The Roar of an Ant

"Too weak."

Frieza's voice seemed to come from the depths of the underworld, utterly devoid of emotion.

His figure flickered before my eyes. It wasn't teleportation—he was simply that fast.

"Bang!!"

Goku was kicked away, crashing into a distant mountainside like a meteor and sending dust billowing into the sky.

Fivefold Kaio-ken.

400,000 combat power.

Before Frieza's second form, he couldn't even withstand a single move.

"Kakarot!!" Vegeta roared as he charged forward.

As I watched that figure rush out, my heart inexplicably tightened. Vegeta's right arm had only just healed, and the Senzu Bean hadn't fully taken effect yet. At most, his combat power was only 24,000.

"Oh?" Frieza tilted his head, not even bothering to take a defensive stance. "The Saiyan prince is joining in personally?"

Vegeta threw a punch at Frieza's face.

That speed, that force, was enough to shatter a small mountain.

Then, "Crack."

Frieza reached out and casually caught Vegeta's fist.

"That's it?"

He said it as though he were asking about the weather.

"You!!" Vegeta's pupils shrank sharply. He tried to pull back his fist, only to find his arm trapped as if in iron pincers, utterly unable to move.

"Bang!!"

Frieza lifted his leg and drove a kick into Vegeta's abdomen.

In that instant, I clearly heard the sound of bones breaking.

"Ah!!"

Blood sprayed from Vegeta's mouth as he flew backward like a kite with its string cut, smashing through several massive boulders before finally stopping.

"Vegeta!!" Krillin cried out.

"Cough... cough, cough..."

Within the dust cloud, Vegeta struggled to his feet. A large section of his chest had caved in, blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, but the fighting spirit in his eyes had not dimmed. If anything, it burned even more fiercely.

"I am... the prince of the Saiyans..."

His voice was hoarse and ragged, yet filled with a chilling obsession.

"I will never be intimidated... by a monster like you!!"

Frieza raised an eyebrow, seemingly surprised by that reaction.

"Oh? Interesting." He licked his lips. "A Saiyan who grows braver with every setback? What fascinating creatures."

He slowly walked toward Vegeta, every step carrying the pressure of something capable of crushing everything in its path.

"Then, Prince, let me see how long your backbone can hold out."

"Stop."

I didn't know how I had charged out.

My body moved before my mind did.

I stood in front of Vegeta, the ki throughout my body surging wildly, yet still laughably insignificant.

Frieza stopped and looked at me.

"Oh? You again." He seemed somewhat surprised. "That little brat called Son Gohan."

"Twenty thousand combat power, yet you dare stand before me?"

There was a teasing note in his voice, like a cat watching a mouse walk willingly into its trap.

"Your father couldn't even take one move from me. What makes you think you can?"

What made me think I could?

I clenched my fists.

Because I'm a transmigrator. Because I know your weakness. Because I'm Son Gohan—not that child from the original story who only knew how to cry!!

"Gohan!!" Goku's voice came from the distance. He had already climbed out of the rubble, covered in blood yet still standing tall. "Get back! You're no match for him!!"

"I know."

My voice was soft, so soft that only I could hear it.

"I know I'm no match for him."

But then, "I just don't want to keep hiding behind everyone else!!" The moment I shouted those words, an inexplicable power exploded from my chest.

It was anger.

Anger toward Frieza. Anger at my own helplessness. Anger that all I could do was watch my companions get brutalized.

"Grah!"

My hair began to change, gradually shifting from black to emerald green as my ki climbed at an astonishing speed.

Twenty thousand, thirty thousand, forty thousand, fifty thousand!!

"What is that?" Krillin's eyes widened.

"A Super Saiyan? No... no." Tien Shinhan muttered, "It's an eruption of ki."

I lowered my head and looked at my fists, feeling that surging power rush through my body.

Fifty thousand combat power.

Nearly three times what I had before.

As a half-Saiyan, my anger boost truly was stronger than that of a pure-blooded Saiyan. But couldn't it at least have pushed me to a hundred thousand?! What the hell was fifty thousand?! Compared to over a million, it didn't even count as a fraction!!

I screamed internally, but not a trace of hesitation showed on my face.

"Oh?" Frieza watched me with great interest. "First that Bardock Effect, and now an eruption of ki... You little brat have quite a few secrets hidden away."

He took a step closer.

"But fifty thousand compared to five hundred and thirty thousand is a difference of tenfold. Fifty thousand compared to a million..." He gave a soft laugh.

"Why don't you calculate the difference yourself?" I gritted my teeth. He was right.

Fifty thousand combat power was still nothing more than an ant before a force of over a million.

"Gohan!!"

