"Unless it's the very last moment, I won't give up," Ken said.
"Alright, alright—then let's keep watching… though someone's going to die next," Whis sighed softly.
"It's fine. For them, death is training," Ken said with a smile.
Gohan, Krillin, and Kale landed on the same "island" where Goku and Piccolo were. They hugged, grinning with the relief of victory.
Calling it an island was generous—it was more like a steep hill. The surrounding islands had already been swallowed by the lake.
Gohan threw his arms around his father. Piccolo patted Gohan's head with quiet fondness.
With Krillin helping, Goku struggled upright.
"Let's go… we should leave this planet as soon as we can," Goku said, scratching his head.
"Ah!" Krillin yelped.
"What is it, Krillin?" Goku blinked.
"We don't have a spaceship. How are we supposed to leave?" Krillin forced a bitter smile. "And even if we did, this is still Universe 7. Aren't we supposed to be in Universe 6?"
"You scared me. I thought Frieza was back," Goku laughed.
"Don't do that…" Krillin wiped his brow.
"We can only contact Ken and have him take us back," Piccolo said, thinking it through.
"You're right, Piccolo. That's the only way." Krillin turned to look at him—
And the moment he did, he froze. His whole body started shaking.
"What's wrong, Krillin?" Goku asked, confused.
"Th-that guy…" Krillin's lips went pale as he pointed toward a nearby mountain.
Frieza stood there.
One of his eyes was gone. His tail had been torn off. He was covered in wounds, battered and ragged.
"F-Frieza!" Goku's voice cracked.
Frieza's gaze turned icy. Without a word, a beam shot from his fingertip and punched straight through Piccolo's chest, leaving a clean hole.
Piccolo hit the ground hard.
"Piccolo… Piccolo-san!" Gohan lunged toward him, panicked.
Goku snapped his head up, glaring at Frieza.
"You thought I was dead?" Frieza sneered.
"Get out of here—now!" Goku barked at Krillin, Gohan, and Kale. "Find any spaceship and leave this planet!"
"What are you saying, Goku? You can't!" Krillin shouted.
"Go!" Goku roared. "Or do you want to die with me?"
"You think I'll forgive you?" Frieza's voice dropped. "None of you are leaving today. I'll blow you into pieces!"
He flicked his hand.
Krillin shot up into the sky, yanked by an invisible force.
Krillin thrashed helplessly in midair, screaming.
"Krillin!" Goku shouted. "Stop it, Frieza!"
Frieza smiled in contempt. "You think I'll stop just because you told me to?"
"Goku!" Krillin screamed.
Boom!
Krillin detonated into fragments, drifting down in a slow, horrible scatter.
Goku's eyes went blank.
Gohan stood there, stunned.
Kale went rigid, her face drained white.
Frieza's grin widened.
Krillin's remains fluttered down and vanished on the wind.
Goku turned his head away. He couldn't look.
"Heh heh heh… next is that brat!" Frieza said, almost pleased with himself. "That's your son, right?"
He reached out again.
Gohan lifted into the air, struggling the same way Krillin had.
"Gohan!" Goku shouted.
"Gohan-nii!" Kale cried out.
"I'm going to kill every one of your companions, one by one, right in front of you!" Frieza laughed wildly.
"Frieza! Stop!" Goku shouted back.
"Dad!" Gohan yelled.
Boom!
With a casual pulse of force, Frieza shattered Gohan into pieces.
Goku shook so hard it looked like his body might tear apart. Rage had swallowed him whole.
"Ah… I'm not watching this," Whis said, turning his head. "That's too cruel."
"Frieza really is vicious," Merus said, frowning. "I'll toss him into the Galactic Patrol's maximum-security prison later."
Ken's expression stayed calm, but he was a little surprised.
This isn't how I remember it.
Looks like my presence changed the course of things.
Frieza actually shattered Gohan.
"You… you monster… I'll never forgive you!" Goku snarled through clenched teeth.
Crack… crack!
Heavy storm clouds suddenly spread across the sky. Gold lightning coiled through them—and within the gold, streaks of deep crimson began to form.
The clouds smothered the light, plunging everything into gloom.
Crack… crack…
Then yellow-green lightning flashed through the cloud bank.
"What's happening?" Whis said, startled.
"Kale… Kale's changing," Merus said, shocked—and thrilled.
