Heaven-Burning Shatters the Core, Defeating the Androids; Piccolo Arrives with Demonic Armor and Clones

Above the sea, winds howled and waves surged.

Two silver-gray figures hovered above the crest of a wave, their clothes motionless in the sea breeze. They were Android 17 and Android 18 in their complete forms. Unlike the exposed, sharp-edged aura of their incomplete forms, their energy now lay hidden like a deep pool. Only the occasional silver-violet glimmer in their pupils hinted at the terrifying power roiling within them.

"Target confirmed. Located in the deep-sea region." Android 17 looked down at the sea, his voice flat and emotionless. "Preparing to execute data collection and capture protocols."

Before he could finish speaking, the sea below suddenly exploded.

Four figures burst through the water and landed atop the waves amid a shower of seawater. Goku rolled his wrists. He still wore his eight-times-gravity suit, and pale blue ki gathered around him without dispersing. His eyes shone with startling brightness. "You finally showed up! I was starting to wonder how long you'd keep hiding!"

Android 17 blurred, appearing in front of Goku in an instant, and drove a fist straight at his face. A pale silver divine-energy halo wrapped around his fist—the divine-energy neutralization trait he had analyzed, which could greatly erode an opponent's ki.

Goku neither dodged nor flinched. He met the punch with one of his own. Deep blue ki condensed layer upon layer around his fist as the power of Triple Fission burst forth inch by inch.

Bang—

The shockwave erupted, and both men were forced back half a step. Goku felt a numbness in his fist. Thirty percent of his force had been silently neutralized, but the remaining seventy percent of his ki still hit with crushing weight, making Android 17's arm tremble.

"Oh? You're a lot tougher than that half-finished model last time." Goku grinned, his fighting spirit rising. He suddenly accelerated, his fists casting overlapping shadows as they closed in. Triple Fission ki gathered in every punch. Each blow landed with solid weight; he no longer fought with the wide, sweeping movements of old, but with a newfound focus and power.

Data rapidly flashed through Android 17's pupils as he analyzed Goku's techniques. But after a month of hard training, Goku's moves had been completely transformed. He could control his ki at will, shifting between countless variations, and Android 17 couldn't fully replicate him. The two collided rapidly in midair, trading blow after blow. The shockwaves sent towering waves roiling across the sea, and for a time, they were evenly matched.

On the other side, Krillin and Yamcha flanked Android 18, one to her left and one to her right.

"Let's try this!" Ki spun rapidly at Krillin's fingertips. Three blades of energy wrapped in scorching heat formed in an instant: the Destructo Disc: Molten Soul Pursuit. The three blades shot out in a triangular formation, then abruptly changed direction midflight, sealing off Android 18's upper, middle, and lower routes. Their trajectories were devilishly unpredictable.

Android 18's figure flickered as she shot several energy blasts from her fingertips, trying to detonate the blades. But they clung to her like bone-deep parasites, sliding sideways past the energy blasts and continuing straight toward her.

"Not bad footwork," Android 18 said coolly. Her figure suddenly blurred as she tried to pull away. But the moment she moved, a sharp gust of fists came from behind. Yamcha's figure appeared without warning, several afterimages striking at once. Explosive power wrapped around his fists: the Wolf Fang Fist: Explosive Flame Heart-Piercing.

The fists and blades attacked from either side, sealing off every avenue of escape. Android 18 furrowed her brow slightly as a field of energy neutralization abruptly flared around her.

Clang—clang—

The blades struck the field, their rotation slowing sharply as their fiery energy was rapidly erased. Yamcha's punches sank into it like stones into the sea, their power reduced to a fraction.

"Still not enough." Android 18 swept a palm back, silver-violet energy surging as she aimed for Yamcha's face. Yamcha's figure blurred, scattering into afterimages as his real body retreated several yards. Krillin filled the gap at once, firing blade after blade from his fingertips to keep Android 18 occupied.

