23 Selfishness

I stand at one end of the training area while Team Ocuro stands at the opposite. They all stare at me with unwavering eyes as I stretch out my arms and legs.

Hmm, seems that they weren't kidding about taking this seriously. It wouldn't help them at all, but they were already higher up on my list than Nappa. Just thinking about that cocky smirk made me wanna smack someone.

"Why are you doing this, Zyleth? You know that they don't stand a chance against you." My father asks as he looked towards Team Ocuro.

"You don't know that. Maybe they'll surprise you." I replied.

"I know for a fact that you don't even believe that." He said as he turned to me with a blank stare.

"Not at all." I shook my head.

"Then what's the point? Why are you humoring this?" He asked.

I shrugged my shoulders with a bored expression. "I don't know, because I felt like it? Besides, I'm more curious as to why they're here." I said as I pointed towards the people behind standing behind us.

"What? We wanted to watch." Tora defended, with all of the members of Team Bardock and Team Black nodding their heads in agreement.

"No, not you. Them." I waved them off before pointing towards the King and Queen who were standing near the back.

"Do you have issue with our presence?" The King asked with an emotionless expression.

"No." I said before walking towards the middle of the training area. "Just seems a little... beneath you."

"Nonsense. I am a man of the people."

I stopped in my tracks and turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow.

"What?" He asked, wondering why I was looking at him that way.

"Nothing." I said with a little bit of sarcasm before continuing on my way.

King Vegeta's eyebrow twitched in annoyance as Zyleth turned away. Not because of how comfortable he seemed to be getting when addressing him, he had expected as much as Zyleth continued to grow. It was because he was right, he hadn't come to oversee the match because he wanted to show some sign of support, but because he wanted to gauge just how powerful Zyleth is.

The more the King thought about that battle between Zyleth and Nappa, the more he wanted to know exactly how strong Zyleth was compared to himself.

He couldn't help it. He had been at the top for so long that he couldn't comprehend someone outclassing him so quickly, even though it was exactly what he wanted.

He wanted a Frieza killer, and he got it the moment Zyleth was born. He just didn't think about how monstrous something of that caliber would be until it humiliated one of his Elite warriors in just three blows.

"Alright. Come at me." I said as I cracked my neck.

The members of Team Ocuro looked at each other with confusion.

"Which one of us?" Matoto asked.

"All of you."

"You want to face off against all of us at the same time?!" Rhuba yelled out, obviously angered by my words.

"Can you be outraged later? I'm too tired to do the whole back and forth thing again." I said with an uncaring gaze that manages to piss off all five of them.

"You're gonna regret that decision. I'll make sure of it." Ocuro said as he got into his stance. "Formation four!"

The five all of a sudden spread out across the training room, entrapping me within a circle.

I raise an eyebrow them, but I don't do anything else but cross my arms. "Go ahead."

Even though I gave them the go ahead with the first attack, the group didn't move a muscle. Focusing on me as if waiting for me to initiate.

"Alright then, if you won't start it off..."

I vanish from their sight and their eyes immediately go wide as they frantically search around the room.

"Where did he--"

"Orko, behind you!"

Hearing his brother yell out, Orko turned and felt his face being grabbed.

"One."

I slammed his head down into the ground, putting a massive dent in the floor.

"Orko!"

"Matoto, wait!" Rhuba shouted at her teammate.

It was too late, as Matoto had already been blown back into the wall of the training area. Chiva ran towards Matoto, but saw that he was knocked out cold.

"Still think that you should wait around?" I asked the remaining three.

"You bastard..." Rhuba seethed, gritting her teeth in anger as she glared at me.

I chuckle a bit before giving her a cocky smirk.

She growled and clenched her fists, obviously wanting to wipe the smirk off my face.

"Calm down, Rhuba. He's trying to get under your skin." Ocuro said as he looked at me with a guarded expression.

I bring up my hand, holding out two fingers as if it was in the shape of a gun. "You should really stop talking."

I fire off a shot, to which they actually managed to dodge. I smile at this before holding out my other hand and start blasting off a vast amount of basic Ki blasts.

This was... fun.

There was something about seeing them struggle so hard...

Unknown to me at the time, a deranged smile had appeared on my face for a moment, which caused my father to look at me with a complicated gaze.

"Quit messing around, Zyleth!" He shouted.

I let out a groan before stopping my attacks altogether.

"Now!" Ocuro yelled.

The three Saiyans immediately charged at me with the intentions of an all-out assault. Seeing their desperation, I decided to humor them.

I hold out a hand and block all of their attacks as if they were nothing.

The three's attacks were solid. They coordinated well and they seemed to have a strong foundation of teamwork. But good teamwork won't bridge the gap we have in power.

Not when they're this weak.

Done with the game, I grab Chiva by the wrist and swing them into the other two, knocking them back a ways away. Before they could catch their bearings, I throw the one I had in my hand forcefully towards Rhuba.

Chiva collided with Rhuba and was about to push away when he felt my foot plant itself into his back, sending both him and Rhuba into the wall next to Matoto.

"And then there was one." I said as I looked towards Ocuro.

"You... You... YOU BASTARD!"

Ocuro lost it and put his hands together as he shot me with Ki blast after Ki blast.

"AAAAAAHHH!" Ocuro yelled out in anger, refusing to relent.

As I'm being shot by the Ki blasts, black smoke starts to cover my immediate area, blocking me from view.

After a few moments, Ocuro finally put his arms down, completely out of breath. He looked towards the smoke and a smile grew on his face, thinking that he won.

"It's over..." He said, assured in his victory.

"Yes, it is." The King said as he closed his eyes and crossed his arms. "I have to say that I'm impressed--"

"Th-Thank you, Your Majesty..." Ocuro replied with a hint of pride.

"...that you lasted this long." The King added.

Ocuro looked at him with confusion before his eyes widened in realization. He turned to look back at the smoke and watched as it dissipated, revealing my undamaged form.

"You owe me a new set of armor." I told him as I looked at my now half-destroyed body armor.

"How... How are you so strong?!" Ocuro yelled.

I look back up at him with disinterest, seeing the look of utter disbelief on his face.

"Do you wanna know why there's such a difference between us? And no, it's not because I was born with a higher power level. Power levels are bullshit."

"Power levels are... bullshit?" He muttered before shaking his head. "Then why?!"

"Selfishness." I told him.

"Selfishness?" He repeated, confused as to why I had said it.

I instantly close the gab between us and bury my fist right into his gut, causing his pupils to disappear and his eyes to go white.

"If you want to be at the top, stop giving a shit about things that don't matter. Low class and Elite class mean nothing. Forget about it. Let it go. Focus on yourself. Focus on your own strength, your own goals. Aim higher. Train harder. Go farther than anyone else is willing to go. Be selfish. That's the only way you'll win."

Ocuro falls to the ground unconscious and I stare at him for a few seconds before turning to leave.

"Then again, it's not like you'll ever get that chance."