"He went straight through the fire..." Goku watched the Grand Supreme Kai burst out of Moro's flames without slowing down. "So that attack doesn't work on Buu?"
"Buu's stronger than an average God of Destruction," Vegeta replied. "Of course a little fire isn't going to—"
Moro's hand punched straight through the Grand Supreme Kai's chest.
Vegeta stopped talking.
Moro grinned at the gaping hole he had just opened, clearly pleased to have silenced the Saiyan as well. The Grand Supreme Kai, however, seemed far less concerned about the hand sticking through his body. He grinned right back and slammed his forehead into Moro's face hard enough to send the ancient wizard flying.
By the time Moro recovered, the hole in Buu's body had already sealed itself.
"What...?"
The Grand Supreme Kai answered by opening his mouth and unleashing a barrage of energy blasts. Moro crossed both arms over his head and endured the bombardment as explosions swallowed the battlefield in smoke and dust.
When the haze cleared, Moro was already preparing another attack. He raised one hand high above his head, drawing energy from deep beneath New Namek until three pillars of fire connected with a rapidly growing sphere overhead.
"He's using that again," Goku warned.
Moro hurled the enormous fireball down.
The Grand Supreme Kai met it with a kick.
His foot struck the sphere head-on and sent the entire mass rocketing back into the sky. Before Moro could adjust, the Grand Supreme Kai shot upward after him and hammered him out of the air with a punch.
Moro crashed hard enough to tear apart the ground below. By the time he dragged himself upright, the Grand Supreme Kai had already landed in front of him, looking almost annoyingly pleased with himself.
Moro's body was covered in bruises and burns. "When did you learn to do all this?"
"Heh."
The Grand Supreme Kai's antenna crackled, then fired a streak of purple-white electricity directly at him.
Moro jumped aside just in time.
That was exactly what the Grand Supreme Kai wanted.
He dropped out of the air backside-first and planted his full weight on Moro.
A strangled scream escaped from underneath him. With Buu's enormous body crushing him into the ground, Moro looked dangerously close to losing more than his dignity.
The Grand Supreme Kai settled comfortably on top of him and started punching.
One fist after another hammered into Moro's face while the ancient wizard struggled beneath him, unable to create enough room to retaliate. Eventually Moro managed to force his mouth open and fired a blast straight upward.
The explosion blew the Grand Supreme Kai's head apart.
Jaco recoiled. "His head's gone!"
Moro immediately started laughing.
His celebration lasted only until the headless Grand Supreme Kai reached out with one hand.
A new, perfectly round head grew directly from his palm.
Moro stared at it.
The Grand Supreme Kai held the replacement head right in front of his face, almost as if showing it off, then punched Moro away with his other hand. Once the wizard had been launched across the battlefield, he casually placed the head back onto his neck and restored himself as though nothing unusual had happened.
Jaco could only stare.
"What kind of fighting style is this?!"
Merus seemed much less surprised. "The Grand Supreme Kai can only access a small fraction of Buu's power, but even that should be enough to defeat Moro as he is now."
"Yeah," Ken agreed. "For now."
Merus caught the qualifier immediately. "For now?"
"There's probably going to be a reversal soon. Don't interfere when it happens."
Merus gave him a puzzled look, but Ken seemed far too relaxed for someone expecting the situation to turn against them.
Another heavy impact pulled their attention back to the fight.
The Grand Supreme Kai had driven a kick into Moro's stomach and sent him flying again. He chased him down before he could recover, grabbed him by the ankle, and spun him around until the landscape became a blur.
Then he let go.
Moro shot across the battlefield and smashed into a sheer mountainside, burying himself beneath tons of broken rock.
He erupted from the debris in a rage.
"You bastard! If my magic were restored to its peak—or if I had time to devour this planet—there's no way my power would lose to yours!"
His energy blasted outward, scattering the rubble around him.
The Grand Supreme Kai snorted. "But you haven't done either of those things. Right now, you're weak. Stop making excuses."
He spread his arms.
Four more sprouted from his body.
Moro's anger briefly gave way to disbelief as the Grand Supreme Kai charged with six fists raised. He had barely brought up his guard before punches started raining down from every direction.
