Vegeta vs. Dabura

Seeing this.

Dabura grinned. "I'll take care of one first!"

He turned to look at the unmoved Son Goku and the others, sneering. "Scared stupid, are you? Heh heh! Don't rush. It'll be your turn soon enough."

"Yaaahhh!!"

Suddenly, Son Gohan's roar rose from the bottomless crater!

Boom!!

A golden light shot into the sky!

Son Gohan burst up from the pit and hovered opposite Dabura. His clothes were tattered, and several places on his body were scraped and bleeding, but his aura only grew stronger. Arcs of electricity flickered around him!

He raised his energy level once more and transformed into Super Saiyan 2!

Dabura narrowed his eyes at the imposing Son Gohan across from him and snorted. "Your power has increased again? Useless. I was only playing with you just now. Before Dabura, King of the Demon Realm, you have no chance of winning!"

Having transformed into Super Saiyan 2, Son Gohan looked even colder and more confident. He curled his lips into a faint smile. "I was careless just now. Let's begin the second round!"

"No matter how many times we do this, the result will be the same!" Dabura grinned.

"We'll only know after we fight!" Son Gohan said coldly.

"Then let me crush that confidence of yours!" A vicious glint flashed in Dabura's eyes as he attacked first!

Son Gohan met him head-on!

Below.

Watching the two fight, Vegeta grew impatient. He snorted. "What a disgrace. He was far stronger as a child than he is now!"

"What has Gohan been doing all these years? He's gotten so much weaker than when he was little!" Son Goku complained as well.

"Tch! This is really irritating! Why not let me take over? I'll deal with Dabura!" Vegeta said.

Son Goku glared at Vegeta in displeasure. "Why should you take over? If anyone replaces him, it should be me!"

"Kakarot, you already fought in the last match. I haven't even made a move yet, so don't compete with me!" Vegeta snapped irritably.

Son Goku argued confidently, "I'm Gohan's father. If there's someone he can't beat, I should be the one to handle him!"

Watching the two look ready to fight each other, Shin sighed helplessly. "So this is the battle-loving Saiyan race? They treat fighting as entertainment. They really are... a warlike people."

Son Goku and Vegeta argued for a while, neither willing to give ground. In the end, they could only compete in the fairest way possible—rock-paper-scissors!

"Scissors..."

"Rock..."

"Paper!"

"Hmph! Kakarot, I told you I should be the one!" Vegeta pulled back his fist and smiled smugly.

Son Goku lowered his scissors and sighed in disappointment. "My luck is terrible."

After deciding who would fight next, Son Goku and Vegeta looked up to see that Son Gohan had already fallen into a difficult battle.

Even in his Super Saiyan 2 form, Son Gohan was still being suppressed by Dabura and looked utterly disheveled!

Seeing this.

Vegeta snorted and charged straight up, placing himself between Son Gohan and Dabura.

"What? Uncle Vegeta, what are you...?" Son Gohan asked in confusion and alarm as he looked at Vegeta, who had suddenly cut in.

Dabura stared at Vegeta gravely. He was already finding it somewhat difficult to deal with Son Gohan alone. If the two of them attacked together... he would most likely be no match for them!

At that thought, a sense of danger rose in Dabura's heart, and cold sweat seeped from his forehead.

"Stand down, Gohan. Leave the rest of this battle to me!" Vegeta said coldly. His aura erupted as he transformed directly into Super Saiyan 2.

Seeing this.

Son Gohan protested, "But Uncle Vegeta, this is my battle!"

"Gohan!"

Son Goku's shout came from below.

Son Gohan looked down and saw his father waving at him and shouting, "Gohan! You've already done very well. Leave the rest to Vegeta!"

"Dad!"

Son Gohan gritted his teeth, unwilling to accept it, but in the end he deflated like a punctured ball. He released his Super Saiyan 2 form, returned to normal, and slowly descended toward the ground.

Son Goku hurried over to his son and asked with concern, "Gohan, are you okay?"

Son Gohan shook his head and wiped away the blood flowing from his body. "I'm fine, Dad. They're only minor injuries."

Shin walked over at that moment, a divine light flashing in his eyes...

Bzzzz~

The next second.

Son Gohan's minor injuries, which had covered his body, healed at a visible rate. His depleted energy also returned to its peak, and his tattered clothes became as good as new.

Seeing this.

Son Gohan cried out in surprise, "Whoa! My injuries are healed, my energy has recovered, and even my torn clothes have turned new!"

Son Goku turned to Shin and asked, "Supreme Kai, did you do this?"

Since he could not sense Shin's ki, Son Goku could not perceive any of Shin's actions. Still, among those present, the only one with such abilities who would be willing to help Gohan was probably Shin, the mysterious Supreme Kai.

Shin smiled. "It was nothing."

"Thank you, Supreme Kai!" Son Gohan said solemnly, bowing deeply to Shin.

"No need to thank me, Gohan. What did you feel when you fought Dabura just now?" Shin asked.

"What did I feel?" Son Gohan rubbed his chin in thought. After a moment, he said, "He was strong! Dabura was a formidable opponent!"

"Is that all?" Shin asked.

"Uh? What else could there be?" Son Gohan asked in confusion.

Son Goku immediately frowned and criticized him. "Gohan! Your fighting just now was far too straightforward. The enemy could easily predict your next move, which is why Dabura kept suppressing you!"

"That's right, Gohan. Your strength and Dabura's are actually about equal. Logically, you should not have been suppressed by him. But because your fighting style is too direct and almost entirely without technique, you were suppressed by the battle-hardened Dabura," Shin said.

Son Gohan lowered his head, looking exactly like a child being scolded by his parents after doing something wrong.

Shin raised his head. "Gohan, lift your head and watch how Vegeta fights Dabura."

Hearing that.

Son Gohan immediately looked up, only to see that Vegeta and Dabura were already locked in battle!

Unlike Son Gohan, who had been continuously suppressed by Dabura, the situation was now completely reversed. Dabura was being suppressed by Vegeta!

Vegeta's fighting style was experienced and tricky, and his raw power was also slightly greater than Dabura's. Dabura was almost being beaten back the entire time!

"What's wrong? Is this all the King of the Demon Realm can do? What a disappointment!" Vegeta taunted mercilessly even as he fought!

"Damn it!!"

Bloodshot veins appeared in Dabura's eyes. He defended against Vegeta's attacks while searching for an opportunity to win...

Soon.

The opportunity came!

Dabura's eyes lit up, and he quickly spat a mouthful of thick saliva at Vegeta!

"Ah? Watch out, Uncle Vegeta!" Son Gohan cried out in panic from below.

"It's fine, Gohan. Vegeta deliberately left that opening," Son Goku reminded him.

"Uh?" Son Gohan looked stunned. Was that really it?

(End of Chapter)