Battle

Reke pushed the rocks off himself, wiped the blood from his forehead, and slowly floated over to face Octopus Head.

Reke knew he'd suffered from his lack of combat experience. If Kakarot had been in his place, he would've beaten his opponent so badly he'd question his whole life.

Locking onto Octopus Head with his energy, Reke raised both hands and unleashed a barrage of energy blasts.

"Boom, boom, boom—"

Octopus Head was engulfed in thick smoke, blocking his view. Seizing the opportunity, Reke charged into the smoke.

He moved behind Octopus Head and fired another energy blast, then shifted to his left. As Octopus Head blocked the blast, Reke took advantage of the opening and aimed a side kick at his head.

"Thud!"

Reke's attack was blocked again. This time, when his strike missed, he immediately pulled back and put some distance between them.

"You've got plenty of tricks, kid." Octopus Head swung an elbow at Reke.

Reke raised his own elbow to meet it. At the same time, he whipped his tail at Octopus Head and sent him flying.

Reke circled behind him and locked his arms tightly around Octopus Head's neck.

Octopus Head was caught in the hold. He grabbed Reke's arms and tried with all his might to pry them loose. The two struggled for leverage.

Unfortunately, Reke was a little weaker. Octopus Head gradually forced his arms apart.

Seeing that he couldn't keep Octopus Head in the hold, Reke didn't push his luck. As he let go, he drove a knee into Octopus Head's back and sent him flying.

Reke righted himself, powered up, and charged forward, kicking Octopus Head in the waist.

"Argh!" Octopus Head cried out in pain, spitting acidic fluid from his mouth.

He hurtled toward the mountainside, crashing through several peaks before getting embedded in the rock.

"Kid, you've made me angry."

Octopus Head shattered the mountain and charged at Reke at top speed.

He threw a punch at Reke's head. Reke raised his arm to block, but the blow forced him backward.

Giving Reke no chance to catch his breath, Octopus Head unleashed hundreds of punches.

Reke was driven steadily downward by the blows. The moment his feet touched the ground, he counterattacked.

He grabbed Octopus Head's fists with both hands. Planting his right foot against the ground, he knocked Octopus Head's arms apart and slammed his forehead into his chest.

As he sent Octopus Head flying, Reke raised a hand and fired an energy wave.

"Rumble—" When the smoke cleared, Octopus Head had his arms crossed in front of him, blocking the energy wave.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"

Energy blasts rained down from the sky, sealing off every direction Reke could move.

Reke gathered his energy and braced himself beneath the barrage with both arms.

"Rumble, rumble—"

As soon as the barrage ended, Reke tried to move, but Octopus Head appeared right in front of him and swept a leg into his waist.

"Argh!"

Reke spat blood. The impact had jolted his internal organs out of place.

Reke's expression darkened.

He'd been on the back foot ever since the fight began, and now he'd suffered internal injuries.

But the blood in Reke's veins had finally started to boil. Unbeknownst to him, the bottleneck at 300,000 in battle power was gradually loosening.

"Not bad, Octopus freak."

"Kid, I don't know how you Saiyans survived, or how you got such high battle power, but you're going to die by my hand today."

"If you can, come and try."

Reke ran toward Octopus Head, firing energy blasts as he went.

Smoke gradually spread across the battlefield.

"Kid, you think you can use the same trick again? Dream on." Octopus Head began speaking from a distance, but by the time he finished his last word, he had appeared to Reke's left.

He swung a punch at the back of Reke's head.

Reke crouched slightly and dodged the punch. His tail coiled around Octopus Head's elbow. With a whip of his tail, Reke swung himself around and slammed his heel into Octopus Head's face in a flying kick.

"Crack!"

The sound of breaking bone rang out. Octopus Head clutched his face and staggered backward from the heavy blow.

Reke powered up and darted to the left, kicking Octopus Head's right arm.

The instant the kick landed, Octopus Head caught Reke by the ankle with his left hand.

The moment he was grabbed, Reke knew he was in trouble. He covered his head tightly with both arms.

"Thud!"

Octopus Head slammed Reke hard into the ground.

"Thud, thud, thud, thud—"

Octopus Head pinned Reke to the ground and pummeled him relentlessly.

Reke gritted his teeth and endured the pain, shielding his head while gathering his energy and waiting for a chance to break free and counterattack.

The opening came soon. Just as Octopus Head lifted Reke to slam him down again, Reke's tail lashed out like a whip toward Octopus Head's eyes.

Octopus Head instinctively let go with his left hand to block.

Reke's tail struck Octopus Head's left arm, giving him a chance to break away. He put some distance between them and gasped for breath.

Reke felt at a loss for what to do. No matter how he attacked, his opponent easily deflected the blow and counterattacked.

"Ptooey."

Reke spat a mouthful of blood onto the ground.

After being slammed repeatedly, Reke's internal injuries had grown worse.

Reke knew he couldn't keep trying to outmaneuver his opponent. He had less combat experience, and he was shorter, too. Trying to win with skill put him at a serious disadvantage.

Reke knew he had only one option left: meet his opponent head-on and bet that his body could take more punishment.

As a fist rushed toward him, growing larger in his vision, Reke clenched his own and swung at it.

"Boom!"

Reke gritted his teeth and held his ground. The moment his opponent lost his balance, Reke pulled back his fist and slammed the other one forward, colliding with Octopus Head again.

Using the impact to create some distance, Reke charged.

"Thud, thud, thud, thud!"

The two collided again and again in midair.

Their internal injuries kept getting worse.

They devastated the land for miles around. Countless mountains collapsed, rivers changed course, and the earth cracked open.

Their arms collided.

Reke was covered in blood, looking like a demon as he forced Octopus Head back.

That was right—Reke's bottleneck had broken, and his battle power was steadily increasing.

Every cell in his body was continually supplying him with energy.

The longer Reke fought, the stronger he got. Octopus Head, by contrast, grew more exhausted.

Octopus Head's arm was being forced back little by little.

Neither of them dared to retreat. The moment one gave ground, the other would seize the opportunity.

Just as Reke forced open Octopus Head's guard, Octopus Head spat a stream of ink at him.

Reke didn't know what the ink would do, so he hurriedly retreated. Even so, some of it stuck to the front of his clothes.

"Sizzle, sizzle."

His clothes were being corroded. Alarmed, he grabbed the fabric, tore it off, and threw it to the ground.

In less than a second, the clothes had been completely corroded, and the ground had been eaten away into a deep pit.

Reke frowned, staring intently at Octopus Head. He didn't attack while his opponent caught his breath.

"Octopus freak, you kept that trick well hidden. Out of tricks now, are you?"

"Kid, if I'm out of tricks, why don't you come find out?" Octopus Head knew he might die on this planet today, but he hadn't given up. He was still hoping to catch Reke off guard.

"Then here I come. Get ready to die." Reke had figured out how to deal with him.