There was no rhythm to defend against. One fist buried itself in his ribs while another struck his jaw, followed immediately by blows to his stomach, chest, and face. Moro could do little more than howl under the barrage.
Then the Grand Supreme Kai stepped back.
The punches didn't stop.
Several of Buu's arms had detached entirely and were still pounding Moro into the ground on their own.
Jaco's mouth fell open again. "His arms aren't even attached anymore!"
The Grand Supreme Kai laughed as the detached hands pinned Moro down.
"That should do it."
He raised both hands toward the trapped wizard, and the playful expression disappeared from his face.
"Now I can finally start."
Moro knew that posture.
His eyes widened.
"You... You're going to use that technique?"
The Grand Supreme Kai was about to answer when daylight vanished from New Namek.
The entire sky turned black.
He looked up, momentarily distracted.
Jaco did the same. "Does this planet just become night without warning? That's weird."
Vegeta felt a chill run through him.
Goku understood a second later.
Far across New Namek, Cranberry had already gathered the seven Dragon Balls.
Porunga towered over the landscape beneath the darkened sky.
Cranberry had fitted a sophisticated control device over Eska's head, forcing the young Namekian to provide the Namekian words needed to summon the dragon and make the wishes. Cranberry himself was in terrible shape after fighting his way through the hidden chamber, but Moori and Delta were in even worse condition.
Both lay on the ground nearby.
"You bastard..." Moori tried to push himself up.
Cranberry raised his blaster.
The shot struck Moori before he could stand.
Eska could only watch as the Grand Elder collapsed and his life vanished.
Cranberry stood over him breathing heavily. "I might look half-dead, but I used to be a high-ranking soldier in Frieza's army. An old man and a kid from Namek aren't enough to stop me."
Back at the battlefield, Vegeta finally spotted Porunga glowing in the distance.
"Kakarot! Look over there!"
Goku followed his gaze.
"That's Porunga! Moro's partner summoned him!"
Vegeta searched for the familiar Namekian life signs and found nothing.
"I can't sense Moori or the others anymore."
The implication turned Goku's stomach.
Porunga's voice rolled across the darkened planet.
"Speak your wishes. I will grant three, within my power."
Cranberry didn't hesitate.
"First, heal me. I'm barely hanging on here."
The device forced Eska to repeat the wish in Namekian.
"It shall be done."
Porunga's red eyes flashed.
The injuries covering Cranberry's body disappeared instantly. Strength returned to his limbs, and he stared down at himself with a delighted grin.
He was about to make his second wish when Moro's voice suddenly entered his mind.
Cranberry. Can you hear me?
Cranberry stiffened.
"M-Moro?"
Listen carefully. Use the next wish to restore my magic to its full power.
Cranberry fell silent.
He had plans of his own for those wishes.
What are you waiting for? Moro demanded. Make the wish. Those two Galactic Patrolmen are already heading toward you.
"But I still need a wish to escape somewhere remote," Cranberry protested. "Some border world where you, Frieza's army, and the Galactic Patrol can't find me."
Grant my wish first. After that, do whatever you want with the last one.
Moro's voice became colder.
And if you're thinking of betraying me again, remember this: there is nowhere in the universe you can hide from me. You already know that.
Unfortunately, Cranberry did know.
Moro could locate Dragon Balls from across the planet and sense living beings at absurd distances. Believing he could simply disappear somewhere afterward suddenly seemed like a very bad gamble.
Porunga waited above him.
"Speak your second wish."
Cranberry swallowed.
"Restore Moro's magic to its full strength!"
Eska was forced to repeat the request in Namekian.
Porunga's eyes flashed again.
"Your wish has been granted."
The effect reached Moro instantly.
Magic flooded back into him—not the weakened remnants he had spent millions of years rebuilding, but the full power he had possessed before the Grand Supreme Kai sealed it away.
A pillar of fire erupted around him.
The detached arms holding him down were thrown aside, and Moro vanished from the battlefield in the same instant.
Jaco spun around. "Moro's gone!"
Merus wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead.
"So that's the reversal you meant. His magic has been completely restored."
The Grand Supreme Kai's confidence vanished with him. He looked toward the distant glow of Porunga, already realizing what had happened.
