The sudden turn of events made Ai, Majin Buu, and Bardock all pale.
"So that's the Senzu Bean that can heal wounds, huh?" Arak smiled faintly, and a small pouch of Senzu Beans was already in his hand.
A moment later, purple-red energy flickered in Arak's right palm.
In an instant, the pouch of Senzu Beans vanished into nothingness, erased without a trace by Arak's power.
"Now you've got no way to heal, do you?" Arak sneered, clear mockery in his eyes.
"Broly!" Ai cried, rushing forward without the slightest hesitation.
Bang!
Arak watched Ai charge in and abruptly slammed a heavy fist into her abdomen.
"Ah—!"
Ai screamed, her body sent hurtling away, leaving a streak of light across the vast starry void.
Steam jetted out from the pores on Majin Buu's body, cranking his energy up to the absolute limit.
Scarlet flame roared around Bardock's body, lightning rapidly coiling over him. His hair shot upward as he transformed into Super Saiyan God Two.
"You get his attention, I'll heal Broly!" Buu whispered urgently into Bardock's ear.
Bardock gave a small nod, then turned into a streak of crimson light, blasting toward Arak.
As he closed in, Bardock suddenly pressed both hands down, body jerking upward to change altitude at the last second.
"Hmph, trying to draw my attention on purpose so that fatso can heal them?" Arak snorted. With a casual wave, a powerful surge of energy smashed straight into Bardock.
Bang!
Bardock was caught dead-on by Arak's tremendous power.
He didn't even have time to grunt. His body was blown away, shrinking to a distant speck in the endless void before disappearing from sight.
As he went spinning off, the scarlet aura around Bardock collapsed in an instant, his form reverting to normal.
"A level-thirty-something God of Destruction thinks he can blend in here and fool me?" Arak scoffed, not even bothering to look Bardock's way. "Even if he's not dead, he's half-crippled. Whether he lives or dies is up to his own luck now."
Buu's eyes went wide, his expression turning grim.
At this point, he didn't dare hold anything back. He shot forward, driving a fist straight at Arak.
Slap.
Buu had only just rushed in, arm not even fully extended, when Arak's hand clamped around his neck.
Bang!
Arak's fist smashed into Buu's head, blowing it apart on the spot.
He followed with a sharp kick to Buu's pudgy body, sending him flying backward.
As Buu tumbled through space, both his arms suddenly stretched like rubber bands, snapping out to grab hold of Arak.
A knife-edge glow formed in Arak's right hand. One swipe, and Buu's two arms were neatly severed.
Only the two hands remained stuck to Arak's body.
Arak casually plucked one of the hands free, kneaded it into a ball like rubbery dough, and hurled it at the still-flying Majin Buu.
Bang!
The chunk of flesh slammed into Buu's belly, leaving a deep indentation in his gut.
Arak reached for the other hand.
But as his fingers closed, he suddenly realized the hand was gone.
He blinked, momentarily stunned, and hurriedly scanned the area, searching for the escaping piece of Buu.
That remaining hand rapidly twisted and swelled into a palm-sized tiny Buu, who instantly appeared behind Broly and pressed his two little palms over Broly's wounds, channeling healing energy.
But Broly's injuries were far too severe. His chest had been blown clean through, and his energy was almost completely drained.
His consciousness was fading; his eyes had started to glaze over.
Buu knew healing techniques, but he was down to a single palm-sized fragment of himself, and his main body had been knocked very far away. His power was limited.
In a short span, all he could do was drag Broly back from the brink of death and close the hole in his chest. Fully restoring him would take a long time.
Slap.
While tiny Buu was secretly treating Broly's wounds, a huge hand suddenly clamped around him, fingers closing tight around his palm-sized body.
"What an interesting physique. You actually sneaked over here to heal him," Arak said with a cold smile.
Tiny Buu thrashed in Arak's grip, desperately trying to break free.
But the gap between his strength and Arak's was simply huge.
Right now, this mini Buu only had about one percent of his full power.
No matter how he struggled, he couldn't pry Arak's fingers apart.
