The shock waves from the collision of their energy spread wildly through the dark universe, rippling like solid waves.
Bang.
Golden Cell's heavy punch slammed into Son Gohan's crossed arms. The terrifying kinetic force sent Son Gohan flying thousands of kilometers.
The green shield around Son Gohan flickered violently, and more than half of his aura was forcibly smashed away.
His speed had dropped.
The gap where his energy was draining grew larger and larger. By now, his battle power had fallen below six quadrillion. Meanwhile, Golden Cell still held steady at a terrifying 6.5 quadrillion.
He couldn't fight head-on, but he also couldn't just run away like Cell had earlier. Otherwise, if Cell turned around and attacked Earth, they'd be in an even worse position.
He had to keep his distance and wear Cell down.
Using the force that had sent him flying, Son Gohan darted through space several times in quick succession, putting some distance between them. He raised a hand and fired more than a dozen high-density green Ki Blasts at Cell.
He had to grow his tail. That was the key to turning things around.
"King Kai," Son Gohan called aloud. "Can you hear me?"
Far away, on King Kai's Planet.
King Kai was clutching the monkey Bubbles and trembling behind a tree. When he heard Gohan's voice in his mind, King Kai jolted in fright.
"I-I can hear you." King Kai swallowed. "Gohan, things are looking bad over there."
"There's no time to waste." Son Gohan quickly spoke while dodging a golden beam Cell fired at him. "Please tell my father to find Bulma and get the Dragon Radar. Have him gather all seven Dragon Balls as fast as he can and wish Shenron to grow my tail back. Hurry."
King Kai froze for a moment, then immediately understood.
The antennae on his head glowed faintly, projecting Son Gohan's exact words into Son Goku's mind on Earth.
The plaza at Kami's Palace.
Goku was staring fixedly up at the sky when King Kai's urgent voice suddenly rang out in his mind.
"Tail." Goku's eyes widened. He instantly understood Gohan's intentions. Gohan's current form was definitely connected to the Saiyans' Great Ape Transformation. His tail was the key.
Without the slightest hesitation, Goku pressed two fingers to his forehead.
Whoosh.
His golden figure vanished into thin air.
Turtle Hermit House.
Whoosh—!
Goku appeared out of thin air in the middle of the living room.
"Goku!" Krillin jumped in fright.
Goku didn't even have time to greet him. He headed straight for Bulma and Dende, who were in front of the screen.
"Bulma, where's the Dragon Radar?" Goku spoke at top speed. "Gohan needs the Dragon Balls to restore his tail. We're running out of time."
Bulma's fingers flew across the keyboard, leaving afterimages. She didn't even look back. "I'm almost done."
Ever since Gohan and Cell's battle had disappeared from the screen connected to Android 16, Bulma, Launch, and the others who couldn't sense ki had gone to do whatever they could.
Bulma had taken out the Dragon Radar, which she had already half-finished, and continued working on it. It was the only thing she could do.
"The hardware's assembled. I just need five more minutes to compile the final low-level program."
Five minutes.
Goku's pupils contracted sharply.
In a battle of this caliber, even a single second was enough to die hundreds of times over. The longer it dragged on, the worse it was for Gohan.
"Can't we use the old one?" Goku paced frantically.
"No." Dende lifted his head, his voice choked with tears. "I updated the Dragon Balls. They're completely different from the old set, so Bulma has to reconfigure the program."
"Damn it!" Goku punched his palm, his thoughts turning to the distant battle in space.
Through his ki sense, he could feel Son Gohan's energy being relentlessly suppressed by another presence.
In space.
King Kai's voice rang out in Son Gohan's mind, his anxiety impossible to hide. "Gohan, the Dragon Radar will take another five minutes. You have to hold on a little longer."
Bang.
Golden Cell drove his knee into Son Gohan's stomach.
Son Gohan spat out a large mouthful of blood. His ki had now fallen to around 5.5 quadrillion.
"Five minutes!" Son Gohan gritted his teeth.
As if things weren't bad enough already, one piece of bad news after another kept coming.
He endured the agonizing pain of his crushed organs, swung his thick left arm, and punched Cell in the chin, forcing him back.
Cell steadied himself and touched the dent in his chin, but it instantly healed.
