Son Goku's Return! A Challenge from Vegeta

Three days later, Son Goku officially emerged from his seclusion. By combining the knowledge of Ultra Instinct Sign provided by Ye Ming with the teachings of Whis, he had achieved a preliminary mastery of the technique.

It could be said that Son Goku had been incredibly lucky during his previous battle against AF Son Goku; the fact that he managed to tap into his potential to grasp the initial stage of Ultra Instinct was perhaps proof that luck is also a form of strength.

As everyone knows, Ultra Instinct is an Angelic technique, and aside from the Angels themselves, there are very few in the entire universe capable of mastering it.

Son Goku's ability to fuse the initial stage of Ultra Instinct with his own Deep Blue Form was inspired by the whimsical ideas Ye Ming and AF Son Goku had displayed during their transformation.

It seems I still have a long way to go before reaching Mastered Ultra Instinct, Son Goku thought to himself. The execution of Mastered Ultra Instinct consumes far less stamina, but I know that true Mastered Ultra Instinct can be integrated into one's base state at any time, requiring no stamina at all!

Son Goku knew he was still far from that level and would need to train even more diligently.

At that moment, Vegeta's calm voice drifted over: "Kakarot, I have been waiting for you for a long time."

As Vegeta's voice sounded from behind him, Son Goku asked in surprise, "Vegeta, were you waiting here specifically for me?"

"Hmph, don't play dumb. There is still a battle pending between us! Kakarot, I want to prove to you that aside from Ye Ming, I am the most powerful Saiyan," Vegeta said proudly.

Hearing this, Son Goku's brow furrowed as he replied, "I see. Vegeta, are you here to challenge me?"

"Enough talk, Kakarot. You aren't going anywhere today; let's settle this right here and now," Vegeta said, waving his hand dismissively.

Vegeta has made significant progress lately, Son Goku thought. I fear he has made a major breakthrough in Ultra Ego. He has likely mastered the Deep Blue Form as well—after all, we are both capable of it!

Son Goku smiled and answered, "No problem, Vegeta. I know you've been dying to defeat me; after all, that is the true Vegeta!"

At that moment, Whis, Beerus, and Ye Ming were eating at the God of Destruction Palace.

Suddenly, Whis sensed something and quickly picked up his staff to check. Covering his mouth, he said, "Oh my, Vegeta and Son Goku are about to fight? Shall we go and join the fun?"

Beerus replied with a look of disdain, "What's so interesting about those two fighting? Hmph!"

Ye Ming, however, watched Goku and Vegeta on the staff with great interest. He smiled and said, "We've finished eating now, so why don't we go take a look? It's our break time anyway."

Beerus waved his hand impatiently. "This God has no interest in watching the scuffles of such trash. If you want to go, go yourselves."

With that, Beerus vanished. Whis gave a faint smile; he knew exactly where Beerus had gone, though he had to pretend he didn't—Beerus had snuck off to train!

In the blink of an eye, Whis and Ye Ming arrived at the site of the battle between Vegeta and Son Goku.

Son Goku greeted them warmly, "Ye Ming, Whis, long time no see!"

After all, Son Goku had spent over three months in the Destruction Space, never leaving it for anything other than eating and training, which clearly showed he was a cultivation fanatic.

Vegeta glanced at them sideways before fixing his gaze squarely on Kakarot.

Vegeta said calmly, "Kakarot, if you're ready, let's begin!"

Son Goku assumed a combat stance and smiled, "Come on, Vegeta. Let me see just how much your strength has improved."

Vegeta grinned; the Prince of Saiyans never bothered with probing, opting for ruthless strikes from the start.

Purple light erupted from Vegeta's eyes, and a pillar of violet energy surged into the sky, causing the very God of Destruction Realm of Universe 7 to tremble under the pressure.

Vegeta instantly transformed into his Ultra Ego Form, the golden earrings on his ears adding a touch of sinister charm to his rebellious expression.

Vegeta said to Son Goku, "Kakarot, don't you dare disappoint me!"

Son Goku was shocked by Vegeta's imposing presence; he had underestimated the extent to which Vegeta had mastered Ultra Ego. This power far exceeded what he had faced during his battle with AF Son Goku!

Nevertheless, Son Goku smiled and said, "Impressive, Vegeta! To be able to raise your power to this level... I'm absolutely thrilled."

Son Goku placed his hands at his waist, closed his eyes, and exhaled a breath of stale air. A sacred light erupted from his body.

Whis and Ye Ming watched the scene with smiles, knowing that Son Goku had achieved a preliminary mastery of Ultra Instinct.

