The world was drowned in silence and white light.
The glow of the explosion had only just begun to fade, while purple smoke still rose from the cracks splitting Namek's surface.
Goku knelt on the ground. The rocks beneath his knees had long since been scorched black by the unbearable heat.
One arm remained stretched forward.
That spot, just moments ago, had been where his best friend stood.
Now, there was only emptiness.
"Krillin…"
His voice was barely audible, so faint it seemed the scorching winds of Namek could scatter it at any moment.
His pupils trembled as his eyes searched aimlessly through the air, desperately trying to find even the slightest trace of that familiar energy.
Nothing.
There was nothing left.
Not a fragment. Not even the weakest remnant of ki.
"Good… very good."
Frieza floated in the sky, breathing heavily. Blood still dripped from his mangled body, but his lone remaining eye gleamed with cruel satisfaction.
"That bald little pest finally shut up. Now it's your turn, monkey."
Goku's body suddenly stiffened.
"What's wrong? Nothing to say?"
"Or do you want to join him in the afterlife? Don't worry. I'll send you there soon enough…"
Frieza sneered viciously as he raised a finger once more.
"You actually…"
The voice that crawled from Goku's throat was low and suffocating, like magma rumbling beneath a volcano on the verge of eruption.
"Hm?"
Frieza raised an eyebrow.
Slowly, Goku lifted his head.
The black eyes that were once clear and gentle were now bloodshot, the whites stained crimson by fury.
Veins bulged across his forehead, looking ready to burst through his skin.
"You actually… killed Krillin…"
RUMBLE!!!
The sky above Namek suddenly changed.
The sickly green heavens were swallowed instantly by pitch-black storm clouds. Golden lightning tore wildly through them, roaring like furious dragons.
The ground beneath them trembled violently as shattered rocks began floating upward against gravity.
"Unforgivable…"
Goku slowly rose to his feet.
As he moved, an overwhelming aura spiraled around him.
It was pure rage.
Rage so intense it seemed capable of setting the air itself ablaze.
"That guy… he was kind to everyone…"
Goku's teeth ground together so hard they cracked audibly. His fists clenched tight, fingernails digging into his palms until blood streamed through his fingers.
"I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!!!"
CRACK!
A bolt of golden lightning slammed down beside him.
His hair shot upward. For a brief instant, the black strands flashed into brilliant gold before darkening again.
The power inside him was breaking through its limits.
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!"
Goku threw his head back and roared.
It was no longer the bright, cheerful voice everyone knew. It sounded like the howl of a wounded beast.
Golden light erupted from his body once more, fiercer than ever before.
His eyes flickered wildly between black and emerald green. The deep crimson aura of the Kaio-ken was gradually transforming into something divine and violent, a radiant golden blaze.
The smile on Frieza's face froze.
A shiver crawled up from the depths of his soul, forcing him to unconsciously take a step backward.
"What… what is this power?!"
"FRIEZA!!!"
With that final roar of grief and fury, something invisible shattered.
BOOM!!!
A pillar of golden light exploded skyward, piercing straight through Namek's atmosphere.
Everything within hundreds of miles was blasted away in an instant.
Then the light faded.
The warrior in the tattered orange gi stood there silently.
His hair had become blazing gold, standing sharply upright like burning flames.
His black eyes had turned into a cold emerald green. There was no warmth left within them. Only chilling indifference and killing intent powerful enough to freeze the soul.
Golden flames swirled around his body, crackling with wild static electricity.
[System Scan Complete]
[Target: Son Goku]
[Status: Super Saiyan, First Awakening Through Rage]
[Power Level: 150,000,000]
[Evaluation: The legend was real. Rage is the greatest fuel a Saiyan can possess. At this moment, he is the most dangerous warrior in the universe.]
"Wh… what is that form…"
Frieza's voice trembled.
He did not want to admit it, but he was afraid.
That golden figure.
Those cold eyes.
A memory suddenly surfaced from deep within his childhood.
Back when he was young, King Cold had once warned him with unusual seriousness.
"Frieza, in this universe, there are only two beings you must never provoke. One is Lord Beerus, God of Destruction. The other… is the legendary Super Saiyan."
"No… impossible! That's just a legend! A fairy tale used to scare children!"
"I am the emperor of the universe! I am the strongest! There's no such thing as a Super Saiyan!"
Frieza screamed hysterically, desperately trying to suppress the terror clawing at his mind.
"DIE!!!"
He fired a Death Beam straight at Goku's heart.
Smack.
Goku did not dodge.
He simply raised a hand casually and swatted the beam aside like he was brushing away an insect.
Frieza froze.
The next instant, the golden figure appeared directly in front of him.
"You were saying… you wanted to kill who?"
Goku's voice was quiet.
Cold enough to cut.
THUD!
His fist buried itself deep into Frieza's stomach.
Frieza could not even scream. His eyes bulged as his body folded like a shrimp.
BAM!
Before Frieza could be sent flying, Goku slammed a chop into the back of his neck.
Frieza crashed into the ground like a broken kite, smashing through several mountains.
"Get up, Frieza."
"So this is the strength of the so-called Emperor of the Universe?"
"You disappoint me."
Goku floated in the air, staring down coldly at the ruins below.
Frieza crawled out of the rubble, drenched in blood, disbelief written all over his face.
"You bastard… BASTARD!!!"
"I'm Frieza! I cannot be defeated!"
Frieza lunged forward in madness, fists and kicks raining down like a storm.
But Goku blocked every single attack with only one hand.
Too slow.
Too weak.
Before a Super Saiyan, Frieza's once-proud power looked like the flailing punches of a child.
Far away, behind a massive boulder, a bald man sat cross-legged while enjoying the show with great satisfaction.
