The Hyperbolic Time Chamber

"AAAAAAHHH—!"

In the quiet ruins, Son Gohan threw his head back and let out a roar that pierced the curtain of rain, testing his strength.

Even though he had fully inherited the original Gohan's memories and combat instincts, memories were one thing. Experiencing them firsthand was another.

In the Namek saga of the original story, Son Goku had nearly died several times, and each time his battle power shot up like a rocket. When he first arrived on Namek, his base power was only ninety thousand. After fighting the Ginyu Force and recovering from near death, it soared straight to three million!

Besides, what Dragon Ball fan hadn't privately imagined transforming into a Super Saiyan? The chance was right in front of him now. If he didn't power up, he'd be letting down his very identity as a transmigrator.

The current Son Gohan had not only just suffered a near-fatal injury, but had also eaten a Senzu Bean and recovered completely. More importantly, the Legendary Super Saiyan Bloodline had just fused into his body!

Those three buffs stacked together, bringing his base battle power to an unprecedented level.

His golden hair stood on end, and a cold gleam shone in his emerald-green eyes.

Gohan clenched his right fist, feeling the surging energy inside him. He was absolutely more than a little stronger than the original Gohan had been when he fought desperately against the Androids. His power was probably around three hundred million.

The wild power coursing through his body thrilled him, but it still wasn't enough!

Gohan took a deep breath, forcing down the urge to rush out and settle the score with the Androids right away.

He knew very well that, at best, his current strength only let him barely match either Android 17 or Android 18.

But the demonic siblings were practically one and the same. They never acted alone.

Against two monsters with unlimited stamina and battle power somewhere around three or four hundred million each, his chances of winning were still low.

He had to get stronger!

"Legendary Super Saiyan Bloodline... Since it's fused with me, why can't I transform straight into a Legendary Super Saiyan?"

Gohan gritted his teeth and squeezed more energy from his body.

He wanted to transform into the Legendary Super Saiyan Form, but it seemed that wasn't so simple.

"HYAAAH!"

Amid the golden aura, a thread of strange dark green began to peel away.

Gohan's body suddenly grew taller, and his once well-proportioned muscles ballooned like a blown-up balloon, stretching his gi taut.

But he quickly realized something was wrong.

His power hadn't undergone a qualitative leap. Instead, an extremely wild, uncontrollable force was rampaging through him. It felt like an ancient beast trapped in a cage, desperately trying to tear its way out of his body.

Pseudo-Legendary Super Saiyan.

Or, more accurately, it was the power of the Great Ape Transformation forcibly unleashed in human form.

In this state, his battle power increased by a mere ten times—far below the fiftyfold boost of an ordinary Super Saiyan!

"Damn it..."

Panting, Gohan released the awkward transformation and switched back to ordinary Super Saiyan 1.

He stood there, brow furrowed as he pondered the reason.

Soon, he figured it out.

Transforming into a Super Saiyan didn't just require enough S-Cells to build up in the body. It also required an extremely powerful emotional trigger. The original Gohan had broken through to Super Saiyan after watching Piccolo and the others die, driven by overwhelming grief and fury.

As for the Legendary Super Saiyan Form, it was completely unfamiliar territory to him. He had never transformed into it, so his body had no muscle memory of the form. He hadn't found the emotional switch that would trigger that berserk state, either.

The Legendary Super Saiyan Bloodline was like a vast gold mine. He owned it, but all he had was a little shovel, and he hadn't yet found the most efficient way to dig.

He needed time to experiment and find his way.

He had no idea that, while he kept trying to transform, a pair of eyes watched him from the darkness.

Several kilometers from the ruins, in a shadowy corner, a monster covered in green spots and clad in an insect-like exoskeleton had suppressed every trace of his energy and lay in wait like a corpse.

Cell.

After Android 17 and Android 18's battle with Gohan ended, this ultimate Android had been lurking nearby the entire time.

He had two goals.

First, find an opening in Android 17 and Android 18's defenses, then absorb them and evolve into the Perfect Form he had long dreamed of.

Second, confirm whether Son Gohan was really dead.

Just as Cell had hoped,

Son Gohan wasn't merely alive. His energy was even stronger than before.

Once he had confirmed it, a chill of intense malice crept over Cell's face.

He was a hunter with tremendous patience.

If Son Gohan was alive and had grown stronger, then Cell had a better chance of absorbing the siblings. The stronger Son Gohan became, the better Cell's chances of reaping the rewards.

He continued to lie in the shadow of the rubble, patiently waiting like a venomous snake for his chance.

At the center of the ruins,

Gohan had tried for a long time but still couldn't grasp the secret of the Legendary Super Saiyan transformation. All he could do was reluctantly maintain his ordinary Super Saiyan 1 form.

Just then, a sudden rush of wind tore through the sky.

"Gohan!"

With a heart-wrenching cry, a purple figure plunged from the sky like a meteor and slammed into the muddy ground.

Trunks.

The fourteen-year-old boy was soaked through, his face streaked with mud and tears. He had just woken from unconsciousness and had raced toward the battlefield like a madman, his mind filled with the image of his master dying in the rain.

He had thought he could only come to collect the body.

But when he staggered to his feet and saw the figure standing beside a puddle, the weight on his heart finally lifted.

A golden aura blazed in the rain, driving away the surrounding darkness and cold.

The man who should have died in battle was standing there unharmed, his energy even more powerful than before.

"G-Gohan?" Trunks's voice trembled. He couldn't believe his eyes, afraid it was only a hallucination brought on by unbearable grief.

"Thank goodness... you're okay!"

Trunks lunged forward and grabbed Gohan's one remaining arm, tears pouring down his face with the rain. Joy swept away every last one of his defenses.

Looking at the purple-haired boy, crying and laughing at once, Gohan's eyes flickered with complicated emotions.

In the original Gohan's memories, he had come to see Trunks as his own little brother. He and Bulma were practically the only family left to him in this hopeless world.

"Trunks, it's all right. I'm here."

Gohan reached out with his right hand and ruffled Trunks's rain-soaked purple hair.

He released his Super Saiyan transformation. The golden aura faded, and his hair and eyes returned to black.

"Don't worry. Soon, we'll take care of those two Androids for good."

Son Gohan spoke with certainty.

Trunks froze. He could keenly sense that Gohan seemed different. It wasn't just that he had grown stronger; the absolute confidence and sharpness that seemed to emanate from deep within him were unlike anything Trunks had ever seen.

"But... we can't beat them," Trunks said through gritted teeth, his voice filled with helplessness.

"We can't beat them now, but we will soon."

Gohan turned to face the west, in the direction of West City.

"Trunks, even though Kami and Uncle Piccolo are both dead, and the Dragon Balls are gone, there's still a place on Earth where we can grow stronger in the shortest amount of time."

Trunks snapped his head up. "Where?"

"The Hyperbolic Time Chamber."

A cold smile tugged at the corner of Gohan's mouth.

"Come on. Let's go back to West City first. We'll let Aunt Bulma know we're safe so she doesn't worry. Then..."

He paused, his gaze like a blade.

"We're going to the Lookout."