'Boom!!!!'
As the techniques collided, in an instant, Nail's torrent of energy was pierced by Talot's sharp beam, which then surged toward Nail at incredible speed.
"Not good!" His attack neutralized, Nail felt a deadly threat coming straight at him.
The sharp beam advanced too fast; he couldn't dodge it at all!
Without time to think, Nail immediately assumed a defensive stance.
The beam struck his arms with perfect precision.
In that moment, a chill swept through his entire body. Nail's pupils contracted sharply, and he stood there frozen, as if his soul had left his body.
It took several seconds before Nail regained his senses. Looking at his body drenched in cold sweat, he was utterly confused.
What just happened?
That intense, life-threatening sensation he'd felt a moment ago was definitely real, yet his body had not sustained any injuries.
"Nail, look behind you," came Ragar's shout from outside the battlefield.
At his words, Nail slowly turned around, and what he saw made his pupils shrink once again.
A massive rift stretched hundreds of miles, vanishing into the horizon.
An attack of that magnitude could slice through anything in an instant.
At that moment, Nail understood. The sense of impending death had been real, but Talot's control over his power was so precise that the beam had passed through him without causing harm.
Such overwhelming power delivered with such control; this was a level he could only look up to.
Having witnessed a higher level, Nail closed his eyes and quietly reflected.
"I... lost..." he said after a moment of silence.
His perspective had widened, and he had seen a more advanced style of fighting. Nail knew continuing the battle was meaningless. Rather than drag out a pointless match, it was better to concede gracefully.
To him, this sparring match had already been incredibly beneficial, sparking many insights for his future training.
"Train hard. You'll become even stronger in the future," Talot encouraged him.
As a senior guiding the younger generation, Talot believed Nail would grow far stronger one day. Maybe not enough to surpass him, but certainly hundreds of times stronger than he was now.
"Yes, I'll give it my all. Thank you for your guidance, Brother Talot." Facing Talot, Nail cupped his fists in salute, showing his respect.
Seeing the determined look in his eyes, Talot nodded, then turned his gaze toward Ragar, who had been watching from outside the battlefield.
Their eyes met, and even from afar, Ragar could feel it.
"My turn…!!" Ragar said with an excited smile, then leapt forward, quickly arriving in front of Talot.
He and Nail completed the handover. Nail went back to guard the Grand Elder, and Ragar stepped up to face Talot.
Before clashing, Ragar spoke, "So? That kid Nail's pretty impressive, huh?"
"Indeed. In just a few years, his growth has far surpassed ours at that age," Talot replied with a smile.
"Give it a few more years, and while he might not surpass you, he'll definitely surpass me. Compared to me, he's a true Warrior-type Namekian," Ragar said with admiration.
Hearing that from Ragar took Talot by surprise, but he didn't dwell on it. Instead, he looked toward young Piccolo in the distance and said, "Nail is indeed a genius, but that's also because you paved the way for him, allowing him to progress so smoothly. Same goes for Piccolo. With you two leading the way ahead, his path will be even smoother."
Then Talot looked back at Ragar. "In truth, it's not that we're inferior to the younger generation. It's just that we've been paving the way all along. They've been influenced by us. If all our efforts to push past our limits didn't help the ones who come after us, then the next generation is truly mediocre."
Talot's words struck a deep chord with Ragar.
"After hearing that, I feel like I've had a breakthrough in my mindset," Ragar acknowledged.
The two exchanged smiles.
What Talot truly wanted to convey was that they had always been growing stronger, and naturally their perspectives had broadened. The younger generation would inevitably be influenced by their predecessors.
From the very beginning, they weren't starting on the same platform, so comparing them the old way was inherently flawed.
…
In the distance.
Grand Elder stood beside Nail and Piccolo, sighing with emotion.
"The battle between Ragar and Talot… thinking back to their first fight, it's already been many years."
Recalling that time, during Ragar and Talot's first fight, Talot had demonstrated an exceptional capacity for learning and combat. Even when he and Ragar were of equal strength, Talot could fight him to a standstill; at times even gaining the upper hand, until he eventually surpassed Ragar altogether in a short span.
But that wasn't the most important part. The crucial point was that, had Ragar not encountered Talot back then, he might have remained just as he was.
It was because of Talot that both Ragar and Nail were now so powerful, able to awaken the mighty innate power belonging to the Warrior-type Namekians.
In the past, the Warrior-type Namekians were incredibly strong, but due to certain circumstances, the Namekians later chose to abandon power.
They feared the destruction that power could bring. They believed power was the source of evil, just like Slug back then.
But now, things were different. Talot had shown them through his strength that power was not only for destruction; it could be used to protect the weak, to safeguard everything one holds dear.
…
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