The Edge of the Limit
He tumbled and crashed to the ground like a kite with a broken string.
Golden hair and arrogance were in disarray, leaving messy streaks of light in the air.
He smashed through several leaning reinforced concrete pillars and couldn't stop.
Finally, his back slammed heavily onto the rubble-strewn ground, the force of the impact still propelling him forward.
He slid along, carving a long trench through the ruins, sending rubble, broken wood, and metal pieces flying to his sides with a screeching sound.
He only stopped with a loud crash when he slammed into a giant granite rock half-buried in the ground, its surface instantly covered in cracks.
Smoke and golden flame fragments rose slowly.
"Grandpa--!" Pan's scream was like a knife slicing through the air, full of fear and despair.
Gravel fell in a soft patter.
Kid Goku braced himself with one hand on the ground, pressing the other hand tightly against his chest, enduring the excruciating pain as he struggled to his feet from the pile of rubble.
His Super Saiyan 3 form was still burning, but it was no longer as stable and glorious as before.
The golden flames flickered precariously, like a candle burning in the wind, sometimes bright, sometimes dim, and could be extinguished at any moment.
Blood kept seeping from the corner of his mouth, mixed with dried old blood.
In the center of his chest was a shocking purplish-black bruise, with wisps of black smoke rising from its edges.
Each breath felt like a knife cutting through his chest, accompanied by a series of soft, cracking sounds—the sound of his broken ribs rubbing against each other.
But he still raised his head; dust and blood could not obscure his eyes.
His gaze remained sharp, fixed on the enemy in the air, like a star being tempered, burning with an indomitable fighting spirit.
Baby ten meters in the air, her tattered cloak fluttering in the air currents.
He looked down at Kid Goku, a victor's sneer on his lips, his dark red pupils filled with the cruel pleasure of a cat toying with a mouse.
"Son Goku, your Super Saiyan 3 is indeed incredibly powerful," Baby's voice was cold and metallic, echoing above the ruins. "It's just a pity that forcing this form into a child's body is too much of a burden. This fragile shell, every muscle, every bone, must be screaming in agony, right?"
He tilted his head slightly, his smile deepening. "How much longer can you hold on? Sixty seconds? Thirty seconds? Or are you actually on the verge of collapse, only managing to hold on by sheer willpower?"
Kid Goku clenched his teeth, his gums bleeding, but he didn't make a sound or refute.
Because every word he said was a cold, hard fact.
This young body's meridians and cells simply couldn't withstand such violent energy.
The Super Saiyan 3 form was like a burning furnace, relentlessly draining his energy and consuming his life force.
He could feel the burning pain in his internal organs, the groans of his muscle fibers, and the blurring and darkness slowly appearing at the edges of his vision.
His breathing was rapid, like a broken bellows, and his heart was pounding wildly in his chest, almost as if it would jump out.
"And I," Baby, as if appreciating his struggle, slowly raising her arms in a graceful yet destructive ritual, "Have plenty of time."
As soon as he finished speaking, darkness began to gather between his palms.
At first, there were two swirling black spheres of mist, which then rapidly condensed, expanded, and merged.
The energy ball grew larger and larger, becoming the size of a fist, a soccer ball, a basketball... Finally, hanging in front of his chest was a huge black energy ball with a diameter of over one meter.
The energy sphere was not still at all; its surface resembled boiling asphalt, churning and surging.
Black arcs of electricity shot out from the sphere, crackling loudly.
Each arc of electricity that struck the ground or ruins triggered an explosion, creating a charred crater where soil and rock instantly vaporized.
The oppressive aura emanating from this energy sphere was almost tangible.
The air became thick and heavy, as if it were filled with mercury.
Centered on Baby, the ground began to groan, and cracks spread wildly outward, like the earth opening countless greedy mouths.
The entire ruins of the West City Capital trembled slightly under an invisible pressure.
The air was filled with the pungent smell of ozone, the result of highly condensed energy ionizing the air; tiny blue-white sparks could even be seen flickering in the dust.
The crowd watching from afar was so overwhelmed by the destructive aura that they could hardly breathe.
Trunks' face turned pale, his knuckles gripping the sword turned white, and his body involuntarily leaned back, wanting nothing more than to get away from that terrifying focus.
Pan was already in tears, clinging tightly to Mr. Satan's arm, her slender fingers digging so hard that her nails dug into her skin.
Mr. Satan was sweating profusely from the pain, grimacing, but he was also so overwhelmed by the oppressive force of the energy ball that he couldn't speak, and even forgot the pain. He just stared wide-eyed, making meaningless "hoarse" sounds from his throat.
Even the usually cheerful Majin Buu lost his smile, his chubby pink face turning serious.
His small eyes were fixed on the energy ball, his body surface glowed pink, and energy flowed quietly within him, ready to intervene at any moment.
"Use this move," Baby's smile turned maniacal, his pupils reflecting the enormous black energy sphere, "To completely end your struggle and send you to eternal nothingness!"
Further away, on the balcony of that relatively intact high-rise building, Qi Heng stood like an observer.
His perpetually unchanging expression finally showed a slight change.
His golden pupils contracted slightly, his gaze fixed between the black energy ball and Kid Goku's swaying flames.
His right hand, which was casually resting on the railing, clenched unconsciously, slightly deforming the metal railing. His fingers were so forceful that his knuckles bulged and turned pale.
"Son Goku ..." He barely moved his lips, his whisper dissolving into the wind, "If this is your limit... then Super Saiyan 4 might truly just be an unattainable dream."
In the center of the battlefield, Kid Goku struggled to lift his head, his blood-stained gaze piercing through his golden hair as he looked at the black energy sphere suspended above the ruins of West City Capital.
It was no longer just an energy ball, but more like a black sun, cold, lifeless, and devouring everything.
Its volume is still slowly expanding, casting a shadow that covers a large area.
Kid Goku could clearly sense the power contained within that dark core, a power powerful enough to shatter mountains, split the earth, and obliterate cities.
That force could wipe the entire West City off the map, leaving only a huge, burning scar.
The Saiyan blood within him was boiling and roaring, yearning for greater power to fight against the darkness.
But an invisible barrier firmly imprisons him.
Super Saiyan 3 was already the limit that this young body could reach, despite all its efforts.
More power was sealed deep within his bloodline; he could sense the surging potential, but he couldn't unleash it, as if he were locked behind a transparent cage.