Li Lin knew what everyone was thinking and said helplessly, "Let's not worry about anything else for now. Did any of you bring clothes? Give me a set!"
At a tense standoff like this, standing there stark naked made him feel completely out of place.
Krillin pulled a Hoi-Poi Capsule from his clothes. It was the same one that had held their aircraft earlier. "There are custom-made martial arts uniforms inside. Take one and see if it fits!"
Li Lin caught it, opened the aircraft, and went inside to look for clothes, his bare bottom on full display.
But just after he went in, he poked his head back out and called to Piccolo, "You should have no trouble handling the Androids. Give them a good lesson!"
Piccolo heard Li Lin and froze for a moment. Then the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.
He had come here to help Li Lin in the first place.
Now he finally had a chance to put all his strength to use.
He'd been itching for a fight these past few days!
The Androids' expressions were now thoroughly sour.
One Li Lin had already been more than they could handle, and now a whole group had shown up.
They might not be a match for Li Lin, but in this situation, their arrival could only make things worse!
"Oh, right." Li Lin had just gone back inside when his head suddenly popped out again. "If you can beat Piccolo, we'll call what happened before even!"
With that, he ducked back into the aircraft and started looking for clothes.
At those words, Android 17's face lit up with delight.
He was deeply grateful to Li Lin, convinced that he'd been given a chance.
He'd fought Piccolo before, and Piccolo had gone down in a single move.
What chance did Piccolo have against him? This was practically a gift!
Once his excitement faded, Android 17 looked at Piccolo calmly. "Don't worry. I'll go easy on you. I won't hurt you!"
"Heh!" Piccolo gave a cold laugh at that and sneered, "You think you can hurt me? You're not good enough!"
Android 17 didn't take him seriously. He thought Piccolo was all talk.
After all, Piccolo had been unable to get back up after one move from him just a few days ago. Even if Piccolo had trained himself to the limit since then, how much stronger could he have gotten?
"Since you're so confident, let's get started. We'll make this quick!"
Android 17 lowered his stance, ready to attack.
Piccolo watched him indifferently and said in a low voice, "We'd better go somewhere else. We don't want to disturb anyone."
The area was sparsely populated, but a few families still lived nearby.
After fusing with Kami, Piccolo had become much kinder. He didn't want his fight to harm any innocent bystanders.
"Fine!" Android 17 had wanted to finish this quickly and leave anyway.
And with Li Lin here, he might not be able to fight without holding back!
The group set off at once, shooting away in a flash.
They moved incredibly fast. After flying for just one minute, they had reached an island nearly a hundred miles away.
"Will he come over?"
Android 18 descended slowly and looked back in the direction they had come from, wondering to herself.
Today had been a truly "meaningful" day for her.
In all the time she'd been alive, it was the first time she'd ever seen a man standing in front of her without a stitch of clothing on.
Android 16 stood to one side, his expression as calm as still water.
As long as he wasn't facing Li Lin, he could remain perfectly composed around anyone here!
The others from Earth descended slowly on the opposite side.
Piccolo fixed his sharp gaze on Android 17, put one hand to the collar of his clothing, and yanked it off.
He tossed the heavy white weighted cape to the ground with a thud.
Android 17 watched Piccolo go through the whole routine with a smile. A trace of disdain flashed in his eyes as he said coolly, "You look the part, I'll give you that. Come on!"
He crooked a finger at Piccolo, inviting him to attack.
Piccolo wasn't angered by the gesture. Instead, he glanced at Android 18 and Android 16 behind him.
Seeing that they had no intention of joining the fight, he smiled faintly and thought to himself:
Good. If I take this kid out, Cell won't be able to reach his Perfect Form. Li Lin, Goku, or the others can handle what's left!
With that in mind, Piccolo decided not to wait any longer.
"Ah!" he roared. A surge of white energy erupted from his body.
Powerful shock waves howled over the sea, and the entire island trembled.
"So this is Piccolo's strength? He can't compare to Li Lin, but he's still frighteningly strong!"
Krillin spoke excitedly as he felt the storm of energy.
The others could all clearly feel its power, too.
Li Lin had just changed into a red martial arts uniform, and he felt the energy as well. He was quite surprised. "Whoa, so this is Piccolo's ki. It really is incredible!"
After a brief exclamation, Li Lin shrank the aircraft into a Capsule and carried it with him.
Then he turned and flew into the sky, heading toward the battlefield.
On the island where the battle was taking place,
Android 17 was stunned by Piccolo's strength. The Androids didn't have ki themselves, of course.
But they could sense other people's ki clearly.
Piccolo's energy was now several times stronger than it had been when they fought just a few days ago.
How did this guy get so strong?
While Android 17 was still reeling, Piccolo had already raised his ki to its maximum.
In an instant, he appeared behind Android 17.
Piccolo drove an elbow into his back.
"Bang!"
Caught off guard, Android 17 could barely defend himself and nearly fell flat on the ground.
He had only just turned around when Piccolo's attack came at him so quickly that he had no chance to react.
Another punch slammed into his face. "Bang!"
Android 17 stumbled back five or six steps. Piccolo pressed the advantage, attacking with both fists and feet.
For a while, Piccolo had the upper hand.
Gradually, Android 17 began to adapt and find his rhythm again.
Piccolo threw a punch, but Android 17 caught him by the wrist and said in a low voice, "Don't get too carried away!"
Then he countered with a punch to Piccolo's chest, sending him flying.
Piccolo steadied himself in midair, accelerated, and charged back in.
The two began fighting at close quarters!
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
A series of muffled thunderclaps suddenly rang out across the sky!
Piccolo's attacks were fierce, while Android 17 kept blocking them.
But Piccolo still seemed to have the slight advantage, keeping Android 17 somewhat on the defensive.
The next second, Piccolo caught Android 17 off guard with a kick.
Android 17 had no time to react. The blow sent him flying, and he crashed hard into the ground.
Piccolo swooped down after him, his palm already aimed at Android 17.
Android 17 had only just gotten to his feet when a golden glow flared in Piccolo's palm.
A powerful Ki Blast burst forth.
"Boom!"
The island shuddered. Rocks littered the ground, and smoke billowed into the air.
When the explosion had passed, Android 17 was nowhere to be seen on the ground.
He was already up in the air. He had dodged the attack, but the look on his face showed that he'd still been hurt.
A streak of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth!
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