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Trunks's expression shifted slightly, then he relaxed and sneered. "You think bluffing like that is going to work?"

He didn't think there was anything wrong with his current form.

On the contrary, his body was now filled with explosive power. Cell absolutely wouldn't be able to withstand it!

"Hah!"

After saying that, he let out a roar, and his energy surged again.

His muscles instantly swelled another size, giving him an imposing, powerful look.

"Heh." Cell looked at Trunks's newly increased power and mocked him. "Your strength has indeed surpassed mine, but that won't be enough to beat me."

"Tch!" Trunks didn't want to waste time talking. He just wanted to finish the fight quickly.

Then he charged forward, and the two continued to trade blows.

This time, however, Cell dodged from side to side with remarkable agility.

Trunks, on the other hand, missed with every attack, his movements seeming clumsy and heavy.

Bang!

Cell found an opening and punched him in the stomach.

"Cough, cough!" Trunks suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood and hurriedly staggered back a couple of steps, his eyes filled with confusion.

Clearly, he still didn't understand what had happened.

Why couldn't he land a single hit on Cell, while Cell had found an opening to punch him?

"Aah!" Unwilling to give up, Trunks continued to raise his energy. Several streaks of lightning appeared around him, and his power climbed even further, his energy reaching a terrifying level.

Cell looked at him and shook his head with a mocking smile. "It seems you still don't understand. In this form, you're not even worthy of making me fight at full power!"

Trunks was taken aback by the taunt. He really didn't know where he had gone wrong.

Taking advantage of the brief pause, Cell charged forward.

By the time Trunks reacted, it was too late.

A flurry of punches and kicks rained down on him, leaving him completely unable to fight back.

Bang!

Cell punched him in the chest, sending him flying.

Trunks immediately got back up, still unwilling to accept defeat, and prepared to charge in again.

But the result was exactly the same as before: his attacks couldn't hit Cell.

Cell kept exploiting the openings in his attacks and striking back. Trunks was now utterly defeated.

Boom!

Cell fired another Ki Blast.

Trunks hurriedly raised his arms to shield himself.

His feet tangled beneath him, and he stumbled backward several steps.

The successive battles had left him short of stamina. He still couldn't understand why, despite having become so strong, he couldn't win.

Cell saw the confusion on his face and didn't seem to want to end the fight too quickly. Instead, he taunted him, "I can actually take on this form too!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the rubble around him rose into the air, his energy gathered, and his muscles instantly expanded.

"Th-this..." Trunks was too shocked to speak. Cell's form was exactly the same as his.

Cell seemed pleased by Trunks's stunned expression and continued to rub it in. "This transformation is completely pointless. It only increases your strength without improving your speed—in fact, it even slows you down a little."

"No matter how powerful you are, if you can't hit your opponent, it's all in vain. I'm sure Vegeta understands that too. That's why he didn't fight in this form of yours!"

Hearing this explanation, Trunks was dumbfounded.

He had thought he'd surpassed his father. He'd kept this form a secret, afraid of hurting Vegeta's pride.

He just hadn't expected that he was the one who'd made a fool of himself.

He had lost the will to fight. This transformation was his strongest form. If he couldn't defeat Cell with it, he could only let Cell do as he pleased.

Cell looked at Trunks, who seemed utterly dejected, and shook his head slightly. "Honestly, I'm very disappointed in you and your father. I thought you'd be able to entertain me, but this is what I get..."

Seeing his helpless expression, it seemed he'd already forgotten how badly he'd been beaten earlier.

Trunks showed no reaction to those words. The outcome was already decided, and there was no point wasting his breath.

But Cell continued to ask, "I'm actually curious. How did you two get so much stronger in such a short time?"

"If you had more time, could you get even stronger?"

Trunks slowly raised his head. His voice was utterly emotionless. "I don't know if I can get any stronger."

Cell didn't seem entirely satisfied with that answer.

Still, he already had his own answer. If they were given more time, they should be able to take another step forward.

"What about Son Goku? Why hasn't he come?" Cell continued questioning him like an interrogator.

He hadn't even seen Son Goku once since arriving in this world.

He was very curious now, but he didn't know how Son Goku's strength would compare with Vegeta's.

Trunks clenched his fists and said fiercely, "Mr. Goku is still training. Once he's finished, that'll be the day you meet your end!"

Cell's eyes lit up at that.

Perhaps it was because of the Saiyan blood in his body, but he suddenly became interested in the matter.

"Excellent!" Cell nodded in satisfaction and held up one finger. "One last question. Who was the person who took Android 18 away just now? What's his name?"

When Trunks heard Cell mention Li Lin, he immediately perked up.

He'd been fighting Cell the whole time and had completely forgotten that there was another powerful fighter on Earth.

Li Lin's strength was unfathomable. No one had ever seen what he looked like when fighting at full power.

But as long as he stepped in, there was still hope of defeating Cell and saving Earth.

"His name is Li Lin. He's the strongest person on Earth. He lived in seclusion in the mountains before, and only came out a few years ago," Trunks said gravely, confidence returning to his eyes.

"Heh. The strongest?" Cell sneered contemptuously. "If you can find him, tell him that I, Cell, am the strongest on Earth!"

He still had some questions about Li Lin's identity.

If Li Lin was a reclusive master, why had the Androids ravaged the future world?

But he didn't want to think about it now.

He had confidence in his own strength. So what if Li Lin was powerful? He had nothing to fear anymore.

Trunks's expression shifted slightly at that. What does Cell mean? He's asking me to pass a message to Mr. Li Lin. Could he be planning to let me go?

Before he could think it through, Cell continued, "I'm going to hold the World Martial Arts Tournament. It'll start in ten days. The rules are simple: a series of one-on-one matches. You can take turns challenging me!"