The man in the orange martial arts gi, Goku, stared forward with a wary look.
There was movement in the pile of rubble.
A hand reached out.
The glove was torn to shreds, smeared with blood and dirt.
Vegeta crawled out. The Saiyan prince looked miserable to the extreme now—his left-eye scouter was already shattered, one shoulder plate of his armor completely gone, and his skin covered in bruises and scrapes.
But he still didn't fall.
"Kakarot…"
Vegeta ground his teeth.
"And that damned guy…"
Goku raised his guard.
"Hey, I don't know you. Who's Kakarot? You lost—leave Earth."
"Lost?"
Vegeta let out a strange, twisted laugh.
He looked up at the sky—and realized there was no moon. His heart sank.
That's not right. He clearly remembered this planet having a moon.
So it had been destroyed by Piccolo.
But that wouldn't stop an elite Saiyan warrior.
As long as there was oxygen, as long as there was enough ki, he could create that thing.
"Don't joke with me! I'm the strongest Saiyan in the universe! How could I lose to trash-class warriors like you—and some random backwater natives?!"
Vegeta raised his right hand high. In his palm, a white orb of light rapidly condensed.
Inside that orb was an extremely unusual energy fluctuation.
Shinju's brows tightened slightly.
The nature of that energy had changed. It wasn't pure destructive force anymore—more like… a signal source?
"What's he doing?" Goku asked, confused.
There was no intent to strike, and his ki wasn't locked onto anyone.
The light in Vegeta's hand grew brighter and brighter, until it became a blinding silver-white.
"That is…" Krillin, in the distance, widened his eyes.
Vegeta suddenly hurled the orb into the sky.
"Burst! Mix!"
The orb shot into the clouds. At its highest point, it expanded violently.
The dim sky was instantly flooded with light.
An artificial full moon hung overhead, releasing a special radiation known as Bruits Waves.
These waves only appear under a full moon. Once their intensity surpasses seventeen million units, a Saiyan's tail reacts completely.
Vegeta stared at the shining sphere. His heartbeat thundered.
His blood surged faster, every cell in his body seeming to awaken.
A wild instinct carved into his genes was being dragged to the surface.
"He's… looking at that orb?" Goku's instincts screamed danger—pure, overwhelming danger.
Vegeta's breathing turned heavy. His body began to twitch unnaturally.
His teeth lengthened, sharpening.
His muscles swelled as if inflated, tearing apart what remained of his battle suit.
Black fur pushed out from his pores, rapidly spreading across his entire body.
"GRAAAAH!!"
Vegeta roared, a pained, furious howl.
His size skyrocketed.
In just a few breaths, a mountain-like black ape stood where he had been.
The Great Ape opened its mouth—fangs interlocking.
"ROOOOAR!!!"
The bellow rolled out like a physical shockwave. Rocks cracked and shattered, dust and debris blasted outward, and the ground seemed to peel under the force.
Goku had to throw up his arms to shield himself, sliding back dozens of meters from the pressure.
"Th-this… what kind of monster is that?!"
Goku stared at the giant and felt vague fragments flash in his mind.
When he was little, Grandpa seemed to say… don't look at the moon during a full moon.
Could it be…
The monster that crushed Grandpa… was him?
The thought flickered—then vanished. The crisis in front of him left no room to dwell.
The Great Ape lowered its head, looking down at the two "ants" beneath it.
"Hahahaha!"
Words came out of the Great Ape's mouth.
"Well? Kakarot! This is a Saiyan's true power!"
"Tremble before it—before this crushing strength!"
A huge hand closed around Goku, gripping him completely.
"Aaagh!!"
Goku cried out in pain.
The Great Ape tightened its grip.
A harsh creaking sound rose as Goku struggled desperately, trying to force apart fingers thicker than pillars—completely futile.
The gap in strength was absolute.
"Be crushed, Kakarot!" Vegeta snarled, tightening further.
Goku's vision began to blur, light and shadow smearing together.
Am I… going to die?
At that moment, Shinju moved. His hands formed seals.
If it's a beast, then use a beast's method.
If it resembles a tailed beast, then use the means meant for tailed beasts.
Shinju clapped his hands together. Senjutsu chakra surged wildly within him.
"Senpo: Myojinmon."
High above, space twisted.
A red glow flickered in the clouds.
