Holding Out Until Goku Arrives?

High above the Lookout, the Guardian of Earth kept a constant watch on the battle below and felt that surge of energy.

His body trembled, and his eyes filled with worry. "I never imagined Piccolo could reach such heights. If he decides to conquer the world again now, I'll be completely powerless to stop him..."

Mr. Popo, standing nearby, sensed the Guardian's distress.

He stepped forward to offer a few words of comfort.

Fortunately, the Guardian had long since accepted that Piccolo had surpassed him. The terror he felt now was simply because that energy was so monstrous, making him feel that things were spiraling out of control.

Yet, reflecting on Piccolo's behavior over the past few days, he shook his head slightly. "Thinking back, after training with Gohan for this past year, he has truly changed. Perhaps he is no longer the man he once was..."

Mr. Popo nodded in agreement.

"He is different from the Great Demon King of the past; he is no longer purely evil. Perhaps he really can transcend the boundary between good and evil..."

When the Guardian said this, his eyes were filled with a glimmer of hope.

"But given his personality, he likely won't be willing to give up on that ambition just yet. I only hope Goku can keep him in check!"

He finished by summarizing his thoughts on Piccolo, sighing inwardly. These were all mistakes he had made, yet now he had to rely on that father and son to make amends. As the Guardian of Earth, this was a failure of his duty.

"Goku will be here soon. I need to go to the Otherworld to wait for him. Mr. Popo, I leave this place in your hands."

With that, the Guardian departed directly for the Otherworld.

In the city.

As a white glow enveloped Piccolo, his energy erupted to its absolute limit. This was the fruit of his year of training, the entirety of the power he possessed at this moment.

Across from him, Vegeta's eyes were filled with disbelief.

"Damn it, how can a mere Namekian have this kind of battle power?"

He pulled off his scouter and crushed it in his hand with a grim expression.

Piccolo rolled his neck and stood tall. "What's the matter? Doesn't that gadget of yours measure battle power? You've seen the results of my training now, haven't you!"

Seeing Piccolo's arrogant demeanor, Vegeta felt his anger flare even higher.

Perhaps driven to the peak of his rage, he began to laugh. "Ha! While I can't deny you have some ability, thinking you can take me on with this is nothing but a pipe dream!"

Piccolo's expression remained unchanged as he assumed a fighting stance. "Whether it's a pipe dream or not, you'll find out soon enough!"

Vegeta finally stopped standing with his arms crossed; he shifted his feet and took up a stance of his own. "Then let me enlighten you. The Saiyans are the most renowned warrior race in the universe, and I am the pinnacle of all Saiyans!"

"Hmph!"

With Piccolo's cold snort, the surrounding atmosphere grew instantly tense.

In a blur of motion.

Piccolo lunged at Vegeta, throwing a punch fueled by his full power that made the air crackle like thunder.

Vegeta's mouth curled into a smirk. He stepped back just as the fist was about to connect.

Then, using the momentum of his retreat, he lifted his leg and swept it horizontally.

Piccolo's reactions were lightning fast; missing his punch, he adjusted his stance mid-air and blocked the kick with his arm.

However, his opponent's strength was clearly immense; the force of that single kick sent Piccolo skidding back a great distance.

As Piccolo retreated, Vegeta surged forward, unleashing a barrage of right-handed strikes aimed directly at Piccolo's face.

Piccolo quickly adopted a defensive posture, hoping to find an opening to counterattack while he blocked.

Yet, Vegeta's speed was unimaginably fast.

Even with everything he had, Piccolo was unable to block every blow. In an instant, he was struck several times by Vegeta.

Purple blood began to seep from his green skin.

"What's wrong? Is that all you've got? Where did that arrogance from a moment ago go?"

Having gained the upper hand, Vegeta grew even more condescending. He taunted Piccolo while his assault grew even more ferocious than before.

"Hmph!"

On the defensive, Piccolo had no time to respond.

He focused solely on searching for an opening while trying to figure out how to turn the tide.

As their energies clashed, Piccolo's presence began to wane, and he was forced into a continuous retreat.

In the city below.

Tien Shinhan, Krillin, and the others watched in awe at the sheer magnitude of Piccolo's power.

However, they could also see that even someone as powerful as Piccolo was being completely overwhelmed by the Saiyan.

Though they could see the flow of the battle, they were powerless to intervene.

After all, they hadn't even been able to defeat Nappa, and both of these combatants were far stronger than him. The mere aura radiating from them was enough to make them feel utterly suppressed, let alone joining the fray.

In their minds, there was only one possible outcome if they stepped in now.

They were being shredded directly by the currents of air generated by the collision of the two.

"I never imagined they would be this strong!"

Tien Shinhan clenched his fists, released them, and clenched them again. He repeated this several times, yet he still felt a deep sense of resentment.

He had never once given up on his training, but he felt increasingly powerless.

It was as if, in the face of the battle before him, he could only handle the small fry; he couldn't even deal with a slightly stronger opponent.

This sense of frustration was almost too much for him to bear.

"Yeah, that's not an opponent we can deal with at all. But I heard from the Guardian of Earth that Goku is also undergoing training. If he returns, he should be able to change this situation!"

"Goku, huh..."

Tien Shinhan's eyes held a glimmer of hope, but they were also tinged with a trace of unwillingness.

He, too, was extremely dedicated to the martial arts.

He just didn't know when it had happened, but the gap between him and Goku had grown so wide that they could no longer even be compared.

While the three of them stood there in shock, Son Gohan was also observing the situation in the sky.

Because his own strength was greater now, he could see the situation above more clearly; he could sense that there was still a significant gap between the two combatants.

The current battle was actually similar to his father using the two-fold Kaioken against Vegeta.

There was no suspense regarding the outcome of the fight.

Moreover, unlike Raditz, Vegeta—while incredibly arrogant—possessed a very high combat IQ. Trying to use experience and wit to turn the tables on him was almost impossible.

Therefore, seeing Piccolo being forced back step by step, he slowly rose into the sky, ready to intervene against Vegeta at any moment.

"Gohan..."

Seeing Son Gohan take to the skies, Yamcha instinctively wanted to stop him.

However, Krillin shook his head and said, "Among us right now, Gohan is the only one who can participate in that battle. If he joins forces with Piccolo, they might just be able to hold out until Goku arrives!"

"I hate to admit it, but Krillin is right. He is the only one who can join that fight!"

"Damn it. I wasn't there when Goku died, and now I have to watch his son fight for us?"

"Believe in Gohan. I see the shadow of Goku in him!"