After dropping Mozart like a stone, Goku stopped hiding his ki.
Seeing the situation clearly, Krillin, Gohan and Nail each flared their energy and swept through King Cold's remaining soldiers with brutal efficiency.
Within minutes, more than forty elites lay dead, erased by despair and panic. The once imposing formation collapsed until King Cold stood nearly alone.
Not completely.
There were still non combat crew inside the ship, but like Frieza's last survivors, they were meaningless now.
"Krillin, Gohan, Nail… fall back," Goku said as the three approached again. "This fight is dangerous. I will face him alone."
He would not risk their lives.
Even now, he knew he could not truly match King Cold without pushing Kaio ken to its limits.
"All right. Be careful, Goku," Krillin said and immediately retreated.
"Win, Dad!" Gohan shouted, then followed Krillin toward Bulma and Dende.
Nail hesitated for a moment.
"Please, Goku," he said quietly before stepping away.
Now unburdened, Goku inhaled deeply and raised his ki to its peak.
He exchanged a glance with Vegeta, then said, "There is no one left to interfere now. Let me take this one, Vegeta."
"Do not mess up. If you get beaten by me later, Cold will be furious," Vegeta replied calmly, arms folded, then turned and walked back to Bulma's side.
He had already struck King Cold earlier, forcing the tyrant to stop ranting.
With all other enemies cleared, Goku could now fight Cold without distraction.
Vegeta already knew the truth.
Goku's current strength reached three and a half million.
With a twentyfold Kaio ken, he might push seventy million…
and even then, victory was uncertain.
The Cold clan's durability was absurdly high.
Raw numbers never told the full story.
"Do you think Goku can win? He is so strong now," Bulma asked as Vegeta approached.
Vegeta shook his head.
"If he cannot become Super Saiyan… he will lose."
Everyone fell silent.
Vegeta spoke without hesitation, and his certainty hit them harder than any blast.
The implication was clear:
This fight might force Goku right to the edge.
Before anyone could respond, a massive explosion tore through a distant island.
King Cold's furious ki spread across Namek like a stormy wave.
He was enraged.
Vegeta's earlier punch had not only struck him but delayed him… and if not for his unnatural durability, that single blow might have grievously injured him.
Only now did King Cold understand the truth.
Frieza had not been caught off guard.
Vegeta's true power was far beyond anything Ginyu's scouter had reported.
If Vegeta was already in the millions, then killing Frieza without transforming would have been simple.
"I see now," King Cold growled as he emerged from the dark dust cloud. "So that is it. I wondered why Frieza lowered his guard… but you were hiding such monstrous power."
His aura grew darker.
Namek's sky dimmed.
Lightning crackled weakly across the clouds.
Everyone braced.
Even Vegeta's expression hardened.
King Cold's ki was easily above fifty million.
One real slip could mean instant death for nearly everyone present.
"Vegeta… I am impressed," King Cold said with twisted amusement. "How did you grow so strong so quickly? Did you eat some miraculous fruit that boosts power?"
Vegeta almost laughed.
He thought of the spirit fruits from the movies.
Maybe something like that truly existed…
maybe not.
"Enough nonsense," Vegeta said. "Your fight is with Kakarot. Beat him first, then talk to me."
Goku had been waiting for that.
Cold glanced at him, then smirked.
He made an offer dripping with malice.
Since Goku had crushed Mozart so easily, he could join King Cold.
Kill Vegeta, and King Cold would make Goku ruler of all remaining Saiyans.
Wealth.
Planets.
Authority.
"Your offer sounds tempting," Goku admitted with complete honesty, "but I will never serve someone evil like you."
Cold sighed.
"A pity. Then I will kill you first… and the rest afterward."
"Bring it on!" Goku shouted.
He said nothing about Kaio ken, but he was already weaving through the multipliers silently.
He could shift from two times to ten times without giving away the trick.
The moment King Cold attacked, Goku would explode into motion.
The tyrant moved first.
A blur.
A thunderclap.
A streak of white and purple.
"So fast!" Goku gasped.
He immediately ignited a blood red aura, Kaio ken ten times, but even then he could not dodge.
He crossed his arms just in time.
Boom.
The impact shook the sky.
Goku was blasted away like a falling star.
Cold followed instantly, firing a colossal ki blast that swallowed Goku whole.
The explosion erupted with enough force to shatter islands.
Three distant landmasses cracked apart and collapsed beneath the waves.
Cold hovered above the destruction with icy satisfaction.
"I gave you a chance. You were arrogant," he said.
"If you have another life waiting, speak to me then."
He had not fought in years, but the slaughter of Goku excited him.
His cruelty eclipsed even Frieza's in moments like this.
He turned back toward Vegeta.
Now nothing stood between them.
"Vegeta," King Cold said with a chilling calm.
"How would you like to die?"
Vegeta only smiled.
That smile made Cold twitch with anger.
"What are you laughing at?"
"You are foolish," Vegeta replied.
"You really think you killed Kakarot that easily?"
King Cold's eyes narrowed—
and he felt it.
A surge of ki rising from the smoke.
The real fight was about to begin.
~~~~~~
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