Everyone watching was stunned.
Especially Yamcha, Tien Shinhan, and Chiaotzu on North King Kai's Planet.
They'd thought the battle was about to end, but at this crucial moment, Goku had exploded with power once more and successfully turned the tables on Frieza again.
Their shock was tinged with joy. If this attack could wipe Frieza out in one go, they wouldn't have to worry about the power he was still hiding.
They couldn't understand that if Frieza were so easy to kill, he would've been taken out countless times already.
Even with Frieza holding back, the strength of his body was far beyond what Son Goku could match at this stage.
The attacks Son Goku unleashed now might be able to hurt Frieza, but at most they could make him feel some pain.
At worst, they'd leave him with minor injuries.
On Namek.
After repeatedly gaining the upper hand and catching Frieza off guard, Son Goku had finally pushed him to react. Frieza erupted with even greater power in one go, breaking free of Son Goku's relentless offensive.
Son Goku could hardly believe Frieza had escaped his pursuit. He was pouring out strength that surpassed his limits.
"Damn it!! It's not over yet, Frieza!! Twentyfold Kaioken!!" His furious roar rang out as the deep crimson aura around him grew denser and denser, making the air feel heavier.
With this limit-breaking boost, Son Goku's strength briefly surpassed its previous peak.
He had been capped at around sixty million at most, but now he exceeded that figure, closing in on sixty-three million.
Unwilling to give up, he had pushed the Kaioken to an even higher level. He was just a hair's breadth from breaking through to twenty-one times!
BOOM!!!
Son Goku poured all his strength into another burst forward. The instant he left the ground, the entire island shattered under the terrifying force and sank beneath the water.
In less than 0.1 seconds, he crossed the distance between them and slammed a fist into Frieza's cheek once more.
THUD!!!
The punch left Frieza dazed and reeling.
His body shot backward at incredible speed.
Seeing this, Son Goku didn't stop attacking. He chased after Frieza again, like a beam of deep red light.
Frieza struck back in time, but hit only Son Goku's afterimage.
The next moment—
BOOM!!! Another deadly blow from behind sent Frieza flying into the sky.
Frieza grimaced in pain, unable to steady himself.
Seizing the opportunity, Son Goku locked onto his target and gathered all his energy. He extended his arms and swept them in a circle, then clasped his hands together in a flower shape and held them at his waist.
"Take my final move! Kamehame—haaa!!!"
A terrifying beam of azure energy surged from his palms and shot skyward.
As Frieza hurtled through the air, he sensed a deadly threat. With no more hesitation, he unleashed the power he'd been hiding and steadied himself.
He looked down and his eyes widened.
Though his heart faltered, he gritted his teeth and raised a hand to catch the attack.
Frieza was the only one who would dare to take that blow head-on.
He truly wasn't afraid of dying, and believed that even an attack like this couldn't actually kill him.
"Nyahhh!! I'll crush your last hope!"
Frieza didn't waste any more time. He unleashed nearly seventy percent of his power all at once.
At nearly seventy percent, his battle power had already climbed past eighty million!
KRA-BOOOOM!!!!!
A tremendous explosion burst across the sky.
An unbelievably powerful shock wave swept in every direction. Its terrifying force shook the heavens and the earth, and even warped space.
To be fair, power on this level could easily destroy a planet.
That was why Son Goku had kicked Frieza into the sky at the last moment, making such a huge effort to send him high above the ground.
Only then could Son Goku unleash his strongest attack without holding back.
Otherwise, the energy from the explosion alone would have caused unprecedented devastation to Namek.
It would've been even more destructive than Frieza's earlier energy slash, which had cleaved through the ground.
When the attack ended, the deep crimson aura surrounding Son Goku faded away.
The backlash had already struck. Ripping pain spread through his entire body; he'd suffered terrible internal and external injuries.
The Kaioken could indeed boost his strength dramatically for a short time by going beyond his limits, but the damage from overexertion grew with every increase in its multiplier.
The explosion's flames blotted out the sky. Son Goku was quite satisfied with its power.
But he didn't dare relax for even a moment.
There was only one reason: Frieza's ki was still there, and it was even more terrifying than before.
On the cliff at the edge of the battlefield.
After witnessing Son Goku's final burst of power, Piccolo, Krillin, and Son Gohan were on tenterhooks.
They hadn't expected Goku's final attack to be this powerful.
Krillin and Son Gohan were weaker, so they'd completely forgotten to sense anyone's ki, captivated and awestruck by the scene before them.
They thought that even if Frieza wasn't dead, he couldn't have come away unscathed.
Piccolo looked far more troubled.
He'd been shocked at first, but after sensing Frieza's ki, he realized it hadn't weakened at all. It had actually grown stronger, which meant Frieza had brought out even more of his power.
So Ron hadn't lied to them.
"Son Goku is done for! His ki is dropping by the second. The stronger he was before, the more he's weakened now," Piccolo said, clenching his fist, his voice heavy with dread.
Krillin and Son Gohan immediately looked horrified.
Ron wore an amused expression. He glanced at Piccolo and said, "Just as I said before, Kakarot can't beat Frieza. Getting this far is already impressive! He deserves praise!"
Those words dealt another blow to Krillin and Son Gohan.
Piccolo fixed his gaze on Ron. "So you're going to step in next, right? None of us can fight Frieza in his current state."
Ron smiled as he replied, "Of course. But there has to be a right moment, doesn't there? I want to see if Kakarot has any other abilities. Maybe he still has another trump card. If I step into the fight now, wouldn't that leave him with a lifelong regret? A chance to fight the Emperor of the Universe, Frieza, like this comes along once in a blue moon. He may only get this one chance in his life. Even one more second of fighting could make a huge difference to his future."
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