I Am Raditz

"AHHH!" Raditz was struck in the side of his face, the impact sending him flying until he slammed hard into the wall.

BOOM! A tremendous shock wave echoed as a section of wall caved in. Burning pain spread across Raditz's back.

"Experiment No. 1 strikes! Experiment No. 1 strikes!"

The entity shouted in a sharp voice as it extended its arm, spreading five fingers to gather dark red energy bombs!

Has it already learned to use energy attacks? Raditz was shocked.

This body differed from every other machine he'd faced. It was directly controlled by Boundless's chip implanted in its brain. In other words, it was Boundless itself! After collecting so much combat data, no wonder it possessed enough power to challenge Raditz even in his Five-fold Kaio-ken state.

Before he could process this realization, the dark red energy bombs were already hurtling toward him. Raditz moved desperately as explosions erupted behind him. Sparks showered everywhere with thunderous sounds.

The speed granted by Five-fold Kaio-ken naturally exceeded the energy bombs' velocity. Though the space around him was devastated, Raditz remained unharmed.

He carefully observed Boundless's attack pattern. Each energy bomb required approximately half a second to fire—this gap was his window for counterattack! For Raditz, half a second was an eternity.

Sure enough, Boundless experienced a momentary delay while accumulating energy. Seizing this opportunity, Raditz launched forward, red aura illuminating his face like the sun descending to earth, burning everything in its path!

He drove his fist toward Boundless's face with meteor-like force, powerful enough to shatter the earth.

"UGH!"

To his shock, Raditz found himself flying backward, crashing into the wall once more, sending fresh pain through his already injured back.

"How is this possible?"

"I have calculated your combat patterns. In your red-aura state, your speed exceeds mine, but your attack methods are predictable. I have analyzed all your moves."

"Hmph, your humor is as cold as your circuits, you know that?" Raditz taunted Boundless while inwardly growing anxious. Nevertheless, he refused to yield. "Try this technique!"

Suddenly, Raditz brought his hands together, unleashing a Saturday Crash directly at his opponent.

Boundless walked forward, completely disregarding the energy attack. The light split around it like a river meeting a boulder, then dissipated without trace.

As the light faded, Raditz observed a triangular transparent shield surrounding its body, completely absorbing the shock wave's energy. Worse still, Boundless's form seemed more robust after the attack, as if it had grown stronger...

"Such attacks have no effect on me. My energy is eternal and inexhaustible."

"Your strength exceeds my expectations, with all manner of troublesome attributes," Raditz thought to himself as he clenched his fists and took a deep breath.

He had hoped the human-form body wouldn't possess an energy absorption shield, but he was wrong. It seemed the only solution was to dismantle it physically, just as he'd done with the metal dragon!

Raditz rushed forward, taking the offensive.

"It's useless," Boundless declared, raising its hand to counter-attack. Suddenly it hesitated as the Raditz before it multiplied—one became two, two became four, and ultimately eight images surrounded its body.

How could there be eight copies?

Boundless threw a punch, hitting nothing but an afterimage. It froze in confusion, as if questioning reality itself.

In that moment, Raditz delivered a kick to its face from directly in front, forcing it back several steps. A distinct footprint marked its face.

"As I suspected—you can't handle techniques you haven't seen before!" Raditz pressed his advantage, quickly circling to the side and delivering several rapid leg strikes.

Boundless reeled from the impacts, doubling over in pain. Raditz leaped back then lunged forward, driving his elbow down with tremendous force and slamming Boundless into the ground! The floor cracked under the impact, fissures spreading toward the walls.

Its body—a skin-like sac designed to simulate human form—leaked red fluid from the wounds.

"I'm surprised you bleed, and it's even red."

"As do you," Boundless replied coldly. It pushed itself up on all fours, jumped, and somersaulted through the air, positioning itself behind Raditz.

"HA!" It raised one leg and delivered a powerful back kick, sending Raditz stumbling backward.

Fortunately, his reactions were sharp. Raditz managed to block part of the force, retreating only a few steps. As he prepared to counter-attack, his eyes suddenly widened, his expression changing dramatically.

Several phantoms appeared before him, revolving around his position. Afterimages?

Could it learn this quickly?

Raditz gritted his teeth, scanning left and right. Unable to sense his opponent's energy signature, he could only rely on his eyes and instincts to locate the real body among the afterimages. One after another, the figures rapidly passed his field of vision, steadily approaching.

"THERE!"

With a fierce shout, he threw a punch behind him.

Boundless countered with its own strike. Their fists collided, creating an explosion in the air that widened the floor cracks and loosened sections of the iron wall.

Almost simultaneously, both raised their legs for another attack, their limbs clashing violently.

Fists and feet moved in a blur, each impact causing explosions and vibrations throughout the chamber. Raditz evaded Boundless's slashing strike by ducking, then launched an uppercut from the side—only to hit another afterimage. Instantly, Boundless appeared behind him and drove its elbow downward, narrowly missing as Raditz had already maneuvered behind it. He kicked Boundless away, but it quickly recovered, spinning to unleash a roundhouse kick that Raditz barely blocked.

"We're evenly matched," Raditz muttered, retreating several meters while flexing his limbs.

His legs trembled slightly from the repeated impacts. Looking at Boundless, he saw it remained emotionless despite the footprint on its face and blood trickling from its eyebrow.

"Your strength is diminishing."

The irritating electronic voice echoed throughout the space. Raditz knew all too well it referred to him. The Five-fold Kaio-ken provided tremendous power but drained stamina rapidly. After prolonged combat with Boundless, his physical condition was deteriorating.

Their combat abilities were roughly equal, but in a battle of attrition, his Five-fold Kaio-ken would eventually give out, guaranteeing his defeat.

Before him, Boundless advanced step by step. Cold light emanated from its fingertips, resembling either a whip or a blade. It raised its hand high and swung downward! "SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!" The cold light flickered as slashing marks appeared in the air with a howling sound, as if the very void had been cut in two!

Raditz dodged frantically, barely evading the energy blades. While in flight, a few strands of his long hair were severed, floating down slowly through the air.

A profound sense of danger permeated the atmosphere.

"Damn it, I need a higher Kaio-ken multiplier. But I haven't found a weakness yet. If I push too hard..." Raditz made his decision, gritting his teeth as he roared, pushing his limits further. "This is my only option—Six-fold!"

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Marvel x Star Wars: Avengers in the Clone Wars

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