Burter pulled up mid-flight, his giant blue frame hovering beside Jeice as both aliens looked toward the western horizon. A single, calm energy signature was approaching, not flying with a loud, crackling aura, but gliding across the landscape at a terrifying, effortless speed.
Jeice tapped his scouter, his brow furrowing as the digital readout chirped. "Hey... Burter. Is your scanner acting up? I've got a reading coming in from miles away, but the number is... five? Just a plain old five!"
"Probably just some local Namekian wildlife," Burter scoffed, though his eyes narrowed as the distance shrank to zero in a split second.
A sharp gust of wind swept across the plateau.
Out of nowhere, a man in a bright orange turtle-school gi was suddenly standing in the middle of the battleground, his heavy boots settling quietly onto the cracked rock.
Son Goku had arrived. He had landed his capsule ship far to the north earlier, but had spent the last few minutes tracking the massive, chaotic spikes of energy, first Escallion's wild Oozaru-like surge, then the sudden collapse.
Goku looked around the destroyed canyon, taking in the scene with quiet, deadly clarity: Guldo's headless body in the dirt, Recoome battered and bloody in the crater, Krillin and Gohan covered in bruises, Vegeta slumping against a rock, and Escallion collapsed on his knees, his body steaming from the sheer backlash of his Ikari form.
The easygoing look on Goku's face completely vanished, replaced by an intense, solemn focus.
"G-Goku...?" Krillin stammered, tears breaking through the grime on his face as he stared in utter disbelief. "You... you're finally here..."
"Dad!" Gohan gasped.
Goku didn't say a word. In a blur so fast that neither Burter's nor Jeice's scouters registered the movement, Goku appeared right beside Escallion. He knelt down, placing a warm, steady hand on the exhausted Saiyan's shoulder, feeling the staggering residual heat still radiating from Escallion's body.
"You did an incredible job holding the line," Goku said softly, reaching into a small leather pouch at his waist. "Eat this. It'll fix you right up."
Goku handed Escallion a small, dried Senzu bean before turning to toss two more toward Krillin and the battered Vegeta.
Up in the air, Jeice stared down at his visor, his hand trembling slightly as he tapped the side. "W-What the hell?! How did he get down there?! He didn't even leave a speed trail!"
"It's just a speed trick!" Burter barked, though cold sweat began to pool at the back of his neck as Goku stood up, his calm black eyes locking onto the two remaining members of the Ginyu Force.
Goku pressed his palm gently against the side of Escallion's forehead. A faint, golden aura hummed between his hand and the spent Saiyan's temples as Goku closed his eyes, utilizing the telepathic mind-reading technique he had mastered during his intense gravity training in space.
Images flashed through Goku's mind in rapid, vivid bursts: the arrival of the Ginyu Force, the absurd posing, Guldo's psychic time tricks, Vegeta's brutal beatdown, and finally, Escallion's sheer willpower forcing the primal mass of the Oozaru straight into his human shell. Goku felt the searing pain, the war-drum heartbeat, and the crushing exhaustion of the Ikari backlash.
Goku pulled his hand back, a look of quiet respect in his eyes. "I see... You pushed yourself past your limits to protect everyone. Take it easy now, Escallion."
Escallion chewed the Senzu bean Goku handed him. Instantly, a burst of fresh energy surged through his body, his torn muscles repaired, his breath evened out, and his stamina returned in full. Down nearby, Vegeta snapped his Senzu in half, swallowing it with a scowl as his fractured ribs instantly mended.
Goku turned around slowly, taking a few easy steps toward the middle of the canyon. He looked up at Jeice and Burter with complete, unbothered tranquility.
"Alright," Goku said softly, rolling his shoulders. "Your turn."
Jeice sneered from the sky, tapping his scouter as it read out a pathetic 5,000. "Arrogant fool! You think a fluke speed trick scares the Ginyu Force? Burter, show this trash what real speed looks like!"
"With pleasure," Burter boomed, blurring out of sight as he launched himself down at supersonic speeds, aiming a lethal, heavy kick straight at the back of Goku's head.
Goku didn't even turn around. He simply leaned his head an inch to the left. Burter's boot swept through empty air, kicking up a massive shockwave that shattered the rock behind Goku.
Burter's eyes widened in sheer disbelief. "What?!"
