Star Sea Annihilation

King Cold narrowed his eyes, but the smile on his face did not fade in the slightest.

"Good. Very good."

He rolled his neck, his bones cracking sharply. "Now that's more like it. Otherwise, this battle would be far too boring."

Before his words had even faded, Son Goku and Son Gohan moved at the same time.

There was no communication, no exchanged glance—only pure battle instinct driving them.

Two golden figures attacked King Cold from opposite sides, striking from completely different angles.

Son Goku used Instant Transmission to appear behind King Cold like a phantom, his lightning-wreathed fist smashing viciously toward the back of his opponent's head.

Son Gohan launched a frontal assault, driving his knee straight toward King Cold's abdomen.

King Cold threw out both fists at once. One hand knocked aside Son Gohan's knee, while his other elbow swept backward and forcibly blocked Son Goku's sneak attack.

The immense impact halted all three of them for an instant. Under the crushing pressure of their power, the ground beneath them collapsed into a deep crater a hundred meters wide.

At that moment, Raditz and Nappa seized the opening and attacked from the side at the same time.

Though they were not as strong as the Goku father and son, their all-out blows in the Super Saiyan state were not to be underestimated.

King Cold had no choice but to divert his attention to deal with them.

For a time, four golden figures surrounded King Cold in a frenzied assault. The explosive sounds of fists and feet colliding merged into one, like a barrage of thunder.

King Cold's expression finally grew more serious.

He could feel that the Saiyans' teamwork was becoming more coordinated at a visible pace.

Son Goku was responsible for frontal attacks, Son Gohan for flanking and restraint, while Raditz and Nappa harassed him. Every part of their coordination was gradually clicking into place.

The pressure on him was growing heavier and heavier.

These guys really can't be underestimated...

King Cold felt a trace of admiration.

He had been holding back.

But now, he could no longer afford to be careless.

The battle continued.

Suddenly, a flaw appeared in the four men's coordination!

King Cold seized the chance. A heavy punch forced Son Goku back, then a kick sent Gohan flying. With a backhand motion, he fired a purple energy wave that blasted Raditz and Nappa away.

Just as he prepared to launch a counterattack, a green figure wreathed in crimson energy rushed in from the horizon.

It was Piccolo.

The traces of his wound, healed by a Senzu Bean, still remained on his chest, but fighting spirit had already reignited in his eyes.

"Special Beam Cannon!"

Without the slightest hesitation, he unleashed the ultimate attack he had charged before arriving.

A spiraling golden beam shot from his fingertips, carrying the force to pierce through anything as it headed straight for King Cold's heart.

King Cold's pupils shrank. In his haste, he condensed a purple energy shield in front of his chest.

However, the power of Piccolo's attack far exceeded his expectations.

The instant the beam struck the shield, countless cracks spread across the purple barrier.

After holding for merely two seconds, it shattered with a bang, and the golden light stabbed viciously into King Cold's chest.

"Urgh!"

King Cold let out a muffled grunt. The blow forced him to stagger back repeatedly, purple blood dripping from the wound in his chest onto the ground.

This was the first time he had suffered a real injury today.

"Uncle Piccolo!"

Son Gohan crawled out from the pile of rubble and cried out in delight.

Son Goku smiled as well.

Earlier, he had sensed that although Krillin, Yamcha, and Tien Shinhan were seriously injured, their energy signatures were still there.

It was Bulma. She had risked her life to charge into the battlefield and save them with Senzu Beans.

And the first thing Krillin had done after recovering was go find Piccolo.

"So, King Cold,"

Son Goku assumed his fighting stance again and stared seriously at his opponent. "You're not just facing my son and me anymore. I advise you to surrender while you can. Take Frieza and leave this place now, and I won't kill you!"

During the fight, Goku had vaguely noticed that something was off about King Cold.

His opponent had been somewhat softhearted... or, more accurately, despite looking murderous—

He himself did not actually possess much killing intent.

