Vegeta watches Goku's power level climb as he prepares to fight Ginyu in Nail's body. "Okay Kakarot. Let's see what you can do."
Goku screams as he releases the plug holding back the bulk of ki. A white wind billows from him.
Over 18,000! Vegeta thinks. He wasn't being arrogant. He's actually matched my power on Earth.
"Kaioken!"
The winds catch fire. Goku rockets at Gingu leaving a scorched mark where he stood.
Ginyu smiles as he meets a flurry of attacks from Goku. He blocks them all, completely unfazed by the speed and power of the fierce aura. His palm slams Goku's chest. The blow knocks his opponent back and extinguishes the flames.
Vegeta frowns.
This is absurd! Kakarot is already able to achieve a power level of 28,000. That's probably as high as Zarbon after transforming. When I finally recover, I'd guess I'll be 33,000 at best.
How is it possible he's caught up to me so quickly? I'm of royal blood. I should be the one ascending towards Super Saiyan. Not him! How did I become a witness to this pauper's rise?
Whatever, it doesn't even matter if Ginyu brushed him off so easily. What will you do now Kakarot?
"Impressive," says Ginyu. "I had no idea Saiyans could get this strong. It'll be a shame I can't study your people any longer."
Goku furrows his brow.
I couldn't do anything at all, he thinks. A regular Kaioken won't cut it. But I could barely handle that much power. I haven't practiced a double with my new level yet. If I lose control, that'll be the end of me. But I don't have a choice.
Goku pumps ki through his veins. It bolsters his muscles and bones. They strengthen and enlarge in response. His aura flares greater than before.
"Kaioken…" His muscles tighten and cramp. "Times two!"
Vegeta's robot eye whirs and heats up in his socket. Its scouter system deactivates before the stress can damage it, but not before giving him a reading of 35,000.
Goku fights the pain as he races towards Ginyu whose eyes widen in surprise. Goku throws a punch, then a kick. Ginyu blocks both but the power pushes him around.
Goku rolls a quarter circle around Ginyu and stomps a foot into his unguarded side. His foe coughs and gags as he presses on with the attack. His body pleads for release from the tension building within. His arms and legs grow heavy as if trying to resist the overexerting performance.
Krillin draws out his ki as he watches the battle unfold.
"Get ready Gohan," he says. "Your dad is going to need help."
"You really think so?"
"Yeah, he's pushing himself to his limits already, and Ginyu is still holding back. We're going to have to buy him some time to recover."
"Got it."
Gohan releases his power as well. They watch Goku's aura shrink and sputter.
Someone tugs at Gohan's leggings.
"Ginyu can change bodies with a beam he fires from his mouth," says the Medamatcha clone.
"I see. So that's how he does it," says Gohan.
Ginyu lands a punch to Goku's head. The red aura extinguishes. Krillin and Gohan blast from their positions with billowing white energy wisping around them.
Krillin raises a hand high. A yellow circlet spins around his upper arm. It rises to his palm and expands into a sharp disc. He increases his speed as Goku takes a beating.
Ginyu kicks Goku in the stomach and creates some space between them. Krillin takes this moment to launch his attack. The Kienzan leaves his hands with all fingers pointed at the target.
A warning screeches in Ginyu's mind. He spins around to find the slicing saucer whirling at him. Shock panics his face.
That's no normal attack, he thinks. How did someone so weak create something so dangerous?
He jerks himself aside. Relief swells as he leaves the Kienzan's path with plenty of time.
Krillin slides his left hand across the top of his attacking one as the Kienzan reaches where Ginyu was. A paper thin slice peels free from the top of his Kienzan and shoots sideways right at Ginyu.
"A second attack hidden on the first!" says Ginyu.
He twists his body, but there is no escaping the stealth tactic. It severs his abdomen just below the hips and passes off into the distance.
Krillin slows to a stop and inhales air from the endeavor.
Ginyu screams and squeezes his sides together to slow the horrendous bleeding. Purple blood pours in viscous strands staining the tattered remains of his pants. Entrails swing in the breeze, dangling below the cloth.
Gohan flies in with a punch to Ginyu's temple. He knocks Ginyu's head around with his fists while his feet kick at the stomach.
He drives a foot into Ginyu's jaw with enough force to flip his opponent. Gohan's hands rise above his head. He fires a Masenko at the floating torso.
Ginyu helplessly rides the beam to its completion.
Krillin and Goku float up beside Gohan.
"Thank you," says Goku. "You guys were awesome. We might have a real chance now."
"Yeah," says Gohan. "That wound is draining a lot of power from him."
The spiraling torso of Ginyu regains its poise. Burned and bleeding, he hangs in the air breathing hard, blood draining from his core.
