c27: The Death of Sabo
"Kaio-ken!"
Li Xu roared, and a crimson aura burst from his body, fiercely distorting the air around him. His fighting power instantly soared, multiplying far beyond his previous level.
"What's happening?!"
Vegeta stared intently at Li Xu from a distance. Although Vegeta still couldn't properly sense ki yet as sensing energy naturally would only come later in the Dragon Ball Z timeline his warrior instincts screamed that Li Xu's strength had spiked sharply.
"It feels amazing to instantly increase my strength... but the load on my body is too much," Li Xu muttered, clenching his fists, feeling the surging energy course through him.
"I can only use Kaio-ken at most twice right now without seriously injuring myself."
He knew the Kaio-ken technique taught by King Kai multiplied strength, but also multiplied strain, which early on limited how many times even Goku could use it consecutively.
"Hahaha! Do you think just shouting loudly can change anything?"
Sabo sneered. His scouter had long since been shattered in the battle and he had no idea of Li Xu's sudden explosive rise in combat power.
Boom!
Before Sabo could finish laughing, his expression froze in disbelief.
Li Xu had already appeared in front of him like a ghost and buried a powerful punch into his gut.
"How is this possible?!"
Sabo's mouth gaped as he staggered backward, clutching his stomach. Just moments ago, their power had been relatively close. Now, Li Xu's movements were completely unreadable to him.
"Nothing is impossible," Li Xu said coldly, his figure flashing once again.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Li Xu unleashed a brutal combo of punches against Sabo. Each blow reverberated through the air, and Sabo couldn't even raise his arms to defend. The difference in speed and strength was now absolute.
"Since you gave me a good fight, I'll let you die quickly," Li Xu said indifferently.
With a swift spinning kick, he launched Sabo high into the sky.
Li Xu then lowered his stance, forming his hands into the signature calyx-shape at his waist. Blue energy quickly condensed between his palms, swelling larger and larger until it was the size of a football.
"Kamehameha!"
With a loud shout, Li Xu thrust his hands forward. The condensed energy beam surged like a dragon into the sky toward the falling Sabo.
"NOOO—!"
Sabo let out a final, despairing cry. The massive wave of energy engulfed him completely, detonating into a tremendous explosion. A huge hemisphere of flame and light covered the skies above Planet Carodi, followed by a shockwave that howled across the surface.
After a long moment, the dust and energy subsided, leaving only silence. There was no trace of Sabo remaining.
---
Bulma, who had been safely shielded during the battle, shrank back to normal size.
"Li Xu, you killed such a powerful enemy. You're amazing!"
Bulma's eyes sparkled with joy, slightly red with emotion.
The mini protective shield from the wrist-mounted device had been transparent, allowing her to witness the entire battle unfold before her eyes.
"The shield needs to be improved," Li Xu said, pinching Bulma's nose playfully.
"If I hadn't kept Sabo from crashing into you during the fight, the shield would have broken."
Even though Bulma's tech was advanced, battles at these power levels were beginning to surpass the limits of what ordinary science could defend against.
"Got it! I'll make a better shield! Next time, I'll be able to stay by your side without worrying," Bulma smiled sweetly, full of determination.
"Let's go," Li Xu said, looking around at the devastated land. There was no reason to stay any longer on Planet Carodi.
"Okay!"
Bulma nodded eagerly. She reached into her pouch, retrieved a universal capsule, clicked the top, and threw it onto the ground. With a pop, a reconfigured Universe spaceship appeared, one Bulma had recently customized for long-term travel.
Li Xu and Bulma walked toward the ship. As they reached the entrance, Li Xu suddenly glanced over his shoulder in the direction where Vegeta, Nappa, and Raditz were hiding.
"What's wrong?" Bulma asked, sensing his brief hesitation.
"It's nothing," Li Xu said with a faint smile, shaking his head.
Since Vegeta hadn't chosen to make a move, there was no need to kill them.
Not today.
"He seems to have noticed us."
Raditz's entire back was drenched in cold sweat. Just a single glance from Li Xu had made him feel as though he were staring straight into the depths of hell.
