A casual punch from Goku was enough to leave Cell reeling for a long time, while Cell's attacks could not truly injure Goku, at most only scratching the surface.
With such a huge gap, how could he fight?
Therefore, Cell's fate was already sealed. After beating Cell to his knees, clutching his stomach and unable to get up, Goku lost interest in bullying the weak.
"I originally thought you'd be a strong opponent. What a pity..."
Training with Ethan, Goku always knew what to do in the future one step ahead. His strength grew far beyond what it was at the same point in the original storyline.
Although he was not reborn, his experiences on this timeline were not much different from being reborn. He was always one step ahead of his enemies, creating crushing battle scenes.
Such battles were safer and free from accidents, but for the battle-loving Saiyan, it did not seem like a good thing. He no longer had the chance to experience the feeling of an evenly matched fight where he had to go all out to defeat his opponent.
Now, the only one who could be Goku's opponent was Ethan.
He began considering whether to properly train Gohan. His son had great potential, but Gohan's aspirations did not seem to lie in martial arts.
Cell was still in front of him, but Goku's thoughts had already drifted off to who knew where. This kind of disregard angered Cell more than a beating.
What made him even more helpless was that no matter how angry he was, it was useless. Perfect Cell seemed to have hit a bottleneck. Anger did not further increase his power, even though he had Gohan's cells within him.
Just as he was thinking about what to do, Goku finally remembered that he had to deal with Cell first.
He had promised Ethan that he would absolutely not show mercy when facing Cell this time.
Transforming into Super Saiyan 2 also affected his personality to some extent. In this state, he was more ruthless in his actions.
"It's time to end this. I don't want to be lectured by Ethan again!"
"Wait..."
Watching the massive energy gathering in Goku's hand, Cell was just about to say something to buy time and figure out a way to escape the crisis.
But Goku completely ignored him and directly released a Kamehameha, completely turning Cell into dust. He had already learned about Cell's characteristics from Ethan. If not completely eradicated, the guy could revive.
Because he possessed Saiyan cells, this near-death revival could potentially further increase Cell's strength. From this perspective, if Cell did not die and became stronger, would that not seem better?
Goku did not take any special measures this time. If this Kamehameha directly killed Cell, then Cell was unlucky. If it failed to kill him and Cell fortunately escaped and gained more power, then Cell was lucky, and Goku would just have to work a little harder and fight for a bit longer.
Goku did not care what the outcome was.
Unfortunately, Cell's luck did not seem to be good. One Kamehameha blasted him clean away, leaving not even a trace of residue.
"I should have thought of this earlier. How could someone targeted by Ethan have good luck?"
The battle ended, and Cell's energy completely disappeared. Goku deactivated his transformation and then greeted the others in the distance, who had also deactivated their "invisible barrier."
With this, the Cell Games, as Ethan called it, officially ended. They were going back to Earth!
"Any plans after going back?"
"Doesn't seem like there are any special plans."
The Cell matter was over. Everyone looked at the androids nearby. With the immense strength Goku had shown, these androids no longer seemed like a problem either.
After spending some time together, everyone discovered that these androids were very different from the androids Trunks had described.
Even Trunks himself was surprised. Although they looked the same, besides being much stronger, their personalities were also vastly different. It truly was two different worlds.
This being the case, they had no reason to necessarily eliminate these androids, especially since these androids had not really done anything bad.
Furthermore, because he also loved small animals, Android 16 got along very well with Dr. and Mrs. Brief. Dr. Brief even directly invited 16 to stay at his house.
Android 16 was also seriously considering this suggestion. Although defeating Goku was the biggest purpose for which he was created, Dr. Gero, despite creating powerful androids, had no control over them.
Like Android 16, if he was willing, he could act according to this goal. If he was not willing, this so-called goal etched deep in his "mind" was just for show. He could simply ignore it.
As for Android 17 and 18, there was even less to say. They did not take the goals set by Dr. Gero seriously at all.
Initially, they felt they had nothing to do, and coupled with overconfidence in their own strength, they wanted to find Goku and treat defeating him as a kind of real-life video game.
Now they were certain that with their current strength, facing Goku meant that not being killed outright was due to his mercy. They had no masochistic tendencies, so this goal was decisively abandoned.
