Cell's Stealthy Development

"Bastard! Who do you think you are? I'm the strongest android!" Seeing Malvis spouting off beside him and not taking him seriously at all, Cell immediately flew into a rage. Before dealing with Piccolo, he decided to start with this fool who did not know his place.

Originally, Cell had been extremely wary of Malvis being able to approach him without being detected. But after carefully sensing him and finding no ki coming from the man, he relaxed considerably, assuming the other party was an android as well. After all, he was the strongest android ever designed.

Cell's tail swayed wildly behind him, the liquid dripping from its stinger corroding a large hole straight into the ground. Seeing that Malvis still looked as though he were merely there to watch the show, Cell used high-speed movement to appear before him and threw a punch. Yet it was stopped halfway by a single finger. No matter how much strength he used, he could not push it forward even an inch.

"I don't believe it! I'm the strongest android!" Seeing his attack blocked by one finger, Cell grew even angrier. His fists came crashing down on Malvis like a raging storm, but the longer he fought, the harder it became to accept. No matter how he attacked, his opponent blocked everything with just one finger.

"Bastard!" Cell pulled back and fired a powerful ki blast at Malvis. When he saw it strike and explode, Cell immediately unleashed Prince's Tactics, firing countless ki blasts into the heart of the explosion.

"Haha~! Now you know how strong I am, right?" Cell smiled as he looked at the spot he had just bombarded.

"I only came to watch the show, but you ruined my enjoyment. Under normal circumstances, I should destroy you outright. But you still have some use, so I'll let you live a little longer." Malvis paused before adding flatly, "Also, I'm not an android."

Just as Cell was still congratulating himself, a voice came from behind him. It gave him a cold sweat, and then he crashed into the ground at tremendous speed.

Inside the enormous crater, most of Cell's body was buried beneath shattered rocks, and he lay there completely motionless.

"So powerful! Is this truly the terrifying strength possessed by a God of Destruction? That guy named Cell was like a fragile toy, with absolutely no chance to fight back!" Piccolo, watching from the side, muttered in stunned disbelief. His eyes remained fixed on the battlefield, as though he had been left unable to move by what he had just witnessed.

Although Piccolo had previously seen this mysterious figure effortlessly subdue an opponent as powerful as Vegeta, witnessing such astonishing combat power again still filled him with an indescribable mixture of fear and awe.

"I know you're not dead yet. I held back my strength, after all. But if you don't get up soon, I can't guarantee that'll remain the case." Floating in the air, Malvis extended a finger toward the motionless Cell in the crater. A purple glow appeared at his fingertip.

With a clatter, the rubble covering Cell fell away, and he rose to his feet. He looked utterly miserable now, his body covered in wounds of all sizes. The left half of the shoulder Malvis had struck had completely collapsed.

"Ah..."

Amid Cell's repeated roars, the injuries on his body and his collapsed shoulder fully recovered. Yet judging by how drenched in sweat he was, things were clearly not as effortless as they appeared, and his ki had fallen to rock bottom.

"Learning and using it right away? Interesting." Seeing Cell's wounds recover by more than half in an instant, Malvis was not surprised. When it came to regeneration, Cell was far stronger than Piccolo—a student surpassing the master. The fact that he could fuse so many cells and still remain green showed just how powerful Piccolo's cells were.

Cell slowly rose into the air, staring at Malvis warily, afraid that he might suddenly strike him again. That would really be the end of him.

"Since there's no more entertainment to watch, there's no reason for me to stay here." Malvis withdrew his gaze from the two of them. "I have to say, the food on this Earth has quite a unique flavor."

Seeing that the two could no longer fight, Malvis shook his head and vanished.

After Malvis left, Piccolo looked at the weakened Cell and was about to send him on his final journey. Just then, Trunks and Krillin arrived, interrupting Piccolo's next move.

Seeing others arrive and knowing that staying any longer meant certain death, Cell seized the chance to fly beneath the sun. "You won't be able to stop me! Only Piccolo and that guy can fight Android 17 and the others. I will become perfect! I will have my revenge!"

With that, Cell activated Solar Flare. The intense sunlight blinded Piccolo and the others, and Cell took the opportunity to suppress his ki and slip away from the battlefield.

Not long afterward, Vegeta, Tien Shinhan, and the others arrived one after another. Once everyone had gathered, they briefly explained Cell's origins. After hearing it, everyone realized the gravity of the situation and began thinking of ways to stop Cell from reaching his perfect form. Only Vegeta remained dismissive, intent on surpassing Super Saiyan and defeating every enemy.

Piccolo and Tien Shinhan decided to remain behind and search the nearby area for Cell's trail. Since he was not flying, he could not have run very far in such a short time. Trunks and Krillin, meanwhile, headed to Doctor Gero's laboratory to see whether they could find a way to destroy the androids. If nothing else, they could at least destroy Cell of this era.

After fleeing, Cell absorbed an entire busload of football players and headed for the nearest city, determined to give everyone a huge surprise over the next few days.

On the way to the laboratory, Trunks kept thinking about Vegeta's remarks regarding surpassing Super Saiyan. Before this, he had never imagined that a Super Saiyan could become even stronger. The thought inevitably reminded him of the mysterious man who had promised to teach him—Malvis. Yet at this moment, Trunks had no idea where Malvis was.

He had tried asking his mother, Bulma, but even she had no idea where Malvis had gone. Bulma only told him that Malvis seemed to have gone off to enjoy the various delicacies of Earth. The thoughts of a god were truly impossible to fathom.

Before long, Trunks and Krillin arrived at the laboratory, which had already been reduced to ruins. Their goal was to find the entrance to the basement hidden within. Facing the mountain of broken stones and rubble around them, Trunks motioned for Krillin to step aside for the moment. Then, with repeated movements of his hands, he fired several small but incredibly precise ki blasts like arrows, rapidly covering every direction.

Seeing this, Krillin immediately understood what Trunks intended and joined in. Under their successive bombardment, a bottomless opening appeared before them. A cold wind blew out from within, carrying the mingled scent of metal and dust.

Krillin glanced down and swallowed. What was down there—he did not want to know. But he knew they had to go in.

(The issue in the previous 24 chapters, Another Time Machine, has been corrected following a reader's reminder. I sincerely apologize for the poor reading experience it caused!)