Vegeta became a gigantic golden ape, roaring as he beat his chest. The sound shook the earth so hard the ground seemed to shudder beneath it.
His energy surged violently, throwing up waves of dust that rolled across the island.
Cell's face went blank for a heartbeat—then turned ugly.
"Well?" Vegeta laughed, triumphant. "What do you think now, Cell?"
Cell didn't answer.
"Let me do the math for you," Vegeta continued, baring sharp fangs. "Great Ape gives me ten times. And then I stack Super Saiyan on top of it. You already said Super Saiyan is fifty times, right? Fine—call it fifty. Ten times, multiplied by fifty. What does that make?"
Cell's expression warped. "Five hundred…"
"Correct." Vegeta grinned.
He lifted a massive foot and stomped down.
Cell shot upward in a panic, barely dodging the crushing step.
Vegeta reacted instantly. As Cell rose, Vegeta swung his arm and backhanded him out of the air.
Thud!
Cell spun through the sky, flipping again and again before slamming into a giant boulder.
He spat out a mouthful of blood.
"Damn it!" Cell wiped his lips and forced himself back up.
Great Ape plus Super Saiyan… at least five hundred times, just like Vegeta said.
No—more accurately, six hundred.
Because Vegeta had already surpassed Super Saiyan.
A six-hundred-fold increase was enough to crush Cell.
"Yeah! Vegeta, smash him!" Emily shouted, thrilled.
Ken watched, quietly satisfied.
Not bad.
At least he actually listened.
That year in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber wasn't wasted.
If Vegeta were still as weak as he was in the original story, Ken would've seriously considered giving up on him.
But now… he'd taken a real step forward.
Just don't let it backfire at the worst moment.
"Hahaha! Cell—this is your 'perfect' body?" Vegeta laughed wildly and charged.
Cell's eyes widened. "No—!"
In desperation, Cell raised both hands near his face.
"Taiyoken!"
A blinding white flash erupted.
Vegeta was charging too fast to react. It hit him full-on. His pupils went white, and his vision vanished.
Cell leapt backward, opening distance.
"Ki Wave!"
He gathered energy between his hands and fired a fierce beam straight into Vegeta's chest.
Boom!
Vegeta's body trembled—just slightly.
And then… nothing.
Cell's face tightened. "What…?"
I fired at full power, and it didn't even break through?
For the first time, Cell felt real shock.
Then Vegeta slowly opened his eyes. His sight had already returned.
"Dirty tricks." Vegeta's voice dropped into a snarl. "I'm going to tear you apart!"
He charged again.
Cell stared at that golden mountain rushing him and shouted, "Wait!"
Vegeta didn't slow down. He swung a fist down.
Cell threw himself aside, rolling hard across the ground.
He rolled again, and again—frantic, scrambling.
Then he misjudged and slammed his head into a rock.
The rock shattered into fragments.
Cell went silent.
Vegeta was already on him. His huge hand opened and grabbed.
Cell tried to dodge—
Too late.
Vegeta's hand closed around him.
Cell's eyes widened as he struggled wildly.
"Cell," Vegeta snarled, red eyes burning, "you're finished. Any last words? Say them now, before you don't get the chance."
"I was careless," Cell said, voice low.
"Oh?" Vegeta sneered. "Even if you beg on your knees, I won't forgive you. I gave you your chance earlier!"
Cell inhaled slowly. "That transformation… I didn't expect it. Is that your god power?"
"No," Vegeta said flatly.
Cell suddenly laughed. "Vegeta… you really are a genius."
"As if I needed you to tell me," Vegeta scoffed, swelling with pride. "I'm Vegeta. A genius. The strongest Saiyan warrior."
"My database includes records of Saiyans transforming into Great Apes," Cell said. "When their eyes see a full moon, they absorb Blutz Waves at a level above seventeen million zeno. That energy triggers the tail's response and forces the transformation. Is that right?"
"You know a lot about Saiyans," Vegeta said with a nod. "I'll give you that."