Goku and Vegeta were racing there as fast as their battered bodies allowed when Moro suddenly flashed past them.
Neither even saw the attack coming.
A pair of blows knocked them out of the sky.
"What was that?!" Goku shouted as he recovered.
Vegeta had already recognized the ki that swept past them.
"Moro!"
They forced themselves after him.
Porunga was still waiting.
"Speak your final wish."
Cranberry's face lit up.
At last.
"This is it! For my third wish, send me to some remote border planet where Frieza's army, the Galactic Patrol, and Moro will never—"
A blue hand burst through his chest.
Cranberry's voice stopped.
He looked down at the arm protruding from his body, then slowly turned his head toward the figure standing behind him.
Moro smiled.
"You've worked hard, Cranberry."
He pulled his hand free.
Cranberry collapsed beside Moori, the escape he had spent all this time planning dying with him.
Moro looked down at the corpse without the slightest regret.
"Unfortunately, I still have one wish of my own. There wasn't enough room for yours."
He removed Cranberry's helmet, brought the microphone close, and quietly spoke his final wish.
By the time Irico brought the Galactic Patrol ship closer, the others were already preparing to pursue Moro.
"Get aboard!" Irico called. "We'll chase him!"
Ken glanced at Merus and then at the short distance ahead.
"No need. We can fly from here."
Merus was already moving. "Let's go!"
The Grand Supreme Kai took the lead, with Ken, Merus, and Jaco following behind. As they crossed the sky, daylight suddenly returned to New Namek.
Porunga was gone.
Goku's heart sank.
"We're too late."
He and Vegeta reached the Dragon Balls' location first, only to find Moro calmly waiting beside Cranberry's body.
Moro smiled when he saw them.
"You're late. I already made my wishes."
Goku looked past him and saw the bodies on the ground.
"You killed them!"
Moro raised an eyebrow. "You've got that wrong. Cranberry killed those Namekians."
He gestured toward Cranberry's corpse.
"I killed him afterward. If anything, I avenged them."
"You killed your own partner too, you bastard!"
For once, Moro didn't seem to have an immediate answer.
Vegeta had no interest in the argument.
"What did you wish for?"
Moro's smile returned.
"You already know one of them."
"Your magic."
"Correct."
Goku immediately caught the omission. "That was only one wish. What was the last one?"
"You'll find out eventually."
Moro looked toward the sky and saw the Grand Supreme Kai approaching with Ken and the others behind him. The Galactic Patrol ship was following at a distance.
There was no reason to remain here and fight everyone at once.
"The Grand Supreme Kai is coming too. I think I've entertained you long enough."
Flames swallowed Moro's body.
"Goodbye."
He disappeared.
Goku and Vegeta searched the surrounding area, but there was nothing left to follow. Even Moro's ki had vanished.
Vegeta ground his teeth.
"He can hide his presence too."
Ken and the others landed moments later.
"Moro?" Merus asked.
"He disappeared," Goku said. "And he's completely hiding his ki. We can't find him anywhere."
His eyes drifted toward the staff in Ken's hand.
Ken immediately smiled.
"Don't look at me. You're going to become a Supreme Kai someday. You should be able to find him yourself."
Goku scratched his head. "Yeah, but... how?"
"He's still nearby," the Grand Supreme Kai said before Ken could answer. "Restoring his magic didn't immediately restore all of his physical strength. He hasn't left because he still intends to devour New Namek."
Then he noticed movement on the ground.
Eska was still alive.
The Grand Supreme Kai hurried over and placed both hands above him, drawing on Buu's healing ability. A warm glow spread over the young Namekian, repairing the injuries Cranberry had inflicted until Eska finally opened his eyes.
Goku immediately brightened.
"Eska!"
Vegeta's relief was just as obvious, even if he said nothing.
Eska slowly sat up and stared at them. "Goku... Vegeta..."
"He was still alive, so I could heal him," the Grand Supreme Kai explained. His expression grew heavier when he looked toward Moori and Delta. "The other two are already dead. There's nothing I can do for them. I'm sorry."
The relief of saving Eska faded almost immediately.
Goku lowered his head, while Vegeta looked silently toward the two fallen Namekians.
Merus turned to Ken.
"Should we bring them back to life?"
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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