Unlike Zuke, who immediately detected Babidi scan, Zuke had already discovered Babidi using his "ki" without Babidi realizing it.
Babidi's "ki" strength could only be described as pitiful, truly fitting the label of a weakling. All of his power was concentrated in his magic.
This situation was like a character specialized in magic suddenly encountering a master who excelled in both magic and martial arts—there was no comparison in any aspect.
Of course, although Zuke had discovered Babidi, he didn't immediately think of confronting him.
Although Babidi was weak, the subordinates he controlled were each more troublesome than the last.
Not to mention Dabura, who possessed strength comparable to Cell, even Pui Pui, who Vegeta effortlessly defeated, was likely someone Zuke couldn't handle.
Perhaps many people don't remember a minor character like Pui Pui—simply put, he was the weakling who arrogantly challenged Vegeta because his planet's gravity was 10 times that of Earth.
He even made a Super Vegeta gesture during his challenge, which is why he was instantly obliterated by Vegeta.
Although his performance was laughable, even boasting about 10 times gravity, he was indeed a strong individual that the East Kaioshin was wary of.
The East Kaioshin, after all, was someone who could easily kill Frieza. If he was cautious of Pui Pui, there was no way Zuke could handle him.
However, after carefully scanning with his "ki," Zuke's heart began to race.
Because he discovered that Babidi was truly alone on this planet.
Well, to be more precise, it was just Babidi and some weak magical beasts he had recently controlled.
Those magical beasts might be insurmountable giants for ordinary people, but to Zuke, they were nothing special. It was even questionable whether they were stronger than the dinosaur little Gohan ate during his training.
All of Babidi's original subordinates—Pui Pui, Yakon, Dabura—were nowhere to be found!
Although it was unclear why Babidi was alone here now, this was undoubtedly a golden opportunity.
Babidi being here meant that the spaceship containing Majin Buu's egg was also here.
This was a perfect chance to... absorb Majin Buu!
...
"Someone I've never seen before... probably not a very powerful guy, right?"
Babidi had also used his magic to clearly see Zuke's appearance—he thought carefully but couldn't recall ever seeing Zuke's face before.
After his father, Bibidi, died, Babidi began planning the revival of Majin Buu, so he had long ago gathered information on various powerful beings across the universe.
He had even considered controlling Frieza, but the Frieza Force's influence was too vast. He felt he might be killed before even getting close to Frieza, so he gave up on that idea.
Among all the information he had collected, he didn't remember Zuke's face, so he naturally assumed Zuke wasn't a particularly strong individual.
Moreover, Babidi soon noticed something on Zuke's body.
"A tail?"
In the Dragon Ball world, Zuke's Saiyan tail had grown back, so Babidi immediately noticed it.
Seeing that monkey-like tail, Babidi instantly realized Zuke's identity.
"What... so you're a Saiyan. Nothing to worry about then."
Saiyans were notorious across the universe, considered an elite race—but compared to the subordinates Babidi controlled, they were far inferior.
Although those powerful subordinates weren't with him now, Babidi could control Saiyans!
Babidi knew well that Saiyans were a violent and cruel race, with most of them harboring uncontrollable evil hearts.
And Babidi's magic worked by amplifying the evil in one's heart to control their will and actions—controlling a mere Saiyan would be effortless for him.
Just as Babidi was thinking about how to lure Zuke down and control him, his magic suddenly noticed that Zuke's presence had disappeared.
"Huh?"
Only after Zuke's presence vanished from his magical perception did Babidi seem to realize something he had overlooked.
Why could a Saiyan survive in space?
But before he could ponder further, a voice rang out from behind him:
"Magician Babidi, right?"
Babidi was instantly terrified, quickly jumping away from his spot and turning to look behind him.
Zuke had already appeared behind him, and all the magical beasts Babidi had controlled were dead in an instant.
Babidi seemed to realize that things were getting out of hand. He gulped, forcing a fake smile:
"Haha... yes, I'm Babidi. You're a Saiyan, right? Why are you on this planet? Have you set your sights on this world?"
Since the Saiyans were a well-known unit within the Frieza Force, their reputation for clearing planets of civilizations and selling them at high prices was widely known.
Even Babidi had heard of it.
However, while speaking to Zuke, Babidi secretly activated his magic, injecting it into Zuke's body!
That's right, no matter how strong someone was, if they lacked magic resistance, even someone as powerful as Dabura could be controlled by his magic!
But the next moment, his smile froze.
"What? Realized your magic can't control me?"
Zuke sneered at Babidi—the magic Babidi had just injected into his body was instantly blocked by Zuke's own magic.
To be honest, if this were the old Zuke, he might have worried about his inner evil thoughts being exploited by Babidi.
But now, having learned magic techniques from Moro, he was confident he could resist Babidi's magic—the spell that controlled others through their evil hearts no longer worked on Zuke.
"This is... magic!? A Saiyan who can use magic!?"
Realizing the problem, Babidi couldn't help but shout, his voice filled with terror.
All his previous confidence had stemmed from the assumption that his opponent didn't understand magic. But now that Zuke could use magic, Babidi's cowardly mindset took over.
He instinctively tried to create a barrier and escape, but the moment he formed it, he felt a force tear through his defense.
Don't underestimate Babidi's barrier. In the original story, even Vegeta's full-power self-destruction in Super Saiyan 2 only barely broke Babidi's barrier, severing half his body.
Normally, Zuke wouldn't have the strength to break Babidi's barrier—but since the barrier was made of magic, Zuke could easily dispel it using his own magic.
"This way of controlling magic... damn it! Are you Moro's disciple!?"
With his barrier's magic absorbed, Babidi's neck was instantly grabbed by Zuke, leaving him unable to escape.
He also recognized Zuke's method of using magic—the technique of absorbing energy through magic was something he knew, or rather, had learned from his deceased father, Bibidi.
Moro, the planet-eater, was infamous for using magic to devour energy, even drawing the attention of the Kaioshins for his actions!
To be continued…
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