This isn't good, he thinks. I'm done for if this keeps up.
A nagging instinct tickles his thoughts. Pulses from nonexistent legs relay information to his brain. He feels his Namekian body trying to do something. He calms his mind and lets the instinct take over.
A bunch of his energy disperses to the trauma. The maimed tissue swirls and solidifies to form a giant, wet scab. The yellowish-black covering seals the injury and stops the bleeding.
"Wow, this is an amazing body. I've never heard of one that could heal a wound like that so quickly. It still feels like there's more I could do." He sets his sights on Goku, Krillin, and Gohan. "I need to be more careful. I'm probably down a third of my energy after that injury and the effort to fix it."
"Uh-oh guys," says Krillin. "He seems to have figured out some Namekian healing."
"Yeah, that's not good," says Goku. "Darn, and we almost had him too. Alright, get ready. We'll need everything we've got."
"Right," says Krillin and Gohan together. They release the rest of their energy as what remains of Ginyu charges them.
Goku meets him first with another burning Kaioken. Krillin and Gohan flank Ginyu from the sides. Their opponent slithers between their barrage of attacks to dodge and block them all.
"You're not as sharp as you were before, Goku," says Ginyu. "I see now that ability takes a heavy toll on your body."
Goku grits his teeth and pushes on.
Vegeta's anger grows as he watches the fight. He marches over to Dende and picks him up by the collar of his robes.
"Listen up, brat. You need to start healing me or we're all done for. Kakarot and the others can't win against Ginyu."
"I would never help someone who hurt my people."
"Then we're all going to die, including the rest of you Namekians! Healing me is our only chance."
Dende looks up to Gohan and the others. Despite missing his legs, Ginyu generates momentum as he starts hitting back. Distress over what to do squeezes Dende's stomach.
Ginyu drives an elbow into Krillin's gut and backhands Gohan across the face. They spiral backward leaving Goku to fend for himself.
Goku's crimson aura fades to a light red as Ginyu overpowers him. A hand clutches his throat while sharp nails break his skin. Ginyu's laughter fills his ears.
Goku pulls at the strangling arm with all his might, but his stamina slips away as his body loses breath.
"Daddy!" says Gohan, rushing to help.
Krillin dashes in beside him.
Ginyu releases a pulse of unseen energy. The wave halts their approach like a wall before washing them backwards. They flip several times before stopping their forced retreat. Ginyu sends them both a wicked smile as Goku struggles for air. They know they are powerless.
Gohan clenches his fists. His teeth gnash. Anger crescendos as his father's pain cries out.
Vegeta shakes Dende.
"Heal me now or we all die!"
Dende looks at Gohan and Nail's body again.
"Fine," he says.
Vegeta sets him on his feet and kneels to his level. Dende extends his hands. A nourishing and comforting warmth radiates from them as golden waves. Vegeta smiles.
Yes, he thinks, I can feel my Saiyan blood strengthening.
Goku's hands fall to his side. They swing with aimless intent.
Gohan roars as his ki signature stabs Ginyu's senses.
A chilled fear rumples Ginyu's skin. Though the strength does not match Goku's highest power, the ferocity is something beyond any beast he has ever encountered.
His chin creeps over his shoulder to view the threat. Knuckles meet his cheek. His head snaps the other way as his neck tries to catch up.
Gohan drives a foot into Ginyu's stomach. His foe's hand slips from Goku's throat. Gohan unleashes a battering of punches. They dent Ginyu's body everywhere they touch. Some grow wider and deeper as they are struck over and over.
Where did this burst of energy come from? thinks Ginyu as the agony paralyzes his body. It's like his father's but with an insatiable wrath.
Gohan uppercuts Ginyu and drops the same elbow into his adversary's gut. Gohan summons ki to his palms as Ginyu crashes to the ground. He releases a barrage of ballistic bolts. The angry orange orbs pummel Ginyu with explosions.
They smash and burn his body. He convulses beneath the deluge of power.
Dende stops his healing to gaze in awe.
Vegeta does the same for a moment. "Keep going you fool."
"But why do we need you when Gohan is so powerful?"
"Idiot! The boy will be completely drained after that attack. And Ginyu is nowhere close to being finished."
Dende gulps and resumes his healing technique.
"I'm from a family of freaks," says Raditz as the ground beneath him rumbles.
Gohan tires as his ki drains away. His volley slows, and his shoulders ache from the effort. Arms droop to his side after their last attacks. His lungs wheeze to fill his body. As the rage fades, uncertainty sets in.
Ginyu twitches inside a scorched crater. Bruises, welts, and burns mark every inch of his body. His shaky form rises to rest on his forearms. He coughs.
