Chapter 7: Pawn of the Masters
Solid ground exploded up from underneath the two warriors as they clashed head on, the shockwave forcing Gogeta and the others to keep their balance in a tense reflex.
Vegetto's eyes narrowed, letting out a small grunt as he attempted to pull his arms away. His right fist rested neatly in the pink hand of Janembuu, who smirked down at the fusion with a small chuckle. The Potara fusion snarled in response, rapidly shooting up his left arm with a clenched fist, slamming into the monster's cheek and sending Janembuu flying to the left.
The villain neatly flipped over the ground, his feet gracefully connecting with the ground as he skidded to a hault about twenty meters away from Vegetto. His sinster smirk never faded, staring down Vegetto yet remaining completely still.
Vegetto's glare intensified, letting out a roar as he suddenly teleported directly in front of Janembuu. His fists shot forward in a unseen flurry of strikes, connecting with Janembuu's stomach and chest without any resistance from the villain himself, each blow sending out a powerful shockwave pulsing into the atmosphere.
The Potara fusion continued to land punch after punch, alternating in a couple of uppercuts and sending Janembuu sliding across the ground from the force of the blows. Landing onto the ground a few centimeters below him, Vegetto let out another roar as he used his momentum to bolt forward, connecting his right knee into the villain's stomach.
Vegetto's smirk widened at the connection, his confidence rising as he felt Janembuu's body nearly wrap around his leg. However, the smirk disappeared into a surprised frown, Janembuu's laughter ringing out into his ears as he felt the monster's stomach vibrate from the action.
"Your skills are impressive...much more impressive than I remember. Your power...is not completely insignificant..."
Vegetto's eyes widened, watching as Janembuu reached up with both arms and grabbed onto his thigh, slowly pulling the knee lodged into his stomach out with minimal effort.
"But who are you, to challenge the power of infinity?"
Vegetto's eyes quickly narrowed again, rapidly, sending his left leg into a desperate kick to the side of Janembuu's head. The monster let out a small grunt, reeling back at the sudden blow with his hands flying up to his head.
The Potara fusion leaped backwards, landing on the ground with clenched fists and staring back at Janembuu in disbelief. The monster's smile twisted into a sinister, happy grin, still holding onto his head as he giggled darkly at Vegetto, his head slightly tilted.
"I have been blessed...with the visions of what is to come. And the power to reap what has been sown..."
Vegetto blinked, before letting out a small gasp as Janembuu's elbow suddenly slammed into his ribs. The Potara fusion's eyes widened to brim from the surprise attack, opening his mouth without a breath of air to release. His head then whipped to the right, the force of Janembuu's fist colliding with his cheek forcing him to bounce and skip along the ground, kicking up rock and debris as he came to a halt one hundred meters away from Janembuu.
Goku's frowned deepened, narrowing his eyes as he rapidly grew in size, the golden aura encasing him in a bright and blinding light. Within a few seconds, he stood before the others as a Super Saiyan 4 in his adult form, preparing to dash forward.
"C'mon, we have to help him!"
The Saiyan didn't wait for a response, quickly erupting into a dash and leaving behind a stunned Leiji, who blinked her eyes together hard in confusion. Her attention turned to Gogeta, who scratched the back of his head with a cheesy grin while his golden aura rapidly shot up from underneath his feet.
"Again, it's a long story..."
Gogeta soon followed after Goku after having ascended to his own Super Saiyan 4 form, leaving behind Vegeta and Leiji. The small prince smirked back at her, clenching his fists together.
"Looks like we're going to have a real challenge after all. You should probably go back home now where it's safe. Kakarot wouldn't want you getting hurt, this fight calls for professionals."
Leiji glared back at Vegeta in response, frowning heavily.
"You can stop with the bravado, Vegeta. The Elders told me all about your rivalry with Goku, and we know he and the fusions are the only ones who can ascend to Super Saiyan 4."
Vegeta chuckled, his fists tightening together as a golden aura rapidly shot up from underneath him as well. Leiji blinked once again, watching on as the small prince began to grow fur along his arms, the steady growth disappearing underneath his sleeveless jacket while his hair grew out slightly, finishing the transformation as he turned back to her with a darker voice.
