Reckless

BOOM!

Dazzling halos of red and gold exploded across the sky.

A scarlet aura claimed the vast majority of the heavens.

Son Gohan's fist punched straight through Golden Cell's chest without any flair. Purple blood, mixed with fragments of internal organs, rained down from mid-air.

"Urgh-ah!" Cell's eyes bulged, and a shrill, miserable scream tore through the sky.

Son Gohan remained expressionless. With a violent yank of his thick left arm, he tore Cell's right arm out by the root. He then swung his right leg like a whip, slamming it heavily into Cell's side.

CRACK!

Amidst the bone-chilling sound of shattering, Golden Cell's lower body was kicked into a mist of blood.

"Well done! Brother Gohan, kill him!" On the ground, Young Trunks trembled with excitement, his eyes rimmed with red as he roared.

The mangled remains of Cell fell to the ground like a tattered sack, but he immediately activated his powerful regenerative abilities. Granules of flesh writhed frantically, and within a few seconds, his torn arm and lower body grew back.

SWISH!

Before Cell could even catch his breath, the red mountain descended once more.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

It was a completely one-sided beating. Super Saiyan 4 Son Gohan's unreasonable strength, combined with the boundless energy of the Legendary Super Saiyan, pounded Golden Cell's prideful, perfect body into mincemeat over and over again.

His head was crushed underfoot, half his body was blasted to pieces, and his limbs were ripped away.

Cell recovered time and time again, only to be shattered in even more brutal ways each time. That lofty golden form even showed signs of crumbling, his aura in complete disarray.

"Too strong... Is this the power of a 'Super Saiyan 4'!" Goku swallowed hard, his eyes filled with shock.

"We've won! That monster won't last much longer!" Vegeta gave a thumbs-up toward Gohan in the sky, unable to stop a long-absent, wild laugh from curling his lips.

However, the gloom on Piccolo's face did not dissipate. He stared fixedly at the red figure in mid-air, fine beads of cold sweat seeping from his green skin.

"Something's wrong..." Piccolo gritted his teeth. "Gohan's ki... it feels strange."

Beep, beep, beep—

Data flickered in Android 16's eye sockets, his tone tinged with anxiety: "Bad! Son Gohan's energy peak has stopped growing after breaking through 80 quadrillion!"

"Not only that." Android 16 looked toward the sky. "His energy is leaking at an extremely rapid rate! Current combat power... 78 quadrillion... 75 quadrillion... it's still falling!"

"What?!" Everyone was struck with horror.

"How can this be?!" The joy on Young Trunks' face froze instantly.

"Gohan! Stop playing around! Kill him now!" Piccolo strained his throat, channeling all his energy to roar at the high altitude, "Don't give him a chance!"

Mid-air.

Son Gohan kicked the newly restored Cell thousands of meters away, then looked down at his own hands, his brows locked tightly together.

His aura was constantly leaking.

Damn it!

He finally realized where the problem lay.

The tail!

The source of a Saiyan's power was the tail! In the original history, when Goku transformed into a Super Saiyan 3 to fight Majin Buu, he suffered repeatedly because the energy of a living body leaked too quickly. He had thought that Super Saiyan 4 was a perfect state that could circumvent this issue.

But he had forgotten the most fatal point—the foundation of the Super Saiyan 4 transformation was the Great Ape Transformation!

Without a tail to serve as an anchor for his energy, this violent, primal force was like a burst dam—it simply couldn't be contained!

When he first transformed, the infinite amplification of the Legendary Super Saiyan power had masked this defect, but as the battle dragged on, it was like a dam collapsing; the gap in energy loss would only grow wider. Now, the rate of loss had completely overtaken the rate of growth from his Legendary power!

If this continued, not only would he fail to maintain the Super Saiyan 4 form, but he might even be killed by Cell in a counterattack.

I must finish him immediately!

A flash of ruthlessness crossed Son Gohan's eyes. He flashed forward, a high-density gold-green energy blast condensing in his right palm, aimed straight at Cell's face.

However, Cell was a cunning creature.

Having been one-sidedly slaughtered for so long, he had long since sensed the decline in Son Gohan's aura, so he had been waiting for an opportunity.

SWISH!

Cell didn't take the hit at all; he flickered and vanished from his spot, reappearing tens of thousands of meters away.

"Hahahaha! Son Gohan, your power is waning!" Cell's manic laughter echoed across the sky. "Once you lose this power, it will be your death day!"

"I will kill you before that happens!" Son Gohan charged again.

But Cell was like a slippery loach, dodging frantically in the air.

Not only that.

"Die, you ants!"

In the gaps between his evasions, Cell waved his hands repeatedly. Dozens of golden beams of destruction rained down like a meteor shower, aimed precisely at Goku and the others on the ground—some even targeted the planet's core!

"Bastard!"

