As the pure-red ring approached Gray, intent on making a hole where his heart was, time seemed to slow. It wasn't that time actually slowed - no, Gray couldn't move his body despite his brain processing the attack moving at him so slowly. The world seemed to fade away around him, and it was as if he was in a white void - a void with just him and the ring of death. No thoughts, no interference, no planet below him, no Tree of Might, and no Turles.
What was only a fraction of a second felt like a lifetime, and Gray felt something he never thought he would feel.
Complete and absolute emptiness.
It wasn't that Gray himself had given up - no, if he had enough time to even think a thought, then he surely would've done everything he could to avoid the attack.
However, he couldn't. He had no time to think - no time to process. Even as the attack moved in slow motion, it was as if Gray's brain had turned off. As if it were actively fighting against him, demanding that he not think a single thought. One second, the ring was dozens of feet away from him. The next, it was about to tear through him. He didn't even have time to think of a counter - to try and dodge. To try and do anything to save his own life.
When Gray thought back on that moment later, he was sure there were a thousand different realities where he died there. The attack should've landed, he should've had a hole burned through his chest, and he should've been a lifeless corpse as the mission ended in failure. He should've been standing at King Yemma's desk right now.
But this reality wasn't one of those thousands. His body moved - not because Gray told it to, or because Gray intended to move at all. As he stared at his impending doom, his mind completely empty as his eyes were burning from the light, his body moved far quicker than his mind ever could.
In a singular instant - in a fraction of a second, Gray's body moved. In a move that should've been impossible for such a large ape, Gray's torso shifted perfectly. It moved just a few inches, angling itself so that the ring of death perfectly skirted past him, just barely making contact with his side.
-17,790,275 HP! (171,617,850/212,868,200)
FUCK!
Gray's brain caught up with reality, gasping as the world seemed to reappear around him. The void faded away, and the planet around him reappeared as his ears pounded.
The attack only grazed his side, but the result was obvious. The side of his armor burned away in an instant, along with his hair, and just touching the ring caused Gray's now visible side to become nearly pitch-black as a massive burn appeared on him.
W-What the fuck was that?!
Gray didn't know how to describe the feeling - in one moment, he was set to die before he could even process the attack, and the next, he was alive. Burnt, and, most notably, his HP had dropped significantly, but he was alive.
Was that just… me?
Gray would later think back on this moment and realize how stupid his thought was. He was certainly talented in fighting at this point, but to think that he'd naturally pulled off such a perfect technique - and one that should've been impossible for his current self, though it was more of a poor last-ditch recreation than the actual technique - was foolish.
But, years from now, Gray would also think back on this moment fondly. Despite almost dying, this simple step forward, even if he didn't know it now, would change his life in the future.
However, this wasn't years from now, and at the moment, Gray was given no more time to think about what his body had just done.
"[KILL DRIVER!]" Turles launched another attack instantly, not giving Gray a chance to recover.
Gray had to get over his pain quickly, focusing as Turles lurched a bit this time, his body twitching as the ring shot forward. It was just a tiny bit slower than before, but it was enough for Gray to lean to the side as the ring barely missed him.
It's so damn fast!
Gray hadn't even had time to use [Prediction], having to move instantly to avoid the ultra-fast ring of death. If he paused to even think for a split second, he knew the ring would tear through him.
"[SUDDEN STORM!]" Turles was apparently getting serious about ending the fight quickly, as his hands remained raised as he launched a volley of pure Ki blasts down towards Gray. They shot through the air, blitzing forward quickly, but not nearly as fast as the [Kill Driver], while Gray hastily shot to the side.
As he did, the Ki blasts didn't go past him - instead turning their trajectory and blasting directly toward him again.
Tracking Ki blasts?!
Gray hissed in annoyance, raising his hands as he fired a volley of his own to counteract Turles.' However, as he did, Turles took advantage of the distraction.
"[KILL DRIVER!]"
Gray's eyes widened as the ring appeared in the corner of his vision, blasting forward instantly again. It ripped through the air, looking like a blur as Gray tried to lean out of the way, but having been occupied with countering the Ki-blasts, he couldn't avoid everything.
