Going Native: Rewritten: Wilds 1.4 (ch. 4) (Patreon)

Saiyans lived and died by their power-ups. There was a point in time when the Super Saiyan was the ultimate transformation -- the be-all and end-all. Even before Gohan put that line of thinking to rest against Cell, Trunks and Vegeta proved that there was still something a little bit beyond the Super Saiyan. However, even before that iconic transformation, there were other power-ups to consider. 

The Kaioken. Another iconic ability that allowed the user to multiply their power, if only for a short while. 

The Oozaru transformation -- it was largely forgotten by time in the show, but by gazing at the full moon, a Saiyan could delve deeper into their heritage. Why that heritage expressed itself as a Godzilla sized monkey, I had no idea, but it did, and it came with a nice 10x multiplier. 

In the time since DBZ, there have been plenty more power ups and transformations. Super Saiyan God, Super Saiyan God Blue, Ultra Ego, Ultra Instinct, the ‘Beast’ transformation, Super Saiyan 4 -- all of them increasingly necessary to fight against powerful foes that keep cropping up. And almost all of them were beyond my grasp. 

Almost all of them. 

My head snapped back as Caulifla’s fist slammed into it, but I blocked her blow to the ribs before countering with an elbow to her chin. My head was empty. My focus was honed. There was only my blood roaring in my ears and the sensation of impact in my knuckles as me and Caulifla spared in the Badlands to avoid destroying the trees we were harvesting sap from. 

Ultra Instinct wasn't a transformation. It was a technique. One that was used by gods, sure, but the technique was attainable without god ki. It wasn't a prerequisite, otherwise Whis and Beerus wouldn't have thought, even momentarily, that Master Roshi was using it in the Tournament of Power. Meaning that, in theory, I could use it. 

Or, if nothing else, I could apply the principles of it to my combat style. 

“Got ya’!” Caulifla roared, sending out a flurry of ki blasts in my direction, which then split apart to attack me at multiple angles. 

I had no expectations I would master Ultra Instinct so easily. Most likely, I would be scratching at the technique for years, if not decades to come. But Dragon Ball was something of a training manual for me now that I actually got to live it out. I didn't get a step by step guide, but I was shown the principles of the techniques. The powerups and how they were being applied for future battles. 

I tilted my body, one of the ki blasts flying by me before the other grazed my shoulder. The third, I batted away with a swat of my hand to lean out of the way of a kick. 

Eliminating the time between my brain registering an attack and my body moving. Perfecting my ki control to the atomic level. Completely eliminating wasted energy. Honing my body to its absolute physical limit. Harmonizing my mental self with my physical self. Even if it took me years to achieve the God techniques, Ultra Instinct, or Ultra Ego -- I could establish a foundation that would allow me to take full advantage of them when I did, finally, achieve them. 

“You're open!” Caulifla shouted, throwing a punch before she found herself striking my palm where I sent her up into the air. She sputtered but I paid her no mind, flicking a ki blast her way, before I pivoted in the air to catch the dual attacks of Cabba and Raditz. Their expressions were masks of determination, both launching a flurry of blows. 

It was a lot harder to not think while I fought than I anticipated. There was this natural desire to set up combos or planning to create openings -- completely emptying your mind and just… reacting was very difficult. Especially when you were punished with pain as one of Cabba’s fists slipped through to hit me on the cheek. Luckily, my teeth had finished growing back in on that side. 

My brow twitched as I punched him back, only to catch a kick in the ribs from Raditz. A blow from him before likely would have pulverized them, but now they just ached with a bone deep bruising. Returning the kick with a high one that planted itself underneath his chin, sending him straight into the air, Cabba and Caulifla were there to unleash another flurry of blows. Another punch slipped through, hitting me in the eye, or another striking me in the liver. 

I kept my reactions minimalistic. Narrow dodges, and blows I failed to avoid, I would twist my body ever so slightly to lesson- 

Another blow slipped through my guard and I tasted blood on my tongue.

“That does it!” I snapped, punching Cabba back and sending him flying. The reaction was instantaneous. 

“Ahh! The Boss snapped again!” I heard someone else shout. 

