Golden brilliance blazed across the sky, overwhelming even the sun's radiance. Silver lightning split the vast heavens as Goku's overwhelming aura crashed toward Cooler and King Cold like a tidal wave.
Both enemies recoiled in shock. This Super Saiyan transformation was unlike anything they'd witnessed before—complete with special effects! King Cold's experience immediately told him that Kakarot had changed dramatically. While they'd been training in Hell, the Saiyans in the living world had also been progressing—and apparently much faster!
"Super Saiyan... 2? What nonsense. It's just a bluff," Cooler sneered coldly.
"Then you'll see for yourself whether it's a bluff or not."
Goku clenched his fists confidently, muscles rippling as his expression grew focused. With his current power, facing Cooler and King Cold posed no challenge whatsoever. Still, Goku never underestimated any opponent.
"Come on!" Cooler roared, rushing toward Goku.
At full power, Cooler unleashed his most devastating offensive, his fist striking Goku's face like a meteor. The impact rang out with a tremendous BANG, shaking the air and generating violent winds.
Cooler's heart leaped with joy—he'd actually hit Kakarot! He thought disdainfully: What Super Saiyan 2? I just landed a clean hit! His confidence suddenly swelling, Cooler flashed a savage grin, his red eyes gleaming with triumph.
"Be careful!" King Cold suddenly shouted from behind, panic creeping into his voice.
King Cold had witnessed Goku's reaction to the punch—or rather, his complete lack of reaction. No dodging, no blocking, not even a change in facial expression. This was how someone behaved when facing an opponent vastly inferior to themselves. It was an expression of pure disdain.
After King Cold's warning, cold sweat broke out across Cooler's brow.
Cooler felt his wrist being grasped in a grip like iron pincers, locked so tightly the bones seemed ready to split apart. Meanwhile, Kakarot remained completely unharmed by the punch, offering only a slight smile.
"My turn," Goku said softly, then yanked Cooler forward while driving his other fist deep into the alien's abdomen! Lightning and energy crashed into Cooler's stomach simultaneously, the sharp agony causing him to spurt bright red blood like scattered flower petals.
"You..." Cooler's eyes bloodshot with tears of pain, his vision blurring.
Immediately, Goku opened his palm and formed an energy sphere, blasting it point-blank into Cooler's stomach. The overwhelming power gave his opponent no chance to react. The energy blast launched Cooler in a high arc through the sky, while below, Goku was already preparing his Kamehameha wave—an even stronger attack was coming!
King Cold stood frozen, not daring to attack. Cooler was barely weaker than himself, yet had been completely dominated by Kakarot! If he stepped forward, wouldn't he meet the same fate?
In this critical moment, King Cold felt the same despair he'd once experienced. A ruthless gleam flashed in his cold eyes as he decided to abandon Cooler and save himself. This was the nature of the Frost Demon race—in their value system, nothing mattered more than self-preservation.
Having made his decision, King Cold immediately fled in the opposite direction.
At that moment, Goku's Kamehameha struck Cooler, blue energy waves washing over his armored body and crushing his last hopes of survival. Cooler screamed frantically, "No, no! Kakarot...!"
His voice was drowned in the light as the Kamehameha's devastating power erased Cooler completely.
"Phew... Cooler's no longer a threat," Goku said, returning to his calm demeanor after eliminating his enemy. When he looked around, King Cold had already vanished.
However, Goku could still sense the fleeing King Cold's panicked ki signature.
That energy signature led Goku in the opposite direction, where King Cold ran straight into another Super Saiyan—Vegeta.
"Hey, old man, where do you think you're going?" Vegeta stared coldly at King Cold, crossing his arms with an arrogant expression.
"You're... Vegeta..." King Cold had vivid memories of the Saiyan Prince. During Frieza's all-out assault, he'd defeated Vegeta personally, only to be killed later by all three Saiyans working together.
If Kakarot had become this powerful, what about Vegeta? Judging by that aura, he wasn't weak either! King Cold's face turned ashen as he ground his teeth, barely containing his explosive resentment.
"So you do remember me. Finally, I have a chance for revenge." Vegeta snorted coldly, uncrossing his arms and clenching his fists—the prelude to his attack.
"No, no, no! I admit my mistakes! You can rule over everything I once controlled!" King Cold waved his hands frantically. "I'll leave Earth immediately!"
"Hmph, what do you have worth ruling? Don't be so presumptuous." Vegeta naturally wouldn't give him any chance. The moment he finished speaking, his form blurred and vanished.
King Cold heard only wind whistling past his ears, his vision blurring until he realized Vegeta's knee had already connected with his face. BOOM! The massive impact sent King Cold reeling backward, his entire face deformed. Vegeta immediately followed up with a kick and a ki blast!
BOOM—
The fierce assault left King Cold feeling hopeless as he suddenly found himself the weaker combatant.
At that moment, Gohan appeared. After bidding farewell to Piccolo, he'd been traveling around resolving various crises. Sensing King Cold's ki signature, he'd rushed over, only to find the Frost Demon already beaten to pieces by Vegeta.
"That's..." King Cold spotted Gohan and immediately noticed the young man's black hair.
Not a Super Saiyan! This filled him with excitement—finally, someone who wasn't in that transformed state! Using his remaining strength, the desperate King Cold lunged toward Gohan!
Both Vegeta and Gohan showed momentary surprise, neither expecting King Cold to choose this desperate path. However, Vegeta smiled disdainfully. Gohan might look easy to target, but his strength actually surpassed even Vegeta's! King Cold was courting death.
Sure enough, after a brief pause, Gohan flashed behind King Cold, his entire body enveloped in white aura—his Mystic state. King Cold's heart went cold, his vision darkening as Gohan's elbow struck his back!
The tremendous impact was even stronger than Vegeta's attacks, and with one move, King Cold felt his entire body shatter with pain!
"This child..."
He couldn't believe it even as death approached—Gohan was actually stronger than Vegeta! How could this kid be so powerful?
But he had no chance for a comeback. Gohan struck his body repeatedly before finishing him with a powerful ki wave...
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