**Boom!**
The Senzu Bean's power was a tidal wave of pure restoration. Not only did Rhode's energy and stamina refill instantly, but a deeper, more potent force erupted from within his cells. One really must be ruthless with oneself, he thought, a fierce joy sparking in his eyes. His battle power had unquestionably surged past the five-thousand mark—nearly double his previous three thousand after just one brush with death.
The temptation was immediate: a few more cycles, and could he ascend to godhood? Yet, his rational mind quickly tempered the thought. If it were that simple, the Saiyan race would be overflowing with warriors boasting power levels in the millions. The reality was far harsher. The near-death power-up was not a cheat code, but a potential unlocker. It required a foundation—rigorous training, true combat experience, or the searing crucible of a genuine life-or-death struggle—to catalyze a significant leap.
To test his theory, he repeated the brutal process, pushing himself to the absolute brink once more. The result was telling: the second recovery yielded a gain of less than a thousand, and a faint instinct warned him that mindless repetition would soon yield nothing but pain. The massive first leap had been fueled by months of accumulated learning: Roshi's teachings, Popo's transcendent demonstrations, and Korin's ancient wisdom. That foundational growth had been waiting, compressed, and the near-death trauma had released it.
**Bang!**
A sonic boom cracked the sky. Rhode looked up to see Aira descending like a meteor, her expression shifting from concern to alarm as she took in his tattered clothes and disheveled state.
"Rhode! What happened? Who did this to you?" Her head swiveled, senses and scouter activating simultaneously to find the foe capable of such damage.
"No one. I did it to myself," Rhode stated, halting her search. "Why are you here?"
"I felt your ki spike violently from the Lookout. I thought you were under attack," she explained, her gaze still scanning him. Then it happened—her eyes widened, her jaw went slack. The residual, unconcealable aura radiating from him—a power nearly twice what it had been just hours before—was impossible to miss. "Rhode! Your strength… how? How did you do it?!"
The shock and naked envy on her face were potent. As a fellow elite, her own control had sharpened under Popo's tutelage, making Rhode's drastic surge all the more glaring.
"Want to know?" Rhode asked, a contemplative smile forming. He sensed her own accumulated growth from the intense training. It wouldn't surpass his, but it was ripe for harvesting. He could give her this… shortcut.
Aira nodded vigorously, her earlier frustration forgotten, her whole being focused on him with desperate anticipation.
"Bear with it. It might hurt a bit."
Before the words fully registered, Rhode's hand flashed. A precise, piercing beam of ki lanced out, too fast for her to even flinch.
**Pch-t!**
It struck clean through her chest.
"You… Rhode… why…?"
Shock, betrayal, and agony contorted her features as she crumpled, vital energy hemorrhaging from the wound. She collapsed, her life force guttering, her wide, disbelieving eyes locked on him. The lesson, it seemed, would be the most brutal kind.
At that moment, Aira stared at Rhode with utter incomprehension. She truly could not fathom why he had launched such a vicious, seemingly fatal attack.
**Pop! Pop! Pop!**
But Rhode offered no explanation. Instead, a relentless barrage of energy beams streaked toward her fallen form, sealing off any escape, leaving no room for survival.
"RHODEEEE!!!"
Prone on the scorched earth, watching the lethal energies descend, Aira roared with a fury born of betrayal. Yet, caught off-guard and mortally wounded, she was powerless to resist.
High above on the Lookout, Kami had watched Aira's hurried departure with concern. Peering over the edge, his divine sight tracked her—and found Rhode. What he witnessed next drained the color from his face, a cold sweat beading on his brow.
"Kami, what transpires?" Popo inquired, sensing his master's distress.
"Those aliens... they've turned on each other!" Kami breathed, his voice laced with horror. "Rhode has grievously wounded Aira. It appears he means to finish her!"
He was aghast. He had believed Aira, with her volatile ki, to be the dangerous one, while Rhode's serene energy suggested a calmer soul. Now, watching the boy's expressionless face as he coldly executed his companion, Kami felt a chill of terror. This one, he realized, is the true monster.
But in the next instant, Kami's expression shifted again, his eyes widening in pure disbelief. "This... this is impossible!"
On the barren ground below, the scene had transformed.
"RHODE, YOU'RE DEAD!"
Revived at the brink of death by a Senzu Bean Rhode had swiftly placed in her mouth, Aira erupted from the ground. Not just healed, but brimming with a newfound, torrential power that surged through her veins. Her rage was incandescent, and she launched herself at him, aiming to pummel the traitor into the dirt.
Her speed was startling, a testament to her explosive growth. In a flash, she was before him, a furious fist aimed at his face.
**Bang!**
Rhode, who had anticipated this, was ready. He met her blow head-on, his own fist crashing against hers with a shockwave that tore the earth beneath their feet.
**Bang! Bang! Bang!**
What followed was a whirlwind of violence. Furious at the betrayal, Aira unleashed a relentless storm of strikes, each aimed at a vital point—a vengeful, close-quarters barrage. Yet, far from retreating, Rhode's own Saiyan blood sang in response. The primal thrill of combat, momentarily subdued by his strategic mind, now roared to the surface. His eyes gleamed with fierce excitement as he matched her blow for blow.
They became a blur of motion, fists and feet colliding with brutal efficiency, each impact a thunderclap. It was the most fundamental form of battle, where a single misstep meant severe injury.
**Swish!**
After what felt like an eternity, the two figures disengaged simultaneously, putting distance between them. In perfect, mirrored motion, they dropped into stances, hands curling at their waists. The air grew heavy, crackling with immense energy as radiant spheres of light blossomed between their palms.
**Kamehameha!**
**Ha!**
Twin torrents of blue-white energy erupted, crossing the distance between them in an instant. The beams collided in a cataclysmic meeting, a dazzling star of raw power blossoming at the midpoint, pushing against each other with earth-shattering force. The training ground had become a proving ground, and the line between lesson and life-or-death struggle had vanished.
Patreon Seasay, currently at chapter 40 , visit eager readers