“Run! Run away!” Raditz agreed, turning tail. 

“Don't you run from me, you punks! Take your beating like men! And women!” I shouted after them, a vein throbbing at my temple. “Get back here! The ass kicking will be good for you!” 

So, I hadn't exactly mastered the whole ‘calm mind, empty thoughts’ thing yet. It was easy until you got punched in the face a lot. Which probably had something to do with Ultra Instinct being such a difficult technique to master. But, I'd get the hang of it eventually. I was at the very beginning of what I imagined would be a journey that took a lifetime. 

The others were laughing as I chased them back into the forest, treating my wrath as a game. I could catch them pretty easily, but that would take the fun out of it. 

We weaved between trees, many of which had a tap hammered into them. The whole process was pretty primitive, but it worked. We just poked a hole in the tree with our fingers and then shoved a shaped stone spigot into the hole. From there, the sap dripped into a stone basin at the base of the tree, which was covered with a stone lid. With the number of trees that we tapped, we could probably compete with Canada in syrup production. 

Between the trees themselves, though, we flew over Saiyans that were harvesting nuts, berries, and roots. We had to cast a pretty wide net to avoid over harvesting, but so far, things had worked out pretty good for us. Especially when I saw our newest outpost that was built into a particularly old and large tree. It was a little hazardous, but with a little spit and elbow grease, we had built a pretty spectacular tree house. 

“Boss!” We were greeted as we neared by a Saiyan named Ginge, one of our first recruits since our expansion started, and one that made himself right at home with our way of doing things. “We got some newbies- a batch just dropped in the western Badlands,” he informed. With a gesture, he pointed at the newbies in question. 

I almost missed them entirely. Their ki signatures were nearly lost in the sea of ki that came from the others -- the dozens that were at this outpost alone. There were twenty-five of them, all of whom looked entirely out of place and in awe of everything around them. Twenty-five was the number of each batch of Saiyans that got dropped into the Badlands, and that had been an extremely bitter realization. 

Flying over to them, I gave them a quick once over. They were the kind of clean that stood out, marking them as fresh spawns, as some called them. It was that same cleanliness that had given me away. They shifted at my approach, taking more defensive stances, but relaxed slightly when I greeted them with a smile. “The name is Tarble, but everyone calls me Boss. Nice ta meetcha’.” 

“So… you're the strongest here?” One of the Saiyans questioned, taking a step forward. “They just said to follow them if we were hungry…” 

“There's plenty of food for you all,” I said, meaning that much. An additional twenty-five mouths to feed wasn't a small number by any means, but we had enough of an infrastructure built up to endure the strain. “But there's no such thing as a free meal. You'll be expected to pay us back for it by joining our tribe -- and, from there, you'll learn how to hunt and grow stronger to bring more food back than you eat.” 

That got a few glances between them before the leader spoke. “So… we get to eat… and grow stronger?” He echoed, his tone suspicious, like he was looking for the other foot to drop. 

I just smiled away, “Cabba?” 

“On it, Boss!” Cabba said, approaching and I would let him handle it. He was a pretty reliable guy, and he had a… gentleness that the others mostly lacked. A gentleness that would be needed as the newest batch -- it was my second time encountering a fresh batch, and the highest power level amongst them was 100. The lowest was 25. 

That would change shortly. They would join the others, first in gathering, and then training. On average, every single day, the Saiyans of our tribe gained between 5 to 10 points towards their power level -- so, by the end of next month, they'd gain at least 150pl to 300pl. 

“How many is that, now?” Raditz questioned, watching as Cabba laid out the basics for the newest recruits. 

“Counting them, we have two hundred and fifteen tribesmen,” I answered and Raditz's eyes bugged out at that. I understood why well enough. 

A lot had changed in the single month since our arrival to the forest. We built on everything that we set in motion weeks ago -- from the hunting, to the codex, to teaching ki control and physical exercise. We conquered the Badlands and brought in all of the various Saiyans in the area to our tribe, then we began to conquer the periphery of the forest. And now we were expanding deeper into it -- ironically, it was a fair bit easier. The tribes got smaller, even if individual fighters got stronger, but between me, Caulifla, Cabba, and even Raditz, we didn't encounter anyone that posed a significant challenge to us. 

