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"Half a day. If I don't see a trace of the Dragon Balls by then, get ready to collect this brat's corpse!" Slug squeezed Gohan's neck with one hand, laughing wildly at Krillin.
"Uncle Krillin, don't worry about me… you can't let him get the Dragon Balls—ah!" Gohan's words cut off as Slug tightened his grip.
"Oh? Still trying to play the hero? Fine then. You can collect the body of this brave little brat yourself." Seeing Krillin still hesitating, Slug raised his right hand. A yellow energy blast formed in his palm, aimed straight at the struggling Gohan.
"Wait! Don't hurt him! I'll go look for the Dragon Balls right now. But until I get back, you can't lay a finger on him. Otherwise forget getting the Dragon Balls ever again!" Krillin clenched his teeth. After hesitating for far too long, he finally gave in to Slug's threat.
Meanwhile, Broly—deep in training—felt several strong ki signatures rushing toward him. A quick check told him it was Goku, Piccolo, and Krillin.
He immediately called out to Bulma and told her to prepare a few Dragon Radars. Bulma and the girls didn't ask why. After everything they'd seen since meeting Broly, they didn't get surprised by much anymore. Bulma had barely finished preparing the radars when Goku's group arrived.
Seeing the radars in Bulma's hands, Krillin blinked in confusion. "Huh? Bulma, how'd you know we were coming to borrow those?"
"Oh, that? Broly told me to get them ready. Honestly, I was just wondering why he needed them." Bulma shrugged. After all the unbelievable things she'd seen him do, she'd gotten used to rolling with the unexpected.
"Did he actually know we were coming for them? Forget it. Saving Gohan comes first… We'll head out now!" Goku grabbed a radar, waved, and the three split off in different directions.
A little over an hour later, all six remaining Dragon Balls had been gathered. The three arrived in front of Slug's ship.
Still using Gohan as a hostage, Slug summoned Shenron and made a wish identical to the one King Piccolo once made.
As Shenron's power poured into Slug, Piccolo—more of a father to Gohan than Goku ever was—saw his opening. With a sudden burst of speed, he ripped Gohan right out of Slug's grasp. Slug didn't even bother reacting. With his youth returning, he no longer saw any of them as threats.
Then, with a thunderous shout, Slug unleashed the last of Shenron's power. The cloak surrounding his body shredded apart under the surge of energy.
"Hahaha! Being young again feels incredible. I've missed this power for far too long. Perfect time to test it—on all of you!" He casually launched an energy blast straight at Piccolo, who was still holding Gohan.
"Gohan, look out!" Instinctively, Piccolo twisted around, shielding Gohan with his own body as the massive explosion swallowed them both.
When the smoke cleared, Piccolo's battered, torn figure lay over Gohan like a broken shield.
"Gohan! Piccolo!"
"You bastard! Kamehame—HA!"
Furious beyond reason, Goku and Krillin fired their Kamehameha waves together. The two beams merged mid-air into a massive blast that slammed straight into Slug.
But instead of relief, dread filled their hearts. Slug's ki hadn't weakened at all.
"Hahaha! So that's your little turtle wave? Felt like a cool breeze at best. Pathetic. My turn."
There was a boom. Krillin went flying before anyone even realized Slug had moved.
"Krillin! Damn you—!" Goku charged forward in rage, but Slug's overwhelming strength crushed him. Even with Kaioken, Goku couldn't keep up. Every time he powered up, Slug's terrifying energy rose even higher. Goku was beaten bloody, slammed through walls and rubble.
"So this is the power of a Saiyan? Seems I gave your kind way too much credit." After smashing Goku through yet another building, Slug scoffed.
"How pathetic, Kakarot. What have you even been doing these past two years?"
Right as Slug prepared his finishing blow, Goku's lifelong rival and reluctant friend appeared—Vegeta.
"Oh? Interesting. Another Saiyan? Not that it matters. No matter how many of you come, it won't change anything."
"Tch. Big talk. Look down on Saiyans, and you're begging for pain."
"...."