Chapter 97 – The Six-Digits Club

Before long, Jeice's silhouette emerged through the haze, rising slowly. His armor's chest plate was fractured in multiple spots, clearly battered. His once-steady arms, which had so confidently controlled energy, now trembled. He clutched his left forearm with his right hand, suggesting it was broken. However, despite the injury, Jeice's eyes were narrowed with fierce determination.

The two enemies stared each other down once again.

Jeice winced as he moved his left arm, the movement clearly causing him pain.

"You're like Burter, Recoome, and I all rolled into one," Jeice said as he cocked his head, his voice tinged with grudging respect. "Speed, defense, energy control—you've got the whole lot, and with a battle power hittin' over 80,000 to boot. You're the full bloody package. You sure you don't wanna join the Ginyu Force? Bein' a jack of all trades, you could fill any of our boots, no worries. You'd slot right in, mate."

Ajax simply shook his head in response.

Jeice sighed deeply.

"Right-o, I've bent your ear enough. You've made your choice loud and clear," he said, pausing as his gaze sharpened. "So, no more muckin' around. You've earned my respect, Ajax, and now you're gettin' the full experience—absolutely everything I've got, no holds barred."

Jeice's eyes flashed as his energy, a formidable but manageable 60,000, began to surge at an alarming pace. It climbed rapidly—65,000, 75,000, higher and higher it climbed.

Ajax's eyes widened in alarm. His instincts told him that this was not going to end well.

Unlike the Z Fighters, he had no intention of following Dragon Ball logic and allowing his enemies to power up in peace.

Ajax reacted instantly, activating Vegeta's Technique™ and launching a rapid barrage of ki blasts. The relentless stream of blasts descended on Jeice, their intent unmistakable: to disrupt and derail Jeice's power-up.

But Ajax didn't stop there. Realizing he had limited time to prepare his own attack before Jeice finished powering up, he quickly positioned his hands into a triangle shape. Without a preamble or verbal cue, he fired off a Kikoho, adding to the wave of ki blasts assaulting Jeice.

To Ajax's astonishment, Jeice responded with a seemingly effortless gesture. The elite extended his right palm outward, and with a supreme display of Ki control, all the incoming Ki blasts, including the Kikoho, slowed to a crawl before coming to a complete stop. The energy attacks hovered in mid-air, glowing like a swarm of fireflies.

Ajax spluttered in disbelief.

What the fuck?!

But Ajax didn't stay stunned for long. If ki attacks weren't effective, he'd have to take the fight up close!

He blasted himself towards Jeice at full speed. But just as he closed in, Jeice raised his hand again. Suddenly, Ajax felt as though he were moving through solid stone, his immense speed plummeting to an agonizing crawl.

Ajax's movements became awkward and puppet-like, each action demanding far more effort than usual. He moved so slowly it was as if he were slogging through thick mud, barely faster than the average person.

His jaw dropped in shock as he fought against the invisible restraint. Wasn't this his own Aerospace Domain?

He struggled to reclaim control over the air density Jeice had seized, but it felt as if he were fighting a much more aggressive version of Kami—one who had spent another decade refining his ki manipulation.

"I'm afraid I can't let ya get any closer. You're too bloody deadly up close—lethal, even," Jeice said. Then, with a grudging bit of admiration, he added, "Gotta hand it to ya, that energy control's bloody clever. Just brilliant! Reckon this trick'll be a go-to for me in the future, no doubt, but feel free to keep those moves comin'. I'm already pickin' up a fair bit from just watchin' ya."

Having ensnared Ajax with his newly discovered external Ki manipulation, Jeice continued to power up undisturbed. He began to shout as he forced his energy level to rise.

Helpless, Ajax's expression darkened as Jeice's energy reached its peak.

Jeice ceased his shouting, stretched his neck, and exhaled deeply. He pinned Ajax with a look that was both taunting and challenging.

"I know you can sense energy, but let's slap a number on that feeling, eh?" He puffed out his chest a bit, pride oozing from him as he jabbed a confident thumb at himself. "Not too long ago, I cracked the six-figure mark—the second bloke in the whole bloody Frieza Force to do it."

With a dramatic flair, Jeice continued:

"But specifically? I'm sittin' pretty at 103,000. That's right—103k. So, reckon you're still game for the challenge, mate?" Jeice suddenly paused, deep in thought. "Tell ya what. Since you've already taught me a fair bit, I'll cut ya some slack. I'll give ya one last shot—final offer, no muckin' about. Join the Ginyu Force or spill what you know about the Dragon Balls."

Ajax glared at Jeice, his eyes blazing with defiance despite his movements slowing even further, becoming as clumsy and labored as a rusty marionette.

"Figured as much. Blokes like us, we're just too damn stubborn," Jeice said with a knowing grin.

