As Vegeta prepared to break more of Goku's bones.
In the distance, a white streak of light shot toward them at incredible speed, giving Vegeta no time to react.
"Don't hurt my dad!!!!" Emerging from the white light, Gohan crashed into Great Ape Vegeta's abdomen.
The scene was all too familiar!
Raditz was the first to experience it!
Now it was Vegeta's turn.
**Pwah!!!!**
Caught off guard, Vegeta took the full impact of Gohan's attack.
Blood spurted from Vegeta's mouth, his aura diminished, and Goku was freed from his grip.
The gigantic body toppled like a building.
**Boom~~!!!!!!!!** The ground cracked, smoke rose, and Vegeta was heavily injured, unable to move.
After repelling Vegeta with one blow, Gohan changed direction and caught his falling father.
"G-Gohan?!" Goku was bewildered and shocked to see his son on the battlefield.
Although he was injured, he saw clearly what had struck Vegeta's Great Ape form.
He thought it was Lin Chuan, but it turned out to be his son, Gohan.
Gohan landed gently with Goku.
Under Goku's confused and shocked gaze, Gohan turned towards Vegeta and said, "Dad, leave the rest of the fight to me. I'll defeat him."
Goku was bewildered: "????"
This wasn't right. Shouldn't he be protecting Gohan?
How did it turn around to his son protecting him?
And Gohan wasn't joking…
"Gohan…" Goku, still confused, was about to speak when the ground shook, and Vegeta stood up again.
In his Great Ape form, he loomed over Goku and Gohan like a colossal monster, looking down on them.
"Kakarot's brat, you hurt me?! Impossible!!!" Vegeta was also stunned seeing Gohan.
How could this kid be so strong?
Strong enough to hurt his Great Ape form, and badly at that.
"So what if it was me?! This time, your opponent is me!!!" Gohan stood in front of Goku, his energy bursting forth.
Behind Gohan, Goku's eyes widened in disbelief, seeing Gohan's storm-like energy.
"This power… Gohan, you can release such strength?!!!" Goku felt like a million things were rushing through his mind.
He had run Snake Way for two months to reach King Kai's planet, trained for half a year, and gained his current strength.
Yet his son's current energy was more than ten times his own.
The overwhelming pressure was the scariest thing he had ever felt.
"You… kid!!!!" Great Ape Vegeta, feeling Gohan's immense power, couldn't help but step back.
He couldn't believe it himself.
He, Vegeta, the Saiyan Prince, was retreating from a child?
"Masenko!!!!" Not giving Vegeta a chance to speak, Gohan quickly gathered energy and fired an orange energy blast.
The energy beam struck Vegeta's chest, shattering his armor and heavily injuring his body.
**Boom~~!!!!!!!** The explosion was powerful enough to be equivalent to a super bomb capable of destroying Earth.
If not controlled properly, the entire planet might have faced annihilation.
The explosion's aftermath lasted for a full minute before the dust settled.
Thick smoke billowed for miles.
At the center of the explosion, heavily injured and barely alive, Vegeta lay on the ground.
Without continuous exposure to Blutz Waves and with his body severely wounded, he had reverted to his human form, teetering on the brink of death.
His bones were broken, muscles extensively burned, and blood flowed profusely from his wounds.
If it weren't for the strong life force of the Great Ape form, he would have been completely obliterated by Gohan's Masenko.
"I... lost... How is it possible... I was defeated by the child of a low-class warrior..." Vegeta felt his worldview collapse, his will to live fading.
He prided himself as the strongest Saiyan, unmatched among his kin.
But now, being defeated by Gohan in one blow left him utterly humiliated.
[Could it be... that kid is...!!!] Vegeta's eyes widened in realization, using his last bit of strength to look towards Gohan.
A term flashed in his mind.
Super Saiyan!!!
Someone so young with such immense power could only be a Super Saiyan, he thought.
[No!! He can't be a Super Saiyan... The closest to a Super Saiyan should be me, Vegeta...]
[Kakarot's child... A low-class warrior's child... It can't be!!]
Vegeta roared internally, trying to deceive himself.
...
At that moment, Goku finally snapped out of his shock.
He rubbed his eyes repeatedly, unsure if he was seeing things.
"Dad, what's wrong? Are your eyes hurt?" Gohan's innocent question reassured Goku that he wasn't seeing things.
Indeed, Gohan had defeated Great Ape Vegeta with a single attack.
"Gohan, how did your power increase to this level? What special training did Lin Chuan use to make you so strong?" Goku urgently wanted to know the answer.
Seeing Gohan become so powerful fueled his own desire to grow stronger.
"Well... you should ask Uncle Lin Chuan about that, Dad." Gohan deflected the question to Lin Chuan.
At this moment, Goku sensed the presence of others and looked up.
Hovering in the air were Lin Chuan, Piccolo, Krillin, and Raditz.
Lin Chuan and Piccolo seemed unsurprised by the outcome, while the other two were completely shocked.
They had witnessed Gohan's one-shot defeat of Great Ape Vegeta.
If not for the pain in their bodies, they would have thought they were dreaming.
"Gohan, well done. It seems Piccolo taught you many useful things. Battles should be swift and decisive," Lin Chuan praised as he landed beside Gohan.
"Hehe, thanks for the praise, Uncle Lin Chuan. Without your and Uncle Piccolo's training, I wouldn't be this strong," Gohan replied modestly.
Their conversation left Goku in a fog of confusion.
Piccolo had also trained his son?
"How pathetic, Goku. Is this all you gained from training with King Kai?" Piccolo landed next to Goku, criticizing him.
Weak, too weak. So weak that Piccolo had no desire to fight him.
"Piccolo, you..." Goku could only smile wryly at Piccolo's assessment.
He hadn't noticed Piccolo's growth earlier.
Now he understood. Piccolo's strength had far surpassed his own.
His son was this strong, Piccolo even stronger, and Lin Chuan... no need to mention.
After returning from King Kai's planet, not only had his former rival surpassed him, but so had his own son.
Goku felt utterly defeated.
At this moment, Krillin and Raditz snapped out of their stupor in mid-air.
"Gohan... really won?" Krillin stammered, unable to speak coherently in his excitement.
"Vegeta... I didn't expect you to end up like this today. Defeated by my nephew..." Raditz took a deep breath, calming his agitated heart.
He slowly flew towards Vegeta and landed beside him.
"Ra... dditz..." Vegeta gritted his teeth, glaring at Raditz with fury.
Death was knocking at his door.
"I didn't expect our next meeting to be like this. The once arrogant Saiyan prince, now so pitiful and pathetic," Raditz taunted the severely injured Vegeta.
"You're just a low-class warrior... cough... How dare you judge me?!"
"I... was defeated by that kid... not you!!"
Even in severe pain, Vegeta maintained his arrogance.
Even though Raditz now had the power to kill him, he wouldn't bow his head.
"Hehehe, you're right."
"You were defeated by my nephew, but you will die by my hand!!"
Raditz's eyes gleamed with killing intent.
He formed a crimson energy ball in his hand, aiming it at Vegeta.
Vegeta clenched his fists tighter.
His eyes burned with anger, unwilling to accept this fate.