“Do you think Turles has noticed, yet?” Caulifla asked, and I shrugged. 

“I'm sure that he has, but I'm not sure that he cares,” I replied. So far, we’d paid tribute three times with the fourth fast approaching. 

“Not until he figures it out, huh?” Caulifla snorted, a grin tugging at her lips. And I fought a frown, resisting the urge to make sure that no one overheard her. But I'm not sure if it would matter if anyone did. 

“It won't last forever,” I said quietly. And that was something of a massive problem for us.

“The moment he uses his head, he'll figure it out,” I continued, giving her a pointed look. It wasn't like we kept stern records of everything. And, honestly, it wasn't like Turles kept a particularly close eye on us. For the most part, he kicked his feet up at his little palace and gorged himself on the offerings brought to him. It was good to be king, and he was confident that he had no serious challengers to the throne. 

Contrary to my thoughts, Caulifla just grinned away. “I can't wait!” She said, slamming a fist into her palm. “I can’t stand that guy! Lookin’ down at me just cause he’s a lil’ stronger…!” She grit her teeth, and I got the impression that it bothered her more than she was willing to admit. So, I didn’t press.

Raditz cast a meaningful look my way, “Even if he does see through it, you can probably beat him by this point, right? You're strong,” he noted, and he wasn't the only one who had noticed my growing strength. 

“Maybe,” I hedged. I had paid very close attention to Turles for weeks, and not once did his power level fluctuate. Others did, just a little. A couple of points up when they're pushing themselves, a couple of points down when they were exhausted. Not Turles, though. The longer I watched him the more certain that I was that he was hiding his true strength. It was only a question of what degree. “I won't pick that fight-- not yet, at least. But if he starts it, I'll end it.” 

I was confident in that fact. In the end, Turles could only get so much stronger lazing about as the Forest King -- he didn't train. He rarely sought challengers as he was so confident in his own superiority. So, while I was sure he was over the threshold to be collected, I wouldn't put him more than a few hundred points above it. If that. 

“Well, I hope he starts it! I gotta avenge my defeat!” Caulifla said, fire burning in her eyes and I understood the feeling well. 

“You'll get a chance, Caulifla. Sooner rather than later, I think,” I said, gazing off in the direction of Turles. One way or another, thing were going to come to a head, and I was determined to fight him on my terms. 

…

The next few days passed with relative peace. What passed for peace for Saiyan's, anyway. Then, for the fourth time, the tribe started to gather up our food reserves and started filling up a stone platter. There were basins of syrup that some Saiyans were weeping to see go, cuts of cooked and smoked meat, fruits, berries, and just about everything we had to spare. 

Every time we did this, the amount of food we brought had to increase. The first time, we filled up a single platter the size of a small school bus. The second time, we brought two. The fourth time, we were bringing four, but even that was cutting it close to the line. 

“We should be back soon,” I said, watching as some Saiyans struggled to lift the platter together. But, with a little effort, they got it up on their shoulders. “Hold everything down until we get back,” I said to Okarot, who was becoming a standout in general. The Saiyan offered a boisterous grin before he thumped himself on the chest. 

“Leave it to me, Boss!” He said and I gave him a small nod before I checked in with the others. Cabba and Caulifla looked back at me with a burning resolve. Raditz, less so, but he still nodded in my direction. 

With that, we began to fly up into the air. The others flew in formation with me at the front of it as I spied plenty that were eying us up down below. After all, the easiest way to pay tribute was just to steal it from someone else. 

The journey remained tense as we flew to our destination and, even from so far out, I could see it. In the heart of the forest was what I could only describe as a giant ass tree. The normal trees that filled the forest? They were already massive. Redwood’s that took thirty Saiyans to wrap their arms around the trunk kind of massive. However, Turles' not so humble abode? It was easily six or seven times larger than any other tree in the forest, measuring in thousands of feet tall, and it was wide enough to support itself. 

