"This wild monkey is getting way too full of himself."
"This king… is truly angry now!"
"Gyaaaa !!"
Frieza roared and slammed a fist straight into Goku, sending the Golden Great Ape flying.
The next second, a purple beam lanced through the ape's massive body.
"Die."
One Death Beam after another poured out of Frieza's fingertip, relentlessly punching holes through Goku's flesh.
"Roooooar !!"
The Golden Great Ape's pained howl shook the heavens.
"Die, die, die, die !!"
Frieza's face twisted with hatred, teeth grinding as he fired without restraint.
Just as one of the Death Beams was about to pierce Goku's heart…
A small figure darted in front of him and took the hit head-on.
"Goku !!"
Krillin's hoarse scream tore through the air.
The golden-furred giant's ear twitched. He lowered his head.
A small, bald chest had been skewered clean through by the beam. That tiny body plummeted toward the ground like a stone.
Krillin's face contorted in agony as he coughed up a mouthful of blood.
"Krillin !!"
The warriors on the ground cried out in horror.
In Goku's scarlet eyes, a flicker of confusion flashed by.
"Eh…? Huh…?"
Frieza wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.
"Son Goku, before I kill you, I'll let you taste the very peak of despair."
He pointed one finger toward the sky.
In an instant, a massive orange-red energy sphere swelled high above.
"Ohohoho! Let me treat you to a front-row view… of Earth's destruction fireworks!"
Goku's gaze drifted away from Krillin and locked onto Frieza instead.
Rage flooded his eyes. The ki surging from his body grew even more violent.
"Free… za…"
A thick energy beam erupted from the Golden Great Ape's mouth, surging straight toward Frieza.
For a moment, it felt like the very sky was trembling.
Frieza snorted in contempt and casually slapped the beam aside.
"Hmph. Trash is trash. Super Saiyan 4? That kind of thing doesn't even exist."
As he spoke, two more Death Beams punched through Goku's body.
Goku's injuries grew worse and worse, and his massive frame began to drop helplessly from the sky.
Yet even with Goku on the brink of collapse, Frieza showed no sign of mercy.
His figure flickered, appearing behind the falling ape, and a vicious kick sent Goku back into the air.
Then came more Death Beams, each shot meant only to torture.
At the same time, the gigantic orange-red sphere descended, inch by inch, toward the Earth.
The warriors below watched with hearts in their throats.
"Weren't they supposed to be acting? Why is Frieza going off-script? He's not seriously trying to blow up Earth, is he?" Yamcha swallowed hard.
"This is bad! Goku's in real danger! Frieza hates him more than anyone!" Tien's face had gone grim.
"At this rate, Goku is going to be tortured to death…" Master Roshi muttered, deeply worried.
"No way! I can't watch this anymore. We can't just let that villain do whatever he wants on Earth!"
"I don't trust that bastard either. He'll definitely use this as an excuse to actually kill Goku."
"Levos, hurry and stop Frieza!" Chiaotzu shouted.
Levos's expression stayed calm.
But at this point, he had to move.
He used Instant Transmission, catching Krillin's falling body out of the air.
The guy still had one last breath in him.
Then Levos took a deep breath and shouted at the top of his lungs:
"Goku! Krillin… Krillin was brutally killed by Frieza!!"
The battlefield fell silent for a single heartbeat.
In the very next moment
Heaven and earth trembled.
"Waaaaaaaaaaaah !!"
"Unforgivable !!"
"Unforgivable !!"
"Unforgivable !!"
Everyone looked up.
Purple lightning split the sky.
Dark storm clouds boiled and converged above.
A terrifying wave of energy swept out in all directions.
The Golden Great Ape's body began to change on a fundamental level.
Crackle! Crackle !
Zzzzt, zzzzt !
After the dancing arcs of electricity faded, a new figure emerged within the light.
A body covered head to toe in crimson fur.
