Chapter 76: Kakarot
The world seemed to hold its breath as Goku's transformation was at a terrifying beautiful sight to behold, his Ikari state radiating raw, untamed power. Frieza's grip around Vegeta's neck faltered, not from pity or mercy, but from the instinctive fear that had crept into his heart.
For the first time in years—perhaps ever—Frieza hesitated.
The emerald aura that surrounded Goku roared louder, pressing down on everything around him. Even Frieza, the self-proclaimed emperor of the universe, couldn't deny the suffocating force of it. With a sneer, he uncoiled his tail from Vegeta's neck, tossing the battered Saiyan prince aside like discarded garbage.
Vegeta crumpled to the ground, clutching his throat and gasping for air. Pain coursed through his body, but the fire in his eyes refused to die. He crawled away on hands and knees, every movement a defiant refusal to succumb, even as his pride screamed at him for being so easily subdued. He forced himself to his knees, then slumped against a jagged rock, blood dripping from his lips.
Frieza's focus, however, had shifted entirely. His eyes locked onto Goku, narrowing with a mix of fury and wariness. The green energy of the Ikari form illuminated the Saiyan's frame, casting him as a figure of primal strength, a warrior borne from legend and nightmare alike.
"You… " the tyrant snarled, his voice low and venomous. "You think this little display changes anything? I'll crush you the same way I crushed your entire race, Saiyan!"
Goku didn't respond. He simply took a step forward, his movement sending a crack through the ground beneath him. The silent, unrelenting confidence in his demeanor was more infuriating to Frieza than any insult. His golden eyes locked onto his foe with an unyielding intensity, something the tyrant was not used to whatsoever.
"Vegeta... get out of the way."
The words hung heavy in the mind of the prince, a command rather than a request. Vegeta's head snapped up, vision blurry but focused enough to see the unrecognizable figure of Kakarot—no, the unstoppable force Kakarot had become.
The prince groaned as his pride screamed at him to stand, to fight, to prove himself, but his body betrayed him, each movement a testament to his current state of defeat. As he tried to cope with his ailments, Vegeta spat out blood and venom in equal measure.
"You dare to order me, Kakarot?!" he barked hoarsely more to himself than anyone else, though the bite lacked its usual oomph.
Even as he cursed his weakness, a dark satisfaction began to bloom within him. His lips curled into a grim smile as the swirling storm of emotions threatened to drown him: fury, envy, shame—but also exhilaration.
This was it.
This was the vengeance the Saiyan race had long been denied.
Vegeta could see it in every savage twitch Kakarot made, in every pulse of that incandescent ki.
He wanted to hate Kakarot, to despise him for stealing what was supposed to be his moment, but the power radiating from the other Saiyan filled him with something else—pride. This was the Saiyan race's revenge embodied, a force Frieza would not be able to brush off or ignore.
With a wheezing breath, the prince forced a laugh, the sound raw and broken. "Tch… I knew you had it in you, Kakarot. I knew you'd be able to make him pay."
Frieza's cold gaze flicked briefly toward Vegeta, narrowing in disdain. The sight of the prince slumped at the edge of the battlefield brought him a fleeting sense of triumph, but it was quickly overshadowed by the monstrosity that yearned to tear him limb from limb.
The tyrant's lip curled in a sneer as he turned his full attention to the transformed Saiyan.
Vegeta's laughter turned bitter, then sharp, as his voice rose above the growing hum of energy. "Look at you now, Frieza! Is this what you feared all along? Is this the nightmare that haunted your pathetic existence?! The Super Saiyan! And you thought you could stop it?! PATHETIC!"
Frieza's tail lashed in fury as his gaze flicked toward Vegeta. The insult hit harder than it should have, the truth behind it digging deep.
"Silence, monkey!" the Frost Demon barked, his voice shrill with rage.
But the moment of distraction was all Goku needed.
A primal snarl erupted from his throat as he launched himself forward, a green comet of ki streaking through the air.
BOOOOOOOOM! His fist connected with Frieza's stomach in a devastating blow that bent the tyrant double, his eyes bulging as the wind was ripped from his lungs.
Vegeta, watching from the sidelines, felt a twisted grin spread across his face. His body ached, his pride was wounded, but for the first time in his life, he allowed himself to bask in the sheer joy of seeing Frieza—the destroyer of his race and bane of his existence—brought low.
Just this once... fuck his pride. This was not simply just his fight. Not anymore.
But it was their victory—Saiyan vengeance incarnate.
His gritted teeth were revealed as he watched Kakarot's Ikari form take the field. The way Kakarot moved—the savagery, the animalistic instincts—he was an unstoppable force, a storm of rage and power unleashed on Frieza.
This... this was what it meant to be a Saiyan. This was the legend made real.
This was the Super Saiyan.
WHOOOOSH!
Frieza was sent rocketing backward, the force of Goku's punch creating a shockwave that rippled across the surface of the planet. The ground cratered beneath Goku's feet as he rocketed after Frieza, chasing him through the air like a predator chasing prey.
A snarl erupted from Goku's throat, a feral sound that cut through the noise of destruction. He caught up to Frieza in an instant, his fingers digging deep into Frieza's shoulder pads and wrenching him back down to the ground. The tyrant's massive body smashed into the rocky terrain like a meteor, sending dust and debris spiraling skyward. Before Frieza could even think to react, Goku was on top of him, fists blazing with green ki as they came down like hammers—again and again and again.
BADOOOM BOOOM BOOOOM!
Each punch was a thunderclap, a booming sound that echoed across the entire planetoid. Goku's eyes burned with an intensity that felt like it could melt steel, and his blows were relentless, merciless, unforgiving. Frieza's attempts to block were futile, his arms shattering under the barrage like brittle twigs as his blood splattered in sickening arcs across the ground. Each punch reverberated through Frieza's massive frame, fracturing bones, ripping tissue, and reducing the Emperor's once-dominant form to a beaten pulp.
"RAAAAGHH!" Goku roared, his voice like the call of a beast, primal and furious.
