"Since you've made up your mind, I won't hold back!" Nail said, his energy surging wildly.
Feeling the powerful aura emanating from Nail, Piccolo simply gave a casual smile, completely unruffled.
"Boom!"
Then Piccolo wasted no time and unleashed his full power.
Sun Wukong glanced over and laughed, but made no move to stop them.
At that moment, Piccolo had brought his aura to its peak.
Judging purely by the strength of their energy, Piccolo had now surpassed Nail.
Nail's expression shifted slightly as he stared at Piccolo without blinking, his eyes full of astonishment.
"Want to keep going?" Piccolo's smile grew even brighter.
Nail fell silent.
"Nail, stop. You're no match for him!" the Grand Elder said.
"Yes, Grand Elder!" Nail quickly bowed.
"So, as of today, I'm the strongest Namekian," Piccolo said with a smug smile.
Nail: "..."
"How did you train? I can sense that you still have an immense amount of energy within you," Nail said with a sigh.
"Child of Katas, I can tell that your body is incomplete. What happened to you?" the Grand Elder suddenly asked.
Piccolo was speechless.
What did he mean, his body was incomplete?
The way he put it... anyone who didn't know better would think something was wrong with him.
"Hahaha, Piccolo and the Guardian were originally one person. The Guardian split Piccolo off so he could become Earth's god... That's what happened," Sun Wukong explained.
Piccolo's face darkened, and he glared at Sun Wukong.
You sure do talk a lot.
The Grand Elder finally understood and let out a long sigh. "So that's what happened... But if you could fuse with your other self again, perhaps you could defeat Frieza!"
"Y-You said what?" Piccolo's expression changed. "You mean that if I fuse with that old geezer, the Guardian, I'll be able to beat Frieza?"
"I think that's about right," Sun Wukong chimed in with a nod.
Piccolo: "..."
Piccolo shot Sun Wukong a sidelong glance.
What do you mean, you think?
What could you possibly know?
"Based on my reasoning, that should be about right," the Grand Elder said with a smile.
Piccolo fell silent.
After a brief pause, he decisively shook his head and chuckled. "Hmph! I'm not fusing with that old geezer again! He's so annoying! He's always acting all self-righteous!"
The Grand Elder merely smiled calmly and didn't try to persuade him further.
Time passed, second by second.
About twenty minutes later, all the Namekians had gathered outside the Grand Elder's room, on the platform.
Krillin and the others carried the Grand Elder out of his room.
"Everyone, please join hands. I'll take you somewhere safe," Sun Wukong announced to the gathered Namekians.
Soon, all the Namekians, including the Grand Elder, joined hands.
"Goku, should we stay here and wait for you?" Krillin asked.
"Sure. Wait here a moment. I'll get the Grand Elder and the others settled, then come right back." Sun Wukong nodded and was about to take them away.
"Wait!" The Grand Elder was startled and quickly stopped him.
Sun Wukong stopped using Instant Transmission and looked up at the Grand Elder in confusion.
"Mr. Sun Wukong, are you planning to stay and fight Frieza?" the Grand Elder asked curiously.
"Yes, that's right, Grand Elder," Sun Wukong replied with a nod.
"Frieza is incredibly powerful... Just the few of you... I don't mean to discourage you, but you may not be able to defeat him." The Grand Elder shook his head gently with a sigh. "You're all good people. You should leave Namek with us."
"Don't worry, Grand Elder. I have to stay and fight Frieza. Otherwise, sooner or later, he'll find your planet again," Sun Wukong said, shaking his head.
"Don't worry, Grand Elder. Goku is really strong. He'll definitely beat Frieza!" Krillin said with a laugh.
The Grand Elder looked at Sun Wukong with gratitude.
What a good person.
A brief silence followed.
"Since you insist on staying to challenge Frieza, then I'll give you a gift as well," the Grand Elder said with a smile.
"A gift?" Sun Wukong asked, slightly surprised.
"Come over here, beside me," the Grand Elder called to Sun Wukong.
"Okay." Sun Wukong nodded and went over to him.
The Grand Elder gently placed a hand on Sun Wukong's head.
"Huh? Why are you patting my head?" Sun Wukong asked, startled.
The moment the Grand Elder's hand touched Sun Wukong's head, his pupils contracted sharply and the old flesh on his body trembled. He was overcome with shock.
This... this person... the energy inside him... I can't even fathom how much there is!
Just how strong is he?
Now I understand why he's staying to challenge Frieza.
It seems he truly has the power to defeat Frieza.
"What's wrong, Grand Elder?" Sun Wukong was still confused.
"Whoosh!"
A mysterious power burst from the Grand Elder's hand and quickly enveloped Sun Wukong.
Sun Wukong was instantly stunned. His energy surged wildly, and his vast aura spread outward from him in every direction.
His immense power nearly shook the towering cliff apart.
Fortunately, Sun Wukong reacted quickly and reined in his aura, preventing the steep cliff from crumbling.
"That's incredible!" Sun Wukong exclaimed, both astonished and delighted.
Quietly sensing the power of his own aura, Sun Wukong felt that he had recovered at least thirty percent of his peak strength.
I trained so hard for so long just to recover ten percent of my peak strength.
But the Grand Elder gave me some of his mysterious power, and I recovered thirty percent all at once.
Sun Wukong was thrilled and overjoyed.
Then Sun Wukong seemed to realize something and turned to look behind him.
What a shame. His tail still hadn't grown back.
"Y-Your energy..." The Grand Elder was just as stunned. He had never imagined that Sun Wukong's energy could be this powerful.
"That's great! Thank you, Grand Elder! I feel so much stronger!" Sun Wukong said with a smile.
"You're welcome... I only brought out the energy hidden within you." The Grand Elder smiled calmly, then looked at Piccolo and the others. "Friends, if you're staying to challenge Frieza, I can help draw out the energy hidden within you. Come to me if you'd like."
Krillin and the others were delighted.
So we can get stronger this way, too.
Then Krillin, Piccolo, Son Gohan, Tien Shinhan, Chiaotzu, Yamcha, and the others came forward one by one, letting the Grand Elder draw out their hidden potential.
With the Grand Elder's help, Piccolo and the others grew much stronger.
Before you continue