PART NINETEEN: OFF TO THE SECOND ROUND!

Chapter 93

Translated by npberryhill

“Well, the fights seem to by flying along at breakneck speed. It’s my turn already,” the south Kaioshin said with a smile.

He raised his eyes up to the large floating sphere above him, already starting to leave the area for universe 1. Behind him, the Grand Kaioshin lifted his hand and offered one last bit of advice. “Wait.”

Just as he spoke, the Varga announcer’s voice rang through the speakers. “The next match will feature South Kaioshin of Universe 1 and Majin Buu of Universe 11!”

“Have you taken into account everything we learned about Buu last night?” the Grand Kaioshin asked his friend.

The crowds cheered loudly as the fighter responded.

“Yes,” he replied, not turning to look back at the Grand Kaioshin. Staring silently up at the ring, a serene confidence in the air about him, he recalled quite clearly everything the spectator from Universe 16 had told them the night before.

“Perfect... Be careful,” the other Kaioshin replied.

The fighter looked over to his friend finally, nodding before he flew off. The second his foot touched the ring, staring face to face with that monster, he could see with his own eyes just what had been done. For half an instant, it almost felt like he was standing before the Grand Kaioshin himself. The resemblance was striking, undeniable. Majin Buu looked both pudgy and friendly, having clearly absorbed the Grand Kaioshin himself—Universe 11 being one of several in which this was the case. His form now was a twisted mutation of the evil djinn and the Chief of all Kaioshins.

‘I know exactly what to do,’ he thought silently.

Standing in front of the Universe 1 fighter, Buu smiled, his yellow gloves resting casually on his wide hips. Under the facade of a lowly appearance he was hiding immense strength. Of course, the South Kaioshin was well aware of the magnitude of his foe’s power, and was completely prepared. Clutching his fists, the Kai unleashed all his strength in a wave of power around him. A jagged aura quickly enveloped him, causing parts of the ring to crumble and rise into the air. Even as he focused all of his energy, the god could only ponder his situation.

‘Five million years ago, in certain universes, this terrifyingly fowl creature was given life...Buu!’

“He He!” the djinn laughed gleefully as his cape stretched out behind him from the wind. “Super! This is fun!”

The warrior of universe one lunged at his opponent, his left fist clenched, his right arm extended out in front of him. Yet Buu simply waited, not bothering even to dodge. The god’s left fist pierced the face of the creature, which surprisingly stretched all the way through the back of his head. Buu hadn’t even tried to defend, and still didn’t. South Kaioshin repeatedly jabbed the monster in the stomach and head, continuing the flurry of his attacks until Buu was sufficiently pummeled. Each blow left a dent in the djinn’s pink form, until one powerful blow finally sent him tumbling over backwards, crashing headfirst into the ground. But he rose quickly, smiling as his body seemed to pop back into its normal state without the slightest sign of damage.

The god next flung a series of energy spheres at the monster, each exploding on contact and blowing Buu’s body apart. But the creature’s unaffected form reconstructed each time effortlessly, as if the djinn wasn’t even trying. Refocusing his energy once more, the South Kai rushed in for the attack. This time, he came at Buu with more speed, strength, and aggressiveness. With his more tactical approach, the djinn was left completely unable to defend himself. Each attack left him disfigured, each clash warped his body more than the one before. Despite Buu’s healing, the god continued fighting in melee, his specialty for millennia now. As they watched on, the warriors of Universe 18 were quite impressed. The gap between this kaioshin and the Eastern one they all knew was enormous.

Continuing his assault, the Kai unleashed attack after devastating attack, causing Buu to bounce through the ring like a rubber ball. The djinn even vaulted off the energy shield protecting the audience several times, his body being flung through the air like a wrecking ball. Before long, though, Buu began his own assault, proving that he was completely capable of matching the god with his own well placed punches and energy attacks. Fortunately, the Kaioshin managed to avoid most of the blows.

Smiling, the South Kai realized how much he was enjoying this. Until now, the most difficult opponent he’d ever faced had been Bojack. But Buu was vastly superior, a huge gulf being between them in power. The challenge was refreshing, though he quickly reset his mind on accomplishing the task at hand. It was time to put an end to things.

