At a hundred times the speed of sound, he was covering more than thirty thousand meters per second.
In just a minute and a half, Logan Crane had crossed several thousand kilometers and reached the destination.
At this moment, from landing on Earth until now, Logan's power level had reached 16,680.
From 15,000 up to 16,680—an increase of 1,680. A total of 1,680 seconds had passed, in other words a full 28 minutes.
Such a short time; even if strength rose little by little, that continuous increase piled up in such a short span made Logan feel an indescribable satisfaction in body and mind.
When the System activated, he hadn't had a concrete sense of it. By now, Logan had truly felt the rapid climb in strength.
It might look like only 1,680 points more, not even two thousand, but at his tier of fighter, that was already enough to decide winners and losers with ease.
At the very least, Logan could be sure that he could crush the version of himself from before he reached Earth—and do it with absolute ease.
…
At the same time.
On the ground.
From the start, the flow of the fight had been very unstable.
The hard-won advantage had reversed the first time because of Goku's careless mercy.
The second time they created an opening, they missed it again because they were worried about Gohan.
Now it was the third time…
It was hard to imagine a four-year-old Gohan exploding with unparalleled fighting power and gravely wounding Raditz in a single blow.
Right now was the time to reverse the situation once more.
But up in the sky, a man appeared in clothing the same as Raditz's.
He entered just like that, domineering and sudden; his speed shook the air—a terrifying sight.
Now he stood in the air, the aura pouring off him from head to toe utterly frightening.
Compared to Raditz, he was far, far more fearsome.
"Ha… haha~~! Hahahaha! Kakarot, you're finished!"
"Looks like I'm not the only one who came to Earth…"
"Earth has long been marked by the Frieza Force… Don't say I didn't warn you—this guy's power level should be well above mine. You're all dead!"
Raditz was locked from behind by Goku, and because of Gohan's kill-headbutt just now, he couldn't break free for the moment.
A moment ago he had still been afraid—because that guy called Piccolo was condensing the technique that could kill him.
If it hit, he would die on Earth.
Good timing is better than just good arrival!
He didn't know the newcomer's identity or aim, but the Frieza Force battle suit was the same; that meant they belonged to the same army.
Raditz would never figure it out. He was too full of himself, and his imagination was too wild.
Even if they wore the same Frieza Force battle suits, who could guarantee that only the Frieza Force would wear them?
Goku couldn't hold any longer. He threw everything else aside and shouted to Piccolo without regard for anything: "Hurry up and do it, Piccolo! I can't hold on much longer!"
"Whether that newcomer is friend or foe, right now we have to take down my big brother first. Only then can we think about anything else…"
Saying that much, Goku coughed blood from the injuries all over his body.
Goku was simple and straightforward, his thinking simple too, but it had to be said that at key moments he could still make a choice.
Hearing him, the momentary wishful thought Raditz had formed was shattered again. He panicked on the spot: "Don't joke around, Kakarot! You're going to die together with me?! Damn it—if you want to die, don't drag me down with you! Haven't you seen the situation yet?! Your Earth is already finished!!!"
"Heh, heh-heh~~! So you're scared now. That's right—I'm taking you with me!"
Brotherhood counted for nothing; Goku wasn't thinking about anything else now.
That had been set the instant Raditz went after Gohan.
If he hadn't gone for Gohan, Goku might still have thought he could talk this so-called big brother into putting down the butcher's knife.
"What are you waiting for, Piccolo!!!" Clenching his teeth, feeling Raditz pour in more and more force, Goku had already pushed past his own limits.
After all, with the strength he had now, he was far behind Raditz.
Even at his best he would have found it hard to hold Raditz down.
He was anxious and urged him on.
But he didn't know that on the other side, Piccolo was in bad shape.
Simple as he was, Goku had no idea how Piccolo felt right now.
That aura that had suddenly torn the sky felt like a planet pressing down on him—he couldn't move at all.
The ki in his body had been unstable to begin with; even if the Special Beam Cannon could converge beyond his limits, in this situation it was disrupted instantly.
Even with the technique still holding and not dispersing, his whole combat strength had already been forced past its original limits.
But he was stunned in place and couldn't move.
Cold sweat poured all over Piccolo; he ground his teeth.
Such a good chance—and he could only let it go.
He held a big grievance: if Goku hadn't loosened his grip on Raditz's tail earlier, Raditz would already be dead.
The situation would never have turned out like this.
On the side, timid little Gohan shook and sobbed without stop.
In that kind of situation, Piccolo only felt more irritable.
His breathing grew heavier; he watched the man in the sky sink down bit by bit and finally touch ground.
That straight-on look from him nearly knocked Piccolo's mind loose.
Too terrifying.
"That power level has pushed past the previous threshold—up to 1,480. An impressive technique: not only does it drive your own power right up to the limit, it lets the technique's lethality kill across a gap in levels." With that assessment, Logan narrowed his eyes slightly; he was genuinely interested in having a taste of Piccolo's ultimate move.
The Special Beam Cannon—this was the first big move to shine brilliantly in the early arcs of the greater universe. How stunning had it been back then!
You could say the Z Fighters' early IQs were all online and badass.
All kinds of techniques kept appearing in endless variety…
But in the end they were all drowned by the tide of history.
Early on, each Z Fighter relied on different methods; each had his own distinguishing features.
Later, when their strength couldn't keep up, development turned into a path with power as the core.
As long as the power was enough, the so-called techniques were gradually set aside.
With Goku it was either Kaio-ken or Kamehameha; Turtle School methods were always there, but it all got samey.
The others were the same—Vegeta, Gohan, Piccolo—none of them would try to innovate lightly…
Only when the Majin Buu arc began did that change a little in the two little ones.
And when the Super era arrived, especially with Goku and Vegeta as the main examples, they began paying attention once more to changes in technique—choosing to accept new things and so breaking into new realms.
…
"Y-you… who… are you…?"
Just to squeeze out that one sentence, Piccolo was already drenched in sweat.