Synopsis: With Nappa lying at his feet and pleading for help, Vegeta muses over what he just witnessed, unable to figure out how Goku was able to make his power surge so quickly like that. Kuririn is also confused and asks Goku if that's something he learned from Kaio-sama, and Goku explains how the Kaio-ken works. By taking control of every bit of energy in your body, the user of the Kaio-ken can multiply their own power and speed by a set number, doubling or better what they're normally capable of. As Vegeta wishes he could overhear what Kakarot is telling his friends, Kuririn suggests that this means Goku could have just used this at the start and won instantly. Goku explains however that it's not as simple as all that, and if he messes up controlling his energy perfectly, he'll only end up hurting or even killing himself in the end – Kaio-sama even warned him before he left to remember his own limits and not to go beyond a basic x2 Kaio-ken. Nappa continues to plead with Vegeta for help getting up, resulting in Vegeta eventually taking his hand. Nappa thanks Vegeta for the help, but Vegeta smirks before hurling his injured Saiyan comrade high into the sky. As Goku, Gohan, and Kuririn watch on in horror, Vegeta tells Nappa that he's no good to him if he can no longer fight, and suddenly raises his own power before firing a large burst of energy that kills Nappa in a large explosion. As the dust clears, Goku is revealed to have fled into the air with Gohan and Kuririn to avoid the dust cloud kicked up by Vegeta's blast. The trio are horrified that Vegeta would kill his own partner, and realizing how dangerous things are about to get, Goku tells Gohan and Kuririn to head back to Kame House. Gohan objects, but Kuririn tells him that they'll just be in Goku's way if they stay, as Goku concedes that Vegeta is even stronger than he'd imagined. Gohan reluctantly agrees to leave, and Kuririn asks Goku to take the fight somewhere else if he can so that the bodies of their friends won't get damaged further before they get brought back to life. Goku is confused as Piccolo and Kami dying should mean there aren't Dragon Balls to bring them back at all, but Kuririn promises to explain later what he's thinking, if Goku can just win this fight. Goku agrees to lead Vegeta elsewhere as the Saiyan calls out to him, and Kuririn asks Goku to promise him not to die. Goku promises, and also promises Gohan that they'll go fishing after this is all said and done, before heading over to Vegeta. Goku convinces Vegeta to follow him, and the two fly over the wasteland, with Goku noticing that Vegeta is keeping up to him without any trouble whatsoever. Eventually spotting a section of desert where nothing lives, Goku lands there with Vegeta following suit, suggesting that this will be the perfect place for Goku's life to end as well then. Review: There are three main points of interest I want to talk about in this chapter, which honestly makes it one of the better ones that exist primarily to get the next stage of the story going. A lot of those chapters tend to just check in on things we already know, but this one gives us new information, delves further into something else that we know, and also gives us a memorable death for a character – it's definitely a stand-out in that regard. First, we get a thorough explanation at last for the other move that Goku learned from Kaio-sama, the Kaio-ken. The move itself is unique, especially compared to pretty much every other technique that we've had so far, in that it's not really an attack in of itself. It's more of a status buff, an ability to make the user far stronger than they are without it, during which time they'll be able to hit way harder and move way faster than they could before. The way the technique works means that it's user can basically combine it with any (or at least most) other attacks they might have in their arsenal, be that a really good punch or kick, or even an energy blast, and hit that much harder. Basically, it's almost more of a power-up than an attack – there's a reason that a lot of the video games treat it as a transformation. Personally however, I still think of it as more of a technique than a true transformation, but I can definitely see how it'd be considered one by some people – it really does fall in a rather nebulous territory. If the Kaio-ken sounds too good to be true however, that's because it is. The technique definitely has it's uses, and we've only seen the tip of the iceberg in regards to how helpful it's going to be in Goku's fighting style moving forward. It's not without it's risks however, as Goku explains that using it when you're not in complete control can lead to it wrecking your body. Pushing yourself too far beyond your limits also carries a big risk of over-extending beyond what your body can handle, and damaging you or worse – it's far from a definitive trump card that will always win the day, and that's why Kaio-sama has restricted Goku from going past the standard Kaio-ken that doubles his power. Secondly, we have the death of Nappa. Nappa has been the main driving force attacking our heroes since the beginning of this section of the story, and he's more than done the most damage to our heroes out of all of the threats they've been facing. Seeing Goku utterly humiliate him was definitely something we as an audience were looking forward to seeing, and even if Goku had killed him it would have been a fitting ending for him. Rather than that however, Nappa goes out in an unexpected, vicious fashion, a way that isn't undeserved, but is shocking nonetheless. Which brings us to the third and final thing presented to us in this chapter – Vegeta's cold, brutal nature. Prior to this, we'd seen how scared Nappa was of Vegeta, and while that perfectly indicated that Vegeta was stronger than him, it didn't fully indicate Vegeta's nature or the scope of how much stronger he was. That allows the moment both of these facts about Vegeta are revealed to hit as hard as they do. The Saiyans are a brutal lot, but Nappa and Raditz were both shown to have at least some care towards their own kind in their personalities. Vegeta lacks even that level of empathy, coldly killing Nappa in an even more brutal fashion than he's ever shown, even colder than when he dismissed the idea of bringing Raditz back to life. His power is also far greater than we could have guessed, as not only does he kill Nappa with ease, his power surprises even Goku – and Goku was previously mopping the floor with Nappa himself. This is where the final battle of the Saiyan arc finds us as an audience – Goku, the Saiyan who came to Earth and grew to have empathy and kindness; versus Vegeta, a Saiyan more powerful and cruel than even most Saiyans themselves. There's absolutely no more fitting finale this arc could be going out on. Until next time! Favorite Panel: Next Time: Hard Work V.S. Natural Gifts
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About the AuthorAspiring author and big anime/manga fan, just trying to do my best in the world. For more details, go to About Me. Archives
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