I could even make out the titanic weaving roots to it carving up the forest , some of which stood taller than the trees themselves. 

As we flew, I saw others in the distance, all headed in the same direction. I could sense more flying below the canopy of trees, trying to avoid detection to pay tribute or because they planned to steal theirs from someone else. I could sense that happening across the forest, but none bothered us. Not when there was softer prey to be found.

We continued and I spied a familiar sight at the base of the giant tree -- a basin of sorts between the utterly massive roots that flanked the entrance to the entrance. An almost serene looking lake was disturbed by dozens of skeletons protruding from the waters, each one bigger than the last, and every single one of them was firmly in kaiju territory. And, before the lake, carved out at where the roots intersected at the great tree, was a cavern.

More stark white bones spilled out from the opening -- skulls, spines, ribs, and limbs. There were mountains of them, all except for a path that led into the cavern itself. And, it was there that I found a line of Saiyans, each with their own tribute, waiting to give it to the king. They glanced our way, and their eyes tightened just a bit or they tsked under their breaths. Most of them weren't particularly strong, averaging out around 500pl.

Which was strong. They were some of the strongest in the forest. But that power level wasn't as impressive as it was a couple of weeks ago. 

One by one, they shuffled forward, allowing us to enter deeper into the cavern. And, before long, I caught sight of what Turles called a throne -- a skull the size of a three story building, and in its mouth, the king lounged.

Turles expression was of casual disinterest, one hand propping his head up as the pile of tribute got larger and larger. All of it far beyond what a single Saiyan could hope to eat alone. And I was saying that after I became very familiar with just how much food a Saiyan could stuff into the black holes we call stomachs. There were literal mountains of meat on display, to say nothing else of the bits and bobs that his subjects hoped would count to their tribute. 

His expression shifted ever so slightly when he saw me, his lips curling into a smile. “Tarble,” he greeted me by name. “I see your tribute has grown again.” 

This was the first time he had talked to me since he demanded the tribute in the first place. I met his gaze for a moment, mulling the reaction over, before I offered a curt nod. “Our tribe is growing and we've found good hunting grounds,” I said, figuring to keep it vague. 

“So I've noticed,” Turles replied. “The number of tribes have been dwindling. As has my tribute.” 

Ah. 

Yeah, he definitely noticed. 

“That's because we've conquered most of the ones on the edge of the forest,” I admitted with a small shrug. “The manpower is the reason why our tribute is so much larger than the others,” I said, crossing my arms. He noticed something, but that did mean that the jig- 

“And yet, it's not half,” Turles uttered the words like they were a death sentence. And, yeah, the jig was up. 

Turns out, it was utterly impossible to feed dozens, then hundreds, of Saiyans while paying the fifty percent tribute. 

So… we didn't. 

On the extreme end, we could kick up at most twenty percent of our total food reserves a week. But the four platters that we offered this time were barely a tenth. 

“Did you think I wouldn't notice?” Turles started, and I scratched the back of my head as the mockery of a throne room filled with a heavy tension. “That I wouldn't notice that you have been cheating me?” 

“Uh… kinda? I mean, it worked a couple of times,” I admitted, no point in hiding it any longer. “I hoped I could slip by you a couple more times, but this is fine too.” I said, not really bothered with this outcome. The other Saiyans, the ones that already gave their tribute and those that were waiting their turn, all held their breath as they watched the scene unfold. 

“You admit it, then?” Turles asked, standing up from his throne carved from the fangs of a monster. He cracked his neck to the side, and then the other. “Even knowing what the consequences would be?” 

“That you'd kill me?” I echoed his threat, rolling my shoulders and loosening up by bouncing from foot to foot. “Well, I figured that you'd try.” 

My easy confidence wiped the smirk off of his face, and he leveled an even gaze at me. I could see him churning over it all, and I wouldn't ever accuse him of being an idiot. Lazy? Absolutely. A massive prick? Certainly. Oblivious? You bet. Stupid, though? 

No. Not stupid. 

“In that case… my subjects! Whoever kills him and his tribe will be exempt from tribute!” Turles announced, his voice echoing out, and that grin returned to his face. 