He slammed his knee into Frieza's ribs, the sickening crunch confirming that they were all but shattered.
Another punch, this time to the face—Frieza's jaw seemingly cracked, blood flying from his mouth as his head whipped back from the sheer force.
With each strike, Goku's power flared brighter, the green aura surrounding him growing more fierce and unstable, crackling like lightning. There was no restraint in his blows—each punch was intended to shatter, each kick to maim, and every attack a testament to the devastation Frieza had brought upon the universe. The ground trembled, split, and shattered beneath their fight, and the transparent sky itself seemed to writhe in response to Goku's might.
Vegeta's eyes were wide, his lips twitching between a snarl and a manic grin. There was something glorious about it, watching Frieza be torn apart by a Saiyan of all things. "YES! YES, KAKAROT! MAKE HIM SUFFER! SHOW HIM OUR WRATH!"
Vegeta's laughter rang out across the battlefield, full of a kind of manic pleasure that he had never known before.
Despite all his hatred and rivalry toward Goku, despite all his jealousy and insecurity, there was no denying it—seeing Frieza, his lifelong oppressor, being pulverized by one of their own was the sweetest victory he could imagine.
"KAKAROT! KILL HIM! KILL HIM!"
Frieza's roars of pain and anger cut through the battle, and yet his arrogance persisted. "You... You... filthy... MONKEY!" he screamed, his voice trembling with rage and desperation. Frieza's second form—tall, massive, an embodiment of brute strength—was crumbling beneath the fury of the Ikari Saiyan, reducing to a glorified punching bag of all things.
But Goku did not let up. He grabbed Frieza by the face, his hand completely enveloping the tyrant's head, and dragged him across the ground, carving a trench as they went. The friction tore apart the surface of the planet, stones and metal grinding to dust beneath Frieza's weight. Goku lifted Frieza up by the head, staring into his bloodshot eyes.
"This... this is for all the lives you destroyed," Goku hissed, voice guttural as his sanity struggled to stay. "All those people... all those families... I WON'T FORGIVE YOU!"
And with that, he launched Frieza into the air, a blinding green light surrounding Goku's form as he took off after him like a bullet. The moment he reached Frieza, Goku's hands moved like lightning—he pummeled him with a brutal flurry of punches, each blow faster than the last, each one harder, until they became an indistinguishable blur of destruction.
Frieza's massive form looked like a helpless ragdoll being tossed around, his screams drowned out by the sheer force of Goku's rage.
The storm of punches culminated in Goku's green aura flaring once more, swirling around his fist as he drew back and unleashed a hammer blow to Frieza's stomach—a punch so powerful it folded the tyrant in half once more, sending him hurtling down toward the ground with the force of a bomb.
BOOOOM!
The impact cratered the ground, a massive explosion ripping through the terrain. Goku hovered above, his breath coming in heavy, savage bursts, every muscle in his body tensed and ready to continue the onslaught. He stared down into the crater, watching as Frieza's battered form twitched and struggled to stand.
One thing was for certain: the tyrant's durability was absolutely ridiculous.
Despite the beat-down, Frieza still glared up at Goku with that same twisted hatred.
Goku's yellow eyes gleamed like the eyes of a beast ready to pounce. The ferocity of his Saiyan blood burned hotter than it ever had before, the rage of his people, of all those lost, flowing through him like a river of fire.
He descended slowly, the green aura flickering wildly around him like a raging storm, stepping closer to Frieza as the tyrant struggled to stand.
And as Goku stared down at him, there was no inkling mercy, no compassion.
There was only the Ikari, the rage—the full might of Saiyan wrath, ready to obliterate the one who had brought so much death and destruction.
"Kakarot..." Frieza hissed, his voice hoarse, broken... but not defeated. "You... You..."
For once in his life, Frieza—the so-called Emperor of the Universe—had fear etched into his face. But there was also a burning fury, an indignation that this lowly Saiyan, this insufferable Kakarot, would dare to humiliate him.
And Goku knew it. He relished in that rage. For once, it wasn't his own sense of fair play, or compassion, or forgiveness that ruled him—he was vengeance incarnate, and he wasn't going to give Frieza a moment to collect himself.
"What's the matter, Frieza?" he growled, his voice deep, layered with the power of his Ikari form. "Don't tell me that's all you've got!"
Before Frieza could formulate a response, Goku vanished. One moment he was walking toward him, and the next, he reappeared in front of Frieza's slumped body, his fist already drawn back. It was a blur of motion—an explosion of movement that Frieza could barely follow.
BOOM!
Goku's punch connected with Frieza's abdomen like a warhammer striking metal, shattering bones and rupturing organs. The force of the blow sent shockwaves through the planet once more in a seemingly redundant manner, causing the ground beneath them to fissure and crack once more. Frieza's eyes went wide as his mouth gaped open, spit and blood spraying from his lips as the pain overwhelmed him.
"How does it feel, huh?!" Goku roared, his voice an echo of righteous fury. "To have all that power, all that control—ripped away?!"
Frieza couldn't respond. He couldn't breathe. The Saiyan had forced all the air from his lungs with that single strike, and before he could react, Goku's hand gripped the top of his head. With a monstrous growl, Goku hurled him into the air with effortless strength, tossing Frieza like a ragdoll toward one of the planet's moons.
Frieza's body cut through the air like a bullet, his trajectory leaving a fiery trail in the sky. Goku shot after him, his Ikari-enhanced speed closing the distance in the blink of an eye. By the time Frieza managed to correct his flight path and look back, Goku was already there, fist glowing with blinding green ki.
WHAM!
The punch collided with Frieza's jaw, snapping his head to the side with a bone-crunching CRACK. The force sent Frieza careening sideways, his body ricocheting off a jagged rocky peak and spiraling downward. Rocks exploded into dust as the tyrant was buried beneath the rubble, the force of Goku's attack shattering the natural or perhaps unnatural construct into oblivion.
But Goku wasn't done.
