Monkey Brain Uncovered

The shockwaves from the energy collision manifested as tangible ripples, spreading frantically through the dark cosmos.

Bang.

Golden Cell slammed a heavy punch into Son Gohan's crossed arms. The terrifying kinetic energy sent Son Gohan flying back several thousand kilometers.

The green shield on Son Gohan's body flickered violently, and his aura was forcibly battered away by more than half.

His speed had slowed.

The gap caused by his energy drain was widening; his current combat power had already plummeted below 60 quadrillion. Meanwhile, the Golden Cell opposite him maintained a steady, terrifying value of 65 quadrillion.

He couldn't fight head-on, but he couldn't simply flee like Cell had done earlier, or Cell would turn his attention to Earth, leaving him even more passive.

He needed to kite him.

Using the momentum from being knocked back, Son Gohan flashed through the void several times to create distance. He raised his hands and unleashed a dozen high-density green energy blasts, bombarding Cell.

He had to regrow his tail; that was the key to turning the tide.

"King Kai," Son Gohan called out directly. "Can you hear me?"

On the distant King Kai's Planet.

King Kai was huddled behind a tree, trembling while clutching Bubbles the monkey. Hearing Gohan's voice in his mind, King Kai shuddered in shock.

"I... I can hear you," King Kai stammered, swallowing hard. "Gohan, your situation over there is dire."

"No time for small talk," Son Gohan said rapidly, tilting his head to dodge a golden beam fired by Cell. "Please tell my father to go to Bulma immediately, get the Dragon Radar, and gather the seven Dragon Balls as fast as possible. Wish for Shenron to regrow my tail. Hurry!"

King Kai froze for a split second before reacting.

The antenna on his head glowed, and he projected Son Gohan's exact words directly into the mind of Son Goku back on Earth.

At Kami's Palace plaza.

Goku was staring fixedly at the sky when King Kai's urgent voice suddenly rang in his head.

"Tail." Goku's eyes widened. He instantly understood Gohan's intent. Gohan's current form was definitely related to the Saiyan Great Ape transformation; the tail was the crux of the problem.

Without a moment's hesitation, Goku pressed two fingers to his forehead.

Whoosh.

The golden figure vanished into thin air.

At the Turtle Hermit House.

Shoo--!

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 rushed straight to Bulma and Dende, who were in front of the screens.

"Bulma, where is the Dragon Radar?" Goku asked, his speech rapid. "Gohan needs the Dragon Balls to restore his tail. Time is running out."

Bulma's fingers blurred across the keyboard, and she didn't even turn her head. "Almost there."

Back when the battle between Gohan and Cell had vanished from the screen connected to Android 16, those who couldn't sense ki, like Bulma and Launch, had gone to do what they could.

Bulma had taken out the half-finished Dragon Radar to continue working on it; it was the only thing she could do.

"The hardware is assembled, but it still needs five minutes for the underlying program to compile."

Five minutes.

Goku's pupils contracted sharply.

In a battle of this level, let alone five minutes, even a single second was enough to die hundreds of times over. The longer this dragged on, the worse it was for Gohan.

"Can't you just use the old one?" Goku paced back and forth in anxiety.

"It won't work," Dende said, looking up with a tearful voice. "I updated the Dragon Balls. They're completely different from the set the old Guardian had; Bulma has to re-debug the program."

"Damn it." Goku slammed a fist into his palm, his mind fixed on the distant space battlefield.

In his ki perception, Son Gohan's energy was being tightly suppressed by another presence.

In space.

King Kai's voice echoed in Son Gohan's mind, carrying undisguised anxiety: "Gohan, the Dragon Radar will take another five minutes. You have to hold on a little longer."

Bang.

Golden Cell delivered a knee strike that slammed hard into Son Gohan's abdomen.

Son Gohan spat out a mouthful of blood; his energy had now plummeted to around 55 quadrillion.

"Five minutes!" Son Gohan gritted his teeth.

It never rains but it pours; bad news always came in waves.

Enduring the agonizing pain of his internal organs rupturing, he swung his thick left arm with a roar, slamming a fist into Cell's chin and forcibly pushing him back.

Cell steadied his footing and touched the indentation on his chin, but it recovered in the blink of an eye.

"What's wrong, Son Gohan?" Cell looked down at him from above, the mockery at the corners of his mouth growing more intense. "Where did that arrogance that was going to tear me apart go?"