Vegeta watched the transforming Son Goku with a smirk, thinking, You didn't disappoint me, Kakarot. You've also achieved a preliminary mastery of Ultra Instinct. This battle is going to be very interesting.

With the scorching blue aura and silver-white pupils contrasting against his black hair, Son Goku's energy appeared incredibly stable from a distance, yet his eyes revealed a sacred, burning desire for battle.

Ye Ming said with a smile, "It seems Son Goku has indeed achieved a preliminary mastery of Ultra Instinct Sign, though he still needs to train hard to reach Mastered Ultra Instinct."

Whis nodded, smiling at Ye Ming, "It was your experience that played the key role, Ye Ming; otherwise, Son Goku would still be struggling to grasp it!"

Ye Ming replied, "Not at all, it was your guidance, Whis. Without your teaching, Son Goku might not have even grasped the basics of Ultra Instinct yet!"

Hearing this, Whis covered his mouth and chuckled. Ye Ming's words were very pleasing to him—a classic case of mutual flattery!

The battle began!

Vegeta narrowed his eyes, transformed into a bolt of purple lightning, and appeared before Son Goku, throwing a punch toward his face.

However, Son Goku had already sensed it. With a slight sidestep, he dodged the punch perfectly, his own movements swift as he countered with a flurry of strikes toward Vegeta!

Even though Son Goku's punch speed was incredibly fast, Vegeta had already anticipated every trajectory of Kakarot's attack, flashing behind him in an instant.

Then, Vegeta condensed a massive sphere of Hakai Energy in his hand and struck at Son Goku with full force!

BOOM!!!

Seeing this, Whis quickly used his staff to wrap the battlefield in a barrier, otherwise, the God of Destruction Realm would have been torn to pieces.

Son Goku was sent flying, his agile figure tracing a perfect arc through the sky before landing on the ground, though his clothes were already tattered.

I cannot match Vegeta in raw power, Son Goku thought. I must use my speed and agility to find an opening and land a fatal blow!

Son Goku immediately exerted all his strength, closing in on Vegeta at high speed. A blur of afterimages flashed, and Son Goku appeared behind Vegeta.

Son Goku threw a punch instantly, giving Vegeta no chance to react. Vegeta hurriedly blocked with his hands, but Son Goku seized the opportunity to kick him away.

Vegeta stood up, twisted his neck, and said, "Kakarot, attacks as painless as these cannot inflict any effective damage upon me."

Son Goku grinned upon hearing this and replied, "Then how about this?"

Son Goku's figure suddenly vanished from his spot without warning, his fist slamming directly into Vegeta's abdomen.

Vegeta let out a cry of pain, thinking to himself: I never expected Kakarot's speed to be this fast!

However, it was impossible to knock Vegeta down so easily. Vegeta let out a roar, the purple Hakai Energy on his body erupting instantly as he unleashed an endless barrage of attacks in every direction!

Seeing this, Son Goku hurriedly dodged away. Watching the trajectory of Son Goku's evasion, Vegeta grinned, his figure vanishing from the spot to transform into a streak of purple lightning, instantly charging toward Son Goku in the air.

"I've got you, Kakarot! Eat this!" Vegeta roared.

Son Goku knew that the previous Hakai Energy had forced him to react, but Vegeta's sudden assault caught him completely off guard.

Vegeta slammed a fist into Son Goku's face; the blow was incredibly heavy! Son Goku let out a pained howl as he was sent flying backward.

Vegeta pressed his advantage, refusing to let such a prime opportunity slip away. He unleashed a flurry of punches and kicks upon Son Goku, driving him from the sky down to the ground before raining down a wild bombardment of blasts!

When the dust settled, Son Goku was clearly suffering from significant injuries, lying within a crater dozens of meters wide. Vegeta's attack had been too ferocious; even though he had used Ultra Instinct to evade a portion of it, the majority of the strikes had still landed on him.

Son Goku felt an intense soreness throughout his body, and a trickle of blood was already flowing from his right hand! It was clear that even while using Ultra Instinct, Son Goku had fallen into a disadvantage.

If Son Goku could perfect Ultra Instinct, the situation might be different, but unfortunately, his training was not yet up to par.

Ye Ming observed the situation on the battlefield and said, "It seems Son Goku is no match for Vegeta. His Ultra Instinct is not yet perfect, and he is at a disadvantage against such absolute power."

Whis agreed with Ye Ming's assessment: "But I believe this battle will not end so easily. Neither of them has brought out their full strength yet."