Chapter 133: A Warrior Race Has No Limits

With Goku gone, Krillin immediately took command.

"I hope Chi-Chi will be okay," Krillin said grimly. "Everyone—don't relax. One Android is still on the run. Let's hunt him down."

Everyone nodded.

"Right."

At that moment, Vegeta's figure suddenly appeared.

Krillin was surprised. "Vegeta! You finally showed up!"

Vegeta asked coldly, "That Android who died just now… was he killed by Kakarot?"

Tien nodded. "Did you see it? Goku said he killed one, but we didn't actually witness it."

Vegeta said, "I saw a robot body over there earlier. Its head and an arm were blown off. That was definitely Kakarot's work."

Krillin nodded quickly. "Yeah, Goku did it. He killed one, but one got away."

"Goku chased him from that direction. But something happened to Chi-Chi, and Goku left."

"So the remaining Android… is on us for now!"

Vegeta's grin lifted sharply.

"Good."

"So there's still one left for me."

He swept his gaze over everyone with arrogance.

"You all can leave. That last Android is mine."

"I hope he won't disappoint me."

Everyone was stunned.

"Vegeta, don't be careless!"

"These Androids are dangerous—way harder to deal with than you think!"

Vegeta snorted.

"Hmph. I'm the strongest Saiyan in the universe."

"If Kakarot can handle something alone, then I can do it even better."

"You lot can go back home and drink tea."

"I'll handle it."

And with that, Vegeta shot off in the direction Krillin had pointed.

Krillin exploded. "Damn it! Who does he think he is telling us to drink tea?!"

Yamcha crossed his arms, staring at Vegeta's departing figure.

"It's been over three years… Vegeta must've mastered Super Saiyan by now, right?"

"He's confident for a reason."

"Maybe we should just head back. Looks like these Androids aren't as terrifying as we thought."

Piccolo watched silently, expression grave.

"I can feel it."

"Vegeta is hiding a terrifying amount of energy."

"These last three years… he's trained harder than anyone can imagine."

"The reason he's that confident…"

"…is probably because he surpassed Goku's Super Saiyan."

Everyone gasped.

Tien muttered, "That's… unbelievable."

"I'm going to see for myself."

Krillin clenched his fist. "Me too. I didn't train this long just to watch from the sidelines!"

"Yeah!"

"We've waited for this day!"

The rest all followed.

And so the group surged after Vegeta like a wave.

Vegeta reached a rocky island.

No Android in sight.

No ki signature.

Nothing.

Vegeta's mood worsened by the second.

He cursed, "What kind of pathetic Android hides instead of fighting head-on?! Coward!"

Then his palm aimed at the ground.

"I'll blow this entire place apart!"

"I want to see where you hide then!"

A massive energy blast formed and fired downward, meant to flatten the whole area into a wasteland.

But just before the blast landed—

Dr. Gero appeared.

He raised both hands.

And in a flash, the energy blast was absorbed straight into his body.

Dr. Gero burst into laughter.

"Hahahaha! What incredible power—I'll gladly accept it!"

Vegeta's eyes widened. He immediately transformed into a Super Saiyan and lunged toward Dr. Gero—

but Dr. Gero flickered between jagged rocks, ducking into cover.

Without ki to track, chasing him was already harder than normal.

With Dr. Gero deliberately hiding, it became a nightmare.

Vegeta cursed again. "Damn it!"

"This coward—he can absorb my energy!"

"And he's faster than I expected!"

Hidden in the shadows, Dr. Gero grinned.

He didn't need eyes to see them.

His internal radar tracked energy reactions perfectly—Vegeta and the others approaching behind.

Hearing Vegeta raging outside, Dr. Gero mocked inwardly:

"Hmph. You fools…"

"You've grown too dependent on ki sensing."

"I know exactly where you are."

"But you can't find me at all."

So Dr. Gero dragged Vegeta into a humiliating game.

Vegeta fired energy attacks in anger—

Dr. Gero absorbed them.

Every single time.

It felt amazing.

But after absorbing repeatedly, Dr. Gero still judged the gap.

Vegeta remained stronger.

His mood darkened.

"Damn it…"

"Vegeta is far stronger than expected."

"With my current energy, I can't defeat him."

"I'll have to return to the lab and—"

Before he could retreat, Krillin, Tien, and the rest arrived.

Dr. Gero didn't panic.

Instead, he smiled.

"Heh… so you finally came."

"Perfect."

"No need to return at all."

