Trunks Breaks Through Super Saiyan 3

After Vegeta swatted the Hakai Energy aside with a single palm, the contempt on his face transformed completely into mockery.

"Keep going, keep getting stronger, and let me see your limits."

He looked down at Trunks from above, the terrifying aura of his Super Saiyan 3 form causing the surrounding ruins to sink continuously.

"What's wrong? Out of moves? Are you going to beg for mercy and call me Daddy again?"

Trunks gritted his teeth, his arms still trembling.

Hakai Energy could indeed inflict damage on Vegeta.

The problem, however, was that he simply couldn't land a hit on his opponent.

Son Gohan saw it clearly.

Trunks's grasp of Hakai Energy was too shallow; against a Vegeta whose combat power far exceeded his own, he could at most force the other to dodge, but he had no way to truly suppress him.

If this continued, Trunks would die!

But until the very last moment, Son Gohan would not intervene in the dignity of a warrior.

Vegeta's figure vanished.

The next instant, Trunks's abdomen caved in as if pierced by a fist, and he flew backward, hunched over, blood spraying from his mouth.

Vegeta pursued him, grabbed him by the hair, and hoisted him up before his face.

"You said just now that I'm not worthy of being called Vegeta?"

Vegeta leaned in close, sneering, "How laughable. Who doesn't know that since birth, I have been the pride of the Saiyans, the genius of the Saiyans, Prince Vegeta!"

"The blood of the Saiyan royal family flows through my veins! If not for the rise of King Kakarot, I would be the King of the Saiyans, the new King Vegeta!"

"A mongrel like you, who doesn't even know where you came from, dares to judge me? What kind of thing do you think you are!"

Trunks lifted his blood-covered face.

In those eyes, there was nothing but unyielding fury.

Vegeta frowned, his palm slamming onto Trunks's face and driving him into the ground.

BOOM!

The ground shattered once more.

"A mongrel should act like a mongrel."

Vegeta raised his foot and stepped onto Trunks's chest, slowly applying pressure.

Crack.

The sound of ribs breaking rang out clearly.

"Kneel and shout 'Lord Vegeta' at the top of your lungs, and I might consider letting you die a little easier."

Trunks's fingers dug into the rubble.

Many images flashed through his mind.

His mother often held him when he was little, telling him stories about the father he had never met.

He was proud, confident, brave, strong, and gentle...

Even that Vegeta from the main timeline.

Even if he kept a cold face and spoke harshly, he would always step up at the critical moment.

Yet this guy before him, wearing the same face, was worlds apart on the inside!

No.

He couldn't fall like this.

At the very least, he could not kneel before this bastard Vegeta.

"AAAAAAH!"

Trunks's roar erupted suddenly.

His golden aura expanded wildly, and the electric arcs became so dense they nearly covered his entire body.

His hair began to grow out frantically, his eyebrows vanished bit by bit, and his brow ridges protruded sharply.

Vegeta's foot, which had been pinning him down, faltered slightly.

"Oh?"

BOOM!

Trunks forcibly threw off Vegeta's foot, his entire body surging from the bottom of the crater toward the sky.

Super Saiyan 3.

An aura even more violent than before swept across the battlefield, and the Defense Force soldiers who had been kneeling in the surroundings were sent tumbling by the shockwave.

Trunks gasped for air, his face covered in blood, his long golden hair whipping violently within the aura.

Vegeta was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter.

"Interesting! No wonder King Kakarot is interested in you lot!"

Trunks didn't waste any words; his figure flashed, and he charged directly in front of Vegeta.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Fists, elbows, knees, legs.

He poured every ounce of his strength into the assault.

His speed was several times faster than before.

His power was entirely different as well.

Yet, Vegeta stood motionless, letting the attacks land squarely on his body.

"It's useless. Even if you are in the same Super Saiyan 3 form as me, it doesn't change the fact that you are weak."

The surrounding Saiyan officers were all stunned, openly exclaiming how incredible Vegeta was.

"Lord Vegeta is so strong! To be completely unscathed under such terrifying attacks!"

"As expected of Lord Vegeta!"

"Vegeta!"

"Vegeta!"

Both the Saiyans and the Earthlings were chanting Vegeta's name.

"Are you done? It's my turn now."

As his voice fell, he backhanded a punch into Trunks's chest.

Then, he kicked him flying.

Bang!

Trunks's body soared backward, crashing through dozens of tall towers in succession.

Just as he tried to get up, Vegeta stepped on his wrist.

Crack.

The wrist was crushed.

Trunks let out a muffled groan, his other hand forcibly gathering a purple-red light.

"Des..."

Vegeta kicked him under the chin, sending him tumbling away.

The energy of destruction dissipated before it could even take shape.

Trunks braced himself against the ground, trying to stand up again.

But his body could no longer keep up with his will.

His golden aura began to flicker, and his long hair showed slight signs of receding.

Vegeta slowly raised his hand and beckoned with his index finger.

"Get up, half-breed."

Trunks's fingers dug into the ground.

Crunch.

He crushed the gravel into powder.

Vegeta grinned. "What? Is that all you've got?"

Trunks snapped his head up.

BOOM!

His golden aura surged once more.

Dragging his broken ankle, he forced himself to stand, pressing his palms together at his forehead.