There had clearly been several opportunities to directly take one of them out of the fight, yet King Cold had not done so. He had deliberately held back...

Hearing Son Goku's words of surrender.

King Cold remained expressionless and said nothing.

He lowered his head to glance at the wound in his chest, then raised it again, his gaze sweeping over the five of them one by one.

Two early Super Saiyan 2s. They had clearly only just broken through, yet their auras felt as though they had been tempered for years.

There was also a Namekian who could briefly rival the peak of Super Saiyan 2, along with two other Super Saiyans who were not particularly weak either.

"This is wonderful..."

King Cold murmured.

He was enjoying it.

Enjoying the thrill of being forced to get serious.

Ever since arriving in this world, he had never encountered an opponent capable of making him use his second form. Now, not only had he found one, but they could even force him to use his full strength in this form!

He was overjoyed!

On the other side.

Seeing King Cold remain where he was, unmoved and continuously gathering energy—

Even Goku lost his patience.

"You stubborn fool!"

With an angry curse, he and the others surrounded King Cold once more.

This time, the situation changed completely.

Piccolo's arrival tipped the already precarious balance completely.

In his tenfold Kaio-ken state, every punch and kick carried enough power to shatter mountains and split the earth.

Together with the Goku father and son, he formed an airtight net of attacks.

King Cold gradually began to show signs of defeat.

Strain slowly appeared on his face.

The five men's coordination became increasingly seamless.

The instant Son Goku's fist came down, Son Gohan's knee was already driving in.

As soon as he blocked that attack, Piccolo's assault followed right after.

Meanwhile, Raditz and Nappa used energy blasts to seal off every angle from which he could evade.

"Enough! Know when to stop!"

King Cold roared.

He suddenly released his energy, blasting the five of them back.

His breathing was slightly hurried. Purple blood seeped from his brow and slid down his cheek. By now, he had wounds all over his body.

"You lot actually managed to force me to this point..."

King Cold looked down at the blood in his palm, then suddenly began laughing, his shoulders trembling.

"Interesting. Truly interesting!"

"It has been a long time since I last fought this freely."

He raised his head and swept his gaze over the five of them.

An entirely different light burned in his eyes.

No longer the teasing amusement of a cat playing with mice, but true, pure fighting spirit belonging to a warrior.

"As a reward, I shall make an exception and let you witness—my true ultimate move."

He slowly raised both arms over his head, stacking his palms together and facing them outward.

An unprecedentedly terrifying energy began gathering in his palms.

Purple light, like liquefied lightning, leaped wildly between his hands.

The surrounding air let out a shrill scream under the pressure of that energy. Rubble on the ground began floating upward against gravity, only to be crushed into dust in midair by an invisible force.

The air pressure within several miles suddenly plummeted.

Trunks, far away atop the mountain, changed expression drastically. "What kind of move is that?!"

An Xiu narrowed his eyes but said nothing.

On the battlefield, the purple sphere above King Cold's palms had already expanded to over a hundred meters in diameter.

The energy contained within made even Son Goku and Son Gohan, both Super Saiyan 2s, feel their hearts tremble.

"Star—Sea—Annihilation—Cannon!!!"

King Cold's roar rang through heaven and earth.

The purple sphere, over a hundred meters wide and carrying immense energy, swept toward the five of them like a destructive torrent piercing through the sky.

Wherever the beam passed, it gouged a bottomless ravine into the earth. The air burned, space warped, and it seemed as though even light would be completely devoured by that power.

This was the strongest skill King Cold had obtained through his cheat ability. Its power was far beyond the ordinary techniques of this world.

"Not good!"

Son Goku was the first to react.

He drew both hands to his waist as blue light rapidly gathered in his palms. "Ka—me—ha—me—ha!!!"

Son Gohan followed immediately, taking the same stance as his father.

A blue sphere gathered in his palms.

The father and son's voices overlapped:

"—Wave!!!"

Two blue beams shot from their palms at the same time, converging in midair before colliding head-on with King Cold's purple sphere.