"You think you're back in the game just because I let you have two moves?" Son Gohan grinned. "I remember exactly what you looked like just now, you pathetic dog!"

He knew well that every second he could drag this out was a second gained. He lowered his center of gravity and assumed a stance of absolute defense.

Cell narrowed his crimson eyes.

As the ultimate lifeform who had absorbed the genes of countless martial artists, his combat intuition was sharp to the extreme. This defensive, non-offensive stance of Son Gohan's did not fit the wild, combative nature of a legendary Super Saiyan at all.

He was stalling for time.

"Heh, Son Gohan, it seems you've reached the end of your rope." Cell sneered.

Although he didn't know what Son Gohan was waiting for, he would never give his opponent a chance to turn the tables.

BOOM.

A golden aura exploded in space as Cell released all of his energy without reservation. The surrounding asteroid belt was instantly pulverized under the terrifying gravitational force.

SWISH.

Cell's speed broke through its limits, transforming into a golden bolt of lightning as he bore down on Son Gohan.

It was too fast.

Son Gohan only had time to raise his arms.

BANG BANG BANG BANG.

A dense barrage of strikes poured down on Son Gohan like a rainstorm. Every one of Cell's punches contained enough power to easily pierce a star.

The green shield on Son Gohan's body was covered in cracks, ready to shatter at any moment. He was kicked and beaten back and forth in space like a punching bag, without even a chance to fight back.

Inside the Turtle Hermit House, there was a terrifying silence.

Yamcha and Krillin were ashen-faced.

Tien Shinhan's three eyes were bloodshot, his knuckles white as he clenched his fists.

"Faster... be faster." Goku stared fixedly at the progress bar on Bulma's computer screen.

92%... 94%... 96%...

Every time the progress bar ticked forward, Goku's heart trembled violently along with it.

In space.

CRACK.

The green Legendary Super Shield on Son Gohan's body finally could not withstand the continuous heavy blows and shattered completely.

The vacuum and the environment of absolute zero instantly enveloped his body. Although the formidable physical body of Super Saiyan 4 and his high-temperature aura were not afraid of such extreme environments, the lack of oxygen was still fatal.

Cell grabbed Son Gohan by the throat and lifted him up in the void.

"Game over." Cell grinned hideously, raising his other hand high.

Blinding golden light gathered frantically in Cell's palm, compressing into a ki blast only the size of a basketball, yet it contained a destructive aura.

He pressed the ki blast directly against Son Gohan's chest.

BOOM.

A dazzling golden halo of light exploded in space.

The violent energy pierced straight through Son Gohan's chest, leaving a charred, bloody hole just below his left breast.

"Urgh." Son Gohan let out a muffled groan, and the crimson aura of his Super Saiyan 4 form instantly extinguished. His consciousness began to blur, and the stars in his vision began to spin.

Turtle Hermit House.

"Gohan!" Goku's eyes were wide with rage, his aura overflowing uncontrollably, blowing the furniture inside the house away.

"Beep—program compilation complete."

Bulma slammed the enter key and yanked out the connection cable. She grabbed the Dragon Radar and turned to hand it to Goku.

Goku snatched the radar without a single word of nonsense.

BOOM.

His golden aura transformed into a violent streak of light, rushing toward the high sky.

On the radar screen, seven faint red dots were scattered across the world.

Goku pushed his speed to the absolute limit.

"Hold on, Gohan." Goku gritted his teeth until they cracked, flying frantically toward the nearest red dot.

In space.

Son Gohan's body drifted powerlessly through the void. Blood continuously seeped from the gaping hole in his chest, and his Super Saiyan 4 form was already teetering on the brink of collapse; his long black hair began to retract, and the red fur covering his body grew dull and lusterless.

He was about to revert to his base state.

Cell hovered not far away, watching the dying Son Gohan with killing intent that had condensed into something tangible.

"Still not dead. Your tenacity is truly annoying."

Cell slowly raised his right hand.

At his fingertip, a golden Destructo Disc formed at high speed. The high-speed rotation of its edges sliced even the surrounding space, leaving behind jagged black fissures.

"Then let's see how you handle a cracked monkey skull."

Cell grinned hideously and swung his arm down with force.

The Destructo Disc, tearing through space, shrieked with the sound of death as it hurtled straight toward Son Gohan's head!