The battlefield erupted with thunderous violence as Raditz and Beerus clashed in a storm of devastating blows. Blood and bruises marked Raditz's body—testament to the brutal exchange. Though he'd managed to land a few solid hits on the God of Destruction, the damage was laughably one-sided. Every strike Beerus delivered hit with the force of a collapsing star.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Explosion after explosion tore through the air. Even the residual flames from their ki blasts shattered into glittering fragments that drifted like embers across the Destruction God Realm.
Beerus had escalated to roughly sixty or seventy percent of his true power—more than enough to completely contain Raditz's assault. His movements were a fraction faster, his defense impossibly tighter, his raw strength utterly superior. The overwhelming pressure gave Raditz no room to turn the tide. A relentless barrage of star-shattering blows hammered into him, each one threatening to break through even his enhanced durability.
Only the incredible resilience of Super Saiyan 4 God kept him standing. After ascending to this divine realm, his body had achieved extraordinary performance far beyond his previous limits.
Yet even with the form's regenerative capabilities, the terrifying power accumulating with each hit was too much to recover from. Beerus' assault was simply too vicious, too precise. Raditz skidded backward, his boots carving deep trenches into the sacred ground as he struggled to maintain his footing.
Before Beerus could press his advantage, two blurs of motion intercepted him—Goku and Vegeta rushing in to relieve their battered ally. They moved with explosive speed, relying purely on their physical velocity and power rather than Instant Transmission. Teleportation required those telltale split-second preparations before activation, and nothing escaped Beerus' observation.
But without that spatial flexibility, their attacks became more predictable, more linear. Against the God of Destruction, they were hopelessly outmatched.
Beerus effortlessly deflected every strike, his counterattacks flowing with deadly grace. Though he held back somewhat compared to his assault on Raditz, each blow still sent Goku and Vegeta reeling, their defenses crumbling under the relentless pressure.
"Beerus' strength is truly terrifying," Raditz muttered, forcing his battered body to draw on his remaining reserves. The sacred crimson aura blazed to life around him once more. "When he said the red-haired god form only reached sixty percent of his power... he wasn't exaggerating."
Compared to Goku and Vegeta's forms, Raditz's Super Saiyan 4 God consumed less energy and offered superior mobility. That efficiency was keeping him in the fight.
After several brutal exchanges, Goku was gasping for breath, while Vegeta could barely maintain his Super Saiyan Blue transformation. They'd been hammered from the sky to the ground, launched themselves back up, only to be blasted down again in an exhausting cycle. Yet Raditz continued fighting at a relatively steady pace. Even when knocked back, he returned to battle looking nearly as fresh as before.
"Did you really think learning a new transformation would be enough to challenge me?" Beerus raised one hand skyward, conjuring an energy sphere that swirled like a miniature star. Scorching heat radiated from it in waves, the concentrated destructive power threatening to incinerate everything it touched. "If you truly have what it takes, then try to stop this!"
From the sidelines, Whis observed with mild interest. "Oh my, Lord Beerus is getting somewhat serious. That energy sphere is quite destructive! Raditz and the others are in considerable danger." Despite his words, the angel made no move to intervene, watching calmly with his staff planted before him.
This was a test—a measure of their true capabilities. If they couldn't even withstand a single energy attack from Beerus, it would prove they had nothing more to offer.
"Damn it, is he trying to kill us?!"
"We have to block it!"
The massive energy sphere hurtled toward Goku and Vegeta, its concentrated power enough to annihilate several galaxies. Even Super Saiyan Blue would struggle against such devastating force head-on.
"Kakarot! Vegeta! Fight back together!"
Raditz materialized in front of them, both hands thrust forward as brilliant light coalesced between his palms. "NOVA RADIANCE!"
The technique that had once seemed invincible now appeared fragile as an egg before a hammer compared to Beerus' attack.
Blinding radiance erupted like a piercing blade, casting their shadows long behind them. The overwhelming pressure forced all three Saiyans to slide backward, boots scraping against stone as they struggled to hold their ground.
"Vegeta, now! KAMEHAMEHA"
"Stop stating the obvious, Kakarot!" Vegeta snarled, his face contorted with effort as he channeled every ounce of remaining power. "FINAL FLASH!!!"
Twin beams of devastating energy—Kamehameha and Final Flash—burst forth simultaneously, merging with Raditz's Nova Radiance into a single torrent of blue-white fury. The combined assault collided with Beerus' energy sphere, creating a deadlock of unimaginable force. Azure flames blazed wildly, majestic and infinite in their intensity.
