Defeating Vegeta

Son Goku's figure had appeared in front of Piccolo at some point.

He looked up at the Great Ape, his face still wearing a smile.

"Piccolo," Son Goku said, turning his head. "Leave the rest to me. You can step back."

Piccolo paused, then gritted his teeth. "Son Goku, be careful. His speed and strength have both increased several times over."

Son Goku smiled, turned around, and stared straight into the Great Ape Vegeta's blood-red eyes.

"Don't worry. His power... doesn't impress me."

Piccolo gave him a long look, then said nothing more and flew back to the others.

The Great Ape Vegeta looked down at the tiny human before him. Confusion flashed in his blood-red eyes, then gave way to anger.

"Kakarot... couldn't wait to come and get yourself killed, could you?"

Son Goku put his hands in his pockets and tilted his head. "We'll see who gets killed."

"Damn you, Kakarot!!"

The Great Ape Vegeta roared and brought his enormous palm crashing down. The gale it stirred up sent every rock on the ground flying!

But—

Son Goku's figure blurred slightly, then vanished from where he stood.

Thud!

A muffled impact.

The Great Ape Vegeta's movement abruptly froze. A wave of pain shot through his left eye, and his massive body involuntarily reeled backward.

"Graaah—!"

He clutched his left eye and let out a pained roar. When he lowered his palm, his enormous left eye was already swollen shut, surrounded by a dark bruise.

"You... When did you hit me in the eye?!" Vegeta's voice brimmed with disbelief and fury. "Why didn't I see you?!"

Son Goku appeared a short distance away, dusting off his hands with a brilliant smile.

"I was moving too fast... Of course you couldn't see me."

The Great Ape Transformation multiplies his battle power by ten, but his increased size gives him more blind spots. And... the eyes are always a weak point.

"You—!!"

The Great Ape Vegeta flew into a rage and swept his other palm sideways, moving so fast it created a shrill sonic boom!

But Son Goku vanished again.

Thud!

Another muffled impact.

The Great Ape Vegeta took a punch to his right eye, too. Both eyes swelled up symmetrically, and the dark bruises against his golden fur made him look rather ridiculous.

"Graaah! Kakarot! Can't you hit me somewhere else?!" Vegeta trembled with rage, covering his eyes with both enormous hands. "Stop hitting me in the eyes!!"

Son Goku stood some distance away, tilting his head as he studied him.

"Don't you think... you look kind of cute like this?"

"Cute?!" Vegeta lowered his hands and glared at him with two swollen, bruised eyes. "You actually called me cute?!"

"Kakarot!!"

Vegeta completely lost control. He roared at the sky and pounded his chest furiously with both fists, each blow landing with a dull thud.

"Don't think that sneak attack means you can beat me! I'm the Saiyan Prince! There's no way I'd lose to a Low-Class Warrior like you!!"

Son Goku's smile faded, and his expression turned serious. He rolled his wrists as his aura began to rise slowly around him.

"Enough... I'll stop playing around with you."

White flames of energy rose around him. He was preparing to test a technique he had nearly mastered through his Godly Power.

I've trained in Godly Qi for so many years. I haven't broken through, but I've gained something from it. At my current level, my mental strength has improved quite a bit, and the sharpness of the Qi Blade I can form far surpasses that of ordinary energy blades. And... a Saiyan's tail is always a weakness when they undergo the Great Ape Transformation.

"I'm about to attack. Are... you... ready?"

Vegeta was about to make a defiant retort when he suddenly felt a sharp pain behind him—

"What?!"

He spun around. His thick, golden-furred tail had been severed clean off at the base by a Qi Blade that had appeared and vanished before he even knew it was there! Blood gushed from the stump, staining the ground red.

Now. His attention is entirely focused on the front, leaving his tail at its least guarded.

"No—!!"

Vegeta let out a piercing scream. Without his tail, his massive body began to shrink rapidly. His golden fur vanished, his bones contracted, and his muscles withered... Within seconds, the Great Ape, over ten meters tall, had shrunk back to his original, short stature.

He slumped to the ground, clutching his blood-soaked tail stump. His face was pale, and his whole body trembled.

"When... When did you cut off my tail?!" Vegeta cried in despair, his eyes full of disbelief.

Son Goku stood before him, a trace of golden energy still lingering in his hand. He smiled.

"When you were getting ready to boast."

"You... You..."

Vegeta trembled with fury, his lips quivering, but he couldn't form a complete sentence. He pointed at Son Goku, humiliation and rage burning in his eyes.

"Damn you... Kakarot! You piece of trash! You can't win fair! You attacked me by surprise!!"

Son Goku crouched down to meet Vegeta's gaze, his smile still gentle.

"Fighting takes brains, too. You were too busy talking, so of course you didn't notice."

He stood up, brushed the dust off his clothes, and looked toward the others.

"All right, this guy's out of strength. What should we do with him now?"

The gale continued to howl across the barren wasteland.

Vegeta slumped on the ground, clutching his bleeding tail stump. For the first time, fear filled his eyes.

Damn it... Damn it!

He could feel the energy inside him rapidly dwindling.

The backlash from having his Great Ape Transformation forcibly interrupted, along with the injury from having his tail severed, had caused his battle power to plummet. It might not even be thirteen thousand now.

Thirteen thousand... No, it might be even lower. At this level, I couldn't beat that monster Kakarot, let alone Raditz or Piccolo.

Vegeta clenched his teeth. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead, but he stubbornly refused to look up. The pride of the Saiyan Prince had been crushed beneath his feet. This humiliation hurt more than any wound.

How could I... have been driven this far by a bunch of low-class warriors?!

He furtively raised his eyes and glanced at Son Goku, who stood not far away. The black-haired man had his back to him, chatting with his companions as casually as if he had just done a few push-ups.

That nonchalant attitude humiliated Vegeta more than any taunt could have.

Son Goku turned around and walked toward him at an unhurried pace.

Vegeta instinctively tensed, one hand secretly reaching for the energy Scouter at his waist. He stared warily at Son Goku. "You... What are you going to do?"

Son Goku stopped in front of him and crouched down to meet his gaze.

Sunlight fell across his face. He still wore the same smile.

"You can go," Son Goku said.

Vegeta froze.

He wondered if he'd heard wrong. What... was this guy saying?