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Golden energy surged off Goku's entire body as he shot straight at Baby and launched into a furious assault.
Baby went on the defensive.
In an instant they'd traded nearly fifty exchanges. Their clash of terrible power tore the surrounding cliff faces to pieces. A violent wind howled outward.
Suddenly Baby threw a punch. Terrifying force built up around his fist and then detonated.
The whole battlefield went blinding gold.
Boom!
The explosion rocked the planet Zufful itself.
A figure of light was blasted out of the glow and slammed into a mountainside with a spray of smoke.
Baby's devastating blow had hurled Goku into the rock. He slid down the cliff, groaning, "Ugh, that hurts."
"How strange," he muttered. "How did I lose to him?"
Baby sneered, "Is this the power you were reborn with?"
Goku sprang to his feet. "Shut up. I just haven't adapted yet. The real show is only getting started."
Gold energy flared again around him and he lunged at Baby.
He attacked with renewed ferocity. Under Goku's Super 3 power Baby was pushed back step by step — Goku's strikes came terrifyingly fast.
The more he fought, the better he moved. Golden sparks hissed across his skin.
Goku unleashed a savage punch that detonated into another golden explosion.
Boom!
The battlefield flooded with light once more.
Goku landed and called out, "How's that?"
Baby's voice cut back coldly, "Your strength hasn't increased at all."
Goku stared at his hands in disbelief. "It hasn't gotten stronger? But I feel way stronger than before."
"Impossible!"
He rushed Baby again. Baby sidestepped, snatched Goku's golden tail, and grinned, "I think I'll have some fun with you."
Baby seized the tail and swung into the sky.
"Hey, what the—Old Kai!" Goku shouted.
King Kai and the Old Kai peered into the crystal ball, both baffled.
"I don't know!" the Old Kai admitted.
Baby swung Goku in dizzying circles in midair, yelling, "I'll kill you!"
After countless rotations he let go. Goku smacked into the ground, barreled through solid earth, and skidded across the surface for dozens of meters before slamming headfirst into a cliff and stopping.
Baby floated above, relaxed. "This should do it for Goku."
As the dust settled, Goku lay on the ground. He'd reverted from Super 3 back to his normal form.
He forced himself over and opened his eyes. "Damn… that guy's too strong. I don't stand a chance."
Back at the Kai Realm, King Kai asked, "Old Kai, shouldn't the latent power inside Goku have awakened by now?"
"It should," Old Kai replied.
Goku stared out toward Earth. "Earth…" he whispered. "Seems I can't protect that planet anymore. My home. The times I spent with everyone. All those memories… I couldn't keep them safe. It hurts that I failed."
As he watched Earth, his tail began to stir and writhe.
Suddenly Goku's eyes sharpened. His heartbeat raced. Muscles swelled. He roared, his teeth lengthening, golden fur sprouting across his body. His eyes reddened and he grew, massively.
Terrifying power burst from him; stones and debris were hurled into the air by the shockwave. Golden energy shot skyward.
Baby stared, stunned. "W-what's happening?"
The surrounding terrain started to warp under Goku's power. He kept growing.
Before Baby's horrified eyes, Goku transformed into a giant ape — a Great Ape with gleaming golden fur.
Cold sweat broke out on Baby's brow. "In Vegeta's memories, this is the Oozaru transformation. But didn't that require a full moon to trigger? C-could it be… he's using Earth as the moon?"
The golden Great Ape unleashed a terrible force. Lightning crackled through the air. Rocks shattered into dust. The ape lost all restraint, howling into the sky, smashing with massive fists, pulverizing cliff faces and hurling boulders as it rampaged across Zufful.
Baby's face darkened with fury. "Before, the people of Zufful were destroyed when the Saiyans turned into berserk Great Apes. I never thought that nightmare would happen again. No — I'm not the same Zuffulian I was back then. I'll kill this creature now!"
He raised his hands and gathered an enormous amount of energy. A black sphere of power formed above Baby's head.
Sensing the danger, the golden Great Ape ripped up a huge rock and hurled it at Baby.
Baby dodged with a blink and the energy sphere disappeared. Goku slammed a titanic fist down, shattering the ground where Baby stood. The shock sent Baby hurtling into several more cliffs.
...
Back in the real world — the Dragon Ball reality — on Namek, Krillin pointed at the screen, stunned. "Goku, why did you turn back into a kid? That's not fair! And that Baby… he's way stronger than Frieza!"
Goku, watching, was equally shocked. "What was that golden-haired transformation just now? I felt an unbeatable power."
Frieza clenched his teeth. "Is that child really Son Goku? He actually became the legendary Super Saiyan? Have I been defeated?"
In the Soul Society, Ichigo fell silent, watching the screen. "That kid Goku's spiritual pressure is stronger than when I transformed into the Hollow with the ox-head mask." He trembled from the power.
Orihime worriedly asked, "Kurosaki-san, are you okay? That other world has nothing to do with us."
At the Hueco Mundo throne, Aizen rose from his seat. "What overwhelming reiatsu. In the presence of this Goku, we appear utterly weak. Incredible."
The Espada trembled, losing any will to fight. Ulquiorra observed, "Aizen-sama, this being seems to be from the same world as that Super Saiyan Vegeta listed on the Eighth Celestial Ranking."
...
On the screen, the golden Great Ape beat his chest and roared, while Baby lay buried under rubble.
Chi-Chi swooped toward the battlefield. Mr. Satan, unable to fly, hovered awkwardly. Chi-Chi paused midair, then said, "Dad, I feel a powerful ki!"
"Ah," she said, "It's Grandpa's ki!" and shot toward the fight.
Baby staggered out from the debris. "His power is indeed immense. Don't think you're stronger just because you got bigger. I'll make you regret being alive."
The golden Great Ape lumbered toward Baby. Each step of its massive frame sent tremors through the ground. It swung a fist at Baby, who instant-transmitted aside and launched a deadly energy sphere that struck the ape's body.
Boom!
"..."
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