Babidi shouted exaggeratedly,
"Another one?! Dabura! Make sure to leave one alive!"
Dabura nodded with a solemn expression. He could sense that the transformed Vegeta was completely different from before.
Seeing Vegeta jump out, Jiren didn't move. He figured he might as well use these guys to help Vegeta get used to his enhanced strength.
This was Vegeta's first time facing an external enemy as a Super Saiyan, and with the Super Saiyan buff boosting him, he looked especially excited.
Pointing his thumb at himself, Vegeta's expression was as arrogant as it could be.
"Trash, I'll make you pay for what you just said!"
Dabura said nothing. He flashed in front of Vegeta and tried to land a preemptive strike with a kick.
Vegeta snorted dismissively, grabbed Dabura's calf, and swung him toward Babidi.
The powerless Babidi screamed in terror, but fortunately Dabura steadied himself in time. Otherwise that yellow-skinned rat would've been smashed half to death.
Babidi shouted at Dabura with his back facing him,
"Hey! Watch it! You almost hurt me, do you understand??"
Dabura was controlled so thoroughly that even in this situation he didn't get angry. He even turned around to apologize to Babidi.
Vegeta looked down on Dabura's behavior with utter disdain. He mocked,
"I really don't get what that thing has that makes you swear loyalty."
Dabura glared at him and barked,
"You know nothing! It was Babidi-sama who granted me greater power!"
"Oh? But you don't look very strong now. Just how weak were you before?"
Vegeta's trash talk was dialed to maximum. Dabura finally got angry. He made a gesture, and a spear materialized in his hand.
This move genuinely surprised Jiren and the others. At their level, almost no one still used weapons—fists were their best weapons.
Dabura pointed the spear at Vegeta, his whole body twisting like a drill as he thrust forward.
Facing Dabura Vegeta was unfazed. He braced himself, hands pushed forward at chest level, choosing to clash head-on.
The two collided, and a teeth-grinding friction screeched through the air. Vegeta's nearly-antique white gloves scraped loudly as he held Dabura off.
Goku watched from the side with blood boiling. He regretted not jumping out earlier—this was such a great fight, and Vegeta took the first chance.
In truth, Dabura was still powerful. For Goku and Vegeta, who hadn't broken into Super Saiyan 2 yet, he was definitely a formidable opponent.
Of course, if the two joined forces, they'd take down Dabura in minutes.
But with their personalities, they would team up only against someone overwhelmingly stronger. Against an opponent roughly on their level? Never. Solo battles were the Saiyan way.
Unable to break through, Dabura suddenly stopped attacking and flew upward.
Vegeta would never let him escape. He burst with energy and shot upward like a firework rocket.
The battle shifted to mid-air. Explosions from ki blasts thundered across the sky. Goku raised a hand to his forehead and said,
"Pretty intense. Jiren, you think Vegeta can win?"
Jiren looked up and said in a low voice,
"Vegeta's talent for battle is quite good. If this continues, his chances are high. But..."
Jiren paused. Goku quickly pressed,
"But what?"
"Vegeta's personality is far too arrogant. He'll suffer for it sooner or later. Maybe... right now."
High above,
Vegeta was using the classic "Prince tactics"—throwing a storm of ki blasts recklessly.
The barrage looked intimidating, forcing Dabura to dodge frantically. When a blast hit his butt, he realized the attack wasn't actually that strong?
Seeing a hit, Vegeta got even more excited. His arms blurred with afterimages as he launched a sky-filling rain of ki blasts, swallowing Dabura in an explosion.
A thick cloud of smoke rose, and Dabura disappeared inside.
Vegeta fired a few more blasts before stopping, clearly pleased with himself. He waited for the smoke to clear, not even considering finishing with a big attack.
When the smoke faded, Dabura appeared, arms crossed to guard his face.
Aside from being dirty, he was perfectly fine—no surprise at all.
But Vegeta acted like he'd earned a huge advantage. His chin lifted, and he showed an unruly, prideful grin.
Dabura truly couldn't understand how Vegeta managed to make that expression, but he had already sensed Vegeta's arrogance and carelessness.
Such enemies were the easiest to deal with. As the ruler of the Demon Realm, Dabura was known for being sinister and cunning. Today he would show Vegeta how dangerous the world could be.
To be fair, it wasn't entirely Vegeta's fault. His power increase was simply too huge. He was like a nouveau riche—he had to show off a little.
And previously, even in Super Saiyan form, he was batted around like a ball by Jiren. The frustration was immense. Now that he finally found an outlet, of course he would act smug.
Dabura's lips curled into a wicked grin. He staggered as if injured. Vegeta immediately got more excited and mocked,
"Figures you're trash. Now you understand how powerful Saiyans are, right?"
Dabura said nothing and flew upward again. Vegeta shouted,
"Trying to run?!"
He chased again. The two soared higher and higher, nearly breaking out of the atmosphere. Dabura's speed slowly dropped.
Seeing the distance closing, Vegeta smirked and taunted,
"Why aren't you running? Go on, fly out of Earth if you can!"
Dabura said nothing, and Vegeta didn't see the sinister smile on his face.
When Vegeta got close, it was already too late. Dabura lowered his head and spat a glob of saliva. Vegeta was charging too fast to dodge.
The saliva landed on Vegeta's neck. His face twisted in disgust as he said,
"Utterly disgusting! Looks like you really have nothing left—using such filthy tricks!"
Dabura was completely immune to Vegeta's trash talk now. His expression was full of mockery, ready to enjoy Vegeta's reaction next.
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