I matched it, “After I defeat him, there won't be a tribute at all.” I declared in the wake of his announcement. His expression tightened at that, nostrils flaring like a bull. Yeah, that pissed him off, alright. All the more so that quite a few of the other tributaries were casting less than subtle glances his way, openly considering their options. 

A vein throbbed in Turles’ temple, “Any who side with him can die beside him!” He shouted, a purplish ki blast firming in his hand before he thrusted it in my direction. It streaked across the distance in the blink of an eye, and there wasn't a doubt in my mind that the ki blast would have killed me a month ago. 

But that was a month ago. 

With a swipe of my hand, I batted the ki blast away and it exploded against the roots of the tree. Turles' eyes widened a fraction before they narrowed into a snarl. He launched himself at me, and I raved to meet him halfway -- our fists colliding in the center of the cavern sending out a sonic boom that blasted away the loose bones and tribute. 

It was at that precise moment everything went to hell. 

The Saiyans chose their sides -- some sticking with the evil that they knew and others seizing the opportunity for payback. Behind me, Cabba, Caulifla, and Raditz all found their opponents. The cavern became a den of chaos and violence in seconds, all the while, Turles glared hatefully at me. 

“How?” He snarled at me, realizing it the moment our knuckles touched. I responded by darting in, my grin becoming a full-blown smile when my other fist shot out, socking him in the cheek and sending him flying down into the pile of bones with an explosion of dust. 

I had gotten a massive Zenkai Boost in the aftermath of our first fight but in the month since? My understanding of ki expanded. My experience fighting increased. I was physically stronger as well. All of it leading up to a power level of 995. As close to the cut off as I could get without going over. 

“HOW?!” Turles snapped, dust and bones blasting away from him as his control slipped. He glared hatefully at me, bearing his teeth like a furious animal. Crouching ever so slightly, he blasted off at me, collsiding with me in the air and we began to trade countless blows back and forth. “How did you get this strong? This fast?!”

“Why would I tell you something like that?” I spat back at him, meeting him blow for blow as our fight carried us outside of the cavern. “And I would be careful! Your power level is spiking!” I teased him, uncaring if he responded by punching me in the face. True enough, I could feel his ki becoming unfurled, revealing how compressed it had been. 

“Tsk,” he spat at me, and I felt it diminish once more even as we fought, though he kept himself at level with me. It was a confirmation that I was right, though. He was keeping himself below the threshold. I’m pretty sure he already went over it, however barely and briefly, but I wasn’t expecting an instant bailout. 

“Why bother with this?” I asked him, weaving my head around a fist before I tapped him lightly in the gut, making him flinch, which opened him up to a hook. “You’re not weak. Why keep swimming in the kiddie pool when theres a whole ocean out there?” His head snapped to the side and I could sense his growing anger as he retaliated with a flurry of punches, forcing me on the defensive. 

He laughed harshly at the question, “Are you seriously asking why? Why I would want to rule over the weak, rather than finding myself at the bottom of whatever is out there?” He shot back at me, making it clear that he thought I was stupid for even having to ask. And… yeah, fair. I kinda figured it’d be something like that. I guess even in a race of over achievers, it was only natural to have a couple slackers. 

“And you’re really content with that? Playing king?” I asked him, tilting my head back before headbutting him and flattening his nose. “That’s all you want to do? Torment the weak?” I pressed, and I could see the frustration growing in his eyes as my fists slipped through his guard, pounding at his ribs before I finished the ten piece combo with a punch to the face that sent him flying back. 

“YES!” Turles snapped back at me again, racing back up for another clash. “That’s all I want to do! I’m the strongest here, so that means I get to do whatever I want! To whoever I want! Before me, it was Bruss! And before him was Lottus! And now it’s me!” Turles yelled at me, and his frustration kept bleeding through until his fists came faster and faster and faster. His ki was uncompressing as he picked up the pace and I steadily found my chances for openings growing smaller and smaller until they vanished entirely. 

‘I should have expected this,’ I admitted silently to myself. Turles, at most, was twelve years old on the assumption that he would experience his growth spurt this year. Given that the first three years of our lives were spent in those tanks, he spent up to eight years out here. Meaning he wasn’t even a teenager. 

