Vegeta's jab reached Warren Fox's ears loud and clear. Warren's face did not so much as twitch. He kept smiling at Goku.
The pressure between their clasped hands kept rising.
With a sharp crack, Goku's aura flared. His hair flashed gold and stood straight up, a few bangs left on his forehead as blue arcs of lightning snapped in the air.
Super Saiyan Two.
Power spiked. Warren felt the strength in Goku's grip jump so hard that even his near-invulnerable hand started to ache.
Manageable.
He answered by tightening his own grip.
A gale roared out of nowhere, the two auras linking and whipping the terrace. Sunshades tore free and spun into the sky before vanishing.
Vegeta glanced at Goku, then fixed on Warren. This upstart had forced Kakarot to transform, and not into some warm-up. Straight to Super Saiyan Two.
The wind howled louder, pressure stacking on pressure.
"Looks like Goku has met a match," Whis said pleasantly, face calm as ever. He tapped his staff and a barrier blossomed to cover Beerus and the very pregnant Bulma.
"These two are ruining my appetite," Beerus muttered, setting down his pudding to squint at the pair. His gaze settled on Warren. He had traded blows with Goku himself. The Saiyan could not beat him, but Goku was undeniably one of the strongest in the universe. Yet this human had arrived out of nowhere and matched Goku's test, even drawing out a transformation.
"This one is promising. Might be worth having him represent Universe 7," Beerus murmured.
Whis only smiled and said nothing. Beerus, getting no reaction, shrugged and upended a tray of takoyaki into his mouth.
Goku poured on more strength. He did not go to Three. He could feel Warren getting close to his limit. If he kept the pressure steady, Warren would have to yield.
So much for a real challenge, he thought, a little disappointed.
Then the feel of it changed. The palm in his hand turned from mortal warmth to something like forged steel. He remembered punching a steel plate as a kid and feeling his knuckles ring. This was that.
Across from him, Warren's expression eased. In that instant he had flowed armed will through flesh and bone. With his sky-high focus behind it, his Haki hardened to something truly brutal, a defense beyond reason.
Goku's aura surged again. His golden mane fell past his waist, bangs and even eyebrows gone. The pressure spiked to a new peak.
Super Saiyan Three.
Even so, the iron grip did not give. Warren's arm, blackened by invisible will, did not budge.
"Heh. You are better than I thought," Goku said, Super Saiyan Three's wildness giving his grin a wicked edge.
Warren's smile never wavered. "And you are exactly as strong as I expected. Stop holding back. Show me all of it."
Goku blinked. All of it?
Even he knew what Warren meant. Super Saiyan Blue. But how did this stranger know he had that form? Aside from Beerus and Whis, almost no one had seen it. Not even Chi-Chi.
Questions could wait. His aura climbed again.
With a shout that rattled the glassware, Goku's power rose, then compressed. The quality of his ki changed.
When the light cleared, he looked closer to base Super Saiyan. Only now his hair and eyes burned a clear, ocean blue, and the aura around him had turned the same flawless hue.
"I cannot feel Dad's usual ki," Gohan whispered, eyes shut for a heartbeat, then hissed through his teeth. "He turned Blue."
It was not the form that shocked him. It was the fact that this newcomer had pushed his father to use it.
Vegeta was the one who looked most rattled. He had expected Warren to fold in a few breaths. Reality had been slapping him in the face, again and again.
"Dad, that big brother is really strong. Is he a Saiyan too? He does not look like one," Trunks said, tugging at Vegeta's sleeve.
"Ahem. Strong? Kakarot has been playing nice. Remember this, Trunks. Saiyan blood recognizes its own. He is still far off," Vegeta said with great seriousness.
"Right. Thanks, Dad," Trunks replied instinctively. Vegeta realized a beat later how out of character that gentle line sounded, huffed, and turned away to watch.
Blue changed the feel of the contest at once. Warren felt the pressure shift from raw Saiyan ferocity to something far subtler and more terrifying, the bite of a godly edge. Breath grew thin in his chest. Muscles tightened.
Goku was stunned too. "You are tough. Did not think going Blue still would not put you down."
Both men pushed harder. Their palms rasped, the friction ringing like clashing steel.
"Impressive," Whis said around a spoonful of ice cream. "But Goku still has a trick he has not used."
He closed his eyes with bliss. "Oh, that is delicious."
----------------------------------------------------
The deeper he goes, the more the truth unravels. Don't wait read ahead and witness Vincent's rise before the world catches up!
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