"Special Beam Cannon!"

Piccolo's low shout sounded from the side.

A golden spiraling beam fired from Piccolo's fingertips and precisely merged into the blue beam of the Goku father and son.

The three energy beams fused into one, barely holding back the purple sphere's advance.

But it was still far from enough.

The purple sphere continued inching forward. With every inch it advanced, the faces of Goku, Gohan, and Piccolo grew a shade paler.

Their feet plowed deep trenches into the ground as the terrifying power shoved them backward without pause.

"Damn it, this kind of power..."

Piccolo gritted his teeth and squeezed out the last trace of energy within his body, pouring it into the Special Beam Cannon.

At that moment, countless golden energy spheres shot in from the flank and struck King Cold with precision.

It was Raditz and Nappa.

Rather than charging powerful finishing moves, the two transformed all their energy into an unceasing barrage of light waves to disrupt King Cold's output.

Their attacks could not shake the Star Sea Annihilation Cannon head-on, but every time they hit King Cold, the purple beam's advance slowed slightly.

"That's it! Hold on!"

Son Goku roared. Golden lightning danced wildly around him as he poured every bit of power from his Super Saiyan 2 state into the Kamehameha Wave.

Son Gohan was fighting desperately as well.

At that moment, the potential within him was fully unleashed, and the blue beam became several times thicker.

"Push it back!!!"

The father and son's roars exploded together with the light of their energy beam.

The blue and golden beam finally began pushing back.

An inch.

Two inches.

One meter.

Ten meters.

King Cold's eyes widened as he stared in disbelief at his Star Sea Annihilation Cannon being forced back bit by bit.

He wanted to pour in more power, but his body seemed to be bound by some sort of restraint. He simply had no time to recover his energy.

"Impossible!"

Amid his horrified roar, the three energy beams swallowed the purple sphere and then blasted viciously into his body.

—BOOM!!!

A massive mushroom cloud rose into the sky.

The explosion's light turned the entire battlefield as bright as day.

The shockwave spread in every direction, flattening everything within dozens of kilometers.

The distant spectators were blown back again and again by the shockwave.

Yamcha supported Bulma.

He used his energy to form a protective barrier, yet the blast still pushed the two of them so hard that they could barely stand.

Krillin and Tien Shinhan raised energy shields to protect themselves, shock filling the latter's three eyes.

Atop the mountain.

Trunks raised an arm against the howling wind, his voice trembling. "Is... is it over?"

An Xiu did not answer.

His gaze pierced through the smoke and dust, settling on the heart of the explosion.

On the battlefield, everyone panted heavily, staring without blinking at the smoke that had yet to disperse.

Son Goku's arms were still trembling slightly. That last attack had nearly drained all his strength.

Son Gohan could no longer maintain his Super Saiyan 2 form and had fallen straight back to normal, bracing his hands on his knees as he gasped for breath.

Piccolo knelt on one knee, his body wracked with pain as though it were being torn apart by the backlash of the tenfold Kaio-ken.

Raditz and Nappa were in even worse shape. Both had collapsed onto the ground, without even the strength to stand.

"Did we... get him?"

Raditz asked with difficulty.

No one answered him.

Because they all felt it.

That presence.

A presence even more immense, more violent, and more suffocating than before was slowly rising from within the smoke.

The smoke and dust were swept away by an invisible force.

King Cold stood there.

His body had grown a full size larger than before, his muscles becoming even more compact.

His blue-purple skin had turned dark violet, while golden vein-like patterns spread across his body, radiating an eerie glow.

His eyes had changed from blood-red to pure gold.

When he slowly exhaled, even the surrounding space trembled.

"To force this king to such a state..."

King Cold's voice had become low and hoarse, yet it carried an unquestionable authority.

"You have every reason to be proud."

On the mountaintop, An Xiu's expression turned serious for the first time as he witnessed this scene.

The power represented by King Cold's aura had clearly reached the peak of Super Saiyan 3.

Things had become troublesome.