48. Shocking Change! Janembuu's Evil Thoughts

The sky was torn open by a massive gash, a pitch-black void that seemed capable of swallowing every living thing.

From the fissure, a towering figure emerged before the crowd.

"Who... is this guy?"

"This energy... it's so strong, terrifyingly strong."

Son Gohan and Trunks stared with grim expressions at the figure stepping out of the rift and treading upon the void.

What the hell, how did Janemba get out? This makes no sense, Son Goten thought, his mind reeling. This isn't right. No matter how OP Janemba was, he only threw his weight around in Hell and was supposed to be defeated by Gogeta in the end. Did the plot go completely off the rails because Vegeta got absorbed by Buu and didn't die? WTF.

"This energy, it's... Frieza," Son Gohan said, sensing the familiar auras within Janemba, his shock deepening. "Cell, Broly, Turles—it actually possesses the energy of all these people."

"Nani!"

Son Goten looked on in astonishment. Indeed, he could sense those familiar auras too—Frieza, Cell... I was wondering why this guy looks different from the one in the anime. It looks like he absorbed the power of these evil forces and transformed... damn it, this guy is way harder to fight than Buu.

Son Goten cursed inwardly. The original Janemba could read minds and predict his opponent's next move; he had pinned his dad in Super Saiyan 3 to the ground and rubbed his face in the dirt. Now that he'd absorbed the power of so many boss-level characters, his dad in Super Saiyan 3 would probably... be in serious trouble!

"Roar~"

Janemba spotted Son Goten, let out an excited howl toward the sky, and suddenly lunged at him, throwing a punch.

"Boom."

Janemba's fist connected with Son Goten's right cheek, snapping his head to the side.

"Hey," Son Goten grabbed the arm that had struck him, a fierce glint in his eyes as he spoke coldly, "You're pretty cocky, Janemba. Looks like I need to teach you some manners."

"Boom."

"Ugh."

Son Goten delivered a lightning-fast punch deep into Janemba's gut. The terrifying force made Janemba spit out bile. While Janemba was clutching his stomach in pain, Son Goten clasped his hands together and hammered them down onto Janemba's back.

"Boom."

Janemba's body slammed heavily into the ground, creating a massive crater.

"Awoo."

"Shoo."

Janemba gathered his energy to blast away the rocks and dirt burying him, and a dark purple pillar of energy erupted from the ground.

Janemba's predatory gaze locked onto Son Goten. With a wave of his hand, energy blasts flew toward Son Goten like brilliant meteors, each one capable of reducing an entire city to ash.

"Get lost."

"Bang, bang, bang."

Son Goten let out a cold snort. The moment the meteor-like blasts neared him, an invisible pressure manifested out of thin air, deflecting them.

"Boom."

"Boom."

"Boom."

The energy blasts struck the ground, blowing out huge craters. The pockmarked earth looked like a lunar landscape, but fortunately, there was no one for hundreds of miles; anyone who had been there was already wiped out by Babidi's crew.

"Boom."

Son Goten threw a punch squarely into Janemba's face. The impact severely distorted Janemba's features. Son Goten prepared to follow up with another strike, but Janemba's body disintegrated into small cubes and teleported behind him.

Oh, so it's the disintegration-teleportation move. Interesting.

"Boom."

Janemba had barely materialized behind Son Goten before he was kicked away. Having read the original story, Son Goten naturally knew about this signature move that had run Super Saiyan 3 Son Goku ragged.

"Gurgle, gurgle."

Kid Buu, who had been waiting on the sidelines, saw Janemba flying toward him. His body instantly turned into a mass of pink, sticky matter, pouncing on Janemba as he drew near.

"Gurgle, gurgle."

"What the hell," Son Goten froze. "Buu, you really are desperate, aren't you? Trying to absorb anyone you see."

The pink slime writhed and eventually formed a humanoid shape. On top of its head remained the small antenna, but on either side were Janemba's sword-like helmet protrusions. Its body seemed clad in dark pink armor, and a deep pink tail lashed behind it. Its mouth emitted a wicked, cackling laugh—a hybrid voice of both Janemba and Buu, much like the voice of Gogeta after Son Goku and Vegeta fused in the original story.

WTF, I really messed up, Son Goten thought, watching Janembuu with a grave expression. He could feel that Janembuu's power had increased drastically; their combat strength wasn't just a simple one-plus-one. Both of these guys were born from the power of ultimate evil, and their fusion had pushed their strength to the Super Saiyan 4 level. Damn it all to hell.

"How can this be? Buu's power... it's already caught up to Goten," Trunks said, his forehead beaded with cold sweat, his voice trembling with terror.

Soon, the gravity on Son Goten's face was replaced by a surge of battle intent. The Saiyan's innate love for combat had been ignited by Janembuu. Having an opponent of equal strength wasn't such a bad thing. He wasn't the weak, incompetent Son Xiaotian of the past anymore; he was now the strongest warrior: Super Saiyan 4 Son Goten.