-27,128,995 HP! (144,488,855/212,868,200)
-4,129,575 HP! (140,359,280/212,868,200)
-4,957,112 HP! (135,402,168/212,868,200)
-3,710,495 HP! (131,691,673/212,868,200)
"GAH!" Gray roared as the lava-hot ring slammed into his side again, causing the simple burn to turn into a waterfall of blood as it spurted outward. At the same time, his focus was broken, allowing for some of the flurry of Ki-blasts to slam into his torso roughly.
"[KILL DRIVE-gah!" Turles started to launch another attack at the injured Gray, but stopped as he bent over, clutching at his stomach as another glob of blood flowed out from his maw. His stomach started to churn, twitching and spazzing as if he'd eaten an animal that was trying to break free from the inside.
That's what you get, you spamming fucker!
Gray's breaths came out in gasps for a second, wincing as he gingerly touched his bloody side. Despite his annoyed thoughts, he knew he was actually in a pretty bad position right now.
That attack is just too fuckin' quick. Even with [Prediction],I have to be perfect to dodge it.
Turles' body fighting against him meant that they were getting slower every time, and the undodgable first attack was one of a kind, but that didn't mean Gray could easily dodge. If he didn't move instantly, he would be too slow, and Gray knew he couldn't be perfect every time - if he was distracted for even a split-second, he'd at least get grazed by the deadly beam. He also couldn't attack back as long as Turles was spamming his move, since he had to put all his focus on dodging.
"FUCK! I'LL JUST KILL YOU NOW, BASTARD!" Turles roared, his eyes wide and filled with rage as his pain subsided a bit. He raised his hands, his Ki spiking up around him as a large Ki-orb formed on his palms.
But he's too worried about himself!
And Turles' desire to end the fight quickly wasn't stupid, as despite Gray not landing a single blow on him for the last couple of exchanges, the other Saiyan's HP had plummeted by roughly 50 million. The fruit's side effects were only becoming stronger as the fight continued, and Turles clearly knew he needed to finish the fight quickly.
I'm not sure if I could've dodged those rings until the fruit finished him off, so if he wants a beam battle, then that's fine by me!
Gray's hands moved to his side, cupping as a small black ball of Ki appeared between his palms. It slowly started to grow larger, twitching and pulsating as the air started to shake. Lightning danced around his hands, sparking out into the air even as the wind around him started to swirl inward.
Across from Gray, a similar showcase took place as Turles' hands were raised above his head, his own purple Ki-ball growing in size as it sparked and shook. The air around him was similarly sucked inward, swirling around both Saiyans as their power shook the very world around them. The ground dozens of feet beneath them started to shake, the dirt cracking as specks were pulled up into the air.
Gray locked eyes with Turles, his calm and narrow gaze contrasting with Turles' rage-filled, wide eyes. Then, as if on cue, they both moved.
"[CALAMITY BLASTER!]" Turles swung his arms downward, sending the beam of purple Ki blasting down at Gray.
"[KOYUKO!]" Gray countered with a roar of his own, using [Attack Boost] as he pushed his arms forward and sent his own attack blasting at Turles. The two beams seemed to move in slow motion to Gray, slowly approaching each other to meet in the middle, although in reality they met in a near-instant.
The two beams collided, pitch-black slamming into purple. As they met, the entire Tower around them shook from the impact. Sparks flew outward, the air becoming thick and heavy as the dark night around them seemed to ignore the laws of reality, becoming even darker despite the bright light of Turles' attack.
Damn, he's still got a lot left…
Gray tensed his arms as the force of fighting against Turles' blast rocketed through him, but he didn't give up. The other Saiyan had been injured greatly from the fruit's side effects, but that didn't seem to matter as he put everything into his attack. Gray could only respond in kind, pouring more and more Ki into his attack as they stalled out in the middle.
I don't even need to win this - just hold him back until the fruit kicks in again!
Turles' fruit-induced repercussions came in spurts, and Gray knew he just needed to hold out until another one happened. When it did, Turles' focus would break, and the beam struggle would be Gray's victory. His blast would consume the struggling ape, doing a ton of damage if not outright killing him.
He's dooming himself by fighting like this! I just need to hold on!
"DIE YOU BASTARD!"
That was starting to become difficult as Turles pressed forward with a roar, slamming more power into his attack as Gray felt a jolt go through him from the connected beams. His side slowly started to be pushed back, the momentum starting to build as Turles pushed forward.
But I won't die that easily!
After his body's sudden saving of his life earlier, Gray felt like he had a new leash on his life. As if he were living when he wasn't supposed to be, and he wasn't going to take it for granted.