Cell smiled faintly. "Then if I destroy that artificial moon… can you maintain this form?"
He snapped his head up. Red beams flared from his eyes.
The crimson blasts screamed toward the artificial full moon.
Vegeta's face changed. "No—!"
Too late.
The beams struck, and the artificial moon exploded with a world-shaking boom, breaking into scattered points of light that rained down like sparks.
"You bastard!" Vegeta roared, raising Cell as if to slam him down—
And in that same instant, Vegeta's massive body began to shrink.
Seconds later, he was back to normal.
And he was still holding Cell… by the very tip of his tail.
It looked absurd.
"Eh? He changed back?" Emily blinked, rubbing her eyes.
"The artificial full moon is gone," Bulma explained.
Emily stared harder. "But… why is he grabbing Cell by his… uh… crotch area?"
Bulma didn't respond.
Ken didn't respond either.
"Waaah!"
Vegeta yanked the tail tip hard.
Perfect Cell shrieked and drove an elbow into Vegeta's face.
Vegeta flinched, and his grip loosened.
Cell followed with a brutal kick to Vegeta's chest.
Vegeta tumbled across the ground, rolling several times before he stopped. He spat out a large mouthful of blood, his face draining pale.
Cell exhaled, relieved.
"Nice transformation," Cell said with a light laugh. "But it has too many weaknesses. Destroy the moon, and you're nothing."
Vegeta forced himself up, teeth clenched. He stared at the empty sky where the artificial moon had been, and a heavy bitterness flooded him.
Ken was right.
The moon is the biggest flaw.
He destroyed my moon, and I couldn't stop him.
If only I could have giant power naturally, like Broly…
But even after a full year training in that strange room, he still hadn't found the key.
And Cell figured out the counter immediately.
"That was close," Cell said, his nerves finally easing. "Another second, and you would've killed me."
Vegeta panted, rage and frustration boiling inside him.
"So what now?" Cell teased. "Another Great Ape transformation? Come on—five hundred times, right?"
Vegeta said nothing.
"Or is it only fifty now?" Cell laughed. "Actually, you haven't transformed yet, so it's zero."
"Damn it!" Vegeta roared as golden light burst around him. He forced himself into Super Saiyan.
"Fifty!" Cell laughed again.
"Cell," Vegeta snarled, "wipe that disgusting laugh off your face. I admit your perfect form is strong… but do you dare take one attack from me?"
Cell went quiet.
What is he planning?
"The Great Ape thing again?" Cell grinned. "You think I'll let you? This time I'll destroy your moon the moment you throw it."
"It's not a transformation." Vegeta raised his right hand. A sphere of purple-red destruction energy formed in his palm, about the size of a soccer ball.
Cell's pupils tightened, his expression turning grim.
What is that…?
Why does it feel like death is pressing against my throat?
"Cell," Vegeta said coldly, "even if you're complete, do you dare take this? Or are you going to hide like a coward?"
Cell hesitated—then decided to gamble. "Fine. Come on."
"Hakai!" Vegeta snapped, swinging his arm.
The destruction energy screamed toward Perfect Cell.
The moment it closed in, a sick instinct screamed in his skull. A freezing sense of death surged up his spine.
Cell panicked. He didn't dare tank it. He thrust out a hand to block.
The instant his hand touched the destruction energy, his hand and forearm crumbled away like sand, disintegrating in seconds.
"A… ah… AHH!"
Perfect Cell's face twisted in horror.
Vegeta's mouth curled upward.
Got you.
You thought all I had was the Great Ape trick?
The destruction energy chewed into Cell the moment it made contact. In the blink of an eye, his entire arm and shoulder vanished.
Cell reacted instantly. Without hesitation, he formed a blade with his other hand.
Slash!
He cut away half his own body, severing the spread of the technique.
The portion that had been touched vanished into nothing—no scraps, no dust.
Cell screamed, agony tearing out of him.
There was no way cutting himself in half didn't hurt.
Vegeta stared, genuinely surprised.
He did it… that decisively.
