Cooler froze for a split second—then his lips curled higher and higher into a cold, arrogant grin.
"Hmph. Narrow-minded fool."
"You think I saw my father, King Cold, get killed by you in just a few moves… and still came here without absolute confidence?"
Vegeta hooked a finger at him in pure contempt.
"Enough talking."
"If you want to beat me, then hurry up and do it."
"I've only been playing with you because I'm enjoying the fight. Don't blame me if I accidentally beat you to death."
Cooler snorted.
"Hmph. If you're that eager to die, then I'll stop entertaining you."
"Let me tell you something."
"The reason I said I'm stronger than Frieza…"
…his eyes narrowed…
"…is because I have one more transformation than he does."
"And after I transform—my power doesn't just increase a little."
"It increases by a ridiculous amount."
The word transformation hit Vegeta like a needle.
His mind flashed to Namek.
Frieza's forms.
Each stage was a cliff.
From half a million… to over a million… to three million…
…to a final form that climbed into a realm beyond comprehension.
One more transformation…?
Vegeta's pupils tightened.
For the first time, a thin layer of tension crept into his chest.
But pride refused to let him retreat.
He clenched his fists and shouted—
"Then quit talking and show me!"
Cooler roared.
His body began to shift.
The change wasn't huge—
not like Frieza's monstrous jumps—
but his head and crown thickened, growing into a helmet-like armor of hardened plating.
The earth trembled.
Pebbles shivered—then floated into the air.
When Cooler's transformation completed…
his aura became vastly deeper—heavier—like an ocean swelling into a tide.
Vegeta's fists trembled from excitement.
Veins bulged across his forehead.
"Hmph…"
He forced a sneer, pretending it didn't matter.
"I thought it would be something impressive. You just put on a helmet."
The moment the words left his mouth—
Cooler flickered in.
A single punch slammed into Vegeta's stomach.
"UGH—!!"
Vegeta's eyes bulged.
He was launched like a cannonball—
straight down into the ocean.
Cold water exploded around him.
The shock snapped his mind awake.
He looked up through the water—locked onto Cooler—
then became a streak of light as he rocketed back up.
But Cooler's body phased.
Vegeta punched nothing.
In the instant of confusion—
Cooler appeared behind him.
BANG!
A kick.
Vegeta blasted away again—
this time he tore through three rocky mountains before his momentum finally died.
His body splattered into the fourth cliff face—
web-like cracks spread outward—
and Vegeta was left stuck there like prey pinned in stone.
He forced himself off the wall, spat blood, and snarled—
"Damn it… his speed jumped that much…!"
Cooler's shadow appeared ten centimeters from his face.
Too close.
Too sudden.
Cooler grabbed Vegeta by the collar and lifted him effortlessly, smiling.
"Where did that arrogance go?"
"I liked you better when you had that stubborn, unbreakable look."
Vegeta's rage flared.
"GET OFF ME!"
His elbow strike detonated with a sonic boom as it smashed toward Cooler's temple—
but Cooler casually caught his wrist.
Fingers tightened like a hydraulic clamp.
CRK-CRK-CRK…
Bones protested.
Vegeta's face twisted.
A scream ripped out of him.
Cooler's grin widened.
"I heard Saiyans get stronger when they're near death."
His free hand stabbed straight into Vegeta's abdomen.
Blood sprayed in a crimson arc through the air.
"Let's see how long you can last."
Vegeta's pupils shrank to pinpoints.
Pain nearly erased his vision.
His teeth tore into his own lip—
but in the next second—
his knee snapped upward at a vicious angle, driving toward Cooler's crotch.
"DIE—!!"
THUD!
Cooler didn't even move.
Instead—
Vegeta's knee cracked.
Pain exploded upward.
Cooler burst into laughter.
"You think I'm like Frieza?"
"I studied your so-called 'battle history' before I came."
He yanked Vegeta up by the hair and hammered his face with a brutal series of punches—always the same spot.
A mouthful of blood sprayed out.
In the distance, Goku's fist tightened.
Vegeta was getting crushed.
Goku shouted, "Vegeta! Want me to take over?!"
"DON'T… INTERFERE…!"
Vegeta forced the words out of a shredded throat.
Then—
a desperate hand-knife, dripping blood, stabbed at Cooler's eye.
Cooler finally released him and pulled back a step.
But the instant Vegeta regained air—
Cooler's tail whipped like a steel cable.
WHAM!
Vegeta was launched straight upward.
Cooler crossed his arms at his chest.
A purple-black energy sphere formed instantly.
"So boring."
"Die."
He fired.
The energy sphere screamed through the air toward Vegeta—
but Vegeta suddenly forced his body to move again mid-flight, twisting in the sky.
Even while falling—
his hands snapped into a familiar stance.
"Galick—"
"GUN!!"
A violet beam erupted.
It collided with Cooler's blast.
BOOOOM!!
The explosion swallowed the sky in smoke.
But in that exact moment—
Cooler appeared right in front of Vegeta.
A single kick slammed into Vegeta's stomach.
Vegeta crossed his arms to block.
CRACK!
Both arms broke at once.
His body dropped like dead weight.
He smashed into the ground, screaming in agony—
a sound so raw it seemed to shake the world.
Cooler tossed a casual energy bullet.
It detonated nearby.
Vegeta's eyes rolled back.
His head tilted—
and he lost consciousness.
Cooler looked down at him with utter disdain.
"Hmph. So this is all a Super Saiyan amounts to."
"Frieza really was lazy."
Then he raised his palm again.
A golden energy sphere swelled instantly—
growing larger and larger—
until it resembled a miniature sun in his hand.
"Die with this planet."
Just then—
Goku flashed in front of Vegeta.
His voice was calm, almost amused.
"…Did you forget about me?"
Cooler stared—then laughed.
"Hahaha! I thought something unexpected happened."
"So I only forgot one more monkey."
He lifted his chin in contempt.
"But Saiyans are boring."
"I don't feel like wasting time fighting you."
"You can die with this planet too."
The massive energy sphere dropped.
Falling straight for both of them.
Goku didn't hesitate.
He roared—golden aura erupted—hair turned blazing gold, eyes turning green.
His hands formed the familiar cupped stance.
"Kame…hame…HA!!"
A blue beam exploded upward.
It struck Cooler's "sun."
Cooler smirked.
"Ridiculous. You think you can—"
His words snapped off.
Because something was wrong.
The energy sphere…
was being pushed back.
Not just stopped.
It was being forced upward—back toward him.
Cooler's pupils contracted.
"How…?"
He threw both hands out, trying to crush the beam and push the sphere back down.
But no matter how hard he strained—
it kept rising.
He tried to dodge—
but the massive sphere was still connected to his control.
It dragged his position with it like a chain.
"NO!"
Cooler snarled, muscles tensing as he fought to overpower it.
"Go back down!!"
Goku's roar deepened.
His aura flared—
and for a moment, his body swelled—muscles hardening as his power surged.
The Kamehameha thickened.
Its push exploded.
Cooler's resistance collapsed instantly.
He was driven backward at insane speed—
screaming—
until his body was carried straight into Namek's third sun—
and vanished.
Silence.
The sky cleared.
Goku exhaled slowly.
His muscles returned to normal.
The golden aura faded.
He dropped back into his base form.
Behind him—
Vegeta's eyes cracked open.
He had seen it.
That moment—Goku's power changing again within Super Saiyan.
Vegeta's pupils shook.
"That bastard…"
"So Super Saiyan… can still go further…"
Goku sensed him stir and turned his head.
"Vegeta—are you okay?"
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