Zuke's speed was so fast that not only Guldo failed to react, but the others were equally caught off guard.
Even Burter, who claimed to be the fastest in the universe, only saw a shadow flash by before Ginyu disappeared along with Zuke.
The other members of the Ginyu Force were startled and quickly turned around—only to see Zuke standing behind them, with Ginyu pinned to the ground, his neck tightly gripped by Zuke.
"D-damn it! Your speed...!"
Ginyu, struggling to speak due to the grip on his neck, widened his eyes in shock. It was only then that he realized he should have used his scouter to check Zuke's combat power.
Although they had learned from the Frieza Force that Zuke's combat power had only reached 4,000 not long ago, it was clear that Zuke had undergone some special circumstances, resulting in a qualitative leap in his strength!
Fortunately, after Zuke pinned him to the ground by the neck, he didn't seem to do anything else, giving Ginyu a chance to counterattack!
"Die!"
Ginyu roared, swinging his fist with all his might toward Zuke's heart—a vital spot for Saiyans, as Ginyu well knew.
However, Zuke didn't even glance at Ginyu, allowing the punch to land squarely on his chest. To Ginyu, it felt like hitting a solid wall.
Not only did Zuke remain unmoved, but the recoil from the punch left Ginyu's fist red and throbbing.
"H-how is this possible? Such defense...!"
Ginyu stared in horror at Zuke, who was completely unharmed. The only result of his punch was a hole in Zuke's shirt.
Zuke had let Ginyu hit him on purpose, mainly to test the current level of his defensive capabilities.
It seemed his defense was quite impressive. Even Ginyu, with a combat power of 120,000, couldn't faze him in the slightest.
Now that he had tested his defense, Zuke decided it was time to stop holding back.
He would drain Ginyu's life energy using his magic!
In an instant, a surge of magic flooded into Ginyu's body, extracting his life energy and channeling it into Zuke's own body.
Zuke could feel the life force filling his body, rapidly converting into "ki."
Ginyu, with a combat power of 120,000, provided a significant boost to Zuke's strength after absorbing his life energy. It was a considerable gain.
"M-my power... it's fading."
Ginyu also felt his strength dwindling. He looked at Zuke and suddenly grinned viciously.
"I don't know how you're doing this, but you're so close to me... it's time to—"
Clearly, Ginyu was planning to use his body-swapping ability on Zuke, who was so close that even his speed wouldn't allow him to dodge.
But before he could finish, Zuke smashed his fist into Ginyu's head, shattering it.
If it had been anyone else, they might have fallen for Ginyu's trick at such close range.
But Zuke already knew about Ginyu's body-swapping ability, and with the future-predicting effect of "Epitaph," he had foreseen Ginyu's attempt to swap bodies.
However, Zuke didn't even bother using "Black Bird Requiem" to fix the outcome of "failed body swap." Instead, he simply punched Ginyu's head, preventing the ability from being used at all.
Ginyu's body twitched slightly as his head was crushed, then went still—his life energy almost completely absorbed by Zuke, with the last remnants dissipating after his death.
After absorbing Ginyu's life energy, Zuke stood up and turned his gaze to the other members of the Ginyu Force, who were now frozen in fear.
The others were clearly terrified by what they had just witnessed—Ginyu, the strongest member of the Ginyu Force, had been effortlessly pinned to the ground and drained of his life energy by Zuke.
They had also heard Ginyu's attempt to swap bodies with Zuke, only to be predicted and left without even a complete corpse, his head reduced to fragments.
A wave of intense fear washed over them, and under its influence, Burter, the fastest among them, was the first to speak, shouting just one word:
"RUN!!!"
That's right. If Ginyu had been instantly killed, there was no way they could even scratch Zuke, even if they all attacked together. There was no point in throwing their lives away.
Even if they wanted to avenge Ginyu, they would have to plan carefully. After escaping, they could report the incident to Lord Frieza, who would surely avenge Ginyu...
This thought crossed the minds of the remaining Ginyu Force members.
So, when Burter shouted, the others didn't hesitate. They turned and fled, trying to escape from Zuke.
Guldo, in particular, acted decisively. Knowing he was the slowest in the Ginyu Force, he immediately held his breath and activated his time-stop ability!
To be continued…
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