The Final Battle with Cell

The battle continued for a while longer.

Cell's fists had gone soft and powerless, each punch weaker than the last, his breathing heavy and ragged.

He knelt on one knee amid a pile of rubble, his shell covered in wounds. His energy was severely depleted, the aura around him dim, as if it might disperse at any moment.

Son Gohan retreated several dozen meters and stood nearby. The energy he had expended was still less than what his own recovery had restored.

"What's wrong? Is that all the strength you've got? And you wanted to play the villain and destroy the world?"

Cell suddenly raised his head. His eyes were bloodshot, filled with rage and humiliation.

He clenched his teeth and forced out the words harshly.

"If you've got the guts, give me another one of those green beans! If we're going to fight, let's fight properly. There's no fun in a one-sided beatdown. Right?"

Son Gohan gave a disdainful laugh.

"Senzu Beans? I've got some."

He pulled a Senzu Bean from his internal space. The emerald-green bean lay in his palm, and Cell's gaze immediately fixed on it. His Adam's apple bobbed, his eyes filled with longing.

Son Gohan raised the Senzu Bean and gave it a shake.

Then, right in front of Cell, he stuffed it into his mouth, chewed it up, and swallowed.

His condition instantly returned to full, and his golden aura erupted with even greater force.

Cell froze completely. His lungs were about to burst from rage, his fury reaching its peak.

"Y-You actually dared to toy with me!!"

Son Gohan spoke casually.

"That's right."

"I am toying with you. What else was I supposed to do, put you on a pedestal?"

Cell trembled with rage, but he had little strength left now.

Son Gohan calmed his mind and swept his consciousness over the Dimensional Seed deep within him. Its light was full and gentle.

The high-quality battle energy absorbed during this fight had completely filled the crystal.

All the cellular traits and battle talent within Cell that could be extracted had already been squeezed dry.

Moreover, it felt like the talent Cell had given Son Gohan had reached its limit. After fighting to this point, Cell no longer had any value to him.

Son Gohan opened his eyes again and looked at Cell.

His expression was cold. The teasing and mockery from before had vanished, and he now looked at Cell as though he were already dead.

"It's over, Cell."

His golden aura flared, and his entire body became a streak of light as he charged toward Cell, landing a fist squarely in his abdomen.

Cell opened his mouth in a pained scream. Stomach fluids and acid surged up his throat, and his entire body began convulsing violently.

He collapsed onto the ground and vomited uncontrollably—gastric fluid, tissue fluid, and a curled-up humanoid figure.

Android 17 was forcibly vomited out, covered in slime. He hit the ground and passed out.

Yet Cell could still maintain his Perfect form. That was thanks to the Saiyan cells and the Senzu Beans; even without Android 17, he could remain Perfect.

Son Gohan activated Instant Transmission.

Whoosh—!

His body vanished from the spot, and in the next instant, he appeared directly before Cell and took Android 17 away.

He immediately returned. Cell's pupils shrank sharply, and he opened his mouth, wanting to beg for mercy.

Son Gohan gave him no chance.

With a wave of his hand, he smashed a fist viciously into Cell's mouth. His teeth shattered instantly, and the blow snapped Cell's head back. Before he could even utter a plea for mercy, Son Gohan had punched him in the mouth.

Son Gohan then turned sideways and kicked Cell squarely in the chest, sending his entire body flying into the sky. Cell had no ability to resist and spiraled high into the air.

Son Gohan planted his feet firmly, drawing both hands back to his waist. Terrifying energy gathered between his palms, the compressed azure light growing brighter and brighter.

The ground around him began to crack under the pressure of the energy.

"Ka--me--ha--me--ha!!"

A blue beam as thick as a barrel blasted from his palms, trailing a long tail of flame as it shot into the heavens.

Cell had just stabilized himself in midair when he looked down and saw that terrifying energy wave hurtling toward him.

He instinctively raised both arms to block it, but the instant his body touched the beam, it began to disintegrate. The Kamehameha pierced straight through his entire body.

Cell let out an unwilling scream, but the sound was instantly swallowed whole.

In the end, even the tissue containing his life core was utterly destroyed by the energy. There was no possibility of revival.

The explosion bloomed high in the sky, its shockwave scattering the clouds. The beam lasted several seconds before gradually fading, leaving only a wisp of smoke in the air, scattered by the wind.

It was over.

Everyone let out a sigh of relief and flew over.

Krillin patted Son Gohan on the shoulder, grinning from ear to ear. "Gohan, well done! That was incredible!"

Son Goku stood nearby, his smile carrying both pride and a hint of complicated emotion. Piccolo folded his arms and gave a slight nod.

After exchanging a few words with the others, Son Gohan turned to Future Trunks, whose face still bore the relief of having survived a disaster.

Son Gohan walked up to him, his tone calm.

"Your current strength is still not enough to defeat the androids in your timeline."

Trunks froze for a moment, then asked, "The android crisis here has already been resolved. The future world will return to normal as well, right?"

Son Gohan shook his head.

"It won't."

"What has already happened in the future world remains unchanged. The two timelines are independent. Even if things are resolved here, your side will still be the same."

Trunks's expression dimmed briefly, but he quickly regained his resolute look.

Son Gohan took a Tree of Might fruit from his internal space and handed it to him.

"Eat this."

Trunks accepted the fruit without hesitation and put it straight into his mouth.

The flesh melted the instant it entered his mouth, and warm energy poured down his throat. After consuming the side-effect-free, enhancing Tree of Might fruit—

His aura began to soar. Golden energy erupted around him, his hair spiked upward and turned gold, and arcs of electricity flickered over his body with crackling snaps.

His aura strength broke directly through to Super Saiyan 2 at that moment.

Even his appearance changed. His features became sharper and more defined, and a keen edge appeared between his brows.

Son Gohan sized him up and nodded.

"Your aura strength has reached Super Saiyan 2, but your control over that power still needs polishing."

"Your foundation isn't solid. You skipped straight to Super Saiyan 2 before properly building up your full-power Super Saiyan foundation, so the energy drain in real combat will be immense."

"You can deal with these androids this time, but if you encounter stronger opponents later, you'll still struggle."

He turned to Vegeta, Son Goku, and Piccolo.

"Vegeta, Dad, Uncle Piccolo—take Trunks to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber and train for another year."

He looked at Piccolo and added, "Uncle Piccolo, if you exceed the time limit, your current aura strength should be enough to shatter the dimensional barrier and bring everyone out."

Piccolo folded his arms and nodded. "Got it."

Son Gohan turned to Son Goku again. "Dad, when you spar with Trunks, teach him how to control his power and help him build a solid foundation."

Son Goku grinned and readily agreed. "Don't worry, leave it to me!"

Trunks stood there, still somewhat dazed—the situation had developed far too quickly.

Son Gohan patted him on the shoulder.

"No need to worry. Train well, then go back and resolve the crisis in your timeline."

Vegeta had not said a word from beginning to end. He merely snorted coldly, clearly displeased at being ordered around like that despite his tsundere attitude.

He turned first, his aura exploding as he flew toward Bulma's company. Piccolo, Son Goku, and Trunks followed close behind, and the four figures soon vanished beyond the horizon.

Krillin and the others dispersed as well. Android 16 walked over to the pile of rubble, hoisted the still-unconscious Android 17 onto his shoulder, and silently flew toward the island's natural wilderness.

The wasteland fell quiet, leaving only craters and cracks scattered across the ground. Son Gohan turned toward Lazuli, who stood silently beside him.

"Come on, let's go home."

He took her hand, his aura erupted, and the two flew toward Mount Paozu.