Wild black hair spilling down his back like a lion's mane.
Eyes as sharp as blades, glowing with savage rage.
"That is…"
"Goku!"
"It really is Goku!"
"Oh my god! Super Saiyan 4 actually exists!"
"As expected of Goku. He didn't let us down!"
For a while, the Earth's warriors were completely beside themselves with joy.
"Goku…" Krillin cracked one eye open and clenched his fist.
While those on the ground were lost in excitement, the two figures battling in the sky looked anything but pleased.
"Frieza, this time I won't show you any mercy."
"Oh? The wild monkey gets a new transformation and suddenly thinks he's something special?"
Golden light blazed off Frieza's body as he charged with a punch.
The two collided in midair, detonating a shower of dazzling sparks.
Rumble! Rumble!
The clouds overhead were blasted apart. Every clash between them triggered another earth-shaking shockwave.
After just a dozen exchanges, Frieza's body was covered in bruises. One of his eyes had swollen shut.
All of those injuries came courtesy of Super Saiyan 4 Goku's fists.
Frieza's face was full of disbelief.
Goku, on the other hand, was brimming with energy.
Most of the wounds he'd sustained earlier had already healed by the time he completed the transformation.
And as they fought, Goku rapidly adapted to his new form, gaining a clear sense of the power of Super Saiyan 4.
As one side recovered and grew more accustomed to his strength while the other side's stamina and defenses eroded, the balance tipped.
The scales of victory slowly but surely leaned toward Goku.
Before long, Frieza was beaten to within an inch of his life.
"Frieza, you killed Krillin. This time, I will definitely not let you go!"
"Ka… me… ha… me…"
A brilliant blue-white sphere flickered into existence between Goku's palms, overflowing with destructive power.
Below, the Earth warriors were suddenly… conflicted.
"Goku's not actually going to kill Frieza, right?" Yamcha gulped.
"This is bad! Goku doesn't know it was all an act. He must hate Frieza's guts right now!" Tien said, face tight with anxiety.
"At this rate, Frieza won't be able to hold on much longer…" Master Roshi was getting more and more worried.
"No, we can't! Lord Beerus told us to get along with Frieza…"
"Yeah! Frieza is one of Universe 7's tournament fighters he's our teammate!"
"Levos, stop Goku, now!" Chiaotzu yelled.
Levos snapped back to his senses.
Super Saiyan 4 really was stylish.
That full, heavy musculature, that wild red fur, that wicked eyeshadow-like gaze…
He couldn't help staring a bit longer than he meant to.
Compared to the divine, sacred feel of Super Saiyan God, Super Saiyan 4 was pure, untamed brutality two completely different kinds of charm.
Levos quickly handed Krillin over to Buu for treatment.
Then, just as the Kamehameha was about to swallow Frieza whole, he leaped in front of it and blocked the beam.
Goku's eyes narrowed, his sharp gaze locking onto him.
"Levos, why are you stopping me from killing him?"
"Everything Frieza just did was according to the script. He was acting to help you regain your sanity."
"So… Krillin is okay?"
Levos nodded.
"And by the way, Frieza is going to be one of Universe 7's fighters in the tournament."
Frieza snorted coldly.
"Just the thought of being on the same team as a wild monkey makes my skin crawl."
"Don't be like that, my king. Our team needs someone as strong as you," Levos said, smoothing things over.
A short while later, everyone finished healing and returned to peak condition.
Right then, the rift in the distorted dimension tore open.
Two figures stepped out.
Gohan and Piccolo had returned.
But things hadn't gone quite the way Levos had envisioned.
Gohan had failed to transform into Super Saiyan 4.
"Sorry, Levos. No matter what I tried, there just weren't any signs of Gohan transforming," Piccolo said.
He had Gohan by the tail, and tossed the unconscious half-Saiyan in front of the group.
"I see…"
In that instant, everyone's eyes quietly shifted… and landed on Frieza.
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