"Hmph, Toppo hasn't even gotten serious yet." Belmod chuckled softly, not the least bit concerned.
So what if Toppo lost to that little brat?
I still have a trump card I haven't used.
That trump card is Jiren.
I'll just have Jiren win it back later.
No matter how strong this kid named Vegeta is, he's still nowhere near Jiren.
Jiren's strength is second only to mine.
"You're just putting on a brave face. You'd better get ready to work for me for a hundred years." Rumsshi burst into laughter.
"Hmph, don't get too excited. Until there's a winner, none of this means anything." Belmod smiled.
Below.
"When did you become an Apprentice God of Destruction?" Toppo asked Vegeta.
"Twelve years ago, I guess." Vegeta smiled.
"What? Twelve years ago? So you've only been training for twelve years?" Toppo's eyes widened.
"In the true sense of the word, yes. I've only trained for twelve years." Vegeta nodded.
Vegeta wasn't wrong.
Vegeta had already been five years old when he crossed over.
He had started training that same year.
So Vegeta had only trained for twelve years.
"How old are you this year? You don't look very old." Toppo asked.
"Seventeen," Vegeta replied.
"Hmph, you look like you're not even eight." Toppo snorted.
"I was born short. That's all." Vegeta replied calmly.
Toppo: "..."
Toppo fell silent.
The kid looked perfectly calm.
Most short people would be sensitive about comments like that.
But this kid said it as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Even now, Vegeta looked much the same as he had at five.
Sometimes, Vegeta wondered if crossing over was the reason he still looked five at seventeen.
But none of that mattered.
Even if he never grew up, he could just ask Shenron to make him taller someday.
Besides, Vegeta believed that one day, he would suddenly grow into an adult.
Saiyans, after all.
Having an unusual physique was perfectly normal.
"Very good. You really are something. You had the upper hand in that fight just now." Toppo smiled faintly. "But you've kept your hands in your pockets the whole time, which means you've been holding back too. Am I right?"
"That's right." Vegeta nodded.
"I've been holding back too, you know." Toppo said with a smile.
"I know." Vegeta nodded again.
"Then let's settle this between us once and for all." A smile appeared on Toppo's face.
Among the ruins of the Pride Troopers' headquarters below.
"Can the captain beat that little brat?" Kahseral mused.
"Damn that arrogant little brat!" Dyspo ground his teeth in fury.
"Deputy captain, are you all right?" Cocotte asked with concern.
"I'm fine!" Dyspo shook his head and gritted his teeth. "Come on, captain! Give that little brat a good beating! Does he think he's so great just because he's an Apprentice God of Destruction?"
"Are people from Universe 10 always this shameless?" Kunshi snorted. "Even if they wanted to challenge us, they didn't have to smash our conference room."
"The conference room... I think it was the captain who rushed in and tore off the roof." Cocotte corrected him.
"Cocotte, shut up!" Dyspo snapped irritably.
High above.
Vegeta and Toppo stood facing each other.
"Rumble!"
Purple-red flames suddenly burst from Toppo's body.
God of Destruction form.
Vegeta, on the other hand, still had his hands in his pockets and looked perfectly calm. Not a trace of energy flared around him.
"Kid, are you sure you don't want to take your hands out of your pockets?" Toppo asked, his expression darkening as he narrowed his eyes.
"There's no need. Why would I take them out to deal with someone like you?" Vegeta smiled.
"Don't you dare look down on me! You'll regret it soon!" Toppo gave a cold snort and charged toward Vegeta.
"Thud! Thud! Thud!"
Toppo unleashed a violent flurry of attacks against Vegeta.
With his hands still in his pockets, Vegeta blocked every one of Toppo's punches and kicks with his feet.
After several exchanges—
"Bang!"
Vegeta's foot collided with Toppo's fist.
Both of them were sent flying backward.
The two quickly put some distance between themselves.
Then Vegeta kicked through the air toward Toppo.
And then Vegeta's leg flew right off.
Toppo: "..."
What the hell!
That trick again?
"Bang!"
Toppo also kicked out, knocking Vegeta's leg clean off.
Vegeta quickly regenerated it.
"Whoosh!"
The next moment, Vegeta charged forward again.
"Thud! Thud! Thud!"
The two clashed fiercely in midair.
For a while, they seemed evenly matched.
They fought for another hundred or so exchanges.
Vegeta suddenly kicked Toppo's arm.
"Crack!"
Toppo's arm gave a sharp snap, and he sucked in a breath from the pain.
"Hmph, your arm's just broken. Does it really hurt that much?" Vegeta smiled scornfully. "My leg came off, and did you hear me make a sound?"
Toppo: "..."
You shameless brat!
"Don't you feel pain?" Toppo asked through gritted teeth.
"Of course I do. But I've been through so much pain that this is nothing." Vegeta smiled. "Besides, the more it hurts, the more it fires up my fighting spirit."
"Whoosh!"
As he spoke, Vegeta shot forward and slammed his head into Toppo's chest.
"Pfft..."
Toppo spat out a mouthful of blood. It felt as if his chest had caved in.
"Thud! Thud! Thud!"
Vegeta seized the chance to kick Toppo repeatedly.
Toppo was beaten so badly he couldn't fight back.
"Bang!"
Vegeta kicked Toppo square in the forehead again.
Toppo shot downward like a meteor, plummeting toward the ground below.
But just as he was about to hit the ground, purple-red energy surged around him, and he quickly stopped in midair.
Toppo took a deep breath, his expression turning somewhat savage.
Toppo felt a mounting sense of frustration.
The main thing was that he'd been fighting for so long, and the kid had kept his hands in his pockets the whole time.
I've already shown my true strength, and he's still holding a lot back.
"Destruction!"
Toppo gritted his teeth and sent a ball of Destruction Energy hurtling toward Vegeta.
The purple-red Destruction Energy became a streak of light, racing toward Vegeta at tremendous speed.
Watching the Destruction Energy fly toward him.
Vegeta calmly kicked at it.
"Whoosh!"
The Destruction Energy changed direction in midair and shot toward the Pride Troopers' headquarters.