Vegeta's arrogant personality was still exactly the same, even though he had already learned a lot from the battle footage.
But now, seeing Vegeta standing there without even intending to transform, Gohan really felt like he was being looked down on!
Especially since Vegeta had challenged him the moment he showed up, without caring what anyone else thought. He hadn't even had a chance to eat his bento.
Gohan's expression darkened, his face icy.
"Uncle Vegeta, are you planning to fight me in your normal state without even going Super Saiyan 1?"
Vegeta curled his lip and snorted. "My normal form is more than enough for you!"
He really was arrogant. Gohan's face darkened, and without a second thought, he transformed into Super Saiyan 1 and charged straight at him.
"Fine, then don't blame me for going easy on you!"
Since Vegeta was underestimating him, Gohan would make him pay dearly. He transformed into Super Saiyan 1 in an instant, boosting his fighting power.
His body became a streak of light as he slammed straight into Vegeta. Vegeta watched him approach.
He just kept sneering. In his eyes, Gohan's Super Saiyan 1 form was riddled with openings and wasn't worth worrying about!
Especially since he was charging straight in for close combat?
This kid hadn't improved at all. There was no way he could beat Vegeta in close combat!
As soon as Gohan got close and swung a punch, Vegeta casually raised one hand and caught it.
The moment he caught Gohan's fist, Vegeta couldn't help laughing again. He hadn't noticed anything unusual at all.
Piccolo, watching from a distance, also laughed.
"Vegeta really fell for it!"
Videl, however, didn't understand. It looked like Vegeta had simply caught Gohan's attack, but there was no way Gohan's move would be that easy to stop.
With his hand caught in Vegeta's grasp, Gohan gave a cold smile and activated Ultra Instinct!
His formerly golden hair turned white in an instant, half of it already transformed.
Vegeta's expression changed as he sensed something was wrong. He had no idea what kind of transformation this was, and by the next moment, it was already too late to react.
He realized that Gohan had vanished before his eyes, leaving only an afterimage!
"What?!"
Vegeta was stunned. He had no idea that what he'd just grabbed was only an afterimage, not Gohan himself.
With Gohan's incredible speed, he was unbeatable in close combat. It wasn't just Vegeta—even Kakarot would get thoroughly thrashed if he were here!
Still untransformed, Vegeta took a heavy kick to the stomach from Gohan.
A powerful spinning kick!
Bang!
Vegeta spat out a mouthful of saliva. Gohan's kick stopped him in midair, and his face turned green. Taking that kick head-on had really hurt.
But Vegeta stubbornly endured it, gritting his teeth as he took Gohan's kick.
This time, he was furious.
"You little brat, you—Aaaah!"
Vegeta roared in a frenzy, his whole body shuddering as he completed his transformation.
Super Saiyan 1 appeared in an instant. Only then did Gohan retreat with satisfaction, putting some distance between them and dodging as Vegeta reached for him again.
Enraged, Vegeta fully unleashed his Super Saiyan 1 form and charged straight at Gohan, attacking him relentlessly.
Piccolo watched from a distance, his brows furrowed. What he'd expected had happened after all.
Once Vegeta got angry, he really did stop holding back. At this point, even Piccolo couldn't interfere in the fight.
"Gohan can hold his own against Super Saiyan 1 Vegeta for now. The question is how long he can last!"
The two fought from the sky to the ground, then from the ground back into the sky. They soared upward, leaving nothing but afterimages for onlookers to see.
They traded blows in close combat, locked in a fierce struggle. Vegeta couldn't land a hit on Gohan.
And Gohan found it difficult to land another sneak attack and hurt Vegeta!
In close combat, they were evenly matched!
After fighting through the air and across the ground for several minutes, Gohan grew familiar with Vegeta's moves and leaped far back to put some distance between them again.
He knew that if they kept fighting at close range, they could go on for days and nights without a clear winner.
This time, he wasn't going to hold back.
"Sharingan, activate! Genjutsu: Confusion Technique!"
The Three-Tomoe Sharingan flashed, and its power shot straight toward Vegeta. His whole body shuddered, but it was clear he had only been stopped for 0.5 seconds!
After those 0.5 seconds, Vegeta roared and used his sheer power to break free of the Genjutsu.
"Damn it, what kind of trick are you playing? How can something so trivial hold me back?"
Just as Gohan had expected, Vegeta's fighting power was too high. The Three-Tomoe Sharingan was nowhere near enough.
It couldn't even hold him for 0.5 seconds. Of course, Gohan had only been testing it. What he wanted to do came next.
"Shadow Clone Technique!"
He created clones, but this time Gohan didn't make a hundred. He made two, since two clones could each wield 50% of his power. That was much more useful than a hundred clones, each with only 5% of his fighting power.
But even that wasn't much in front of Vegeta. He curled his lip, looking thoroughly unimpressed.
