Saiyan stowaways on the Ark

Unlike her active and engaged older sister, Xi is arguably the most passive and escapist among her diverse siblings.

To put it bluntly, she wouldn't care if the world were destroyed, and she wouldn't mind disappearing with it.

Of course, this is on the premise that these things are "inevitable".

But Bardock, who appeared out of nowhere, was by no means an "inevitable" occurrence in Terra.

Therefore, she chose to spend those two months painting the scroll day and night, trapping Bardock inside.

Bardock's will and understanding were gradually eroded by the endless enemies and ever-changing environment depicted in the painting.

His current actions are almost entirely the result of abandoning thought.

"It would be better to destroy everything."

—Until Tomat shouted out the name of that move.

"Solar Fist!!!"

A blinding light emanated from Tomat's body. Bardock, who was merely in a defensive stance with his hands raised in front of him, was still observing Tomat's movements with his naked eyes, and thus inevitably looked directly at the beam of light that was a million times brighter than the sun.

A burning pain shot through his bloodshot, dry eyes. The intense pain, accompanied by the ensuing darkness, threw Bardock into a panic. He covered his eyes with one hand while his trembling arm fired energy blasts repeatedly at the spot where Tomat had disappeared from sight.

However, aside from the pain and the tension that filled his body, this move made Bardock, whose mind was in a daze, vaguely remember something.

But before Bardock could recall anything as his mind gradually cleared, he felt a strong wind blowing up his chin.

Immediately following was a powerful, explosive Rising Dragon Fist that struck him, causing blood to spurt from Bardock's mouth, and the powerful momentum sent him flying backwards into the sky.

"Eora!!!!"

"Crack—"

The first sound was an angry shout coming from behind.

Even after losing sight and being knocked away, Bardock instinctively kept his eyes closed and stabilized himself in mid-air because of the sound coming from behind him.

It rotates, then unleashes a large-scale air blast!

If precise strikes are impossible, then use wide-area attacks.

But the next sound was a cracking sound, accompanied by a heavy pain in his shoulder.

Intentionally making sounds to mislead oneself?

Bardock, in pain, regained some of his vision under the stimulation of even more intense pain. He opened his eyes and vaguely saw a world in the painting that had transformed into a turbulent sea.

—And a foot, wreathed in aura, was coming straight at them.

"Bang!!!!"

This was a spinning kick delivered by Tomat after countless mid-air rotations and leverage.

It arrived just as Bardock opened his eyes and kicked him hard in the forehead.

Bardak crashed into the sea like a meteor, creating massive waves. At that speed, even the water was a solid entity more solid than steel.

A hole appeared in the sea, and Bardock was still falling into the deeper abyss—but Tomat flew faster than he was falling and rushed directly to Bardock, grabbed one of his legs, and spun rapidly through the sea.

The giant waves formed by the wind and rain are now turning into a huge whirlpool because of Tomat's turn.

The whirlpool, due to its continued accelerating rotation, transforms into a tornado on the sea.

"Get out of here!!!"

Tomat forcefully flung Badak out, leaving behind a wrecked sea that now resembled a somewhat familiar mobile city.

In this new environment, Badak continued to crash into one tall building after another due to Tomat's throwing, eventually piercing through most of the city-state before sinking deep into the building at the end.

However, Tomat didn't expect environmental attacks to cause any damage; the output he could always hope for was from his own physical beatings.

"Don't get too cocky, kid!!!"

The shockwave that blew up half the building was silenced by Bardock's furious roar, shattering all the glass in the city.

The next moment, Bardock, who could easily break the speed of sound even in this state, rushed in front of Tomat, leaving a trail like a whirlwind.

But the heavy punch, filled with ferocious rage, pierced directly through Tomat's motionless figure.

Then, Tomat appeared on Bardock's back and stomped on him, pinning him to the ground. Even though the concrete floor and the carbon brick foundation could be perfectly replicated in the painting, they could only be crushed by this devastating force. Tomat continued to exert force, stomping Bardock directly into the interior of the city-state platform.

"Afterimage punch!"

Eyes, neck, forehead, back.

Thomas attacked what could be considered vital points.

The Saiyans' physical structure is ultimately similar to that of most creatures, so ordinary attacks are almost ineffective, and even knowing the vital points is meaningless.

However, as long as you use the same level of force to attack it, it will still be effective when the time is right.

Destroy eyeballs, break fingers, kick the groin—maximize the damage to the opponent's body by employing the most efficient attack methods...

Bardock finally remembered this method of attacking by deliberately targeting vital points after disrupting the line of sight.

