Meanwhile.
On the other side of Earth, in a desolate rocky wasteland, the Cell Games Arena.
Perfect Cell floated cross-legged at the center of the arena, meditating with his eyes closed. Several kilometers beyond the arena, a group of clueless Earth reporters had set up their cameras and microphones. Helicopters circled overhead, their cameras fixed on the green-spotted monster.
Buzz—!
Suddenly, the air rippled violently, as if space itself were distorting.
A battered machine bearing the large "CC" logo of Capsule Corporation crashed out of nowhere at the edge of the arena.
It was identical to the Time Machine Trunks had traveled in.
Cell's eyes snapped open, a hint of confusion flickering in them.
Hiss—
The sound of a pressure valve releasing echoed as the scarred hatch slowly opened upward.
The moment a crack appeared in the hatch—
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Every camera lens around the arena shattered instantly. The helicopters' electronic equipment erupted in sparks, and an invisible magnetic field completely shredded the live broadcast signal throughout the area.
The Lookout, Kami's Palace.
"Gohan!"
Future Trunks' voice rang across Lookout Plaza. He stared at the one-armed man hovering in the air, his eyes bloodshot, tears welling up and threatening to spill.
In that hopeless future, Son Gohan had knocked him unconscious and gone alone to fight Android 17 and Android 18. He had died at the Androids' hands protecting Trunks. Now, seeing Gohan alive—and so powerful that his strength was suffocating—Future Trunks trembled with excitement.
Vegeta stood nearby, his hands clenched into fists so tightly that his nails nearly dug into his palms.
He glared at Son Gohan in the air, grinding his teeth.
It was bad enough that Kakarot, a Low-Class Warrior, had surpassed him in every way. Now even his son, a Half-Saiyan, had mercilessly left him behind.
Why?!
What Vegeta didn't know was that not only had the future Son Gohan in the sky surpassed him by a wide margin, but even the ten-year-old Son Gohan standing beside Piccolo was already far stronger than him.
In midair.
Goku wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his excitement only growing.
"You're incredible, Gohan." Goku took a deep breath. His golden aura abruptly contracted, then burst out again with even greater ferocity. "But I'm not giving up just like that!"
"Kaioken!"
Boom!
A blinding crimson glow wrapped itself around the golden aura.
Using Kaioken while in Super Saiyan form put a devastating strain on the body. That was why Goku had never tried it before. With his body's current limits, he could only manage a onefold increase at most.
Even so, his power soared to a whole new level.
"Come on, Gohan!" Goku shouted. The space around him warped slightly under the intertwined red-and-gold energy.
Watching his father fight with everything he had, Son Gohan grinned wildly.
"In that case, I'll have to get serious too."
Adult Gohan lowered his center of gravity as the ki inside him surged into motion.
"Haaa!"
Dark green energy erupted from his body. His muscles swelled as if they were inflating, and he grew to a height of 1.9 meters. The form somewhat resembled Super Saiyan 1's muscular build.
Pseudo-Legendary Super Saiyan.
It only multiplied his base power tenfold, but it gave off a frenzied, destructive aura, as if he were about to destroy everything.
Below, Vegeta's face turned deathly pale.
The instant that dark green aura erupted, he felt as if an invisible hand had seized his very soul. His legs trembled against his will.
Bloodline suppression!
As the Saiyan Prince, his bloodline was exceptionally pure, so he sensed the aura of the ancient pinnacle of Saiyan power most clearly. It felt like an ordinary beast encountering the true king of all beasts.
"W-what is that form?!" Piccolo exclaimed in shock.
It looked like a Super Saiyan, but its aura was an eerie green. More importantly, its power increase was clearly less than a Super Saiyan's, and its hair remained black.
"It's Pseudo-Legendary Super Saiyan!"
Young Trunks looked up at Adult Gohan and called out the name before anyone else. Over the past two years in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, he'd been knocked around by that form more times than he could count.
"What's Pseudo-Legendary Super Saiyan?" Everyone stared in confusion.
Popo's flat voice sounded in their minds at just the right moment. "According to the records, it is a transitional form between a normal state and the Legendary Super Saiyan form. It draws on the Great Ape's berserk power, which lies deep within Saiyan genes, and compresses it into a humanoid body. Though its power increases only tenfold, it possesses the pure destructive urge and wildness of a Legendary Super Saiyan."
