Battle

Reke pushed the rocks off his body, wiped the blood from his forehead, and slowly floated up to face the Octopus-head.

Reke knew he was still suffering from a lack of combat experience; if it were Kakarot in his place, he would have absolutely beaten the opponent until he questioned his own existence.

Locking his ki onto the Octopus-head, Reke raised both hands and unleashed countless energy blasts.

"Boom, boom, boom!"

The Octopus-head's body was shrouded in thick smoke, which also blocked his vision; taking this opportunity, Reke charged into the smoke-filled area.

Moving behind the Octopus-head, Reke raised his hand to fire another energy blast, and while doing so, shifted to the Octopus-head's left side. In the gap while the opponent was blocking the blast, Reke launched a side kick aimed at the Octopus-head's skull.

"Bang!"

Reke's attack was blocked once again. Failing to land the hit, he instantly retreated to create some distance.

"Little brat, you've got quite a few cheap tricks." The Octopus-head threw an elbow strike at Reke.

Reke raised his own elbow to clash with him, using his tail to lash out at the Octopus-head, sending him flying.

Reke circled behind and locked his arms tightly around the Octopus-head's neck.

With the Octopus-head restrained, he grabbed Reke's arms and pulled with all his might, the two of them locked in a test of strength.

Unfortunately, Reke's power was a notch lower, and his arms were pried open bit by bit by the Octopus-head.

Seeing he couldn't hold the Octopus-head down, Reke stopped forcing it; as he released his grip, he delivered a knee strike straight into the Octopus-head's back, sending him flying.

Reke adjusted his posture, flared his ki, and rushed forward, kicking out at the Octopus-head's waist.

"Wah!" The Octopus-head let out a miserable shriek, spitting out acidic fluid.

His entire body slammed into the mountainside, crashing through several peaks before he was left embedded in the rock face.

"Little brat, you've angered me."

The Octopus-head shattered the mountain and charged toward Reke at high speed.

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

Not giving Reke a moment to breathe, the Octopus-head unleashed hundreds of punches at him.

Reke was driven downward by the barrage, and the moment his feet touched the ground, he began his counterattack.

He grabbed the Octopus-head's fists tightly, stomped his right foot into the ground to shove the Octopus-head's arms aside, and delivered a headbutt straight to his chest.

As he sent him flying, he raised his hand and fired an energy wave.

"Boom!" The smoke cleared to reveal the Octopus-head blocking the energy wave with his arms crossed.

"Shoo, shoo, shoo, shoo!"

Energy blasts rained down from the sky like a downpour, sealing off all of Reke's escape routes.

Reke channeled his ki, bracing his arms tightly to defend from above.

"Boom, boom, boom!"

After the wave of energy blasts, just as Reke was about to move, the Octopus-head appeared right in front of him and delivered a sweeping kick that landed squarely on Reke's waist.

"Wah!"

Reke spat out blood, his internal organs suffering the impact and shifting out of place.

Reke's expression turned grim.

He had been on the back foot since the fight began, and now he had sustained internal injuries.

But the blood in Reke's body was heating up completely; what he didn't know was that the bottleneck at 300,000 combat power was loosening bit by bit.

"Octopus monster, you've done well."

"Little brat, though I don't know how a Saiyan like you survived and attained such high combat power, you are destined to die by my hands today."

"If you can do it, then come and try."

Reke ran toward the Octopus-head, firing energy blasts as he charged.

Smoke gradually began to shroud the battlefield.

"Little brat, trying to use the same trick again? Don't dream of it." The Octopus-head was still in the distance when he started speaking, but by the time he finished the last word, he had already appeared on Reke's left side.

A haymaker whistled toward the back of Reke's head.

Reke crouched slightly to dodge the punch, using his tail to wrap around the Octopus-head's elbow. Putting force into his tail, he swung himself around and delivered a fierce overhead heel kick that struck the Octopus-head's face.

"Crack!"

The sound of bone fracturing rang out, and the Octopus-head, reeling from the heavy blow, clutched his face and stumbled backward.

Reke flared his ki, shifted to the left, and delivered another kick to the Octopus-head's right arm.

The moment the Octopus-head was struck, he grabbed Reke's ankle with his left hand.

The instant he was grabbed, Reke knew he was in trouble and shielded his head with both hands.

"Bang!"

The Octopus-head slammed Reke violently into the ground.

"Bang, bang, bang, bang—"

Reke was pressed into the ground by the Octopus-Head, being kneaded and crushed relentlessly.

Enduring the agony, Reke protected his head while simultaneously channeling his Qi, waiting for an opportunity to break free and counterattack.

The opportunity arrived quickly; the moment Reke was hoisted up again to be slammed down, his tail lashed out like a whip, striking toward the Octopus-Head's eyes.

The Octopus-Head instinctively released his left hand to block.

Reke's tail collided with the Octopus-Head's left arm, and he seized the chance to create distance, gasping for air.

Reke felt a sense of helplessness; no matter how he attacked, the opponent easily neutralized it and launched a counter-offensive.

"Ptui."

Reke spat a mouthful of blood onto the ground.

The constant slamming had caused the injuries inside his body to worsen significantly.

Reke knew he could no longer compete with the opponent in terms of technique; not only was his combat experience inferior, but he was also shorter, putting him at a severe disadvantage in a technical duel.

Reke realized he had only one path left: to go head-to-head and gamble that his body could withstand more than the opponent's.

Watching the fist grow larger before his eyes, Reke clenched his own and struck forward.

"Boom!"

Reke gritted his teeth and held his ground. The moment the opponent's stance wavered, Reke retracted his fist and slammed his other one forward, colliding with the Octopus-Head once more.

Using the impact to create distance, Reke launched a charge.

"Bang, bang, bang, bang."

The two collided repeatedly in mid-air.

The injuries within both their bodies were intensifying.

A hundred-mile radius was being devastated by the two; countless mountain peaks collapsed, rivers were diverted, and the earth split open.

Their arms locked together in a stalemate.

Covered in blood and looking like a vengeful spirit, Reke was suppressing the Octopus-Head with all his might.

That was right—the bottleneck within Reke had shattered, and his combat power was steadily rising.

The cells throughout his entire body were continuously providing him with energy.

Reke grew more valiant the longer he fought, while conversely, the Octopus-Head grew more exhausted.

The Octopus-Head's arms were being pushed back, inch by inch, by Reke.

In their current situation, neither dared to retreat; once they pulled back, the other would seize the opportunity.

Seeing Reke force his guard open, the Octopus-Head spat a stream of ink at him.

Unsure of the ink's effects, Reke hurriedly retreated, but his chest was still splattered with the substance.

"Sizzle."

His clothes began to corrode, startling him into grabbing the fabric and tearing it off, throwing it to the ground.

In less than a second, the clothes on the ground were completely dissolved, and the earth beneath was corroded into a deep pit.

Reke furrowed his brows, staring fixedly at the Octopus-Head, not attacking while the creature caught its breath.

"Octopus monster, you kept that trick well-hidden. Are you out of moves now?"

"Little brat, why don't you come and find out if I'm out of moves?" The Octopus-Head knew he might perish on this planet today, but he hadn't given up yet, still hoping to spot a flaw in his opponent.

"Then here I come. Prepare to die." Reke had found a way to counter him.