With a casual wave of his hand, Jeice's will seemed to ripple through the air. The ki blasts Ajax had unleashed earlier, which had been suspended in mid-air, began to tremble.

In a sudden and startling change, the blasts reversed direction and shot back toward Ajax with the same speed and intensity they possessed before. The entire sequence of events happened so quickly that Ajax had little chance to react, not that he could have, given his sluggish speed of only three inches per second.

Ajax could only watch with grim resignation as his own ki blasts crashed into him. Although he flinched from the attacks, the pain was nearly entirely mitigated. His access to Dende's healing abilities and a full day's worth of time had allowed him to repeatedly injure and heal himself from his own maximum-powered attacks, making him largely immune to attacks at or below his own power level.

In short, the attacks didn't do much damage.

His Kikoho, on the other hand, had hurt like a son of a bitch.

Frustration clouded Ajax's face. Staying stuck here wasn't an option—he would just be bombarded until he was defeated!

In a moment of desperation, he decided to experiment with something new. He concentrated and fired a small Ki laser from his eyes, a technique he had never used before. To his surprise, the laser worked—though it only traveled about three meters before being hijacked and stopped by Jeice. The laser then shot back toward him, hitting him squarely in the face. The attack was so weak that it did more to wound Ajax's pride than his body, but it did confirm that Ki attacks would be ineffective.

What kind of ridiculous restriction is this? A Dragon Ball fight without Ki attacks? BS!

As he dealt with the minor setback, Ajax's mind raced. He was out of immediate ideas, but he had a history of facing seemingly insurmountable odds with creativity. He just needed to dig deeper into his well of ingenuity and resourcefulness. He wasn't out of options yet.

Actually… Jeice shouldn't be that experienced with external Ki manipulation, right? After all, this is his first time using it.

Ajax decided to probe for any potential weaknesses with a casual question.

"So, out of curiosity, how thick did you manage to make the hardened air?" he asked with a relaxed demeanor. "It gets exponentially more difficult the thicker you make it, you know?"

Jeice paused, a hint of mild amusement lighting up his face at the question. He squinted at the air around Ajax, considering the extent of his recent achievement.

"Bout 3 meters or so? Look, if that doesn't look too impressive, just remember it's my first crack at it. Could do with a bit more practice, mate."

Ajax blinked in surprise. For all intents and purposes, Jeice's achievement was truly impressive—creating a hardened air barrier of 3 meters around his opponent on his first attempt was nothing short of remarkable. Even Kami, who had dedicated decades to mastering similar techniques, had only achieved a maximum barrier thickness of about 10 meters. Ajax himself, with his comparatively rookie skills, could barely manipulate an inch or two.

However, Ajax's question hadn't been out of curiosity at all.

Without any noticeable movement, a second Ajax appeared about 5 meters from the original. This duplicate immediately began darting backward in erratic, unpredictable patterns to avoid being caught by Jeice's stolen Aerospace Domain.

However, it quickly became apparent that he hadn't needed to go to such trouble.

Jeice stared in utter disbelief, his eyes darting between the original Ajax and the newly formed duplicate repeatedly, his mouth hanging wide open in shock.

"Wha—what the bloody hell?!" Jeice exclaimed. The sight before him completely shattered his understanding of life, the universe, and everything. Frankly, he could not believe the shit he was seeing.

Before Jeice's eyes, the Ajax he had caught started to shimmer and distort like a mirage. Before he could recover from his shock, the distorted figure fragmented into numerous motes of light. These particles rapidly converged and flew back toward the Ajax in the distance.

The two fighters stared at each other—one cautiously assessing the other, while the other stared in stunned disbelief.

"FINE!" Jeice shouted suddenly in frustration. His red-skinned form erupted with energy as he ascended higher into the air.

Jeice's energy began to expand dramatically, enveloping the entire battlefield in a vast, pulsating sphere. The air around them shimmered and rippled as the sphere grew, reaching out in all directions. Within this growing energy field, hundreds—possibly even thousands—of crimson ripples appeared, each one charging their attacks at an alarming rate.

"METEOR MAELSTROM!"

Ajax's eyes just about bulged out of his head.

WHAT THE FUUUUU-!

~ At the Same Time: Plains of Namek ~

The wind rushed through Bulma's hair as she zoomed across the lake on her scooter, her eyes focused on the Dragon Radar in her hand. Behind her, Dende clung tightly to her waist, his grip deathly from both fear and distrust—both of the machine and its driver.

Dende also sucked at swimming, so there's that.

Bulma checked the radar again. If there was one positive thing, it was that Vegeta had not hidden the Dragon Balls too far from Guru's residence, nor had he scattered them too far apart. It seemed Vegeta had placed them within a relatively convenient range, probably to make it easier for himself to retrieve them later. This was a slight relief, as it made her search less daunting than she had initially feared.

