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"Wow, wow, wow… things are pretty lively here. Mind if I join in?"
Just as Vegeta and Turles were about to team up against Broly, an arrogant voice echoed through the cavern.
A short figure stepped out from the distant tunnel entrance, wrapped in an oversized cloak that hid his whole body. Despite the bizarre getup, Broly recognized him instantly—this was the same Garlic Jr. he'd beaten to a pulp two days ago.
Garlic Jr. strode up to the group, yanked off the cloak, and revealed his new face.
His entire appearance had changed. He used to look a bit like Pilaf, with bluish-gray skin. Now his skin had turned black with red streaks crawling across it, and his face was covered in blood-red markings like some demonic scribbles.
Garlic Jr. glared at Broly with pure malice.
"Heh heh heh… thanks to you, Broly. You turned me into this half-dead freak. But because of that, I've gained power like never before. So as thanks, I'll make sure you die slowly—slowly enough to feel ten thousand times the pain I suffered these past two days! Ahahahahaha!"
Broly frowned. What the hell happened to this guy? A power-up made sense, but why did he look like a curse in human form—and why did that negative energy feel so familiar?
"Tsk tsk tsk… just you? Don't tell me you're gonna come at me and get slapped into the horizon again. Seriously though, what's with that look? How'd you even pull that off?"
Even while mocking him, Broly couldn't help feeling curious.
Garlic Jr. held up a glass-like sphere with a red star inside. "Since this blessing came from you, I'll be generous and explain…"
Once Broly heard the story, he realized it was kind of his fault. Who knew a casual slap would hit a jackpot like this?
Two days earlier, after Broly smacked Garlic Jr. into the sky, he crash-landed in a forest, flattening half the trees. When he finally stopped tumbling, he hit a trunk that just happened to have a bird's nest… and inside that nest was a Dragon Ball.
Garlic Jr. picked it up out of curiosity. But because he was a Makyo star demon, his own aura triggered the lingering negative energy inside the ball—energy that hadn't been fully purified yet. Sensing what might be its last chance to survive, the negative energy surged straight into Garlic Jr.'s body.
And that's how he became this nightmare.
Garlic Jr. looked at Vegeta and Turles. "You two also want Broly dead, right? He's ridiculously strong—and rumor has it he's got some kind of technique that boosts his power even more. How about we team up?"
After getting humiliated twice, Garlic Jr. actually sounded smarter.
Vegeta said nothing, but silence was pretty much an agreement. Turles didn't even need convincing—he'd welcome any extra help. Goku, seeing three people about to gang up on Broly, stepped forward to help.
But Broly held out an arm and stopped him. "This is my fight. Not yours. And honestly, with your current strength, you'd just get one-shotted."
Goku froze. Another blow to the ego—right after Vegeta's. But unlike Vegeta, Goku didn't get bitter. He just blamed himself for not training hard enough. A battle this exciting, and he couldn't even join in.
"Are you done talking yet? Too much whining."
Turles, long out of patience, hurled an energy blast straight at Broly. Without the artificial moon's boost, Broly raised his own base battle power—now at 450,000—then instantly activated Kaio-ken x10.
"Ahahaha! Today's your last day alive, Broly! I told you—I'm going to make sure you die slowly!" Garlic Jr. roared as he transformed.
His tiny body swelled, muscles bulging, his black-and-red skin shifting into a mix of gray, purple, and charcoal with glowing red markings. Combined with the Makyo Star boost and the Dragon Ball's negative energy, his power shot past two million, climbing all the way to around 5.8 million before settling.
Broly's lips curved upward—a tiny smile he didn't even realize he made whenever his fighting spirit surged.
Three opponents, each with power levels above five million. Perfect. He could finally go all out.
With Kaio-ken x10 active, Broly's power now reached 4.7 million. His excitement had pushed his normal power up another 20,000 earlier, making the Kaio-ken boost even higher.
He chopped Turles' energy blast apart with one hand, then charged straight at the person he found most irritating first—Vegeta.
Wreathed in red flames, Broly closed the distance in an instant. He leapt upward, then dropped down, knee slamming right into Vegeta's nose.
"GRAAAH!" One of the Oozaru's most vulnerable spots—and the pain hit Vegeta like pure agony.
Clutching his nose with one hand, Vegeta swung his giant palm down.
Broly crossed his arms above his head and caught the blow—but two beams whistled in from behind. He kicked Vegeta's hand aside, spun, and fired two ki blasts to intercept them.
Boom! Boom!
But Broly didn't linger. The red aura flared around him as he flashed aside—just as razor-thin red threads appeared where he'd been standing, woven like a deadly net.
He barely paused to breathe when a surge of pressure came from behind. Broly whirled and caught Turles' fists with both hands. Turles opened his mouth and fired a point-blank energy beam.
Broly pulled one hand free and punched the blast aside, sending Turles tumbling.
Then the air popped behind him—Vegeta again, somehow right there, fist already swinging toward Broly's spine. Turles, refusing to let up, yanked Broly's right arm forward, trying to pin him down.
"....."