High above, two figures collided at blinding speed.
Beerus and Majin Buu were trading heavier and heavier blows.
Bang bang bang!
A thunderous crack
Space itself shuddered and warped. Shockwaves ballooned outward, shredding clouds, dropping the air pressure; even people a thousand miles from the fight found it harder to breathe.
Faces tightened as everyone watched the sky and, between glances, checked on Levos.
At Bulma's word, every food stall and kitchen in the courtyard was going full tilt. Platters of steaming dishes kept arriving, fragrant enough to make mouths water.
Levos didn't savor a thing. He tore through the food, sweat beading on his brow. Saiyan biology was too peculiar right now, beyond cramming in energy, there was nothing he could do.
In moments, emptied plates stacked into a small hill. The Earth crowd took it in stride; they'd seen Saiyans eat. Champa, Vados, and Whis, though, could only sigh as they watched. To them, these were celestial delicacies Levos was chewing pearls like a cow in clover. They'd already hit their limits after tasting a fraction of it and now sat with tea, eyeing his bottomless appetite with naked envy.
"Ahh." Vados let out a helpless breath.
Her gaze lingered on Levos's face as he chewed like a man starved. Unbecoming… and yet, weirdly fascinating. If only her own cooking could make someone eat with that kind of abandon. The thought left a small, hopeful ache in her chest.
A chill rippled over Levos's skin a prickling sense of doom. What now?
Beerus blowing up Earth?
He risked a glance upward just in time to see Buu lose the exchange and tumble toward the ground.
"Piccolo, cover me for a bit!" Levos called immediately.
"No problem." Piccolo was already moving. He caught Buu and set him gently in the courtyard.
The next instant Piccolo was in Beerus's path.
Beerus looked a touch disheveled clearly he hadn't expected such strong opposition and had eaten more than a few early hits. A cold glint flashed in his pupils. "Interesting. On a little planet like this, something worthy of a warm-up."
Piccolo smiled. "You're in for more surprises. I'm a lot stronger than the rude fat one."
"Hmph." Beerus tilted his chin. "Mortals don't challenge gods. Now I'll get serious, and you'll learn what a real gap looks like."
He blurred. In the space of a blink he was behind Piccolo, both fists driving down.
Thump!
Piccolo's lips crooked with confidence. He turned, palms up, and caught the strike.
"As expected of a god."
Power crashed and bloomed, rings of warped air rippling outward.
Beerus's eyes narrowed he hadn't expected someone to take him head-on in base form.
Levos wasn't surprised. Piccolo had fused with the "Little Cell" unit; Buu's absorption only stacked raw Cell power. Fusion could yield its own multiplicative boost and Piccolo might have gotten exactly that.
And Piccolo still had two transformations in reserve.
First, the yellow-green "Power Awakening," a clean potential unlock with no side effects. And above that Orange Piccolo. In the Super Hero film, that extra "gift" came with Shenron's ritual. The Elder Kai's potential-unlocking was no worse than a dragon's Piccolo had awakened both states and had already shown Orange against Zamasu's faction, even before fusing with Little Cell, when he was already flirting with Super Saiyan Blue tier.
As he was now, in sheer force, Piccolo might not lose to Beerus. Strip away divine techniques, and their overall combat power was at least comparable.
"I'll go all out too," Piccolo grinned.
A vast orange ki roared from him. His frame swelled; muscles surged and knotted. Green skin burned into a deep orange; pupils went blood-red; his antennae bristled upright; veins corded his brow. He'd skipped right past the yellow-green state and jumped straight into his strongest form Orange Piccolo.
Hurricanes spun around him. Down on the ground, everyone felt the weight of that pressure crush down.
"You really are far beyond that impolite glutton," Beerus said, shoulders tightening despite himself.
"Oh my," Whis set his teacup aside and looked up, surprised. "Clever Namekian. Once they slip into a side dimension, the fallout won't touch the outside world."
He glanced at Levos still devouring food and couldn't help but wonder: was this man even stronger than the orange Namekian?
Champa's grin turned sly. "Heh-heh. Beerus is about to take a beating."
"Indeed," Whis sniffed. "I've rarely seen Lord Beerus this earnest."
Goku's eyes blazed even as frustration tightened his jaw. "Damn it! So many strong guys right there, and I'm too weak to jump in!"
Future Trunks spoke quickly, "Don't worry, Goku. You just came back. You'll shoot up again."
"Yeah, Goku you'll get stronger!" others chimed in.
Encouragement straightened Goku's shoulders. He clenched his fists. "I won't let you down."
Suddenly, through a mouthful of food, Levos mumbled, "Trunks do you know about the Super Saiyan God?"
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