Planet's End

"This is my true power!!"

Frieza's aura exploded.

It wasn't a surge—it exploded.

Like some terrifying being that had been sealed away for hundreds of millions of years had finally broken free of its shackles. That pressure could no longer be described as merely "strong." It was destruction, despair, a calamity that made one's very soul tremble.

My face went pale instantly.

(Something's wrong.)

(This aura... something's wrong!!)

(In the original story, Frieza at 100% was 120 million. At 50%, he was at 60 million and evenly matched with a Super Saiyan.)

(But this aura...)

(It's definitely more than 120 million!!)

Frieza looked at his hands, the smile on his face twisted and sickly.

"Kakarot... you've made me very unhappy."

He raised his head, madness blazing in his eyes.

"So I'm going to crush your pride, little by little."

The next instant, he vanished.

"Dad!!"

Before I could finish my warning, Frieza had already appeared behind Goku!!

"Too slow!!"

A chop struck toward Goku's neck!!

Goku twisted aside to evade it, but Frieza was more than a level faster than he had been in his third form!!

Bang!!

The blow grazed Goku's shoulder!!

His golden aura churned violently!!

"Hm?!" Goku frowned.

"What? Surprised?" Frieza's voice came from every direction. "How much stronger did you think you'd become?"

"Before my full power—"

His figure flickered through the air.

"—you are nothing but—"

"AN ANT!!"

Bang bang bang bang bang!!!

A relentless barrage of attacks!!

Frieza moved so fast that only afterimages remained!!

Every strike carried destructive force!!

Goku was defending, but his feet were being driven backward!!

"He can't block them!!" Krillin cried.

"That speed... it's so much faster than before!!" Tien Shinhan's face was deathly pale.

I stared wide-eyed at the battlefield.

(Frieza at 50% could already match a Super Saiyan.)

(At 100% full power, he should be at least 120 million.)

(But now...)

(This guy says he's even stronger than 100%...)

(Could he be... 150 million??)

(The same level as Dad?!)

"Hahahahaha!!" Frieza laughed maniacally. "Well, Kakarot? This is what despair tastes like!!"

He drove a fist into Goku's chest!!

Goku crossed his arms to block it head-on. Boom! He was sent flying!!

He plowed a trench hundreds of meters long across the ground!!

"Dad!!" I shouted before I could stop myself.

Frieza did not pursue.

He hovered in the air, looking down on everything from above.

"You know, Kakarot."

His voice carried a cruel, taunting amusement.

"I have never... gotten serious."

"But now..." His aura surged once more.

"I'll show you... what true power is."

Goku rose from the ravine.

His arms trembled slightly—the lingering shock from taking Frieza's attack head-on.

But his gaze remained calm.

Still sharp.

"That hurt quite a bit." Goku rolled his wrist. "But that's all it was."

Frieza's smile froze.

"...What?"

"I said..." Goku raised his head, and his golden aura began burning even more fiercely.

"It's still not enough."

The ground beneath his feet exploded as he turned into a golden meteor and charged at Frieza!!

"Don't look down on me!" Frieza roared as he rushed forward. The two figures collided in midair.

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!

It was like countless bombs exploding at once!!

The entire sky was dyed in interwoven gold and black!!

"Too fast!! I can't see anything at all!!" Krillin covered his eyes.

I stared fixedly at the battlefield.

(This is... the full-power clash between Super Saiyan and 100% Frieza...)

(One hundred and fifty million against one hundred and fifty million...)

(Neither side has the upper hand!!)

"Hahaha!!" Frieza laughed wildly. "Now this is getting interesting!!"

His attacks grew more and more ferocious!!

"Death Beam!!"

A purple-black beam shot toward Goku!!

"Kamehameha!!"

Blue light surged to meet it!!

BOOM! The two energies collided in midair!!

The sky burst apart!!

The earth trembled!!

"Again!!" Frieza howled.

"Destruction Ball!!"

He hurled a black sphere of energy from his hand!!

"Bring it on!!" Goku threw a punch!!

Golden energy collided head-on with the black Destruction Ball!!

BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!

The shockwave swept away everything!!

Krillin, Tien Shinhan, and I were blown away by the blast!!

"Cough, cough...!!" I struggled to get back up. "This... this is way too absurd...!!"

Just then—crack.

A faint sound.

I looked down.

A fissure had appeared in the ground beneath my feet.

"...Huh?"

The crack was widening.

Crack.

Crack.

"Crack crack crack"

The entire ground was splitting apart.