So, the question was, what should they do?
They had not decided yet. Dr. Brief was quite friendly to them and even invited Android 16 to stay. The two of them could not think of what to do for the time being, so they decided to hang around and see how things went.
Setting aside their android identity, Android 18 and 17 were just ordinary young people, and fashionable ones at that. They preferred to settle in a big city like West City. Moreover, Dr. Brief did not treat them like outsiders at all and was very generous with pocket money.
While the androids were contemplating their future, Krillin and the others did not need to worry about such things.
Although they had resolved another crisis, for them, it was just watching a spectacle from start to finish. Their lives would not change because of it.
The martial arts dojo they opened had become a sacred place for martial artists worldwide. These martial artists were Earth celebrities. With such fame, even if they stopped training, they could live comfortably for the rest of their lives off their reputation.
In this situation, a few of them lacked goals and motivation, especially Krillin and Yamcha.
Tien was okay. He was open-minded and just wanted to constantly challenge himself to pursue higher levels.
Goku also wanted to get stronger, or maybe add a good opponent?
As for Ethan... everyone knew he wanted to get stronger and then return to his own world.
Besides these few, there was one more person with a clear goal, and that was Trunks.
He came to this world again with Ethan specifically to get stronger. After returning to Earth, Trunks asked Ethan to guide him for a while, at least so he would know how to get stronger.
"How about this, you and I go train together in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber for a year."
"Huh? Is that really okay?"
"Of course!"
Everyone was surprised to hear that Ethan actually wanted to enter the Hyperbolic Time Chamber again.
"Why go in there? If it's just for training, you can do that outside too, right?"
The Hyperbolic Time Chamber was used to gain time during emergencies. In terms of training environment alone, although harsh, it still could not compare to the gravity chamber, which had been upgraded multiple times.
"Trunks can't stay here for too long, and I also have some personal matters to deal with."
Last time, training with Goku, he finally managed to initially draw out divine power. He wanted to strike while the iron was hot and try to draw out more divine power.
Besides that, he also wanted to try regaining control over the power of rules.
This matter was quite time-consuming, and the Hyperbolic Time Chamber was just right for it.
A year's time. It would be best if he succeeded. If not, it would just be "wasting" one day. It would not affect his training plans for the next few years.
His decision was excellent news for Trunks.
Originally, he wanted Ethan to guide him for a bit, maybe stay here for about a month if possible, and after knowing how to train, return to his own world and slowly work hard.
He did not expect Ethan to be willing to guide him personally, train him for a year, and only waste one day. Of course, he would not refuse such a good opportunity.
"What a pity!"
Unlike the ecstatic Trunks, Goku was particularly depressed about the restriction that only two people could enter the Hyperbolic Time Chamber.
If more people could enter, that would be great. He could take Gohan with him.
He now felt that he had touched upon a higher level and was just about to push harder to reach Super Saiyan 3!
"Anyway, nothing major will happen in the next few years, and I'm only going in for one day."
"Alright!"
Ethan was right. They had plenty of time, and for those of them staying outside, only one day would pass, which they could easily pass by finding something to do.
For example, have a barbecue party to celebrate the successful hosting of the Cell Games?
Or without even finding a reason, they just started a party, and the androids also joined in. Anyway, for most people here, turning from enemies into companions was not surprising at all.
By the time Ethan and Trunks returned from the Lookout, the energetic group was still making a racket. Only Bulma, who was relatively a normal person, had found a lounge chair and was sleeping soundly without any regard for appearances.
"Thank you very much for your guidance during this time, Mr. Ethan."
Trunks did not break through to Super Saiyan 2, but with Ethan's guidance, he successfully mastered Super Saiyan Full Power.
His progress was so rapid thanks to Ethan's guidance. If he had to figure it out himself, he did not know how much more time it would take.
"You have to have the talent yourself."
Trunks did not continue the topic. He glanced at Bulma, who was sleeping soundly and without any sense of image, hesitated for a while, and then decided to say it.
"I know they aren't the same person, but I still hope she can find happiness."
Ethan turned his head to look. He was not planning to drag this out either. As his strength gradually recovered, this matter would have to be decided sooner or later.
It was not just Bulma!
(To be continued.)