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Cell's right arm and lower body, which had been completely erased by the Kamehameha, began to regenerate. Flesh and bone twisted and writhed in a nauseating way before rapidly reforming, restoring his body to perfect condition.
At that very moment, Cell sharply noticed a hint of fatigue in Gohan. The boy had clearly exhausted himself.
Cell decided to seize the opportunity.
This was the perfect moment to strike back and erase the brat once and for all.
"RAAAAHHHHH!!!"
Cell let out a beast-like roar as his body began swelling at a visible rate.
At the same time, his weakened ki surged wildly, as if trying to break past its own limits.
In just a few seconds, Cell's body had grown to more than twice its previous size.
Whoosh!
Cell shot forward like a bolt of green lightning, launching his most vicious and lethal ambush straight at Gohan on the ground.
Dragon Ball World
"Heh. What pathetic, foolish mercy."
Frieza sneered as he watched Gohan abandon the chance to finish Cell.
In his eyes, that moment had been the perfect opportunity to end Cell's life. If it had been him, he wouldn't have hesitated for a second. He would have used every cruel method available and ground his enemy into cosmic dust.
Universe – Destruction God Realm
Beerus suddenly opened his amber eyes and looked toward Whis beside him, confusion written across his face.
"Have Saiyans become this soft nowadays?"
Whis thought for a moment before answering politely.
"This is likely just an exception. Planet Vegeta was destroyed long ago. That child may simply be a wandering Saiyan descendant who never received the brutal, bloodthirsty upbringing typical of their race."
Beerus clicked his tongue with open disdain.
As the God of Destruction, the phrase showing mercy simply did not exist in his dictionary.
Somewhere in Space – A Small Saiyan Ship
Vegeta smashed the alloy punching bag in front of him into fragments with a single blow. Rage burned across his face.
"Pathetic mercy! This is the greatest disgrace of the Saiyan race!"
Although Vegeta was shocked by Gohan's terrifying talent, the boy's hesitation filled him with overwhelming anger.
Compromise and hesitation were an insult to Saiyan battle instincts.
Naruto World
Hiruzen Sarutobi took a long drag from his pipe while watching the screen, then slowly shook his head.
"Still too inexperienced. A real battle is a life-or-death struggle. There's no room for such naive kindness."
Jiraiya shrugged.
"Come on, old man. Nobody's born knowing how to kill. The kid's clearly gifted judging from his techniques, but that hesitation shows he lacks real combat experience. Mentally, he's still immature."
"That's true enough," Hiruzen admitted.
Fairy Tail World
"Why didn't he kill that monster?!"
Erza stared at the screen, completely baffled.
She simply couldn't understand how someone could willingly abandon the chance to completely eliminate an enemy.
What kind of mindset was that?
Makarov stood with his hands behind his back, surprisingly understanding.
"He's still just a child. After he pays the price of blood for that kindness… he'll never cling to such naive thoughts again."
A faint, mocking smile lingered at the corner of Makarov's mouth. He understood the innocence, but deep down he could never agree with it.
Back to the Battlefield
The screen seemed to ignite.
Perfect Cell shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow, his body streaking toward Gohan with condensed killing intent. The overwhelming pressure from before was gone, but the determination behind his attack was just as suffocating.
Krillin, Yamcha, and the others felt as if a massive stone had settled on their chests.
They could clearly sense the terrifying power radiating from Cell, and their hearts clenched for the young boy standing at the center of the battlefield.
Gohan's earlier decision had left them confused and frustrated.
But in the end, Gohan was their comrade.
Their last hope.
At a moment like this, none of them would ever cheer for that cruel monster.
"GOHAN! Be careful!"
Yamcha's shout was nearly torn apart by the raging winds in the air.
But soon he realized his worry was completely unnecessary.
Super Saiyan 2 Gohan casually lifted his wrist.
Like swatting away a buzzing mosquito, he effortlessly stopped Cell's full-power strike in midair.
BOOM!
A terrifying shockwave exploded outward like a tidal wave.
The already devastated wasteland was plowed over once again. Chunks of rock shot in every direction like bullets, while the earth groaned under the strain, shaking violently as if the apocalypse had arrived.
"DAMN YOU!!!"
Cell completely lost control.
He couldn't accept it.
His full-power attack hadn't even managed to make that kid flinch.
For a brief moment, shock froze him in place.
And in that instant, Gohan's long-suppressed anger finally erupted.
He had believed Cell would surrender.
Instead, the monster had launched another sneak attack.
Rage flooded Gohan's chest.
He flashed forward like lightning and drove a steel-hard punch—carrying power capable of shattering stars—straight into Cell's abdomen.
"GUAAAH—!!!"
Cell's eyes bulged.
His body crumpled like a broken doll as he dropped to his knees in agony.
That punch didn't just shatter his organs.
It nearly crushed his already battered body entirely.
A violent wave of nausea surged from deep inside him.
Gohan stared coldly at the convulsing Cell, a flicker of confusion flashing in his eyes.
But he showed no hesitation.
No mercy.
As if Cell hadn't vomited enough yet, Gohan slammed another brutal punch straight into his stomach.
BOOM!
"GAAH—!!"
This time, blood burst from Cell's mouth as his body flew backward several meters before crashing to the ground like a sack of mud.
Then something strange happened.
Driven by pure instinct, Cell dropped to his knees again, trembling violently.
"Urgh… BLEEGH!!"
