Goku? Hearing Tien's words, everyone was stunned.
Naturally, Tien's eyesight was impeccable—his three eyes were what gave him an advantage in many situations. But it was impossible for Goku to be in front of them when he was standing right beside them. Could it be Turles? No, that was impossible too.
"This is..." Raditz's eyes narrowed as he murmured to himself. As the figure came into view, he felt a shock run through him. "It really does look similar! But there's no life energy coming from its body—it's not human!"
"Has this 'Boundless' chip created them too?" Piccolo spat lightly.
"It might look like Goku, but it doesn't seem as strong as the real one," Tien said with a relaxed smile. "Right, Goku?" He turned to look at his friend, but was surprised to see Goku's expression was deadly serious, as if he were facing a mortal enemy.
Raditz wore the same grim look.
The metal planet had sent countless fighters against them, yet right before these "replica" Gokus appeared, all the machines had stopped functioning. Clearly, these replicas possessed combat power far beyond the previous metal warriors. As for exactly how powerful they were, Raditz found it difficult to judge. It seemed likely that the chip had calculated the strength of each Z Fighter through the previous battles and created replicas of comparable power!
"Be careful," Piccolo warned, also recognizing the extraordinary nature of these new enemies. He shifted his stance slightly.
"You oppose my will. I will capture you again," the voice stated without inflection, its rapid frequency and immense volume making their scalps tingle.
The lifeless replicas approached with heavy steps, their feet colliding with the floor to produce solid metallic clangs.
Three cloned Gokus emerged from the white light. They wore pristine Turtle School uniforms that remained perfectly still as they walked, as if cast directly onto their bodies. The spiky hair, muscles, belts, and boots all shone with an oily glean, their surfaces displaying a dull blue tint.
"As I thought—they're made of metal!"
Nappa snorted disdainfully, gathered energy in his hands, and rushed toward the nearest replica with a flurry of punches. Can't beat the real Kakarot? That doesn't mean I can't handle these fakes!
Or so he thought.
"THWACK! CRACK! THUD!"
With one punch, one palm strike, and one kick, the replica precisely struck Nappa's chest, face, and stomach, sending him flying backward to crash into the floor. His massive body created a tremendous vibration upon impact, echoes reverberating through the empty passage.
"Tch, reckless fool." Vegeta cast a cold glance at Nappa before stepping forward with outstretched hands. From the brief exchange, he'd gleaned important information—these replicas had perfectly copied Goku's fighting style and techniques, with combat power closely matching the original. "I'll handle you, metal idiots!"
Defeating Goku would begin with defeating these replicas!
The replicas showed no reaction to Vegeta's taunt. They stared blankly, heads swiveling from side to side as if searching for suitable opponents.
"What are you looking at? It's annoying! Your opponent is right here!" Vegeta charged forward without another word, unleashing a dense barrage of lightning-fast punches.
The astonishing speed of his attacks created a blur even Tien struggled to follow—only Goku and Raditz could see clearly.
One replica positioned itself before Vegeta, crossing its arms to block. It withstood Vegeta's assault, sliding backward with a sharp scraping sound against the floor.
"Go! You can win!" The orange-haired girl waved her arms and cheered.
"There are still two more. Tien, please take care of this girl and the others. Goku and Piccolo, let's go!" Raditz released the girl's hand, ready for battle.
Goku rushed forward with a "whoosh" and was already engaging one replica in combat, perfectly matched move for move.
Piccolo's power had improved significantly after training in the gravity room, but he still seemed slightly outclassed against a Goku-level opponent. However, teaming up with Goku himself, they could certainly handle a replica.
The tallest replica fixed its gaze on Raditz. "I will capture you." Its lips and teeth moved mechanically as the cold, hostile voice emerged.
"Are you Boundless?" Raditz asked.
His question went unanswered as the roar of fierce battle continued to fill the air.
"HAAA!"
The replica shouted loudly, unleashing its full power as it charged Raditz. Its fist carried tremendous force, exploding forward with devastating power.
Powerful energy erupted from Raditz's body, enveloping him as he extended his own fist to meet the attack.
The two fists collided with a crisp sound as metal struck bone. Raditz felt his forearm go numb, his entire body trembling from the impact. He planted his feet firmly, channeling the force downward and cratering the floor beneath him. Across from him, the replica staggered back several steps, its arm shattered into pieces that scattered across the floor.
"Hmph, seems you're nothing special after all." Raditz withdrew his arm, secretly catching his breath as he flexed his fingers.
Though he'd destroyed the opponent's arm, it hadn't been without cost. After all, hitting solid metal with bare fists was never pleasant.
The replica silently regarded the fragments on the ground with no trace of emotion. It stepped forward, placing its foot upon the scattered pieces. In the next second, the fragments liquefied, climbing up the replica's body at incredible speed, reconnecting to the original location and solidifying into a perfectly restored arm.
"Liquid metal? With memory restoration abilities?" Raditz's expression turned grim.
The terrifying aspect of this ability was that it made the enemy nearly indestructible. Unless completely eradicated, it would regenerate endlessly, wearing down its opponents through sheer persistence.
This wasn't good at all, Raditz thought.
The replica charged forward again, landing a powerful kick to Raditz's midsection that sent him flying! Raditz performed two midair somersaults to stabilize himself before counterattacking with Kaio-ken activated, driving his fist into the replica's face.
The punch was so powerful that the replica's neck twisted almost 180 degrees, but Raditz knew this wouldn't be enough. He quickly followed up with an elbow strike to the already-twisted neck.
The replica collapsed sideways, hitting the ground with a dull thud.
Raditz targeted its prone form, unleashing a massive energy wave. The white beam instantly enveloped the replica as enormous energy expanded outward...
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