Overwhelming Power

"No!" Baby suddenly roared, his voice crashing into the crater like thunder. Even the loose rocks nearby rattled down, and the deafening boom echoed across the distant mountains.

His massive body burst out of the crater. He kicked off the walls with all four limbs, sending rocks tumbling like raindrops and dust billowing into the air.

He flipped once in midair, then landed with a thunderous stomp, driving two enormous craters into the ground. Cracks crawled outward like a spiderweb.

Baby's voice brimmed with fanaticism and obsession. "I, Baby, will never lose here! I am the perfect being! A king who once ruled countless planets!" He clenched both fists, and dark purple energy erupted from his body like a raging gale, sweeping rocks and dust into the sky.

That energy was Vegeta's power—the might of a Super Saiyan 2. His muscles were contorted like steel, veins throbbed beneath his skin, and the air reeked of scorched ozone.

Beneath Baby's feet, every loose rock trembled with his power, as if the ground itself were about to break apart.

Blood-red light flared in his eyes. His breathing was quick and heavy, each scorching breath like a burst of fire.

Baby roared like thunder, "You think changing color will let you beat me?" Then he charged Jiang Che, raining down punches so fast they were like raindrops. Every blow cut through the air with a shrill whistle.

The first punch came straight down at Jiang Che's head, carrying a force like a thousand mountains. The second drove toward his chest, its gale of force overwhelming. The third swept across his waist, aiming to split him in two.

Fist after fist filled the air, as if countless arms were swinging. Every blow could shatter a mountain.

Where the punches passed, the air compressed into white shock waves that burst outward. Even the trees in the distance were uprooted and torn apart.

Jiang Che stood still, making no attempt to dodge. His hands hung at his sides, not even clenched into fists, as if the attacks were nothing more than children's play.

His expression remained calm. His red hair didn't even stir in the gale of the punches, as though they were only a gentle breeze.

"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom—!!"

The explosions merged into one, as if the sky were collapsing and the earth splitting apart.

Baby's punches blasted out crater after crater. Rocks shot into the sky like meteorites, then crashed back down, leaving holes everywhere.

Shock waves rippled outward from Jiang Che and Baby, tearing apart, overturning, and pulverizing the ground for hundreds of meters around them.

Dust blotted out everything. The air was choked with grit and the stench of burning.

The dust hung like a gray curtain over heaven and earth. Now and then, a ray of light pierced through, reminding everyone that light still existed.

Far away, Gohan had just woken. His eyelids struggled open, revealing the devastated battlefield. His body ached from the earlier fight, every muscle protesting.

When he saw the cloud of dust, his face turned deathly pale, and his lips trembled. "Jiang Che..." His voice was hoarse, as if something were lodged in his throat. Eyes wide, he tried to see through the thick dust, but could make out nothing but chaos.

"Hahaha!" Baby laughed, his amusement brimming with arrogance and triumph.

His hands had reddened from the barrage, but the exhilaration made him forget the pain.

He drew back his fists and stood tall, chest heaving, his breathing as heavy as bellows.

"Feel my power?" His eyes held nothing but pride and contempt. "This is a true body! This is invincible power! That red transformation of yours is nothing but for show—a flashy color-changing trick to scare people!" He turned toward the thickest part of the dust cloud, preparing to deliver the final blow to Jiang Che.

The dust slowly cleared, like a stage curtain rising.

The first thing visible was the ruined ground—shattered rocks, deep craters, and cracks spreading in every direction.

But as a figure gradually emerged, the rest of the wreckage seemed to fade into insignificance.

Jiang Che stood where he was, completely unharmed.

Not a speck of dust touched his red hair, and his clothes weren't even wrinkled, as if the furious barrage had never happened.

The ground beneath his feet was intact, an extraordinary contrast to the devastation around him, as though an invisible shield had protected him.

His gaze was still as calm as ever, deep as a lake and utterly placid.

He slowly raised his right hand, palm facing upward. Flecks of golden light drifted from it, swirling like fireflies before vanishing into the sky.

"Is that all the power you have?" Jiang Che's voice was quiet, yet somehow overpowered everyone, like a god looking down on ants.

Baby's smile suddenly froze, and fear surfaced on his face—the chill that came from the depths of his soul made him retreat instinctively. The rocks beneath his feet scraped together with a sharp sound.

The smile on his lips stiffened into a twisted grimace, as if frozen in place.

His smugness was swallowed by a cold silence. The rocks and dust around them seemed to stop falling, and time itself felt as though someone had pressed pause.

Jiang Che remained standing exactly as before.

His feet were planted firmly on the cracked ground. His sleeves stirred gently in the breeze, and there was no sign of a struggle.

With one hand alone, fingers slightly spread and palm facing forward, he had stopped Baby's mountain-crushing punch!

The fist was almost as large as half of Jiang Che's body, but when it came crashing down, it was like hitting an invisible wall. It didn't move him at all.

The instant fist met palm, a muffled, thunderous boom erupted. Shock waves spread outward, lifting the dust in rippling rings.

Baby's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. He stared at the hand that had stopped his full-power blow, his pupils shrinking to pinpricks as blood vessels stood out in his eyes. It was as if he'd seen a monster that defied all reason.

His breathing grew rapid and ragged, his chest heaving. Cold sweat broke out across his forehead.

All his earlier arrogance and confidence vanished, leaving only a chill that rose from the soles of his feet.

Jiang Che lifted his eyes. His red pupils were as cold and still as a deep pool.

Under the dim light of the sky, they glimmered with a dark red as he looked straight at Baby's stunned face. "Are you done?" His voice wasn't loud, but every word landed on Baby's heart like a heavy hammer.

"You bastard!" Baby roared, driven to madness.

He yanked back his fist, then immediately swung with the other. His muscles bulged and veins stood out as his punch roared like a dragon, hurtling toward Jiang Che's head with enough force to shatter mountains and rocks.

The air split beneath his fist with a shrill, ear-piercing crack.

Jiang Che moved.

He was so fast that no one could see him clearly. He only leaned slightly to the side, and the punch roared past his ear, its gust lifting a few strands of hair from his forehead.

Then Jiang Che's body spun sharply, his waist driving his shoulders and back. His right leg lashed out like a whip, leaving only a blurred afterimage.

The kick showed no mercy as it slammed into Baby's face!