I shouldn’t have expected something deeper than that. Turles, for all his supposed power, was a kid. A child. A total brat, sure, but still a kid. One who wanted to enjoy his time at the top because he knew it wouldn’t last forever. Because, eventually, he would be forced to leave the forest and he’d be faced with a harsh truth - 1,000pl was just the starting line for a Saiyan Warrior. 

He was on a run of the mill power trip. Plain and simple. 

“So save your pathetic philosophy for those weaklings beneath you!” Turles continued, and I found that I was being pressed harder and harder. There were no openings for me to seize, and I was purely on the defensive. Yet, his fists kept coming faster and harder. “I don’t need it!”

My guard broke, and I found myself flying back, slamming into the lake below me and sending up a tidal wave of water. I didn’t have time to dwadle, though, as Turles sent a barrage of ki blasts into the lake in the hopes of hitting me, and each one caused its own explosion. I swam quickly, gathering my bearings as I did so. His ki signature was still growing, and it sent a shiver down my spine. 

If my power level of 996, then his was 1,992. And it was still growing. 

Didn’t expect that, but I had prepared myself for the possibility that he was going to be a lot stronger than me. Even if I really didn’t expect him to be that much stronger than me. 

Ki formed in the palms of my hands, swirling like a propeller, which allowed me to swim faster beyond his aimless barrage. With him so blatantly crossing the threshold to be collected, I could wait out the clock. It was something I considered heavily, knowing that it was as close to a sure thing as I could get. While there was no promise that the Saiyan would stop him from killing me before collecting Turles, it was just as likely that the Saiyan would. 

However, that sat wrong with me. The idea of it churned in my guts and just left a real bad taste in my mouth. It felt like admitting that I couldn’t defeat him. 

And I could. 

I just wasn’t sure I could manage it without killing him. 

“What’s wrong Tarble? Are you regretting challenging me now?!” Turles shouted down at the ocean while I circled around, emerging behind a rib bone of what I’m pretty sure was the Loch Ness Monster’s bigger brother. “Do you think I’ll let you hide from me?! I’ve already revealed myself! My fun is at an end, so I’ll make sure killing you is my last act as king!” Ah, he was aware of it. What a pain. 

He also didn’t see a reason to hide his true strength anymore and it revealed itself in a final burst of power that I felt ripple through the air. His ki settled, revealing his true power level. 

2,500. 

I’m not sure if I could afford to hold anything back against him. I formed a ball of green ki, leaving it underneath the lake's restless waves. In another, a ki ball began to flatten into a disk. A Destructo Disk. It was ki manipulation at its finest, a simple change in shape and a ki blast became something vastly more deadly. 

But it reverted into a simple ki blast once more before I erupted from my hiding spot, closing in on Turles. He hardly noticed me as he was blindly blasting the entire lake, and he only picked up on my presence at the very last second. The ki blast caught him square in the chest, and I knew that I could have killed him with a Destructo Disk. 

I could have, but I wouldn’t. 

I’m not going to kill a kid. No matter how compelling of an argument he made to convince me otherwise. Even when he lunged for me through the dust of the explosion with a snarl on his face, shouting, “Pathetic! Is that the best you could do?”

There wasn’t any time to respond with, ‘No, but you’re lucky that I’m the one Saiyan with a conscience,’ before his fists smashed my guard to pieces, and I found myself on the receiving end of an absolute beat down. His fists came fast and hard, my blood shining on his knuckles and splattering across his face. That snarl became a feral grin. The little psychopath. 

Should have expected that too. All children were sociopaths to begin with. Being a Saiyan just exacerbated things because a normal kid couldn’t devastate cities with a hand gesture. 

Even as a fist smashed into my face, and I’m pretty sure rattled the teeth that just got done regrowing, I was still fighting back. A fist darted out that was caught before being wretched to the side. I spun sharply to avoid my arm getting ripped out of socket, and lashed out with a foot that caught him in the side of the head. The blow didn’t do much damage, but it was proof that I was still in the fight. 