Goku rushed over and stood beside me. His breathing was somewhat labored; that kick had clearly injured him badly too.

"Don't force yourself." He lowered his voice. "Fivefold Kaio-ken isn't enough... I need to use tenfold."

Tenfold?!

I snapped my head toward him.

"Are you insane?! Tenfold Kaio-ken will cripple you!!"

"I know." Goku's gaze was exceptionally calm. "But we have no other choice."

"Wait... wait!!"

My mind raced.

Tenfold Kaio-ken. Eight hundred thousand combat power.

Still not enough.

Frieza's second form was already over a million, and in the original story, he still had a third form. His final form was an outrageous 120 million!

A head-on fight? Certain death.

But I didn't need to defeat him. I only needed to buy time!!

"Dad!!" I grabbed Goku's arm. "Listen to me!!"

"Frieza can transform again!! This isn't his strongest form!!"

Goku froze.

"What did you say?"

"Second form!!" I said rapidly. "This is only his second form!! He can transform one more time!!"

Frieza's eyes narrowed slightly, and his gaze toward me gained a few more layers of meaning.

"How do you know that?"

My heart skipped a beat, but I ignored him and continued, "Dad, now isn't the time to risk our lives!! We need to buy time!!"

"Buy time for what?" Goku frowned.

The Grand Elder!!

I nearly shouted it out.

In the original story, the Grand Elder died not long after the battle with Frieza, and the Dragon Balls disappeared with him. If the Grand Elder could unlock our potential again... But the problem was that the Grand Elder's condition wasn't good either. Time was limited for him as well!!

"We need the Dragon Balls!!" In the end, that was all I shouted. "Frieza has at least four of them. We have to get ahead of him—"

"Heh."

Frieza suddenly laughed.

"You're clever, little brat." He looked at me as if I were a clown that had finally displayed an entertaining trick. "You know to use the Dragon Balls as leverage. You know to stall for time."

"Unfortunately, you've underestimated one thing."

He raised a finger.

"I don't need all the Dragon Balls."

"As long as I seize the final one, victory is mine."

My pupils contracted sharply.

He had seen through it.

"Now," Frieza's ki suddenly erupted.

"Game time is over."

He vanished from where he stood.

No—Gohan! Goku shoved me aside and threw a punch at the same time.

"Bang!!!"

This time, Goku wasn't sent flying.

Frieza had him by the throat with one hand.

"Tenfold Kaio-ken, hmm?" Frieza tilted his head, looking at Goku struggling in his grasp. "Barely passable."

"But still too weak."

With a casual toss, he hurled Goku into the ground, blasting a huge crater into the earth.

"Dad!!" I cried out in anguish.

At that moment, reason was completely drowned by rage.

"Frieza!" I charged forward.

All the ki from my fifty thousand combat power burned at once, and my body became a green meteor.

Then, "Slap."

Frieza easily caught my fist without even looking at me.

"Too slow."

His tail wrapped around my body and suddenly tightened.

Cough—agony shot through me. I felt like prey caught in the coils of a giant python, my bones creaking under the pressure.

"Gohan!!"

"Gohan!!"

Krillin and Tien Shinhan charged in.

"Bang!! Bang!!"

Frieza did not even glance at them. With a casual wave, he sent them flying.

"A bunch of ants."

He lowered his head to look at me, his tail tightening further.

"Do you know, Son Gohan," he said in a low, icy voice.

"At first, I was rather interested in you."

"But now, I've changed my mind."

He raised his palm and aimed it at my head.

"Little rats like you are better off dying sooner."

Energy began gathering in his palm.

My end had come.

Countless images flashed through my mind—Vegeta's roar, Krillin and Tien Shinhan struggling, and Goku still lying in the distant crater, his fate unknown.

I was about to die.

I closed my eyes.

I transmigrated into the body of a four-year-old over a month ago and finally trained my combat power to twenty thousand, only to die anyway?

God, are you messing with me?

But...

I haven't lost yet.

I still have the Dragon Balls.

I still have the Grand Elder.

I can't let Frieza have his way.

"Gohan!!"

A weak yet resolute voice came from the distance.

It was Goku.

He crawled out of the crater, drenched in blood, yet still walked toward us step by step.

"Let go of my son."

His voice was soft, yet filled with unquestionable resolve.

His aura began to change.

Stronger than tenfold Kaio-ken.

Stronger than ever before.

"I'll make you regret this."

Frieza finally narrowed his eyes.

"Oh? You still have something up your sleeve?"

As I looked at Dad's towering back, an indescribable feeling welled up inside me.

He clearly couldn't win.

The gap was clearly so vast.

Yet he still stood back up.

This was Son Goku.

This was my "dad."

I called out softly.

"I have an idea."