Super Saiyan

Namek.

On Namek, already teetering on the brink of destruction, the crust was shifting; entire continents were drifting at a speed imperceptible to the average person, yet moving nonetheless.

The sky was dim, lit by flashes of lightning and rolling thunder.

Frieza grew increasingly terrified as the fight dragged on. Sensing Vegeta's ever-rising strength, he swore to himself that he could not let this continue. If this keeps up, I'm going to die!

With a sudden flip, he disengaged from the combat.

"Vegeta, let's stop wasting time. Use your full power!" Frieza commanded.

Vegeta, sensing that his own combat power had plateaued, couldn't be bothered to delay any further. He had recovered his body several times in this short span, pushing his potential to the absolute limit. To improve any further, he would need to train and build his foundation later.

"Fine. Let me see how impressive you really are, and whether you're worth me unleashing my full power," Vegeta sneered.

Frieza roared in anger, "You are too arrogant, Vegeta! Next, I will make you taste the same fear your people felt when they were annihilated!"

He immediately flared his aura, a deep purple, malevolent energy erupting outward. His muscles swelled, and his entire frame grew a size larger.

Full-power state! His combat power had reached a terrifying 2 billion. Thanks to the continuous fighting and the recovery from the Senzu Bean, Frieza's hidden potential had been pushed to its peak, resulting in a combat power roughly 16 times higher than in the original story.

Goku and the others were blown away by the sheer force of Frieza's terrifying, evil aura; the gap in their strength was simply too vast.

Although Goku's base combat power had reached around 10 million and he was capable of becoming a Super Saiyan, he lacked the extreme rage and the specific method required to trigger the transformation.

Some might wonder why Goku's base combat power hadn't risen above 10 million despite so much training and fighting. It was actually quite normal; he was a low-class warrior, and his frequent use of the Kaio-ken had left his body riddled with hidden injuries. In the future, this would even lead to a viral heart disease.

While he was a genius in combat, his body was still far behind Vegeta's, and he was even slightly inferior to Piccolo.

After all, the Namekians possessed the ability to create Dragon Balls and were themselves a race of combat geniuses. Given their connection to the Dragon Balls—the ultimate cheat code of the universe—it was clear that the Namekians were far from simple.

In the original story, the Grand Elder had mentioned that if Piccolo hadn't been split into good and evil, and if he hadn't been corrupted by the energy of the Demon Realm, he might have been even stronger than a Super Saiyan.

Later, in the Android Saga, after Piccolo fused with the Guardian of Earth, his combat power was indeed greater than that of a base Super Saiyan.

Now, lacking the training on King Kai's Planet and without having fused with Nail, his combat power had not reached its original potential.

Back to the matter at hand.

Once Frieza completed his transformation, his immense power filled him with confidence once more.

"Vegeta, how about that! Do you still have strength held back? If you do, use it now, lest I destroy you completely in a single blow!" Frieza mocked.

"Hmph, Frieza. Now, I will let you witness the Super Saiyan you have always feared!" Vegeta retorted with a cold, disdainful smirk.

"Oh? Then I must see it. Surely you don't mean turning into a giant wild monkey and calling that a Super Saiyan?" Frieza said.

He assumed Vegeta could only challenge him by turning into a Great Ape.

"Hmph, watch closely. You won't be disappointed," Vegeta scoffed.

As he spoke, he released his Killing Intent Fist state, and his combat power dropped by about 60 million.

He then flared his aura, and thunder instantly shook the sky.

Vegeta's roar echoed across the entire planet.

He gathered all the S-Cells he had pushed to their limit and concentrated them at his spine, where golden sparks began to settle into his vertebrae.

In Dragon Ball Super, when Vegeta's student Cabba taught Caulifla how to transform, he used this same method, though they didn't understand what S-Cells were and instead used the power of rage to drive it.

Now, with the system's guidance, Vegeta knew exactly what they were, so he didn't need rage to trigger the transformation.