In midair.
Adult Gohan's eyes grew utterly cold as he entered the Pseudo-Legendary Super Saiyan form.
Whoosh!
Goku charged in, his fist blazing with red-and-gold energy as he aimed for Adult Gohan's face.
Smack.
Adult Gohan raised his only right hand. Without so much as wavering, he caught Goku's full-force punch—powered by both Super Saiyan and Kaioken—in his palm.
The violent gust tore a vast hole through the clouds below.
Goku gritted his teeth and tried to pull his fist free, but Adult Gohan's hand was as unyielding as the hardest Katchin Steel in the universe.
"Dad, you've lost," Son Gohan said in a low voice, like a beast growling.
He casually swung his arm.
Bang!
Goku shot toward the ground like a cannonball, crashing into Lookout Plaza and leaving a crater behind.
The red Kaioken glow vanished at once. Goku lay at the bottom of the crater, panting heavily, his golden hair returning to black.
He gave up.
"Sorry, Gohan. I couldn't make you use your full strength." Goku climbed out of the crater, rubbing his sore shoulder. There wasn't a trace of dejection in his eyes; instead, they shone with excitement. "Gohan, just how strong are you now? Can you show me?"
Piccolo, Vegeta, both Trunks, and even Kid Gohan held their breath and stared at Adult Gohan in the sky.
Vegeta, especially, looked thoroughly displeased, but he couldn't hide his curiosity.
Son Gohan hovered in the air, looking at all the expectant faces below. He didn't bother being modest.
"All right. I'll show you."
He took a deep breath. The dark green aura around him immediately went out, and he returned to his normal state.
Then a golden aura several times larger than before erupted around him.
His hair stood on end, turning a brilliant gold.
Super Saiyan 1, first grade!
His base power of forty billion multiplied by fifty.
Two trillion!
His terrifying aura swept across the entire Earth like a tangible tsunami. The Lookout shook violently, as if it might come apart at any moment.
"T-that's Super Saiyan?!" Vegeta's eyes widened. They were both Super Saiyans, so why was the difference between them so enormous?!
Before the others could recover from their shock, the muscles across Son Gohan's body swelled, and his golden aura grew even more violent.
Super Saiyan 1, second grade!
Then his muscles swelled further, his frame growing massively muscular. His speed would drop, but his strength would reach its peak.
Super Saiyan 1, third grade!
"It's not over yet."
Adult Gohan growled. His body quickly shrank back to its balanced proportions. His golden aura softened but grew denser, without a trace of wasted energy escaping.
Super Saiyan Full Power!
Kid Gohan looked up at himself in the sky and swallowed. He had only just mastered Full Power and thought he'd reached the pinnacle of Super Saiyan. But before this power, he was like a tiny boat on a vast ocean.
"Next, Legendary Super Saiyan."
Son Gohan's eyes snapped open.
A cold, dark gleam covered his once jade-green eyes. Dark green energy swallowed all the gold, turning into a pillar of green light that shot from the earth to the heavens.
Rumble!
The force ripped apart Earth's atmosphere.
The green light receded.
Son Gohan stood high in the sky, his grass-green hair blazing brightly. A substantial green aura burned around his powerful frame, making him look like an ancient, savage beast.
Legendary Super Saiyan!
Four trillion in battle power!
Thump.
Below, Vegeta had never seen anything like this before. Under the absolute bloodline suppression and overwhelming power, his legs gave way, and he dropped to one knee. He braced himself against the ground with both hands, humiliation and fear mixing on his face.
The others were hardly any better.
Piccolo was drenched in cold sweat, his face so green he couldn't manage a single word.
Goku stared up, feeling a terrifying power that seemed capable of tearing apart the entire solar system with ease. He was utterly stunned.
Son Gohan looked down at them, feeling the boundless power within him.
But he wasn't done yet.
"Next is Super Saiyan 2!"
"What?! Super Saiyan 2?" Everyone cried out in shock. Son Goku and Vegeta were especially astonished. They hadn't imagined that a new level existed beyond Super Saiyan 1.
Adult Gohan closed his eyes and let the savage aura of the Legendary Super Saiyan fade, preparing to draw on the ordinary Super Saiyan energy pool and transform into Super Saiyan 2.
Buzz—!
A hugely powerful, sinister energy, thick with chaos, suddenly came from the other side of the Earth.
Before you continue