Frustrated, he resorted to spitting repeatedly at Arak's face.
Yet every droplet evaporated the moment it neared Arak's body, burned away by the invisible energy surrounding him.
"Hakai!"
Arak let out a low laugh as purple-red light flared in his hand, and the palm-sized Buu was erased without a trace.
Only then did Arak turn with a cheerful squint to glance at Broly, before fixing his gaze on Gin.
Broly woke with a groan, his body wracked with pain, limbs heavy and weak enough to make him almost pass out again.
But his iron will kept him upright, still hanging in the void, glaring stubbornly at Arak.
Gin's expression was just as grim and furious, with a hint of confusion mixed in.
Like Broly, Gin was badly injured. His heart hadn't been pierced, but his body had taken a brutal beating.
Thanks to the brief treatment from tiny Buu, at least Broly's fatal wound had been healed; his heart was whole again.
"Arak, what are you trying to do?" Gin demanded hoarsely.
"What am I trying to do? What do you think?" Arak snorted. "Obviously, I'm here to avenge Miu!"
"Avenge Miu?" Gin's mind stalled for a moment, his brows knitting together.
"Xiaoyu, come on out," Arak said suddenly.
"Okay."
A cool, haughty woman's voice came from inside Arak's mouth.
He opened it wide.
Plop.
A small fish, shining with golden light from head to tail, jumped out from between Arak's lips.
Gin: "…"
This was just disgusting.
The little goldfish leapt free and, in a flash, transformed into a stunning mermaid.
She had long golden hair, a human torso, and a long fish tail trailing below her waist, its scales gleaming with golden light.
"Miu, I've already crippled your enemy," Arak said to the mermaid with a smile.
"Thank you, Arak-sama," Miu said quickly, then shot Gin a resentful look. Her voice turned cold. "As expected, Gin-sama is completely unreliable. Arak-sama is the only one I can count on."
"I didn't dote on you for nothing, did I?" Arak chuckled.
"Mhm." Miu nodded again, her golden tail flicking lightly.
"You… you two…!" Gin suddenly felt as if his whole head were being painted a fresh, bright green.
"After tasting mermaid flesh once, I realized there was no going back," Arak said cheerfully, glancing at Gin.
"You… you two!" Gin spat blood.
He never would have believed that his best friend Arak—also a God of Destruction from another universe—would be having this kind of sordid affair with his own lover.
Gin was stunned, but above all he was furious beyond words.
"With such a delicious mermaid, Gin, Gin… how can you not cherish her?" Arak shook his head with a sigh.
"Arak, I told you before—she's just a lover to me. If you like her, I can give her to you," Gin said coldly, eyes full of bitter rage.
"And that's exactly where you're wrong, Gin," Arak snapped, his eyes going oddly hollow. "We Gods of Destruction might not be all that sentimental, but to treat such a beautiful mermaid as a piece of cargo and just hand her over? I can't stand that attitude of yours."
Gin was left speechless.
"So when I heard Broly was going to become the Great God of Destruction, I deliberately set all this up," Arak said with a smile. "I know your personality. I've carefully analyzed the gap between you and Broly. With your two power levels, it should be about fifty-fifty. In the end, you'd be forced to acknowledge his strength and bow to him. After that, you'd become Broly's ally."
"In other words, once I killed you, I wouldn't be punished. That's what you're getting at, right?" Gin finally pieced it together.
"Exactly." Arak snorted, his grin growing ever brighter. "Gin, sorry, Miu hates you to death. She wants you dead. I had no choice but to do this. I hope you won't hold it against me."
As he spoke, Arak raised his hand and leveled it at Gin from afar.
"And to be honest, I want you dead too. Every time I think about you and Miu together, it makes my skin crawl. Only when you're gone can I be with Miu in peace," Arak said, voice chilled, killing intent flashing in his eyes.
"Is that really the only reason?" Gin frowned.
"Of course not. My hatred for you has been growing quietly all this time." Arak's tone hardened, his gaze filled with resentment.