The Great Ape seemed to sense something and looked up.
The next instant, an enormous red torii gate crashed down from the sky, carrying sealing power that suppressed everything.
The first gate slammed into the Great Ape's neck area.
The massive body sank heavily—its knees hit the ground.
"What is this?!" Vegeta roared, trying to rise.
The second gate fell, pinning his left arm.
The third pinned his right.
One after another, gigantic torii gates dropped like a storm, locking down the Great Ape's limbs, torso—and even its tail with brutal precision.
The earth groaned. Dust billowed.
The Great Ape that had been unstoppable a moment ago was now nailed to the ground, unable to move.
Those red gates looked like wood, yet were impossibly solid. No matter how Vegeta struggled or how fiercely he flared his ki, the gates didn't budge.
Worse—they were siphoning his ki, suppressing his power.
Goku slipped from the loosened grip and dropped to the ground, gasping hard.
He stared in disbelief.
That giant monster… was being restrained by a few red "wooden frames"?
Shinju used Body Flicker Technique, appearing atop one of the gates, looking down at the raging Great Ape.
"It's just bigger," Shinju said calmly, his voice cutting through the roar.
"And that means the target is bigger too."
Vegeta was nearly insane with fury.
What was this? What kind of "witchcraft" was this?!
His strength had multiplied tenfold—so why couldn't he break free?!
"I'll kill you! I'LL KILL YOU!!"
The Great Ape opened its mouth, gathering a massive energy blast.
If his body wouldn't move, then he'd blast Shinju apart from here.
Shinju watched the energy gathering.
"Too slow."
A special kunai appeared in his hand, etched with the formula of Hiraishin no Jutsu.
With a casual flick, Shinju threw it behind the Great Ape—toward the base of its thick tail.
In the next instant, Shinju vanished from the top of the gate.
A golden flash ignited behind the Great Ape.
Shinju appeared in midair, right at the tail's root.
On his right hand, chakra condensed to an extreme.
A sharp blue glow formed—so keen it seemed to cut the air itself, producing a faint sizzling sound.
Chakra Scalpel—Extreme Cutting Version.
"A Saiyan's weakness… you only need to see it once to understand."
Vegeta had overcome the weakness of having his tail grabbed.
But what if the tail was gone?
The tail was the foundation of the transformation.
Shinju was certain of that.
"Sever."
Shinju swung his arm.
The thick tail was cut clean through.
Vegeta's mouth blast faltered—his gathered energy dispersed.
A shriek ripped through the sky.
The Great Ape's body began to change—shrinking rapidly, the black fur receding.
As the target vanished, the Myojinmon gates lost what they were suppressing and crashed down into the open ground with heavy thuds.
In only a few seconds, the terrifying Great Ape was gone.
A naked Vegeta lay sprawled on the ground, barely moving. His severed tail lay not far away, twitching faintly.
Vegeta coughed weakly, eyes unfocused.
The transformation had been forcibly canceled, and the shock of losing his tail left him completely drained.
That plunge hit even harder than the pain.
Shinju landed and flicked away the blood on his hand.
Finished. It hadn't been as difficult as expected.
Information advantage, plus the right countermeasures—still worked in this world.
Goku limped over, his expression complicated as he looked at Vegeta on the ground.
"Thanks. If it weren't for you, I might've died just now."
Goku spoke to Shinju.
Shinju glanced at him.
"No need. I'm just doing a job."
Goku didn't understand what "a job" meant, but he could feel this man had no ill intent toward him.
At that moment, Krillin rushed over with a sword in his hands.
Krillin's face was full of killing intent. Gripping the blade with both hands, he charged at the helpless Vegeta.
"I'm going to kill him—now!"
"If we don't, Earth will be destroyed!"
Krillin raised the sword and aimed for Vegeta's neck.
Vegeta stared at the gleaming blade. Despair flashed in his eyes—followed by deeper unwillingness.
To die by the hands of trash like this…
"Stop, Krillin!"
A weak shout rang out.
Goku stopped him.
"Goku? What are you saying? We can't let him go—he'll destroy Earth!"
Krillin's hands trembled, but he halted.
"I know…" Goku lay there, enduring the pain, voice strained.
"But… let him go."
"I want to fight him… someday in the future."
"It's a selfish request… please, Krillin."
(End of Chapter)
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