I just had to change my approach. 

I breathed in slowly, feeling the air that tasted of copper fill my lungs before I let that breath out slowly. It was time to do or die. After all, Turles was only two and a half times stronger than me. 

“Damn you! Damn you! Why did you have to ruin everything!” Turles raged, pissed to hell and back as I abandoned all thoughts of blocking. No point in it if he could smash through my guard like that. A punch to the face was lessened by tilting my head to the side with the blow, and I countered with an uppercut that Turles caught with a palm before going for a high knee. My body bent inwards and I used that momentum to land a headbutt. 

Despite my estimation of him -- Turles was a solid fighter. I thought he’d be more reckless or sloppy because he wasn’t used to fighting at his true strength, or that it had been so long since he had an actual challenge. While it was true that he wasn’t as good as he could be, it was clear that he didn’t get this strong on accident. His strength didn’t fall into his lap. He’d earned it- I could acknowledge that much. 

“I suffered like everyone else! Barely scraping by in the Badlands! Starving for weeks on end! But I survived, and I got strong. I deserve to have some fun! To eat as much as I want!” God, I fucking hate the Saiyan race. With every word, he punctuated them with a punch or a kick. Every single one of them connected, but I avoided the worst of the damage, if only barely. And that wasn’t to say none was done. 

“Everyone deserves to eat as much as they want, idiot!” I snapped at him, slipping between his blows to counter. He was good, but I was the better fighter between us. However slightly. I just had to…

Almost as if summoned, it happened. Turles lashed out with a fist, and instead of knocking my teeth out, I managed to slip by it. I was getting used to his speed. And if I could get used to it, I could dodge it. I just needed to react faster. Thoughtlessly. Instinctively. Firm but relaxed. Tense but not rigid. It didn’t matter if I achieved Ultra Instinct, I just needed to get better. 

Turtle's eyes narrowed, his lips curling back into what was becoming a familiar snarl when I slipped by another attack to counter with an elbow to his diaphragm. I leaned my way from a hook, feeling the displaced air brush against my ear, before my hands snapped to my face. An opening. 

“Solar Flare!” I shouted, and Turles immediately flinched back, blinded by the bright light. At that same instant, I had the ki blast I’d saved come flying up, and stuck Turles from behind with it. Instantly, he whipped around and I saw my chance. I lunged forward, grabbing hold of Turles’ tail at the small of his back, and yanked.

“Y’ouch!” Turles shouted, immediately going limp and plummeting down from the sky. He sputtered, trying to lash out at me, but his limbs struggled to obey his commands. “Y-y-y-y-you! You dirty… tail-yanker!” He howled in agony before grunting when he hit the ground with me standing on his back, tail firmly in my grasp.

“Don’t you start complaining! You were way stronger than you were supposed to be! You cheated first, asshole!” I shouted back at him, giving his tail another yank. It felt pretty dirty to win like this, I couldn’t lie, but I liked it better than killing him. Or being killed by him, for that matter. Turles grinding his teeth was audible, but he was helpless. I glanced off in the direction of the others, trying to gauge how their fights were going -- so far, the others seemed to be doing well for themselves-

“Damn it ALL!” Turles roared and that was the only warning I got before he did the unthinkable. He reached back to the base of his tail… and he pulled. 

An audible gasp escaped my throat, watching as his tail came free. I didn’t think he had that in him. Hell, I didn’t think that I had that in me. There was no time to dwell on it, though, as Turles immediately lashed out with a wordless roar of utter rage and murderous intent. I felt myself get folded underneath a foot that sent me flying back, smashing through the rib bone of some sea monster skeleton. 

“Everyone deserves to eat? What a joke! But, if you seem to care about them so much… then I’ll kill them first!” Turles raged, a ki ball forming in his hands. His intentions were clear as he took aim at Cabba, who was in the middle of his own fight. There was nothing but malicious intent in his expression and without an ounce of hesitation, he let the ki blast fly free. 

I moved. 