"Gohan, are these little tricks all you've got? What good are they? Even if there are two of you, you still can't beat me."
"Still, you did well in close combat just now. I'll let you see 100% of my power—Vegeta's Super Transformation!"
This time, Vegeta wasn't going to hold back. Their earlier close-combat fight had made him acknowledge Gohan's strength.
Gohan treated him as a training partner, but Vegeta was doing the same.
Vegeta unleashed 100% Super Vegeta, a transformation that even startled Piccolo in the distance.
"N-No way! Vegeta, could this guy have already surpassed Son Goku?"
"N-No, absolutely not! Vegeta's energy is terrifying! Gohan, stop fighting! You can't win, Gohan!"
Piccolo began to worry. He'd been the one to provoke Vegeta, but he hadn't expected him to have reached such a terrifying level.
Vegeta had surpassed the Son Goku of before. If Son Goku hadn't mastered Super Saiyan 3, he really wouldn't have stood a chance. Now Vegeta had achieved the perfect Super Saiyan 1 form: 100% Super Vegeta!
His body was filled with frenzied energy. Along with his ki, wild bolts of lightning crackled all around him.
Piccolo's stunned expression made it clear just how terrifying Vegeta's energy was.
Gohan felt it all, but he wasn't afraid in the slightest. Instead, he curled his lip and smiled.
Of course he knew Vegeta would use this transformation. He'd expected it all along.
"Now this is getting interesting. If you were only as strong as before, beating you would've been too easy!"
Gohan's words drew a cold snort from Vegeta. He realized that Gohan was just like Kakarot.
He was far too confident in himself!
Vegeta's Super Vegeta transformation was a creation he took great pride in. He'd prepared it specifically to deal with Kakarot.
He'd revealed it this time only to use Gohan for practice. Seeing how relaxed Gohan looked, he assumed the boy didn't understand how powerful Super Vegeta was.
"Gohan, I didn't expect you to be as arrogant as your father. But I can tell you that I created this transformation specifically for your father, Kakarot."
"Even though you're seeing it now, I'll stand in for your father and teach you a lesson!"
The arrogant Vegeta had brought out his strongest transformation. At this point, he was convinced he was invincible.
What he didn't know was that Gohan took a deep breath and transformed from Super Saiyan 1 into Super Saiyan 2!
He gave up Super Saiyan 1's speed to increase his strength.
Vegeta didn't take Super Saiyan 2 seriously at all. "The Super Saiyan 2 transformation has a weakness, Gohan. Don't you know that?"
Gohan transformed into Super Saiyan 2, increasing his strength at the cost of speed. But he wasn't worried at all, and calmly replied,
"Of course I know. But my White God state makes up for that. I can predict any close-range attack, even without speed."
"No one can get close to me or fight me at close range!"
That was right. Ultra Instinct gave him exceptional close-combat ability. Even without speed, no one could fight him. He didn't need to move; standing still made him the strongest fortress!
Vegeta stared at Gohan's confidence, his expression darkening. Gohan was stronger than he'd expected, so he decided not to fight him at close range.
Instead, he raised both hands. The moment he took that stance, he was preparing a Final Flash!
Piccolo noticed and his face changed drastically. He immediately shouted,
"Vegeta, don't do anything reckless! If you fire the Final Flash like that, Gohan won't be able to withstand it—he'll be vaporized!"
Piccolo tried to talk him down, but Vegeta was never one to listen. He snorted and glared at Piccolo.
He had no fondness for Piccolo at all. "Shut up!"
"Gohan, if you can withstand this move, I'll acknowledge your strength. I recognize your close-combat skills, but can you endure the Final Flash of Super Vegeta?"
Energy gathered. The Final Flash was one of Vegeta's signature killing moves, and Gohan knew Vegeta meant business.
He felt a wave of pressure, but it could help him improve his fighting ability!
The pressure he'd faced lately hadn't been enough. The battle footage showing 50% of Vegeta's power hadn't put nearly as much pressure on him as the real Vegeta.
Under the crushing pressure, Ultra Instinct surged by another 0.1%!
It was a good sign. Sure enough, an approaching crisis could make Ultra Instinct advance even further. Facing Vegeta as he charged up the Final Flash, Gohan was full of confidence.
"Uncle Vegeta, I'm looking forward to your Final Flash. Actually, after studying your battle footage to prepare for fighting you, I've mastered a killing move of my own!"
Vegeta froze for a moment. Hearing Gohan mention his killing move, he snorted. "Don't put on an act, brat! Aaaah!"
His explosive energy surged straight toward Gohan. Once the Final Flash was unleashed, there was no taking it back.
Piccolo's face changed drastically in the distance. There was no way he could stop it. Who could possibly stop Vegeta?
Even if Kakarot came, he wouldn't be able to block it!
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