"NOT YET, FUCKER!" Gray roared back, forcefully funneling more Ki into his own attack even as his arms started to shake. His toes curled as the energy flooded out of him, and his feet would've been digging into the ground if he weren't floating in the air.
Gray's pushback attempt worked for a second, stalling out Turles' attack as it was roughly 70% of the way to him, but it was only for a second.
"DIE!" Turles roared with renewed vigor, shoving forward again as the massive ball of Ki started to press down toward Gray. The air around him became hot, and Gray could feel sweat coating his hairy ape body as he struggled against the oppressive force.
FUCK! Fucking fruit, you wanna do your shit?!
Gray gritted his teeth, desperately pushing back the huge Ki-blast with everything he had as it slowly inched forward. He couldn't hold it back forever, as the 70% became 80%, then 80% became 90%, until finally all Gray could see was the massive purple blast of Ki mere inches away from him.
Come on! Help me out just this once, fuckin' world! I had a damn bone sticking out of my back, and you can't even make him cough a little?!
The blast grew even closer, and the hair all over Gray's Ozaru body started to become singed just from the proximity. Gray pushed forward desperately, feeling like he was Atlas holding up the entire world in his hands as he struggled.
I won't fucking die like this! Come on, you fucking-
Gray would've blinked in surprise a split-second later if he wasn't so focused, as the Ki-beam he was pushing against suddenly lost some of its weight. And, by some of it, Gray meant most of it. His [Kokuyo] pushed forward effortlessly, shoving back Turles' [Calamity Blaster] towards the floating Saiyan above.
Gray thought for a second that the world had heard his plea, or perhaps that his high LUK had saved him as the fruit tore through Turles from inside of him again, but instead it was a female voice.
"I'M HERE FOR YOU, GRAY!" Caulifla screamed, blasting forward as her fist slammed into Turles' face.
He barely even budged from the impact, his head just tilting slightly to the side as Caulifla's fist smushed his ape-face upward, but it was enough. Even if Turles was clearly winning the struggle, it wasn't such an overwhelming victory that he could lose his focus and keep up with Gray.
As a result, Gray's beam slammed Turles' back into him, the other Saiyan's eyes going wide as in a split second the [Kokuyo] surrounded him.
"YOU DAMN BIT-"
207,992,170HP! (34,318,575/376,360,100)
Turles didn't get to finish his sentence as the massive ball of heat surrounded him.
That's more like it!
Gray grinned widely, his body feeling exhausted even as he looked at the huge amount of damage Turles took. A combination of Gray's attack boosted [Kokuyo], Turles' own [Calamity Blaster] being sent back at him, and even his body being weakened by the fruits' repercussions and the [Weakening] debuff, caused him to nearly die from the blast.
He's almost dead, but not quite.
As Turles was sent hurtling upward, being carried by Gray's blast far above the branches of the Tree of Might and possibly even into the atmosphere of Monas, Gray knew the man wouldn't be able to fight back anymore.
I just need to go finish him off in a second, but first-
"Thanks for the save," Gray smirked, glancing over at Caulifla, who was also smirking, "But it took you long enough! I just had a whole fight to the death!"
Gray had left both her and Tatsumaki the finish off Amond by the top of the tree, but he had expected his backup to get here quicker.
"I thought you had it handled, so I took a breather!" Caulifla huffed back, narrowing her eyes lightly, "Stop with this 'one-liner' shit you keep doing! If you're not going to kick his ass, then don't be all like 'I would usually draw this out, but I'm pretty pissed right now, so you're dead!'"
Gray resisted chuckling as Caulifla did her best Gray impression at the end, deepening her voice as she paraphrased what he had said at the start of his fight with Turles.
Fair enough.
Tatsumaki came flying down behind Caulifla a moment later, and Gray was reminded that the two had been getting their asses handed to them by Turles before he arrived. They were both still bloodied and bruised, and despite Gray's fight with Turles being intense, it had only actually taken a couple of minutes.
I can't blame them for resting and trusting me to handle him.
But he was still glad Caulifla had come in clutch.
"Now, let's just go finish him off," Gray nodded, still breathing slightly heavy as he tensed his body.
"He's still alive?!" Caulifla spat out, looking at Gray in surprise, "I've never seen anything that strong! No way he survived that!"