In the later stages, Saiyans could transform at will without needing anger; they had completely mastered the method.

At this moment, as the light merged into his spine, a terrifying golden aura erupted from Vegeta's body. On the dim planet, that golden flame shone like the midday sun, illuminating the entire battlefield.

Vegeta's eyes flickered, turning from empty whites to a dark green, before finally settling into white pupils with green irises.

His naturally spiked black hair turned gold, and under the influence of the golden aura, it seemed to burn like a raging fire.

His combat power increased fifty-fold, reaching a staggering 3 billion.

His expression was colder and more ruthless than ever, bordering on evil. The surging energy made it difficult for him to control his killing intent, and he felt an urge to destroy everything in his sight.

Even Frieza was stunned by this violent, terrifying energy.

Recalling the warnings left by his ancestors, he whispered, "So it's true. The golden hair mentioned in the ancestral legends... a Super Saiyan... damn it!"

Frieza was filled with a mix of rage and regret. He regretted his own stupidity in sparing Vegeta, only for it to bear such bitter fruit. His initial confidence had been replaced by a complex turmoil he didn't know how to quell.

Vegeta, meanwhile, felt the violent factors in his bloodline affecting his very mind. Thoughts of destruction and ruin flooded his consciousness.

After all, this was his first transformation, and his base combat power was already so high; the 50x multiplier was difficult for him to handle at first.

Then, an image of Bulma flashed before his eyes—that boisterous, yet clever and gentle woman. The thought helped Vegeta slowly calm himself.

"Kakarot, take them and leave. Go back to Earth so the coming battle doesn't catch you in the crossfire. If this planet is destroyed, none of you have the ability to survive in the vacuum of space!" Vegeta said to Goku.

His cold, ruthless voice reminded Goku of the very first time they had fought.

"Alright. We'll leave. We really can't help you anyway, and I won't hold you back. When you return, teach me how to do that transformation!" Goku said.

"Rest assured. This Prince is destined to surpass the gods; I will not fall. Go now. I may not be able to control myself for much longer!" Vegeta urged.

The group retreated from the battlefield to a relatively flat area, where Krillin threw a Hoi-Poi Capsule, instantly deploying the spaceship they had arrived in.

Opening the hatch and stepping inside, Goku looked back at the battlefield, as if to say, "You must come back; I haven't defeated you yet!"

Piccolo patted him on the shoulder and said, "Rest assured, that freak won't die. Don't forget his self-healing ability! I reckon he wouldn't even die if the planet were destroyed!"

Closing the hatch, the group stared blankly at the cockpit. They had forgotten that none of them knew how to operate a spaceship. What were they to do?

"Let me try. When I arrived, Aunt Bulma saw I was interested and taught me how to operate it!" Gohan said at this moment.

His hands tapped rapidly against various buttons, and finally, his index finger pressed nervously against a red one.

Whoosh. Flames erupted from the bottom of the ship, and it launched into the sky.

Goku and the others inside were caught off guard, suddenly pinned to the floor by the intense pressure.

Deep down, however, they were overjoyed. It had taken off.

Back on the battlefield:

"How about it, Frieza? Try that move of yours again. This time, I won't dodge or defend!" Vegeta said to Frieza.

"You wretched wild monkey! How dare you look down on me! Then go to hell!" Frieza roared in impotent rage.

A classic Death Beam shot toward Vegeta's forehead. Vegeta watched the incoming beam with an expressionless face.

Bang. Sizzle.

There was only a small red mark on Vegeta's forehead, and the edge of his hair was singed.

"Impossible! How can this be? It didn't even pierce his skull!" Frieza was both shocked and terrified.

"Hahaha... Hahahahaha!"

Vegeta laughed wildly.

He hadn't expected to be this strong; his body had become as hard as iron!

"Let's begin, Frieza. Prepare to enjoy the fear!" Vegeta exploded forward, charging toward Frieza.