The sky above the alien planet was choked with dust and embers, the ground beneath them fractured and scarred from the clash of titans. Vegeta hovered, muscles taut, eyes locked on the hulking adversary before him whose power rivaled the strongest foes Vegeta had ever faced.
The warrior's aura pulsed, dark and oppressive, a thick, simmering heat that made the very air tremble. His massive frame was coated in scars, and his snarling mouth revealed razor-sharp teeth. His stance was confident, almost mocking.
Vegeta sneered.
"So, this is the so-called 'second strongest' in Lord Xenthus's army, huh?" Vegeta's voice dripped with venomous disdain.
The warrior bellowed, swinging a colossal fist that could have shattered a mountain. Vegeta barely flinched, dodging with blinding speed and retaliating with a flurry of punches aimed to probe weaknesses.
Each strike landed with a solid thud, but the warrior's thick hide absorbed the punishment like a stone wall.
Vegeta's irritation grew with each blocked attack. His pride burned hotter than his ki.
"Is this all you've got?" he taunted silently. "I'm not even breaking a sweat."
The warrior snarled and charged, swinging a devastating right hook that forced Vegeta to leap back, narrowly avoiding a crushing blow.
Vegeta's sharp eyes caught a flicker of surprise in the enemy's expression—he had expected this to be easy. This fight was beneath him, and it made him restless.
"Where's the challenge? Where's the fire I crave?!"
Vegeta clenched his fists, energy beginning to ripple off him in a fiery aura. But even that was not enough to overwhelm this brute.
The fight became a grueling exchange of raw power. Blow for blow, block for block, the earth trembled beneath them.
Vegeta's teeth clenched tighter. His pride, his Saiyan blood, demanded more.
"This guy is strong, I'll give him that. But he's not the one I want. The real prize... the strongest warrior here... that's the one I'll crush."
With every strike Vegeta threw, he could feel his own strength simmering just below the surface, begging for release. But he held back—for now.
He knew the importance of timing.
A reckless burst of power now would burn him out before the real fight.
But the frustration was eating at him, gnawing like a wolf at a bone.
His breathing grew heavier, but controlled.
"I can't waste time here. I need to break through… break free…"
Yet, here in this critical moment, something inside him snapped.
A roaring fire of pride and fury erupted in his chest.
His aura flared wildly—his hair began to rise, glowing with the unmistakable golden light of Super Saiyan.
But this was different.
Vegeta's hair lengthened rapidly, cascading upwards in a wild mane of gold. His eyebrow gone, his features hardened, and the energy crackled ferociously around him.
Super Saiyan 3.
The air itself seemed to shudder under the weight of his power.
Vegeta's eyes gleamed with a fierce, predatory light.
The warrior's mouth dropped open in shock.
"No… impossible!" the brute growled.
Vegeta's voice was low and commanding, full of lethal pride.
"Nothing is impossible since I am the prince of all Saiyan's!!"
His power surged forward like a tempest unleashed.
Every muscle in his body pulsed with raw strength and precision.
Vegeta lunged with breathtaking speed, striking with a devastating blow that sent the warrior staggering.
The earth cracked beneath their feet as they exchanged blows with renewed fury.
Vegeta's every movement was sharp, calculated, but bursting with untamed power.
His energy no longer screamed—it roared with a deep, resonant intensity that shook the battlefield.
From a distance, the other Z Fighters sensed the spike instantly.
Gohan's eyes narrowed, Piccolo's hands tightened, and even Trunks, locked in his own brutal battle, couldn't help but glance toward the eruption of ki.
Krillin and Tien halted briefly, faces awash in astonishment.
"Vegeta…?" Gohan whispered, sensing something new, something powerful.
"That's Super Saiyan 3…" Piccolo said quietly. "But it's Vegeta..."
None of them had ever seen it from him before.
Vegeta had crossed a threshold that even Goku had assumed was unique to him and Goten.
Yet here was Vegeta, wielding that same devastating power—and with an intensity that demanded respect.
Vegeta's lips curled into a smirk beneath his golden mane.
"This is what true Saiyan pride looks like," he thought.
The warrior charged again, desperate to keep pace.
But Vegeta was no longer content with mere blocks and counters.
He unleashed a rapid-fire barrage of punches and kicks that shattered the enemy's defenses.
The warrior was forced back, stumbling under the assault.
Vegeta's aura flared brighter, the very atmosphere around him warping under the pressure.
His voice cut through the noise.
"Give up! You're not worthy of this fight!"
But the warrior snarled, lunging with a massive overhead strike.
Vegeta blocked it with a forearm, then spun with blinding speed, landing a crushing blow to the warrior's ribs.
The sound echoed like thunder.
Vegeta growled through clenched teeth.
"I'm just getting started."
He darted forward, ki flaring, fists glowing with golden energy.
The warrior tried to counter with a ki blast, but Vegeta deflected it effortlessly.
Vegeta moved like a storm incarnate, each strike honed by years of battle and burning pride.
The warrior was driven back again and again.
Vegeta's smirk deepened.
"Now, the real test."
With a roar, Vegeta slammed both fists into the ground, sending a shockwave ripping through the battlefield.
Rocks and dust exploded into the air.
The warrior tried to shield himself but was caught in the blast, tumbling backward.
Vegeta hovered, chest heaving, the golden aura swirling violently.
"You've been strong," Vegeta said coldly, "But you're no match for me."
The warrior struggled to rise, but the damage was done.
Vegeta's power was overwhelming.
The warrior snarled, eyes blazing with fury.
The fight was far from over.
But Vegeta had made his point.
He had declared himself a force beyond all expectations.
And the battlefield trembled beneath the might of a Saiyan prince who had finally unleashed his full potential.
Back with the other Z Fighters...
Far below, Gohan and Piccolo exchanged glances.
"Vegeta's really pushing his limits," Gohan murmured, sensing the shift in the battle's tide.
Piccolo nodded, eyes sharp.
"He's unlocked something new… something powerful. That kind of ki… it'll turn the tide."
Krillin and Tien gritted their teeth, pushing through their own wave of enemies.
"Man, with Vegeta like that… we've got a chance," Krillin said, wiping sweat from his brow.
Tien nodded in agreement.
Trunks, meanwhile, fought fiercely against the strongest warrior, his own aura flaring with determination.
"I have to hold out until Dad finishes his fight," he thought.
Vegeta's battle continued to escalate, his every strike a statement of Saiyan dominance.
His Super Saiyan 3 form was raw, fierce, and terrifying in its power.
He was no longer the impatient warrior frustrated by weaker foes.
He was the embodiment of Saiyan pride unleashed a storm that would not be denied.