There was no time to think. Just react. I moved faster than I ever thought I was capable of than I ever achieved during my training. One moment, I was trying to get a ragged gasp of air in my lungs, and the next, I was staring down a dark purple ki blast a split second before it hit me. There was heat. The vague feeling of an impact that slammed into my raised arms. My ears were ringing, but I mostly felt a bit numb. 

“B-Boss?” Cabba breathed from behind me, his fighting forgotten about. There was a horrified realization in his eyes that told me he understood what just happened. The pain started to hit when I glanced down at myself, finding a lot of my upper body was scorched and bleeding freely. I still had all my limbs, though, so that was nice. 

“Tarble!” Caulifla shouted, pivoting to Turles, who raced forward with a wordless roar spilling from his lips. She tossed a ki blast at him, diverting his murderous rage in her direction. Everything hurt, but that was no excuse. 

I’d been… greedy. Too greedy. Far too greedy for what my meager strength merited or could hope to accomplish. 

It wasn’t enough for me to lift these kids out of their horrific circumstances. It wasn’t enough that I didn’t want to have to kill anyone just so someone else could survive. I didn’t want to see anyone die, either. And especially not someone that I cared about. Because, for better or worse, I had gotten attached to these goobers.

“Ahhh!” Caulifla yelled, clashing with Turles, but he overwhelmed her instantly. A punch folded her around his fist, and he raised another hand to drive it through her. His fingers were outstretched in a point, and he thrusted it forward in a blur.

His aim struck true, just not against the target that he intended. 

I winced as I felt his hand tear through something that I hoped wasn’t too important just under my sternum. Caulifla was knocked to the side, her eyes wide and face bloodless. The word horrified didn’t begin to cover it. But, other than some bumps and bruises, she was okay. So was Cabba. 

“Unbelievable-” Turles started to yap, but the last thing that he expected was for me to take a step forward and wrap my hand around his throat. I kept his other hand where it was. It probably wasn’t doing me any favors, but it was also the reason why I didn’t instantly bleed out. Turles eyes widened as he tried to breathe, a ragged gasp escaping his lips, which spurned me to squeeze that much tighter. 

“Sorry, but you’ve run your mouth enough already. Shut up for a bit, would ya?” I asked, ignoring how Turles was grasping at my arm and trying to escape my grip. Gritting my teeth as his fingers carved grooves from my arm, I pushed forward, blasting off with Turles ahead of me. The numbness wasn’t helping things since it made it hard to gauge my strength. So, I tried to use all of it, and that seemed to be enough as we smashed through a rib bone, and then another, and a couple of more since we were flying in a straight line. 

I had to get him away from the others, if only for a bit. It stopped them from being targeted. And it could give them a chance to escape if my strength gave out. Though, that idea seemed a bit moot since I could sense them following me. The idiots. Even Raiditz? Didn’t expect that from him. 

We smashed into the skull of a sea monster, carving a line up to its forehead with Turles’ body. His face was turning purple, and I felt impacts in my side, but I couldn’t tell if he was punching me or using ki blasts. Couldn’t really feel them. Probably not a good sign. I couldn’t really feel anything, and my head was starting to get light. Also not good signs, but so long as Turles gave out before I did, I’d take it as a win. 

His struggles beneath me grew more desperate while his face darkened and darkened… then his struggles lost their strength. I watched as Turles’ eyes rolled to the back of his head, and he went limp. 

I couldn’t deny there was that part of me that urged me to keep squeezing. To not let go until I knew he was dead. It wasn’t based in reason or logic -- it was a primal urge as a way to cement my victory. 

I ignored that part of me and let go, and Turles’ heaved a breath even though he was still unconscious. Glancing down at my stomach, I tsked to myself. In the distance, I could swear I heard someone shouting my name, but everything sounded like it was under water or something. Did I still have some in my ears? Ah, that was annoying. Wasn’t like I was going to find Q-tips out here. 

Falling to the side should help a bit, though, I reasoned as the last of my strength gave out. I couldn’t even take Turles’ arm out of my guts. Gross. 

A shadow was cast over us, and I managed to look up to see a man was standing over us. His face was fuzzy as dark spots filled my vision, but there was no mistaking that haircut. 

“Goku?”