Burter unleashed a frantic, blinding barrage of punches and kicks, his limbs turning into a blue haze. Goku dodged every single blow with effortless, microscopic movements—hands casually at his sides, stepping smoothly through the storm of attacks without a single mark landing on his gi.
"He's... he's dodging Burter?!" Jeice gasped, his red scouter chirping erratically. "Burter's the fastest in the universe!"
"Jeice! Hit him with me!" Burter yelled, sweat pouring down his forehead as he backed off, realizing he couldn't touch the Saiyan alone.
"Purple Comet Attack!" Jeice screamed, diving down to join Burter.
The red and blue warriors spiraled around each other, becoming a twin vortex of red and blue energy that slammed down toward Goku like a drill of pure destructive force.
Goku stepped into the center of the impact zone, his expression entirely calm. As the twin vortex reached him, he simply powered up for a split second, a blinding flare of Ki exploding outward, shattering their combination attack into harmless sparks.
Before either could recover from the shockwave, Goku surged forward.
He appeared directly in front of Burter, striking a single, brutal elbow straight into the giant blue warrior's stomach. Burter's eyes bulged, his breath exploding from his lungs as the sheer force paralyzed his nervous system, sending him crashing down into the dirt, completely unconscious.
"B-Burter!" Jeice shrieked, backing away in utter terror as his scouter shattered under the sudden spike of Goku's power, dropping to a staggering 180,000.
Goku lowered his arm, looking up at Jeice with those same calm, piercing eyes. "Take your friend and leave this planet. You can't win."
Escallion stood from his crater, his dark eyes narrow and analytical as he watched Goku's effortless movement. "Is Kararot The Legendary Super Saiyan?"
Before Burter could even draw another ragged breath, a shadow fell over his unconscious body.
Vegeta dropped from the sky like a stone, slamming both knees directly onto Burter's neck with a sickening, heavy CRACK.
The giant blue speedster shuddered once before going completely limp, his power signature snuffing out like a blown candle.
"Vegeta, stop! He was already beaten!" Goku yelled, turning with a sharp frown.
"Idiots! Soft-hearted fools!" Vegeta spat, kicking Burter's corpse aside as he glared at Goku with pure venom. "You leave an enemy breathing, and they come back to stab you in the back! I don't need your pathetic mercy, and neither did he!"
Jeice watched the brutal execution from high above, his crimson skin turning a pale, sickly shade of pink. His scouter was shattered, Burter was dead, Recoome was broken in the crater, and Guldo was headless in the dirt.
"Y-You monsters..." Jeice stammered, his voice cracking with sheer hysteria. "Captain! CAPTAIN GINYU!"
Without waiting another second, Jeice turned tail and rocketed across the Namekian sky at maximum output, leaving a frantic streak of red Ki behind him as he fled toward Frieza's flagship.
Vegeta raised a hand, a purple sphere of Ki forming in his palm to blast the fleeing warrior out of the air, but Escallion caught Vegeta's wrist in a firm, iron grip.
"Let him go," Escallion said, his voice cold and analytical as he met Vegeta's furious glare. "He's running straight to Ginyu. We know their captain is guarding the four Dragon Balls at Frieza's base. His panic will draw Ginyu out, creating the exact opening we need."
Vegeta gritted his teeth, his jaw tight, before snatching his arm back with a harsh growl. "Hmph. Fine. But when Ginyu comes, I'm taking his head." He turned his eyes toward Goku, his gaze narrowing into a dangerous glare. "As for you, Kakarot... we have things to discuss about that ridiculous power of yours."
Vegeta stepped slowly toward Goku, his gloves clenching into tight, leather-creasing fists. His dark eyes burned with a chaotic mix of raw humiliation, disbelief, and a growing, dangerous obsession.
"You're not telling us everything, Kakarot," Vegeta snarled, his voice dropping into a low, menacing rumble. "A low-class warrior doesn't just step off a spaceship and casually embarrass the Ginyu Force. He doesn't dodge the fastest fighter in the universe without moving a muscle, and he certainly doesn't reach a power level of nearly two hundred thousand through simple training!"
Goku blinked, scratching the back of his head with a sheepish grin that only drove Vegeta further toward the edge. "Well, I mean... the gravity on the way here was pretty intense, Vegeta. A hundred times Earth's gravity is no joke! I almost died a bunch of times, but every time I recovered, my strength just kept jumping up."