He lifted his hands, and they were instantly surrounded by spheres of ki, each one buzzing and crackling like unstable energy bombs. With a primal roar, Goku hurled the ki blasts down at the buried Frieza, each orb leaving a green streak in the air before it detonated on impact.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Each explosion was like a miniature sun erupting on the surface, the blasts flattening the mountains formed from the battle, sending avalanches of rock and metal crashing down, creating waves of destruction that spread across the planet's surface. Goku didn't stop, didn't relent—the ki blasts just kept coming, more and more, each one raining down like a bolt of fury. It was an onslaught without mercy, a relentless barrage meant to obliterate Frieza completely.
And when the smoke finally cleared, there was silence.
For a brief moment, it seemed like Frieza was gone, his body reduced to nothing but ash and dust in the wake of Goku's attacks. But then...
A movement. A shuddering from beneath the ground.
Frieza emerged from the wreckage, blood dripping from a thousand wounds. But he was still alive, somehow still standing, though his once-pristine face was now a mess of bruises, cuts, and swelling. His eyes glowed with rage, with humiliation, with the purest form of malice.
"You... you wretched monkey..." Frieza hissed, the words dripping venom. "How dare you..."
But Goku wasn't interested in hearing Frieza speak. In a flash, Goku closed the distance between them, grabbing Frieza by the horns and twisting his head to the side before bringing his knee up into Frieza's face...
BANGG! The impact shattered Frieza's nose, and Goku followed up immediately, slamming his fist into Frieza's side, the force of which sent the tyrant's body bending at a sickening angle as his ribs cracked under the pressure. CRACKK!
Frieza's mouth opened in a soundless scream, and Goku didn't let up. He drove a kick into Frieza's back, launching him into the air, and then leapt after him, the green ki around Goku's body intensifying until it was practically blinding. He grabbed Frieza's arm mid-air, spun in a tight circle to gain momentum, and then hurled Frieza back down to the ground with all his might.
WHOOOSH—CRASH!
Frieza's body smashed into the earth, forming another massive crater, and Goku landed on top of him like a descending god of destruction, his fists already a blur as he continued to pound Frieza into the ground. Each punch was a statement—every blow a declaration that the Saiyan race was not finished, not broken, not destroyed.
With every hit, Goku was avenging the countless innocents that had fallen to Frieza's tyranny, the countless worlds he had wiped out.
Vegeta's cackling only added to the atmosphere, his voice booming across the battlefield as he howled in wicked delight. "YES, KAKAROT! TEAR HIM APART! THIS IS IT! THIS IS THE END FRIEZA! THE SUPER SAIYAN WILL END YOU!"
Goku's eyes flashed with that yellow, primal glow, his hair wild, his teeth bared like the fangs of a predator.
He pulled his fist back, ready to strike one final, decisive blow—
But Frieza wasn't done.
With a guttural roar, Frieza's eyes glinted, his body tensed, and he unleashed a burst of energy that knocked Goku off balance, sending him stumbling backward. The space tyrant's form seemed to swell, his aura flaring bright red as he let out a blood-curdling scream.
"YOU'VE GONE TOO FAR, SAIYAN!"
The sky around them twisted and warped, and Frieza's energy burst in a chaotic storm around him, a cyclone of power that shattered the ground and blackened the already transparent skies. The sheer force of it sent Goku skidding back, his green aura resisting the tempest of power that Frieza unleashed.
And in that storm, Frieza's hate-filled eyes burned with a promise—a promise that this was far from over.
But Goku—Ikari Goku—simply grinned. He wasn't afraid. He was excited.
"Then come on, Frieza! Let's see what else you've got!"
"You… Kakarot!" Frieza spat, his voice a venomous snarl as his hate-filled eyes locked onto Goku. "You dare to challenge me? To defy the Emperor of the Universe? I will remind you, Saiyan scum, that you are nothing more than a worm—a pest beneath my heel!"
Goku's aura surged brighter in response, the green energy of his Ikari form flaring like an inferno that stood in defiance of Frieza's purple storm.
"My name…" his voice was calm, but it carried the weight of his wrath. "…is GOKU."
The declaration rang out, cutting through Frieza's storm of power like a thunderclap. The defiance in Goku's voice wasn't just for Frieza—it was for everything the tyrant represented. It was a declaration of his identity, his humanity, and the life he had built on Earth.
Frieza's lips curled into a sneer. "Goku?" he hissed, mocking the name. "What nonsense. You are a Saiyan, a filthy monkey, nothing more! Your name means nothing! Your race means nothing!"
Goku's feral grin returned. "You're wrong, Frieza. My name means everything. It's the name of the man who's gonna take you down."
Frieza's roar drowned out the final syllable, his transformation reaching its crescendo. The ground beneath his feet collapsed completely, leaving him hovering over a molten crater as waves of heat and energy poured off his body. His form grew bulkier and his aura pulsed like a beating heart.
"YOU WILL DIE SCREAMING, KAKAROT—OR GOKU, OR WHATEVER WORTHLESS NAME YOU CLAIM!" the tyrant bellowed, his voice shaking the very foundations of the planet. "YOUR BARBARIC AND STUPID SUPER SAIYAN LEGEND ENDS HERE!"
Goku clenched his fists, his grin widening. He planted his feet, the ground beneath him cracking as his emerald aura surged, going band for band with Frieza's energy.
"Then stop talking and show me!" he shouted, his voice ringing with anticipation. "Come on, Frieza! Let's finish this!"
Each passing second brought a new surge of power, and every surge seemed to weigh down the air like a suffocating blanket, making it harder to breathe. The sky itself seemed to react to Frieza's power, shifting from its natural black hue to a terrifying blood-red, as if the heavens themselves recoiled at the transformation taking place.
From a distance, six figures dashed across the desolate, shattered landscape with incredible speed as they sped toward the epicenter of power.
Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Ino, Hinata, and Lee finally arrived on the scene, their faces reflecting a mix of awe, confusion, and utter dread at what they were witnessing.
The shinobi were immediately hit by the oppressive power radiating from Frieza, and it felt like a sledgehammer to the gut.
There was nothing like this on Earth.