"What's going on?!" Krillin cried out.

"Namek... is collapsing!!" Tien Shinhan's voice trembled.

I froze.

(R-Right...)

(In the original story, while Frieza and Goku were fighting, Namek exploded.)

(It was because...)

I looked up at the sky.

A massive crack had appeared in Namek's once-azure sky.

An eerie red glow shone through the rift.

"That light..." Krillin's voice shook. "Could it be..."

"The planet's core." The words slipped out before I could stop them, my face turning pale. "Frieza hit the planet's core!!"

"What?!"

"Namek is going to be destroyed!!"

My voice was sharp with despair.

On the battlefield, Frieza and Goku had noticed the anomaly as well.

"Crack crack"

Even larger fissures appeared!!

Massive boulders broke away from the ground and plunged into the bottomless abyss!!

"Ha... hahahahahahaha!!" Frieza suddenly burst into laughter. "That's right!! I almost forgot!!"

He floated in the air, a crazed smile on his face.

"I hit the planet's core."

"Kakarot, can you feel it?"

"The entire planet... is trembling for me!!"

Goku frowned. "Have you gone insane?!"

"Insane?" Frieza tilted his head. "No... I'm perfectly lucid."

"Do you know why I didn't dodge your attack?"

His smile grew increasingly twisted.

"Because I simply don't care."

"So what if the entire planet is destroyed?"

"As long as I can kill you—"

He spread his arms.

"I'm willing to be destroyed along with it!!"

At that moment, all the blood in my body turned cold.

(This guy is serious.)

(He's really gone insane.)

(Frieza... wants to take us down with him!!)

"Gohan!!" Krillin's voice broke through my thoughts. "What do we do?! Namek is going to explode!!"

"Let's get out of here while we still can!!"

Tien Shinhan shouted as well, "Right!! If we don't leave now, it'll be too late!!"

I stood where I was.

Watching the two figures on the battlefield.

Golden light and a dark aura were still clashing fiercely.

Namek's cracks were growing wider and wider.

The rift in the sky had already begun swallowing the land.

(Retreat?)

(Leave Dad behind and run on my own?)

My fists clenched tight.

(No...)

(I knew Dad would win.)

(But that was how it went in the original story...)

(Where this world was headed... no one knew...)

(What if...)

(What if something went wrong...)

(What if Dad...)

"Gohan!! Decide already!!" Krillin grabbed my arm.

I took a deep breath.

Then I shook off his hand.

"...You go first."

"What?!"

"Krillin, Tien Shinhan, take Piccolo and leave."

My voice was calm.

"Gohan?!" Krillin's eyes widened. "Are you insane?!"

"I'm not." I looked toward the battlefield. "But I..."

"Can't leave Dad here alone."

Tien Shinhan frowned. "But you—"

"Enough!!"

My voice suddenly erupted.

"Go!! That's an order!!"

"Staying here will only make us a burden!" I cut them off. "But at least..."

I looked at that golden figure.

"At least let him know we're still here."

Krillin opened his mouth, wanting to say something.

But in the end, he said nothing.

"...Take care." Those were the only words he left behind.

Then he carried Piccolo on his back, while Tien Shinhan supported Vegeta.

They vanished into the light.

On the battlefield, Goku and Frieza's fight had already reached a fever pitch.

"BOOM!!"

Another collision.

The shockwave tore through the sky.

"KAMEHAMEHA!!!"

"DESTRUCTION BALL!!!"

The two blasts collided in midair.

"BOOM!!!!"

Namek's sky exploded.

But then, I saw it.

For the first time, Frieza's face showed a grave expression.

And Goku's gaze was firmer than ever.

"Frieza."

Goku's voice pierced through the roar of the explosions.

"I won't let you win."

"And I won't let this planet be destroyed."

He stretched out his hand as golden energy began to gather.

"Even if I have to risk everything."

Frieza's pupils contracted sharply.

At that moment, I understood.

(The final battle... was about to begin.)

(And I...)

I clenched my fists.

(All I could do was watch from here.)

(...No.)

(I could still do something.)

I raised my hand and poured all my ki into my voice.

"Dad!"

My roar echoed across the collapsing Namek.

"We believe in you!"

Goku glanced back at me.

A smile curved across the golden figure's lips.

Then he turned to face Frieza.

"Come on."

"One final blow."

Frieza's aura surged.

Goku's energy flared to its peak.

Beneath Namek's collapsing sky, the two figures were about to clash for the final time.

(To be continued.)