At present, Tarble's battle power was only 30,000, placing him in the Third Dimension of strength. This gave him three additional binding slots, which, together with his initial slot, brought the total to four.
Just then, another line of text appeared before his eyes:
[For a newly bound target, you may select any one of their skills. Please choose as soon as possible.]
[Target: Son Gohan. Available skills:
Flight
Solar Flare
Kamehameha
Masenko
Masendan
Special Beam Cannon]
.
[Target: Vegeta. Available skills:
Flight
Galaxy Breaker
Galick Gun
Flash Cannon
Destructo Disc
Dark Impact
Spread Energy Wave
Energy Ring
Finger Beam
Final Explosion]
Looking at the dazzling array of skills the two men had, Tarble pondered for a moment before deciding to choose two renowned and powerful techniques: Special Beam Cannon and Galick Gun.
Special Beam Cannon was Piccolo's self-created finishing move. Not only was it incredibly powerful, it also had tremendous penetrating force.
As his disciple and "adopted son," Son Gohan had naturally learned the technique as well.
Galick Gun was no less impressive. It was a technique on the same level as the Kamehameha.
Since he had the skills right there for the taking, there was no need to spend time learning them himself.
The moment he selected the skills, another line of text appeared before his eyes:
[Congratulations, host. You have acquired new skills: Special Beam Cannon and Galick Gun.]
A look of delight immediately appeared on his face.
With a thought, he brought up the system panel.
[Host]: Tarble [Race]: Saiyan [Gender]: Male [Lifespan]: 43/233 [Battle Power]: 30,000 (Third Dimension) [Bound]: 3 people [Bindings Available]: 1 person [Current Training Effect Multiplier]: 4x [Transformation]: Great Ape [Skills]: Power Ball Energy Wave Flight High-Speed Movement High-Speed Flight Super Explosive Wave Ki Control Ki Sense Afterimage Fist Spirit Ball Solar Flare Destructo Disc Kamehameha Special Beam Cannon *New Galick Gun *New [Current Timeline]: Dragon Ball Super
The first five skills were ones his original self had already learned.
Super Explosive Wave was Rix's signature move.
The other six skills were ones he had figured out and learned himself over the past year of training.
If there weren't a time limit on choosing skills—if he weren't required to make his choice on the day he bound someone—he wouldn't have used up his chance to choose one of Vegeta's skills already.
After all, Vegeta would eventually master Ultra Ego.
If he could wait until then to choose a skill, he would absolutely hold off.
Unfortunately, the choice was only available for a limited time.
For now, however, the most important thing was to increase his strength.
That was why he had to bind people: to raise his training effect multiplier.
After all, they were now approaching the Dragon Ball Super era.
With a battle power of 30,000, he could only stand on the sidelines as a cheerleader.
Besides, it was now May 8, 778. There probably wasn't much time left before Beerus came to Earth looking for trouble.
Even if he knew how the story would unfold, he couldn't put all his hopes of staying alive in someone else's hands, could he?
When it came to strength, he would feel most at ease if he had it himself.
With a thought, he closed the system panel and turned his gaze back to the battlefield.
Although he couldn't see Son Gohan and Aka moving, the deafening sounds of their collisions grew clear in his ears once more.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
With a loud boom, a dark figure plummeted from high in the sky.
Rumble!
The figure slammed into the ground, sending clouds of dust billowing into the air.
At last, he caught sight of Son Gohan, hovering in midair and looking down at the yellow-brown dust cloud below.
Suddenly, Vegeta's deeply dissatisfied voice reached his ears.
"What the hell is Gohan doing?"
"He's been playing around for so long and still hasn't finished off his opponent!"
"Don't tell me he wants to let the enemy go, just like Kakarot would?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Piccolo chimed in, sounding as if he was exasperated by Gohan's lack of progress. "All these years have passed, and he's long forgotten what it means to be a warrior!"
"If he were the same as he was during the Cell Games, that enemy would've been dead already!"
Hearing that, Vegeta agreed wholeheartedly, though he scoffed. "Hmph!"
"The way those two father and son go soft on their enemies makes me sick."
Hearing his best friend and "adopted son" spoken of that way, Piccolo immediately snorted. "Hmph!"
"If they weren't like that, you wouldn't be alive today!"
"Neither would I."
At that, Vegeta gave a derisive laugh. "Tch!"
Then he turned his head away without replying.
Seeing this, Tarble toned down the smile on his face and asked Vegeta, "Big Brother, could you step in and help kill the enemy?"
When it came to delivering the finishing blow, Vegeta was the man for the job!
Vegeta looked over with furrowed brows. A pleased expression came over his face, and he nodded with a smile. "Sure. Anyone who dares hunt down the Saiyans has to be ready to die."
"You should show your enemies no mercy!"
"Tarble, you're right to think that way."
As he spoke, he turned toward the cloud of dust that still hung over the battlefield. The smile on his face vanished at once.
The next second—
Whoosh!
Tarble's vision blurred, and Vegeta disappeared from in front of him.
Before he could even turn around, he heard a muffled impact, as if something had been pierced, followed by a wretched scream.
Pff!
"Argh!!!!"
When he finally turned around, he saw a purple head flying into the air.
Clearly, Vegeta had decapitated Aka.
That was certainly an efficient—and ruthless—way to do things.
But that was how you dealt with an enemy!
Next, Vegeta tossed Aka's body into the sky and abruptly fired two dazzling white energy waves.
Boom!
The body and head instantly turned to ash.
Son Gohan, who had been staring in shock from the air, finally came to his senses and slowly descended.
"Uncle Vegeta, weren't you going to let me finish them off?"
"Why—why did you suddenly step in?"
Vegeta's ruthless actions just now had struck a nerve with him again.
It was a lot like when he had killed that Saiyan named Nappa all those years ago!
The memory left him shaken.
"Hmph!"
"Son Gohan, if you keep going soft on your enemies like Kakarot, one day you're going to pay dearly for it!"
Vegeta reprimanded him mercilessly.
Once upon a time, this young man had defeated Super Perfect Cell all by himself and saved them from the brink of death.
In just a few short years, the latecomer had surpassed both Vegeta and Son Goku.
Back then, he had been so spirited, so imposing, so domineering.
But what about now?
There wasn't even a trace of a warrior's sharpness left in him!
Vegeta was frustrated by Gohan's lack of progress, and at the same time, he couldn't help feeling regret.
After giving him a few words of reprimand, Vegeta turned and walked toward Tarble.
Son Gohan scratched his head awkwardly and gave an embarrassed smile. He said nothing, simply following after them.
Truthfully, he had considered letting Aka go.
No matter how you looked at it, Aka was a living being.
And they hadn't suffered any losses. What harm would there have been in sparing his life?
But since Vegeta had stepped in and killed him, there was nothing more to it.
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