Desperate Situation

"Uncle Piccolo!!!!!"

Son Gohan's scream tore through the silence of the battlefield.

The golden glow of the Galick Gun faded, and Piccolo's body slowly fell.

"Bang."

Piccolo collapsed in front of Son Gohan, a horrifying charred wound burned into his chest.

"Uncle Piccolo!!" Son Gohan threw himself forward.

Piccolo lay on the ground, covered in blood, but his eyes were still open and his chest still rose and fell.

"Gohan..." Piccolo's voice was faint. "I blocked it..."

"Don't talk!!" Tears spilled from Son Gohan's eyes. "You'll be okay."

"Shut up... brat..." Piccolo forced out. "You're too loud..."

He wasn't dead yet!!

Son Gohan screamed wildly in his heart.

Thank goodness!! Uncle Piccolo wasn't dead!! In the original story, he had died at Nappa's hands, but this was his story now!

"Uncle Piccolo, hang on!!"

Just then, Vegeta's voice came from behind him.

"What a touching scene."

Son Gohan spun around.

Vegeta stood there, covered in wounds and gasping for breath, but his golden eyes were still filled with arrogance.

"You're next, Son Gohan."

He raised a hand, golden ki gathering in his palm.

Son Gohan slowly rose to his feet.

"Gohan?!" Krillin shouted.

"Uncle Krillin." Son Gohan's voice was unusually calm. "Help me hold him off for three seconds."

"W-What?!"

"Three seconds is enough."

Son Gohan clenched his fists.

He knew what he had to do. In the world of Dragon Balls, emotions could unleash one's fighting power.

And right now, he was angry.

Furious.

Uncle Piccolo had been badly injured protecting him, and everyone had fought with everything they had.

He couldn't keep being dead weight.

"Vegeta." Son Gohan stared straight into those golden eyes. "Do you know the secret behind a Saiyan's Great Ape Transformation?"

Vegeta paused slightly.

"A full moon stimulates S-cells and causes fighting power to surge." Son Gohan spoke each word clearly. "But what if there isn't a moon? Do Saiyans have another way?"

Vegeta fell silent.

Rage. Extreme rage could instantly double a Saiyan's fighting power.

"I want to say—"

A fire unlike anything before blazed in Son Gohan's eyes.

"I! AM! ANGRY!!"

In that instant, something awakened within him.

It wasn't a transformation, nor was it a Great Ape Transformation. It was a purer kind of power.

Rage.

Rage for those who had protected him.

Rage for his companions' sacrifices.

Rage for his own helplessness.

"This is..." Krillin's eyes widened.

"His ki is skyrocketing!!" Tien Shinhan cried out.

5000... 8000... 12000... 15000...

Son Gohan's hair suddenly stood on end, and a dazzling golden aura erupted around him.

"H-How is this possible?!" Vegeta's expression finally changed.

"Shut up!!"

Gohan shouted and charged at Vegeta.

"Boom!!"

He was incredibly fast—Vegeta did not even have time to defend himself.

"Bang!!"

A punch smashed into Vegeta's face and sent him flying.

"You!!" Vegeta steadied himself. "A lowly insect dares—"

Before he could finish, another punch came.

"Bang!!"

Too slow!! Gohan ranted frantically in his mind. Is that all?! Is that all?! The mighty Saiyan prince is only this fast?!

But he knew full well that this state would not last much longer.

"Uncle Krillin!! Now!!"

Krillin had been ready for a long time.

"Haaahhh!!"

He rushed out from the side, gathering a massive ball of energy between his hands.

"Spirit Bomb!!"

No—it was all the energy Krillin had, poured out at the cost of his life.

"Bang!!"

Krillin slammed the energy ball into the ground beneath Vegeta's feet.

"Boom!!!"

The enormous explosion swallowed Vegeta whole.

"AAAAHHH!!" Vegeta's screams came from within the smoke and dust.

The blast left him covered in wounds, his protective ki nearly blown apart.

But just then—

"It's over!!" Gohan's voice rang out from behind him.

Vegeta whipped around.

Gohan had already rushed in front of him, his fists crossed as he threw them forward with all his strength.

"Bang!!!"

"AAAAAAHHHHH!!!"

Vegeta doubled over from the blow, blood spraying from his mouth.

"Boom!!!"

His entire body was blasted away, smashing a huge crater twenty meters wide into the ground.

