Vegeta's Pride

Vegeta surveyed the changes in his body with satisfaction. Not only had his power surged, but he now possessed the strength to settle the score with Kakarot once and for all. He was almost impressed by his own high intellect.

"Hahaha, excellent!" Babidi's triumphant, manic laughter echoed through the control room. "Allow me to find you a suitable place for your duel!"

"Babidi-babidi-boo."

Babidi cast his magic once more, teleporting everyone from the third floor to the Martial Arts Tournament.

At the tournament, Android 18 had just finished collecting her prize money.

"Ah, why did those guys suddenly appear?"

"Where did they pop out from?"

The audience was startled by the sudden arrival of Son Goku and the others. Damn it, I was enjoying the view of the beautiful woman, what's the meaning of you lot showing up?

"Um, Son Goku, you're late; the tournament has already ended," the Blonde Announcer said.

Watching Vegeta through the crystal ball, Babidi let out a sinister chuckle. "Vegeta, go ahead and fight to your heart's content. Plunder their energy; you may even kill them if you wish."

Hearing Babidi's sleazy laughter in his mind, Vegeta's face darkened. "Get lost. I only care about fighting Kakarot; the others have nothing to do with me."

He's not under my control? This... this is the first time.

Babidi was stunned. What the hell? This isn't right. You're supposed to be under my control, you should be crawling over to lick my boots!

Vegeta sneered and raised a finger, pointing it at Son Goku. As the crowd looked on in confusion, he brought his five fingers together, aiming directly at him.

"Whoosh."

A yellow energy wave erupted from Vegeta's palm, shooting toward Son Goku like a cannonball. In a panic, Son Goku could only cross his arms to block the blast.

It was futile. No matter how weak a Super Saiyan-state energy wave might be, it was not something Son Goku could withstand without transforming himself.

The energy wave pushed Son Goku back inch by inch. Finally, unable to bear the pressure, he instinctively dodged, and the blast streaked straight toward the spectator stands.

"Thwump."

At the critical moment, Son Goten, who had transformed while Son Goku was blocking the blast, appeared on the trajectory of the energy wave like a teleportation. He raised his short leg and kicked the blast with all his might, sending it toward the sea.

"BOOM!"

A deafening roar erupted from the distant sea, and a massive mushroom cloud rose before everyone's eyes. The gale force winds blowing from the ocean whipped everyone's hair into a frenzy.

Vegeta lowered his hand with nonchalance, as if he hadn't been the one to cause the destruction.

"Waaaaah!"

"Run for your lives!"

Living in an era of peace, the audience had never seen such a spectacle. They screamed in terror, scrambling to flee in every direction.

"Ve... Vegeta!" Son Goku glared at him with fury. If Son Goten hadn't intervened, many people would have surely died—and not just died, but been blown to pieces.

"Da... Dad," Trunks whispered in fear. Vegeta looked far more terrifying than usual. In Trunks' eyes, the old Vegeta was at most a stern father, but now he looked like a cold-blooded demon king.

"Sigh, what a pity. If that had hit, at least two hundred people would have died," Babidi muttered with regret.

"Enough talk, Kakarot. Hurry up and fight me," Vegeta sneered. "Unless you want to see this place piled high with corpses. And you won't be so lucky next time."

Seeming to realize something, Son Goku said gravely, "Vegeta, could it be... you let Babidi control you on purpose?"

Having achieved his goal and enjoyed a moment of intellectual superiority, Vegeta decided he didn't want to speak; he wanted to savor the feeling of being the smartest person in the room for a while longer.

Vegeta aimed his hand at the spectator stands to his right and fired an energy ball.

"Pop."

"BOOM!"

Trunks hurriedly transformed into a Super Saiyan and intercepted the energy ball. However, because he had transformed in such a rush, he only managed to deflect it slightly, and it still killed a number of spectators.

Son Goku's pupils constricted. Seeing the look in Vegeta's eyes—which clearly said, "If you don't come, I'll do it again"—Son Goku transformed as well.

"Don't do it, Son Goku!" the Supreme Kai urged. "If you fight here, you'll be playing right into Babidi's hands. Your energy will be absorbed to awaken Majin Buu!"

However, no one paid him any mind, which left the Supreme Kai feeling heartbroken. I am the Supreme Kai, after all, and you won't even listen to me? How depressing.

"Vegeta... you let Babidi control you just so you could have a serious fight with me, didn't you?" Son Goku asked, staring at him with a stern expression.

Oh, you finally figured it out. Not bad, not bad. A flicker of mockery crossed Vegeta's eyes.

Son Goku raised an eyebrow. What's with that "I'm acting so well, you loser should just quit" look?

"If I didn't do this, you wouldn't have fought me. You can only stay in this world for one day, and then this whole mess happens..." Vegeta said, clearly annoyed.

"You... you did all this for something so stupid..."

Hearing the Supreme Kai's words, Son Goten's mouth twitched. What is this vibe of a lover being dumped?

"Stupid? You call this stupid?" Hearing the Supreme Kai, Vegeta seemed to explode—no, he had exploded. Vegeta roared, "To me, this is the most important thing! I don't care about Majin Buu!"

"This guy... he's actually stronger than me. We're both Saiyans, yet he's always been better. I am the Prince of all Saiyans, the one with absolute power, yet he has surpassed me... I've even been saved by him. I cannot endure this. Absolutely not!"

Vegeta's tsundere syndrome flared up again as he roared wildly, as if he'd been violated by Son Goku.