Son Gohan's eyes split at the corners, yet he forced himself to twist his trajectory, using his own body to tank attacks capable of obliterating the Earth.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Violent explosions detonated against Son Gohan's back. Although the defensive power of Super Saiyan 4 was astonishing and the attacks caused no real damage, they cost Son Gohan a great deal of precious time.

"Gohan! Don't worry about us!" Goku roared, transforming into a Super Saiyan and frantically batting away the scattered energy blasts.

"That's right! Focus on dealing with that guy!" Vegeta joined the effort to intercept them as well.

But Cell's attacks were too dense; he was clearly using these underhanded tactics to wear Son Gohan down.

Son Gohan was exhausted from running back and forth, and the rate at which his ki was fading accelerated once more.

No, I can't fight on Earth!

The Earth was too fragile; Cell could use the planet as a hostage at any moment, leaving him unable to unleash his full power.

Son Gohan's golden, slit-like pupils constricted sharply, his gaze locking onto the Golden Cell, who was laughing maniacally in the distance.

Boom!

Utilizing the shockwave from the exploding energy blasts and his own acceleration, he surged forward.

Before Cell could react, Adult Gohan had already appeared right in front of him.

"Nani?!" Cell gasped, just as he prepared to flee again.

Son Gohan's thick arms clamped around Cell's waist like iron bands.

"Gotcha!"

A crimson aura erupted as Son Gohan held onto Cell and shot straight into the sky.

"Let go of me! What are you doing, Son Gohan?" Cell pounded frantically on Son Gohan's back, but stopped after struggling for a moment. "You aren't planning on taking us both into space to die together, are you?"

A cold sneer curled the corners of Cell's mouth. "Naive fool."

Son Gohan remained expressionless, ignoring Cell as he pushed his speed to the absolute limit.

Breaking through the troposphere!

Breaking through the stratosphere!

Bursting out of the atmosphere!

The surrounding scenery instantly transformed into the deep, dark cosmos, with countless stars twinkling in the distance. Absolute vacuum and extreme cold instantly enveloped the pair.

Cell possessed Frieza's cells and was naturally unfazed by the space environment, so he broke free from the restraint.

He turned back, ready to watch Son Gohan panic and suffocate once he realized he couldn't survive in space.

However, the next second, he froze.

Hum—!

A pale green, circular energy barrier manifested over the surface of Son Gohan's body. The shield not only provided him with the ability to breathe but also offered protection.

Legendary Super Energy Shield!

"You truly exceed my expectations time and time again, Son Gohan," Cell muttered.

Back on Earth.

Goku and the others, who had sensed the pair's location through their ki, were all stunned.

"Gohan actually went into space?" Piccolo said, his face full of disbelief. "Saiyans are supposed to need to breathe!"

"There is a layer of energy flowing over his body," Android 16 said, looking up with a mechanical tone. "That special energy is replacing the oxygen cycle... but the situation is very dire."

Android 16 immediately poured cold water on everyone's hopes.

"Son Gohan's current combat power has dropped to 63 quadrillion."

"And Cell is still maintaining a level of 65 quadrillion."

The situation had reversed once again!

In just a few minutes of back-and-forth, Son Gohan's energy loss had reached an extremely dangerous critical point. He was now unable to suppress Golden Cell in terms of raw energy output!

In space.

Cell naturally felt the scales of power tipping once more.

"Although I'm curious about how you managed that, it doesn't matter."

"Your death has arrived, Son Gohan!" Cell's golden aura shone like a blinding star in the dark universe.

He assumed a fighting stance, his eyes filled with cruel killing intent.

Son Gohan stood in the void, saying nothing.

The rate of his energy loss was accelerating.

He watched Cell, his mind racing as he frantically searched for a way to break the deadlock.

The tail... I still need a tail, but this body's tail has been gone for a long time!

Thinking of this, Son Gohan couldn't help but curse inwardly.

Goku, that treacherous father!

Back when he was a child, to prevent Son Gohan from losing control and turning into a Great Ape, he had actually wished upon Shenron to permanently seal Son Gohan's tail!

If it had been cut off like Vegeta's, it would have been a different story; given the unique nature of the Super Saiyan 4 transformation, condensing a new one temporarily wouldn't have been an issue, just like his left arm.

But instead, it was a rule-based seal of Miracle Power! That was the highest level of divine power in the Dragon Ball World.

"Damn it..."

While he was deep in thought, Cell had already charged over with a sinister grin, his golden fist carrying the power to destroy stars, aimed straight at his face.

BANG!

Son Gohan raised his arms to block, but the terrifying impact sent him flying tens of thousands of kilometers, shattering a dozen massive meteorites along the way.

"Son Gohan! Where did that arrogant attitude from just a moment ago go?" Cell followed closely behind, unleashing a frantic barrage of attacks.

He could only defend passively, his red aura being battered until it began to dissipate.

He couldn't drag this out any longer.

If he kept stalling, he would surely die.

It seems this is the only way... Son Gohan thought to himself.