One attacked while the other defended, their teamwork flawless. After a month of training in the deep sea, they had perfected their ki perception and coordination. Even against androids in their complete forms, they could hold their ground and keep the fight at a standstill.

"Combat evaluation in standard mode complete. Data collection at sixty percent." Android 17 abruptly broke away and faced Android 18 from a distance. The cores in both their chests shone with dazzling silver-violet light. "Activating Perfect Overload Mode. Divine Essence Factor output at maximum capacity."

Vmmm—

A visible ripple of energy spread outward. Silver-violet divine energy intertwined with black demonic ki, forming a thick shield around the two of them. Their auras climbed steadily, nearly doubling in strength compared with their standard state. The power of their energy-neutralizing fields surged along with them.

"Not good, they've gotten stronger!" Goku's expression turned serious as he immediately gathered all his ki, driving Triple Fission to its limit.

Android 17 moved again, nearly twice as fast as before, and was in front of Goku in an instant. He punched, and the divine-energy neutralization in his fist surged in power. Goku hurriedly blocked, only to feel his arm sink as most of his ki vanished in an instant. The remaining force drove him backward again and again, his chest churning with pain.

"How...? How did their neutralizing power get so much stronger?" Goku gritted his teeth and steadied himself. He was just about to counterattack when Android 17's next punch was already in front of him.

Krillin and Yamcha were in an even worse position. The moment their Destructo Discs came within three feet of Android 18, the neutralizing field melted them away completely, leaving no trace of their paths. Yamcha's explosive punches fared even worse, vanishing on contact like snow beneath the blazing sun.

"This isn't working! Our ki can't get through at all!" Krillin shouted through gritted teeth, repeatedly hurling blades to test the field, but every attempt was futile. Yamcha's afterimage technique had also lost its effectiveness. Android 18's senses had sharpened dramatically in Overload Mode, allowing her to pinpoint his real body with ease.

In just a few breaths, all three had fallen completely on the defensive, facing danger at every turn.

Just as Android 17's fist was about to land on Goku's chest, a figure wreathed in black and gold appeared out of nowhere between them.

Qi Tian raised a hand, golden aura shielding his palm. Android 17's heavy punch slammed into it. Not only did it fail to break through the defense, but a forceful rebound sent it flying back, leaving Android 17's arm tingling.

"You're putting the Divine Essence Factor to decent use," Qi Tian said evenly. A strand of black-gold flame danced quietly at his fingertips. "Too bad you've only scratched the surface."

Before the words had left his mouth, he flicked a finger. The strand of black-gold flame became a streak of light and shot straight toward Android 17's chest core.

Android 17's pupils contracted. He instinctively activated his neutralizing field to block it. But the black-gold flame looked weak, yet when it touched the field, it blazed as if oil had been poured onto a fire. Instead of being extinguished, it spread backward along the Divine Essence Factor, burning its way inward.

"Warning! Core energy circuit damaged! Self-repair module offline!"

A mechanical alarm sounded inside Android 17. For the first time, shock appeared on his face. The bizarre flame could specifically burn divine energy and mechanical circuits—precisely the thing that countered him.

Not far away, Android 18 suffered the same fate. Qi Tian held out his left hand, and two black-gold chains appeared from nowhere. Divine Essence Bind locked precisely onto the cores of the two androids. Divine Essence Heaven-Burning flames coiled around the chains, which pierced their energy-neutralizing fields as easily as if they were made of paper.

"Divine Essence Bind: Heaven-Burning Chains."

At his quiet command, the black-gold chains wrapped tightly around the cores in their chests. Flames spread along the chains and surged inward, furiously burning their internal energy circuits and demonic genes. Android 17 and Android 18 both froze. Their energy fluctuated violently, but they could no longer draw on even a trace of it. Even Overload Mode was forcibly shut down.

"No... impossible!" In the Desert Laboratory, Dr. Gero sprang to his feet, staring at the error-filled data on the screen. "Divine Essence Heaven-Burning? A power that specifically counters the Divine Essence Factor? How can this be?!"