Long ago, on Planet Vegeta, there was a Saiyan I knew well.

His combat ability is not particularly outstanding.

His potential combat strength rating is also the same as his own: "lower-level warrior".

Even with combat capabilities at the level of a combatant, his personality was just like those of the technicians who were eliminated—very cautious and avoiding conflict.

but--

That guy, however, always manages to win in all kinds of battles.

It's not just the special means by which they somehow evade detection, nor the far more diverse range of techniques they employ than those around them.

More importantly, he was "despicable" enough.

Perhaps a typical competition won't reveal much.

However, when it comes to a fight to the death, he will use a despicable fighting style to kill those who should be stronger than him.

The bright light interferes with vision and then cuts into the body.

They hide in the shadows to evade the detectors, then launch a surprise attack.

Or it might create numerous afterimages while the real entity hides elsewhere, misleading the opponent's attack.

This is not the Saiyan fighting style.

True Saiyans wouldn't resort to such tricks or learn techniques from weaker races.

"You kid...you're Tomat?"

Tomat remained pinned down on Bardock's back, fist raised high, ready to deliver another heavy blow to the back of his head.

However, at this moment, Bardock was certain that the person he was fighting was the real deal, and not an illusion that would disappear at the slightest touch.

He managed to squeeze out a sentence, his voice hoarse but carrying a hint of laughter.

"Do I have to poke your eye out before you remember who I am?"

Thomas grabbed Badak's arm, put it on his shoulder, and responded with mixed feelings.

[Main Text] Uninvited Guest: Chapter Twenty - Return from the Painting

Tomat had faced Badak on more than one occasion.

Of course, that was all on Planet Vegeta or when we occasionally carried out missions together.

It is a relatively distant past for both sides.

However, both of them still remembered each other's fighting styles—although Tomat's style was "infamous" among the Saiyans, they knew the general idea even though they had never fought each other.

However, when Tomat and Badak fight, Tomat doesn't use those dirty tricks or underhanded tactics.

At most, they're just some "tricks".

In such battles, Tomat still emerged victorious in most duels.

After all, the actual difference in combat strength between the two was not that great at that time. Tomat also knew that his tricks would not be effective against stronger opponents. No matter how many tricks he had, if the difference in combat strength was too great, the opponent could still kill him in one move. That's why he kept taking advantage of the opportunity to fight Bardock to slowly improve himself.

Now, although neither side is in perfect form, the outcome of the match between Tomat and Badak adds another chapter to their story.

Tomat hasn't improved much compared to before, but Badak is unsure.

Judging from the fact that he can still be temporarily suppressed by Tomat, whose power has not yet recovered, there probably isn't much change... right?

But now is not the time to dwell on whether either side has grown stronger.

Tomat was more concerned about why Bardak was also in Terra.

It was strange that I appeared on Terra in the first place, but I could explain it by the fact that my spaceship was of good quality—after the planet exploded, I fell into a deep coma due to the impact and, with the help of a cryosleep device, flew to Terra, a civilization that was similar to Earth.

But Bardock charged straight into Frieza's Supernova, dying on the spot along with King Vegeta and the rest of the Saiyans.

History may have changed slightly, but the outcome remains the same.

It's more likely that he traveled to ancient times than he appeared in Terra.

"Why are you here? When Planet Vegeta was destroyed, you and King Vegeta led the charge."

Tomat had no means to communicate with Xi, but he still sent Badakla to the ground of the mobile city-state in the painting world.

The battle has stopped, and Xi, realizing that the scroll is no longer being destroyed, will likely check the situation herself. At that point, she can be released.

"How should I know? I only remember surviving the explosion, and then being taken away by a white-haired man and a woman..."

Bardock had one arm held by Tomat, while his other hand was pressed against his forehead, which had just been kicked hard by Tomat.

The red headscarf appeared even more crimson due to the blood seeping from the wounds, but it was a miracle that it hadn't been torn by the previous battle.

He tried hard to recall his experiences, but the sharp pain deep in his brain only allowed him to remember extremely fragmented pieces.

"Mira? Tova? That sounds like the name. A strange warrior and a woman who uses a bunch of sorcery... Ugh... Headache... I feel like I've forgotten a lot of important things."

"I don't know who you're talking about... Anyway, don't break anything, heal your injuries first."

Tomat himself didn't have much of a clue about what Bardock was saying, after all, his presence here already deviated greatly from the development of the world he knew.

He found a random spot and let the wounded Bardock rest against a corner of the rubble, while they waited for the evening to arrive.

If they had been fighting during this time, the scroll would have been destroyed long ago, and Xi had more or less realized that the battle was over.