"Gohan-nii!"
Kale screamed until her voice tore, and a yellow-green glow erupted from her body.
Her hair spiked up, turning the same yellow-green in an instant.
"What? What is that?" Frieza stared. "Who is this little girl?"
A bad feeling crawled up his spine.
He had seen Broly transform before.
Why does her transformation look like the Legendary Super Saiyan… like Broly?
"AAAAAA!"
Kale's scream shook the air as the yellow-green aura surged outward.
After watching Gohan—who had protected her—get blown into pieces, Kale finally broke through. Every last bit of her latent power ignited, and she awakened the Legendary Super Saiyan transformation.
"Th-that… what is that?" Frieza's body started shaking.
Kale lunged.
She vaulted up, grabbed Frieza by the head with one hand, and slammed him into the ground.
"Ugh—!"
Crying, Kale ground his head into the earth.
"Gohan-nii… w-w…" She sobbed harder, and Frieza's face was nearly being flattened into the dirt.
Frieza was speechless.
What the hell is wrong with you?!
You're the one beating me!
"W-w… Gohan-nii!" Kale wailed, seized Frieza by the tail, and whipped him left and right like a rag doll.
Frieza screamed in pain.
"G-g-g…" Vegeta couldn't stay still anymore—his soul quivered violently.
"The Legendary Super Saiyan?" Vegeta's eyes widened. "Are you kidding me? Isn't there only one every thousand years? How is there another one? Do they come in pairs?!"
No one answered him.
Everyone there was locked onto Kale—this timid, frightened girl who had been shaking since the moment she arrived. With Gohan gone, something in her finally snapped open completely.
Whis: "…"
Merus: "…"
Both angels went silent.
Neither of them had expected Kale to transform right now.
Merus, especially, felt a sick weight in his chest.
Guilt—toward Whis-niisan.
If Kale makes Frieza lose because of this… that means Whis-niisan loses to Ken.
"Merus, thanks," Ken said with a grin, patting his shoulder. "Team up with me to mess with your brother—feels good, doesn't it?"
Whis immediately turned and looked at Merus.
Merus: "…"
"Whis-niisan, I didn't—Ken, don't talk nonsense… this has nothing to do with me!" Merus blurted.
"If Kale didn't suddenly become a Legendary Super Saiyan, I might've lost this round," Ken said, smiling.
Merus didn't even know how to argue back.
Whis stayed quiet, clearly unwilling to accept it.
Mostly because Whis hadn't expected this either.
Kale hurled Frieza away.
Frieza spun through the sky, tumbling end over end until he vanished into the distance.
"AAAAAA!"
Kale screamed again.
Then she clutched her head, her face twisting in pain.
"Not good! Kale's losing control—just like Broly back then!" Merus shouted, reaching for his staff.
Ken raised a hand and stopped him.
"Ken, what are you doing?" Merus froze. "She'll start attacking anything around her. Goku could be in danger!"
"Let's settle one thing first." Ken looked at Whis with a smile. "Whis—are you conceding?"
"My, my… we can't say yet," Whis said calmly, scanning the scene without any intention of giving in. "First, Kale is about to lose her mind and could attack indiscriminately. There's a real chance Goku gets hit. Second, Frieza has been thrown far away. Once Kale burns through her energy, if Frieza comes back, the winner could still be my side."
Merus's eyes lit up.
Whis-niisan is right.
If Ken asked me that, I might've panicked and conceded.
Whis-niisan is analysing this perfectly.
"But if we let it play out, a lot of people might die," Whis said to Ken. "Are you sure you want this?"
"No one else will die," Ken said after a brief pause. "You can relax."
"If Ken says so, then we keep watching. No interference," Whis said, bracing himself.
Losing a bet was embarrassing.
Even if the stake meant nothing to Whis.
Losing to a trainee angel would only prove his judgement wasn't sharp enough.
An angel needed sharp judgement—so their universe could develop properly.
In the end, this kind of wager was really a test of insight.
Whis's expression tightened. He truly hadn't expected Kale to change like this.
"AAAAAA…"
Kale knelt on the ground, still clutching her head and howling.
The energy tearing through her was more than her body could bear.
"No—Kakarot! Look—look at Kakarot!" Vegeta shouted.
Merus and Whis had already noticed something was wrong with Goku.