The god landed back on the ring with a light TAC, followed by the djinn, who was expecting another attack. South Kai, however, merely paused as if he were in thought.

‘We destroyed him before he was even born, but many of the other realms were not spared from his rampage. Hundreds of planets were obliterated, millions of species eradicated... He even attacked the Kaïoshins. I was the only one strong enough to challenge him, such that it finally triggered a dormant defense mechanism within him...absorption.’

Buu interrupted his thoughts with a right hook, but the god side-stepped to avoid it. But the djinn’s next attack was too quick. A fast knee to the Kai’s gut and then a kick under the chin sent him flying several meters. Recovering, he rubbed his jaw as he continued to ponder.

‘When Buu realizes the threat as legitimate, he automatically tries to absorb it. When successful, he gain the strength of the individual, but not only that. Everything from intelligence and feelings to the inner longings of the soul are implanted. Thus, when I was absorbed in other universes, the instinctively wild creature was transformed into an educated athlete. He gained clear speech and concise thought as simply as that, yet all the while the evil within him remained. It was then that our own Grand Master Kaioshin decided to sacrifice himself. He alone realized the true depth of influence Buu received from each absorption...that which we can all confirm by observing Buu of Universe 4.’

The god rushed Buu once again, still waiting in the ring. As his punch rolled towards the creature, Buu side-stepped right out of the way, just as the god had done. Skidding to a halt, South Kaioshin raised his defenses immediately, prepared for the next blow.

‘The Grand Kaioshin gave himself up for absorption. And at the last moment, he crippled himself, effectively destroying his own mind—all for the sake of the greater good.’

Spreading his cheeks apart, Buu lauded, making faces at the Kai, sticking his tongue out.

‘The terrible Majin Buu was reduced to a mere child, pure and innocent, playful and silly.’

South Kaioshin attacked again, but this time Buu anticipated, vanishing just before the blow. Reappearing only three meters behind him, the djinn began charged up a powerful energy attack. There was no time to counter it, as all the god could do was cross his hands over his face in defense. The ki blast slammed into him forcefully, pushing him back across the ring several meters. But in the end he was able to endure, the remaining energy firing up at the top of the arena—it barely missed, zipping out into space where it grazed one of the Varga’s artificial satellites, the round spheres hovering dangerously above the battlefield.

The god was still alive though, down on one knee. His elegant outfit had been torn to shreds, damaged for the first time ever. Even his chest and arms had burns, though only slight. Despite the wounds, he still had plenty of strength left in reserve.

‘And strangely enough, it actually worked. All you needed was a loving family, to be surrounded by good-hearted people...like the ones you found on Earth.’

“Ah!” Buu said pleasantly, a wide grin on his face. “Buu have fun fight with you! You keep fight Buu?”

The Kai almost felt bad for the creature. ‘If not for your wicked masters, the filthy sorcerers who taught you only to destroy, you might have actually found peace.’ He paused, realizing how it was time. “This is an incredible fight, but I realize that this creature’s regeneration will outlast me in the long run,” he said, standing back to his feet.

His white aura appeared around him again, his teeth clenched. A powerful orb of Ki formed just in front of his hands, his thumbs and pink fingers turned down. His palms facing Buu, his other fingers bent, the god poured all of his strength into the attack.

‘In your universe, I probably used this attack as a last resort! My strongest attack, the blast that was certain to trigger my own demise!’

The perfectly white ball of energy, crackling with blue flashes of energy seemed to expand suddenly. Then, strangely, as if something in Buu’s subconscious recalled the attack from before, the djinn began to sweat. His eyes widened in nervousness as he recognized the attack, recalled the feeling of distress. Clenching his teeth in fear, Fat Buu remembered.

In his own universe, he’d only partially avoided the attack. A huge chunk of his body had been completely disintegrated, and his regeneration was suddenly much slower.

Observing the beautiful concentration of energy, Goku of Universe 18 turned to Piccolo. “Say, the intense concentration of that attack reminds me a lot of your Makankosappo.”

Elsewhere, Buu of Universe 4, lifted his chin. “Oooh, that’s a dirty move. It certainly left me with some bad memories.”

