Dragon Fist Explosion

BOOM—!

Two rays of light, one red and one gold, collided violently ten thousand meters in the sky.

The moment Super Saiyan 4 Gohan and Golden Cell made contact, they plunged directly into a brutal, close-quarters brawl.

Fists slammed into the golden carapace with heavy, muffled thuds. Cell delivered a vicious knee strike to Gohan's abdomen, forcing a mouthful of bile from the Saiyan's lips.

"Ugh, I can't see a thing!"

At the Turtle Hermit House, Bulma stomped her feet in frustration, while the other Z Fighters closed their eyes, focusing intently on sensing the fluctuations of ki coming from the distance.

Android 16, present at the scene, kept his eyes wide open. He pushed his optical sensors to their limit, yet he could still only barely catch two blurred shadows crisscrossing wildly across the horizon, forced to rely on their energy signatures to judge the progress of the battle.

With every collision, a vacuum fault thousands of kilometers long was torn into the Earth's atmosphere.

Beep, beep, beep—!

Data flickered in Android 16's eyes.

"Golden Cell combat power... 55 quadrillion... 60 quadrillion... 65 quadrillion... Energy peak locked!"

"Gohan combat power... 50 quadrillion... 60 quadrillion... 68 quadrillion... Still rising!"

His ki had already surpassed Cell's!

Joy washed over the faces of the group.

BANG!

Gohan landed a heavy, powerful swing against Golden Cell's cheek.

This time, Cell couldn't block it.

The golden figure flew like a cannonball, tumbling through the air toward the sea. Before he could hit the water, Gohan's figure appeared beneath him like a phantom.

His crimson aura coalesced into the phantom image of a roaring Great Ape.

Gohan swung his right leg upward with the force of a world-splitting axe, slamming it into Cell's back.

BANG!

"Gah!" Golden Cell spat out a spray of purple blood, his body hurtling uncontrollably toward outer space.

"Impossible! How is this possible!"

Cell forcibly steadied himself in the vacuum of space. His usual air of superiority and arrogance had vanished completely, replaced by undisguised terror and distortion.

He was the ultimate perfect lifeform, evolved by traversing countless timelines and devouring countless counterparts!

How could this Gohan before him possibly stand above him?

"Where are you looking?"

A cold voice exploded in Cell's ear.

Gohan had appeared at his side at some point. His thick left arm, covered in wild fur, clamped around Cell's neck, and he hurled him back into Earth's atmosphere as if he were a mere chick.

Rumble—!

The two turned into a burning meteorite, crashing heavily into the wilderness. The crust for thousands of kilometers around collapsed instantly, and the rising dust blotted out the sun.

"Well done! Brother Gohan!"

Young Trunks' eyes were bloodshot, his fists clenched so tightly that he didn't even notice his palms bleeding. He roared at the distance with all his might: "Kill him! Blast that animal to dust! Avenge Mom, avenge everyone!!"

Goku stood where he was, his entire body trembling.

It wasn't fear, but an instinctive excitement and longing born from realizing how vast the path ahead was when faced with such high-dimensional power.

"Too strong... Is this the realm beyond Super Saiyan 3..." Goku gasped for air, his eyes filled with fanaticism and awe.

Far away at the Turtle Hermit House, the worry on the faces of Yamcha, Krillin, and the others slowly dissipated, even though the two fierce, dimension-spanning auras still made it hard for them to breathe.

At the center of the battlefield.

At the bottom of a deep crater, Golden Cell struggled out of Gohan's grip and put some distance between them.

His golden carapace was now covered in scars, and purple blood dripped continuously from the corner of his mouth.

"Unforgivable..."

Cell stared fixedly at the figure opposite him, who radiated a nearly tangible red light. The thread of his sanity snapped completely.

"I am perfect! I am invincible! A mere wild monkey, how dare you! How dare you!!"

Cell let out a piercing, shrill scream.

He no longer cared for martial arts techniques, nor did he bother to control the precision of his energy. His only thought now was to completely erase this young man, along with this damned planet!

BOOM!

His golden aura exploded like an out-of-control nuclear reactor.

Cell waved his hands frantically, and countless golden energy spheres containing destructive power poured out like a torrential rain.

These energy spheres weren't aimed at Gohan at all; they were fired aimlessly in every direction.

"Die! Just all of you die!" Cell laughed maniacally.

