Everything happened very quickly, literally a perfect execution on the part of Shen and Tao. Giran and Bora were also exceptionally sharp. The boys swiftly adjusted to their roles in real time when the right moment presented itself to take advantage of the unforeseen opportunity and strike the dumbfounded enemies.
Namu has also revealed himself from behind the rock, but the poor guy hasn't gotten any chance to partaken in any action. He must be feeling out of place right now. [A/N - I forgot about him in the last chapter]
Giran and the rest had no qualms about killing their enemies, this surprised even Shen. He had expected them to fell sick after taking someone's else's life for the first time.
Two of the space pirates are down, and even the cyborg is lying on the floor, clutching his injured left arm, some blood dripping. If he hadn't been observant, he would've met the same fate as his other two comrades.
The only one left untouched is Turles. Shock is clearly visible on his face. Looking at his fallen subordinates, anger wells inside him, not because of grief but because of the shame he feels for not noticing the enemies beforehand.
His last remaining henchman Cacao, the cyborg; having a scouter with him, calculates the power level of the new arrivals out of habit. Instantly, he is stupefied. "7000... 8000... 9000... It's over nine thousand!!" Cacao stutters.
"What—9000!!... who?"
"It's the young one at the forefront."
Turles is astounded. 'Someone with a power level of 9000 on a planet like this... unbelievable. My own power level is around 15,000. It seems I personally have to face him.'
For a few seconds, everyone stays still... Both sides carefully observe each other.
Time has seemingly stopped.
Just then, Turles disappears from his spot, leaving Shen with a mere split second to react to his punch. Still, Shen somehow manages to evade the attack.
The pirate leader doesn't stop as he relentlessly attacks with kicks and punches. The frequent blows that land make Shen go through a world of pain. At the end of the small ordeal, Shen is left sweating buckets.
The pirate leader, however, is relentless. He pursues Shen, who somehow manages to create some space between them.
"Tao!! Use your second form... we can't win without your help." Shen is struggling just to match Turles' pace. He is narrowly surviving but can't keep up for long. His time is running out.
The only reason he has lasted this long is his vast experience advantage over the less seasoned Turles.
"Understood." Tao touches his power source, and with a puff, metal objects emerge from it. These floating hunks of metal are the different parts of his exo-suit. One by one, the parts start to fit on his body. Seconds later, he has fully transformed into a form resembling an actual robot.
"Brother, make way." Tao's exo-suit starts glowing neon blue.
Shen does as he's told, getting out of the fray. Turles, intrigued by Tao's changing demeanor, loses interest in Shen as a result. smirking he waits for the metal man to come at him.
Seeing the coast clear, Tao, without a word, zaps in front of the enemy.
"W-wa??" A metallic punch lands square in Turles's mug. Tao's movements appear almost instantaneous to everyone, including the one who had to suffer because of it.
The two fighters exchange blow after blow, and as the fight progresses, it becomes clear to everyone that the saiyan is getting outmatched in every metric, from speed to strength.
Shen, amazed at the fight he's seeing, thinks...
'Turles and that red alien mentioned earlier that my power level is somewhere around 9000. From what Turles displayed earlier, and considering he's a Saiyan who was essentially a replacement for Vegeta in Tree of Might, his power level should currently be over 15,000... It's amazing Tao is not only able to keep up but even overwhelm such an individual.'
'Earlier, Tao's power was around half of my own... now, after putting on the exo-suit, it's amplified to leagues above the likes of Turles.' Shen, at this moment, has forgotten that the momentum in an intense battle could always tilt.
In the ongoing battle, Turles is shaken for the first time since arriving on Earth. 'I can't keep this up. Facing this hunk of metal in my current form is impossible. I have to transform,' the Saiyan decides, having no other options.
Contrary to everyone's premature beliefs, Turles becomes more aggressive in his battle against Tao. He starts using massive reserves of his Ki. Each punch, kick, and Ki blast chips away at his already depleted strength. If this goes on, he will soon lose consciousness and collapse from exhaustion.
After a great deal of effort, Turles manages to fall back from the fight, retreating a safe distance away from Tao Pai Pai. Now in the sky, he swiftly takes out a switch from his pocket. "Heh! Die!!!"
A few meters below Tao, the two dead bodies of the fallen pirates start to emit light from inside them.
"Run—" Before Shen can warn his cyborg brother, both of the corpses explode with a deafening noise.
The pirate boss has detonated the bombs he had secretly placed inside his subordinates for desperate situations just like this.
.
.
.
A short while later, as the dust settles... "Cough! Cough!" Slowly, visibility returns to Shen and his three disciples. Together, the four of them fly toward the point of the explosion.
There they find what's left of the rocky landscape... an extremely deep and massive charred crater. The explosion was very concentrated.
Nearby, there is no one to be seen. No Tao Pai Pai. No Turles. Not even the red-skinned cybernetic alien. The alien has actually long left the immediate vicinity of the fight and is now observing from a safe distance.
From below the deep crater, a figure gradually emerges. "Master Tao!" the three disciples call out, addressing the man in a respectable manner, fitting of an elder of their organization.
Tao is uninjured, and his exo-suit is also unharmed.
While the disciples admire Tao, Shen is looking at the sky. He's had an ominous feeling since earlier. 'Well, i am all but certain we are facing a terrifying disaster.'
A dark, shadowy silhouette is in the sky, menacingly blocking the sun. A great ape, with red, sinister eyes...
'Saiyan Oozaru... Unmistakably, this is the Oozaru transformation of Saiyans. There's a glowing ball of light hovering above the ape... probably an artificial moon to replicate the full moon, as they need one to transform.'
Turles, now in his Oozaru form, roars. "RAWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!"
Everyone's attention is pulled to the great ape.
"Master!! Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Namu asks.
Seeing their master's undecipherable facial expression, the disciples feel a chill run down their spines. "No way... this is real!!" Giran's hands are trembling. "I thought I was hallucinating. Is that really the same guy as before?"
"Most likely," Bora states seriously.
Shen starts to speak, informing his disciples. "Don't despair yet. We can turn him back into his regular form by cutting off his tail. Without it, he can't transform, or we could possibly do the same if we are able to destroy that glowing ball of light above him."
"If it's just that, I still have a chance," Tao declares.
"All of us will help," Shen announces, and to that, everybody nods.
.
.
.
"Hahahaha!! Earthlings. Isn't that what you call yourselves? You nearly got me there... But now it's over for the likes of you... only defeat awaits you miserable pests..."
The tide has essentially reversed.
'He's become too strong.' Shen's mind is racing.
'Now that I've come so close to him, I can feel it. This tremendous power... He's probably twice as strong as Tao... maybe near a power level of 60,000...' Shen guesses, but he keeps these thoughts to himself. [A/N- The moon is fake so the multiplier is not 10 times, as mentions by Vegita; creating the fake moon drains a lot of his power, so even before he transforms, he is already weakened]