"If I absorb all of your energy…"

"I'll surpass Vegeta."

Dr. Gero's radar analyzed everyone's energy—then he saw Piccolo's reading.

His eyes widened.

"Piccolo got this strong too?"

"He's still beneath Vegeta… but not by much."

"These people grow too fast."

He licked his lips.

"Fine."

"I'll start with Piccolo."

"If he dies…"

"…they can't revive anyone with Dragon Balls."

"Hehehe."

The group spread out, searching for Dr. Gero.

But they didn't realize—

their prey had become the hunter.

Just as Piccolo sighed, thinking the Android might have escaped—

Dr. Gero appeared behind him like a ghost.

He clamped one hand over Piccolo's mouth, the other locking his body.

"Hehehe!"

"Got you!"

"Now you can't warn your allies."

"I'll drain you dry!"

In the next instant, Dr. Gero activated full absorption.

Within seconds, Piccolo's energy was sucked out completely.

Piccolo's arms dropped limply.

Then Dr. Gero finished him—

a hand-knife thrust cleanly through his chest.

Piccolo fell straight down like a rag doll.

Only then, after being drained and stabbed, did Piccolo's ki flicker faintly—

a tiny, dying spark.

But everyone sensed it.

Piccolo wasn't like them.

He never suppressed his ki to "ordinary human" levels.

They reacted instantly.

Vegeta was the fastest.

He flashed forward and blocked Dr. Gero's escape route.

The others surrounded him a heartbeat later.

Krillin saw Piccolo falling and shouted.

"PICCOLO!"

While Vegeta held Android 20 in place, Krillin rushed to Piccolo.

He was barely clinging to life.

Krillin instantly pulled out a Senzu Bean and fed it to him.

After chewing and swallowing—

Piccolo's wounds healed.

Krillin exhaled hard.

"Thank god… we made it in time."

"You didn't die."

Piccolo gave a stiff nod.

"…Thanks."

Krillin scowled. "I can't believe it. Even someone as strong as you nearly got killed."

"We all underestimated Androids."

"And we underestimated Goku even more."

Piccolo's eyes sharpened. "No."

"This Android 20 is stronger than when we first saw him."

"He gets stronger the more he absorbs."

Krillin's expression changed.

"…What?"

"He keeps getting stronger?"

"Does he have no limit?!"

"That's bad. Really bad."

Piccolo rolled his shoulders, removing his cape and turban.

Then he stared at Vegeta and said coldly:

"Vegeta. He nearly killed me."

"Let me handle him."

Vegeta scoffed.

"You want to die?"

"Or do you want to feed him even more energy?"

Piccolo ignored him and charged Dr. Gero.

Dr. Gero's eyes lit up.

How lucky.

"I thought I was finished."

"But this idiot is arrogant too—he doesn't want help."

"Perfect."

"If I absorb him again, I'll definitely defeat Vegeta!"

"I love personalities like this!"

Dr. Gero reached toward Piccolo—

but Piccolo roared.

Golden aura exploded from his body as he transformed again.

Then Piccolo shot in—

and smashed Dr. Gero with a brutal blow that sent him tumbling.

And his flight path…

was straight toward Vegeta, who stood there transformed, arms crossed.

Dr. Gero's blood ran cold.

He forcibly stopped himself midair.

But the instant he steadied—

Piccolo flashed above him.

A crushing elbow slammed into Dr. Gero's neck.

Dr. Gero shrieked, crashing through an entire mountain.

He rose from the rubble trembling.

Impossible.

"Bastard…"

"I absorbed so much energy!"

"How can I still be losing?!"

Before he finished—

Piccolo appeared in front of him again.

Dr. Gero stumbled back two steps in fear.

Piccolo's eyes were vicious.

"Listen carefully."

"We can explode our power instantly during combat."

"So the energy you stole from me earlier…"

"…was never that much."

Dr. Gero shouted, furious, "Impossible! I almost killed you!"

Then he threw a punch at Piccolo.

Piccolo raised an eyebrow.

This idiot really wants to trade blows with me?

With one clean knife-hand strike—

Piccolo severed Dr. Gero's arm.

The absorber hand dropped to the ground.

Piccolo followed up immediately—

a sweeping kick shattered one of Dr. Gero's legs.

Now he couldn't run at all.

If Dr. Gero weren't a machine, he'd be soaked in sweat.

Even Vegeta, watching, couldn't help but acknowledge it.

"Three years…"

"Piccolo got strong too."

