Time passed second by second.
Because they still hadn't found Dr. Gero, everyone decided to split up. Once someone found the target, they would release their aura all at once so the others could sense it.
And that very decision gave Dr. Gero the perfect opportunity to hunt.
Hidden within the darkness, he first locked onto the isolated Piccolo.
According to his data, Piccolo was the strongest among them.
This was the ideal prey. As long as he could absorb all of Piccolo's energy without leaving even a fraction behind, he would gain the capital to fight Vegeta!
Combined with the life energy of the others, he might even surpass Vegeta.
Very quickly, Dr. Gero silently crept behind Piccolo and launched his attack.
Piccolo suddenly felt a chill down his back, but before he could dodge, Dr. Gero's limbs locked down his movements. One hand covered Piccolo's mouth, preventing him from making a sound, while the energy absorption devices in both hands continuously began draining the energy within Piccolo's body.
[Damn it!! My energy is being drained. I can't release my aura… I-I can't move!!]Piccolo was horrified. No matter what method he used, he seemed unable to break free from Dr. Gero's restraint.
In contrast, Dr. Gero wore an expression of pure enjoyment, the sinister grin on his face growing even more intense.
"Your energy will soon belong to me! Once I devour your power, along with the rest of those people, even Vegeta won't escape, heh heh heh…" Dr. Gero continuously increased the speed of his energy absorption, relentlessly squeezing the energy out of Piccolo's body.
Piccolo tried to resist, but it was useless.
If this continued, his life energy would inevitably be drained dry by Dr. Gero.
At this critical moment, Piccolo swiftly used telepathy to contact Son Gohan.
The moment Son Gohan heard Piccolo's message, he immediately locked onto Piccolo's location. In an instant, a fierce aura erupted from his body, allowing everyone to sense that something was wrong.
"Hm?!" While absorbing Piccolo's life energy, Dr. Gero suddenly noticed the energy scouter within his body issuing a danger warning.
He abruptly turned his head, only to see the furious Son Gohan charging toward him like a cannonball.
"Tch~! So I was still discovered?!" Dr. Gero's expression darkened as he quickly released Piccolo before Son Gohan could hit him, perfectly avoiding Son Gohan's full-powered charge.
"Are you alright, Uncle Piccolo?!" Son Gohan asked anxiously.
Although most of his energy had been absorbed, leaving his face somewhat pale, Piccolo still waved his hand at Son Gohan, indicating that he was fine.
At the same time, he had now completely confirmed Dr. Gero's true strength!
After all that, this guy was just trash, not even comparable to the previous Android 19.
He was going to properly settle the score for what he had just suffered.
"Consider yourself lucky, brat. I was just a little short." After saying that, Dr. Gero was about to leave.
Suddenly, a cold voice caused his entire body to tremble violently.
"Old geezer, do you really think you can still escape now?"
The one who spoke was Vegeta.
"Vegeta!!" The moment he noticed Vegeta had arrived, Dr. Gero was so frightened that he panicked completely.
Although he had absorbed a bit of Piccolo's energy just now, he still had no confidence in facing Vegeta. This guy was simply too powerful.
Aside from Vegeta, the others also arrived one after another.
Tien Shinhan, Krillin, and Trunks all reached the scene at the same time.
Seeing this, Dr. Gero was utterly terrified. He knew that right now, he was nothing more than a lamb waiting to be slaughtered, with no chance of escape!!
Unless a miracle happened, there was truly no way for him to get away!
"Old geezer, what are you going to do now?" Vegeta smiled arrogantly. Just as he was about to attack Dr. Gero, Piccolo stopped him.
"Wait, Vegeta," Piccolo suddenly said.
"Oh? What are you trying to do?" Vegeta noticed the change in Piccolo's emotions and asked.
"One Android has already died at your hands. Leave this old man to me, how about it?" Piccolo said calmly.
Although his tone sounded steady, it was the calm before the storm.
"Hmph? If you get yourself killed, don't blame me." Vegeta, amused by Piccolo's words, decided to play along.
Since there was no way for Dr. Gero to escape anyway, he didn't care. Crossing his arms over his chest, he assumed the posture of someone ready to watch a good show.
"That won't be necessary." After speaking, Piccolo accepted the Senzu Bean Krillin handed him. Once he recovered, he immediately removed his weighted clothing.
Seeing this, hope flashed through Dr. Gero's eyes.
These Saiyans had become increasingly arrogant ever since mastering that golden-haired transformation.
[You'll regret not handling this personally, Vegeta.]
Dr. Gero thought to himself. This was his opportunity!
As long as he could seize this chance to completely devour Piccolo's energy, he could turn the tables!
Dr. Gero focused completely, assuming a battle stance.
"Uncle Piccolo… are you really… alright?" Son Gohan asked worriedly.
Hearing this, Piccolo did not answer. He merely smiled confidently as the immense energy within his body surged like a tidal wave.
'BOOM!!!'
A violent white aura erupted skyward from Piccolo's body. At this moment, he revealed his true power.
When Piccolo unleashed this fierce aura, everyone present except Vegeta was left dumbfounded.
This aura… was enough to rival Frieza from back then!!
No! It was even far stronger.
After years of training, Piccolo had already become this powerful!
They had thought the gap between them wasn't that large, but the difference in strength had long since exceeded their imagination.
[Piccolo has already reached this level? Just the intensity of his aura alone surpasses the Frieza who came to Earth back then.] Cold sweat appeared on Tien Shinhan's forehead as he said in disbelief.
"What a powerful Ki! Piccolo, is this your current strength?" Krillin said in shock.
Over these past three years, he had also trained tirelessly, and although his strength had improved, compared to Piccolo, the gap was far too great.
[Because of me… has this world… already changed this much?] Trunks never imagined that his arrival would bring such enormous changes to this world.
The changes were simply too great, far beyond anything he had expected.
The current Piccolo could even compete against his Super Saiyan form.
"Hmph? So this is your true strength. In that case, it's more than enough to deal with this old geezer." After sensing the power Piccolo had unleashed, even Vegeta gave him extremely high praise and recognition.
Although Piccolo was still inferior to him, reaching this level was already quite impressive.
The one most shocked of all was undoubtedly Dr. Gero.
"Impossible!! I clearly absorbed your energy, so how can you still unleash this level of power?! Wait… is it because of the Senzu Bean?!" After sensing Piccolo's overwhelming aura, Dr. Gero exclaimed.
"Hmph! Next, you can properly experience just how terrifying my anger truly is." Piccolo's icy voice fell.
At this moment, Talot, hidden within the shadows, also saw Piccolo's power level through his virtual glasses.
"180 million power level, huh? This strength has already surpassed Goku when he first transformed into a Super Saiyan back then," Talot said.
Indeed, at this point in time, this power was still very strong and dazzling.
However, once Android 17 and 18 were awakened and the Android Saga truly began, it would only be average.
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