Possessing the cells of Frieza, he could survive in the vacuum of space without relying on a planet's oxygen.

Any random energy blast landing on the surface would be enough to pierce through the Earth's core. He had abandoned all sense of martial honor; since he could not win, he would drag the entire world down with him!

"Oh no!"

Goku's expression changed drastically as he instantly erupted into his full-power Super Saiyan state, his entire body transforming into a streak of golden light as he shot into the sky.

"Kamehameha!"

A thick, blue beam of light swept across the horizon, barely managing to detonate a few of the wildly scattering energy blasts.

"You bastard!"

Vegeta roared, thrusting his palms out frantically, "Final Flash!"

Piccolo, Young Gohan, Future Trunks, Young Trunks, and Android 16 also unleashed all of their ki, desperately firing energy waves into the high altitude in an attempt to intercept the scattered, destructive blasts.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Countless blinding spheres of light exploded in the sky, causing the entire Earth to tremble violently.

But it was impossible to stop them.

Cell had released too many energy blasts, and the energy density was too high. The Z Fighters' interception was merely a drop in the bucket against this rain of light covering the sky.

As a dozen golden energy blasts were about to strike the ground, the explosion of the Earth seemed inevitable.

Swish!

A red afterimage flickered frantically in mid-air.

Son Gohan pushed his speed to the absolute limit, the violent power of his Super Saiyan 4 state turning into the sturdiest of shields. He used his own physical body to smash through the energy blasts that had slipped past the others.

Bang, bang, bang, bang!

Violent explosions detonated against Son Gohan's skin; although they could not break his defense, they successfully slowed his movements.

"Got you!"

A flash of extremely ruthless light glinted in Cell's eyes.

This was the moment he had been waiting for!

Swish!

Cell's figure vanished into thin air.

Instant Transmission!

A blind spot in the absolute 0.0001 seconds.

When Cell reappeared, he was already pressed against Son Gohan's back. He gathered all the remaining ki in his body into his right fist without reservation. The golden glow of his fist was blindingly bright.

Dragon Fist Explosion!

"Die, Son Gohan!"

ROAR—!

Accompanied by the sound of a dragon's roar!

This punch landed solidly on Son Gohan's back.

The terrifying phantom of a golden dragon shattered the red aura surrounding Son Gohan's body.

Son Gohan let out a muffled groan, his body plummeting toward the ground like a kite with a broken string.

BOOM!!!

This impact was more violent than any that had come before.

The solid crust was smashed through by this terrifying kinetic energy. A massive fissure, tens of thousands of meters deep, spread across the earth, and dark red magma erupted from the depths like a fountain, illuminating the entire sky as if it were the end of the world.

"Gohan!" Goku's eyes were bloodshot with rage.

High above, Golden Cell panted heavily, his chest heaving violently.

That last strike had drained most of his stamina, but the madness on his face only grew more intense.

"Hahahaha! I am the number one existence in the universe! The strongest ultimate lifeform!"

Cell stared fixedly at the churning sea of magma below; once Son Gohan was dead, he could crush the remaining trash with a single finger.

Gurgle... gurgle...

The boiling magma suddenly began to churn violently.

Cell's laughter came to an abrupt halt, his pupils shrinking sharply.

"He's still not dead?! Since when did Saiyans have the ability to survive in magma?"

The response was a thick arm covered in red fur, which suddenly reached out from the magma and grabbed the edge of the rock.

Following that, Son Gohan slowly rose from the depths of the earth.

His martial arts uniform had been completely incinerated, revealing his lean, sturdy physique. There was a clear patch of charred skin on his back, and a trickle of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.

He was injured.

Yet his ki showed no signs of weakening in the slightest.

Son Gohan raised a hand and casually wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

His golden slit pupils fixed upon the gritting, snarling Cell hovering in mid-air, the fires of wild instinct burning fiercely within his eyes as his fighting spirit soared to the heavens.

"Dragon Fist, is it? Not a bad move."

Back before he transmigrated, he had always thought this technique looked incredibly cool on TV. He never expected that the first time he would see it in the Dragon Ball World, it would be landing on his own body, and used by a villain at that. If his Super Saiyan 4 form hadn't been so durable and tough, he would have been finished right then and there.

BOOM!

A crimson aura erupted once more, surging toward the sky!