"What else? Because Universe 12 is ranked higher than Universe 5 in overall rating?" Gin asked calmly.
"So you do know!" Arak ground his teeth, fists clenching. "No matter how hard I work, I can never surpass your Universe 12. I can't accept that! Worst of all, you never shut up about how Universe 5 can't compare to Universe 12. Every time the composite index is within 0.1, you manage to pull ahead again."
"I thought…" Gin gave a strained smile, half laugh, half sigh. "I thought if I kept pushing you like that, you'd be spurred to work harder, to develop your universe. So… was I wrong?"
"You were just showing off in front of me!" Arak roared. "I hate you! I hate your arrogant, self-satisfied way of doing things, you conceited God of Destruction!"
"In that case, kill me. If that'll make you feel better, then do it," Gin said, letting out a long sigh. He drew a deep breath, gritted his teeth through the pain tearing at his body, then glanced at Broly and flicked him a subtle look.
Broly caught the signal and immediately understood.
Gin had already decided he was ready to die.
And before that, he wanted to stall Arak, give Broly a chance to escape.
As long as Broly could be healed and restored to peak condition, there was a real chance he wouldn't lose to Arak.
Even though the Senzu Beans had been destroyed, Buu still had his healing techniques. If they could just get to him, everything could still be salvaged.
Broly was just about to act on Gin's plan—
But in the next instant, a different voice echoed in his mind, the Grand Priest's words resurfacing out of nowhere.
"Broly, if you truly wish to become the leader of all Gods of Destruction—the Great God of Destruction—then what you need most is for the other Gods of Destruction to submit to you of their own free will."
Broly's mental CPU spun at full throttle, and he immediately rejected Gin's plan.
I can't just throw away the friendship we've just built.
If I'm going to be the Great God of Destruction, I can't stand here and watch him die in front of me.
"Oh? What's this? Gin, we've known each other for a long time. You think I don't know what you're planning?" Arak laughed. "You want to cling to me with your last breath so Broly can get healed, right? Don't worry. Neither of you is getting away. If I'm going to kill you, then Broly is just as dead as you are."
"Hakai!"
This time, Arak didn't hesitate. A basketball-sized sphere of purple-red destruction energy screamed toward Gin.
Gin spread his arms, ready to meet it head-on with his exhausted body, determined to buy Broly time.
Slap.
Broly's big hand shot forward, yanking Gin back and dragging him behind his own back.
Rumble!
Dark green light exploded from Broly's body, arcs of lightning raging over his skin. His hair flared up, dyeing itself a deep, inky green.
Legendary Super Saiyan Two—unleashed!
"What? That's impossible! How do you still have that much energy? You were already badly wounded!" Arak was stunned, pupils shrinking as his face shifted again and again.
The mermaid's complexion went chalk-white in fright, and she ducked behind Arak.
"Hurry! He's already heavily injured. Kill them now!" Miu said anxiously, on the verge of panic.
Arak nodded. To him, Broly still looked like he was bluffing.
Whoosh!
Even though he was shaken, the destruction energy in Arak's hand still roared toward Broly's position.
Bang!
Broly clenched his teeth and swung his arm in a brutal backhand, swatting the incoming destruction energy away.
"T–this is impossible…" Arak stared, absolutely floored.
Miu's beautiful face had gone pale.
Gin was just as stunned, watching Broly casually slap away a chunk of destruction energy, completely at a loss.
By all reason, Broly shouldn't have had much power left.
Even with Majin Buu's treatment, Buu had only repaired his shattered heart and chest.
The rest of his severe injuries were still there.
While Gin was still in a daze, he suddenly felt something in his hand. Looking down, he realized he was holding a watch.
"Put it on," Broly barked. "Then hit the green button!"
Gin froze for half a second, then quickly buckled the watch around his wrist and did as Broly instructed, pressing the green button.
K-k-chk!
In an instant, a red suit of armor unfolded and locked into place around Gin's body.
"T-this is…" Gin's eyes went wide, his voice muffled inside the red armor.
