A sharp beam of purple light burst from Frieza's fingertip, cutting through the air like the judgment of a god.
The deadly blast struck true—straight into Krillin's chest.
"Krill…!!"
Son Gohan screamed. His pupils trembled, his heart split open in anguish. His small body staggered, staring at his friend as Krillin's lifeless form fell from the sky and crumpled lifelessly to the ground.
The earth seemed to go silent. For Gohan, the world lost its sound in that moment.
"Ha ha ha… finally, that bad earthling is gone!" Frieza's voice cut through the heavy silence. His grin twisted with sadistic delight as he looked from Krillin's corpse to the horrified boy.
"I hate baldies-"
Gohan's face turned pale as snow. His tiny fists quivered. His chest burned with helplessness.
"Next… it's your turn, little Saiyan." Frieza sneered, savoring every syllable. His finger lifted, gleaming once more with a growing purple spark aimed directly at Gohan's heart.
But it never struck.
Something—someone—was stirring.
"Hmm?"
Frieza's eyes shifted. He paused, an unease pricking at his senses. Slowly, his cold golden gaze slid behind Gohan—towards Son Goku.
There he stood.
No longer the same mild-mannered warrior…
Goku's head bowed, his fists clenched. His face was twisted with a primal, savage fury. His body trembled not from weakness, but from rage so profound it shook the heavens themselves.
The earth quaked. The seas roared, waves rising as if commanded by some unseen tempest. Rocks splintered from the ground and hovered up, drawn by invisible force. Above, the storm brewed—dark sparks tearing through the sky—bolts of golden lightning snaking across the heavens.
A faint golden aura flickered around Goku, shimmering more violently with every heartbeat.
Frieza smirked, misjudging what was before him. "What's this? The death of that pathetic earthling pains you so deeply? Ha ha ha! I love this expression the most!"
But his words broke off.
Goku's head rose.
His eyes locked onto Frieza.
Eyes sharper than blades. Eyes unyielding. Eyes filled with nothing but murderous intent.
That gaze sent icy needles down Frieza's spine. Instinctively, his body shifted backward. To his own shock, his hand trembled.
"Frieza…" Goku's low, deadly voice ripped through the air. His words were like thunder rolling from the depths of hell.
"I will never forgive you!"
Even Gohan gasped.
'Dad… his voice… it's so cold… so terrifying! This isn't the father I know!'
Frieza snarled to hide the fear that clawed at him.
"Never forgive me? Who do you think you are, monkey?! No Saiyan dares speak to me like this!"
But the trembling in his heart betrayed his bravado.
"K…rillin… He'd already died once…"
Veins bulged along Goku's arms and temples as he clenched his fists tighter, rage consuming him. His black hair flickered with a strange glow—faint golden sparks snapping between the strands.
"Arghhhhhh!!!"
"AHHHHHHHHH"
"FRIEZAAAAAAAAA!"
His roar shook the planet.
In a single explosion of power, his aura burst outward, engulfing the battlefield in radiant fire. Golden light flooded every corner.
"Wh-what—?!" Frieza's mocking smirk shattered.
Before their eyes, Goku's hair shifted—flaring upward, transforming from jet-black to shimmering gold. His brows burned the same colour, and his deep black eyes turned an intense turquoise, glowing like molten gems.
The raging storm bowed to him. Lightning roared above. The ocean itself trembled below.
"D…Dad?!" Gohan's breath froze. His eyes widened in disbelief.
Son Goku—the father he knew—had become something else entirely.
"…Super… Saiyan," Frieza whisper-gasped, horror finally staining his arrogant face. His entire body shivered as the reality hit him.
Far below, underwater in the crushing abyss, Zeltron's eyes snapped open.
He felt it. The colossal surge of Goku's ki flooding the planet. His aura multiplied—violent yet pure—drenched in unfathomable fury.
"'Finally… he's done it. Son Goku has… transformed into Super Saiyan…'"
At that exact moment—
Ding!
The system's mechanical chime rang out in Zeltron's mind.
[Congratulations, host. You have obtained the S-cell attribute.]
Zeltron's lips curled into a suppressed grin, his eyes blazing.
"'S-cells… at last! This is it—one of my main reasons for coming to Namek. With these S-cells… I, too, can transcend!'"
The voice of the system echoed again.
[Does the host pick up the S-cell attributes?]
"YES!" Zeltron's voice echoed through the dark waters. Without hesitation, he commanded it.
At that instant, faint shimmering fragments of light—like glowing tadpole-shaped runes—spiralled away from the ground beneath Goku's feet.
With incredible speed, they shot across the battlefield, cutting through the sea like meteors, converging into Zeltron's body.
A burning sensation erupted within him. His veins sang with newfound might as every corner of his being began to resonate.
He recalled the truth of transformation:
—A Saiyan needed incredible combat power.
—A Saiyan required S-cells, awakened through a heart of purity… or darkness.
[Even the Saiyans from Universe 6 weren't able to transform into Super Saiyan before a stimulation of emotions and Zeltron never felt such emotions so he was unable to transform.]
Zeltron already had the first. His battle power of over 51 million was unmatched. But until now, something had held him back—the missing S-cells.
He clenched his fist beneath the waves.
"'Now… I have them. With Goku's S-cells merged into me, I can achieve what only otakus whisper of.'"
'Transforming into a super Saiyan , it's like a dream come true.'
The difference between him and the children, Goten and Trunks, flashed in his mind. They were born of Saiyans already transformed, born inheriting S-cells naturally.
Now Zeltron had taken a similar path—not by bloodline, but through direct system acquisition.
And with that power, nothing could stop him. For now.
The trembling ocean erupted.
Waves exploded outward, pushed by the shock of new energy radiating upward like a rising sun.
"Wh-what now?!" Frieza's head snapped toward the sea, sensing another impossible power.
Above the broken waters, a second golden light burst forth—searing, blinding, unstoppable.
"Ah…!" Gohan gasped, shielding his eyes.
From within rose a silhouette—steam rising from his body, golden aura drenched across his form.
His hair blazed with the same shimmering gold as Goku's, his body cloaked in heat waves of raw energy.
Step by step, the figure ascended from the waves. Each movement warped the air, forcing the ocean aside, leaving a crater-like hollow in the sea's surface.
As the light dimmed enough to reveal him, both Frieza and Gohan recognized his face instantly.
"'That's… Zeltron!'"