Space itself seemed to fracture from the shockwave. If even a fraction of this power escaped the Destruction God Realm, it could ripple across the entire universe.
Beerus stood with hands clasped behind his back, watching intently. After barely two seconds, his expression shifted subtly. His energy sphere was being pushed back—the combined might of three Super Saiyans proving greater than anticipated.
"Interesting. The three of you working together..." A slight smile tugged at the corner of Beerus' mouth.
Though he wasn't using his full power, very few beings in existence could force him to this level of effort. Raditz had reached roughly sixty to seventy percent of his strength, and adding Goku and Vegeta—each at over sixty percent themselves—made this confrontation more engaging than he'd expected.
Still, this alone didn't qualify them as worthy opponents. They remained far from meeting his standards.
Beerus shook his head almost disappointedly.
With a casual wave of his hand, he dispersed the energy sphere. The combined beam from Raditz and the others scattered into nothingness, dissipating harmlessly. In that same instant, Beerus' form blurred forward like a beam of light, moving at his true combat speed.
Vegeta and Goku's eyes went wide with shock.
He'd completely vanished!
Raditz's incomplete Ultra Instinct couldn't track Beerus' movements at this velocity—his perception found only empty space where the God of Destruction should be.
This was the true power of a God of Destruction. Speed they couldn't even perceive... paired with incomparable destructive force.
CRACK! CRACK!
Two sickening impacts echoed across the realm as Goku and Vegeta crumpled to the ground. The moment Raditz spun around, a devastating chop struck the back of his neck. The impact exceeded anything he'd endured during the entire battle, instantly forcing him back to his base form.
This was Beerus' real strength—the ability to end their challenge with a single move.
"Lord Beerus, that was quite entertaining," Whis remarked with an amused smile.
"Hmph. That was your idea, not mine."
"And what about them?" Whis gestured toward the three Saiyans sprawled unconscious on the grass.
Beerus glanced at them dismissively. "Let them sleep it off."
Whis tapped his staff lightly against the ground. Instantly, the scorched earth regenerated, flowers bloomed, and the sky cleared to pristine blue. Within moments, the entire realm had been restored to its tranquil beauty, as if the battle had never occurred.
Meanwhile, across the vastness of space, the Galactic Justice League received urgent transmissions that sent shockwaves through their command structure.
Frieza's army had returned.
They'd launched a devastating campaign along the outer rim, their momentum unstoppable. Within a single month, they'd seized control of several planets—though occupation wasn't their true objective. Planet after planet was systematically destroyed, reduced to expanding clouds of debris drifting through the cosmos.
The resurrected tyrant's forces were advancing with terrifying speed, carving a path of destruction straight toward the Galactic Justice League's headquarters.
Sorbet's personal fleet comprised Frieza's elite warriors, many of whom had trained alongside their emperor during his preparation. Their power levels had increased dramatically, far exceeding ordinary soldiers—more than capable of overwhelming standard League defenders.
When the intelligence reached Jaice's command post, the normally composed officer went pale.
He'd never anticipated this nightmare scenario. Frieza—the monster who'd once terrorized the entire universe—had made his comeback. His massive armada was bearing down on them like an avalanche of death, and Jaice had no idea how to respond.
"Connect me to Earth's command center," he ordered, his voice tight with barely controlled panic. "I need to speak with Miss Bulma immediately."
"Yes, sir!" The communications officer's fingers flew across the console. Suddenly, his voice caught in his throat. "C-Com... Commander Jaice..." The words came out strangled, barely audible.
"What is it?" Jaice snapped, wheeling around with frustration written across his face. His rebuke died on his lips as his own blood ran cold.
The massive main viewscreen had been hijacked. Instead of tactical displays, a single enormous portrait dominated the display—Frieza's unmistakable face staring back at them. Though clearly pre-recorded footage, the image's presence alone was enough to paralyze every person in the command center with primal terror.
Memories of past atrocities flooded back, the horror of Frieza's reign impossible to shake even after all these years.
Their entire communication network had been compromised. The enemy had penetrated their most secure systems and forced this message onto every screen in the facility.
Jaice barely processed the tyrant's mocking speech, standing frozen as fear gripped his chest. But the final four words cut through the static in his mind with perfect clarity, spoken from blood-red lips with that characteristic cruel smile:
"Long time no see."