The moment she saw it, Miu's gaze turned venomous.
She'd lived with Mule and Muse for many years and recognized the armor at a glance. She'd heard it was refined by Luke.
The thought of Muse made Miu's eyes turn misty.
That childhood companion—the one who'd grown up playing by her side like a little brother—Muse had been mercilessly killed.
And she'd only learned the truth a few days ago.
They'd been dead for over twenty years.
Miu hated their killers with every fiber of her being, and she didn't care in the slightest who had started that fight back then.
Even if Muse had been rude to them… he was Mule's own son.
Being treated that way by him should have been an honor. They should have been grateful.
And yet they'd killed him.
"I'll hold this guy off. You go find Buu and get healed," Broly said, baring his teeth in a grin.
Gin was stunned all over again, his heart wavering.
Can you really hold him off?
"Go!" Broly roared.
"…Got it!" Gin didn't hesitate any longer. He shot off toward the distance at full speed.
"Don't even think about it!" Arak's expression shifted yet again as he launched himself after Gin to intercept.
He knew very well—if either Broly or Gin recovered to full strength, he'd be the one in trouble.
Arak was just a bit weaker than Gin to begin with.
If Gin or Broly recovered and pinned him down while the other also got healed…
Arak didn't dare imagine the outcome.
Whoosh!
He instantly broke into pursuit, streaking after Gin.
But Broly surged forward as well, and in a blink he was right in front of Arak.
Bang!
Broly's punch crashed directly into Arak's face.
Arak's features twisted under the blow, his body tumbling through space like a rag doll.
Broly followed with a savage kick, punting Arak's spinning body away.
"Gah—!"
At the same time, blood spurted from Broly's mouth.
Shhhhp.
In the next heartbeat, the inky green aura around him blew apart and vanished.
Truthfully, he'd just burned every last scrap of latent power to stall Arak for that brief instant.
Gin didn't dare relax. He pushed the armor to its limit, rocketing toward where Buu had fallen.
Arak adjusted in midair with terrifying speed, ignoring the nearly spent Broly and tearing off after Gin instead.
"Broly, you really gave me a scare just now," Arak's voice echoed as he flew. "For a second there, I thought you'd recovered completely. Turns out you were just putting on a show."
Broly was gasping for air, coughing up blood again.
He'd already been grievously wounded. Forcing his energy up like that had only ravaged his body further.
"If you don't get healed, no matter how tough your life force is, you'll still die, won't you?" Arak kept laughing coldly as he flew, hurling another mass of destruction energy down at Gin.
Bang!
Gin's stamina was all but gone. He had no strength left to dodge.
With a dull boom, that destruction energy crashed into him.
Crack!
Even with the armor forged to God of Destruction standards, fine cracks spider-webbed across its surface.
Fortunately, thanks to the armor, Gin himself only suffered light injuries.
"Damn it!" Arak snarled, pushing his speed even higher.
He shot a murderous glare back at Broly.
If that bastard hadn't given Gin the armor, Gin would've died already.
Whoosh!
Still chasing Gin, Arak flicked his hand, sending another powerful wave of destruction energy roaring toward Broly.
"Hmph. You're a God on the verge of death anyway. Let me see you off—no point leaving loose ends. You can take your dream of becoming the Great God of Destruction and let it vanish with you," Arak said coldly.
With that, he accelerated again, intent on running Gin down.
The purple-red destruction energy howled toward Broly at terrifying speed.
This time, the sphere of destruction energy was at least thirty meters across.
Broly, critically injured and nearly drained, had nowhere to run.
"Broly!" Ai's scream tore itself out of her throat, raw and desperate.
But she was too far away. There was no chance she'd reach him in time.
In that life-or-death instant, Ai bit down on her lip, hesitation vanishing from her eyes.
Shhhhp.
She blinked out of existence where she was and reappeared at Broly's side.
Cr-cr-crack!
Her body suddenly broke apart, dissolving into a brand-new suit of armor that wrapped itself around Broly.
