Chapter Title

Goten charged straight at him without holding back.

His body traced a dazzling arc through the air as he hurtled toward Jiang Che like a cannonball.

Golden ki swirled around both hands, its power sharpening into blades in his palms.

In the blink of an eye, a palm strike shot straight for Jiang Che's throat, so fast that three golden afterimages streaked through the air.

His gaze was as cold as ice—he didn't hesitate for a moment. It was clear he'd already pictured Jiang Che's neck being cut open.

The two attacked at incredible speed, almost simultaneously, their assaults working together as if they'd rehearsed them countless times.

From a distance, Gohan used Ki Blasts to cut off Jiang Che's escape route, while Goten's close-range attacks sealed off every avenue of retreat.

Though Baby controlled them, their fighting instincts remained. Their coordination was even more precise, as if someone else were directing them.

Not everyone could withstand a pincer attack like this.

But Jiang Che?

He simply raised his right hand, leisurely, as if this were all just part of his daily routine.

His gesture looked like he was shooing away a fly, his fingers opening casually.

"Smack!" A sharp crack rang through the air.

Goten's palm strike—with enough force to cleave through steel plates—was casually knocked aside by Jiang Che.

At first glance, it seemed like a careless swat. In reality, it was perfectly precise, striking the weakest point of Goten's wrist.

Goten felt his hand go numb. The golden ki instantly dissipated, and his body lurched off course against his will. He staggered several steps and nearly fell.

He froze for a moment, clearly not expecting his lethal attack to be dispelled so easily.

Almost the instant Goten was knocked aside, Jiang Che turned slightly.

He barely moved, shifting only a few centimeters, but that was just enough to dodge Gohan's enormous Ki Blast.

The blast roared past the hem of his clothes, whipping up fierce gusts that made Jiang Che's red hair snap in the wind.

The Ki Blast missed its target and continued into the distance, slamming into the ground with a deafening boom and blasting a crater dozens of meters across.

Rubble scattered like a torrential downpour. The ground shook violently, as if the entire battlefield were trembling.

Smoke curled through the crater's center, flames flickered, and the shock wave ripped up every nearby tree by the roots, hurling them hundreds of meters away.

"What?!" Shock was written all over the controlled Gohan's face as his pupils contracted sharply.

That Ki Blast had consumed seventy percent of his power. He'd expected it to at least make Jiang Che take the fight seriously.

Instead, Jiang Che had dodged it with nothing more than a slight lean, without making a single unnecessary movement.

Honestly, there was no suspense in the difference between them. It was like an adult playing with a child.

Goten regained his footing, his expression turning serious.

That last strike hadn't injured him, but the numbness in his wrist still left him shaken.

He could tell Jiang Che hadn't even used half his strength. A casual swat had been enough to dismantle his attack.

A shaft of sunlight slipped through a gap in the clouds, bathing Jiang Che in gold.

He hovered in midair, his red hair vivid beneath the sunlight, looking like an unadorned god of war.

His face showed little emotion, as if the fierce exchange meant nothing to him.

He looked at Gohan and Goten, a faint smile of disdain and amusement appearing at the corners of his mouth.

"That all you've got?" Jiang Che asked, his tone indifferent and tinged with mockery.

"Baby controls two Saiyans, and this is all you can do? Looks like this parasite is only good at running his mouth." He slowly glanced at Vegeta, his gaze turning cold.

"You two should just go to sleep." As he spoke, Jiang Che slowly clenched his hand. "I'll get this disgusting thing out of you soon."

Though Baby could only send emotional waves from the nerve endings on instinct, the shudder rising from deep within his soul made his fear unmistakable. He could feel every muscle in this body twitching uncontrollably.

Jiang Che's strength had far exceeded every initial expectation.

"This is all you've got?" The smile on Jiang Che's lips grew colder and fainter, its edge cutting into everyone's heart.

"If you really think this is enough to kill me, save your strength. At least spare yourselves the humiliation."

He spoke as casually as if he were discussing the weather or commenting on the taste of street-corner coffee.

But the moment those words reached Gohan and Goten, they sent shock waves through them—an outright provocation, and an insult unlike anything they'd suffered in a long time.

"What did you say?!" they roared almost in unison.

Their roars burst forth as their auras exploded.

The ground cracked, and rocks shot in every direction.

Their energy surged all at once, golden flames soaring skyward as the air around them warped from the heat.

Their hair grew even sharper, standing on end like steel needles. Their muscles swelled, their veins bulged, and the blood vessels pulsed beneath their skin like thunder.

They had fully unleashed their Super Saiyan 2 forms.

Gohan transformed first. Rings of crackling golden lightning danced around him, snaking through the air.

All warmth had vanished from his eyes, leaving only blood-red murderous intent. His gaze seemed ready to tear someone apart.

The ground beneath his feet was close to giving way. Cracks spread in every direction, and the earth sank beneath him.

Goten followed close behind. His transformation was less stable than his older brother's—his aura flared and faded, interspersed with several surges.

But the energy fueled by his fury was still not to be underestimated.

He gritted his teeth, veins throbbing at his temples, and clenched his fists so tightly they creaked.

Energy burst from his body like a tidal wave, whipping up a ring of wind at his feet that sent the rubble flying.

"Die!" Gohan roared. His body became a golden meteor, and the instant his shadow vanished from where he'd stood, he was already upon Jiang Che.

He moved so fast that he was almost invisible, leaving only golden afterimages in the air.

His fist clenched tight, wrapped in wildly surging energy, and shot straight toward Jiang Che's face!

He was so fast that the eye could barely follow him.

The air around his fist turned into a raging gale, crackling as the blow carved a long trench into the ground.

The sound of electricity snapping through the air was unmistakable, as if space itself were groaning under the force of his punch.

Any other Super Saiyan 2 would have been reduced to dust by that single blow.

But Jiang Che had never been ordinary.

His crimson eyes burned like the fires of hell, catching every detail of Gohan's punch with perfect precision.

When the fist was only a hair's breadth from his forehead, Jiang Che gently leaned to one side. His movement was as light as willow fluff swaying in a breeze, yet the angle was just right, allowing him to cleanly evade the lethal strike!