"Shut up!" Vegeta snapped, stepping directly into Goku's space, his chest mere inches from Goku's gi. "Don't insult my intelligence with tales of heavy gravity!"
Vegeta whirled around, glaring at Escallion with bared teeth, his disbelief overflowing. "And you! Your puny, pathetic meditations... sitting quietly on the dirt, pretending to breathe in sync with your blood... You expect me to believe that yielded an outburst of power so drastic?! A jump that shattered sixty thousand without even transforming into an Oozaru?! It's impossible! A method like that shouldn't be capable of working."
Escallion met Vegeta's fiery glare with dark, unreadable eyes, his expression completely level despite the Prince's outburst. He knew Vegeta couldn't comprehend it; to Vegeta, power was bought through brutal battle and elite royal lineage, not the silent, surgical mastery of one's own internal energy.
Vegeta turned back to Goku, his pupils narrowing into pinpricks as his aura flickered violently with suppressed rage. "Neither of you make any sense. But you, Kakarot... It's the legend, isn't it? The ancient bloodline... the state of pure, unrestricted battle instinct that only appears once every thousand years."
Goku tilted his head, confused. "Legend? What're you talking about?"
"A Super Saiyan," Vegeta spat, the words heavy with reverence and bitter envy. "A warrior who has shattered the natural ceiling of our race, rising above all limitations to stand absolute. That's what you've become, isn't it?!"
Goku held Vegeta's wild glare with a completely calm, steady expression. "I don't know anything about legends or Super Saiyans, Vegeta. All I know is that Frieza is on this planet, hurting innocent people, and if we don't work together, none of us are going home. You can worry about who's stronger later."
Vegeta gritted his teeth so hard a vein throbbed on his temple. He backed away slowly, scoffing as he turned his back on the group. "Hmph. Enjoy your arrogance while it lasts, Kakarot. Because if Ginyu doesn't crush you, Frieza will, and I'll be right there to step over both of your corpses."
Vegeta didn't waste another breath arguing. With a bitter, resentful scoff, he flared his aura and launched himself into the sky, rocketing toward the horizon in a streak of purple light. He had no intention of sticking around to play bodyguard, not when Frieza's spaceship lay practically undefended with the Dragon Balls inside.
Krillin watched the retreating streak of light with a heavy sigh, crossing his arms.
"Let him go," Escallion said, his calm, deep voice cutting through the tension.
Goku and Gohan turned to look at him. Escallion was standing with his arms crossed over his chest, his dark eyes fixed on the distant horizon where Vegeta had vanished. The Senzu bean had fully restored his stamina, but his expression remained quiet and calculating.
"You're not worried he's going to betray us?" Krillin asked, brow furrowed.
"Vegeta operates purely on self-preservation and pride," Escallion replied smoothly. "Right now, his mind is consumed by Kakarot's strength and the fear of Frieza. Forcing him to stay in a group will only make him erratic. He needs his space to scheme, and as long as he's hunting Frieza's Dragon Balls, he's keeping Frieza's attention split. Let him have his alone time."
Goku chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck as he looked at Escallion with a nod of approval. "Escallion's right, Krillin. Vegeta's not going anywhere off this planet until Frieza is dealt with anyway. Besides, we've got bigger things heading our way right now."
Escallion shifted his gaze toward the north. Far in the distance, two massive, terrifyingly heavy energy signatures were rising fast, heading straight toward their coordinates.
"Ginyu," Escallion noted quietly, "And Jeice is right behind him."
A violent shockwave tore through the atmosphere as Captain Ginyu and Jeice slammed onto the plateau, kicking up a towering storm of dust. Ginyu landed in a low, dramatic stance, his purple skin gleaming under the Namekian suns, while Jeice hovered slightly behind him, glaring viciously at the Saiyans.
"So..." Ginyu boomed, his voice echoing across the canyon with theatrical flair. "You're the low-class trash who disgraced my men. I am Captain Ginyu! And you will answer to the full might of the Ginyu Force!"
Ginyu dropped into a series of extravagant, flamboyant poses, flexing his massive shoulders before locking his dark eyes directly onto Goku.
