Universe 7, Earth.
High above the skies, Gohan and Turles collided in a violent clash.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
In the blink of an eye, they had exchanged blows countless times. Most people couldn't even follow their movements.
A ki blast slammed toward Earth. Turles used it to force Gohan back, surprise flashing across his face.
"The half-breed brats in the Empire don't even deserve to be mentioned next to you. If they couldn't rely on modifications and drugs to turn into Super Saiyans, they'd be worse than trash."
Gohan darted forward and intercepted the energy sphere, his expression grim.
The ki pouring off Turles wasn't just evil, it was monstrously powerful, the kind that made your bones tremble.
If Turles transformed into a Super Saiyan on top of this, no one would be able to stop him.
After enduring an apocalyptic world for so long, Gohan had become steady and cautious. During the fight, he didn't just watch for an opening to interrupt Turles's transformation. He was also keeping an eye on the mysterious figure in a black robe inside the spaceship, and on the strange hibernation pod beside him.
Turles might have had the strongest aura among them, but the pressure that black-robed man gave off was far more suffocating.
That gaze felt like it could pierce through appearances and stare straight into the essence of things.
Gohan had only ever felt that kind of oppression when facing someone who outclassed him by an entire realm.
And inside that hibernation pod was an aura so violent it made the air sting. It was clearly being suppressed by some method, but it still gave the terrifying impression that an ancient feral beast was sleeping within.
"Brat! You dare get distracted while fighting me? You're asking to die!"
Boom!
Gohan crossed his arms and blocked Turles's strike, then instantly shifted into his strongest Mystic form.
Whoosh!
A pale, whitish aura surged up. Gohan drove a knee straight into Turles's abdomen.
"Guh !"
Spit flew. Turles's eyes bulged.
"Power level beyond the scouter's limit?! H-How is that possible!? Your strength just shot up this much in an instant?!"
Down below, several members of Turles's squad tensed in panic.
"Lord Turles! Are you alright?!"
The mysterious black-robed man lifted his head and fixed his stare on Gohan.
"This transformation… is interesting."
Turles's side was waiting for Gohan to explain that form, to clear up the doubts twisting in their guts.
But Gohan didn't follow the usual script at all.
He immediately launched a ruthless chain of attacks at Turles.
Every strike aimed to kill. Not a hint of mercy.
"AAAAAAGH !"
Turles's hoarse screams echoed across the battlefield.
"Kamehameha !"
At the end of the combo, Gohan slammed both palms into Turles's chest. A blinding burst of light detonated outward, forcing everyone to squint.
"Lord Turles !"
His subordinates cried out in unison.
Tien and the others lit up with relief.
"Nice one, Gohan!"
Just as Turles's body was about to split apart, a hibernation pod shot in like a meteor and smashed toward Gohan.
"Look out!" Chiaotzu screamed.
"Perfect timing."
Gohan didn't even flinch. He twisted his body, and the Kamehameha swept straight through the pod, shredding it into nothing.
Without wasting a heartbeat, he poured in full power, flashed forward, and drove a savage punch into the head of the man who'd tried to save Turles.
RUMBLE !
The spaceship beneath them disintegrated into dust in an instant. The ground caved in, throwing up a hundred-meter wall of dirt and ash.
Through it all, Gohan faintly heard something crack with a crisp, brittle sound.
When he looked again, the black robe had been blown away completely, revealing a body packed with dense muscle and a tail wrapped around the waist.
Gohan was stunned.
His killing blow had only left a shallow fracture on that man's mask.
"AAAAAAGH! You half-breed piece of garbage how dare you ambush me!"
A furious Turles charged straight at Gohan.
Gohan's heart sank.
His carefully planned offensive hadn't achieved what he'd expected.
Turles was still alive and the terrifying aura he released made the entire planet shudder faintly, as if Earth itself was afraid.
"This is…"
Gohan's pupils contracted sharply as he saw Turles's sudden change.
That crab-like hairstyle transformed into waist-length hair, and a dark crimson, malevolent aura spilled out.
