Union of Rivals

is the fifteenth episode of the Fusion Saga and the two hundred sixty-eighth overall episode in the original dubbed and the uncut Dragon Ball Z series. This episode first aired in Japan on June 28, 1995. Its original American airdate was November 7, 2002.
==Summary==
The episode begins with Super Buu giving the newly restored Goku, to the count of 5 to find someone to fuse with. Goku has two choices because Tien has been knocked out by Buu. Goku imagines a fusion with Dende, but Goku realizes that would not be a good idea, because the Earth still needs the Dragon Balls, and Dende does not have any fighting experience. The other choice is Mr. Satan. Goku imagines the fusion with him and says that Mr. Satan is not a warrior but knows basic martial arts, so he makes the decision to fuse with him. Just as it appears he is going to throw one of the Potara to Mr. Satan, Goku senses someone's ki; that of Vegeta, who has just arrived. Goku uses his Instant Transmission to go to Vegeta. Fortuneteller Baba becomes shocked that Goku is back on Earth again and that he came back to life. Goku hurriedly explained he returned with the help of Old Kai. Goku senses Buu approaching and tells Baba to flee. Complying, she wishes Goku and Vegeta good luck in the battle and flees. On the Sacred World of the Kai, Kibito Kai becomes surprised that Vegeta showed up and thought that he destroyed his body in the fight with Buu, but Old Kai tells Kibito Kai that King Yemma had intervened. Goku tries to talk to him into fusing. But Vegeta refuses, saying that he has crushed Vegeta's pride once again by holding back his Super Saiyan 3 transformation in their battle when Vegeta was under Babidi's control and Goku tells Vegeta that didn't have time to use it. Ignoring this, Vegeta says that he would rather die than fuse with Goku.
Goku keeps trying to talk him into fusing when Super Buu shows up and beats up both Goku and Vegeta after Super Buu recognizes Vegeta from the first battle with him after being released from his shell. Goku is worried that this is the end of them and the Earth, but Vegeta is being still too proud to accept that he needs Goku's help. Goku tells Vegeta that Krillin, Chi-Chi and Bulma have been killed and Piccolo, Gohan, Goten and Trunks have been absorbed by Super Buu, which angers Vegeta that he has lost his family. He then gives a speech about how Vegeta always says he is a Saiyan Prince and that the two of them are the last survivors of the mighty warrior race. In the speech he says that the Saiyans are gone, and that they can start a new race and have a chance to save another planet from the same fate as their home planet, without being so caught up in their Saiyan birthrights. 
Vegeta agrees to the fusion because he wants to avenge his family's death. Just as Super Buu is getting ready for another attack, the two fuse. At the end of the episode, a new fusion character is formed, Vegito.
==Major Events==
*Goku senses that Vegeta has returned to Earth and goes to him using Instant Transmission.
*Goku and Vegeta fuse together to become the powerful Vegito.
==Battles==
*Goku (Super Saiyan) and Vegeta (Super Saiyan) vs. Super Buu (Gohan absorbed)
==Appearances==
===Characters===
*Goku
*Vegeta
*Vegito
*Tien Shinhan
*Kibito Kai
*Old Kai
*Dende
*Mr. Satan
*Bee
*Fortuneteller Baba
*Super Buu
===Locations===
*Earth
**Barren Wasteland
*Other World
**Sacred World of the Kai
===Objects===
*Halo
*Potara
*Crystal Ball
===Transformations===
*Super Saiyan
===Bruce Faulconer tracks===
*"Vegeta Powers Up" - During Vegeta's speech to Goku.
*"Goku's Nightmare" - During Goku telling Vegeta that everybody, including Bulma are gone.
==Differences from the manga==
*While the hypothetical fusion between Goku and Mr. Satan was shown in the manga, the fusion between Goku and Dende was not.
*In the manga, Vegeta reluctantly decides to give in to Goku's plan and puts on the Potara earring just as Super Buu reaches them in order to become Vegito. In the anime, Super Buu does reach them, but Vegeta still refuses, resulting in both Goku and Vegeta fighting Super Buu together as Super Saiyans. Only after being completely outmatched does Vegeta then put on the Potara earring.
*The scenes of Old Kai and Kibito Kai observing the action on Earth and wondering why Vegeta won't fuse with Goku aren't in the manga.
*Tien getting healed by Dende and Mr. Satan wondering if the healing was a trick is not in the manga.
==Trivia==
*This is the third episode where Vegeta shows his love for his family, the first time being in the episode, "Cell Returns!", and the second time being in the episode, "Final Atonement".
*This is the only episode in the Buu Saga where Vegeta's Vision theme is played. It plays when Goku tells Vegeta that Super Buu has killed everyone, including Bulma.
*Goku and Vegeta fuse at the end of this episode but are later defused in "The Innards of Buu".
*Tien does not appear again after being healed by Dende until "People of Earth Unite", where he and Chiaotzu contribute their energy to Goku's Super Spirit Bomb. It is unclear why he did not accompany Dende and Mr. Satan to pursue Goku and Super Buu, though it's likely him being unable to make a meaningful contribution to Gohan and Buu's fight discouraged any further participation.
*In the Latin American Spanish dub, when Vegeta accepts to fuse with him, Goku said: "Now we can save Earth" but in the Japanese audio, he only said: "Thank You, Vegeta".
==Gallery==
==Site Navigation==
es:Episodio 268 (Dragon Ball Z)
ca:Episodi 268 (BDZ)
pt-br:O orgulho de Vegeta e a fúria de Goku
fr:Dragon Ball Z épisode 268
Category:Episodes
Category:Dragon Ball Z episodes
Category:Fusion Saga
Category:Uncut Dragon Ball Z episodes