Son Goku Arrives on the Battlefield, What is This Great Ape?

Boom!

With his body enlarged, even his fist had grown to an unimaginable size.

By comparison, Son Gohan's body seemed utterly insignificant.

Yet he had no intention of dodging. Instead, he calmly looked ahead.

Vegeta's thunderous punch surged toward him in an instant.

Yet the very next moment, it stopped in midair, unable to advance another inch. All that overwhelming force merely triggered an explosion behind Son Gohan.

Vegeta felt that even his full-power punch could not break through. He instinctively looked forward and saw the other's small hand resting atop his fist.

It had only been placed there casually, yet it had blocked his combat power of over one hundred thousand!

That sight only made him more certain of his guess.

"Is that all you can do?"

Son Gohan lightly raised his head, the words slipping out almost instinctively.

"What?"

Hearing that cold, mocking taunt, Vegeta was flooded with unwillingness and rage, nearly enough to swallow him whole.

Yet before he could make a move, he felt an irresistible force pushing against him.

Then his body was forced backward.

Whoosh!

Son Gohan's figure suddenly flashed ahead. It was as though lightning streaked through the night sky, and in an instant, he had arrived before Vegeta.

Then he delivered a vicious kick straight into Vegeta's damaged chest armor.

The kick crackled with lightning, and its force was utterly unimaginable.

Even Vegeta felt a suffocating pain in his chest. His body curled up involuntarily as he was sent flying into the distance!

Boom!

That massive figure was kicked nearly a hundred meters away.

Only then did he crash to the ground, instantly kicking up clouds of dust!

Watching Son Gohan kick the transformed Great Ape Vegeta away, Raditz, standing in the distance with the moon behind him, stared in utter bewilderment. He could hardly believe what he was seeing.

After all, transforming into a Great Ape on the night of a full moon was the Saiyans' ultimate trump card.

Once they transformed into that state, their destructive power would increase to around ten times its original level.

In other words, Prince Vegeta now possessed combat power of around one hundred eighty thousand!

Even across the entire universe, perhaps only that emperor could surpass such combat power!

As for other warriors, unless they used methods like cutting off his tail or destroying the moon, they probably would not be able to defeat Vegeta in this state.

He had always had great confidence in his nephew Gohan.

But he had only thought that Gohan would win after transforming into a Great Ape. He had never expected Gohan to defeat a Great Ape Vegeta without transforming himself.

Just how far had his nephew's combat power reached?

Had he truly surpassed the limits of the Saiyans and become that legend that had been passed down for so long?

Just thinking of that possibility made Raditz's breathing grow somewhat hurried. If his nephew really was a Super Saiyan, wouldn't that mean he could run rampant across the universe in the future?

That was far better than following Vegeta around as a lackey in the Frieza Force!

Just as Raditz's eyes gradually brightened, Vegeta, who had been kicked over, quickly adjusted himself. He crouched halfway on the ground with one hand gripping the earth. His chest beneath his shattered armor rose and fell rapidly, while fresh blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

Clearly, that kick had not been easy to endure.

When he looked again at the figure in the distance, the emotions in his eyes had become extremely complicated.

He also knew that he had no chance of defeating that brat now!

This trip to Earth had been a crushing defeat, but that did not mean he had no opportunity left. As long as he could obtain an immortal body, he would eventually surpass both Frieza and that brat before him!

Although he would probably never obtain the Dragon Balls on Earth, he had long heard certain rumors related to Planet Namek.

Since he had seen Raditz return from the dead here, that meant the rumors were true. Planet Namek also had those things!

So what he was thinking about now was no longer how to win, but how to leave this place and obtain Planet Namek's Dragon Balls.

Just as he pondered this, golden clouds suddenly approached swiftly from the distant horizon.

The clouds on both sides were forcibly pushed apart by that light. A man in an orange martial arts uniform rushed over, then stopped not far from the Great Ape.

That crab-like hair looked so familiar—it was Goku, returned from training with King Kai.

"Goku—"

"Goku, Goku's back!"

"Son Goku..."

Krillin was the first to spot Goku arriving on the Flying Nimbus. His shout drew everyone else's attention, and they all saw the man's return.

Yamcha, Tien Shinhan, and the others immediately felt an inexplicable sense of relief.

Even Son Gohan slowly stopped fighting, his gaze turning toward that figure as well.

At that moment, he felt waves of warmth surging through his chest.

It was not merely because of memories from his previous life, but because they had lived together for four years in this life. That was his real father!

"Dad..."

The word slipped from his mouth without conscious thought.

Son Goku also stopped not far from the Great Ape, staring at it in confusion. "What's going on? Weren't they supposed to be fighting the Saiyans? Why is there a Great Ape here?"

For some reason, he suddenly recalled his grandfather's warning from when he was little.

His grandfather had told him not to go outside on full-moon nights, because monsters called Great Apes roamed about outside.

He faintly sensed that there might be some connection here.

"That's... Kakarot!?"

Vegeta looked up at the sky at that moment. He instantly guessed the other man's identity, because he looked remarkably like Raditz.

But he did not understand why Raditz had already been revived, while Kakarot had arrived so late.

Could he still have been preparing some kind of plan?

But Vegeta had already been beaten into this state. Was there even any need for that?

"Hmph, no matter what, Kakarot arrived at just the right time!"

A calculating glint flashed through Vegeta's eyes. He leaped up in an instant, directly shifting his target to Son Goku.

Because he knew that Kakarot was merely a low-class warrior!

According to the data Raditz had sent back a year ago, Kakarot's power level had only been a few hundred. He could never compare to an elite Saiyan like Vegeta!

As long as he handled this properly, he should be able to escape from Earth. Once he became immortal...

Son Goku had still been trying to figure out what had happened.

Then he suddenly saw the Great Ape rolling toward him, with himself as its target. He reacted instantly and jumped straight off the Flying Nimbus.

"Kaioken!"

A crimson aura instantly enveloped his body. His speed and strength doubled as he swiftly evaded the attack.

Slaash!

Almost at the same moment Son Goku dodged aside and prepared to counterattack, a streak of light flashed through the air, cleanly and precisely severing Vegeta's tail.

Son Gohan had acted the instant Vegeta attacked. Though he was happy to see his father, he had not forgotten that they were still in battle—especially against someone like Vegeta.

So, just in case, he directly ended Vegeta's transformation.

"W-what!?"

Vegeta clearly had not expected things to turn out this way.

He felt his power rapidly draining away as his body swiftly shrank back to its original size, filling him with intense fear.

The other side had gained another fighter, while he had lost his Great Ape transformation.

On top of that, he had already been severely injured. Now, even he had no way to escape!

Was the proud prince of the Saiyans really going to be finished off here by this group?

Bang!

Before he could think any further, he crashed to the ground once more.

Seeing what had happened, Goku, who had activated Kaioken and been ready to counterattack, abruptly stopped. He blinked twice at Gohan. "Gohan, you've gotten so strong now? I didn't even see that move just now."

Though he looked surprised, even greater joy burst from his eyes.

Son Gohan had been watching Vegeta. Only when he heard his father speak did he turn and smile. "Yeah! Thanks to Uncle Piccolo and Aunt Bulma, I don't need Dad to protect me anymore!"

Piccolo slowly floated over from the distance.

With his arms folded, he stood on the other side of Vegeta and said coldly, "You can talk later. Deal with these Saiyans first. They might still have something up their sleeves!"