Goku stepped forward with a calm, easygoing smile, rolling his wrists. "If you're the leader, then you're the one I need to beat. Let's make this quick."
"Arrogant worm!" Ginyu snarled, exploding into a dense purple aura as he launched himself straight at Goku, initiating a blinding, lightning-fast exchange of high-speed blows that echoed like thunder across the landscape.
While the two clashed, Jeice's red aura flared violently. He turned his sights away from Goku, his gaze locking onto Escallion with pure, unadulterated hatred.
Escallion turned to Krillin and Gohan, "On second thought, head to Frieza's ship and hide the Dragon Balls. I doubt he would look for them right under his nose. I cannot promise your safety if you hang around."
The two Earth dwellers look at each other before ascending quickly, Gohan holding the six-star ball and Krillin the other two.
"You..." Jeice spat, his voice trembling with a mix of rage and embarrassment. "You made a complete fool out of Recoome with that freakish power surge! But look at you now, my scouter says you're sitting at a miserable 28,000! The burst is gone!"
Escallion didn't bother answering. He took a single, measured step forward, his body relaxed, his dark eyes analyzing Jeice's posture with cold, terrifying precision.
He felt the change deep in himself. The brutal punishment his body had endured from the Ikari form's backlash, combined with the total restoration of the Senzu bean, had triggered a dramatic Zenkai recovery spike.
"You think you can stare me down?!" Jeice screamed, charging a pair of crimson Ki spheres in his palms. "I am the Red Magma of the Ginyu Force! Crusher Ball!"
Jeice thrust his hands forward, launching a massive, swirling orb of fiery red energy straight at Escallion's chest. The heat from the blast scorched the rock, leaving a trail of melted glass in its wake.
Escallion didn't flinch. He waited until the sphere was mere inches from his face before pivoting his shoulder half an inch to the left. The Crusher Ball roared past him, detonating against a distant mountain in a towering pillar of fire.
Before Jeice could even register the dodge, Escallion was already inside his guard.
BOOM!
A sharp, green-tinted left hook slammed directly into Jeice's stomach. The red warrior gasped, his eyes bulging as the air was forcefully expelled from his lungs, his body doubling over Escallion's arm.
"Your movements are completely predictable," Escallion said softly into Jeice's ear, his voice icy and devoid of emotion.
Escallion grabbed Jeice by his long white hair, bringing his head down sharply into a rising knee strike that shattered Jeice's nose and sent him skidding violently across the dirt, clutching his bloody face in sheer agony.
Jeice spat a mouthful of crimson blood onto the Namekian dirt, his hand trembling as he wiped his shattered nose. He scrambled backward on all fours, staring up at Escallion in sheer horror.
"N-No way..." Jeice stammered, his voice cracking as he reached for a backup scouter attached to his hip and slapped it over his eye. "You were completely drained! How are you fighting like this?"
Escallion stood over him, completely composed; he simply took a deep, steady breath and allowed his actual power to uncoil.
A sharp, violent hum filled the air as Escallion began to power up.
A clear, brilliant white-and-green aura burst into existence around him. The ground beneath his feet groaned, hairline fractures spreading out in every direction as a roaring gale swept across the plateau.
"What... what is that reading?!" Jeice shrieked, the backup scouter beeping in a frantic, rising pitch. "Thirty thousand! Fifty! Eighty! It's still climbing!"
The digital display overloaded, and the scouter violently detonated against the side of Jeice's head in a shower of sparks and black smoke.
79,000.
Jeice was paralyzed, staring up at the calm, silent warrior before him. Escallion towered over the Red Magma, his aura glowing cleanly around his frame.
Jeice scrambled backward through the dirt, his elbows scraping raw against the rock as he stared up at the towering pillar of white-and-green energy. The pressure alone felt like a physical weight crushing his ribs.
"N-No... stay away from me!" Jeice shrieked, his voice cracking with pure, hysterical panic. He frantically pushed off the ground, rocketing backward into the air in a desperate attempt to flee toward Ginyu. "Captain! CAPTAIN, HELP M—"
He didn't even see Escallion move.
In a fraction of a microsecond, the roaring wind pressure vanished, replaced by an absolute, chilling silence right behind Jeice's left shoulder.
Jeice froze mid-flight, every nerve in his body screaming in primal terror. He turned his head just enough to catch a glimpse of Escallion's side profile hovering effortlessly beside him.