No force they'd ever encountered in their lives compared.
The presence of pure malice seemed to drill into their very souls, and even the fearless among them had to fight the urge to quickly cower.
"W-what the hell is happening...?" Naruto's voice cracked slightly as his eyes locked on the monstrous sight of Frieza's transforming body, the tyrant's muscle mass bulging and bones snapping as he grew into his new form. "And why... why isn't Goku doing anything about it? He's... he's wide open!"
Sasuke, sharing Naruto's bewilderment, activated his Sharingan, his crimson eyes darting between Goku and Frieza.
It was unfathomable that someone like Goku, who was practically glowing with power and readiness, would just... stand there. The lines of reality blurred for Sasuke as he tried to comprehend the scene, but no matter how he looked at it, this was a golden opportunity to strike.
And yet, the Saiyan remained still.
"Goku... what the hell are you doing?" Sasuke muttered, his voice just loud enough for those around him to hear. "Frieza's practically begging to be killed right now, and he's just letting it happen?!"
As much as Hinata loved, trusted, and believed in her husband, even she had to fight down the instinct to rush forward and end the abomination that was Frieza before he could complete his transformation.
"I... I don't get it," Sakura added, her hands clenched tightly, her knuckles white. She was visibly sweating as the rising power threatened to crush her to the ground, her inner instincts screaming to attack, to put an end to the threat. "If we don't do something now—"
"Why is this just being allowed?!" Ino interjected, her voice shaking with confusion and fear, her wide eyes flicking between Goku and Frieza. "We're just standing here? Watching him get stronger?! This is insane!"
Lee, his stance firm despite the oppressive weight in the air, clenched his fists tightly at his sides. "This feels wrong," he admitted, his voice low, his passion dampened but not extinguished. "A true battle is about strength, yes, but also protecting the people we care for. If Goku fails—"
"Oh, for the love of—SHUT THE HELL UP!" Vegeta's voice sliced through the panic like a blade.
He didn't turn to look at the shinobi behind him; his eyes were fixed on Frieza and Goku, as if nothing else mattered in the universe. His face was a mask of both fury and admiration, an unwilling respect for his fellow Saiyan's sheer might mixed with the bitterness of his own positioning.
"Don't you dare question Kakarot!" the prince continued, his voice rising in intensity, nearly spitting with every word. "This is his battle! He deserves to face Frieza on equal terms. No... no tricks, no cheap shots while he's transforming. You weaklings—none of you—could ever understand what it means to be a true warrior! A fight to the death, one-on-one, with honor and strength... THAT is what Kakarot is seeking."
Naruto's fists clenched in frustration. "But that's just... dumb! This isn't some... some game of pride or ego, this is life or death! What if—?"
"Shut the fuck up and stay out of it!" Vegeta barked back, shooting a venomous glare at Naruto. "If you can't comprehend the honor of a battle between warriors, then stay out of the way! Weaklings like you... you have no place in the realm of the strong!" The prince's eyes flickered back to Goku, and in them was a flicker of something that could only be called... hope. "Kakarot... is the one who will finish this."
Ino opened her mouth to respond, but her voice caught as she felt the crushing weight of Frieza's aura intensify. Instead, she exchanged a worried glance with Lee, who stared resolutely at the two titans about to clash. Despite his discomfort with the situation, Lee gave her a brief nod.
"We have to trust him," Lee said quietly. "If Goku fails, then we act. Until then... we wait."
Ino hesitated but eventually nodded, swallowing hard as her gaze shifted back to Goku. "He'd better not fail," she muttered under her breath.
Despite everything—the power, the stakes, the danger—Goku remained relaxed, his body perfectly still and his gaze unwavering as he watched Frieza's form writhe and mutate before him. He was unfazed by the monstrous transformation unfolding in front of him, and more than that—he seemed... ever more eager.
He wanted this fight, badly. Goku's yellow eyes, feral and glowing like an animal's, glimmered with anticipation as he absorbed every second of Frieza's transformation.
"Come on already...!" his voice rumbled from deep within his chest, the primal tone betraying the level of rage and excitement that surged through him like a tidal wave. "Show me everything! Show me your true power! Don't hold anything back!"
The shinobi stood in stunned silence, the reality of the situation slowly dawning on them.
This wasn't a normal battle.
This was a duel between gods, between beings so far beyond them that they could only watch and bear witness.
Frieza was nearly done transforming, his elongated body hunched over as raw energy whipped around him like an electrical storm. His bones continued to crack and shift, and his skin split to reveal hardened, bony spikes lining his arms and shoulders. A visceral scream of agony—or was it ecstasy?—escaped his lips, and with each passing second, his power grew, towering over the already absurd levels they had felt earlier.
Vegeta's voice lowered into a near-whisper as he observed the scene, as if speaking a prophecy. "Yes... yes... that's it, Kakarot... fight him. Fight him to the very end... until one of you falls." His teeth clenched as he swallowed down his own fear, forcing himself to embrace the thrill. "This is the battle that will decide everything."
The planet quaked harder, and the pressure became unbearable for the shinobi.
Lee, who had seen more battles than most in his life, felt his body tighten as if preparing for death itself. "This... this is... beyond anything... anything we've ever faced."
Sasuke's Sharingan eyes locked onto Frieza's form, desperately trying to analyze, to understand the immense power he felt but could not fully grasp. "...I thought we'd be helping to save the world. But right now... right now, all we can do is watch."
And finally, Frieza's body exploded with light, his aura blasting outward like a nuclear bomb as his transformation came to completion. When the light subsided, the monster that remained was far more terrifying than before—towering, hulking, and monstrous. Frieza's laughter echoed across the grey wasteland as he opened his glowing red eyes, meeting Goku's with a gaze that promised nothing but death.
"Well then, Saiyan... let's see if that bravado of yours can last through this," Frieza's voice was somehow even deeper than before. "You wanted my true power? Then you shall have it... and you will die knowing the terror of the strongest being in the universe."
Goku grinned back savagely, his aura sparking violently as it flared around him. "Perfect! Let's go!"
