Baby's True Form

"Your strength has regressed, Vegeta."

Gohan tilted his head, his gaze as cold as a blade.

A mocking smirk curled his lips, his voice laced with cruelty, "Are you afraid? Afraid to face your former son?"

Those eyes had long since lost Gohan's warmth.

Only bone-deep hatred remained.

"Shut up--!"

Vegeta roared as he burst from the pile of rubble, his aura erupting like a volcanic explosion.

Every step he took cracked the earth beneath him.

He lunged at Gohan, the killing intent in his eyes nearly overflowing, his fists clenched like a wild beast.

But just as his fist was about to make contact with Gohan, a thick, pitch-black shadow struck silently from behind, wrapping directly around his throat.

It was a tail!

Goten's tail had suddenly grown long and thick, like a black python, tightening coil by coil around Vegeta's windpipe.

Each scale scraped with a harsh, grating sound as the tail constricted further, making the veins on Vegeta's neck bulge as if they were about to burst.

"Urgh... aaaaah!"

Vegeta grabbed the tail with both hands, his fingers digging into the scales as he tried to tear it away.

But the tail's strength was terrifying, tightening until it felt as though it would snap his neck in two.

The color drained from his face rapidly, his breathing becoming as labored and ragged as a broken bellows.

Gohan seized the opportunity to approach silently, his right elbow gathering a blade of energy that slammed into Vegeta's undefended chest like a steel drill.

"Pfft--!"

A mouthful of hot blood sprayed from Vegeta's lips, staining the rubble and withered grass below.

He was sent flying like a stone struck by a hammer, crashing heavily into the ground and rolling several times before smashing through three thick trees.

The trunks snapped with a sharp crack, sending wood chips flying and leaves scattering into the air.

"It's useless, Vegeta."

Gohan walked over slowly, his pace unhurried, his soles crunching against the gravel and fallen leaves.

He looked down at the battered Vegeta lying on the ground, his tone disdainful and chilling, "Lord Baby already knows your power inside and out. Before you are completely controlled, I will slowly torture you until nothing remains, making you taste the thousand years of resentment and agony of the Tuffle people!"

"Damn... you..."

Vegeta gritted his teeth, his hands pressed against the cracked earth, his knuckles turning white as he trembled, trying to force himself back up.

But his legs felt as heavy as lead, unable to support his weight.

With his body riddled with severe injuries, broken ribs, and internal organ damage, every breath felt like a knife slicing through his wounds.

Worse still—he could feel something spreading through his blood, like invisible tentacles, slowly eroding his spirit.

It was those parasitic cells!

While fighting Gohan and Goten, he had inhaled nearly invisible spores released from their bodies during the heat of the battle.

These spores were dividing and spreading wildly inside him, like a swarm of tiny, greedy insects gnawing at his willpower.

"I won't let you succeed--!"

Vegeta bit his tongue hard, using the sharp pain to force himself to stay conscious.

He clenched his fists and threw his head back in a roar, his remaining internal energy burning, compressing, and exploding, erupting from every pore in his body like a volcano.

A golden aura shot toward the sky, the scorching heat wave blowing away rubble, dust, and broken wood, leaving the ground scorched black.

He would use the pride and fury of the Saiyan Prince to burn every last bit of that filth out of his body!

But just then, a massive black shadow fell from the sky, covering the entire valley like a mountain of darkness without the slightest warning.

The sun-drenched valley was instantly plunged into thick gloom, and the air seemed to solidify.

Trees and shrubs shivered, birds and beasts fled in terror, and dust and leaves were whipped into the air.

The sound of the distant stream cut off abruptly, leaving only the sound of heavy, labored breathing, like a primordial beast growling in the distance.

Vegeta looked up sharply, his pupils shrinking to pinpricks, veins bulging on his forehead as his jaw muscles twitched.

The sight before him left him completely frozen—a colossal entity hung in the sky, obscuring nearly half the heavens.

A Great Ape!

Its fur was as black as iron, every strand standing on end, reflecting a cold, chilling light in the dimness.

The ape's eyes were blood-red, like two burning moons of gore, filled with unbridled madness.

Foul, acrid saliva dripped from its maw, sizzling as it hit the ground and corroded a series of small, black pits.

This Great Ape was at least fifty meters tall.

With every step it took, the earth shook like thunder, pulverizing rocks into powder and sending gravel and soil flying meters into the air.

"So this... is the true form of Baby?"

Vegeta muttered in a low, raspy voice, as if the words were being squeezed out of him. His fingers curled involuntarily, his fists clenching and unclenching, while a layer of cold sweat broke out across his forehead.

The ground beneath his feet trembled incessantly, with cracks spreading out in every direction.

"That's right."

Gohan stood at the foot of the Great Ape, a cold, sinister smile playing on his lips.

He reached out to stroke the coarse fur on the beast's body, which was matted with black-red slime, a foul, fishy stench spreading on the wind.

Gohan's movements were as gentle as if he were caressing a treasure: "This is Lord Baby's true form—Great Ape Baby! He has absorbed our Saiyan energy and obtained this perfect body. Vegeta, you don't have a shred of a chance."

Gohan's voice was calm, yet his tone carried a mocking edge, as if he were pronouncing Vegeta's fate.

Great Ape Baby slowly lowered its head, its scarlet eyes locking onto Vegeta like searchlights, bathing him in a crimson glow.

Every breath it took was like a hurricane, whipping Vegeta's hair and clothes into a violent frenzy.

Then, it opened its massive maw, revealing jagged, blood-stained teeth, and let out a roar that tore the heavens asunder.

The sound was like a landslide and a tsunami combined, the sonic waves manifesting as visible, transparent ripples that surged outward.

The air was ripped open, the sharp, piercing boom shattering the surrounding rocks into fine dust, while trees were uprooted and pulverized into wood chips as they were flung into the sky.

Deep fissures exploded across the ground, and a massive vortex of dust and debris spiraled into the air.

Vegeta shielded his face with his arms, the veins on them bulging as his muscles threatened to burst.

But the impact was too immense; his feet were dragged through the earth, carving two deep trenches as he was pushed back. The ground surged like a stormy sea, and he was hurled hundreds of meters before he could finally come to a difficult halt.

His arms trembled slightly, blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, and his breathing was rapid and ragged.

"It's over, Vegeta."

Gohan raised his hand, his cheeks flushed with excitement. "Lord Baby, please grant him the parasite!"

His voice was filled with a sickly, fanatical fervor, his eyes gleaming with greed.

The tip of Great Ape Baby's tail suddenly split open like a flower of flesh, revealing a pulsating, squirming mass.

The surface of the mass was covered in tiny, writhing tentacles that lashed out like snakes, emitting an eerie, dark red light.

Viscous liquid dripped from its surface, smelling of rotting meat; where it hit the ground, it hissed and emitted white smoke, burning small pits into the earth.

The mass slowly extended toward Vegeta, its tentacles spreading like an opening net, emitting a faint, hissing sound as it drew ever closer.