Not to mention Son Gohan at this moment, even Ling An herself, possessing nearly twice Cell's strength, couldn't guarantee she could completely eliminate Cell.
In the original story, Son Gohan, who had already become Super Saiyan 2, forced Cell to self-destruct, but this allowed Cell to achieve his Perfect Form. Although this was all due to Son Gohan being too reckless, Cell still had the possibility of revival.
And after reviving, Perfect Form Cell was even slightly stronger than Son Gohan, who had just transformed into Super Saiyan 2, and Son Gohan's stamina had been greatly depleted, causing him to be suppressed by Cell.
To defeat Cell, one would either have to completely obliterate him with even greater power, the way it was done in the future, or destroy his core brain cell. But the problem was, how much power was needed to destroy Cell's core cell?
Cell's core cell wasn't even destroyed by his self-destruction, so even though Ling An's power was greater than Cell's, she chose not to act.
From the very beginning, she and Son Gohan had planned to stabilize Cell, and then, just like in the original story, enter the Hyperbolic Time Chamber to train during the period when Cell was preparing for the Cell Games. In two years, Son Gohan might have the opportunity to break through to Super Saiyan 2, or at the very least, they could stimulate Son Gohan in this world to become a Super Saiyan 2 using the method from the original story.
Therefore, there were many ways to defeat Cell, and there was no need to take risks at this time. If they acted and failed to eliminate Cell, they might instead create Perfect Form Cell, and the situation would become very tricky.
Because she knew the plot of the original story, Ling An had informed Son Gohan of the relevant matters. However, it had been many years since she had watched Dragon Ball, and while she roughly knew the situation of the Cell Games, she couldn't quite remember the details of the battle between Cell and Trunks. Therefore, she didn't tell Son Gohan that Cell let Trunks go in the end, which led to Son Gohan intervening when he saw Trunks about to be killed by Cell.
It was just a minor mishap. After all, even if Son Gohan made a move, it wouldn't amount to much. With Son Gohan's current strength, he couldn't possibly kill Cell.
Furthermore, after Cell absorbed the Saiyans, especially Vegeta's cells, his personality was inevitably influenced. Just as Vegeta's rage and confidence led Cell to become his Perfect Form, after witnessing Son Gohan's power, Cell wouldn't be afraid. Instead, he would feel a strong desire and admiration for the strong.
This was evident in the original story when Cell spared Trunks and even encouraged them to train and become stronger.
In this altered world, facing the powerful Son Gohan, Cell showed no fear. He believed he would be the strongest. Androids could also train, and the fusion of so many strong fighters' cells gave Cell terrifying talent and comprehension. Therefore, during the battle with Son Gohan, he clearly felt himself growing stronger.
This change delighted him even more.
"Indeed, only by fighting strong opponents can I reach a higher realm!" Cell thought to himself as he parried Son Gohan's attacks. He could clearly feel himself getting stronger. From being slightly weaker than Son Gohan at first, to now being evenly matched, this change made him very happy.
After a period of fighting, the two separated and faced each other. Cell crossed his arms, looking at Son Gohan, and said in a deep voice, "Son Gohan, you should eat a Senzu Bean. I want to experience your full power. You should understand that in your current state, let alone killing me, even defeating me will be extremely difficult."
"I'm really looking forward to having a match with you at your full power... That way, I can become even stronger."
Cell knew very well that Son Gohan was not at his best right now. He also knew that if Son Gohan recovered his arm, he might lose. But he wasn't worried because he knew that Son Gohan didn't have the ability to kill him. It was precisely because of this that he wanted to see just how powerful a fully-powered Son Gohan truly was.
As long as he could keep fighting Son Gohan, he would definitely become even stronger!
Unlike Cell's expectations, Son Gohan was secretly shocked. Obviously, Cell's performance had exceeded his expectations. Although he had learned from Ling An how terrifying Cell was, he had after all killed Cell once and thought that was all there was to it. But after the battle, he understood that the Perfect Form Cell was completely different from the ugly Cell he had killed before.
The Perfect Form Cell could be said to have perfectly demonstrated the characteristics of the artificial humans. He could also feel Cell getting stronger during the battle, although this strengthening was relatively slow, it was still shocking enough.
Therefore, in the face of Cell's provocation, Son Gohan didn't care. He gently exhaled to adjust his breath, then shouted and attacked Cell again. Facing his attack, Cell didn't show any fear and met him head-on.