The air stood still for one eternal moment—before it shattered as both warriors launched at each other, fists drawn back and screaming like wild beasts, ready to collide with the force of a million worlds.
DOOOOOOSHH!
Ikari Goku and Third Form Frieza collided with the force of living hurricanes times a trillion, shockwaves exploding outward with every punch and kick, leaving craters the size of mountains in their wake. A deafening BOOM rang through the battlefield each time their limbs met. The ground cracked and buckled, fissures spider-webbing out from beneath their feet as they traded blows that blurred the lines of reality, leaving nothing but flashes of light and thunderous sound in their place.
The others stood relatively far away, trying their best to make sense of the unholy chaos before them.
"Damn it, I can't even... keep up..." Naruto muttered, his eyes darting back and forth, trying desperately to lock onto the fight, but it was like trying to watch lightning dance in a storm. Goku and Frieza moved at speeds beyond comprehension, flashes of green and purple ripping through the sky.
"Don't bother," Vegeta growled, his voice carrying an uncharacteristic seriousness, his eyes narrowed as he tracked the movements. "Kakarot is beyond your reach. This... this is what it means to be a true Saiyan warrior. To face death and dance with it." He clenched his fists, his Saiyan blood boiling with both jealousy and pride. "This is a battle for supremacy."
Lee stood beside him, his sharp eyes straining to catch glimpses of the brawl above them, but it was futile. "I've... I've trained as hard as I could for years... and I can't even begin to follow their movements." He gritted his teeth, feeling the insignificance of all his hard work, as if it were dust in the wind before such titans.
"Neither can I," Sakura admitted, sharing Lee's sentiment. "But... I can feel it... like... like the entire planet is coming apart."
Beside her, Hinata's Tenseigan eyes flared with a vibrant blue glow, tracking Goku and Frieza's movements like a hawk zeroing in on its prey. Her breath caught in her throat as she followed Goku's brutal efficiency.
"Goku is... winning," she said quietly, awe and pride swelling in her voice as she observed her husband unleash a relentless onslaught of power and fury, every move precise and overwhelming. "He... he just... he won't stop."
Meanwhile, Sasuke's Rinnegan was able to track every punch, every blast, every movement just as well as Hinata, but even he felt the strain of keeping up. "It's more than just speed..." he muttered, his voice low and contemplative. "Frieza's no slouch. He's fast... he's strong... but Goku's... it's like he's... an unstoppable force."
Ino's head snapped between Sasuke and Hinata, her anxiety spiking as she struggled to piece the picture together through their eyes. "You're telling me Goku is just... tanking everything? That's... insane! How...?"
As if to answer her, a massive sonic boom cracked through the atmosphere as Goku slammed his fist into Frieza's gut, the impact concaving the tyrant's body with a sickening crunch. Frieza's mouth hung open in a silent scream as the force of the blow rippled through his entire frame, blood spraying from his lips like a fountain.
Yet, in an instant, Frieza recovered, his eyes filled with hatred as he roared and fired a barrage of purple Death Beams from his fingers.
SHZZZZZZT! The beams sliced through the sky with the speed far beyond light, carving through anything they touched—mountains, rock formations, the very ground itself—leaving gaping holes of molten lava in their wake.
But Goku... Ikari Goku was freaking relentless.
He charged straight through the beams, his emerald aura flaring like a raging wildfire, the searing heat and power of Frieza's attacks scorching his skin but failing to slow him down even for a moment.
"No... no way," Sakura whispered, disbelief coloring her voice. "He's just... he's running through all of it?"
"Yeah... that's Goku alright..." Naruto said, a shaky grin forming on his face. "When he gets serious... there's nothing that can stop him." Despite the tension, there was a certain awe in his voice, a feeling of witnessing something truly godlike.
Frieza's expression twisted into one of barely concealed panic as Goku closed the gap, swatting away the Death Beams like they were nothing but flies.
"You insolent... filthy... MONKEY!" the tyrant screamed, throwing his arms forward to fire a massive red ki blast that dwarfed Goku in size, like a falling star crashing down. The ground beneath Goku cratered deeply from the sheer pressure of the incoming attack.
"YAAAHHH!" Goku met the attack with his own blast—a one-handed Kamehameha, a brilliant blue energy beam that erupted from his palm.
KRAKOOOM! The two blasts collided mid-air, creating a massive explosion that vaporized everything within miles, throwing debris and smoke into the sky like a volcanic eruption. But as the smoke cleared, the Saiyan burst through the dissipating energy, unscathed, a manic smile across his face.
He pounced forward and planted a foot square in Frieza's chest, sending him rocketing into the ground below, cratering it upon impact.
BOOOOM! The shockwave from the impact flattened the rocky formations and large sums of debris, and the earth groaned as it trembled beneath the overwhelming power of the collision.
But Frieza was not so easily defeated.
He pushed himself up, his monstrous form barely scratched, and met Goku in mid-air again with a brutal fist aimed at the Saiyan's face.
Goku leaned to the side, dodging effortlessly, before responding with a ruthless counter—a hammer blow to Frieza's spine that sent him plummeting back down. The ground caved in like soft dirt, swallowing Frieza whole before he burst out in a rage, launching a chaotic wave of energy blasts. Goku weaved through the blasts with primal agility, his body moving with a fluidity that felt more like a force of nature than a man.
Each time he closed the distance, each time Frieza landed a hit, Goku responded with even greater power.
"Impossible...!" Frieza gasped, struggling to keep up as Goku clawed into his defenses. "How... HOW ARE YOU THIS STRONG?!"
"Why don't you find out?!" Goku roared back with vigor.
With every strike, he could feel his power rising, pushing himself beyond the edge, as if he were tapping into the rage of every Saiyan that had ever lived. He grabbed Frieza by the face and smashed him through the ground, through the earth, the planet quaking and cracking under the force of the blow. Before Frieza could even react, Goku swung him like a rag doll, hurling him into the air, then reappearing above him in an instant to deliver a crushing knee to the jaw.
