Soft Jelly Strips

Son Gohan finished his words and transformed into a streak of red lightning.

His brutal combat power of 600 quadrillion erupted in full.

In less than a ten-thousandth of a second, his fist, imbued with enough terrifying kinetic energy to shatter a galaxy, slammed fiercely toward Kakarot's face once again.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The dense afterimages of his fists merged into a dark red curtain, completely enveloping Kakarot. A right hook, a left jab, a downward smash, a whip kick, a heavy knee, a headbutt, a horizontal elbow—at this moment, Son Gohan seemed to have transformed into an ancient savage beast, launching a frenzied assault.

But the bizarre scene repeated itself.

No matter how tricky the angle of Son Gohan's attacks or how violent their force, a white light would flash before they touched Kakarot's body, and every strike would vanish as if it had been cast into a void.

The massive kinetic energy was forcibly zeroed out. It couldn't even stir up a ripple, let alone cause him any harm.

Kakarot didn't even bother to move his hands, standing in place with his arms crossed. He let Son Gohan's heavy punches rain down on his cheeks, chest, and temples.

Every time a strike was about to make contact, only a despairing "hum" would sound. That barrier of rules, constructed from Miracle Power, acted like a wall spanning dimensions, easily blocking every attack.

Son Gohan retreated and abruptly crossed his hands in front of his forehead.

"Masenko!"

A massive pillar of golden energy erupted instantly, striking Kakarot square in the face.

Hum—!

The energy did not explode; instead, it slid off to both sides of Kakarot's body, like a wide river encountering an immovable reef, forcibly diverted.

Son Gohan remained expressionless, his hands still crossed.

"Kamehameha!"

A thick, blue beam of light followed closely behind. But the result remained unchanged; the moment the beam touched the white light, it turned into a long, jiggly strip of jelly... and flopped limply to the ground.

"Give up. The gap between you and me is like a mortal looking up at a god," Kakarot said heartlessly.

Son Gohan ignored him and continued to test his defenses. After all, the energy pool provided by his Legendary Super Saiyan bloodline was virtually endless; he didn't need to worry about consumption at all.

He formed his hands into claws, and the violent green energy split into thousands of high-pressure light orbs.

"Massive Meteor!"

"Explosive Meteor!"

The dense barrage of energy bullets covered a vast expanse of the void like a torrential downpour. The entire Planet Vegeta trembled under this unreserved release of energy. Great, pitch-black cracks were torn into the vacuum of space.

The smoke cleared.

Kakarot stood in place, completely unscathed. Those energy blasts, capable of destroying planets, still couldn't even touch the hem of his clothes.

"A very nice performance. Worthy of praise."

He pretentiously flicked non-existent dust off his shoulder, the smile at the corners of his mouth growing wider.

Son Gohan's eyes were cold. He pressed two fingers of his right hand against his brow, and purple lightning frantically gathered and compressed at his fingertips.

"Special Beam Cannon!"

The purple spiral beam, carrying an extreme sharpness capable of piercing anything, tore through space and instantly stabbed toward Kakarot's heart.

But the beam ultimately stalled less than half a millimeter from Kakarot's chest. A flash of Miracle Power, and all was in vain.

The purple spiral beam disintegrated in mid-air, turning into a light drizzle that fell onto the shattered mantle below.

Since ordinary moves were useless, Son Gohan clasped his hands together in front of his chest. Ripples of violent energy were frantically compressed between his palms, eventually forming a spiral dark-gold energy ball that radiated a destructive gravitational pull.

This was the strongest single-target energy attack he could currently achieve.

"Massive Special Beam Supernova!"

The dark-gold orb, like a miniature black hole, smashed down with the terrifying power to grind everything to dust.

Facing this world-destroying blow, Kakarot just chuckled and extended a single finger.

A white light flashed at his fingertip.

Before the orb could expand and detonate, it was like a soap bubble being pricked, vanishing silently into the vacuum.

Son Gohan stopped his movements.

It simply didn't work.

That layer of white light was one of the highest forms of power in the Dragon Ball World; it could not be broken by ordinary means.

Even a war of attrition was impossible.

The reason Vegeta had died from the exhaustion of his Miracle Power before was that Vegeta was too weak and had not developed his power to the point of mastering the rules like Kakarot had, which was why he could be worn down to death by repeated attacks.

But the guy in front of him...

Not to mention that the Miracle Power within him was as vast as an entire ocean.

As long as the opponent didn't make a wish like "make me drop dead right now" or perform an operation that consumed massive amounts of Miracle Power, such as "changing the logic of how the entire world operates," it was impossible to overdraw him.

Now that his conventional methods were useless against him, perhaps he had no choice but to use Hakai Energy.

Son Gohan's gaze fell upon the archaic bracer worn on his right wrist.

God of Destruction Bracer.

Destruction energy was also a form of law-based power, a supreme force capable of standing toe-to-toe with Miracle Power and neutralizing it.

