Fivefold Fission

The day they returned to Turtle Hermit Island, the gravity array on the beach completed another round of upgrades. A twelvefold gravity field spread out, compacting the sand and stones beneath their feet until they were hard as rock. Even the waves striking the shore seemed to have grown heavier. The three who had returned from King Kai's Planet had long since been transformed; though this level of gravity made their bones creak faintly, they could already move freely within it.

Before leaving, Qi Tian had carved the cultivation method for the fifth level of Fivefold Fission into the cliff face. Its core was no longer mere compression and layering, but "the energy core generates itself, cycling without end"—allowing the energy core to produce power on its own like a living creature, endlessly and without cessation, completely breaking free from the weakness that followed a full-power burst.

Goku was the first to grasp its threshold. He had always possessed an innate intuition for controlling energy, and the explosive techniques of Kaio-ken had given him a deep understanding of energy circulation. At noon on the seventh day of secluded training, a towering aura suddenly erupted from the beach. Pale-blue energy condensed almost into substance, forming a translucent suit of energy armor around him. Within his dantian, the energy core after five levels of fission slowly revolved. With every cycle, fresh energy poured forth, his aura deep and enduring, with none of the sluggishness that had once followed an all-out attack.

"It worked!"

Goku shot into the air, his figure still swift as lightning even under twelvefold gravity. His fists flew in rapid succession, the force of Fivefold Fission stacking layer upon layer. The air boomed endlessly under his blows, and as his fist winds swept past, dense cracks instantly spread across the reef rocks. He immediately activated Kaio-ken, unleashing a triple burst. The aura around him shifted into a deep navy blue, and the force of his punches tripled once more.

"Kamehameha: Fivefold Fission!"

The dark-blue sphere of light flew from his hands and shot straight into the distant sea. A few breaths later, the ocean surface suddenly collapsed before exploding with a thunderous roar. A wall of water over a hundred meters high surged into the sky, while the shockwave swept across several miles, shaking loose stones even from the cliffs by the shore.

"Triple Kaio-ken combined with Fivefold Fission is at least twice as strong as I was during the battle in the town!" Goku said after landing, his breathing as steady as ever. "And it feels like my energy will never run out. I don't get tired no matter how long I fight!"

Not far away, Krillin's breakthrough followed the path of supreme technique. He integrated the self-generating trait of the fifth level of Fivefold Fission into Destructo Disc. Even after leaving his body, the energy blade could continue drawing weak ambient energy from heaven and earth to maintain its trajectory, taking its tracking and endurance to another level. More importantly, he had comprehended an acupoint-sealing technique—a single primary energy blade could split into a hundred hair-thin energy needles, precisely sealing the enemy's energy nodes throughout their body and suppressing regenerative ability at its root.

"Destructo Disc: Thousand-Blade Acupoint Seal!"

Krillin raised a hand, sending out an energy blade the size of a palm. It suddenly exploded midway, transforming into over a hundred silver energy needles that densely blanketed the reef ahead. The needles pierced precisely into the cracks in the rock, then erupted inward all at once. The entire reef was blasted into powder by the force from within, leaving even the fragments uniformly fine.

"Isn't Cell capable of regenerating?" Krillin said, withdrawing his energy, his gaze resolute. "This time, I'll seal every energy pathway in his body and see how he grows anything back."

Yamcha, meanwhile, took another step forward in energy control. The endless self-generation of the fifth level of Fivefold Fission allowed him to control over a hundred Wolf Fang Energy Balls at once, forming a circular grand formation that combined offense and defense. He also integrated the penetrating fist intent of Wolf Fang Fist into the energy balls. Every explosion carried hidden force that could bore into an enemy's body and continue wreaking havoc, fully making up for his previous lack of long-range killing power.

In just ten days, all three had broken through the fifth level of Fivefold Fission. Their normal combat power had more than doubled compared to the battle in the town. With triple Kaio-ken activated, Goku could now directly clash with the Cell of that time without falling behind.

Meanwhile, Qi Tian traveled west, following the traces left by dissipating life energy in search of Cell's whereabouts. Every village and town he passed had suffered disaster, with dried corpses scattered everywhere in deathly stillness. Cell's recovery speed had far exceeded expectations. Damage to his soul had not slowed his evolution; instead, it had awakened his survival instincts, causing him to devour life energy several times faster than before.

That day, as he reached the depths of the western wilderness mountains, his Divine Origin Heavenly Sense suddenly caught a familiar, cold demonic aura. Atop a mountain peak stood a figure clad in dark-gold demonic armor, its patterns flowing with the ancient origin aura of the demon race. It was King Piccolo, who had completed his secluded cultivation.

"You certainly have the leisure to chase after an artificial monster," King Piccolo said as he turned around. A faint golden gleam flickered in his crimson eyes, and a cold smile curled his lips. "The Saiyans will arrive in three months. Instead of training urgently, you're wasting your strength on something so trivial."

Qi Tian landed on the opposite peak, the armor formed from black-gold Divine Origin gleaming around him. His tone was calm. "You can sit by and watch while Cell massacres living beings?"