"Damn… that's cool."
"This is way more intense than the anime. One hundred fifty million power level… I can feel the pressure from miles away."
Krillin stared at Goku's shining golden figure, eyes full of admiration.
Then he smacked his lips regretfully.
He really should've stored snacks inside his spatial ring before all this. Huge mistake.
[Host, please remain hidden. The invisibility effect of the Substitute Scarecrow will expire in five minutes.]
"What's the rush?"
"Let Goku beat him up a little longer. He needs to vent."
No way was Krillin done watching yet.
…
Back on the battlefield.
Goku kicked Frieza square in the face, sending the self-proclaimed emperor rolling across the ground dozens of times.
He landed softly, golden flames whipping around him in the wind.
"Is that all?"
"If this is the limit of your power, then prepare yourself for hell."
Frieza lay on the ground, fingers digging deep into the dirt.
Humiliation.
Humiliation unlike anything he had ever felt.
He was being toyed with by a Saiyan.
That cold stare.
That contemptuous tone.
Every word crushed his pride.
"You've got to be kidding me… YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!!"
Frieza suddenly raised his head. His twisted face was consumed by madness.
"If I can't win… if you're going to humiliate me…"
"THEN WE'LL DIE TOGETHER!!!"
Frieza thrust both hands above his head, palms facing inward.
Every ounce of his ki, even the energy sustaining his life, surged wildly into his palms.
"Not good!" Goku's eyes narrowed sharply.
"Hahahahaha! Disappear from this universe! Along with this entire planet!"
Frieza roared as he hurled a dark crimson energy sphere toward Namek's core.
"I can survive in space! But you Saiyans will be reduced to dust in the explosion!"
The attack moved unbelievably fast. It was not aimed at Goku at all, but directly at the planet itself.
Goku tried to intercept it, but the angle was too sharp and the distance too close. Frieza had gone completely suicidal.
"Damn it!"
Goku's expression changed drastically as he rushed forward, only for the repulsive force surrounding the sphere to slow him down for a split second.
Then, at the critical moment...
A brilliant golden-red light suddenly flared beneath the descending energy sphere.
It was not the glow of a Super Saiyan.
It was heavier. Denser. More solid.
"Serious Series: Normal Uppercut!"
BOOM!!!
An utterly ordinary fist smashed into the bottom of the world-destroying energy sphere.
The massive attack, which had been plummeting toward the planet at terrifying speed, stopped dead in midair as if it had slammed into an indestructible wall.
Then the overwhelming force behind the punch exploded outward, launching the sphere straight into outer space.
The energy ball streaked across the sky before vanishing into the depths of the universe, where it erupted like a distant firework.
Silence swallowed the battlefield.
Goku remained frozen mid-charge.
Blinking his emerald eyes, he stared at the bald figure floating in the sky, casually shaking his wrist.
Even surrounded by golden flames, that bald head was still… incredibly shiny.
"Ow. My hand's a little numb."
Krillin turned around with a bright grin.
The golden aura around Goku flickered violently, nearly causing him to lose his transformation.
"K… Krillin?"
Goku's voice shook. The overwhelming joy of seeing his friend alive had not even fully hit him yet because sheer confusion got there first.
"You… you're alive?"
"Your ki disappeared completely earlier…"
Frieza's eyes nearly burst from their sockets. His jaw hung open in total disbelief.
"You… you bald freak?! How are you still alive?! I blew you to atoms!"
Krillin scratched his head innocently as he started improvising.
"Oh, that?"
"It's actually a hidden ability of my Crimson Lotus form."
"It's called Phoenix Rebirth. Totally real, by the way."
"When I take fatal damage, my body enters a fake death state and rebuilds itself. Only works once, but it's a pretty useful survival trick."
After speaking, Krillin clenched his fists.
His aura erupted violently.
Not six million.
Not sixty million.
Something far beyond that.
His ki surged across the battlefield like a tidal wave. The crimson-gold light surrounding him rivaled even Goku's Super Saiyan aura.
Muscles swelled slightly beneath his skin, which now carried a dark golden metallic sheen. His entire body radiated an unbreakable, divine presence.
[System Data Updated]
[Status: Super Bald Form, Stage One, Full Power]
[Power Level: 150,000,000]
[Traits: Absolute Defense +30%, Physical Damage Reduction +50%]
"Looks like surviving that attack made me a little stronger."
Krillin grinned at Goku.
"So? Guess we're finally on the same level now, huh?"
Goku stared blankly at him, sensing the overwhelming ki pouring from his body.
Then joy exploded across his face.
He rushed forward and wrapped Krillin in a crushing hug so tight Krillin nearly rolled his eyes.
"Krillin! Thank goodness! I seriously thought you were dead!"
"I was already planning to revive you with the Dragon Balls!"
Krillin laughed awkwardly and patted Goku's back.
"Easy! Easy! You're gonna snap my neck!"
"Save the reunion for later. Let's deal with the trash first."
The two of them turned simultaneously toward Frieza.
Two monsters with power levels of one hundred fifty million.
Two pairs of icy eyes.
Frieza: ???
He sat collapsed on the ground, trembling uncontrollably.
The golden figure.
The crimson-gold figure.
To him, they looked like two grim reapers.
Despair.
True despair.
He already stood no chance against one of them.
Now there were two?
And the bald one had somehow gotten stronger too?!
How the hell was he supposed to fight this?!
"Run… I have to run…"
That was the only thought left in Frieza's mind.
Pride. Honor. His title as emperor.
None of it mattered anymore.
As long as he survived.
He spun around and fled desperately toward outer space.
"Trying to run?"
Krillin and Goku exchanged a glance.
They did not need words.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Two streaks of light vanished instantly.
--------------------------------
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