Turles and The Tree of Might

"Brother, whisper!" Noffey hissed urgently, tugging at Noen's sleeve. "There's a strange cosmic man over there. He looks terrible, like he's up to something awful."

Having finally caught his breath from their race through the forest, Noen scoffed at his younger brother's fear. "What a coward you are, Noffey. Hiding here all scared while I go investigate." Despite his mocking words, the chubby young rabbit prince felt a flutter of apprehension as he peered at the dark figure in the clearing ahead.

In that clearing, Turles grinned with savage satisfaction as he planted a seed of the Tree of Might into Durastar's fertile soil. "The seed has been planted," he murmured to himself. "Now I just need to wait one day for it to absorb this planet's vitality and grow. Then I can harvest a batch of fruits that will make me unstoppable!"

His coarse laughter echoed through the trees as he watched the seed already beginning to take root, tiny tendrils spreading beneath the soil's surface at an unnatural speed.

A movement caught Turles's attention. His eyes narrowed as he spotted Noen emerging from behind a rock. He glanced at his scouter, which registered only a minimal power reading. The Saiyan dismissed the young rabbit prince as inconsequential, after all, the Tree of Might would soon absorb the entire planet's vitality, eliminating all life forms regardless.

"Hey, you weird space traveler!" Noen called out with a boldness that surprised even himself. "What do you think you're doing here? Don't mess with our planet! I'll have you know my father is King Norris, ruler of all Durastar!"

Behind the rocks, Noffey clenched his small paws into tight fists, heart pounding as he watched his brother confront the menacing stranger.

Turles's lips curled into a contemptuous smile. "Ha! It doesn't matter who your father is, rabbit. Your battle power is pathetically weak, barely registering on my scouter. You're completely useless in a fight." His dark eyes gleamed with cruelty. "No one can save your planet now. You and everyone else will simply become nourishment for my Tree of Might!"

"What... what are you talking about?" Noen's earlier bravado faltered as the gravity of the situation dawned on him. "You want to destroy our home?"

The young prince's ears drooped in dismay as he processed Turles's words. Then, with a sudden surge of defiance, he gritted his teeth, glaring at the villain who threatened his world.

"Struggle all you want. Feel the pain of helplessness!" Turles laughed maniacally. "You can only blame your own weakness. Your kind isn't even worth the effort to eliminate personally, the Tree will do that work for me."

At that moment, Karnel arrived, having followed the disturbing sensation of the planet's draining life force to this very spot.

The seed Turles had planted was already visibly growing, pushing up through the soil at an alarming rate.

"This parasitic species will drain the entire planet's vitality," Karnel observed grimly, his eyes fixed on the rapidly sprouting Tree of Might at Turles's feet. "At this rate, within two days, Durastar will be reduced to a lifeless husk. Even if it could somehow be restored, it would take countless years."

Karnel's gaze shifted to Turles, recognizing the distinctive armor and tail that marked him as a fellow Saiyan survivor.

Turles noticed him immediately. "Another Saiyan here? How unexpected!" He spread his arms in a welcoming gesture. "Join me, brother! With the fruits of the Tree of Might, we'll soon become the most powerful beings in the universe. We can defeat Frieza and rule as emperors of the cosmos!"

"Is that your goal? Universal domination through this parasitic tree?" Karnel's voice carried nothing but disdain. "You disgust me."

"You dare look down on me?" Turles snarled, his scouter beeping as it registered Karnel's power level. "A warrior with only 5,000 units of battle power? I'll show you the gap between yourself and the future emperor of the universe!"

Watching Turles's arrogant posturing, Karnel could only shake his head in disbelief. The dark Saiyan clearly had no idea who he was facing.

"After consuming just a few fruits from my previous harvests, my battle power has reached 350,000," Turles boasted, puffing out his chest. "How does it feel, medium-class warrior? Are you terrified yet?"

"If you're so confident in your abilities," Karnel replied calmly, "why not attack and find out?"

"You don't know what you're asking for. Prepare to die!" Turles couldn't contain his anger at Karnel's repeated rejections of his 'generous' offer. Time to eliminate this obstacle.

"Die!" Turles shouted, channeling his supposedly overwhelming power of 350,000 units into a single devastating punch aimed at Karnel's face.

The punch connected, and Karnel didn't even flinch.

"Is that all you've got?" Karnel asked, casually rubbing his ear as if swatting away an annoying insect.

"Impossible!" Turles leapt backward, putting distance between them as his confidence wavered. "Your battle power was only 5,000! You... you're concealing your true strength!"

"Don't stop now," Karnel taunted with a slight smile. "I was just starting to enjoy myself."

"Abominable!" Turles roared, his face contorted with rage. "I refuse to believe you're this powerful!"

The dark Saiyan cupped his hands, gathering energy between his palms. "Flash Cannon!" he screamed, unleashing a thick beam of white energy directly at Karnel.

The attack, powerful enough to obliterate mountains, struck Karnel head-on without leaving so much as a scorch mark on his clothing.

"Ha! You fool!" Turles gloated prematurely, turning his back on the apparent destruction. "So arrogant, yet so easily destroyed. No one survives my Flash Cannon..."

Dismissing Karnel from his thoughts, Turles walked toward his precious Tree of Might, which had already grown to over three meters in height. Karnel had severely underestimated the speed at which the tree consumed a planet's life force. At this rate, it would drain Durastar completely in less than a day.

Already, leaves throughout the forests were turning yellow and falling. Fierce, unnatural winds swept across the planet's surface. The once-vibrant oceans had grown still and lifeless. While the city-dwelling rabbit people remained oblivious to these subtle changes, continuing their peaceful existence, wild animals sensed the approaching doom, scattering in panicked confusion.

"I'm still here," came Karnel's voice from directly behind Turles. "Don't you think you're being a bit presumptuous in assuming I've been destroyed?"

The look of shock on Turles's face was almost comical as he whirled around to find Karnel standing there, entirely unharmed.