"Another spike in combat power!" Turles exclaimed in surprise, feeling a rush of energy coming from behind. He turned around. "Ra-Raditz?"
Raditz, who had been too weak to resist just moments ago, was now standing firmly in place. He didn't seem injured at all. Even more frightening was what the detector showed – Raditz's combat power had reached a full 40,000, which was simply unbelievable.
"Hell!" Although he didn't want to say it out loud, Turles couldn't help cursing under his breath.
A thought suddenly flashed through his mind. Did they also steal fruit from the Tree of Might? No, that's impossible. They wouldn't have had the chance. But then why? Turles wracked his brain, puzzled.
"Surprised?" Raditz asked with a relaxed smile.
"It's only 40,000 combat power. That's still far below mine!"
"Not for long. Take this!"
As he spoke, Raditz took his stance and pushed forward with both hands, releasing Saturday Crashs! Energy continuously spewed from his hands, impressive in both speed and power.
At that moment, Goku and Vegeta's floating platforms shot into the sky toward the top of the Tree of Might to collect its fruit!
"Damn! You're trying to steal my fruit!"
Turles noticed his targets on both sides and immediately became furious. He burst forth with powerful energy, avoiding Raditz's Saturday Crash and completely ignoring him to chase after Goku and Vegeta instead! It would be disastrous if they managed to eat the Earth's Tree of Might fruit.
Charging at full speed, Turles spotted the damned Vegeta and Kakarot in front of him. "STOP!" he shouted, his eyes nearly bursting into flames.
With a whooshing sound, Turles approached them at super high speed, so fast that the flames created by air friction drew a long arc behind him.
In that moment, a flash of light appeared behind him, and Turles' vision blurred.
Raditz had appeared.
He positioned himself in front of Turles, one hand spread wide with five fingers extended, arm stretched straight, his long hair fluttering slightly, and his face hard as iron.
What followed was a loud crash on the ground. "BANG!"
Turles was sent flying through the air!
"Impossible!" Turles exclaimed as he flew back into the sky. His face contorted in anger, his body in an awkward position. After seeing the red flames surrounding Raditz's body, he couldn't help but tremble.
He couldn't believe that Raditz still had the potential to improve and reach a level stronger than his own – especially after he'd eaten fruit from the Tree! But the blow he'd just received couldn't fool anyone; he had indeed been defeated.
The detector gave several early warnings before exploding with a sharp, ear-piercing bang.
This explosion made Turles break out in a cold sweat.
"Seems like your detector can't measure combat power above a certain level," Raditz said with a smirk before launching another attack without wasting time.
The two collided with each other. Turles took the initiative, attacking with a hook kick that sent the air spiraling around them with astonishing power. Raditz didn't dodge or evade – he took the hit head-on. His strong muscles absorbed the blow, his body shook, but his expression remained unchanged.
Immediately afterward, Raditz grabbed Turles' leg and yanked him to the side. His fist shot out quickly, connecting with Turles' face. Red blood splattered, filling the air with its metallic scent.
Turles flew backward, his mind in chaos, his vision going black for an instant before the world started spinning. The huge power gap made him panic. He never expected that even after desperately eating the fruit, it still wouldn't be enough!
There was only one option left... Turles forcefully steadied his mind, shouted, and flew into the sky.
The sky was covered by the massive tree's shade, but dots of light still peeked through the gaps. Turles looked up, blasting away a section of the canopy. As light poured in from above, his pupils dilated and his eyeballs turned red. His body hovered in mid-air and began to expand continuously. Sharp teeth protruded from both sides, revealing a ferocious face!
He still had his tail! The artificial moon affected him, allowing him to transform into a Great Ape. Turles normally disliked the Great Ape transformation – it was ugly and he couldn't fully control it – but to avoid defeat, he had no choice but to take the risk.
"Stop!" Raditz shouted in shock, firing several energy balls and bombarding Turles wildly.
In his Quadruple Kaio-ken state, Raditz's combat strength was higher, and Turles' energy was only half of his. Surely the energy bombs would be enough to blow him up, right?
To be safe, Raditz didn't stop. He continued his assault, causing a massive earthquake in the air that shook the ground below.
Smoke filled the sky. Suddenly, a hill-sized body broke through the thick cloud, falling through the air. Its shadow covered a large area of ground, and its roar shook the heavens. The furry body had absorbed all the energy bombs without a single hair being damaged. It now stood erect on the ground, as majestic as a mountain.
"So strong!" Raditz thought, secretly wiping sweat from his brow.
After transforming into a Great Ape, Turles smiled slightly, regaining the feeling of being a winner. Even in this powerful form, the man maintained his sanity after transforming.
He ignored Raditz and leaped forward, still heading toward Goku and Vegeta.
It's said that the Great Ape transformation increases combat power tenfold, but this varies from person to person, with the increase sometimes fluctuating. But even with a discount on that tenfold boost, Turles was now powerful enough to fight anyone.
He was currently the strongest. As long as he prevented the others from getting their hands on the Tree of Might fruit, he could plant it again after eliminating these obstacles.
"You won't take my fruits! Watch me destroy them!" Turles roared, opening his mouth wide and unleashing a white beam of light.
Charged with enormous energy, the beam swept across the area, almost covering the entire top of the Tree of Might, turning it into a vast white ocean. The smoke and dust in the sky cleared away, and the Tree of Might fruits were wiped out.
Goku and Vegeta had each picked a ripe fruit. Although they hated this method, with the enemy ahead of them, Vegeta didn't want to be weaker than Raditz, so he finally chose to eat it.
Just after eating, they heard thunderous roaring and saw dazzling white light coming from behind. In desperation, the two flew to avoid it, but the huge impact was so powerful and its scope so large that they couldn't escape. They could only hide behind the thick branches, putting their hands in front of them and resisting with all their strength.
When the light faded, both of them smelled of burnt flesh, with smoke rising from their bodies. Because they had protected their bodies and clothes with ki, their upper bodies were now bare but their pants remained mostly intact.
Fortunately, Turles had been forced to reduce his attack power to increase its range; otherwise, the two of them would have been in serious danger.
Raditz studied the Great Ape Turles, quickly considering countermeasures. The Senzu beans were gone, and the Tree of Might fruits were almost completely destroyed. There was no time to find any surviving fruits or wait for a new crop to grow – Earth might not have that much time.
If they wanted to win, they would have to cut off his tail, but Turles was very cautious. Would there really be a chance? Raditz looked down and clenched his fists.
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