Super Saiyan

"Is that Frieza's older brother?" Piccolo felt a chill run down his spine, as if a venomous snake had its eyes on him.

"That's right." Son Gohan nodded.

"How strong is he?" Son Goku's body trembled slightly. It was hard to tell whether he was excited or afraid.

"One hundred and forty million!"

"What!?"

Krillin, Yamcha, Tien Shinhan, and Chiaotzu all gaped in shock. Their bodies stiffened, as if they'd been nailed to the spot.

One hundred and forty million. Even if they trained their whole lives, they could never reach that level of power.

"I thought I could beat him with 20-times Kaio-ken." Son Goku smiled bitterly.

His current battle power was 2.58 million. Even with 20-times Kaio-ken, he could only reach 51.6 million—not even half of his opponent's power.

Son Gohan looked at him, then at Krillin. He hesitated to speak. There was, in fact, a way to quickly break through the 100-million mark. Someone just needed to make a small sacrifice.

"I can only manage 5-times Kaio-ken at most."

Piccolo felt even more desperate. Namekians weren't as physically tough as Saiyans, and there was a huge difference in how much strain their bodies could take from Kaio-ken.

"Don't worry. I'll take Cooler." Son Gohan volunteered to deal with the toughest opponent.

"Dad, Uncle Piccolo, the two of you watch out for King Cold."

"His battle power is below Frieza's at full strength, probably around 100 million."

If King Cold went on a rampage, countless people here would be killed in an instant. Only Son Goku and Piccolo could work together to hold him off.

"Here he comes!"

Son Gohan had no time to say more. He saw Cooler vanish, and flashed into the air himself, activating 20-times Kaio-ken without hesitation.

His base battle power was only 10 million. He was afraid Cooler would kill him in one blow.

Dark-red energy erupted from him like a volcano, and the violent power tore everything around him to pieces.

Son Gohan swung instinctively. His fist, packed with terrifying force, slammed into empty space. Cooler appeared out of nowhere and, without dodging, punched back with all his strength.

"Boom!"

Thunder seemed to explode across the sky. Cooler's body was actually knocked back dozens of meters, and the pain in his hand left him astonished.

"Your bearing is impressive, but your strength is a little lacking."

Every inch of Son Gohan's body was working beyond its limits. He opened his mouth and exhaled a breath of scorching air.

Boosted by 20-times Kaio-ken, his battle power had now surpassed 200 million, far exceeding Cooler's.

"I underestimated you. Who would've thought a little wild monkey could unleash this much power?" Cooler sneered.

"Cooler, you dare hold back while fighting me? What if you accidentally get yourself killed?"

Son Gohan wanted Cooler to use his full power. When he trained in the gravity chamber, he always felt he was just one step away from becoming a Super Saiyan.

But he could never cross that final threshold, so he wanted to use an outside force to break through the bottleneck completely.

"You can tell I was holding back?"

Cooler realized this wild monkey was no ordinary fighter. If he didn't transform, he might really end up at a disadvantage.

"Feel honored. You get to witness my ultimate transformation. No matter how much you beg and scream, I won't show you any mercy!"

A powerful pressure burst from Cooler. A swirling vortex formed beneath his feet, and his energy surged outward with the force of an avalanche.

Everyone below felt as if they'd been thrown into the deepest part of the ocean. Even breathing became incredibly difficult.

"Damn you, Cooler! You even kept this from me!"

Frieza stopped attacking Slug. Feeling the terrifying aura radiating from Cooler, he was furious.

Without him even realizing it, Cooler's battle power had long since left his in the dust.

And here he'd been, calling himself the emperor of the universe, smugly believing he was invincible.

Slug's chest heaved as he gasped for breath. He didn't attack again, wanting to take this chance to rest.

An immortal body only meant he couldn't be killed. It didn't mean he couldn't feel pain or get tired.

Watching Cooler unleash his terrifying aura, he realized he'd been far too reckless before. They weren't even in the same league.

What good was immortality? If they captured him and tortured him day and night, he'd be better off dead.

The sky over Namek grew calm again as Cooler completed his ultimate transformation.

His deep-purple skin was naturally armored, and a white mask covered the area beneath his eyes. His aura was cold and sharp, heavy with menace.

"Incredible!" Son Gohan exclaimed sincerely.

In his final form, Cooler's battle power reached a staggering 470 million!

That was more than twice Son Gohan's power with 20-times Kaio-ken. The Frieza Race was terrifying indeed.

"Feel the despair of hell!"

No one could follow Cooler's speed. He appeared above Son Gohan in an instant, clasped his hands together like a hammer, and brought them crashing down.

"So fast!" Son Gohan barely managed to raise his arms to block.

Boom!

A mountain below was smashed through. Its slopes collapsed, boulders flew everywhere, and the ground across hundreds of meters was stripped away.

"Gohan!" Krillin and the others cried out in alarm.

"Trust him." Son Goku and Piccolo had a vague idea of what Son Gohan was trying to do.

Thump!

Before the boulders could even hit the ground, Cooler moved like a teleporting blur and lashed Son Gohan into the air with his thick, powerful tail, sending him flying like a cannonball.

Cooler kept attacking Son Gohan relentlessly, without giving him a second to breathe.

"Kaio-ken, 30 times!"

Son Gohan's aura surged again, disrupting Cooler's attack. He landed on the ground and returned to normal.

He couldn't handle 30-times Kaio-ken at all. Even using it for just an instant made his body ache as if it were being torn apart.

"Oh, you can still get back up?" Cooler's eyes gleamed with amusement, as if he were a cat toying with a mouse.

"Old man, enjoyed that beating?"

The earth around Son Gohan's feet seemed to have lost all gravity. Countless rocks rose into the air.

A moment ago, the sky over Namek had been bright and sunny. Now it suddenly darkened, and lightning began flashing across the sky, striking the ground.

The air around Son Gohan twisted and warped. He felt the S-Cells in his body growing unusually active, coursing through him. Something seemed about to emerge.

Then his whole body was enveloped in golden energy. It grew more and more intense, until he could no longer be seen.

"AAAAAAAH!!"

Son Gohan couldn't help roaring. His hair turned yellow in an instant, and all of Namek shook violently.

He had finally transformed into a Super Saiyan!

A Super Saiyan's power was 50 times their base strength. That meant Son Gohan's battle power had now broken through 500 million, surpassing Cooler in one fell swoop!

"What is this...?" Cooler could no longer smile. A primal fear rose within him.

"Su... Super Saiyan!!!"

Vegeta had completely forgotten that he was hiding. Terrified and furious, he screamed.

He clutched at his hair in anguish. "Why can a Low-Class Warrior become a Super Saiyan?"

"The Super Saiyan, the strongest warrior in the universe according to legend... has actually appeared!?" King Cold could no longer keep his composure. His eyes were filled with fear.

"Frieza, attack together!"

King Cold shouted. He wanted the three of them—father and sons—to join forces and take down this Super Saiyan who had appeared out of nowhere.