"What do the lives of mortals have to do with me?" King Piccolo sneered, demonic flames rising faintly around him. "He's nothing but an artificial monster. He won't amount to anything. The true threat is in the sky. Once the Saiyans turn Earth upside down and you're exhausted, that will be the day my demon race takes control of this world again."

"Just you?"

"Try me and find out."

Before the words had faded, King Piccolo vanished. Dark-gold demonic essence gathered around his fist, carrying the immense force of the demon race's origin. His punch thundered out, as heavy as a mountain, crushing the surrounding air until it burst with explosive cracks. This was his full-strength strike after mastering the Demonic Essence Mystic Armor, several times more powerful than he had been during the Four Symbols Demon Blood Array.

Qi Tian raised one hand in a palm strike, black-gold light flowing across his armor. Seventy percent force deflection and rebound activated at the same time. The instant fist and palm collided, King Piccolo felt his force sink into a deep sea. Most of its power vanished into thin air, while the remainder rebounded back at him, numbing his arm and forcing him to take half a step back.

"Divine Origin Armor..." King Piccolo narrowed his eyes. Fury and alarm churned within him, though his expression remained unchanged. "You really have grown stronger again. But it doesn't matter. The Saiyans will wear you down for me. I'm in no hurry."

He knew full well that this was not the right time for a decisive battle. If they truly fought, he might not be able to defeat Qi Tian, and he would only waste his strength for nothing. He would wait—wait for the Saiyans to arrive, wait for the three sides to descend into chaos, then reap the rewards.

"The next time we meet will be the day the Saiyans arrive." King Piccolo gave a cold laugh. His body flickered, turning into a dark-gold streak of light that vanished into the depths of the mountains.

Qi Tian did not pursue him. He could sense that King Piccolo's Demonic Essence Mystic Armor had reached completion, and the origin of the demon race within him had completely awakened. His strength was unfathomable. King Piccolo clearly intended to watch the flames from across the river; forcing him into a battle now held no meaning.

Qi Tian's Divine Origin Heavenly Sense continued spreading downward. At last, within a cavern thousands of meters underground, he locked onto Cell's aura. At this moment, Cell's presence was more condensed and powerful than during the battle in the town. His soul damage had already completely healed, and there were even faint signs of another breakthrough and transformation.

Deep within the cavern, Cell floated in midair, the dark-green cells around his body constantly writhing and reorganizing. After absorbing the life energy of tens of thousands of people, he had not only repaired the wounds to his soul, but had also greatly improved the fusion of the mixed genes within his body. The metallic sheen of his shell had grown deeper, the spike on his tail longer and sharper, and his aura had surged by more than fifty percent compared to before.

"Qi Tian... King Piccolo..." Cell muttered, resentment and greed flashing through his dark-red pupils. "Once I devour the millions in West City and evolve into my second form, both of you will become my nourishment. Saiyans? Perfect. Come together. The stronger the prey, the more delicious it will be to absorb."

He licked his lips. With a flash, he disappeared into the depths of the cavern and sped toward West City. It was Earth's most prosperous metropolis, home to millions. As long as he devoured them all, he was confident he could directly break through into his second form and perhaps even touch the threshold of his third.

On Turtle Hermit Island, everyone was reviewing the results of their training when Bulma suddenly rushed over with a detector in hand, her face grave. "Something's happened! A large number of life signals are disappearing in the direction of West City. The detector has picked up Cell's aura—he's heading for the city!"

"West City? There are millions of people there!" Krillin's expression changed drastically.

Goku shot to his feet, his aura flaring up around him. "We can't let him succeed! Come on, to West City!"

Master Roshi held his pipe in his mouth as he heavily tapped his cane against the ground. "Cell chose to strike now because he wants to evolve quickly by relying on the population. We have to stop him outside the city in this battle."

Everyone immediately prepared to depart. At that moment, a black-gold streak of light descended from the sky—Qi Tian had returned.

"Cell's target is West City. He wants to break through into his second form by devouring its population." Qi Tian's gaze swept across the three of them. Sensing the transformation in their auras, he gave a slight nod. "It seems all of you have broken through. Good. This battle will be a test of the fifth level of Fivefold Fission."

"This time, we absolutely won't let him escape!" Goku clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white, blazing battle intent burning in his eyes.

As the sun set, four figures turned into streaks of light and sped toward West City.

The neon lights of the bustling metropolis had yet to come on. Traffic flowed through the streets, and no one knew that a catastrophe was drawing near. Cell's shadow loomed over the city, while the arrival of those from Turtle Hermit Island would become its first line of defense.

In the depths of the universe, the Saiyans' spacecraft crossed the sea of stars, drawing another step closer to Earth. The three-month countdown continued to tick away, and a violent, oppressive presence slowly descended through the void.

The chaos on Earth had yet to settle, but the catastrophe of the cosmos was already at hand.

The Battle of West City would be both the crucial turning point in Cell's evolution and the first great test of everyone's newfound strength.

A great battle was on the verge of erupting.