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Earth, The Lookout.
Piccolo stood impatiently behind the silent, contemplative form of Kami. "Alright, spill it. You summoned me here looking like you've seen a ghost. Don't just stand there—what is it?"
Kami remained still for a long moment before finally turning. A deep sigh escaped him. "Very well. I called you here to discuss our… reunification."
"Our what?" Piccolo's eyes widened, then he let out a sharp bark of laughter. "You want to merge with me? Is my hearing failing? You were the one who cast me out in the first place! The irony is almost poetic."
"If we become one again," Kami continued, his voice calm and steady, "you will be a complete Namekian. Your power will increase beyond measure. Don't tell me that prospect holds no appeal. You might even gain the strength to rival Son Goku."
Piccolo's mocking grin faded, replaced by a serious frown. The offer was undeniably tempting. He studied Kami's ancient face. "I'm curious. What did you see in your vision that would force such a desperate choice?"
"The specifics are unnecessary. Once we are one, my memories—my fears—will become yours." Kami's expression was grave. "The Earth faces an extinction-level crisis. I fear even Son Goku may not be enough to withstand it. What this world needs now is not a guardian deity, but a true warrior."
"Protect Earth?" Piccolo scoffed. "Don't make me laugh."
"I did not say you must protect it," Kami corrected. "I am offering you the power to protect yourself. If you do not stand with Son Goku against this threat, you will undoubtedly perish alongside everyone else."
"..." Piccolo fell silent, the weight of the words settling upon him. After a moment, he spoke. "A threat that makes you willing to sacrifice your own existence to empower me… It must be truly monstrous. Very well. Since you're offering, I'd be a fool to refuse. But I have a condition. I remain the dominant will. This form is mine."
"That is… acceptable," Kami nodded. "You are younger, and your power already surpasses mine. I shall serve only to enhance your strength and grant you my knowledge." He took a step closer. "If you are to be the vessel, then place your hand upon my heart."
"As you wish." Piccolo reached out, his large hand coming to rest over Kami's chest.
From the shadows, Mr. Popo watched, his voice a soft murmur. "Kami-sama…"
"Thank you for everything, Mr. Popo," Kami said without looking away. A faint note of surprise entered his tone. "Piccolo's evil heart… it has diminished. Has Son Goku's influence changed him? It seems… after this fusion, there may be no going back."
"HAA!"
With Kami's final shout, a blinding, pure white light erupted from his body, enveloping them both. Within the radiance, two voices—one young and defiant, one old and weary—cried out as one, before merging into a single, towering silhouette.
As the light faded, the reborn Namekian clenched his fists, feeling the torrent of new power coursing through his veins. A low, confident laugh rumbled in his chest. "So this… this is the power of completion. Perfect."
Mr. Popo bowed his head slightly. "Goodbye, Kami-sama. May you not meet your end."
The green warrior glanced back, his demeanor now a unique blend of Piccolo's arrogance and Kami's solemnity. "I am no longer just Kami, nor am I only Piccolo… I am a Namekian who has even forgotten his own name." He turned toward the edge of the Lookout. "I'm leaving." With that, he shot like an emerald comet toward the world below.
---
Thud.
Piccolo landed heavily on a deserted city street, arriving at the epicenter of the disappearances. The silence was oppressive.
Shhh-click.
A wet, scraping sound came from behind him. He turned.
"So, the monster reveals itself…" Piccolo's eyes narrowed in surprise. The being before him was a grotesque, insectoid humanoid. "It's you. But why… why can I not sense your ki?"
It was Cell, just as Son Goku had anticipated. Thanks to Dr. Loke's contributions to his design, his energy signature was completely masked, rendering him invisible to Piccolo's spiritual senses.
Cell held a trembling young man aloft by the throat. The man saw Piccolo and gasped, reaching out a desperate hand. "P-please… help me…"
"Release him," Piccolo commanded, his voice calm but firm. The influence of Kami's compassion was already at work. "He is a living being."
With casual cruelty, Cell tossed the man to the ground. Before a cry could escape the victim's lips, Cell's barbed tail snapped forward like a whip, piercing the man's back.
Gulp… gulp-gulp…
A horrific sucking sound filled the air. Cell's tail pulsed obscenely as the young man's body convulsed, then rapidly desiccated, shriveling to a husk before dissolving entirely, leaving only empty clothes on the pavement.
"You are next to join my essence, Demon King Piccolo," Cell stated, his voice a cold, buzzing monotone.
Piccolo stiffened. "How do you know that name? Who are you?"
"Unnecessary questions. You are merely my next meal." Cell's arrogance was absolute.
"Is that so? Fine. If you won't talk, I'll just have to beat the answers out of you!" Piccolo's own pride flared, his stance shifting into a battle-ready pose as he glared at the bio-creature.
"You believe your current strength is sufficient to kill me? How laughably naive."
In a blur of motion too fast to track, Cell vanished. The air cracked behind Piccolo an instant before a devastating impact hammered into the Namekian's back, driving him face-first into the shattered concrete with enough force to crater the street.
"Guh…! N-no… impossible!" Piccolo pushed himself up, his body screaming in protest, his mind reeling. "I fused with Kami… my power is complete! How can I not withstand a single blow? This is impossible!"
The confidence that had swelled within him on the Lookout shattered, replaced by the cold shock of overwhelming power.
"To rush to your death without even comprehending your opponent's strength… how pathetically foolish."
In truth, it was not mere foolishness. The tremendous power-up from the fusion had bred overconfidence, and the inability to sense Cell's ki had created a fatal blind spot—a catastrophic miscalculation.
Cell looked down, arms crossed, his compound eyes gleaming with disdain. His tail lifted, poised to strike like a scorpion's stinger, aimed directly at the struggling Piccolo.
Just as it began its lethal thrust, a golden blur intercepted it. A hand shot out and seized the barbed tail in a vice-like grip, stopping it dead.
An exasperated, all-too-familiar voice rang out. "I said, Piccolo, do you ever engage your brain? Don't get a big head just because you ate the old guy. Fusing a thousand-odd battle power with another thousand doesn't make you a god—it just makes you a slightly bigger fish in a pond that's about to get an ocean dumped on it."
Son Goku stood between them, his golden hair shimmering, a look of profound annoyance on his face as he held Cell's tail firmly.