The shattered surface of Namek reeked of sulfur and ionized ozone.
Purple death beams poured down like a storm. Each one carried enough heat to pierce the planet's crust, slicing the rocky terrain into a broken wasteland.
"Die! Die! Just die like insects!"
Frieza remained in his grotesque third form.
That massive, elongated head stretched backward like some alien hive, while his hunched body moved with a speed that completely defied its shape.
All ten fingers fired nonstop, like the barrels of machine guns, spraying violet energy in every direction.
"Ha!"
Goku weaved through the dense barrage.
He didn't try to tank the attacks. Instead, he pushed his body's flexibility to its absolute limit.
A beam skimmed past his scalp, and he simply tilted his head to avoid it. His orange gi tore open in thin slashes from the near misses.
With light taps on floating debris, he danced across the battlefield, slipping through every strike with ease.
"Don't run!"
Frieza roared, whipping his long head forward as he unleashed a massive blast from his mouth.
At that exact moment, a streak of green cut into his blind spot like a ghost.
"You're not fighting just one opponent!"
Piccolo's regenerated arm stretched out like elastic.
Muscles tightened beneath green skin as his fingers locked around Frieza's wrist like iron claws.
Namekian energy surged through his arm, crackling like high-voltage current, numbing half of Frieza's body instantly.
"What?!"
Frieza froze for a split second.
"Goku, now!"
Piccolo shouted as his other hand gathered a dense sphere of energy and slammed it straight into Frieza's unguarded abdomen.
Boom!
A heavy, dull impact echoed out.
The shockwave exploded, caving in a section of Frieza's armored torso.
He grunted, his body arching backward from the pain, his relentless assault broken in an instant.
And in that fleeting opening, Goku struck.
Using the moment Piccolo created, he pushed off the ground hard enough to shatter the rock beneath his feet.
His body shot forward like an orange comet, crashing straight into Frieza's chest.
"Kamehameha!"
There was no drawn-out charge.
Goku thrust both palms forward, unleashing the blast at point-blank range.
Boom!
The explosion sent Frieza flying, hurling him deep into a distant forest of stone pillars.
A chain of detonations followed as his body smashed through seven or eight mountains before finally disappearing beneath a mountain of rubble.
Goku landed lightly, wiping the sweat from his brow.
"Nice teamwork, Piccolo. That grab earlier was perfect."
Piccolo retracted his extended arm, flicking off the purple blood clinging to it.
"Don't get careless. That won't be enough to kill him."
Not far away, Krillin sat comfortably atop a relatively intact boulder, casually observing the battle like a spectator.
[Real-time Battle Analysis]
[Son Goku: 3,100,000 (Base Form · Combat Instinct Awakened · Rising Momentum)]
[Piccolo: 1,300,000 (Support Role · Precision Strikes · Enhanced Regeneration)]
[Frieza (Third Form): 2,250,000 (Mental Instability · Accuracy Reduced by 40%)]
Krillin took a sip of soda, enjoying the fizz on his tongue.
"Classic case of overwhelming power with zero finesse."
He shook his head slightly.
"Frieza's too used to crushing opponents with raw strength. Put him against a pair with comparable power and far better technique, and suddenly he's like a kid spraying bullets everywhere but still can't hit a fly."
"GRAAAAH!"
The rubble in the distance exploded outward.
Chunks of stone shot into the sky like bullets as Frieza burst free.
His once-smooth exoskeleton was now scorched and cracked.
A chunk of his elongated head was missing, and drops of purple blood fell to the ground, sizzling as they corroded the rock.
"Unforgivable… you two…"
Frieza panted heavily, his crimson eyes bloodshot and trembling.
Why?
Why couldn't he hit them?
Why was he being toyed with by such basic combat techniques?
The frustration burned hotter than the pain tearing through his body.
He was the emperor of the universe. He was the one who hunted others down.
Since when had he become the one struggling to land a blow?
"Die! Just die!"
Frieza completely lost control.
He stopped aiming entirely, wildly hurling energy blasts in every direction.
This was no longer a battle.
It was a tantrum. A furious, helpless outburst.
The ground shook violently. Smoke and dust swallowed the sky. The battlefield descended into pure chaos.
Goku and Piccolo moved through the storm of attacks with ease. Though they took the occasional scrape, their eyes only grew sharper, brighter.
Then suddenly, Goku stopped.
He stood atop a jagged rock, letting the shockwaves whip his gi around him, calmly watching the raging monster.
"Hey, Frieza."
His voice cut cleanly through the explosions.
Frieza froze. The energy gathered at his fingertips flickered, then dissipated.
He turned slowly, staring at Goku with a gaze full of hatred.
"What did you say?"
"I said… is that it?"
Goku spread his hands slightly. There was no mockery in his tone. Just genuine confusion, and a hint of disappointment.
"Your power's strong. Honestly, maybe even a bit stronger than mine."
"But this messy fighting style… it's hard to watch."
"Is this really the level of the so-called emperor of the universe?"
"You…"
Frieza trembled with rage. The violet glow at his fingertips flickered wildly as his teeth ground together.
"I heard from Krillin that you can transform again."
Goku tilted his head, curiosity lighting up his eyes.
"Something like… a final form, right? If we've come this far, why not show it?"
Piccolo's expression changed instantly.
"Goku, are you insane?! He's already this dangerous. If he transforms again, that power…"
"It's fine, Piccolo."
Goku cut him off, never taking his eyes off Frieza.
"If I can't beat him at his strongest, then this fight doesn't mean anything."
"And… I can feel it. That form is who he really is."
Frieza went still.
Looking at Goku's completely serious face, something about it felt absurd.
This man was… disappointed that he wasn't strong enough?
He was actually asking to see Frieza's trump card?
"Heh… hehehe…"
Frieza covered his face and began to laugh.
The laughter grew louder, more unhinged, echoing across the barren wasteland.
"Hahahaha! Interesting! This is too interesting!"
"Saiyans really are a race of battle-crazed fools."
He lowered his hand. The anger in his eyes was gone.
What replaced it was something colder. Crueler. The gaze of a butcher sizing up his prey.
"Since you're so eager to witness hell, I'll grant your wish."
"I'll make you regret ever being born. Even in death, the memory of this moment will haunt you."
The air suddenly thickened, heavy as molten lead.
Frieza's energy began to change.
This wasn't just an increase in power. It was a shift in nature itself.
The violent purple aura around him began to collapse inward, compressing to an extreme.
His massive body trembled violently. Bones creaked and groaned as something inside him began to awaken.
As if something was about to tear free from that grotesque shell.
"Watch closely, Saiyan."
Frieza spread his arms wide, as if embracing death itself, a cruel smile curling across his lips.
"This… is the despair you've been asking for."
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