Goku's Desperate Predicament

Vegeta's eyes lit up. "D-did it work?"

Goku stood high in the sky like an invincible golden god of war, his gaze razor-sharp. The Ki radiating from him was overwhelming.

"That's not right. Wasn't he blasted into mincemeat? Why hasn't his Ki disappeared? It hasn't even weakened at all!"

Just then, Janemba's minced flesh began to writhe, rapidly contracting and gathering together.

Before long, it condensed into a figure amid the thick smoke.

"What?"

"Has Janemba evolved?"

Goku and Vegeta stared in shock at the reappearing Janemba.

But the Janemba before them was completely different from before.

If the previous Janemba had looked like an innocent child,

then this Janemba was evil incarnate.

His body had undergone a complete transformation.

The most obvious change was his height. He had shrunk from over thirty meters to just over two, and a layer of hard, fleshy armor covered him.

His body had also changed from milky white to predominantly red, with pink accents.

His dark golden eyes brimmed with malice, and a sneer constantly tugged at his lips. One glance was enough to tell he was a villain through and through.

Sensing the change in Janemba's Ki, Vegeta exclaimed, "This guy's Ki has gotten a lot stronger..."

Goku's brow furrowed deeply. He knew this was no longer the Janemba he had fought before.

Janemba's new physique was perfectly proportioned and much better suited for combat.

With his Ki increasing so much as well, another grueling battle awaited Goku.

There was no time to waste.

"Haaah!" Goku roared, his aura flaring as he decided to strike first.

He used Instant Transmission, appearing behind Janemba in an instant and throwing a punch crackling with electricity.

His fist smashed through the air, nearly tearing space itself as it slammed toward Janemba.

"Heh heh..." Janemba grinned, his body instantly dissolving into colorful particles.

Goku's attack missed, striking nothing but air.

Danger!

Goku sharpened his focus, not daring to let his guard down for a moment. His figure flashed as he immediately put distance between himself and Janemba.

But Janemba's body suddenly reassembled beside him. A purplish-red energy sphere formed in his hand, and he pressed it against Goku's chest.

Boom!

Before Goku could react, the energy sphere exploded against his chest.

The violent blast shredded Goku's clothes, leaving his upper body covered in wounds and streaming blood.

But Janemba wasn't finished. He opened his mouth and spat out an energy sphere gleaming with cold light, striking Goku head-on again.

BOOM!!!

As the deafening explosion rang out, Goku coughed up several mouthfuls of blood and flew backward, crashing into the dust. He struggled for a while but couldn't get up.

"K-Kakarot!" Vegeta shouted from the side.

Janemba turned his head, fixing Vegeta with a malicious stare.

Vegeta knew he was in trouble, but his mouth remained as defiant as ever. "What are you looking at, you idiot? You want a piece of me?"

"Heh heh!" Janemba sneered and slammed his fist into the ground.

A gigantic fist immediately erupted beneath Vegeta, sending him flying with a single blow.

"Aaagh!" Vegeta spat out blood, his golden hair turning black again. His weakened body could no longer sustain his Super Saiyan transformation.

"Vegeta!" Goku shouted as he struggled to his feet. He brought his hands together at his waist, gathering a Kamehameha.

Brilliant light illuminated the world around them, until dazzling blue was all that remained.

"Heh heh heh..." Janemba sneered at him. His right arm suddenly stretched dozens of meters, seizing Vegeta by the neck.

At that very moment, Goku vanished with Instant Transmission.

An instant later, he appeared directly in front of Janemba and unleashed his Kamehameha at point-blank range.

At such close range, Janemba had no chance of escaping.

Yet the unexpected still happened.

A spatial rift suddenly opened in front of Janemba's chest, swallowing Goku's Kamehameha whole.

The Kamehameha emerged elsewhere, turning at a bizarre angle and hurtling toward Vegeta.

Goku had no time to consider anything else. He used Instant Transmission again, grabbed Vegeta, and flashed aside.

His Kamehameha slammed into the ground instead.

A violent explosion erupted, the ground cracking apart with sharp snaps. A third of the entire Other World collapsed in its wake.

"Hah... hah... hah..."

Goku's chest heaved. Wounds covered his body, and he gasped for breath.

Vegeta could barely even stand upright.

"Damn it! How can a monster like this exist?" Vegeta wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his face full of frustration.

He was far too weak now.

He couldn't withstand even one attack from Janemba.

The gap in their strength was enormous.

"Vegeta, get out of here," Goku said. "I'll hold him off for a little while."

"Cough, cough." Vegeta coughed up blood and stared at Goku in disbelief. "Run? You're telling me to run? Kakarot, are you looking down on me that much? You bastard!"

"Vegeta, listen to me. Janemba is too powerful. You won't have any chance of winning even if you stay here," Goku said.

"Kakarot, do you still have some secret technique you haven't used?"

Goku gave a bitter smile. "No."

In truth, Goku still had the Planet Metamoran Fusion technique available, but Vegeta was far too weak right now.

Not only that, both of them were badly injured. There was no way they could complete the fusion.

Nor would Janemba give them a chance to finish that complicated dance.

Vegeta fell silent.

Just then, Janemba picked up a small stick lying on the ground, its origin unknown.

The stick immediately restructured itself with a series of rapid clicks, becoming a long red sword that radiated an overwhelming bloodlust.

He then swung it toward Goku and Vegeta.

Pink sword energy sliced through the air, cleaving rifts in space.

Goku's pupils contracted. Holding Vegeta, he flashed aside, then flung him away with all his strength.

"Aaaah!" Vegeta's cry echoed from far away. There was no telling where he had been thrown.

"Heh heh heh..." Janemba sent more waves of sword energy slashing toward Goku.

Goku kept dodging, but the sword energy was too dense, and his stamina was failing. At last, a slash struck his chest, sending blood pouring out.

"Hss..."

Agonizing pain surged through him.

Goku nearly passed out.

"Haaah!" He flared his aura again, but little Ki remained in his body.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

He hurled two Energy Blasts from his hands toward Janemba.

Janemba didn't even dodge. He swung his sword once, cutting both Energy Blasts in half.

Even so, the two Energy Blasts still exploded around him.

But Janemba was now far too powerful, while Goku was already on his last legs. Explosions of that strength couldn't hurt him in the slightest.

"Heh heh heh..." Still laughing, Janemba walked out of the thick smoke.

Seeing Janemba completely unharmed, Goku's heart sank.

A dead end! An absolute dead end.

Throughout his lifetime of battles, Goku had faced plenty of desperate situations, but he had always found a way to survive.

This time, though, he couldn't imagine how he could turn things around.

Janemba was like an invincible demon god.

Powerful and terrifying, he left not a glimmer of hope.

Just then, Goku finally exhausted the Ki in his body, reverting from Super Saiyan to his normal black-haired form.

Goku had only recently mastered Super Saiyan 3 and still wasn't proficient with it. Forcing himself to use it placed far too great a strain on his body.