Chapter 44 – Psych, You Thought!

Ajax took a moment to rotate his shoulders and shake out his hand. Unfortunately, an attack that powerful had its consequences, and Ajax wasn't entirely immune to the recoil. Despite having mostly adapted to his strength, Ajax could still sense the numbness spreading through his arm. Or maybe that had been from Nappa's electricity?

Anyways, Pinpoint Impact. It's a move inspired by a particularly well-endowed character from a different franchise Ajax had known in his past life–the legendary technique of the Legendary Sucker. Drawing inspiration and applying similar principles from the original, he can significantly amplify the physical impact of a single strike to devastating levels. Kami had been very impressed by the concept and had confirmed its feasibility, albeit with a few minor adjustments. After extensive experimentation with his mentor and a shit ton of Ki manipulation practice, he had successfully recreated the move.

It was a testament to the move's formidable power that once Ajax successfully performed and tested it on Tien's Multi-Form clone, Kami had explicitly forbidden its use against other Z Fighters. To be fair, it was a rather sensible restriction, considering how rare a resource Senzu beans were. It was also the case that none of the other Z Fighters expressed any enthusiasm about being subjected to the move, especially after what they saw it did to Tien's clone. That poor, poor clone. 

However, when it came to Nappa… who gives a shit?

Similar to the original, the recreated version demanded massive Ki control, requiring near-pinpoint precision. Fortunately, the Ki-adapted version wasn't as difficult as the original made it out to be. What set Pinpoint Impact apart from its predecessor was its leniency in terms of the timing of execution. In contrast to the original move, which demanded almost instantaneous synchronization with impact, his version allowed for a slightly more forgiving window.

Naturally, the amplification was directly linked to how closely the execution of the technique aligned with the moment of impact. The closer Ajax timed the Ki release to the actual strike, the more potent the amplification became. And though the technique could still be effective moments after the impact, the amplification would be diminished.

One drawback, if it could even be considered as such, was that Ajax couldn't employ the technique instinctively in every strike yet. Its use required intense concentration and focused Ki control, meaning that each activation still demanded deliberate effort on his part.

However, for now, this is a negligible trade-off. If a few strikes enhanced by Pinpoint Impact were insufficient to take his opponent down, then he had no business engaging that particular opponent in the first place.

Ajax, taking a moment to assess the battlefield, squinted and extended his awareness through his ki sense. It appeared that Nappa was still recovering from the devastating impact earlier. Oh well, no point in going after him now. Attacking Nappa in his current state was no different than tempting fate, as Nappa's heightened senses and battle instincts would undoubtedly alert him to any incoming threat.

Ajax refrained from pressing his advantage for another reason too. In this fight, Ajax knew he could take Nappa out without too much difficulty. After all, a surprise Solar Flare to temporarily blind him, external Ki manipulation to immobilize him, and a well-placed Kienzan as the finishing touch would decisively end the battle. A guaranteed instant gameover for Nappa.

But the thing about this fight was that, despite having this nearly foolproof strategy at his disposal, he couldn't use it. Not because he was incapable, but because Nappa was never the problem. Ajax's eyes drifted over to Vegeta. He was the problem.

If he took out Nappa prematurely, he would only hasten the inevitable confrontation with Vegeta, forcing himself to contend with the Prince of All Saiyans solo. And while Ajax had confidence in the strength he had achieved thus far, he was not yet delusional enough to think he could take on the Prince of All Saiyans should Vegeta take the field. Additionally, since Vegeta was still needed in the future, the instant kill strategy can't be utilized again.

Ajax sighed. Unfortunately, that meant this battle was never about defeating Nappa outright, it was about stalling. He needed to drag out this fight, a task for which his abilities were uniquely suited for, and wait for Goku. Once Goku entered the fray, Vegeta would no longer be his problem, and Nappa's ass would be his. Figuratively speaking, of course, not literally.

Fortunately, the silver lining was that he didn't need to be worried about sustaining excessive injuries during the stalling. Ajax smirked; that extra Senzu Bean sounded really useful right about now, didn't it? To be honest, it still annoyed him to think the Senzu bean was originally used by Goku for stamina of all things. It was like he said before, sometimes one extra Senzu bean could make ALL the difference. 

"Stop smirking, Ajax. You haven't defeated me yet," Nappa muttered as he returned, his voice slightly distorted from his nose being bent in the wrong direction. With a pained grunt, Nappa forcefully jerked his nose back into place with a nasty crunch. Nappa took a moment to move his nose, testing it, before wiping away the blood on his face. "Ahhh, I'll definitely feel this one tomorrow…"

Ajax assumed his combat stance, deliberately mirroring the iconic one Goku had taken during his confrontation with Vegeta, an event scheduled to occur a few hours from now if all goes according to plan.