CRACK! The sound of Frieza's jaw shattering echoed through the wasteland, and his body spun uncontrollably as he crashed back to the ground. He tried to rise, his body bruised and bloodied, but Goku was relentless. In the blink of an eye, the Saiyan was upon him again, driving a fist deep into his midsection and knocking the wind and blood out of the tyrant.
For every breath Frieza took, Goku responded with a haymaker to the ribs.
For every step Frieza made, Goku answered with a devastating kick to the legs or side.
There was no reprieve—no pause—only pure, unrelenting power.
Sasuke shook his head in disbelief. "This isn't just strength... it's... it's... savagery."
"This isn't a fight anymore," Hinata said, her voice barely above a whisper, her eyes wide with amazement and horror. "This is an execution."
Naruto clenched his fists tighter, both fear and excitement flooding his veins. "Yeah... yeah it is."
BOOM! Goku drove his fist into Frieza's stomach once more, sending shockwaves rippling through the air, but this time he didn't stop. He grabbed Frieza by the shoulders, his muscles straining, and began to squeeze, crushing Frieza under the pressure of his grip as he hoisted him into the air.
Goku's wild eyes met Frieza's gaze, the Saiyan's voice a thunderous roar of dominance. "This is for... everyone... you ever hurt... every planet you ever destroyed...!"
And with that, he drove Frieza into the earth once more with a thunderous double-axe handle, the planet shaking under the brutal impact, as if screaming in agony under the force of the attack.
As the seconds passed, the gap between them only grew, widening with every punch, every kick, every blast.
Frieza's fearsome visage—a contorted beastly face full of sharp fangs and protruding horns—was battered and bruised, blood running down his purple lips as he struggled to keep up with the monstrous power of Goku's Ikari state. The once unstoppable tyrant had become little more than a punching bag, each strike from Goku quite literally rocking his world!
BOOM! Goku's fist connected with Frieza's ribs once again, and the sound of shattering bones could be heard by everyone watching. The blast of force that followed sent shockwaves throughout the surrounding area, obliterating boulders and cracking the planet's surface like glass.
Goku's face was twisted into a primal snarl, and his eyes—pupils black, irises golden—blazed with an unholy fire.
The Saiyan's muscles swelled with each burst of power, veins throbbing with energy as his green aura flared and flickered like the flames of an unstoppable wildfire.
The seventeen year-old was on the verge of completely losing himself.
Meanwhile, the others—Naruto, Sasuke, Hinata, Ino, Lee, and Sakura—could only stand in tense silence, the bloodlust and brutality of Goku's Ikari form weighing heavily on their shoulders, filling their lungs with suffocating despair.
What if he turned his rage toward them next? Kami forbid.
Frieza stumbled backward, his breath ragged, his once-perfect posture a hobbled mess as he dropped to his knees, clutching his broken ribs. "Wait... wait... wait...!" he rasped, lifting a trembling hand in a plea for mercy, his cruel eyes now filled with desperation. "P-please, you must... stop! Spare me, Goku! I... I am the Emperor! I... I will grant you anything... power, wealth... planets...!"
Goku loomed over him, his face a visage of rage and vengeance, lightning cracking around his body as he cupped his hands to the side, his stance iconic, fingers splayed. Blue energy began to crackle and pool between his palms, swirling into a brilliant Kamehameha.
"You think... that after everything you've done... you deserve to be spared?! You destroyed my race... destroyed Namek... killed trillions... just for fun!" Goku's voice was deep, guttural, like a beast barely containing its rage. The Kamehameha grew in size, the light casting ominous shadows across the shattered landscape as he prepared to fire the final attack.
Frieza's lips curled into a desperate, trembling smile, his voice growing more frantic. "Wait, wait, WAIT! You... you fool! You... don't understand!"
The tyrant's eyes darted around, searching for any sign of mercy, only finding wrath in Goku's gaze. And then a light bulb flickered in his mind, a perfect idea indeed.
"You... you have no idea... I have... I have ONE more transformation! ONE more form! You... you haven't... seen... my TRUE POWER!"
The declaration hung heavy in the air, the words echoing in the hearts of everyone present. And for a moment, just a moment, Goku's eyes flickered with intrigue. The Kamehameha halted in his palms, still swirling with dangerous energy but held back, barely restrained.
"Then... do it," Goku growled, voice heavy with both anger and excitement. "Do it NOW, Frieza. Or I'll end you right here!"
"G-Goku!" Hinata's voice pierced the tension, desperate and pleading as she sprinted forward, eyes wide with fear. "End him! NOW! Don't let him transform! Please... please just kill him now...!" Her voice cracked, trembling as she spoke.
Despite her faith in Goku, a premonition of pure dread clawed at her heart, chilling her soul to its core. It was as if she could intuitively sense that allowing Frieza to transform would unleash something unstoppable, something they could not comprehend.
Sasuke, his Rinnegan glowing ominously, shared her anxiety. "She's right, Goku," he said, stepping forward beside Hinata, his voice urgent. "He's stalling for time. Kill him now while you still can!"
The plea only fueled Goku's growing rage and excitement, the Saiyan unable to resist the call of a warrior's challenge.
His blood roared for battle, for the ultimate test of strength.
He cast them both a defiant glance. "No. If he's got something left... I want to see it. I need to beat him at his strongest!"
"Damnit Kakarot, you IDIOT!" Vegeta snarled, his face pale with a rare vulnerability that betrayed his overwhelming fear. He clenched his fists so hard that blood dripped from his gloved palms, his teeth bared as he fought against his own rising dread. "You... you don't understand! If Frieza... if he reaches his final form...!"
Naruto looked between them all, his knuckles white as he gripped his kunai tightly. "Then why don't we just do it ourselves?! We can—"
"No!" Vegeta's shout cut through Naruto's suggestion, the Saiyan Prince turning to the shinobi with eyes wide and wild. A rare desperation played across his features, his pride overridden by his deep-rooted terror of the potential of Frieza's final form. "You... I need you to hit me. Hit me NOW!"
"What...?" Naruto was taken aback, the insanity of the request stunning him into silence.
