A Saiyan's Journey

Zuke had initially thought that spending two months solely on training without any entertainment facilities would be an absolute torment.

This is the normal mindset of modern people. After becoming accustomed to the mental entertainment provided by devices like phones, computers, and the internet, the idea of repetitive, monotonous training seems terrifying.

Therefore, before starting his training with Merus, Zuke had already prepared himself to quit at any moment. After all, he hadn't come to the Dragon Ball world to torture himself.

With over twenty years before Frieza's storyline in the original plot, Zuke had plenty of time to take it slow and develop gradually if he really wanted to slack off.

However, once he actually began training with Merus, he realized that time flew by incredibly fast.

Perhaps it was the Saiyan blood within him starting to take effect. Zuke became completely immersed in the training with Merus. Every time their weapons clashed, he could feel his body boiling with energy.

Merus's training intensity was very well-balanced. He always used power and speed close to Zuke's full capacity, ensuring that Zuke could continuously grow through each battle.

It might sound a bit unflattering, but Zuke felt like a beast chasing after food, constantly pushing himself to run faster and faster to reach his goal.

To get that "food," he had to be faster, even faster—and so, Zuke kept breaking through his physical limits.

Of course, during breaks, Zuke had told Merus about the Saiyan ability to grow stronger near death. He even asked Merus to occasionally push him to the brink of death to trigger this ability.

This also let Merus learn about Zuke's immortality—though it wasn't the kind of indestructibility granted by Super Shenron that even a God of Destruction couldn't breach, it was enough for Merus to go all out.

After learning about Zuke's immortality, Merus's training became even more intense. He would start by using an appropriate level of power to guide Zuke in breaking through his limits, then unleash terrifying force to beat Zuke half to death.

Just as Zuke had imagined, even without using his angelic abilities, Merus could easily beat Zuke to the point where not a single patch of skin remained intact.

If it weren't for his immortality, Zuke would have long since died inside the cube spaceship.

...

Today, after waking up, Zuke, as usual, began a new round of training with Merus.

Zuke had lost track of how long he had been training with Merus—due to the "Hyperbolic Time Chamber" effect altering the time flow inside and outside the cube spaceship, the scenery outside the ship appeared almost frozen.

Moreover, he was now completely engrossed in the training, with no time to care about how much time had passed.

Swoosh!

As his thoughts wandered, Merus's staff, wrapped in terrifying energy, came slashing down, instantly breaking through Zuke's defense and shattering his left arm.

"Ugh...!"

The pain from his broken left arm made Zuke frown slightly, but after being beaten to the brink of death by Merus so many times, he didn't stop moving.

At the same time as his left arm was broken, "Black Bird" appeared behind Merus, its fists wildly striking out. Countless fist shadows formed a curtain, enveloping Merus.

However, Merus didn't even glance back—though he wasn't a Stand user and couldn't see the Stand, he simply twisted his body slightly and effortlessly dodged all the attacks.

This was the angel's passive ability, "Ultra Instinct." The body automatically judged incoming attacks and moved to evade or strengthen itself to defend against them.

In many fighting manga, this kind of "instinctive movement" technique seems like a basic skill, but in the Dragon Ball world, it is a genuine divine technique.

After dodging the countless fists of Zuke's "Black Bird," Merus swung his staff, mercilessly smashing it into Zuke's side.

A tremendous force surged through the staff into Zuke's body, sending him flying and crashing into a corner of the cube spaceship.

"Cough, cough!"

Zuke lay on the ground, coughing violently, spitting out bits of flesh and blood—his internal organs had been nearly destroyed by that single strike.

If he were a normal person, he would have struggled a few times and then died. But Zuke's immortality quickly kicked in, rapidly repairing his internal injuries.

Soon, Zuke felt his injuries healing, and at the same time, a strange power surged through his body once again.

When a Saiyan returns from the brink of death, their combat power increases further—this is the instinct of the Saiyan race as a warrior.

Feeling his power rise again, Zuke stood up, his eyes blazing with fire as he looked at Merus.

Merus smiled faintly, pointing his staff at Zuke, ready to continue the training.

But at that moment, Zuke's body froze as a long-unheard voice echoed in his mind.

[Anti-Addiction System Reminder: Dear Mr. Zuke, your playtime has reached 8 hours.]

[Starting now, your play rewards will be reset to zero. Please wait for the next day's playtime refresh.]

"Huh? What's wrong, Mr. Zuke?"

Merus, of course, noticed Zuke's sudden halt. After a moment's thought, he quickly understood.

"Has your time here for today run out?"

"Yeah, I can't believe I actually spent over two months in such intense training..."

Zuke nodded, lowering his combat stance and feeling the surging power within his body.

Since the improvements happened daily, Zuke couldn't remember what his strength was like before entering the cube spaceship, making it hard to judge exactly how much he had improved.

But at the very least, he could confirm that his growth was nothing short of a complete transformation—far more than just doubling his power.

"Although Mr. Zuke is quite different from other Saiyans in personality, the combat instincts are still there. Once you feel yourself getting stronger, you become addicted to the training."

Merus pressed a button on his staff, and the weapon that had beaten Zuke to the brink of death countless times over the past two months shrank into a small segment, which he hung at his waist.

"I've never seen Frieza at full power, but I'm certain that the current Mr. Zuke could easily defeat Frieza in his initial form."

Frieza's initial form... meaning the state with a combat power of 530,000?

Zuke trusted Merus's judgment as an apprentice angel. Although he didn't have a scouter to measure his exact combat power, it seemed his power had far surpassed 530,000.

Moreover, Zuke still had techniques like "Black Bird," "Berserk Mode," and the yet-to-be-learned "Kaio-ken" from North Kaio.

As for his exact combat power, Zuke wasn't sure—but since Merus had evaluated him as capable of "easily defeating Frieza's initial form," it was unlikely that he had just barely surpassed 530,000.

To be continued…

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