Super Saiyan

"Is that Frieza's brother?" Piccolo felt a chill run down his spine, as if he were being stared at by a venomous snake.

"That's right," Son Gohan nodded.

"What is his power level?" Son Goku's body trembled slightly, though it was unclear if it was from excitement or fear.

"One hundred and forty million!"

"What!?"

Krillin, Yamcha, Tien Shinhan, and Chiaotzu were all struck dumb simultaneously. Their bodies stiffened, and they felt as if they had been nailed to the spot.

One hundred and forty million—even if they trained for an entire lifetime, they would never reach such a power level.

"I thought I could defeat him by using the 20x Kaio-ken," Son Goku said with a bitter smile.

His current power level was 2.58 million. Even with the 20x Kaio-ken, he only reached 51.6 million, not even half of the opponent's strength.

Son Gohan looked at him, then at Krillin, hesitating to speak. In truth, there was a way to quickly break through a power level of one hundred million, but it required someone to make a small sacrifice.

"I can only use the 5x Kaio-ken at most."

Piccolo felt even more desperate. The Namekian body was not as resilient as a Saiyan's, and there was a vast difference in the limit one could endure when using the Kaio-ken.

"It's fine, leave Cooler to me," Son Gohan volunteered to take on the most troublesome opponent.

"Dad, Uncle Piccolo, you two need to watch out for King Cold."

"His power level isn't as high as Frieza's at full strength; it's around one hundred million."

If King Cold began a massacre, there would be heavy casualties in an instant. They would have to rely on Son Goku and Piccolo working together to hold him off.

"He's coming!"

Son Gohan didn't have time to say more. He saw Cooler vanish from his spot and flashed into the air, activating the 20x Kaio-ken without hesitation.

His base power level was only 10 million, and he feared being killed instantly by Cooler if he didn't.

A dark red aura erupted from him like a volcanic eruption. The violent energy tore everything in the vicinity into shreds.

Son Gohan struck out instinctively. His fist, imbued with terrifying power, slammed into thin air where Cooler appeared out of nowhere. Cooler didn't dodge or block, instead throwing a heavy punch of his own.

"Boom!"

A thunderous sound echoed across the sky. Cooler's body was actually forced back several dozen meters, and the stinging pain in his hand left him astonished.

"Your spirit is decent, but your strength is a bit lacking."

Every inch of Son Gohan's body was operating under extreme overload. He opened his mouth and spat out a stream of scorching energy.

Under the enhancement of the 20x Kaio-ken, his current power level had broken through two hundred million, far surpassing Cooler.

"I misjudged you. I didn't expect a little wild monkey to be able to unleash such power," Cooler said with a contemptuous laugh.

"Cooler, you're still holding back while fighting me? What will you do if you accidentally die later?"

Son Gohan wanted Cooler to use his full strength because, during his own training in the gravity chamber, he always felt he was just a hair's breadth away from becoming a Super Saiyan.

But that thin barrier remained unbroken, so he hoped to use external force to shatter this bottleneck completely.

"You were actually able to tell that I was hiding my strength."

Cooler sensed that this wild monkey was truly extraordinary. If he didn't transform, he would be at a serious disadvantage.

"Feel honored. You are about to see my ultimate transformation. No matter how you cry or scream later, I won't show any mercy!"

A powerful pressure suddenly exploded from Cooler's body. A rotating vortex appeared beneath his feet, surging in all directions with the force of a landslide.

Everyone below felt as if they had been thrown into the depths of a ten-thousand-meter-deep ocean; even breathing became incredibly difficult.

"Damn you, Cooler! You didn't even let me know!"

Frieza stopped his attack on Slug. He felt the terrifying aura radiating from Cooler and was consumed by rage.

It turned out that, without him realizing it, Cooler's power level had long since left him in the dust.

And here he had been, priding himself as the Emperor of the Universe, smugly believing he was invincible.

Slug's chest heaved as he gasped for air. He didn't resume his attack; he wanted to take this opportunity to rest.

An immortal body meant he wouldn't be killed, but he could still feel pain and exhaustion.

He watched the terrifying aura erupting from Cooler and felt he had been too reckless before. The two of them were simply not on the same level.

What good was an immortal body if he were captured and tortured day and night? It would be better to just die.

The sky over Namek returned to calm as Cooler completed his ultimate transformation.

His deep purple skin was now covered in natural armor, and the area below his eyes was masked by a white plate. His aura was cold, sharp, and filled with oppression.

"Incredible!" Son Gohan exclaimed sincerely.

In his final form, Cooler's power level had reached a terrifying 470 million!

This was more than double the power level he had possessed while using the 20x Kaio-ken. The Frost Demon race was truly terrifying.

"Experience the despair of hell!"

Cooler's speed was too fast for anyone to track. He suddenly appeared above Son Gohan's head, clasped his hands into a hammer, and smashed down.

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

Boom!

A mountain below was pierced through. The mountain collapsed, boulders flew everywhere, and the ground for hundreds of meters around was stripped away.

"Gohan!" Krillin and the others shouted in worry.

"Trust him," Son Goku and Piccolo vaguely understood what Son Gohan was trying to do.

Bang!

Before the boulders could even hit the ground, Cooler moved like a teleporting blur, his thick, powerful tail whipping Son Gohan into the air like a cannonball.

Just like that, Son Gohan's body was subjected to a relentless barrage of attacks, without a second of respite.

"Kaio-ken, 30x!"

Son Gohan's aura surged once more, breaking the rhythm of Cooler's assault. He landed on the ground and returned to his normal state.

He couldn't handle the 30x Kaio-ken at all. Even using it for a single instant made his body feel as if it were being torn apart.

"Oh? You can still stand?" Cooler's eyes were playful, like a cat toying with a mouse.

"Old man, did that feel good just now?"

The ground near Son Gohan's feet seemed to lose its gravity, as countless pebbles began to float toward the sky.

The sky over Namek, which had been bright and sunny a second ago, suddenly darkened. Lightning began to streak across the sky, striking the ground directly.

The air around Son Gohan twisted continuously. He felt the S-cells within him becoming abnormally active, coursing through his entire body. It felt as if something was about to emerge.

Then, his entire body was enveloped in a golden aura, growing thicker and thicker until his physical form was completely obscured.

"Aaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!"

Son Gohan couldn't help but roar. His hair turned yellow in an instant, and the entire planet Namek shook violently.

He had finally succeeded in becoming a Super Saiyan!

A Super Saiyan's strength was 50 times that of his base form. This meant Son Gohan's power level had now broken through to 500 million, surpassing Cooler in one fell swoop!

"This is..." Cooler could no longer smile; an instinctive fear rose within his body.

"A... a Super Saiyan!!!"

Vegeta completely forgot that he was supposed to be hiding. Filled with both fear and rage, he shrieked.

He tore at his hair with both hands, crying out in agony, "Why can a low-class warrior become a Super Saiyan?"

"A Super Saiyan, the legendary strongest warrior in the universe... has he really appeared!?" King Cold could no longer maintain his composure, his eyes filled with terror.

"Frieza, attack together!"

King Cold shouted. He wanted to combine the power of the three of them to finish off this unexpectedly appearing Super Saiyan.