"I said HIT ME!" the prince roared, his voice cracking under the pressure of his emotions. "I... I need you to hit me... as hard as you can... so your little pink-haired girl can heal me!" The panic in his voice was almost manic, his body trembling. "Do it now before it's... before it's too—!"
Naruto was still, trying to wrap his head around what Vegeta was saying. "W-why would I—?"
"Enough talk!" Vegeta's eyes flashed with sudden ferocity, and before anyone could react, he moved toward Sakura with the intent to kill—if Naruto wouldn't do it due to his charitable nature, then he would give him a reason to try to kill him.
He reached out a hand to break Sakura's neck—
"RASENSHURIKEN!" Naruto's eyes blazed with fury as he threw his arm forward, a spinning vortex of blue and white chakra spiraling out, razor-sharp energy ripping through the air.
SHHHHHHHK! The Rasenshuriken closed the distance between them in an instant, colliding with Vegeta's torso, the explosion of chakra ripping through the Saiyan's body, tearing flesh, bone, and muscle as blood splattered across the ground.
Vegeta crumpled, his body falling to the ground like a broken doll, blood seeping from the massive, gaping wound in his abdomen, struggling to even breathe. His eyes were wild, flickering between life and death as he clung to consciousness. He reached out, arm shaking as he called out to the only person who could save him.
"W-Woman... please... heal me... now..."
Sakura stood frozen, her body trembling as she looked down at the fallen prince, the same man who had tried to take her life mere seconds ago. Her mind raced with conflicting emotions—fear, anger, disgust... and yet... a sense of duty. Vegeta's life hung in the balance, blood pooling around him as he struggled for every breath.
But the cruelty of his actions, the lives he had taken, the choices he made—they clawed at her mind, paralyzing her.
"Please..." Vegeta choked, blood pouring from his mouth, staining the ground beneath him. His voice was barely more than a desperate rasp, the proud Prince of Saiyans brought to his knees, begging for life. "Heal me..."
And as Sakura's hands hovered above his body, fingers trembling, the battle between mercy and vengeance began to rage within her, leaving her unable to move.
Meanwhile, the blue glow in Goku's hands flickered and then, in a surprising act of restraint, the energy dissipated like a candle flame snuffed out in the darkness. Goku relaxed his fingers, still maintaining his aggressive posture, but standing down as Frieza—panting, beaten, bruised—slowly pushed himself back to his feet.
The moment was quiet, a deadly calm before the storm. Around them, the barren terrain of Frieza Planet 79 continued to tremble, not with the force of blows, but with a primordial fear that even the planet itself seemed to recognize.
Something horrific was coming.
Goku stood firm, his Ikari form snarling and savage, his hair wild and spiked per usual. Golden eyes metaphorically pierced through Frieza as he watched the tyrant begin to change once again.
"Don't keep me waiting..." the Saiyan growled, his voice low and bestial, excitement mixing dangerously with impatience.
The others stood at the edge of the battlefield, the pressure of the combatants forcing them to maintain distance. They'd seen transformations before—tails and Gates and all manner of shinobi prowess.
But nothing like this. This... evolution. The immense power of the alien tyrant was unlike anything they had ever felt before.
Vegeta's pained groans filled the space where there should have been awe. His pride, his agony—and most importantly he was losing the race to Frieza's power.
It infuriated him to no end. As he heard Kakarot taunt Frieza, allowing him to transform, it felt like a personal affront despite the irony of him doing the same when he allowed Frieza to transform initially into his second form. Both he and Kakarot were two-sides of the same coin, it seemed.
They were both idiots.
"That fool... that arrogant... damned fool," he rasped, his breathing labored but furious, spitting his words through bloody teeth. "Damn you... Kakarot... I should be the one... not you..."
Hinata stood behind Sakura, her hands tight around her own arms as she hugged herself in attempts to quell the fear crawling up her spine.
"Sakura... please," she implored, her eyes filled with the same dread she had felt ever since Goku let Frieza begin to transform. "We need... we need all the help we can get. If you don't heal him... and if Frieza really is stronger than Goku this time... we'll be..."
Sasuke's Rinnegan pulsed faintly as he glared at the Saiyan prince barely clinging to life. "Hinata's right. I'm almost certain we don't have the luxury of picking and choosing our allies right now." He glanced at Sakura solemnly. "Whatever personal issues we have... they don't matter right now. I don't like it, but we need him."
Sakura's face twisted in conflict as she gazed down at the bleeding, broken body of Vegeta.
He had nearly killed her just now, and it wasn't a joke or ploy. He would've, if not for Naruto's swift reaction.
And yet... even she could feel it. That insurmountable power Frieza was bringing to the surface.
The dark clouds of fear loomed larger as she watched the shell of the tyrant's third form begin to crack.
Vegeta was an asset they couldn't afford to lose.
Reluctantly, Sakura knelt beside the prince, placing her hands over his nasty wound, the signature green glow of her healing chakra pulsing to life as she muttered. "You owe me for this, you arrogant bastard. First order of business: actually help kill Frieza."
Vegeta grimaced as the sensation of the healing energy washed over him, and then... power. The sweet, intoxicating surge of power. The sensation was almost orgasmic, a thrill that only a Saiyan knew in the face of death. His torn flesh knitted itself back together, his bones realigned, and he felt new strength flooding his every muscle.
Within seconds, he was not just healed; he was reborn.
Slowly, Vegeta stood, rising to his full height, eyes blazing with renewed confidence and arrogance. He clenched and unclenched his fists, feeling the raw, primal power coursing through him. He felt stronger than ever before, stronger than he could've imagined. He felt like... a god.
"Yesss... This is it...!" he breathed in, his voice carrying the note of insanity, his pride swelling to heights he'd never felt before. "I've done it! I am a Super Saiyan! Just like Kakarot! Just like the legend!" He glanced over at Goku, who stood still, a growl deep in his throat as he focused entirely on the transforming Frieza. Vegeta sneered with glee, trembling with excitement. "No... No, I'm even stronger than you both...!"