"What's wrong, Son Gohan?" Cell looked down at him, the mockery at the corners of his mouth growing more pronounced. "Where'd that arrogance go? The kind that tore me apart just a moment ago?"
"Let you land a couple of hits, and you really think you're hot stuff?" Gohan grinned. "I remember exactly what a miserable mess you were just now!"
He knew he had to drag things out, every second he could. He lowered his center of gravity and took up a purely defensive stance.
Cell narrowed his crimson eyes.
As an ultimate life-form that had absorbed the genes of countless martial artists, his battle instincts were razor-sharp. Son Gohan's defensive stance, refusing to attack, was completely at odds with the savage, battle-hungry nature of the Legendary Super Saiyan.
He was stalling.
"Heh. Son Gohan, looks like you've reached the end of your rope," Cell sneered.
He didn't know what Son Gohan was waiting for, but he certainly wasn't going to give him a chance to turn the tables.
Boom.
His golden aura exploded through space as Cell released all his ki without holding anything back. The surrounding asteroid belt was instantly pulverized by the terrifying force.
Whoosh.
Cell's speed broke through its limits. He became a golden bolt of lightning, closing in on Son Gohan.
Too fast.
Son Gohan had time to raise only his arms.
Thud, thud, thud, thud.
A barrage of blows rained down on Son Gohan. Every one of Cell's punches held enough power to pierce a star with ease.
Cracks spread across the green shield around Son Gohan, and it looked ready to shatter at any moment. He was kicked back and forth through space like a punching bag, unable to fight back.
A deathly silence hung over Turtle Hermit House.
Yamcha and Krillin looked ashen.
Tien Shinhan's three eyes were bloodshot, and his fists were clenched so tightly that his knuckles had turned white.
"Faster... Come on, faster." Goku stared fixedly at the progress bar on Bulma's computer screen.
92%... 94%... 96%...
Every time the progress bar moved, Goku's heart lurched.
In space.
Crack.
At last, the green Legendary Super Shield around Son Gohan couldn't withstand the continuous blows. It shattered completely.
The vacuum and absolute-zero temperatures instantly enveloped his body. His powerful Super Saiyan 4 physique and blazing aura could withstand such extreme conditions, but the lack of oxygen was still fatal.
Cell grabbed Son Gohan by the throat and lifted him into space.
"Game over." Cell grinned wickedly as he raised his other hand high.
Dazzling golden light gathered frantically in Cell's palm, compressing into an energy sphere no bigger than a basketball, yet filled with an aura of destruction.
He drove the sphere straight into Son Gohan's chest.
Boom.
A brilliant golden halo burst into bloom in space.
The violent energy pierced straight through Son Gohan's chest, leaving a charred, bloody hole just below the left side.
"Ugh!" Son Gohan groaned. The crimson aura of Super Saiyan 4 instantly went out. His consciousness began to blur, and the stars in his vision spun.
Turtle Hermit House.
"Gohan!" Goku's eyes nearly bulged from their sockets. His ki surged out of control, sending the furniture flying across the room.
"Beep—Program compilation complete."
Bulma hit the Enter key, yanked out the connecting cable, and turned to hand Goku the Dragon Radar.
Goku snatched it up without a word.
Boom.
His golden aura became a violent streak of light as he shot into the sky.
On the radar screen, seven faint red dots were scattered across the world.
Goku pushed his speed to the limit.
"Hang on, Gohan!" Goku gritted his teeth and flew desperately toward the nearest red dot.
In space.
Son Gohan's body floated helplessly through the void. Blood continued to seep from the hole in his chest. His Super Saiyan 4 form was on the verge of collapsing. His long black hair began to shrink, and the red fur on his body had lost its luster.
He was about to revert to his normal form.
Cell hovered not far away, looking at the dying Son Gohan. His killing intent had become palpable.
"You still haven't died. You're annoyingly persistent."
Cell slowly raised his right hand.
A golden Destructo Disc rapidly took shape at his fingertips. Its rapidly spinning edge carved black cracks through the surrounding space.
"Let's try cracking open a monkey's skull."
Cell grinned wickedly and swung his arm down.
The Destructo Disc tore through space with a deadly howl, slicing straight toward Son Gohan's head!
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