Simply Eating a Sheep's Head

"You didn't absorb anyone else's life energy, did you?"

As soon as Zuke stepped into Moro's prison, Moro immediately sensed that Zuke hadn't followed his instructions.

After all, absorbing life energy with magic was Moro's speciality—his bread and butter. Naturally, he could see it at a glance. No other reason—just sheer practice.

"But it doesn't matter. I expected this, so I already prepared something for you."

Moro, however, didn't seem to mind. Instead, he wore an eerily strange smile and then tossed something—or rather, someone—from behind him.

Yes, it was an actual person.

A man dressed in a Galactic Prison uniform lay bound with sturdy ropes, struggling in vain to break free.

To prevent him from screaming, Moro had even stuffed a cloth into the prisoner's mouth. At this moment, the man could only let out muffled whimpers, seemingly pleading to Zuke for help.

Of course, despite all of Moro's precautions to keep the prisoner silent, it was meaningless in front of Zuke. The moment he stepped in, he immediately sensed the "Ki" hidden behind Moro.

However, in this vast universe, many people could not perceive Ki. Moro probably assumed Zuke was just like them.

This was the very reason why Frieza's army relied on scouters to detect life force and battle power—because the vast majority of its members couldn't sense Qi on their own.

"This guy, just like you, came to learn something from me… Probably because you've been visiting me so often lately, some people have started making guesses."

Moro sneered, glancing at the struggling prisoner before looking meaningfully at Zuke.

"But this guy couldn't offer anything convincing. I had no patience to listen to his nonsense, so I just tied him up—for you to absorb."

At this moment, Moro was indeed desperate to escape from Galactic Prison. With his lifespan nearing its end, he was willing to grasp at even the tiniest straw.

However, that straw had to be tangible. He had no interest in empty promises with no credibility.

Zuke had mentioned the Dragon God Zalama, which convinced Moro of the possible existence of Dragon Balls. But this prisoner lacked such secret knowledge.

Still, Moro was urging Zuke to absorb the prisoner's life energy. If Zuke had any doubts before, he was now almost certain of Moro's intentions.

Moro was guiding him to consume more life energy, subtly influencing his psyche.

If someone continuously devoured innocent life force over time, their mind would inevitably be affected.

In the original story, when Goku sensed Moro's Qi, he could even faintly hear the anguished cries of countless lives—proving that Qi obtained through life absorption was not something to be taken lightly.

Of course, if it was an uninhabited planet, devouring its energy might not pose the same problem.

After all, living beings have thoughts, whereas planets do not.

An empty, lifeless planet would remain desolate regardless of how long it sat there. If that energy could never transform into new life, why not consume it instead?

That was Zuke's reasoning.

Moro wanted Zuke to devour more life, likely hoping to turn him into someone like himself. If Zuke became the same kind of being, the likelihood of him siding with Moro would significantly increase.

This was also a way for Moro to ensure that Zuke wouldn't betray him—by pulling him in with shared corruption.

However, while absorbing too much life force wasn't advisable, indulging occasionally wouldn't hurt.

Zuke extended his hand and gripped the prisoner's neck.

The next moment, his magic seeped into the man's bones, extracting his life energy and drawing it into Zuke's body. The energy was gradually digested by his magic, converted into Ki, and flowed into his limbs.

"Your magic talent isn't bad… You've only absorbed life force twice, yet you've already mastered it to this degree."

Moro watched as Zuke effortlessly devoured the prisoner's life energy. Though satisfied, he was also somewhat surprised.

"This feeling… It's as if you're already used to this kind of act from somewhere else."

He wasn't wrong.

Zuke had indeed become proficient in life absorption so quickly because he had already used "Blackbird" to consume the strength of many people.

While the methods differed, magic was a power deeply tied to one's will. His past experiences with devouring energy had been incredibly helpful.

In fact, it was precisely because Zuke noticed how quickly he was adapting to using magic for life absorption that he had a particular thought—

He could devour Moro!

Ultimately, his goal in learning magic was to master the ability to absorb planetary energy, allowing him to rapidly boost his power.

Now that he had learned how to absorb energy, the only thing he lacked was the physical ability to contain the vast energy of a planet.

And right now, the only one who could provide that ability was Moro.

Just as Moro was about to have Zuke continue practising magic, the prison door suddenly swung open.

Moro looked up in confusion.

Standing at the entrance was a short Galactic Patrolman.

Zuke also glanced over and was surprised to find that he recognized the newcomer—

It was none other than Jaco, the protagonist of the side story and a character who had also appeared in Dragon Ball Super.

Jaco had a timid personality, and in the face of the legendary most dangerous prisoner, Moro, his legs were visibly trembling.

However, he was also somewhat prideful. So, despite his noticeably shaking legs, he kept a calm expression and said to Moro:

"Moro, come with us for a bit. Just think of it as getting some fresh air."

"…Oh?"

Moro narrowed his eyes, exuding a pressure that made Jaco's forced composure waver.

In ten million years, the Galactic Patrol had never attempted to let Moro out of prison.

Even though other prisoners were occasionally allowed to wander the prison grounds during break times, Moro had always been the exception.

Now, after more than ten million years, were they suddenly changing their approach?

Moro felt a sense of suspicion but still followed Jaco out.

No matter what the Galactic Patrol was planning, this was a rare chance for him to leave the prison.

Who knew? Maybe he'd find something useful nearby—something that could aid his escape.

Soon, Moro followed Jaco to the Galactic Patrol Headquarters' training grounds.

The area had been completely cleared in advance, and all patrolling officers had been evacuated.

In this vast, space, only Jaco, Moro, and Zuke remained.

"..."

Moro was no fool.

At this moment, he had already noticed that something was off.

His brow furrowed, and a foreboding feeling welled up inside him.

To be continued…

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