But even as the elation surged through Vegeta's veins, he was interrupted by a sound that pierced the tension like a knife—Frieza's scream. The tyrant roared in agony as his body began to crack further. The exoskeleton that shielded his third form began to splinter, shattering and falling away.
The sky darkened, the stars blotted out by a vortex of swirling clouds as the atmosphere warped even more under the intensity of Frieza's transformation. Every crack in his body, every shift in his bones, was felt by all those on the planet as if their own bodies were breaking apart. The shinobi, despite their hardened spirits, felt their blood run cold at the display of sheer, overwhelming power.
And yet, Goku... Goku was grinning. A feral, primal grin that only widened as Frieza's scream hit its apex.
"More," his growled lowly, his voice carrying through the chaos. "Show me more!"
But somewhere, buried deep in the pit of everyone sans the Saiyan's gut, a chill formed—a cold terror that neither muscle, nor technique, nor bravado could quell.
It was a terror that told them all one simple, horrifying truth: once Frieza's transformation was complete... there would be no turning back.
The very air seemed to suffocate under the weight of Frieza's power as his transformation neared its conclusion...
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM! A column of smoke—a swirling, noxious mushroom cloud—twisted high into the sky, blotting out the stars and casting a dark shadow over the battlefield. Goku's eyes, bright and wild, glowed within the haze as he stood pat, his Ikari state radiating an emerald aura that illuminated the area around him.
But even through his defiant grin, something in him bristled. Something instinctive... something primal... knew that the horror standing behind that smoke was likely an even greater beast than... than himself.
The others—Naruto, Sasuke, Hinata, Sakura, Ino, and Lee—felt that storm far more than the Saiyans did. Their eyes were wide, pupils constricted to tiny dots. The cold grip of fear latched itself around their hearts as they stood, helplessly staring into the void where Frieza stood. The smoke twisted like a living thing, curling around itself, taunting them all with every agonizing second. Even Hinata's Tenseigan could only see the outlines—the skeletal, barely-there outline of what Frieza had become—and that was more than enough to fill her with a sense of dread she had never known before.
What... was this creature? This... this thing that laughed in the face of life, defied the very balance of the universe?
Their breaths came in ragged gasps, their instincts screaming to flee, to run. The swirling smoke seemed endless, an abyss that swallowed hope whole and spit it out in mockery. Hinata clasped her hands tightly, feeling the trembling there. Sasuke's Rinnegan spun, analyzing every trace of energy Frieza exuded—yet still failing to grasp the depths of it. Naruto clenched his fists so hard that his nails dug into his palms, the stinging pain barely keeping him tethered to the moment. Lee was silent, his hard work and who he was in full all seemed irrelevant in the face of this overwhelming darkness. Ino and Sakura glanced at each other, their gazes exchanging fear, regret, and an unspoken goodbye should this be their final battle.
Vegeta's eyes narrowed, fists shaking as his Saiyan blood roared for a fight. Despite the icy fear in his veins, the rage that had fueled him for so long, that had shaped his very existence, boiled to the surface.
"Let him come... Let that monster show himself..." his words carried bravado, but they were tinged with desperation. He was the Prince of Saiyans. He couldn't fall now, not in the face of his most hated enemy... but even he could feel it... NO, he refused to acknowledge it!
He could not afford to show his hesitation. It would be death.
The smoke began to clear, swirling away like mist in a waking nightmare. And there he was.
Frieza stood revealed, smaller and more compact than ever before, yet somehow more horrifying because of it. His figure was sleek and composed, a terrifying elegance that betrayed his violent nature. White plates of bio-armor clung to his skin like an exoskeleton, with purple accents shining at his shoulders, shins, and the top of his head. He was no longer the grotesque behemoth that bullied Vegeta and then got absolutely dominated by Son Goku—no, now he was... refined.
It was like staring into the eyes of death itself, and death was calm, composed... perplexingly bored.
A cruel smirk played on his lips—now a deep shade of purple that glistened under the planet's pale light. His eyes, red and haunting, scanned the crowd of warriors before him. He was... smaller. Much smaller. And that terrified them all the more. Because there was no longer any excess... there was only what was needed, the purest form of Frieza distilled to its most efficient, most deadly state. It was the form of one who knew he had no equal.
The shinobi, who had thought they had seen monsters, witnessed horrors, and faced death, felt their insides twist with pure, unfiltered fear. Their life flashed before their eyes, every decision that led them to this moment, every breath, every heartbeat—had it all been for nothing? The tension in the air was suffocating. In that moment, they felt like ants staring up at a god—a god who intended to crush them without a second thought.
Frieza simply stood there, not deigning to make a move. Not yet. He wanted them to feel it. Wanted them to know, without a doubt, that their fate was already sealed.
And when he finally opened his mouth, the word that came out was soft, almost a whisper, but it carried the force of an atomic bomb.
"Bang."
There was a flash. A sickening, red flash of energy that cut through the air like a bolt of pure malice. The sound was deafening—an explosion so loud it sent shockwaves rippling out in all directions, uprooting the ground and toppling rocky spires. The death beam, smaller than the size of a pinhead, shot out from Frieza's fingertip at a speed that defied perception, so fast that not even Goku's golden eyes could track it.
Nobody had time to react. Not Naruto, not Sakura, not Lee, not Ino, not Hinata, not even Vegeta, who could only watch in helpless shock.
And then it hit.
Someone gasped—a sharp, choking intake of breath. Eyes went wide, and hands reached out instinctively. Dust and debris filled the air, and a tremor ran through the ground as the sound of impact echoed in their ears. The smoke cleared in the blink of an eye, leaving the battlefield eerily still once more.
And there it was. One of them, one of the heroes who had stood together to face the terror of the universe... was down.
A limp body crumpled to the ground, lifeless.
The others stared, their faces frozen in an expression of horror, dread, and denial.
But who?
No one spoke, no one moved—time itself stood still. The fear of who was gone paralyzed them, their minds refusing to process what they already knew in their hearts.
And Frieza... Frieza just smiled.