Before long, Goku and Vegeta both snapped out of the joy of successfully breaking through to Super Saiyan 3.
They keenly noticed the flaw of Super Saiyan 3.
Why was the Ki within their bodies constantly leaking away as though it could not gather together?
“What’s going on? Why is the power drain in the Super Saiyan 3 state so fast?! Even if I try my best to maintain it, I can’t stop it,” Goku said in great surprise.
The tremendous power boost of Super Saiyan 3 had indeed filled him with excitement.
However, the energy within their bodies was leaking away uncontrollably. Their seemingly powerful forms now resembled funnels with air constantly leaking out.
Goku tried to seal that opening and stop his aura from escaping, but no matter how hard he tried, he could not do it.
The feeling was as if his body were incomplete. Unless that opening was plugged by something, it simply would not work.
After trying every method and still failing to solve the aura leakage problem, Goku simply canceled his Super Saiyan 3 transformation and returned to his normal state.
The moment he cancelled it, an overwhelming sense of exhaustion surged through him, nearly causing him to collapse.
His battle with Vegeta had already consumed most of his stamina. Combined with the pressure on his mind from breaking through during combat and the enormous consumption of Super Saiyan 3, the multiple burdens stacked together and pushed his body beyond its limits, leaving him completely drained.
Fortunately, his foundation was solid enough to endure such tremendous consumption. Anyone else would probably have turned pale and passed out already.
“Where exactly did things go wrong? Could it be because my training is still insufficient?” Vegeta was equally confused by the energy leakage problem.
Unable to find the cause, he directly attributed the issue to his own lack of training.
Soon, after regaining his composure, Vegeta also canceled his Super Saiyan 3 transformation and returned to his normal state, though the effects were not as obvious as they were for Goku.
Adjusting his condition, Vegeta turned his gaze toward Goku, his sharp eyes locking onto him like those of an eagle.
Their gazes collided, neither willing to admit defeat.
They had agreed beforehand that whoever completed the Super Saiyan 3 transformation first would be the winner.
Now that both of them had achieved Super Saiyan 3 at the same time, the battle could only be considered a draw.
“Looks like our match this time ended in a tie,” Goku said with a smile.
“Hmph! Consider yourself lucky, Kakarot,” Vegeta said unhappily.
At that moment, a crisp round of applause came from nearby.
Hearing it, the two turned their attention and discovered that it was Talot and Son Gohan.
“Not bad. You both successfully broke through to Super Saiyan 3. But you’re probably wondering why your Super Saiyan 3 form is suffering from constant energy leakage, right?” Talot immediately addressed their confusion.
Goku and Vegeta quickly nodded.
“I can understand that the enormous energy consumption of Super Saiyan 3 is several times greater than Super Saiyan 2, but why is our energy leaking out uncontrollably? Where exactly is the problem?” Goku took the initiative to ask.
Vegeta remained silent, because Goku had already voiced all of his questions.
“The problem naturally lies with you two, because your bodies are incomplete,” Talot explained.
“Incomplete?”
“You mean Kakarot and I are missing something?!”
Hearing this, Goku and Vegeta were both extremely surprised.
They understood the meaning behind Talot’s words, but they did not understand what exactly this missing thing was.
“That’s right. That thing is the source of our Saiyan power,” Talot teased them a little and did not directly reveal what the two were lacking.
Upon hearing this, Goku and Vegeta became even more astonished, and Son Gohan also began to think about it.
The source of Saiyan power?
The thing they were missing was actually so important. If it could be called the source of a Saiyan, then it was certainly no simple matter.
The three of them fell into deep thought. Goku and Son Gohan felt a splitting headache coming on, while Vegeta, after Talot’s reminder, seemed to have thought of something.
A piece of advice once given to him by his father, King Vegeta, resurfaced and echoed in his mind.
Whenever the night of the full moon arrived, it was the time when Saiyans displayed their true power.
And the key to unleashing that power was… the tail!!
“I understand now. The thing you’re talking about is our Saiyan tail, right?” Vegeta suddenly realized and spoke up.
“Tail?!” Son Gohan exclaimed in surprise.
“That’s right! I remember now, it’s the tail!” Goku excitedly added.
“Correct. The thing you’re missing is precisely your tail. The tail is not only the source of our Saiyan power, but also the key to stabilizing Super Saiyan 3. Without a tail, you will never be able to train Super Saiyan 3 to its peak level, nor will you be able to solve the aura leakage problem. And I should also remind you that the tail is the key to mastering Super Saiyan 4 as well,” Talot confirmed for them.
After learning how important the tail was, all three of them involuntarily drew in a sharp breath.
That tail they had once regarded as a burden actually had such a tremendous purpose.
Not only could it help them perfectly master the power of Super Saiyan 3, it was also the key that would allow them to reach Super Saiyan 4.
After realizing the importance of the tail, both Goku and Vegeta were filled with regret.
They had both possessed tails in the past, but unfortunately, they had mistakenly believed that tails were no longer important and had discarded them.
Ever since cutting off their tails, they had consciously directed energy to fill that missing section of flesh.
As a result, the missing area had long since been filled with flesh, making it impossible for their tails to regrow naturally. Even if they ate a Senzu Bean, their tails would not grow back.
“Damn it!! I actually made such a foolish mistake. I should have realized long ago that the tail is the key to unlocking a Saiyan’s power!” Vegeta clenched his fists, deeply regretting his past stupidity.
Super Saiyan 4 was the form he longed for most, the symbol of Saiyan bloodline itself. Vegeta’s desire for that form bordered on obsession.
But now that he knew the tail was the crucial key to unlocking Super Saiyan 4, he felt his blood rushing to his head and rage burning through his body.
“This is bad. It looks like my tail will never grow back,” Goku said with a troubled expression.
His tail had never grown back since the former Kami removed it at the Lookout years ago.
At first, he did not care much and even felt that losing a tail was no big deal.
But now, it was too late for regrets.
“As for that problem, you can wait until the Dragon Balls are restored in six months and use a wish with Shenron to solve it,” Talot suggested.
Since the tail could not regrow through normal means, wouldn’t a wish from the Shenron solve it?
“Right, there are still the Dragon Balls. Looks like that’s our only option,” Goku said after giving it some thought, seemingly already forming a plan.
“Six months, huh… That’s not too long.” Vegeta pondered for a moment before nodding. These six months would be the perfect opportunity for him to accumulate, improve his base form’s power level, and gain a deeper understanding of the power of Super Saiyan 3.
At that time, after wishing to Shenron for his tail to regrow, all of his accumulation could erupt in one burst, allowing his Super Saiyan 3 to directly reach its peak state.
Once Super Saiyan 3 could unleash power far beyond his own limits, breaking through to Super Saiyan 4 would become much easier.
Vegeta’s thinking was simple. He did not know that achieving Super Saiyan 4 required additional conditions.
Talot did not say much more.
Before long, their conversation came to an end.
Their objective had already been achieved, and there was no need to remain here any longer.
After saying their farewells to Talot and Vegeta, Goku and Son Gohan directly used Instant Transmission to leave, saying they still needed to visit the Lookout.
Talot had intended to bring Vegeta back to West City, but Vegeta refused.
Since he wasn’t leaving, Talot certainly wasn’t going to stay behind to keep him company.
Thus, Goku and Vegeta’s fated duel came to an end as a draw.
……
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