At the same time.
At the edge of the battlefield.
Everyone had thought the battle was over and that Salari had won. But the sudden turn of events came too fast, making everyone cry out in shock.
“What’s going on? This guy’s aura… it just suddenly doubled again?” Raditz spoke up.
His expression was filled with shock and confusion, and his words were also meant to seek Talot’s opinion.
At this moment, Talot had already shifted his gaze toward the Grand Elder.
This unexpected change had indeed taken them all by surprise again.
According to his thoughts at first, even if Slug had regained his youth through some ability, Salari should still be able to defeat him.
But now, with this sudden transformation, Talot recalled what the Grand Elder had said earlier.
He had suggested that they all join forces to eliminate Slug, but Talot hadn’t taken it seriously, thinking Salari could handle it.
Now it seemed that it wasn’t just about Slug becoming young again and strong—it was because of this new situation.
“As expected, this kind of thing still happened. Even though I kept hoping it wouldn’t…
“We Namekians, by a stroke of luck, inherited some of the Lord Dragon God’s special powers, and thus gained incredible strength…
“Making dragon balls, creating things, telepathic communication, and even the ability to return to youth that Slug used… While these abilities are extremely powerful, the more powerful something is, the more terrifying and dangerous the side effects tend to be.
“It’s like how the world always has two sides—light and darkness, good and evil. If the Lord Dragon God’s powers are used excessively, they generate an immensely powerful evil force. If this evil Negative Energy is left unchecked, it can destroy the world…
“The catastrophe that once struck Planet Namek was actually related to our people relying too heavily on the Lord Dragon God’s powers. The catastrophe didn’t just stop with our planet—it spread to countless others. Even now, after so many years…”
The Grand Elder’s long explanation finally cleared up the confusion for everyone.
Especially Talot — he finally understood what this power really was.
Negative Energy!
This traces back to the Dragon Ball GT timeline.
But in that timeline, the appearance of Negative Energy was entirely due to the Dragon Balls being overused.
Now, however, the cause wasn’t overuse of the Dragon Balls — it was that Slug had relied too heavily on his inherited abilities and had gone completely off the rails.
“What a hassle! You Namekians have all these powerful abilities, but they’re not truly your own, and you can’t fully control them either,” Raditz criticized. Then he turned to Talot and asked, “What now? Should I go and help Salari?”
Raditz was clearly eager to fight.
But Talot shook his head, stopping him.
“I’ll go instead. Even if you used the 20x Kaio-ken like Salari, at best you’d reach the same peak strength she’s at now. But Slug’s strength, fueled by Negative Energy, has reached an unprecedented level. If we were to force a numerical estimate, it’s no less than 20 million,” Talot explained.
A power level over 20 million — that was no joke, and far beyond what Raditz and Salari could handle, even together.
Hearing this, Raditz had no choice but to give up.
“If you go, what about me?” Bulma suddenly asked, unable to hold back.
Hearing her, Talot shook his head with a wry smile and turned to Raditz: “I’m counting on you to protect her. Make sure she doesn’t get injured in the aftermath.”
“You insisted on coming, and now you’re scared, huh?” Raditz teased, though he wasn’t blaming her in his heart.
After all, Bulma had done a lot for him, and her family had supported them in many ways. Without their help, even something like gravity training wouldn’t have been possible.
In the blink of an eye, Talot vanished.
His departure made the Grand Elder fall into silent contemplation, saying nothing, while the other Namekians focused intently.
Worrying was natural — Slug’s explosive power had already reached a level beyond their comprehension.
As Talot had said, his power level had exceeded 20 million — absurdly high.
The average Namekian only had a power level of 2,000 or 3,000. The stronger ones barely reached 5,000 to 10,000.
Ragar was still only at 190,000, and Nail had just 40,000.
Compared to Slug, theirs was not even a fraction.
“He’ll be okay, right? Raditz, that Slug… he is giving off a terrifying feeling,” Bulma suddenly said, remembering the incident at Devil’s Castle from six months ago.
The evil aura was very similar. But compared to the dark and evil energy she had felt at Devil’s Castle, this was on a whole different level.
……
“Hahahaha~~~! You’re done for, you monkey woman! I have fully assimilated this energy and been reborn! Though I can’t retain my youth, my power has now surpassed even my prime!” Slug gradually regained his composure, slowly rising from the ground.
Once he stood upright, he was no longer in his youthful form — he had reverted to his aged appearance.
By all logic, he should have died, having burned up all of his remaining life force.
But he didn’t. Because the Negative Energy was keeping him alive. You could say it chose him as its vessel. If he had died, all the Negative Energy that had been accumulating would have had nowhere to go, and would’ve simply dispersed into the world with his death.
“Hmph! Anyone can talk big. I could say I haven’t used my full power either,” Salari replied, not intimidated by Slug.
She refused to accept defeat without witnessing the truth firsthand.
The battle wasn’t over yet. Even though this aura was so sinister it made her anxious, she still believed she had the power to fight.
“Then see for yourself! This time, I’ll crush you immediately; you’re nothing more than a tiny pebble on my path to obtaining the Dragon Balls,” Slug said coldly.
The moment his words dropped, he instantly closed the distance between them.
Under Salari’s shocked gaze, a large hand shot toward her, and grabbed her face.
BOOM!!!!!!!!!
A deafening explosion followed. The island beneath them shattered completely.
Slug, using only the raw physical power of his strengthened body, grabbed Salari’s head and slammed it into the ground.
Salari had no way to fight back. The sheer strength of the blow made her cough up blood instantly, her pupils contracting.
The intense pain made her scream out, and she could no longer keep up her 20x Kaio-ken and was instantly defeated.
The battle… was over.
With a single casual strike, Slug had completely taken out Salari, whose power level was over 10 million.
“This is the difference in strength. Now do you understand, monkey woman?” he sneered, raising his hand to create a ball of dark, deadly energy.
The presence of death washed over her, forcing Salari to hold her breath. She wanted to escape, but found she couldn’t move at all.
That brutal slam from Slug had shattered most of her bones. Even if her spine hadn’t broken, her nervous system was stunned into temporary paralysis. She couldn’t move — it was like being completely paralyzed.
But just as that fatal blow was about to land, a sharp sound of something tearing through the air rang out — Talot had arrived.
It had only been a brief exchange before, and he was just ten or so seconds late… yet everything had already gone so wrong.
This made Talot realize: in battles of this level, even a single second can change everything.
“Sorry to interrupt. Mind taking your hand off her? I’d like her back,” Talot said as he walked forward calmly, his expression cold, speaking directly to Slug.
Slug, who had been about to attack, paused in mild surprise at the voice. He turned and saw Talot.
Watching him approach so calmly only made Slug’s arrogant expression grow even more smug, thinking Talot had come to beg for mercy: ‘You want me to give this monkey woman back to you? Why should I?’
Perhaps finding his words amusing, Slug no longer felt like killing Salari outright. Instead, he dispersed the energy in his hand and lifted the helpless Salari into the air by one arm.
That single act… enraged Talot.
Since arriving in this world, he had never been this furious.
It wasn’t just because Salari was severely injured, or because Slug kept calling her a “monkey woman.” It was the way she was being treated, which seemed to have touched the bottom line in Talot’s heart.
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