"I always thought Lord Freeza was just being paranoid about Saiyans," he says. He looks up at Gohan. "But they truly are a dangerous people. A mere child has left me at half strength."
He floats from the ground with hands swinging beside his severed waist. Goku leans on Krillin for support as they watch Ginyu approach Gohan.
"You're a brave warrior for someone your age," says Ginyu. "I admire that."
He pumps a fist into Gohan's stomach. Goku starts and falters from the pain crippling his body.
"I'd like to personally offer you an invitation to join the Galactic Empire. Being so young, you could eventually rise to a position like my own. What do you say?"
"Never."
Ginyu holds out a hand. Blue wisps dance from his fingers as an orb forms. "I thought not. Too bad."
Ginyu detects an attack from behind. He whips his hand and fires his own shot. It collides with another ki blast, canceling them both out. Behind the clearing smoke hovers his previous body with Nail's spirit trapped inside.
"You're in better shape than I expected," says Ginyu. Nail takes a stance. "Not enough energy to talk I see. That's fine. It was kind of you to bring me my old body. This one is looking a bit worse for wear don't you think."
He pushes out energy that blows Gohan backwards. In a whirlwind, he collides with Nail. They throw strikes, but only Ginyu is able to block and dodge while landing hits. Nail works against agony and exhaustion just to stay alive.
"Who is that?" says Krillin.
"I think it's Nail," says Goku, "I can sense a faint trace of his ki. Krillin, I need you to create an opening for me."
"Why, what are you going to do?"
"I'm going to use all my remaining ki to perform one last Kaioken."
"You sure it will finish him off? Maybe you should chip away a little at a time."
"I don't think he'll give me another chance so this one has to be all out."
"Alright. I've got a little juice too. Just don't kill yourself."
"Thanks Krillin."
Krillin pulls off Goku's arm and bursts towards the fight with Ginyu.
Goku raises his fists above his head and then pumps his elbows down to his hips. His raging red aura returns.
"Kaioken times three!"
A surge of power rattles his body. His bones vibrate out of place as the tendons and ligaments stretch thin. All four chambers of his heart beat faster to pump blood and ki to the rest of his body.
Nail sees Krillin approaching. He takes two punches in order to wrap his arms around Ginyu's back.
"What are you doing?" says Ginyu as he pounds Nail's head. "Release me! Huh?"
Krillin kicks him across the face. The force knocks him free of Nails arms, sending him hurtling.
"Sorry about kicking your body," says Krillin.
"It's fine. If I can't have it, he shouldn't enjoy it either. What now?"
"I distract him so Goku can finish this."
"Heh, okay."
Ginyu recovers and breaks towards them with a billowing aura.
Krillin lifts his hands to the sky. A dark yellow energy illuminates them as electric arcs crackle between them.
"Kakusandan!"
Krillin drops his hands and fires a massive beam. Ginyu prepares to dodge it, but it curves upward leaving him to wonder what will happen next.
The beam congregates as a wobbly sphere. Then six beams break from it and fire downward. Ginyu's eyes widen as he anticipates where to evade.
Krillin manipulates each beam to act at its own speed and trajectory. Each of them work in tandem to maneuver the opponent as he tries to dodge.
Ginyu wavers back and forth as the beams miss by narrow margins and move him towards the next closest one. He avoids one after another until the sixth beam crashes against the back of his shoulder. It knocks him into a flip.
A blazing aura consumes his vision as Goku arrives with a suffocating presence. Ginyu's lungs burn in the sudden heat.
Goku smashes Ginyu's arm against his side with a heavy kick. He throws a punch but Ginyu catches it. They tumble into a tussle for control.
Ginyu feels exhaustion building as he forces himself to keep up with his foe. Goku grinds through the sensation of his muscles sliding off his bones.
It's not enough, thinks Goku. I have to go farther. Kaioken times four!
Pain ruptures out of his muscles. Ki vibrations soften them to floppy messes. The chambers of his heart engorge to meet the demand of his body. Its arteries and veins stretch and tear. Each beat of his heart sends stabbing pains through his chest.
He punches Ginyu in the face and feels his own bones crack like glass.
Ginyu's head rings from the blow as blood globs from the wound. A series of hits follow it. To his surprise, they get weaker with each one.
Still not enough, thinks Goku. Times five!
Goku's aura bursts wide. He yells and throws one more punch.
The muscles of his arm spasm, causing it to veer off target. A series of snaps plink throughout his body as the tendons and ligaments separate bone from muscle. His aura extinguishes. His body drops limp and helpless to the ground far below. All of his joints scream in agony.