"Your information is out of date, woman. I may not be as strong as Kakarot or these two fusions, but at least they both knew how to ascend. Along with the technique to regrow my tail."
Leiji remained silent, watching Vegeta dash after the other three warriors as she watched on, shocked in disbelief.
Vegetto cried out, throwing both of his arms to cover his head in defense, his forearms catching Janembuu's arm mere seconds before slamming into his face. However, Vegetto let out a painful cry as he slumped forward, Janembuu's knee having slammed into his exposed stomach after his arms had been blocked.
Janembuu continued to laugh manically, gracefully flipping backwards to send his foot into Vegetto's chin, forcing the Potara fusion skyward. Quickly landing on his feet, Janembuu then rapidly shot upwards after Vegetto, reeling his right fist back in preparation to continue the assault.
The monster then yelped loudly, shooting off to the east as Goku roared into his ear, having wrapped his arms around his ribs in a powerful tackle. The two rapidly collided onto the ground, separating on impact and bouncing along to kick up more rubble and rocks.
Vegetto coughed heavily, collapsing onto the ground and clutching his left side once he had landed back onto the ground. He glanced up, turning his attention to Gogeta as he panted heavily.
"This doesn't make any sense. His power...he doesn't have anywhere near the level needed to hit that hard..."
Gogeta kept his frown, glancing over to where Goku and Janembuu disappeared.
"I sense it too...that's what I was trying to warn you about. I know you can feel it too...that darkness emanating within him."
Vegetto coughed, sitting more upright as he grunted heavily.
"We need to catch him by surprise...there's no way we can fight him head on like this..."
Gogeta nodded back in response, but let out a small gasp as Goku suddenly slammed into his side, sending him flying into the opposite direction. Vegetto's eyes widened in shock, squirming on the ground in a desperate attempt to get to his feet, only to cry out loudly as both of Janembuu's feet slammed onto his chest. Janembuu sprang up into the air from the first initial landing, pulling his knees to his chest as he rose into the air and extending his legs into a straight line as he forced his feet into the Potara fusion's chest in extreme force, sending Vegetto deep into a new crater formed from the shockwave of the attack.
The monster stood upright, looking down onto the edge. His attention remained locked on the abyss below, despite the sound of Vegeta's roar within 2 meters of his left. The small prince's fist landed directly into the monster's cheek, even forcing Janembuu's head to tilt to the side. However, Janembuu's eyes remained focused on the crater, while his right arm suddenly shot up from underneath Vegeta. Vegeta's eyes widened, his hands quickly shifting to grasp the arm as Janembuu lifted him up off the ground by the throat, choking the Saiyan prince with little effort.
His eyes finally darted upwards, blinking at the sudden cry from Goku.
"Kamehameha!"
The quick blast of red energy slammed into Janembuu without a second of warning, the monster letting out a small cry of pain, releasing Vegeta in his grip who collapsed to the ground. Vegeta covered his neck with his right hand, resting on his left elbow.
He began rubbing it lightly before extending his left arm out in front of him to the smoke cloud that undoubtedly blocked Janembuu from sight, letting out a small roar before firing off a quick barrage of yellow energy blasts into the smoke. Erupting within a few feet from Vegeta, the Saiyan prince flipped backwards from the explosions that grew in intensity and size with each blast that connected to the monster, sliding along the ground and gaining distance from the villain.
Goku panted lightly, his arms still extended outward and palms facing towards the cloud in the famous stance, his narrowed eyes locked on the plume of smoke still spiraling upwards from the two's combined attacks. He then gasped, falling to the ground mere seconds before a violent black energy wave fired over his head.
Goku's wide eyes locked with Janembuu's, laying down on the ground in a flat push up position with Janembuu's twisted grin and face only a centimeter from his.
"Tsk tsk little Saiyan..."
The monster's head moved only one centimeter, connecting his forehead to Goku's in a quick butt. The Saiyan cringed in pain, gritting his teeth together with a high pitched cry as he bolted backwards rapidly, eventually losing his control and flipping violently along the ground from the force of the blow.