"As expected, you didn't disappoint, Ajax, representative of god!" Nappa exclaimed. "Stormforged Mantle!" 

Ajax blinked as even fiercer lightning suddenly enveloped Nappa, the crackling energy dancing around his form. What's with that cool-ass name? He wants one of those!

With an echoing boom, both warriors vanished from their respective positions. Ajax flashed forward, leaving afterimages, while Nappa zoomed forth with a trail of lightning, not unlike the Flash.

Ajax felt the difference almost immediately. Nappa's speed and force had increased significantly, and Ajax had a chilling realization that Nappa, now empowered by his technique, had become an adversary that he could barely keep up with.

The electrifying shocks accompanying Nappa's movements not only increased the Saiyan's physical capabilities but also impeded Ajax's reaction speed, disrupting his ability to keep up with the accelerated pace of the battle. Shit! Ajax knew he could adapt to the electricity, but he wasn't sure if he had enough tim—

Nappa's electrified fist slammed into Ajax's face as a powerful backhand, momentarily stunning Ajax. In a strategic move, Nappa capitalized on the opening to grapple Ajax in a massive bear hug that trapped one of Ajax's arms against his chest.

Ajax gritted his teeth, feeling the electricity coursing through him and lighting his nerves up like Christmas lights. He couldn't afford to stay in this vulnerable position for too long. Fortunately, despite one arm being trapped, the other remained free.

"Solar Flare!"

A burst of radiant light erupted from Ajax, shrouding the battlefield in a blinding flash of light that forced Nappa to stumble back with a yell. Temporarily blinded by the intense light, the Saiyan Commander General instinctively covered his eyes and released his hold on Ajax.

Ajax, now freed from Nappa's grasp, seized the opportunity to regain his bearings. The lingering effects of the electricity, though only temporary, had left Ajax paralyzed, disrupting both his bodily and ki functions. Ajax focused on swiftly regaining control over his physical and energy faculties.

Once he managed to bring his bodily systems back online, Ajax made a quick decision to put some distance between himself and Nappa. With a burst of speed, he retreated into the air, rising as rapidly as his abilities allowed. However, this decision proved to be a mistake.

Before Ajax could go far, Nappa, squinting and wincing from residual discomfort, shot forward with blistering speed and tightly gripped Ajax's ankle with a single outstretched hand. Ajax barely had time to tense his body before Nappa flexed his arms and forcefully slammed Ajax down into the ground, practically embedding him into the wasteland.

Almost immediately, Nappa raised his foot to deliver a crushing stomp. Ajax, however, caught wind of the impending attack in the nick of time. With a swift and well-timed release of ki, Ajax ejected himself from his buried position, narrowly evading Nappa's stomp. As Nappa's foot struck the ground, the battlefield trembled from the immense force that would have been unleashed upon Ajax had he not managed to escape it.

Ajax performed a swift flip to orient himself on his feet but found little reprieve. Before he could fully steady himself, Nappa crashed into his chest with formidable force and launched Ajax through the air into a nearby rock column. The sheer power of the collision brought the column crumbling down, engulfing Ajax in a swirling storm of dust and debris.

Ajax gasped as he struggled to regain the wind that had been knocked out of him. Oh dear, he's getting overwhelmed. He needs to buy some time! Flexing his Ki, Ajax harnessed the energy within him and unleashed a standard Kiai—a focused burst of energy that materialized as a small shockwave. The Kiai forced the great storm of dust to expand outward and concealed Ajax's figure from view.

The dust storm that temporarily obscured Ajax did not stop Nappa one iota. Within seconds, Nappa burst into the swirling chaos, his eyes immediately snapping onto Ajax's form. Like a force of nature, Nappa charged forward, his fingers outstretched like some knock-off Third Raikage.

Ajax desperately struggled to evade Nappa's assault, but he ultimately came up short against the Saiyan's overwhelming speed. In an instant, Nappa's fingers effortlessly breached the swirling veil of dust, piercing through Ajax's defense and plunging deep into his stomach. Blood sprayed from Ajax's mouth as his body convulsed from having an entire arm buried deep into his body.

Even as the lightning set his nerves ablaze with excruciating agony, Ajax felt Nappa's hand mercilessly digging around inside his stomach. Through the haze of pain, Ajax summoned the strength to look up, only to see his opponent's triumphant smirk.

With a cruel twist of his arms, Nappa violently tore out a substantial portion of Ajax's spine, accompanied by a gruesome collection of internal organs. The Saiyan General, hands now drenched in blood, watched with grim satisfaction as Ajax collapsed to the ground bonelessly.

The air was thick with the unmistakable scent of iron as Ajax gurgled incoherently on the floor. Blood spilled from his mouth in copious quantities, staining the ground red with the evidence of his grievous injuries.

