Chapter 98: Battle Against King Piccolo
Piccolo Daimao's eyes gleamed with malice, his aura tightly restrained. In a flash, he shot toward Franklin, his hand like a blade driving straight for Franklin's abdomen.
Sensing the sharp surge of ki aimed at his stomach, Franklin maneuvered his Flying Nimbus to close the distance, both fists clenched, swinging with full force toward King Piccolo's forehead.
Pain exploded in his abdomen, but at the same time his heavy punch landed squarely on King Piccolo's head. Blood sprayed into the air from Franklin's midsection.
The furious King Piccolo, flying at high speed, was smashed straight down into the depths of the earth by that single blow. The air cracked with a sonic boom.
The ground where he struck instantly split open in all directions, and King Piccolo was driven to an unknown depth underground.
Ignoring his abdominal wound, Franklin confirmed it didn't hinder his movement. Using the Flying Nimbus as a springboard, he kicked off hard, diving straight toward the ground.
"Demonic Light Cannon!"
A golden energy beam shot toward him. The Guardian Sword flashed into Franklin's hand, and with a casual swing, several arcs of golden sword energy collided with the beam. Spiritual energy burst in all directions, the two attacks dissipated, but the shockwave swept out like a Category 8 hurricane.
Franklin's speed didn't falter. In the blink of an eye, he was on the ground, striking down with a mountain-splitting blow at the horrified King Piccolo.
King Piccolo's spiritual power surged around him, and the lightning-fast strike suddenly slowed. Franklin could feel an overwhelming sense of restriction locking his movements.
"This is… manipulation of the world's spiritual energy!"
Before Franklin could react, King Piccolo lashed out with a whip kick. His body was sent flying at tremendous speed, a sonic boom trailing behind him. He barely managed to stop after being knocked back a great distance.
Before King Piccolo could even catch his breath, Goku charged in, extending the Power Pole down at him.
With a loud crack, Goku smashed King Piccolo back into the ground again. Franklin calmly chewed a Senzu Bean.
His phantom clone separated from his body, drawing out the Yang Lightning within Franklin. Spiritual energy surged in, and thunder roared to life.
Franklin's true body took a solid horse stance, hands pressed together.
King Piccolo's expression twisted. Controlling the world's spiritual energy, he instantly pinned Goku to the ground. With a hand like a blade, he stabbed hard toward Goku's vulnerable throat.
But Goku's expression didn't change. The Power Pole suddenly extended, bracing against the ground. In that instant, Goku broke free of the binding and drove his knee straight into King Piccolo's nose.
Taking advantage of his moment of shock, Goku swung the pole down again, smashing toward his head.
"Kame… hame… ha…"
Spiritual energy surged inside Franklin, gathering in his palms under the guidance of the Turtle School technique. His lightning talent activated, wrapping the Kamehameha in crackling thunder.
Seeing Franklin charging up a massive attack, King Piccolo's face twisted in alarm. He could no longer stay calm. Unable to bypass Goku, he instantly fired another Demonic Light Cannon at Franklin.
In a flash, Franklin swapped places with his phantom. The shadow clone melted into the ground like a shadow.
Franklin's divine sense spread out, enveloping both King Piccolo and Goku. "Goku, get clear."
As his transmission ended, Franklin completed the charge.
"Ha!"
Golden lightning bared its fangs on the outer layer of the Kamehameha, but clung tightly to the core.
King Piccolo, hands clasped before his chest, braced himself to block. Franklin's attack grew even stronger.
The two forces collided. The conductivity of lightning exploded outward, and thunder pierced deep into King Piccolo's body.
Once the gathered lightning was fully spent, Franklin cut off his energy output.
As Goku lunged in again, Franklin summoned the Guardian Sword. Several golden crescent-shaped sword waves followed the Kamehameha, slashing straight toward King Piccolo.
When the smoke and spiritual energy cleared, the once-green King Piccolo now had charred black arms. Red light flickered beneath his skin—the mark of burnt flesh.
As the sword waves reached him, King Piccolo exhaled a cloud of black gas.
Golden light flared across his body. The surrounding spiritual energy converged wildly into him. Feeling the terrifying pressure spreading out, Franklin's eyes widened.
It was too late to stop it now. He kicked off the ground, rushing toward Goku at top speed.
The golden sword energy shattered on impact, drawn into King Piccolo's body like everything else.
Grabbing Goku by the tail, Franklin hurled him down into the pit King Piccolo had made.
He leapt in right after. Spiritual energy flowed into the Guardian Sword, and a protective barrier formed instantly, enclosing them both.
"Explosive Demon Wave!!!"
A deafening boom erupted. From King Piccolo as the center, a wave of explosive power swept out. The ground collapsed. Vegetation turned to ash. For hundreds of kilometers, the earth was stripped bare—everything on the surface obliterated.
Below ground, protected by the barrier, neither Franklin nor Goku suffered serious harm. Franklin's spiritual energy drained rapidly, and he restored it with another Senzu Bean. He now had only six left.
Charging his fist, he punched upward, blasting through the earth. He and Goku leapt out, facing a panting, weakened King Piccolo.
"A wide-area attack like that might look impressive," Franklin said with a sneer, "but against a single strong opponent, it's not much."
Hearing the mockery in his tone, King Piccolo's face darkened. "Who are you? Without you, Goku wouldn't stand a chance against me."
Franklin didn't bother replying. Golden sword energy slashed out from the Guardian Sword. Goku also rushed in without a word.
King Piccolo's expression twisted. A moment later, his entire aura shifted.
"Useless trash. Took you long enough to let me out."
With his hands pressed together, vines erupted from the ground, shattering the sword energy into loose spiritual power. Goku, swinging his pole, was also struck and sent flying by the vines.
"I didn't expect that in just a few days, the two of you could grow this strong. Impressive… but this ends now."
Seeing him form hand seals, Franklin instantly guessed what had happened. His divine sense transmitted to Goku:
"Retreat. I'll cover you. We need to fall back and preserve our strength."
"Telepathy? No… something else. Interesting ability. But since you want me dead, I won't hold back. Great Fire Annihilation!"
A massive spiritual flame, five or six meters across, surged toward him. Franklin immediately activated Yin Water. A black sphere of water formed and shot toward the fireball.
The two collided. Thick fog and smoke billowed out. As Goku jumped onto his golden Flying Nimbus, Franklin waved him on and summoned his own purple Nimbus.
The moment he took off, a golden beam struck it head-on, blasting the purple cloud into a mist of violet smoke.