"Have you accepted your fate?" Kakarot approached, stepping through the void. His condescending tone was laced with boredom. "What a pity. I truly thought you would bring me more surprises."

Son Gohan stared at him with cold eyes, his right fist clenching tight.

Hum.

Purple destruction energy surged along the bracer, rapidly coating Son Gohan's right fist.

Kakarot halted, a strange emotion flickering once more within his playful eyes.

"Oh? Is this the thing you use to contend with my divine power?" Kakarot's smile faded slightly.

He had seen this power on the light screen more than once. It had actually been able to neutralize the divine power he bestowed upon his subordinates, which made him quite interested.

Whoosh!

Son Gohan lunged forward once again.

He did not channel the destruction energy to release it; instead, he condensed and coated his entire right fist with it.

He threw a punch!

Kakarot still did not dodge. He possessed absolute confidence in his impenetrable defense, and he wanted to see if this energy could truly affect him.

The purple fist struck heavily against the invisible barrier in front of Kakarot's face.

Hiss—!

A piercing, corrosive sound erupted. The feeling of powerlessness, like a stone sinking into the sea, vanished.

The purple destruction energy and the white Miracle Power clashed violently. Two of the universe's top-tier laws ground against each other, frantically canceling one another out within a tiny space.

Crack.

The indestructible law-based defense was forcibly corroded, leaving a hole the size of a fist.

As he had intended, his fist drove straight through, slamming hard into Kakarot's confident face.

Bang!

Fist met flesh.

The immense force deformed and dented that face, sending Kakarot's entire body flying backward like a launched cannonball, carving a long trench into the surface of Planet Vegeta behind him.

Son Gohan hovered in place, glancing at his clenched right fist.

The purple destruction energy had dimmed by more than half, but it had indeed worked.

Though Miracle Power was strong, destruction energy was an equally supreme law; as long as they made contact, it could forcibly neutralize and disintegrate it.

Amidst the swirling dust and ruins, Kakarot slowly stood upright, a massive, distinct fist print visible on his face.

"So that's how it is." Far from being enraged, Kakarot began to laugh softly, speaking calmly, "This purple energy should be on the same level as my divine power. It seems this is your final trump card."

A flash of white light erupted.

The dent on Kakarot's face instantly bulged back to normal. The hole torn open by the destruction energy had long since been seamlessly filled by the surging Miracle Power.

Son Gohan's brows furrowed tightly.

The destruction energy could affect him, but the effect was negligible.

For Kakarot, who possessed a vast ocean of Miracle Power, this bit of destruction wasn't even a scratch; he could heal it with a single thought.

As for himself, he had not truly grasped the essence of destruction. Relying solely on the God of Destruction Bracer to amplify and release it, his total output and frequency were extremely limited.

This amount of destruction energy was nothing more than a drop in the bucket.

"Truly a fine power, but it's a pity—there's just too little of it." Kakarot tilted his head, slowly raising his right palm toward Son Gohan.

He chanted no technique name, nor was there any buildup of power.

Clatter.

Dozens of translucent chains erupted from the void. These chains possessed no fluctuations of ki; they were purely products of law, woven from that dense white light.

They forcibly pierced through Son Gohan's terrifying, intimidating aura, wrapping tightly around his limbs and torso.

Zzzzt!

The chains tightened abruptly. Son Gohan felt the gravity around him skyrocket tens of thousands of times in an instant. The time and space in this area were forcibly drained away, turning the surroundings into a high-pressure cage that isolated everything.

His red aura was pressed flat against his skin, making it extremely difficult even to move a finger.

"God says you are guilty, so you must wear the shackles." Kakarot walked slowly through the vacuum, looking down at the bound Son Gohan. "Though I know not what you fight for, the consequence of offending a god is death!"

Bang!

Kakarot appeared before Son Gohan without warning, slamming a heavy punch into his abdomen.

The fist was wreathed in white Miracle Power. This force bypassed the formidable physical defense of Super Saiyan 4, magnifying the damage exponentially.

Son Gohan arched like a shrimp, a large mouthful of blood spraying from his mouth into the pitch-black void.

Kakarot threw a backhanded elbow, slamming it heavily into the back of Son Gohan's neck.

Crack.

The cervical vertebrae emitted a dull, crisp snap. Like a fish on a chopping block, Son Gohan was pinned firmly within this space sealed by chains, left to be slaughtered at will.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Kakarot's attacks were extremely monotonous, one might even say devoid of any technique. Yet, every punch and kick carried a law of causality that guaranteed both hit and injury. Each blow landed on Son Gohan was a strike of true damage that sank deep into his flesh.

His red ape fur was soaked through with blood, and Son Gohan's injuries were worsening at a rapid pace.

Yet, he showed not a hint of fear.

Even as he was beaten into coughing up blood, his brain continued to operate at super-high speeds; he had to find a way to break out of this predicament.

What on earth should he do?

Was he really going to fall here?

Amidst the storm of blows, Son Gohan's calm, golden eyes watched Kakarot, never ceasing to search for a countermeasure.