Nappa straightened to his full height and dismissed the Stormforged Mantle technique. The crackling lightning that had surrounded him faded away, dissipating like a retreating storm.

"Well fought, Ajax, representative of god." Nappa declared with a twisted sense of respect. "May you pass on with honor! If you have any last words, speak them now, and I shall remember them!"

Ajax, lying on the ground with his body broken and battered, coughed up blood as the dwindling life force within him waned. Despite the dire circumstances, he summoned the final vestiges of the strength within him to utter one last thing.

"My l-last words...? Fi-fine," A bloody smile, defiant in the face of impending death, stretched across Ajax's face. "This t-time, I won't bend my knees."

With those words, Ajax succumbed to the embrace of the Grim Reaper. The light in his eyes faded, and his lifeless body slumped as his blood spread out in a crimson pool beneath him.

As if the world itself was acknowledging the passing of a great warrior, the piercing sound of wind filled the air. It was a haunting, mournful melody that seemed to resonate with the collective weight of the battlefield's memories.

Standing above Ajax, Nappa frowned deeply, his brows furrowing into deep wrinkles in his confusion. Bend his knee? Like kneeling? What? Cruel he may be, but he doesn't do humiliating shit like that to his fallen foes. Other sick bastards in the Frieza Force like Cui, Dodoria, or Recoome–f*ck that guy–might, but not him, nor most Saiyans he knows of. Not to be a grammar Nazi, but was this some kind of grammatically incorrect declaration of honor? Was Ajax attempting to convey that this time, he hadn't bent his knees?

Nappa was abruptly jolted out of his contemplation as the cooling wetness on his hand, the residue of the crimson lifeblood that had stained his palms, suddenly disappeared. Bewilderment flashed across Nappa's features as he instinctively glanced down at his now clean hand.

Nappa looked down just in time to see Ajax's corpse dissolving into a cascade of light particles. Nappa's eyebrows quirked upwards in surprise. Did the inhabitants of this planet not leave behind corpses or something?

Standing in a state of utter bafflement, Nappa suddenly registered a faint whistling sound in the air once again. It was the unmistakable sound of wind that grew subtly loude— wait! He was in a barren wasteland without any wind!

A fraction of a second later, his instincts blared the loudest and most visceral warning they could give him. A primal surge of adrenaline coursed through Nappa's veins, urging him to act on instinct alone. When Nappa turned around, crossing his arms in a defensive stance, the only thing that met his gaze was a single foot. Oh Shit. 

For everyone else on the battlefield, events played out differently. Of them, only Vegeta noticed an elusive figure departing from the dust cloud formed by Ajax's Kiai with great speed. The figure rapidly ascended into the sky, leaving behind no trace until it became a distant dot against the sky.

As the dust settled, unveiling the shocking scene of Nappa standing over the fatally wounded Ajax to the horror of all those watching, a select few also managed to catch a fleeting glimpse of another figure descending from above.

The mysterious figure descended with awe-inspiring speed, generating concentric shockwaves that rippled through the air—a phenomenon exclusively associated with objects far exceeding supersonic velocities. An ear-piercing whistling sound grew progressively louder as the form approached, causing every spectator on the battlefield to become keenly aware of its presence. Erason did, Tien did, Gohan did, Vegeta did, and even Piccolo, who had just regained consciousness, did.

Nappa eventually did too. Just a moment too late.

For the second time in this battle, the blurring figure of Ajax slammed horrifically into Nappa's hastily erected defenses, this time in a picture-perfect drop kick.

As a testament to the catastrophic power behind the attack, the collision carved out a crater, before expanding into an even larger one, moments after the first. The sheer momentum forced Nappa to one knee under the immense strain, and the earth gave way beneath him as he was driven into the unforgiving ground knees first.

Nappa really, really regrets his decision to dismiss his Stormforged Mantle. Oh, why did he do it? Nappa looks up at the perfectly straight leg that's causing him so much grief. 'Oh, so that's what he meant by not bending his knees…'

"Pinpoint Impact!"

"Oh shit!"

Nappa's form was mercilessly crushed into the Earth as the already meteoric force of the attack intensified. An involuntary growl of pain escaped his lips as he felt something in his arm crack and fractionally give way to the overwhelming pressure of the attack bearing down on him. Oh dear. Karma sure is a b*tch, isn't she?

Even as the earth practically disintegrated around him, Nappa's keen senses picked up on the continued movements of Ajax's hands. What the actual f*ck! Is this guy still not done?!

Nappa eyed Ajax's hands warily as they formed a triangle. His eyes widened in alarm as the initial sparks of light began to form within the confines of the hand sign. However, in this compromised position, with the majority of his body literally buried in the ground and his arms still desperately blocking the kick, there was absolutely nothing he could do at this point blank range.

"КІКОНО!!"

"OH SHIT!!"