Kaio-ken Shines Bright

"Lord Frieza, may I ask if you know who that person fighting Vegeta is? Why does he appear to be a Namekian?"

In truth, this question was not only on the minds of Nail and Dende; Vegeta and Son Goku were equally consumed by curiosity.

"Oh-ho-ho-ho!"

"Lord Slug, are you not going to offer an introduction?"

Swish!

Every gaze turned toward Slug in the sky.

Even Dodoria, having vanished into the distance, looked back toward this direction, though he could see nothing at all!

"My name is Slug!"

Everyone: ???

That was it? That was his entire introduction?

"Oh-ho-ho-ho! I am quite satisfied with that introduction!"

"As for the rest, go ask the Grand Elder of Namek! Now, please, begin your performance!"

Voom!!

Slug was the first to erupt with his full ki; he could sense that Son Goku had definitely not been using his full power just moments ago.

Seeing that Slug was getting serious, Son Goku's curiosity vanished instantly.

"My name is Son Goku. Let's fight!"

Voom!!

He likewise unleashed his full strength, starting immediately with the 20-fold Kaio-ken!

Slug's expression turned grave, for he could sense that the Son Goku before him now possessed a ki equal in magnitude to Vegeta's.

40 million!

Furthermore, he could feel that Son Goku was likely capable of growing even stronger!

Son Goku's combat power had reached 40 million, a sight that made Vegeta's eyes turn bloodshot with envy!

He was so jealous of this Kaio-ken!

Son Goku was a total cheat; this Kaio-ken technique was simply shameless, though fortunately, he himself had already touched the threshold of the Super Saiyan!

Son Goku had no time to ponder Vegeta's internal monologue; the 20-fold Kaio-ken placed a massive burden on his body, and he had to end the fight quickly.

With that, Son Goku struck first.

At the same time, Slug moved as well!

Suddenly, everyone except Vegeta and Frieza could only see a white shadow and a red shadow colliding, separating, colliding again, and separating once more.

For a time, Gohan and the others could only hear the sounds of fists and feet clashing, accompanied by roars of fury.

Bulma suddenly recalled the World Martial Arts Tournament and, from somewhere, produced a microphone, thrusting it right in front of Frieza.

"Mr. Frieza, would you care to provide some live commentary?"

Frieza nearly spat out his red wine!

This Bulma was truly out of her mind.

With a flick of his finger, Frieza rendered Bulma unable to move, her mouth clamped shut!

Consequently, she could only glare at Frieza in a huff.

Suddenly, she discovered something new!

Frieza wasn't wearing any clothes!!

Unfortunately, she couldn't scream, or Frieza would surely have killed her to silence her.

The battle in the sky continued, with the two evenly matched fighters locked in a stalemate, primarily because Son Goku was able to utilize his combat power more effectively.

Ultimately, it was Son Goku's superior combat instinct that prevailed, as he landed an elbow strike squarely on Slug's massive head.

The blow nearly caused Slug's eyes to pop, leaving them wide and bloodshot.

Boom!

As expected, Slug was smashed into the ground.

Instantly, a crater formed, and the surrounding earth began to crack.

Boom!

A pillar of fire erupted from the surface, caused by magma spewing from deep underground.

The intense heat made those on the ground uncomfortable; Vegeta, lying on the ground, was nearly splashed by magma, breaking out in a cold sweat.

He had absolutely no combat power left at the moment!

Fortunately, Nail noticed Vegeta's predicament, carried him to a safe location in time, and had Dende heal him.

Frieza did not intervene, choosing instead to watch with great interest as Son Goku and Slug clashed once again.

The clash between the Mouth Blast and the Kamehameha was evenly matched; after all, neither was a fully charged ultimate move, so there wasn't much to see.

Bang! Bang-bang!

Boom! Boom-boom!

Mm, this kind of hand-to-hand, flesh-on-flesh combat was much more interesting.

Son Goku landed a punch square in Slug's abdomen, and Slug immediately slammed both fists down onto Son Goku's back.

Son Goku delivered a whip kick to Slug's head, but Slug extended his arm, grabbed him, and smashed him into the ground, nearly driving him straight into a pool of magma.

"Ow! Hot, hot, hot!"

Fortunately, Son Goku had his aura coating him; the magma only made him feel the heat without causing any actual damage.

A punch from you, a kick from me!

You spit out bitter water, and I vomit up bile.

It was truly a case of meeting an equal, a battle between worthy opponents, and it was impossible to tell who would come out on top.

Finally, Slug grew tired of playing. His combat power was significantly higher than Son Goku's, yet he had taken more hits than his opponent, which was a massive blow to his pride.

Giant Form!

In the next instant, Son Goku realized he was now only the size of Slug's palm!

Furthermore, after growing to such a massive size, Slug's combat power soared to 100 million!

If Slug's Giant Form had only increased his strength, Son Goku wouldn't have been at a total loss; after all, an enemy who couldn't land a hit wasn't scary at all.

However, Slug's combat power was perfectly balanced; both his speed and strength had surged. Even though his body had grown larger and his target area had increased, Son Goku simply couldn't find a single opening in Slug's defense.

Bang!!!

Finally, Son Goku failed to dodge in time and was smashed away by a punch from Slug, crashing through several mountain peaks before landing in a large lake.

Boom!!

Son Goku used the lake water to dissipate the force of Slug's blow, but the impact sent a massive pillar of water shooting into the sky, killing countless fish and shrimp.

Son Goku cursed inwardly at the waste—so much food gone!

The 1.5x gap in combat power turned the fight into a one-sided affair; no matter how high Son Goku's combat instincts were, he couldn't hold out any longer.

Eventually, Son Goku took a direct punch to the stomach from Slug, causing him to cough up mouthfuls of bile.

Before Son Goku could react, Slug clasped his hands together and slammed them down onto him, driving him deep into the ground.

Instantly, the earth shook and the mountains swayed once more.

Gohan flew toward Son Goku regardless of the danger, and Krillin, having no other choice, followed closely behind.

"Dad!!"

"Goku!!"

"Son Goku! Mr. Frieza, please, won't you save Son Goku? I'll prepare even more delicious food for you!"

In her desperation, Bulma could only look with pleading eyes toward Frieza, who stood beside her looking evil, yet had never harmed her in the slightest.

But how could Frieza ever agree to such an unreasonable request?

He ignored Bulma's gaze entirely and continued to sip his red wine in small, delicate mouthfuls.

After all, Son Goku hadn't reached his limit yet; he should be able to grasp the secrets of the Super Saiyan transformation even better than Vegeta did.

This was nowhere near the end!

"30x Kaio-ken!!" (Maximum multiplier)

"Ahhh~~!!"

Son Goku's aura expanded violently, and in an instant, his combat power reached 60 million!

The sight was nothing short of dazzling; amidst the red, flame-like aura, Son Goku roared as he charged toward Slug.

Son Goku held a single fist upward, just as he had when he was a child, even letting out an ape-like beastly roar.

Slug was startled by this move, but upon sensing that Son Goku's combat power still lagged behind his own, he set his mind at ease.

Slug sneered and let out a loud shout, stacking his palms together. A green energy sphere appeared rapidly, growing in the wind until it reached a diameter of over ten meters.

"Die, Son Goku!"

Son Goku's resilience had earned Slug's respect; he no longer called him a Saiyan Monkey, but instead addressed him directly by his name.