Gray opened his mouth to confirm that Turles was indeed still alive up above them, even if he was barely hanging on. However, as he was about to, a different voice interrupted him.
"The Saiyan is weak, but he's sturdy." A light, deep-voiced chuckle rang out, and Gray spun around. "He wouldn't have died from that."
As Gray turned around, he took in the man casually floating behind him. It was a blue alien with one eye, long spikey pink hair - looking as if he was constantly in Super Saiyan Rose - and dark, thick veins running down his face. He was clad in a thick set of golden armor, which was comprised of numerous overlapping plates, and had an intricate dark-blue pattern on the front. There was also a red ball in the direct center of the armor, around where the man's heart should be, and he was wearing thick balloon-like loose pants over the bottom of his armor.
"It was a good fight," The man nodded, a slightly arrogant and condescending tone in his voice, "I enjoyed it. But if you struggled with that man, then you are not the one I am looking for."
How long was he watching?! Fuck! I didn't even notice him!
Even as Gray reached out his senses now, he could barely track the Ki of the alien floating right in front of him. There was definitely a bit, but not much, as it coated over his skin like a suit of armor.
Is he a magic user? Observe.
[Arrogant] Boros:
[Intergalactic Warlord]
Age: 157
PL: ?
HP: ?
TKI: ?
TMP: ?
Reputation: 90/100 (Neutral)
[Arrogant Modifier] - Individuals with this modifier will be naturally arrogant, believing that they are better than others.
Fuck.
Gray didn't need to see the [Intergalactic Warlord] title to know who the man was, as his arrogant demeanor and the way he was staring at Gray as if he were an ant said a thousand words.
The wannabe Frieza. The wannabe Frieza whose power level I can't even see.
As Gray floated there, his body exhausted and bloodied as his two allies in Tatsumaki and Caulfila were also tired and injured, he had only one thought. Ironically, it was different from his usual one, but not by much.
We're fucked.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gray Tanaki (Ozaru Form):
[Saiyan S-Class Squad Captain]
Age: 18
Wallet: 36,623,940 Coins
Lvl: 25 (12,872,915/17,500,000 XP)
PL: 2.94 Trillion
Available Points: 0
HP: 131,691,673/212,868,200
TKI: 1,998,120/42,000,100
TMP: 2,510/10,200
STR: 14250 (+7,940)
AGI: 14900 (+8,115)
END: 13800 (+8,085)
INT: 3500 (-1500)
CHA: 4995
LUK: 4295
KI: 12000 (+5,940)
MP: 10250 (+5000)
HREG: 19,940 (+5,000) (x2)
EREG: 20000 (+5,000) (x2)
Skills: [Observe LVL 35], [Running LVL 45], [Determination LVL 47], [Ki Control LVL 45], [Ki Gun LVL 43]. [Ki Enhancement LVL 40], [KI Suppression LVL 39], [Ki Sense LVL 40], [Pushup LVL 45], [Punch LVL 50], [Kick LVL 48], [Jump LVL 45], [Flight LVL 40], [Prediction LVL 37], [Zenkai Boost LVL 31], [Cognitive Acceleration LVL 40], [Ah! Lord Freiza! LVL 32], [Mouth-Beam LVL 36], [Ki-Blade LVL 39], [Cooking LVL 35], [Ki Barrage LVL 41], [Ki Explosion LVL 35], [Ki Vision LVL 34], [Attack Boost LVL 30], [Swimming LVL 36], [Clothes Materialization LVL 26], [Seal of Weakening LVL 32], [Portal Creation LVL 27], [Lie Detection LVL 29], [Reflect LVL 35], [Instant-Transmission LVL 32], [Healing LVL 33], [Multi-Form LVL 32], [Gigantification LVL 27], [Tracking MP Blast LVL 26], [MP Conversion LVL 37], [Tracking Ki Blast LVL 26]
Perks: [Gamer's Mind], [Gamer's Body], [Double-edged Sword], [Legendary Super Saiyan], [Perfect Ozaru], [A Cute Pawn], [A Humble Master],[Ladies Man]
Fighting Styles: [Boxing Style: Kolra LVL 4], [Fighting Style: Broly LVL 5]
Party: [Caulifla, Kale, Tamari]
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AN: Thank you for reading! The next chapter will be out tomorrow!
You can also read the next 20 chapters right now on Patreon.com/Koyon !