Super Saiyan 4?

"A giant ape has appeared!" The sudden turn of events left Bulma, Yamcha, Oolong, Puar, and the Ox-King, watching from afar, utterly shocked.

Bulma grabbed both of Yamcha's hands without asking and bounced up and down with delight. "Thank goodness! Goku's still alive!" Her actions left Yamcha's head spinning, though he was gradually getting used to being around women.

That was right—the new Great Ape could only be Goku.

There was no room for two tigers on one mountain. The Great Apes that Goku and Wuchen had become had both lost control of themselves. Like beasts fighting over territory, the brothers glared at each other!

Leaping down from Mount Fry-Pan, Goku's Great Ape slapped the flames from his legs, then roared at Wuchen's Great Ape. Wuchen's Great Ape responded with a roar just as deafening.

After roaring, the two apes charged at each other at the same time, swinging fists as large as cars and hammering them into each other!

One punch after another, every blow landing hard and drawing blood!

"This can't go on! We have to stop them! If this continues, they'll die! The thought of one brother killing the other is terrifying!" Seeing the brothers tearing into each other, Bulma cried out for everyone to think of a way to intervene.

But when a huge rock kicked up by the two Great Apes' battle nearly hit them, Bulma immediately ducked behind a tree, afraid to peek out.

They wanted to stop the brothers from fighting, but there was nothing they could do.

The brothers' battle only grew more and more ferocious, as though they had both gone berserk. Destruction and fighting were instinctive in this state!

Wham! Wuchen's Great Ape had one arm dislocated when Goku's Great Ape picked up a boulder as big as a small building and smashed it into him! Stung by the pain, Wuchen's Great Ape counterattacked furiously, swinging his other arm. Golden light blazed, wind and thunder followed, and the elemental power within him surged forth!

The Vajra Wind-Thunder Fist struck Goku's Great Ape squarely, knocking him to the ground!

When Goku's Great Ape struggled back to his feet, he was already staggering. That punch had clearly packed a serious punch!

But Goku's Great Ape refused to be outdone. He unleashed the powers of water and fire, their force surging like a raging sea or spreading flames, then struck back at Wuchen's Great Ape with a heavy blow!

Lightning flashed and thunder boomed, winds rose and clouds gathered. Golden-red light illuminated the sky like a fiery sunset as the two apes took their battle to a whole new level!

It was just like a battle between immortals, with each summoning a towering avatar!

"What kind of monsters are they?" Bulma, who had wanted to break up the fight, had abandoned the idea completely.

"I actually thought about making enemies of people like this. I must have been out of my mind!" Yamcha had also given up on stealing the Dragon Balls. He wasn't stupid; he knew perfectly well which mattered more, his wish or his life.

Oolong, Puar, and the Ox-King were all just as shocked, feeling as if the end of the world were coming.

"Look! Something's changed about that Great Ape!" Yamcha suddenly shouted. By now, they could no longer tell which of the two Great Apes was which.

Following Yamcha's pointing finger, they saw that one of the Great Apes had stopped attacking. He clutched his head with one hand, as though in terrible pain! The elemental power he had been unleashing recklessly was gradually subsiding.

When the other Great Ape attacked, he did his best to dodge, as though desperately trying to hold back!

Before long, he even spoke. "Goku! Stop!"

"It's Wuchen! He's come to his senses!" The desperate group felt as though they had caught sight of dawn.

Indeed, Wuchen had regained consciousness. When he and Goku had traded blows using their elemental powers, the clash had stirred the awareness buried beneath his wild instincts.

He had trained hard every day for years, and his Divine Soul had grown several times stronger. Under the repeated stimulation, he had broken through right in the middle of the battle! Before his main body could advance, his Divine Soul had already transformed from the mortal realm to the spiritual realm. He had regained control of his body and was no longer driven by wild instinct.

"Wake up!" The giant ape nimbly dodged an attack, then clenched his fist. Though his ape-sized hand could crush a car, it began forming a spell!

That was right: Wuchen was making a hand seal and casting a spell! A mysterious aura spread out, calming even the people in the distance. Their fear was also eased somewhat.

Goku's Great Ape, the spell's true target, stopped attacking as well. He still looked ferocious, but his lantern-sized eyes had taken on a glimmer of humanity instead of mindless bloodlust.

"B-Big brother." As if it took all his effort, Goku managed to call out. Then his emotions began to waver again. "Big brother, we... we..."

Wuchen felt both joy and worry. He hurried to stop Goku from guessing any further. "Goku, calm down!" At the same time, he continued casting the Great Heart-Cleansing Technique to suppress Goku's wild instincts.

It made for a bizarre sight: two giant apes stood facing each other beside a "bonfire"—Mount Fry-Pan. One ape's hands moved through changing gestures, while the other's restless aura settled, making him look drowsy. It was like a picture of an ape hypnotizing a man.

While keeping Goku calm, Wuchen quickly examined his body in its Great Ape form.

His tail, which he had never tempered, soon caught his attention. The violent power was concentrated mainly along his spine, radiating through every part of his body, but its source was his tail.

He had paid attention to his tail before and had noticed that something was indeed wrong. The meridian points along his spine were also unstable, which was why he hadn't let Goku temper his tail. Now, in Great Ape form, the instability was even worse.

Of course, the more unstable it was, the more information it revealed, making it easier to find a way to solve the problem.

Wuchen soon came up with a plan. Just as the Great Ape Transformation caused the violent power to affect his entire body, he would draw that power out further and refine it directly into the flesh and blood throughout his body!

Rather than wait for the full moon to bring on another outburst and force his body to endure that power, he would make his body accept it directly, allowing it to adapt at all times.

"Goku, don't move! I'm going to try to find a way to solve this." Wuchen immediately put his plan into action. The Great Ape sat cross-legged and quickly entered a meditative state. With his enormous body, he truly looked as immovable as a mountain.

Now calm, Goku didn't dare disturb him and didn't know what to do. This body felt utterly unfamiliar to him, and that unfamiliarity gave rise to a heartbreaking suspicion.

Grandpa... He must have been crushed to death by me and my big brother...

Following Wuchen's example, Goku sat cross-legged too. He had no particular plan; he simply did his best to stay still so he wouldn't hurt anyone again.

The two apes sat facing each other, looking almost harmonious, yet the people in the distance still didn't dare approach, even though their inexplicable fear had eased considerably.

"What are they doing?"

"I don't know."

"Should we go ask them?"

"N-no, maybe not..." They each offered an opinion, then quickly agreed to wait and see.

Before long, they witnessed a sight they would never forget!

One of the Great Apes soared into the sky, blotting out the heavens and eclipsing the moon, cutting off its full light and leaving them deeply shaken.

As they stared in shock, the full moon gradually shone bright again. The Great Ape's body had begun to shrink, shrinking until he was the size of an ordinary boy.

The boy's silhouette overlapped with the full moon, as if he were a figure in the moon. He was a little taller than either of the two boys had been before.

The boy seemed to be naked, and he still had fur, though it only covered his chest and abdomen. If not for his hairless face and shoulder-length black hair, people might have thought he was simply the Great Ape shrunk down to ordinary ape size.

"Ha!" The boy floated above the night sky and shouted with all his strength. The earth shook with him, and everyone was pressed flat against the ground. Even Goku, still in Great Ape form, could barely keep his footing!