“It’s fear that triggers the absorption. It’s clearly a defense mechanism, a reflex!” the South Kaioshin concluded.

Buu screamed, focusing his Ki and summoning his aura. From his intensity, his cape seemed to nearly fly off. But nothing could stop it as the god launched his attack, which cut through the very ring itself as it stared down the monster. Just before impact, the djinn seemed to explode into a myriad of pink blobs. Unchallenged, the beam ripped through the pink pieces. Yet the globs of Buu seemed to regroup, charging all at once towards the Kaioshin. Not resisting, the god only smiled as the gobs of pink seemed to glue themselves to his skin.

“Well, that worked like a charm!”

When enough blobs of Buu had regrouped, forming a massive pink sheet, they completely enveloped the god. Unbeknownst to the monster, at the last second the Kaioshin had activated an energy barrier, the same type that Vegetto had used nearly twenty years ago.

The audience watched in shock as the blob reformed gradually, back into the form of Majin Buu, who seemed completely breathless.

“He absorbed him!” Son Goten of Universe 16 gasped.

“Yeah, very clever!” Trunks added. “That’s how he always stays the strongest...well done indeed.”

To his side, Vegetto was his typical confident self, not surprised in the least. He had immediately realized the South Kaioshin had a plan, which he double checked by turning towards Gohan.

“So what exactly did you tell the Kaioshins last night?” he asked.

“Everything. Majin Buu, his absorptions, Cell, Broly, Freeza, Vegeta...you. They have a right to know.”

“So, you told them about me to, huh? I see...” Vegetto added.

Within the innards of Buu, South Kaioshin flew to and fro searching for the cocoons. Gohan had explained that when Majin Buu absorbed someone, it was possible to find their body and free them. But the god from Universe 1 could find nothing, no signs of anyone.

“Nothing at all...nowhere! Not even a hint of the cocoons he described!”

Most of all, he wanted to find the Grand Kaioshin and his own counterpart, but there was absolutely so sign of them.

“Strangely enough, I can sense the presence of Kaioshin energy. Only, it seems to be emanating from Buu himself now. That must mean, that there comes a point when Buu fully absorbs someone, that it’s too late to rescue them. After all, this was five million years ago, while in Universe 16 it had only been minutes, hours.

The god had clearly been both hopeful and excited about releasing the Kaioshins from another universe...though it was a great idea, it wasn’t going to pan out now. It seemed now that his trip into the djinn’s body was all for nothing.

“Oh well,” he said, looking around for a way out.

Outside the ring, the Varga organizers looked around anxiously, expecting the Kaioshin’s return. But they knew the rules nonetheless.

“If the Kaioshin does not reappear within the next ten seconds, it will mean victory for Majin Buu!”

Gohan, however, was perplexed. “But wait...shouldn’t Buu have transformed into a muscular brute?”

“You seem to know a lot, son,” Goku said, turning to him.

“Well, Kibitoshin explained everything to me quite thoroughly. At the time, it seemed very important to know as much about Buu as I possibly could. Even now, a part of Buu still lives with us in Uub.

“Hmm,” the Saiyan nodded. “I guess it just never interested me. I always figured that if he showed back up, we’d just have to work together really hard like before and we’d beat him.”

“Well, fighting is what you live for, Dad,” Gohan said. “For me, I only fight when I must. I’m sure you understand.”

“Whatever you say, son,” the hero of Earth said with a grin.

Alone in the area of Universe 4, Buu smiled as well. As he waited patiently, his arms crossed while the clock ticked down, he seemed to offer his counterpart advice.

“Don’t try too hard to absorb him, Buu. He’s using a shield inside of you, there’s nothing you can do.”

Babidi of Universe 11, though, seemed quite angry. “Why do I get the nasty feeling that I’m the only one who doesn’t know what’s going on around here!?” Though his heart pounded rapidly, he hoped that whatever happened his protégé would emerge victorious.

“Time elapsed!” the announcer boomed. “Victory goes to Majin Buu!!”

“Huh?” the djinn asked. “Buu no understand. Why win no fight?” Forgetting his question quickly, the happy creature flew off towards the area of Universe 11 once again.