"Instant Transmission?" Arak glanced back and let out a cold laugh. "Ai, God of Destruction, do you have any idea what kind of punishment you'll face for using Instant Transmission without permission? You've violated the laws of the divine realm."
He turned away again, no longer sparing them a look.
Broly's pupils shrank as he stared at the bright red armor that had appeared around him. His throat went dry; his lips moved, but no words came out.
At the same time, the Grand Priest's voice echoed sharply in his mind.
"Gods of Destruction are strictly forbidden from using Instant Transmission."
"Any God of Destruction who uses Instant Transmission without authorization… will disappear."
"The divine realm has its rules. Break them, and you'll pay the price."
"Only under rules can the universes develop properly. Otherwise, everything descends into chaos—until Zeno-sama himself erases it all."
Shhhhp.
As soon as Ai finished transforming into armor and encasing Broly, she used Instant Transmission again, and the two of them vanished from that spot.
Whoosh!
The oncoming destruction energy slammed into empty space, leaving only a trail of purple-red light burning across the dark void.
Gin finally found Majin Buu on a distant planet.
Earlier, Buu had been punched away by Gin, then caught by a nearby planet's gravity and crashed down onto its surface.
Gin sped toward the planet. As he drew close, his heart sank.
Buu was lying there unconscious.
And his head was missing.
A wave of despair washed over Gin.
He'd finally found Buu, only to discover this.
"Hey! Buu! Wake up!" Gin shouted from above. "Hurry and heal me! Broly's in danger!"
His shout actually had some effect.
Pop.
Buu's missing head suddenly regenerated from his neck, and his eyes snapped open.
"How do you have Broly's armor?" Buu pushed himself up with effort, glaring at Gin as he descended.
"He gave it to me! Hurry and heal me, there's no time!" Gin yelled.
He knew too well that if they didn't make use of this moment to heal, they could all end up dead at Arak's hands.
Ai had risked violating the laws of the divine realm to yank Broly out of danger.
Gin had seen that perfectly clear.
This was their best chance. They couldn't afford to waste it.
Buu nodded sharply, no trace of hesitation left, and blasted Gin with a pillar of healing light.
The moment that light washed over Gin—
"Don't even think about it!" Arak arrived from above, launching yet another wave of destruction energy down at Buu and Gin.
"Move!" Gin grabbed Majin Buu and leapt sideways.
They rolled together, tumbling into the sand nearby.
Buu immediately launched another healing beam at Gin.
But he was seriously hurt himself, and his healing was much slower than usual.
Arak dropped from the sky, rushing forward and seizing the antenna on Buu's head.
Slap, slap!
He slapped Buu's face again and again, smacking it into a new, crooked shape.
Bang!
Then he flicked Buu lightly upward and drove a heavy kick into his gut.
Whoosh!
Buu shot away, flying clear out of the planet's gravitational pull and into space, quickly disappearing from sight.
Arak turned next toward Gin in the armor, stepping toward him one stride at a time.
Gin took a long breath, bracing himself.
His wounds and energy weren't fully recovered, but after a few rounds of Buu's healing, he'd gotten back at least seventy percent of his strength.
He figured he still had enough to fight.
If he could pin Arak down in battle and give Buu a chance to heal Broly, they might still be able to turn this around.
"Arak, if you hate me that much, then this has nothing to do with Broly and his companions. Kill me," Gin said, staring him down. "But let them go."
"You're part of Broly's camp now. If I kill you, do you really think he'll spare me once he's recovered?" Arak laughed coldly.
Their voices had barely fallen—
Shhhhp.
All at once, the starry sky—and the entire Third Universe—turned inky green.
Even the planet beneath their feet changed color in an instant.
The world of black sand was covered in layer upon layer of dense green light, shifting into a deep, dark green.
"Ahhhh—!"
A scream, raw and earth-shattering, rolled in from the distant void.
Crack.
The black planet, roughly the size of Mars, crumbled inch by inch under the force of that roar.
Rumble…!
The planet exploded in a blaze of red light—only to be swallowed whole by the surging dark green radiance….
[End of Chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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