As the dust settled—

Gohan stood where he was, gasping for breath. The furious aura around him had faded, and he had returned to his original form.

5000.

It was all over.

Vegeta lay at the bottom of the crater, covered in blood and barely recognizable as human.

But his eyes were still open.

There was no longer any arrogance or contempt in those golden eyes.

Only disbelief.

"You..." Vegeta spoke with difficulty. "How did you..."

"You lost." Gohan panted.

Vegeta fell silent.

The proud Saiyan prince had been defeated by a four-year-old brat.

"Ha..." Vegeta suddenly laughed. "Hahaha... I lost... I lost to a four-year-old brat..."

He struggled to stand, but his body no longer obeyed him.

"Don't move." Gohan looked down at him. "Even if you stand up now, you still can't beat me."

"Gohan!!" Krillin limped over. "I'll finish him!!"

"Uncle Krillin..."

"He killed so many of my companions!!" Krillin's eyes were bloodshot. "He has to die today!!"

Gohan looked at Krillin.

He understood. When Nappa had come, Krillin's comrade Master Roshi had died, and Tien Shinhan's student had died too.

"Uncle Krillin," Gohan said.

"Move!!"

"I have a question." Gohan's voice was calm. "If we kill Vegeta now... what will happen three years from now?"

"W-What do you mean?!"

Gohan shook his head without explaining.

He bent down and looked at Vegeta.

"Vegeta, do you want to live?"

Vegeta froze for a moment, then sneered. "Do you think I'd beg for mercy—"

"I'm not asking whether you'll beg." Gohan cut him off. "I'm asking you—do you want to live, or do you want to die?"

Vegeta fell silent.

"...Live."

Just one word.

"Gohan!!" Krillin panicked. "You can't—"

"Uncle Krillin." Gohan stood up. "Trust me this once."

Gohan's voice was calm, but it carried an unquestionable force.

Krillin fell silent.

Just then—

"Cough... cough cough..."

Goku woke up.

"Dad!!" Gohan rushed over. "Are you okay?!"

"Gohan..." Goku weakly opened his eyes. "Vegeta... how is he..."

"We won!!" Gohan supported him. "Vegeta was defeated!!"

"That's great..." Goku smiled. "I knew... you could do it..."

He looked down at Vegeta at the bottom of the crater.

"Are you letting him go?"

"...Yes."

"Why?"

Gohan was silent for a moment. "Because three years from now... even stronger enemies will come. We need every bit of strength we can use."

Goku looked at him, a trace of surprise flashing through his eyes.

"Gohan... you seem to know a lot."

"I..."

"Forget it." Goku smiled. "No matter what... you did well. My son... you're really amazing."

Gohan's eyes reddened.

"Hey!!" Yajirobe's spaceship circled overhead. "Anyone who can still move, get up here!!"

"Gohan!!" Krillin shouted.

Gohan nodded and gave Vegeta one last look in the crater.

"Let's go," Gohan said. "The next time we meet... we'll be enemies."

Vegeta lay at the bottom of the crater without saying a word.

But his eyes remained fixed on Gohan's departing back.

"Son Gohan..." he muttered. "I'll remember you..."

The spaceship roared into the air and vanished into the clouds.

The battlefield fell silent.

Only a battered Saiyan prince remained, lying in the enormous crater and staring up at the sky.

For the first time, something ignited in his eyes.

Not anger, not bloodlust.

But—

"Interesting..."

"This is really too interesting..."

He laughed.

He had lost this battle.

But the Saiyan prince never admitted defeat.

One day, he would return.

With even greater power.

"BOOM!!"

A massive explosion interrupted Vegeta's thoughts.

A figure descended from the sky and crashed down beside him.

"Cough, cough... Sorry, I'm late."

Vegeta's eyes widened.

"N-Nappa?! How did you—"

"My tail got cut off." Nappa rubbed the smooth back of his head. "Recovery took a little longer."

He looked over the battlefield, his expression darkening.

"Vegeta, you useless trash. You couldn't even handle a few Earthlings."

"Shut up." Vegeta gritted his teeth.

"Enough." Nappa bent down and hoisted him over his shoulder. "Let's head back first."

"When we come back next time..."

Nappa looked toward the horizon, a cruel glint flashing in his eyes.

"I'll crush all these ants... beneath my feet."

The spaceship roared as it rose into the sky.

Vegeta's chapter had come to an end.

But the real battle... had only just begun.