He clamped both hands over his mouth as stomach acid and thick slime seeped between his fingers.
His chest suddenly bulged and writhed violently, as if something inside him was desperately trying to escape.
Gohan's pupils shrank.
He could sense something was very wrong with Cell.
The way Cell struggled to keep whatever was inside from coming out made one thing clear.
That thing was extremely important to him.
In the distance, Goku and the others watched the scene unfold.
A relieved smile appeared on Goku's face.
"Cell's energy is dropping fast," he said calmly. "Looks like he's reached the limit of maintaining that perfect form."
Krillin nearly jumped with excitement.
"Then we've basically won, right?!"
Piccolo shook his head grimly.
"Don't celebrate too early. Who knows what kind of nasty trick that monster still has up his sleeve."
Almost as soon as Piccolo finished speaking—
Cell reached his limit.
The intense pain twisting in his stomach finally overwhelmed him.
He opened his mouth wide and—
With a disgusting surge of vomit and slime—
He spat out the core inside him.
Plop.
A human-shaped figure wrapped in translucent slime dropped weakly onto the rubble.
It was Android 18.
Krillin froze as if struck by lightning.
"T-That's… 18?!"
He swallowed hard, his heart filled with emotions no one else could possibly understand.
"Damn it… damn it!!"
Cell glared at Android 18 with bloodshot eyes.
He knew exactly what this meant.
His prized Perfect Form had completely collapsed.
His power was about to plummet.
As 18 separated from him, Cell's body began undergoing a horrifying transformation.
His once nearly human shape rapidly shriveled and devolved into a grotesque insect-like form resembling a giant grasshopper.
"Cell. Your end has come."
Gohan's voice turned cold and serious.
He had given this demon chance after chance.
But Cell's answer had been arrogance and more attacks.
The boy's killing intent was finally awakened.
Cell let out a chilling laugh.
He knew very well that in this weakened state, facing Super Saiyan 2, he didn't even have a one-percent chance of winning.
But kneel down and admit defeat?
In his dreams.
He glared at the approaching Gohan with bloodshot eyes as madness consumed him.
"I WON'T LET YOU GO! I'LL NEVER LET YOU GO!!!"
Gohan suddenly felt a chill crawl down his spine.
Because he could clearly sense it.
Cell's weakened energy was skyrocketing at an inhuman rate.
It was even approaching… the limit of Gohan's peak power.
"What… what are you doing?!"
Gohan instinctively raised his guard.
Then he saw it.
And froze.
An overwhelming sense of dread swallowed him whole.
Cell's body began swelling rapidly like an overinflated balloon.
Within moments he turned into a massive, round sphere covered in cracks, his twisted face stretched across its surface in a manic grin.
Tien stared at the enormous creature—larger than a mountain—and his voice trembled.
"What… what's happening? What is he doing?!"
"NO—!!"
Goku's face was filled with pure horror.
"GOHAN! QUICK! KILL HIM NOW!!"
Hearing Goku's warning, Cell burst into maniacal laughter filled with the joy of death.
"Too late! All of you are coming to hell with me! Watch closely! I'm about to self-destruct! I may die without a trace—but every single one of you, and this lovely planet, will be buried with me!"
Cell stared gleefully at the boy who had pushed him this far.
"The power of my self-destruction is enough to erase your entire Earth from the universe!"
Gohan stood frozen like ice.
Regret.
Anger.
A thousand emotions stabbed into his heart.
Now he finally understood why his father had desperately urged him to kill Cell immediately.
Because Cell was pure evil.
Even in death, he wanted to drag the entire world down with him.
Gohan knew perfectly well that if Cell exploded with the energy he had gathered…
Earth would have no chance of survival.
And the reason it had come to this…
Was his own foolish mercy.
Cell's body continued expanding until it became a gigantic sphere of stretched flesh.
Seeing Gohan trapped in a pit of guilt and despair filled him with indescribable satisfaction.
Yes.
Regret it.
Tremble at the consequences of your ridiculous kindness.
Super God World
"This guy called Cell is completely rotten… I like him!"
Morgana's cheeks flushed with excitement.
It had been a long time since she had seen such a purely evil being. Someone this extreme, this utterly antisocial, would make perfect material for her demon army.
"Still… he's really ugly," Renekton muttered beside her.
It was the first time he had seen a creature uglier than his crocodile-like brother.
"But his strength and personality are impressive, aren't they?" Morgana said with a sly smile.
"Hmph. I'll admit it. That monster's pretty strong."
Naruto World
"W-What kind of monster is that?!"
Naruto's jaw nearly hit the floor as he stared at the screen.
To him, this looked like something straight out of myth.
He couldn't even imagine how battles on that level were fought.
Just the lingering pressure from earlier almost made his knees buckle.
Sasuke wasn't doing much better.
He remembered Zabuza from the Land of Waves.
But quickly shook the thought away.
No.
The pressure coming from Cell was hundreds of times more terrifying.
And then his eyes locked onto the boy in the battle.
Son Gohan.
A kid even younger than him.
Sasuke clenched his teeth, his eyes burning with unwillingness.
Why?
Why did that blond kid—who looked younger than him—possess power capable of shaking an entire planet?
Sasuke's heart pounded wildly.
That wasn't power a normal person could have.
It was something close to the authority of a god.
If… if that world-destroying power were his…
Sasuke could no longer suppress the hunger for strength rising inside him.
His face darkened.
Without another word, he turned around and walked away from Team 7's gathering spot.
"....."