He watched helplessly as the life signals of Android 17 and Android 18 rapidly plummeted on the screen. Their core circuits were completely incinerated, and at last their signals went dead.

"Useless! All of you are useless!" Dr. Gero slammed his fist against the console, his chest heaving. But then he looked at the analysis of Divine Essence Heaven-Burning on the screen, and fervor blazed in his eyes once more. "Excellent... So this kind of power exists! The complete secrets of divine energy are within reach!"

He abruptly turned toward the spherical incubation pod deep inside the laboratory. The insect-like mass of flesh within had begun to take shape, and its energy fluctuations grew stronger by the day.

"Cell... Once I've injected all this data, you'll be the ultimate life-form, beyond everything!"

Above the sea, Android 17 and Android 18's bodies went limp and plunged straight into the water. The black-gold flames had completely incinerated their cores, leaving them no chance to heal.

Goku landed on the crest of a wave and watched the place where the two had sunk, looking a little unsatisfied. "Qi Tian, you still jumped in too quickly. I'd just started to figure out how their Overload Mode worked."

"If you keep fighting, you'll get hurt too," Qi Tian said calmly. "The neutralizing power in their Perfect Overload Mode can gradually wear down your ki cores. You'd be at a disadvantage in a drawn-out fight."

Krillin and Yamcha landed as well, both still shaken. If Qi Tian had stepped in just a moment later, they might truly have been unable to hold on. The androids in their complete forms were far stronger than they had expected.

"Dr. Gero's making progress too fast," Yamcha said gravely. "This time, he had two complete androids. Next time, he might have something even stronger."

Qi Tian said nothing, spreading his divine-energy senses in every direction.

From the mountains, Piccolo's aura was rapidly approaching. Bloodlust surged around him; he had clearly sensed the battle and intended to swoop in and reap the benefits.

Far out in space, the two Saiyan auras had drawn much closer. Their savage pressure was becoming increasingly clear.

Only five and a half months remained before they reached Earth.

"Should we head back to Turtle Hermit Island?" Krillin asked tentatively.

"There's no time." Qi Tian gazed toward the western horizon. Blood-red light was already appearing among the clouds. "He's here."

Goku's eyes lit up instantly. He clenched his fists. "Piccolo? Perfect! We just finished fighting the androids. Let's fight him too!"

"His strength is no less than Android 17's in his complete form," Qi Tian said, his voice turning somber. "And he didn't come alone."

As soon as he finished speaking, blood-colored demonic ki surged across the western sky, blotting it out. Four figures stood proudly among the clouds. The one in front wore blood-red demonic armor, demonic patterns rippling across it as killing intent soared. It was King Piccolo, whose demonic cultivation had reached its peak. Three figures made of demonic shadow stood beside him, their auras deep and steady. They looked exactly like him: Demonic Shadow Clones with seventy percent of his true strength.

After a month in seclusion, Piccolo had mastered his Demonic Essence Blood Armor and understood the Demonic Shadow Clone Technique. Now he had come straight to the battlefield.

The blood-red demonic clouds hung over the sea, and even the wind had turned bitterly cold.

Piccolo's crimson eyes swept across the sea before settling on Qi Tian. His voice was as icy as death. "You dealt with the two androids for me. That saved me quite a bit of trouble. Qi Tian, today is the day you die."

The three Demonic Shadow Clones moved at once, taking up positions on three sides and surrounding everyone over the sea. Their demonic ki intertwined into a net, sealing off every avenue of escape.

Goku and the others immediately stood back to back, their ki surging at full strength and their expressions grim. They could feel that Piccolo was several times stronger than he had been two months ago. With three clones as well, this fight would be far more dangerous than the battle against the androids.

Qi Tian stepped forward slowly. Black-gold divine energy flowed around him, and his golden aura extended ten yards outward to face the blood-red demonic ki.

"If you want to kill me, you'll have to prove you can."

His calm words fell, and black-gold and blood-red energy collided violently above the sea.

The battle was about to begin.