Vegeta was lying on the ground, with half of his face pressed against the hot gravel crushed by the air waves. His chest was heaving violently, and every inhalation stirred up the sour feeling in his throat that had not completely dissipated.
He could feel the dull pain left by the knife on the back of his neck spreading down his spine, like a thin and hot line, burning from his neck to his tailbone. He placed his hands on the rough sandstone, and the skin on his palms was numb from the fine stone particles.
"Vegeta, don't be discouraged, where have you come from?" Son Goku's voice floated down from above, with a smile that even he himself did not deliberately restrain.
He squatted on a low rock a few steps away, resting his elbows on his knees and resting his chin on the back of his hands. He tilted his head and looked at Vegeta lying on the ground, and his tone seemed to be comforting a companion who had just lost the game.
"In the future, you will definitely become stronger than you are now."
Vegeta's shoulder blades tensed suddenly.
He slowly raised his head, and the few strands of hair stuck to his forehead with sweat hung down, blocking half of his sight.
He stared at Son Goku, with something unclear whether it was anger or confusion in his eyes. He moved his lips twice before speaking out, "You... what did you say? What do you mean? What do you mean by the future me?"
Son Goku did not answer the call immediately.
He raised his hand and scratched the back of his head, scraping his fingertips twice between the messy black hair. The curvature of the corners of his mouth showed a calmness that only those who have experienced it could have.
He thought for a moment, as if weighing the weight of his words, and then shook his head slightly.
"You will know it later. I'm afraid you won't understand it now."
These words fell on Vegeta's ears, and they were more piercing than the knife strike just now.
He stood up with his hands on the ground. Before his knees were fully straightened, his waist was already straightened.
The golden arrogance rekindled around him. Although it was a bit darker than before, the energy that refused to admit defeat did not diminish at all.
"I... do you think I will lose to you? Stop dreaming!" Vegeta's voice rose a little higher, and there was even a hint of broken sound at the end.
He kicked his feet, gravel flew out, and his whole body turned into a stream of golden flames and rushed toward Son Goku.
The fists and feet were like rain, and the tips of knees and elbows alternately hit the black-haired figure from various tricky angles. Each blow was packed with the full force of three million Combat Power.
He attacked crazily, but his breathing became more and more disordered, and his rhythm began to waver in anger.
Son Goku did not go back.
His body was like a piece of tissue paper blown by the wind, turning, pitching, and sliding among the dense fist shadows of Vegeta. The amplitude of each dodge was so small that it seemed as if the trajectory had been drawn in advance.
The attacks that were supposed to hit always missed him at the last moment.
"Bang!"
Son Goku suddenly lowered his waist and pushed his right knee upwards. The kneecap was covered with a thin and solid golden aura, and it accurately hit Vegeta's abdomen, which was wide open due to the excessive attack.
The force of that blow was not much greater than Vegeta's heavy punch, but the angle was tricky and the timing was stuck in the gap between Vegeta's breath changes.
Vegeta's abdomen suddenly sunk inward, and the impact blasted from his abdominal cavity all the way to his chest, pushing his upper body forward.
The acidic water in his mouth spurted out uncontrollably, drawing a short line of water in the air between the two of them.
His body staggered back three or four steps, the soles of his boots sliding on the gravel ground with a harsh friction sound, and his calves were still trembling slightly when he stabilized himself.
We all have three million Combat Power, so why can't I beat one Kakarot?
He is just a low-level soldier.
Vegeta's mind was churning with these words, spinning around and around, like a beast trapped in an iron cage hitting the same direction repeatedly.
He clenched his back molars, the muscles on both sides of his cheeks tensed up, his wrists suddenly turned over, and he clenched his fists again.
The golden flames exploded again, more intense than before, but more dispersed.
"Vegeta, your breath is messed up, this is not your style." Son Goku sighed softly, there was no sarcasm in his tone, only a plain reminder that someone who has been through it would have.
The moment Vegeta hit his chest with the next punch, his body shifted half an inch to the left, the five fingers of his right hand came together, and the edge of his palm stretched into a straight line, passing through the armpit of Vegeta's straight punch, and slapped Vegeta on the back of the neck.
The force is not heavy, but it cuts accurately on the big tendon on the side of the neck.
"Crack!"
Vegeta's body was like a wooden frame whose main beam was suddenly removed. It collapsed from the waist down, and his knees hit the ground. He barely managed to avoid falling down by supporting the gravel ground with his hands.
His breathing was thick and rapid, with an obvious hoarseness when it came out of his throat.
"Vegeta, you'd better practice hard, you are no match for me now." Son Goku slowly straightened up and pushed back the hair hanging in front of his forehead.
He looked at Vegeta's hands on the ground. There was no pride in his eyes, only a serious and almost bland look.
Although today's Son Goku is only four years old, he packs nearly sixty years of combat experience.
When Combat Power is equal, what he has more than Vegeta is not strength, but control over the timing of his attacks, his body's center of gravity, and his instincts tempered by being on the verge of death countless times.
These gaps cannot be smoothed out by the number three million.
Vegeta's arms suddenly stretched out and bounced up from the ground.
He shook his still numb neck and stabilized his arrogance again. Although it was a little thinner than before, the fire in his eyes did not go out.
"How... how could I, Vegeta, lose to an inferior warrior like you?" Vegeta gritted his teeth and roared, then rushed towards Son Goku again, slamming his fist into the opponent's face with anger.
Son Goku didn't take the punch.
His toes tapped lightly on the gravel ground, his body floated back half a step, and then his body swayed and he disappeared from the spot without any warning.
Vegeta's fist hit the air and was dragged forward by the inertia he brought out, taking another half step forward.
He stopped suddenly, turned his head left and right, and then saw the figure of Son Goku on a huge rock above.
Son Goku landed steadily on the huge rock diagonally inserted into the ground where Broly was squatting.
Broly was taking out the last chicken leg bone from his mouth, and rubbed his oily fingers on his clothes casually twice, then raised his head and looked at Son Goku, his mouth slowly grinning.
He rubbed his hands together, making a rustling sound when his palms rubbed together. The lazy interest in his eyes had been completely ignited, revealing a pure fighting spirit without any impurities.
"Let's try playing together!" Broly's voice was full of excitement.
Son Goku waved his hands and raised his hands to his chest.
"No! With my current strength, there is no way I can be your opponent!" Son Goku said simply, without even a trace of hesitation.
Broly's expression stiffened for a moment, he stopped rubbing his hands together, and the curve of his mouth fell halfway.
He blinked, as if he didn't expect the other party to reject him so neatly.