"Super Saiyan 3? No… the hair color didn't change, and neither did the brows or brow ridge…" Gohan couldn't place it, but his mood dropped straight into the abyss.
Compared to Super Saiyan 3, this form felt even more frightening.
And what truly drove him into despair was the next thing.
A pillar of green aura erupted into the sky.
"HAAAAAAAHHHHH !"
From the thick smoke of the shattered pod, a figure burst out an even more violent presence throwing its head back and roaring at the heavens.
"T-That's terrifying…" Yamcha was drenched in cold sweat in an instant. "It's over. Earth is really finished…"
"Levos, Goku, Piccolo… why did this have to happen while you were away competing? Whoever it is, please get back and save Earth!"
"Even if it's… Frieza, I don't care anymore!" Chiaotzu's voice shook.
Gohan gritted his teeth, resisting the crushing pressure the three enemies projected, his chest filled with unwilling rage.
"Damn it… why do they keep getting stronger? Why didn't I push harder sooner and complete Super Saiyan 4?!"
Turles's assault arrived in an instant. Gohan fought desperately to hold the line.
RUMBLE !
Clouds split apart. Wind howled. Mountains and rivers trembled.
Three seconds later, a battered body slammed through the ground.
Gohan was covered in wounds. He clutched his injured right arm and slowly crawled out of the crater.
With all his combat power drained, he dropped to one knee.
"I'm sorry… Dad, Uncle Piccolo. I couldn't protect the world. I let you down again…"
Despair spread across the faces of Earth's defenders.
"Our strongest… Gohan… lost…"
Android 16's expression was complicated.
"Nature has already been wiped out. Even if we win the battle, Earth is still at the end…"
Bulma was just as helpless, as if she'd been dragged back into that old hopelessness.
"In a situation like this… what would Levos do?"
Turles looked down at Gohan from above.
"In the end, you're still the son of a low-class warrior. Pathetic."
"But since you have Saiyan blood, I'll give you a chance. Want to follow me?"
"Then you can roam the universe however you like, chase greater power, and destroy any planet you want."
"For Saiyans, there's no happier life than that."
Gohan lifted his head, each word deliberate.
"I'm not a Saiyan. I'm an Earthling."
"Earthling?" Turles sneered. "So you call yourself part of a trash race."
A savage grin twisted across his face.
"A Saiyan should live like a Saiyan. Otherwise, what's the point of that tail you've got?"
With that, a pale ki sphere rose into the sky and exploded.
Turles grabbed Gohan's head with both hands, pried his eyelids open, and forced him to stare at the artificial moon above.
"I'll teach you the correct way to use a Saiyan's tail. The best way to truly understand what you are… is to show you your original form with your own eyes!"
Gohan would rather die than submit. He struggled with everything he had.
The Earth warriors couldn't stand it. They rushed forward to help only to be intercepted by Turles's men.
"Stop!"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Three figures streaked in from the horizon, broke through the encirclement, and slammed down between Turles and Gohan.
"Let our captain go. Now!"
Turles narrowed his eyes.
"And you are…?"
"Nappa !"
"Dore !"
"Salza !"
"We are " the three shouted in unison, "the Masked Saiyan Superhero Squad!"
They loosened up with exaggerated poses, like they were about to put on a show.
Turles's expression stiffened for a moment as he looked at their different stances.
"Masked Saiyan Superhero Squad…" he repeated slowly, tasting the name, then glanced at his black-robed companion.
But after confirming these idiots weren't wearing any mysterious masks at all, disdain flashed in his eyes.
"Tch. Just a scary-sounding name."
"Your captain is already my defeated opponent. Why don't you three small-time nobodies surrender?"
"Shut up and let him go!" Dore roared wearing a fused body that looked like Dark Frieza and Dark Cell combined.
Behind Turles, a pair of short, squat purple-skinned twins and a hulking half-cybernetic brute stepped forward.
"Little underlings versus little underlings," one of them said with a grin. "Let us play with you."
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