Escallion didn't indulge in a speech, nor did he offer a moment of cruel satisfaction. He simply raised his right hand, extending two fingers toward Jeice's chest. The last thing Jeice ever saw was a point-blank, concentrated beam of Ki that swallowed his vision entirely.
BOOM!
A sharp explosion ripped through the sky. The blast detonated with surgical precision, vaporizing Jeice instantly without leaving so much as a stray ember to fall to the earth. The sky cleared in a heartbeat, leaving Escallion floating calmly in the air, his hand dropping back to his side.
Down below, Captain Ginyu stared up at the empty sky where his last remaining elite operative had just existed, his jaw slack and his purple face drained of all color.
"J-Jeice..." Ginyu whispered, a tremor finally creeping into his voice.
Escallion descended smoothly, his boots making a soft clack as he touched down next to Goku.
Escallion glanced over at Goku, his posture relaxed but his sharp eyes scanning Captain Ginyu's tense, sweating frame.
"Do you need a hand with him?" Escallion asked, his voice calm and even.
Goku looked back over his shoulder, flashing a broad, confident grin while waving a hand dismissively. "Thanks, Escallion, but I've got this! I really want to see what this guy can do one-on-one."
Escallion gave a single, understanding nod and stepped back, allowing Goku the battle he wanted.
Ginyu gritted his teeth, his purple brow furrowing as he tried to regain his composure. "Don't mock me, you filth! You think just because you have high power levels you can look down on the leader of the Ginyu Force?!"
"I'm not mocking you," Goku said, dropping into his turtle-school fighting stance. "Show me your full strength."
"You asked for it!" Ginyu bellowed. He flexed his massive frame, roaring as his dark purple aura exploded outward, cracking the plateau beneath his feet. His scouter flared as he powered up to his absolute maximum, 120,000.
Ginyu charged forward like a runaway locomotive, throwing a flurry of rapid, heavy strikes. But Goku met every blow with astonishing fluidity, parrying fists and dodging high kicks with microscopic efficiency. Goku stepped inside Ginyu's guard, delivering a devastating palm strike to Ginyu's chest that sent the Captain skidding back fifty yards across the rock.
Ginyu panted, wiping a streak of purple blood from his mouth, a crazy, manic grin slowly spreading across his face. "Incredible... absolute perfection. A body built with such immense power... it's a work of art!"
Goku stood at ease, rolling his shoulders. "Is that all you've got? Because if it is, this fight's over."
"Heh... hehehe... Hahaha!" Ginyu burst into a sharp, hysterical laugh that echoed across the canyon. "Over? No, Saiyan... it's only just beginning!"
Without warning, Ginyu drove his own hands into his own chest, plunging his thumbs deep into his sternum. Blood spurted violently from the self-inflicted wound as Ginyu gasped for air, cackling wildly through the pain.
Goku's eyes widened in confusion. "Hey! Why did you hurt yourself?!"
Ginyu spread his arms wide, his face contorted in a terrifying, triumphant grin as a bizarre pink light began to radiate from his throat.
"CHANGE!" Ginyu roared, shooting a thick, blinding beam of pink energy straight out of his mouth toward Goku.
Goku was caught completely off guard by the sheer absurdity of the move. The beam struck him square in the chest, engulfing both fighters in a swirling vortex of glowing pink Ki. Their spirits wrenched free from their physical forms, crossing paths in mid-air as their souls swapped bodies.
The light faded instantly.
Goku, now trapped inside Ginyu's battered, bleeding purple body, stumbled forward, clutching his gushing chest wound as he collapsed to one knee, coughing up blood. "W-What... what did you do to me...?!"
Across from him, Ginyu stood tall inside Goku's powerful, unblemished Saiyan body. He flexed Goku's fingers, stretching his arms and throwing his head back with a triumphant roar of laughter.
"HAHAHAHA! It's mine! This magnificent body is mine!" Ginyu declared, looking down at his former shell with pure contempt. "Enjoy your new, broken frame, Saiyan! Jeice isn't here to see it, but the Ginyu Force still reigns supreme!"
Ginyu turned on his heel, flaring Goku's aura, and rocketed off into the sky toward Frieza's spaceship to secure the Dragon Balls.