A blue-white light condensed rapidly between his palms.

"Masenko!"

Son Gohan stood not far away, his right hand already reaching for the Senzu Bean in his pocket.

If Trunks were in any real danger, he would intervene immediately.

This battle was brutal, but for Trunks, it was also an opportunity for growth.

The Vegeta before them was not his father.

But that face, that voice, and that arrogant posture were a massive shock to Trunks.

If Son Gohan were to step in and end it all now, that thorn in Trunks's heart would remain forever.

Son Gohan knew that feeling all too well.

Back then, watching the Androids slaughter person after person, he had countless times thought that if only he were a little stronger, things would be different.

A warrior has wounds that no one else can bear for him.

Trunks thrust both palms forward violently.

A thick pillar of golden light tore through the ruins, slamming head-on into Vegeta. Steel debris along the path was vaporized instantly, and the ground was plowed into a deep trench.

Vegeta merely raised one hand with a look of contempt, his palm bracing against the very tip of the energy wave.

BOOM!

The golden energy exploded wildly before his palm, shockwaves rippling outward in circles. The nearby Defense Force soldiers who couldn't retreat in time were swept up; they didn't even have time to scream before being blown into fragments.

Trunks gritted his teeth, the muscles in his arms tensed to their limit.

"AAAAAAH!"

The light of the energy wave expanded once more.

Yet, Vegeta's arm remained completely motionless.

"You've gotten a bit stronger than just a moment ago."

Vegeta's lips curled, his five fingers slowly tightening.

"But you are still too weak."

His golden aura erupted violently.

BOOM!

The energy wave was ripped apart right down the middle.

Vegeta's figure pierced through the fiery explosion, appearing directly in front of Trunks in an instant.

Just as Trunks moved to retreat, Vegeta's fist had already smashed into his abdomen.

THUD!

His entire aura dissipated in an instant.

Trunks' body arched, blood spraying from the corner of his mouth.

Vegeta grabbed him by the hair, dragging him hundreds of meters across the ground and smashing through rows of steel turrets until they were reduced to rubble.

"Do you know?"

THUD!

Vegeta slammed Trunks into the wall of an armory.

"I hate that look in your eyes the most."

THUD!

Another punch landed.

"Clearly weak as hell, yet you still have that look of refusing to admit defeat."

THUD!

As the third punch landed, the wall behind Trunks collapsed completely.

Vegeta yanked him by the hair, hoisting him back into mid-air.

"Now, even if you call me Father again, it's useless."

Immediately following this, Vegeta slammed his forehead into Trunks' in a brutal headbutt.

THUD!

Trunks' vision went black, his body stiffening.

Vegeta released his wrist, his fists raining down like raindrops.

Chest.

Abdomen.

Jaw.

Ribs.

Every blow was terrifyingly heavy.

Trunks' Super Saiyan 3 aura began to shake violently, and the golden light on his long hair started to dim.

He tried to counterattack.

But the moment his left fist rose, Vegeta kicked his knee, snapping it.

"Kneel."

Trunks slammed one knee into the ground.

Vegeta raised his foot, stepping onto his shoulder and pressing down with force.

"I said, kneel."

The ground cracked incessantly.

Trunks braced himself with his left hand, stubbornly refusing to let his other leg collapse.

Vegeta's gaze turned utterly cold.

"Then die."

He gathered a sphere of golden energy in his palm and thrust it directly toward Trunks's head.

The distance was too close.

Trunks could no longer dodge.

Just then, Vegeta's wrist was firmly seized by another hand.

"That's enough."

Vegeta whipped his head around, the contempt just beginning to surface on his face, only to realize he couldn't break free.

It was that one-armed cripple whose base combat power was only one billion!

The golden energy exploded in Vegeta's palm, but Son Gohan casually pinched it out of existence.

Vegeta's expression shifted.

"You..."

Son Gohan didn't look at him, instead bending down to shove a Senzu Bean into Trunks's mouth.

"Swallow it."

Trunks's consciousness was already fading, but he obeyed.

The next second, his broken bones rapidly mended, his collapsed chest puffed back out, and his chaotic aura stabilized.

Restored to his former self, he looked up at Son Gohan.

"Brother Gohan... I can still..."

"That's enough, leave the rest to me."

Son Gohan's voice was calm.

Trunks opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but ultimately nodded.

Son Gohan flung Vegeta's wrist away.

Vegeta immediately retreated dozens of meters, most of the contempt on his face vanishing.

He stared at Son Gohan, his eyes gloomy.

"I didn't expect that you, a cripple, were the strongest of the two."

Son Gohan couldn't be bothered to answer.

He took a step forward.

A golden aura rose from beneath his feet.

His hair spiked up, and his eyes turned cold.

Super Saiyan 1.

BOOM!

The entire battlefield was crushed under an aura of extreme density.

The nearby Defense Force couldn't even stand, collapsing to the ground in droves. Further away, gun turrets shattered on their own, and the warships in the sky began to shake violently.

The Scouter on Vegeta's left eye began to wail frantically.

Beep-beep-beep-beep-beep-beep.

The numbers jumped rapidly.

One trillion.

Three trillion.

Six trillion.

Finally, it stopped at a value that made Vegeta's expression freeze.

Ten trillion.