Kakarot's Arc

Chapter 13 of 14

Kakarot pushed himself off the sand. His jaw throbbed where Broly's uppercut had landed. Instinct had let him dodge the red form, but instinct alone left him open. Broly waited across the ring, arms folded, red light rolling off his skin. The crowd in the weathered stone seats sat silent. They had watched their Warlord toy with a man who could not win. Kakarot needed more power, and he had none left to find. He looked past Broly to the wall. Master Roshi stood there in his orange robe and dark glasses, the old master who had made every technique Kakarot knew. Roshi met his eyes and said one word. "Fusion." Kakarot remembered it then. Years ago, he and Raddits had learned a fusion dance from Roshi. Two warriors became one body, one power far beyond either alone. They had never once used it. Kakarot turned to his brother on the sand. Raddits stared back. His older brother had shielded him their whole lives, stepping between Kakarot and every threat. Now Raddits nodded. "I remember the steps," he said. He crossed onto the sand beside Kakarot. "It only lasts two hours. Make them count." Sir Papa pulled the others back to the wall to clear the space. Broly frowned but did not attack. He wanted a worthy fight, so he let them move. The brothers faced each other. They spread their arms, stepped in mirror, and pressed their fingers together at the last beat. White light swallowed them both. One warrior stood where two had been. His power slammed across the colosseum. The stone seats trembled. Broly's grin returned. "Now," he said, and charged. The fused warrior met him fist to fist. The shock cracked the sand into a wide ring. This time no one flew back. Broly's red blows landed and were answered blow for blow. They rose off the ground and traded strikes in the air. Each impact boomed like thunder over the arches. Chi-Chi gripped the wall. "They're even," she said. "He's finally even." Around her, ordinary people stared with open mouths. One whispered that these were not warriors but gods. Another said no one in the seats would survive if a single blast went wide. They pressed low against the stone and watched anyway. Broly and the fused warrior collided again. The ground split beneath them. A chunk of the outer arches broke loose and crashed into the empty upper seats. For the first time, Broly took a step back. Blood ran from his lip. His red form had never bled before. The fused warrior wiped his own mouth and smiled with Kakarot's grin and Raddits's fire both at once. "We can win this," he said. Broly's eyes narrowed. The power gap was gone. But the clock had started, and two hours would not last forever.