"What's happening to Goku?" Merus said, startled.
A cold feeling crept up Whis's spine again.
Goku was shaking too.
Krillin's death. His son's death. They were right there, burned into him.
Gold light flickered around him, and his hair began to rise.
Snap!
In an instant, Goku's hair turned gold.
Then he saw Kale fly off and brutalise Frieza.
Just as quickly, his hair dropped back to black.
Snap!
The next moment, a red, flame-like aura burst around Goku, and his hair turned crimson.
At the same time, streaks of light flashed across the distant horizon, converging as they raced in.
Snap!
Gohan's body regenerated, completely restored.
"Huh? Huh? Huh?" Gohan stared, utterly lost.
I… came back?
Is this the wish Piccolo-san gave me?
Then he realised he wasn't wearing anything.
Right. I got blown to pieces.
Gohan looked at Kale, then at his father, even more confused.
Why are both of you glowing?
Vegeta: "…"
Vegeta felt it in his soul again.
This is my regeneration.
That bastard Piccolo gave it to Gohan.
If he hadn't, I wouldn't have died.
I would've regenerated my heart.
Damn Namekian.
Shameless.
"Gohan…" Goku blinked, then remembered what Piccolo had said earlier.
Piccolo had piled Vegeta's wish onto Gohan.
So that's regeneration.
Even being blown into fragments… you can still come back.
The fury in Goku gradually settled.
He took a long breath, gold light and red light flickering around him as they alternated—
Snap!
Then it locked in.
Crimson flames surged over his whole body, roaring like a living fire.
"Dad?" Gohan stared, then dropped from the air.
"Gohan." Goku moved and appeared beside him. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Dad. Piccolo-san gave me regeneration," Gohan said quickly.
Goku nodded and glanced at Piccolo, still collapsed on the ground.
Whoosh!
Goku flashed to Piccolo's side. A soft healing flame gathered in his hand and spread over Piccolo's body.
In moments, Piccolo's injuries were fully restored.
Piccolo rubbed his eyes and pushed himself up.
Then he saw Goku's crimson hair and froze in shock.
"Piccolo-san, are you alright?" Gohan asked hurriedly.
"I'm fine," Piccolo said, then noticed Gohan was naked and placed a hand on his head.
Snap!
A fresh set of clothes formed over Gohan's body—almost identical to what he'd been wearing before.
But it fit him much better.
"Thanks, Piccolo-san," Gohan said.
"Where's Frieza?" Piccolo asked.
"Kale beat him so hard he disappeared," Goku said quietly.
"What… what is this transformation?" Piccolo stared at Goku.
"I don't know… but I can tell it doesn't last long," Goku said, shaking his head. "Also—I can do this."
Snap!
The crimson flames shifted into gold.
Goku's hair spiked up again, turning gold as well.
Piccolo stood there, stunned.
Gohan looked just as shocked.
Whis: "…"
Merus: "…"
The two angels stayed silent.
What is this?
Goku transformed too?
And they could clearly sense it—this gold-haired transformation boosted his power at least fifty times over, pushing him to 150,000,000.
And that red-haired transformation was even more absurd—at least a 4,000x increase.
It was ridiculous.
Whis didn't even want to speak anymore.
That multiplier was already brushing up against Kale's Legendary Super Saiyan.
Whis felt sick.
Because he knew he had lost.
Lost to Ken.
Before, Whis still held a sliver of hope—if Kale went berserk, maybe she'd kill Goku.
But with what Kale showed, at best she was on the same level as Goku's red-haired transformation.
Who wins and who loses wasn't clear anymore.
Goku's combat sense was sharper.
"G-g-g…"
Vegeta's soul trembled even harder.
I won't accept this.
I really won't accept this!
Why does Kakarot get to transform?
"Wait—Kakarot isn't the Legendary Super Saiyan! How can he transform?" Vegeta shouted at Ken.
Ken didn't answer.
Vegeta's soul jolted again, and something clicked. His expression twisted.
"I… I remember now. That dragon said there are two kinds—Super Saiyan and Legendary Super Saiyan. So Kakarot's transformation just now… that's the normal Super Saiyan?" Vegeta said, finally understanding.
"You finally remembered," Ken said with a faint smile.
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
[Check out my Patreon to read 20+ chapters ahead]
[[email protected]/BellAshelia]
[Thanks for your support!]