"It's terrifying... I can't tell what race he belongs to. He looks just like a Saiyan, but he doesn't have a tail," Nappa muttered, feeling a chill that even the harshest battles hadn't given him before.
"Damn it, one day I'll defeat him with my own hands," Vegeta growled through clenched teeth, unwilling to accept the gap between them.
---
Meanwhile, on Planet Frieza No. 79, Frieza's current base of operations, an urgent report came through.
The moment Sabo's life signal disappeared, Frieza was immediately notified.
"King Frieza, Lord Sabo's life signal has vanished," a trembling low-level soldier stammered, his body quivering with fear.
"Trash!"
Frieza's eyes narrowed dangerously. With a flick of his finger, he unleashed a Death Beam straight through the soldier's forehead, coldly erasing him without even glancing back.
"King Frieza, the enemy capable of killing Sabo must have a combat power of at least 23,000," Dodoria reported quickly, sweat dripping from his face, terrified he'd suffer the same fate.
"Hmph, Sabo had a transformation ability. His strength after transforming wasn't just 23,000—it was close to 30,000," Frieza corrected, his cold voice making Dodoria's heart clench in terror.
Frieza's scouters and databases had always recorded transformations, just like Zarbon's and Sabo's, into their higher forms, and he wasn't about to underestimate the one who could kill Sabo so easily.
"King Frieza, what should we do next? Should you personally intervene?"
Dodoria asked cautiously, dreading the possibility.
"No need," Frieza said with a cruel smile, flicking his tail lazily.
"Send the Ginyu Force. They'll be more than enough."
"Understood, King Frieza!"
Dodoria bowed low, hurriedly leaving the room, relieved to escape Frieza's attention.
---
Meanwhile, Li Xu, unaware of the turmoil he had stirred on Planet Frieza, was continuing his journey through the vastness of space.
After leaving Planet Carodi, he and Bulma set their course toward Planet Adelat, the location King Kai had pointed out as critical for their training and future plans.
He knew very well that killing Sabo wouldn't go unnoticed. Frieza either would come himself or send his elite units—probably the fearsome Ginyu Force.
And with his current strength, fighting Frieza's main army head-on would be suicide.
Opponents close to his level could sharpen his instincts and improve his combat experience. But facing a powerhouse like Captain Ginyu—or Frieza himself—with such a gap would only mean death.
He had to avoid direct confrontation for now, bide his time, and grow stronger.
"Li Xu, at our current speed, we'll reach Planet Adelat in about a month," Bulma said, glancing at the navigation panel.
Thanks to Bulma's modifications, their Universe spacecraft's performance had been massively upgraded, significantly increasing its top speed compared to its original Capsule Corp model.
"Good. Try to avoid any planets marked under Frieza's control," Li Xu instructed.
King Kai had given him a detailed star map, clearly highlighting which planets were occupied by Frieza's forces—planets like Meat, Kanassa, and others that had already fallen during the Saiyan wars.
"Got it. But if we do that, it'll take us a few extra days," Bulma said after recalculating the course in her mind.
"That's fine. We're not in a rush anymore," Li Xu said, knowing that a few extra days were a small price to pay for safety.
Hearing this, Bulma smiled and began tapping rapidly on the ship's control panel, adjusting their flight path.
Her focused, serious expression was incredibly charming, and even though Li Xu had seen it many times, he couldn't help but get a little dazed watching her.
Noticing his gaze, Bulma felt a mix of happiness and shyness bubbling up inside her.
"Hmph," Bulma playfully puffed her cheeks.
Unable to resist anymore, Li Xu wrapped his arms around Bulma and lowered his head, gently capturing her lips.
Their feelings melted together, and for a moment, time seemed to stop inside the spaceship.
But just as Li Xu's hands began to wander a bit more boldly, Bulma pushed against his chest, her face flushed bright red.
"I... I'm not ready yet," Bulma whispered shyly, avoiding his gaze.
"That's okay," Li Xu said with a soft smile, pulling her into a comforting hug.
"When you're ready. There's no need to rush."
"Mmm," Bulma nodded, feeling safe and warm in his arms.
In the end, Li Xu found another way to vent his passion—through a long, passionate embrace, filled with the silent promise of their deepening bond.
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