"Hmph." Vegeta's voice dripped with contempt. "Fast reflexes. If you hadn't cut yourself off like that, this technique would've erased you completely."
"You… you animal… my body!" Cell stared at the perfectly cut edge, his expression turning vicious.
"Now you see why they call me a God of Destruction," Vegeta said with a proud grin.
"This is a disaster…" Cell groaned.
Vegeta snorted. "Even if you weren't erased instantly, you've lost your ability to fight, haven't you? In that state, how are you supposed to battle me?"
"You bastard!" Cell howled, grief and rage tearing out of him. "You made me feel terror—real terror of death! I won't forgive you! I will never forgive you!"
Vegeta roared with laughter.
"We won! We won!" Emily shouted, ecstatic.
"Not so fast." Cell's tone shifted. "Did you forget what's in my body? I still have Piccolo's cells."
His severed half began to squirm and regenerate.
Vegeta's smile froze.
Emily's cheering cut off mid-breath.
In moments, Cell's body reformed, returning to normal as if nothing had happened.
"Disappointed, Vegeta?" Cell grinned.
Vegeta's face twisted.
"How is that possible?!" Emily looked like she wanted to bite the projection in sheer frustration.
"Now it's my turn." Cell flexed his regrown arm and stepped forward.
"Hakai!" Vegeta snapped, throwing another sphere of destruction energy.
Cell dodged to the side.
The sphere hit a massive boulder behind him.
The rock vanished instantly—erased into nothing.
"Oh?" Cell chuckled. "That really is terrifying destruction. A normal energy blast couldn't do that. But it doesn't matter how strong it is—if I dodge, it's useless."
"Hakai!" Vegeta growled, firing a rapid volley of smaller destruction spheres.
Cell weaved through them at high speed, slipping past one after another.
The spheres tore across the island, and within moments the land was chewed down into a flattened stretch of ground.
Then Vegeta's instincts screamed.
Cell was behind him.
Vegeta's expression changed sharply. He spun and hurled another Hakai at point-blank range.
Cell moved faster.
He kicked Vegeta's arm.
The destruction energy shot upward, veering off course.
A moment later, it struck the distant sea.
The ocean surface dropped by three millimeters in an instant.
It was nothing compared to the size of the sea, but the effect was real.
Cell drove a punch into Vegeta's face, slamming him to the ground.
Vegeta gritted his teeth and forced himself up, fury written across his face.
Cell kicked again, sending Vegeta rocketing into the sky.
In the next instant, Cell appeared above him.
He dropped a savage elbow into Vegeta's side.
Vegeta fell like a cannonball, smashing into the earth and embedding deep into the ground.
The golden light around him shattered. He reverted to normal.
When the dust cleared, Vegeta was unconscious.
"Hmph," Cell said. "Stubborn. Even now, he's not dead?"
He lifted his hand. "Vegeta, I'm ending you right now."
"Vegeta…" Emily panicked. "Ken, he's about to die—go save him!"
"Not yet," Ken said, shaking his head.
Emily stared at him, furious and baffled.
Not yet?!
"Someone's coming," Ken said with a small smile. "That person will save Vegeta."
"Who?" Emily blurted.
Ken looked up at the sky.
…
Above the clouds, Merus and Bier arrived with Kale and Jiren, hovering in the open air.
"We made it…" Bier let out a long breath. "A little late, but we made it."
"Sorry," Jiren said, a hint of guilt in his voice. "Guro Planet delayed us."
"Don't blame yourself, Jiren," Merus said with a smile. "Going to Guro Planet worked out—we got help from the Supreme Kai. Otherwise, it would've taken far longer to reach this place."
"Supreme Kai really came through," Bier said, chuckling awkwardly. "If we flew the whole way ourselves, we might've gotten lost halfway…"
Merus didn't know what to say.
"Merus-nii, is this the planet where Gohan-nii lives?" Kale asked, practically vibrating with excitement.
Merus suddenly had a very bad feeling.
Why did she bring up Gohan out of nowhere?
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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