerful fist, trailing a gust of wind, shot straight toward Saigo's back. His face twisted with cruelty and savagery, along with a hint of exhilaration.
He was about to hit his target. The savage grin on his face grew wider and more triumphant.
But then—
Thud!
Saigo's tail suddenly uncoiled from around his waist and whipped into Cooler's heavy fist before Cooler could react.
"What?"
Cooler stared. The little monkey had blocked his full-force attack with nothing but his brown tail!
"Impossible!"
With a strangled cry, Cooler swung another punch, shocked and baffled but refusing to believe what he'd seen.
Thud!
His attack was still ineffective.
Cooler still couldn't believe it. What a joke!
He was Cooler, the Cosmic Emperor, with a battle power of 800 million!
How could this little monkey block his attacks with nothing but his tail?
I refuse to believe it!
At the thought, Cooler was both shocked and terrified. Still unwilling to accept it, he attacked again and again with all his strength, his fury mounting.
Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud...
Every attack was blocked by that little tail. It even slapped him across the face!
To Cooler, this was the greatest humiliation imaginable!
But at that moment, his fear far outweighed his wounded pride.
"Impossible!"
"Impossible!"
"This can't be!"
Cooler had completely lost his composure. He shouted hysterically, his body trembling despite himself. He leaned back slightly, his eyes filling with terror as he retreated some distance from Saigo.
"Who are you? You can't be a Saiyan! There's never been a Saiyan as strong as you!"
Saigo remained calm and slowly turned around. He sneered. "You're the mighty Cosmic Emperor Cooler. Surely this isn't all you've got? My patience is limited. Bring out your full power, or you'll be dead at my hands in the blink of an eye!"
Cooler heard Saigo's words and secretly rejoiced. You said it yourself. When I show my power, don't try to sneak up on me!
"Don't worry. I'm not shameless enough to sneak up on someone like certain people do, attacking a child and ending up with a battered face," Saigo said scornfully, looking at Cooler, who was still shaken and panicked.
Cooler flew into a rage. But then he thought about how, once he transformed into his final form, he'd see whether this arrogant Saiyan monkey could still act so cocky. He would make sure to vent all his pent-up anger!
That thought made Cooler feel much better. He laughed. "Then I'll show you the power of Cooler, the Cosmic Emperor! Open your eyes and watch closely!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAH..."
Cooler began a strained, constipated-sounding yell as he powered up and transformed into his final form. His already terrifying aura surged in an instant as he unleashed the power hidden within him.
At the same time, all the staff in the monitoring rooms aboard the fifteen spaceships erupted into excited cheers.
"Wonderful!"
"Lord Cooler has finally unleashed his full power! His battle power has shot up to one billion! Good thing we raised the scanners' detection limit to twenty billion beforehand, or the instruments would've been destroyed by such a high battle power!"
"Lord Cooler really is invincible! His battle power has climbed to two billion, and it's still rising!"
The news soon reached the other people aboard the ships, and waves of joyful cheers broke out throughout the fleet.
"Long live Lord Cooler!"
"Long live Lord Cooler!"
The same scene played out aboard all of Cooler's spaceships. Some had even started cracking open beer to celebrate early.
Elsewhere.
The Saiyan Great Apes directly below the battlefield between Saigo and Cooler all grew solemn.
"Oh no! How did that whatever-his-name-is, Cooler's aura suddenly surge like that?! It's almost as strong as King Saigo's now! The Frost Demon Race is seriously monstrous. How can someone this powerful even exist?!"
"Yeah! With an opponent this monstrous, can King Saigo win?"
"Quiet! King Saigo's hair hasn't turned yellow yet, so he hasn't transformed into a Super Saiyan. Once King Saigo brings out his full power, that Cooler guy won't stand a chance!"
"Exactly! King Saigo will win this duel! I'm already thinking about putting all the prisoners up there to work in the logistics corps for us Saiyans. Better yet, they could help research Scouters with even higher battle-power detection limits!"
"Right! That way, we'll have more time to train and get stronger!"
"That's a great idea! But King Saigo will decide what happens to the prisoners. Don't go discussing it among yourselves!"
Bardock, standing at the very front of the Great Ape crowd, wore a bitter expression.
So I really couldn't keep up with King Saigo!
Saigo hadn't even transformed into a Super Saiyan, yet his aura already matched Cooler's transformed aura. Bardock was still in his Super Saiyan Form, so he could sense the strength of the two fighters' auras with greater precision and clarity.
What he didn't know was that Saigo's base power far surpassed Cooler's transformed power.
Nearly three times over.
Before you continue