Except for one, which was notably far away. That one was probably the failsafe. Bulma frowned as she looked at the Dragon Radar, knowing she would eventually need to cover that extra distance.

To pass the time and entertain herself, Bulma decided to do a playful loop on her scooter. She executed the maneuver with gusto, enjoying the cool spray of water against her face as she twirled.

Behind her, Dende screamed for his life.

As Bulma's scooter smoothly glided over the water and onto solid ground, she realized she had inadvertently entered a zone strewn with the wreckage of Slug's massive warship. A day ago, the remnants of the colossal vessel had scattered across the planet, creating many such areas. The wreckage here was vast—a labyrinth of twisted metal and shattered hulls from different sections of the ship that had plummeted here.

Suddenly, something in her peripheral vision grabbed her attention. Bulma's heart skipped a beat as she abruptly brought her scooter to a jarring stop, causing the tiny Namekian behind her to let out a startled "oof." Her pulse quickened, and she tensed, ready to flee at the slightest hint of danger. She scanned the area for any signs of movement but saw nothing immediately concerning. Soon enough, she focused on the spot where she had noticed the glimmer.

She squinted to get a better look.

Staring at the oddly shimmering patch, Bulma spotted a peculiar object partially concealed by what seemed to be cloaking technology, making it mostly transparent. It looked strangely familiar. She furrowed her brow, struggling to remember where she had seen something like this before.

Then it hit her. "Wait a minute!" Bulma whispered sharply to herself, her eyes widening with recognition. The object wasn't just any piece of debris—it was a Galactic Patrol Ship!

"Galactic Patrol?!"

"Bulma?!"

The simultaneous shout rang through the air, startling Bulma and nearly causing her to lose her balance on the scooter. She spluttered in confusion at the sound of her name. She's not that famous, is she? After all, she wasn't exactly a celebrity outside of Earth.

The cloaking technology on the Galactic Patrol Ship flickered before disappearing, revealing the sleek ship that had been camouflaged against the wreckage. From within the now-visible ship, a familiar alien figure stepped out, waving with a look of genuine surprise and relief.

Bulma squinted, and her eyes widened as she recognized the alien.

"Jaco?!" Bulma exclaimed with disbelief. She shook her head, almost unable to process the coincidence. 'What are the odds?' she wondered.

Without hesitation, Jaco adjusted the ship's controls to open the roof, creating an accessible entryway. Bulma guided her scooter toward the ship, carefully maneuvering through the wreckage and landing smoothly in the cockpit. Both Dende and Bulma dismounted.

Jaco gave Dende a brief, accessing glance before focusing his attention back on Bulma.

For a moment, they simply stared at each other in stunned silence, their unexpected reunion in such unusual circumstances leaving them speechless.

"So, uh, what a small universe! I definitely didn't expect to run into you here of all places! How've you bee—" Jaco tried to initiate a friendly conversation, but Bulma, full of enthusiasm, interrupted him before he could finish.

"This is perfect!" she exclaimed excitedly. "We can use your ship to gather the rest of the Dragon Balls! It'll be safer and quicker for everyone!"

"Uhh, what now?"

Unfazed by Jaco's bewilderment, Bulma marched purposefully toward the front of the cockpit. Without missing a beat, she pushed Jaco out of her way with a gentle but decisive shove and plopped herself into the main pilot's seat.

"Hey, hey! You can't just commandeer my ship!" Jaco protested, exasperated. He pushed Bulma back, trying to reclaim his seat. "You haven't even explained anything! I'm on a mission right now!"

But Bulma, having quickly finished familiarizing herself with the ship's controls, had already strapped herself in. She clicked a few buttons with the familiarity of someone who had spent a considerable amount of time aboard the Galactic Patrol's ship.

Jaco had evidently stuck with the same model, possibly even the same ship, which made things all the more convenient for her.

After all these years, her old memories of Jaco's ship even finally proved handy.

With a confident press of a few more buttons, the ship roared to life. It lifted smoothly off the ground, and as soon as Bulma engaged the ship's propulsion, the ship surged forward with a jolt of acceleration. It zoomed into the sky, its engines roaring as it headed directly toward the next Dragon Ball on her radar.

The sudden burst of speed took Jaco completely by surprise. He was thrown backward, screaming as he tumbled awkwardly toward the rear of the ship.

As Jaco struggled to steady himself, he made eye contact with Dende, who had also been thrown off balance and ended up near the rear of the ship.

"First time?" the young Namekian asked, referring to the experience of being a passenger of Bulma's unpredictable whims, both figuratively and quite literally.

Jaco, gritting his teeth, replied through clenched jaws, "No…!"

"Hey Jaco! Help me activate the cloaking technology, and I'll fill you in on the details! It's the only new feature on this rusty bucket of bolts!" Bulma shouted over her shoulder, her attention still on piloting the ship.

"I hate you!" Jaco shouted back.