Hearing Cell's declaration, everyone's hearts sank.
If the soul attack was ineffective, Setsuna's greatest advantage was gone.
Facing the Perfect Cell with his unfathomable combat power, could they really still win?
Just as despair began to spread, they heard Setsuna say calmly: "Oh? Is that so? Well, it doesn't matter. I wasn't planning on using that move anyway."
Setsuna's gaze shifted to Trunks beside him.
"Trunks, lend me your body for a while."
Although Goku and Vegeta's bodies were stronger, the Saiyan bloodline was simply too 'toxic'.
The last thing he wanted was to suddenly lose focus mid-fight and get reckless enough to lose.
Only Trunks from the future, who had endured hellish suffering and possessed an unyielding heart, could allow Setsuna to use his body with confidence.
Vegeta asked suspiciously, "What do you need Trunks's body for?"
Setsuna smiled and explained, "If I can transform into a Super Saiyan using Trunks's body, defeating him would be easy."
"That's impossible!" Vegeta frowned. "Your strength is indeed impressive, but becoming a Super Saiyan isn't that easy. You don't have time to adapt."
Cell also chuckled, "Do you think bodies are just suits? That you can wear anyone's body and still perform at your best?"
Trunks, however, agreed without hesitation: "Please, use my body as you wish! As long as we can defeat Cell and save this world!"
Setsuna reached out and gently placed his hand on Trunks' forehead.
His body began to 'flow' like ink merging into water, slowly seeping into the center of Trunks' brow.
Trunks's body trembled slightly, his eyes losing focus momentarily before quickly lighting up again.
"Hah!"
'Trunks' slowly raised his head, letting out a low cry.
The next moment, a pillar of golden light shot up, piercing the sky.
The terrifying energy fluctuations made the air wail for kilometers around. The ground cracked inch by inch, rubble floated up, instantly shattered into dust.
"Th-this is..." Krillin stared wide-eyed.
"Super Saiyan..." Tien murmured.
"No, not Super Saiyan!" Vegeta stared intently at the lightning sparks surrounding 'Trunks's' body. "That's the Super Saiyan that surpasses Super Saiyan!"
Although Vegeta's phrasing was awkward, everyone had grown accustomed to it recently.
Krillin worried, "Isn't that the state you were in when Cell beat you?"
"No!" Vegeta's voice was unusually dry. "Seeing him now, I understand. What I achieved wasn't truly Super Saiyan 2. It was at best some kind of enhanced version of Super Saiyan."
"What he is now is the true form that surpasses Super Saiyan!"
Piccolo found it unbelievable, "You mean Setsuna, in one second, surpassed all your years of effort and brought Super Saiyan to a whole new stage?"
"Exactly!" Vegeta's voice was filled with humiliation. The advanced form of Super Saiyan was actually being demonstrated by an Earthling.
Vegeta felt his composure cracking, suddenly feeling that some of the things he had been pursuing all along seemed to have become meaningless.
Setsuna, at that moment, felt quite emotional too.
'Super Saiyan 2. Indeed, once the level is reached, everything falls into place.'
He recalled his time in the Saint Seiya World. To fight against Hades, he had to burn his Cosmos to the limit, finally achieving Super Saiyan at the last moment.
Although it came at the cost of self-destruction, it brought his understanding of the 'essence of power' to an entirely new level.
After traversing several worlds, even without a physical body to specifically train Ki, his mental state had been continuously honed.
So, the moment he possessed a Saiyan body, he naturally and effortlessly unlocked the door to Super Saiyan 2.
Furthermore, Setsuna had a faint premonition that once he truly possessed a physical body that perfectly matched his soul, he might be able to directly transform into Super Saiyan 3!
"Th-this... how can this be?" In the sky, Cell's smile froze on his face.
His instincts screamed warnings. The other party's energy level was skyrocketing exponentially, already far surpassing his understanding of the limits of Super Saiyan.
"Oh no!" Cell hesitated no more, his hands instantly cupping at his waist.
"Kamehameha..."
However, Setsuna completed his transformation faster than Cell anticipated.
Just as Cell's energy sphere was about to take shape, Setsuna also cupped his hands at his waist.
"Kamehameha!"
The two clashed with Kamehameha waves. Cell's blast advanced towards Setsuna but was instantly pushed back by Setsuna.
"No!" In Cell's horrified gaze, a torrent of terrifying energy engulfed him.
Moments later, Cell's body was completely gone, not even a speck of dust remaining.
After destroying Cell, the Kamehameha wave continued its trajectory into the sky, piercing the atmosphere and rushing into deep space.
Finally, the wave erupted in space.
Even tens of millions of kilometers away, the terrifying energy fluctuations still reached Earth.
Boom!
The entire Earth trembled violently, like a bell struck by a giant hammer.
"E-Earthquake?" The TV crew stumbled around, screaming in terror.
"No, it's not an earthquake, it was that wave!" Mr. Satan looked at the sky in shock, drenched in cold sweat.
He finally understood now. The monster named Cell hadn't been lying. Strongmen like them really could destroy Earth!
Thinking about his own challenge to Cell earlier that day, a wave of fear washed over him. He had almost been killed.
Krillin and the others were also stunned.
'Was it over? Just like that?'
'The Perfect Cell that had driven them to despair was instantly defeated by Setsuna.'
Setsuna mused thoughtfully, 'Oh, looks like I accidentally killed No.17 and No.18 inside Cell too.'
A few seconds later, Setsuna's soul slowly 'separated', reforming into his own form.
"Cell is finally dead!" Trunks regained consciousness, joy evident on his face.
He had been blaming himself, feeling that his arrival in this timeline had plunged it into greater crisis.
Setsuna looked at him, "Remember the feeling of transforming into Super Saiyan 2 just now?"
Trunks was startled, then nodded firmly, "Yes!"
"Good then," Setsuna smiled. "When you return to your future, use this form to deal with those Androids. It should be easy."
"Uncle Setsuna, thank you!" Trunks's eyes were filled with gratitude. He suddenly remembered something and quickly took a capsule from his pocket.
"Uncle Setsuna, please accept this."
"What is it?" Setsuna took the capsule.
"It's from my future," Trunks explained. "Inside are specific medicines for various difficult-to-treat diseases from the future world, including the one you need for the heart condition."
"All the medicines are categorized by illness, and the labels are very clear."
Setsuna looked at the capsule in his hand, inwardly sighing with admiration: 'Future Trunks is just reliable like that.'