Nezha vs. Goten

Nezha made his move.

No testing the waters—his first strike came at full force.

The Red Armillary Sash transformed into a streak of red light and shot toward Goten, moving so fast that it tore through the air with a piercing whistle.

Goten didn't try to block it. He twisted aside, golden aura bursting beneath his feet as he shifted more than a yard in an instant.

The Red Armillary Sash missed and struck a tree behind him. The trunk snapped, and the upper half of the tree crashed to the ground.

Goten glanced at the broken tree and swallowed. If he hadn't dodged, his waist would have been the one to break.

He began taking the fight seriously.

Nezha's attacks came one after another. The Red Armillary Sash darted and coiled around him like a living thing, every strike carrying tremendous force.

Goten had fought plenty of people in the Dragon Ball World—he'd trained with Uncle Piccolo, sparred with his dad, and fought Trunks countless times. But Nezha's fighting style was unlike anyone in the Dragon Ball World.

It wasn't a matter of speed or strength. Nezha's attacks had no openings.

Every strike flowed seamlessly into the next, like a dance he'd rehearsed countless times—and in fact, he had.

Goten combined his newly learned Origin Energy sensing with Saiyan speed to dodge. He could predict the Red Armillary Sash's path before it hit him, but doing so demanded intense concentration.

Let his focus slip for even a moment, and he'd get hit.

After a few exchanges, both of them realized what made the other so difficult to handle.

Nezha realized the boy was far faster and better at predicting his moves than he'd expected. His usual tricks for dealing with ordinary heavenly soldiers were completely useless against him.

Goten realized Nezha was as strong as Yang Jian, but fought in a completely different way.

Yang Jian was steady—every move airtight.

Nezha was fast—his combinations came crashing down like a storm, giving his opponent no chance to catch his breath.

Nezha's Wind Fire Wheels suddenly accelerated. His body became a blur, and in an instant he appeared right in front of Goten. The Universe Ring came crashing down at his head as the power inside him erupted at the same moment—not Immortal Art, but the Saiyan instinct to fight back when near death!

Goten had no time to dodge. He crossed his arms and took the hit head-on. Clang!!!

A deafening crash rang out. The ground beneath Goten exploded into a crater several yards across, and he was driven straight into it.

"Ugh—" Goten gritted his teeth, his arms trembling uncontrollably. The force coming from the Universe Ring was too great—far beyond what he could withstand.

The Origin Energy and Saiyan ki he'd only recently fused began to show signs of separating under the impact.

His golden aura flickered violently, while the silvery-white Origin Energy pulsed on and off.

Nezha looked down at him from above, still pressing the Universe Ring down. "Is that all you've got?"

Goten's feet dug an even deeper hollow into the crater floor. His knees began to bend.

But he didn't fall.

He knelt in the crater with his head lowered, yet the corners of his mouth lifted ever so slightly.

It wasn't the bitter smile of someone who'd been beaten. It was the smile of someone who'd found the answer.

He hadn't even realized he was smiling, but Nezha saw it. His hand paused for the briefest moment.

"You know," Goten said, raising his head, "that last hit of yours reminded me of someone."

Nezha didn't answer, but he didn't press down any harder either.

"My dad used to get beaten by people stronger than him, too. Every time, he couldn't get back up—but every time, he did."

His knees were shaking, but he still stood.

Under the pressure of the Universe Ring, he rose inch by inch, little by little.

The cracks in the ground widened several times over as he straightened.

"So...I won't fall either."

He didn't shout the words. He said them calmly.

As he spoke, a flood of images flashed through Goten's mind—

His dad, refusing to give up even when Frieza had beaten him to the brink of death on Namek.

Uncle Piccolo, refusing to back down as he took Nappa's attack to save Gohan.

Krillin, standing his ground on Earth despite his trembling legs, refusing to run when faced with Frieza.

Every one of them had one thing in common: it wasn't that they felt no fear. They chose not to let fear control them.

His golden aura and silvery-white Origin Energy fused again the instant he stood up.

This wasn't a strained patching together after being knocked apart. They were more tightly fused than before.

Nezha's strike had helped him break through a barrier.

A golden light shone from Goten's fist, and the space around it began to warp slightly.

It was the effect of Origin Energy and Saiyan ki being compressed to their limit in his fist—a genuine breakthrough—

Nezha looked at the fist and fell silent for two seconds. Then he lowered the Universe Ring and stepped back.

"Enough."

Goten froze.

"I'm not here to kill you." Nezha recalled the Red Armillary Sash and Wind Fire Wheels, returning to the form of a seven- or eight-year-old child. "I came to see whether the one who made Yang Jian admit defeat was worth having the Heavenly Court bring out its true strength. You are."

He turned around, but didn't leave right away.

"Sun Wukong was once where you are now."

Goten froze.

"Back then, I also smashed him into the ground with my Universe Ring—"

Nezha paused. He didn't turn around. His voice was so quiet that only Goten could hear it.

"—but after he got back up, he punched me. He was the first person to ever land a hit on me."

He stepped onto his Wind Fire Wheels and vanished into the distance in a streak of fire.

Goten stood where he was, covered in injuries, but he understood.

Nezha hadn't come to beat him up on the Heavenly Court's behalf. He'd come to confirm one thing: whether this boy and the monkey surnamed Sun from back then were the same kind of person.

He'd confirmed it. The answer satisfied him.