"But compared to my Super Saiyan…"

"…he's still far behind."

Seeing Dr. Gero crippled, Vegeta barked, "Piccolo! Finish him! Or I will!"

Piccolo smirked.

"Relax."

"He nearly killed me."

"I'm not done playing yet."

"I'll make sure he doesn't even leave a corpse."

Piccolo snapped Dr. Gero's remaining arm—

then grabbed him and began beating him mercilessly.

Vegeta looked down at the pathetic wreck of Android 20, remembering the dead Android 19, and snorted.

"So that's it?"

"I thought Androids would be terrifying."

"They're nothing but trash—easily crushed."

Dr. Gero might not have felt pain…

but under that beating, he would be reduced to scrap.

That's when Dr. Gero caught a single thread of hope—

Vegeta's arrogance.

After being slammed into the ground again, he forced himself up and screamed:

"I'm an old model!"

"The truly powerful Androids haven't been released yet!"

"If you have the guts—come with me to my lab!"

"I'll release Android 17 and Android 18!"

"They'll kill all of you!"

Everyone froze.

Krillin suddenly realized something.

"Right… of course."

"There's no way Dr. Gero would build only two Androids."

"If he made Androids, he'd make an entire batch."

Krillin yelled toward Piccolo, "Piccolo! Don't kill him yet! Let him take us to the lab!"

Hearing there were stronger models, Vegeta laughed.

"If they're like you—cowards hiding behind rocks—I'm not interested!"

Dr. Gero shouted desperately, "No! Androids 17 and 18 are different!"

"They're extremely powerful!"

"And their energy is infinite!"

"They will absolutely defeat you!"

Vegeta didn't understand what "infinite energy" really meant—

but he understood one thing:

Dr. Gero claimed they were stronger than him.

Vegeta's face twisted with mockery.

"I surpassed Kakarot."

"I am the strongest warrior in the universe."

"And you think your scrap metal can surpass me?"

"Stop lying!"

"It's true!" Dr. Gero insisted.

Vegeta turned to Piccolo.

"Enough."

"Let him lead us there."

Piccolo stared down at Dr. Gero.

"Two new Androids?"

Dr. Gero nodded rapidly.

"Yes. Two."

Piccolo raised his head and looked at Vegeta.

"Perfect."

"When we release them…"

"You take one."

"I'll take the other."

Vegeta smirked. "Fine."

Dr. Gero flew toward his laboratory.

Everyone followed closely behind him.

But mid-flight—

Tien suddenly stopped.

He clutched his chest and began gasping for air, face twisting pale.

Chiaotzu noticed instantly.

"T-Tien! What's wrong?!"

That one cry made everyone turn.

Krillin stared at Tien's labored breathing, shocked.

"Chiaotzu—what's happening to him?!"

Chiaotzu looked up, anxious.

"Lately… Tien keeps feeling sick."

Yamcha frowned. "Sick? Didn't he go to a hospital?"

Chiaotzu nodded.

"He did."

"The doctor told him to rest."

"They said he's exhausted—his body has been pushed far past its limit."

"But Tien never stopped training."

Everyone was shaken.

Krillin's eyes widened as a terrifying thought hit him.

"This…"

"This is just like Chi-Chi!"

They all stiffened.

"It really is…"

Chiaotzu's eyes went wide too.

"Right!"

"Krillin's right—Chi-Chi learned Tien's modified Kaio-ken!"

"What?!"

"So that's why—!"

"No…"

"We have to get Tien to a hospital now! If we're late, he's finished!"

Vegeta didn't care at all and continued following Dr. Gero.

But Piccolo paused and moved to them.

"Chiaotzu."

"Take Tien back to West City. Find Goku."

"And have Bulma get him into her private hospital for emergency treatment."

Krillin nodded quickly.

"Piccolo's right."

"We caught it early."

"Chiaotzu—at your speed, you should reach West City in five minutes!"

Chiaotzu immediately nodded.

He lifted Tien onto his back and said urgently:

"Tien… I'm taking you to the hospital. Hold on!"

Then Chiaotzu shot forward as a streak of light toward West City.

Krillin and the others immediately regrouped and chased after Dr. Gero again.

Vegeta spoke without looking back, voice cold and smug.

"When your strength reaches its limit…"

"…stop forcing it."

"You can't break your limits that easily."

"If you fail, you only die faster."

"Only we Saiyans can break limits again and again."

"Because Saiyans…"

"…are the true warrior race."

"And our strength has no limits."