In the blink of an eye, the two were fighting again.
This time, they didn't hold back either, unleashing all their power. And it wasn't just limited to fists and feet. Various energy blasts were fired from their hands, and powerful balls of energy collided in mid-air. Any one of those energy blasts, if it landed on the ground, could blow the Earth to pieces.
Watching this kind of battle, whether it was Vegeta, Trunks, or Piccolo, they all watched with rapt attention. Watching strong fighters battle was also a form of training for them. Learning how strong fighters used energy could also promote their growth.
Especially Vegeta and Trunks, they were very concerned about Son Gohan's Full-Power Super Saiyan form. They had a goal now, something they could achieve through effort, instead of taking the detours of Super Saiyan 2 and 3 like before.
They were very envious of this form. Son Gohan's battle with Cell had been going on for a long time, yet Son Gohan still had energy to fight Cell. They wouldn't dare imagine such a thing happening to them.
Trunks, in particular, could clearly feel the drain on his stamina when he transformed into Super Saiyan 3. He couldn't fight Cell for very long, even though he'd given up. He knew better than anyone that he couldn't have lasted much longer.
Now, Son Gohan's Full-Power form made the father and son understand that this was the true form a Super Saiyan should reach, the most perfect Super Saiyan!
If Ling An knew what they were thinking, she would wholeheartedly agree. In a certain sense, Full-Power Super Saiyan was indeed the perfect state, even surpassing Super Saiyan 2 in some aspects.
Although Super Saiyan 2 could gain even greater power, this stronger power also brought Super Saiyan 2 back to the energy-consuming, violent state of the original Super Saiyan. And Super Saiyan 3 was even worse; according to Son Goku's own description, Super Saiyan 3 was purely a leaky form.
So, in Ling An's view, the true path of a Super Saiyan was to crazily increase their basic combat power and then fight in the Full-Power Super Saiyan state. Super Saiyan 2 and 3, while able to increase strength, were ultimately heretical.
Strengthening oneself was the true path, while transformations were just opportunistic. They all understood this, but they would still use transformations when necessary, even Ling An herself, who was using Power-Up Cards.
However, Ling An's Power-Up Card was even more potent than Full-Power Super Saiyan. It wasn't just a simple energy-consuming transformation; it was something else entirely.
Everyone was focused on the battle between Cell and Son Gohan, but Krillin sat to the side, feeling utterly defeated. At this moment, he felt like a complete weakling. He could barely manage to be a spectator, let alone participate in their fight.
He glanced at Ling An beside him, wondering how she had acquired power greater than the androids. If only he could find a similar method, he wouldn't feel so helpless. The memory of Android 18 being absorbed by Cell, and his own inability to do anything, made him clench his fists.
"I have to get stronger."
At this point, Krillin hadn't yet succumbed to the comforts of a peaceful life, which often blunts a warrior's edge. After the events with Frieza and the androids, although he felt powerless, he hadn't given up completely like Yamcha. He still possessed the resolve to become stronger!
Especially knowing that Ling An, a fellow Earthling, could possess power greater than the androids, it motivated him even more. Even if the hope was slim, he still anticipated finding a way to strengthen himself.
Of course, this desire to get stronger stemmed not only from witnessing his own weakness, but also from a rather impractical thought he had, and the person at the center of this thought was Android 18.
Android 18…
Krillin was filled with fear when he first heard Trunks' description of the Androids. However, after truly getting to know them, he discovered a distinct difference between the Androids of this world and the evil Androids Trunks had described.
Although they wanted to kill Son Goku, that was all. They had no interest in destroying the world. Android 18's kiss, in particular, was something Krillin couldn't forget...
"Huh, why did Cell and Gohan stop again?"
Suddenly, Krillin exclaimed in surprise. Although he couldn't fully keep up with Son Gohan's and Cell's fight, he noticed the moment they stopped. He quickly stood up from the ground, looking up at the sky with curiosity.
No one answered his question because they weren't Piccolo and couldn't hear Son Gohan and Cell's conversation from such a distance. Therefore, they were also curious as to why Cell and Son Gohan had stopped, especially since neither seemed exhausted, nor had they decided the victor.
Among the few people present, only Ling An reached up and touched her smooth chin, a thoughtful expression on her face.
....
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