"You should not have done this. I really, truly did not want to kill you."
The words burst from Son Gohan's mouth.
From his tone alone, it was obvious that this was not empty talk. He was genuinely furious.
"You say you do not want to kill me?"
Perfect Cell sneered, then burst into laughter.
"Hmph. Hahahaha! Are you joking? Son Gohan, do you really think you can defeat me? Even if you keep getting stronger, what then? I am the perfect ultimate android!"
Cell's arrogance knew no bounds.
To him, Gohan's words were nothing more than childish ignorance.
Gohan did not bother responding.
He was doing everything he could to rein in his emotions, to suppress the rage boiling inside him.
Within the limits of his control, he continued to force his power higher and higher.
Until at last—
His aura surged beyond restraint.
Gohan threw his head back and let out a long roar.
Boundless power erupted from within his body, exploding outward as he broke through into Super Saiyan Second Stage in a single breath.
The sudden spike in pressure.
The qualitative leap in power.
The unmistakable change in form.
At this point, how could Cell not notice?
Not just him.
Even the Cell Juniors, who had been mercilessly beating down the Z Fighters, froze in shock, their attacks momentarily halted.
That brief pause finally gave the Z Fighters a chance to catch their breath.
"This brat… transformed again?!" Cell muttered, then quickly steadied himself.
Yes, Gohan's power had clearly increased, and his appearance had changed, but in Cell's eyes, this was no different from Trunks' reckless brute force power boost.
"Hmph. Your strength has increased a lot, sure, but raw power alone will not kill me," Cell said arrogantly.
"You have made the same mistake as Trunks."
Gohan did not even look at him.
The short lull ended.
Cell was not shaken by Gohan's breakthrough, and the Cell Juniors resumed their brutal assault on the Z Fighters.
As long as the main body felt no fear, neither would they.
"Stop."
A cold, piercing command rang out from Gohan.
Cell frowned. "What did you say?"
"I said stop."
Gohan's furious gaze locked onto Cell, sharp enough to kill.
The tension escalated instantly.
Cell paused, then laughed again.
"So that is how it is. Looks like I really do need to teach you a lesson, you snot nosed brat, about how to speak to me."
He was about to strike—
When suddenly, a figure appeared out of nowhere, standing directly between Cell and Gohan.
The newcomer was none other than Vegeta, arriving via Instant Transmission.
The moment Vegeta appeared, Cell's expression changed drastically.
So did Gohan's.
Both of them instinctively looked toward the other side of the battlefield, where another Vegeta was still being beaten mercilessly by the Cell Juniors.
Two Vegetas.
The Vegeta standing before them had come from nowhere.
In that instant, everyone realized something had changed.
Especially this timeline's Vegeta.
His face turned ashen. Even while gravely injured, he clenched his fists and glared in fury.
"How is this possible? Two Vegetas?"
Krillin was the first to voice the disbelief.
"It really is Vegeta," Tien muttered.
"That aura, there is no mistake. It is Vegeta," Piccolo confirmed grimly.
"Could it be… another timeline's you?"
Goku, clutching his wounds, looked at Vegeta and asked.
The most overwhelmed of all was Trunks.
The arrival of one outsider had already thrown this world into chaos.
Now another version of his father had appeared.
The situation was spiraling beyond comprehension.
At the center of the battlefield, Vegeta calmly surveyed the scene.
His senses expanded outward, instantly covering everyone present.
"Looks like I arrived just in time," Vegeta said with a faint smirk.
"This version of you has just broken through to Super Saiyan Second Stage, Gohan."
That familiar tone made Gohan's expression shift once more.
"You really are… Uncle Vegeta?"
Gohan whispered, forcing down the turbulence in his heart.
Vegeta nodded.
He said nothing more and turned his gaze toward Perfect Cell.
At that moment, Cell's combat data was laid bare in Vegeta's perception.
Battle power approximately 5.5 billion.
Stronger than Vegeta had initially expected, but still within range.
From his past life knowledge, Vegeta remembered many sources claiming Perfect Cell capped at around four billion.
He had expected closer to five billion.
If Cell entered his lightning enhanced state, his power would double, pushing close to ten billion.
Comparing this with Gohan's current output, Vegeta could already estimate the limit.
With Super Saiyan Second Stage, Gohan's battle power had reached only about 8.5 billion.
That meant Gohan's base power had broken through to roughly 85 million.
Five million higher than Vegeta's own base power when he first crossed timelines.
That was no coincidence.
Vegeta had deliberately waited until reaching that threshold before traveling through time.
"So… you are a Vegeta from another timeline," Cell said slowly, locking eyes with him.
"Past, or future?"
"I see no reason to answer you," Vegeta replied coldly.
"You are about to die anyway."
"Die?"
Cell scoffed.
"Do not tell me you came all this way just to kill me. First this brat, now you. Are you seriously underestimating me? I am curious. What kind of world does your timeline look like?"
"You want to know?" Vegeta sneered.
"Too bad. Even if you die, versions of you from different timelines will never meet in the afterlife."
The atmosphere grew heavy.
Vegeta had made it clear.
Cell in his timeline was already dead.
Cell's expression darkened, fury simmering beneath the surface.
There was no way to verify it.
Which meant there was only one thing left to do.
Test this Vegeta's strength personally.
In the next instant, Cell's eyes flickered.
A pulse of mental command was transmitted to the Cell Juniors.
This farce had gone on long enough.
If things spiraled any further, if more people crossed timelines, then his enemies would only continue to multiply.
~~~~~~
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