Janembuu then casually rose back to his feet, keeping his satisfied grin as he twisted his body around, turning back to the crater that housed Vegetto. He stood at the edge, breathing in the small plume of smoke rising from the black abyss with a toothy grin. He grunted, his left leg disappearing into the ground, with Vegetto's body suddenly shooting up from the darkness from the force of Janembuu's boot. With his leg soon retracting, Janembuu giggled in delight as he shot his right arm forwards, his hand grasping Vegetto by the throat before rapidly reeling back into its normal length. Now holding the fusion directly in front of him, Janembuu chuckled with his hand tightening around Vegetto's throat, who offered no resistance.
"What a pity. All that power...yet you still fall before me. All that strength...all your self righteousness...and the worlds still know destruction and terror..."
Vegetto's eyes remained shut, despite having maintained his Super Saiyan 4 transformation, his arms at his sides while Janembuu continued his speech.
"You and your friends fought so hard...to be that light in the darkness. But in the end, the darkness can never be destroyed...while the flame can be extinguished..."
The monster giggled manically once more, his arm trembling from squeezing mercilessly on Vegetto's throat.
"The Masters foresaw your demise...here...at my hands. At long last...my revenge will be complete!"
Janembuu glanced up once more, his head turning to his left as another powerful kick suddenly slammed into his head. The villain howled, flipping in the air and releasing his hold on Vegetto. The Potara fusion landed in the arms of Leiji, who landed lightly onto the ground.
She frowned down at him, propping him up onto his side as she pulled her arms out from underneath his back.
"Are you ok?"
Vegetto coughed, rubbing his throat heavily as he opened his right eye.
"I feel drained and exhausted...but I'm fine..."
Leiji kept her frown, sighing at the fusion's bravodo before rising up to her feet.
"Listen to me, you need to focus now. He's too powerful for us to fight head on, and even if we can't understand why, you need to put aside your pride and focus on stopping him."
Vegetto's voice came out hoarse, glancing back up to her with an eyebrow raised.
"And what exactly do you have in mind?"
Leiji smirked down at Vegetto, her fists clenching together before she turned her attention forward.
"You're a smart one, I'm sure you can think of something. I'll stall him to give you sometime to plan, don't worry."
Vegetto opened his mouth to speak, but quickly shut it as a sudden blast of wind erupted from underneath Leiji's feet, forcing him to cover his face from the rocks and rubble being sent flying out away from her. A monsterous golden aura suddenly blasted up from underneath her feet, rapidly encasing Leiji in a golden glow as her high pitched roar echoed into the atmosphere of Hell. Her short blonde hair began to glow, sticking up into spiky bundles as it extended slightly over her shoulders while golden fur began to grow slowly over her arms. Her eyes narrowed, having turned from their usual shade of black into the iconic turquoise shade, yet a dark black line covered the edges of her eyes as well.
Vegetto lowered his arm once the forceful winds began to die down, his eyes landing back on Leiji's newly transformed state. His eyes widened at the sight, staring at the golden fur and hair that matched the Super Saiyan 4 appearance in style, yet her energy level spiked to heights he had never felt before.
The new Kai's voice came out deeper than before, yet still held a feminine pitch to her voice.
"Vegeta was right about one thing though: we should really leave this fight to the professionals."
Vegetto stared on in silent shock, watching Leiji bolt forward into a dash after Janembuu with clenched fists. Gogeta soon landed next to Vegetto with a similar expression, his eyes locked onto the small golden glow barely visible in the distance before slowly glancing down to Vegetto, resting on one knee.
"Was that...was that what I think it was?"
Vegetto swallowed hard, his throat still red from Janembuu's grasp. He kept his attention locked on the distant golden glow, blinking once.
"She was stronger than all of us, all this time. There's...there's just no way that's possible..."
Gogeta then sighed heavily, smiling down at Vegetto and resting his arm across his knee.
"Well this is still good news for us. Being a level beyond a Super Saiyan 4, I'm sure she can take Buu on, no matter the fact that we can't sense his true power level."
Vegetto frowned in response, shaking his head lightly.
"No...she didn't seem confident in her power to match Buu's. She told me she was going to stall him, and that I needed to come up with a plan."
Gogeta raised an eyebrow, his smile turning into a frown.
"What do you have in mind? If she can't defeat him in that form, what makes her think we stand a chance?"
Vegetto stared at the ground for a moment, remaining silent in response to the true question. He then glanced back up, grinning at Gogeta.
"Separate, none. But we can beat him...if we use fusion."