Cell was a little surprised, but not too shocked.
After all, he'd been secretly eavesdropping on Cado's conversation with Goku.
The word "future" kept popping up.
That convinced Cell even more — Cado was either a traveler from the future, or had been there before.
The only thing that puzzled Cell was: even if Cado came from the future, why wasn't his genetic material included in Cell's database?
"Alright, looks like you're not that Cell."
Cado said calmly.
He had just been wondering if this Cell had crossed over from the world he had recently returned from.
But judging from Cell's reaction, it was obvious — he had no idea who Cado was.
Well, that made sense.
Cado had already confirmed before that the Cell from that timeline was completely, utterly dead.
No way he could cause any more trouble.
This Cell, then, must have crossed over from another timeline — one where he had killed Trunks.
In that case, it seemed Cado only existed in this world, and despite his presence, the main storyline of Dragon Ball hadn't changed much.
"HAH! No matter where you came from, you won't stop me from absorbing Android 18!"
Cell stood up, his eyes blazing with fury.
Android 18 was right there, so close.
If it weren't for this guy standing in his way, he would have already completed his fusion.
"Is that so? 18 is standing right behind me."
"But if you want her, you'll have to get through me first. And let me tell you, that's not gonna be easy."
Cado said lightly, beckoning toward Cell.
"You bastard! Go to hell!"
Cell condensed an energy ball in his hand and hurled it at Cado.
Cado casually flicked his wrist, batting the energy blast away.
Boom!
The energy ball exploded midair.
The whole island shook from the impact.
Cado's base strength had already reached the limit of Super Saiyan 1.
Unless Cell transformed into his Perfect Form, he had no chance of beating Cado.
Whoosh!
Just as Cado deflected the blast, Cell charged straight at him.
A green fist swung hard toward Cado's head.
Cell knew Cado was strong.
But today, he had to complete his fusion.
Only then could he stand at the very top of this world.
Bang!
Another loud crash.
Cado caught Cell's punch with one hand.
"Your attacks are too weak. You won't kill me like this."
Cado shook his head and said indifferently.
His words stung Cell like a whip.
Cell launched a barrage of furious attacks — a relentless storm of blows.
Any one of these would have been fatal to most opponents.
But Cado handled them easily, almost effortlessly.
'Who is he? How can he be this powerful?!'
Panic crept into Cell's heart.
For the first time, real fear started to take root.
"Are you done?"
"If you're finished, it's my turn now."
Cado's face remained as calm as ever.
But in Cell's eyes, this calmness was terrifying.
It felt like death itself was just one breath away.
Thud!
As soon as the words left Cado's mouth, he struck.
In a flash, his right hand slammed into Cell's abdomen.
A powerful fist punched right through Cell's body.
Purple blood spattered everywhere.
"Why... why are you this strong..."
Cell coughed up blood, unwilling to accept the truth.
He couldn't understand — he had been so close to success — why had it all fallen apart at the last moment?
"Well, who are you gonna complain to about that?"
Cado replied coolly.
He tightened his fist.
A brilliant golden light burst out.
Boom!
Cell's body exploded.
Disintegrated into dust right where he stood.
Ding!
[Congratulations to the host for completing the mission!]
[System reward has been automatically distributed!]
The moment Cell was destroyed, a synthesized voice sounded in Cado's mind.
In an instant, a special power surged into Cado's body.
His mind suddenly felt crystal clear.
He sensed something vast and profound, impossible to explain in words.
It was as if the world around him was blank paper — and he could destroy it with a mere thought.
No effort needed at all.
"So this is the power of the God of Destruction... It's incredible."
Cado marveled quietly at the mysterious energy now flowing within him.
Meanwhile, everyone around him — unaware of what was happening inside him — was simply shocked.
They had just watched Cado obliterate Cell with a single punch.
"Amazing... No wonder he's Mr. Cado!"
Goku looked at Cado with admiration.
He could also kill Cell.
But not nearly this easily.
The stronger Goku became, the more clearly he could feel the gap between himself and Cado.
"So... so cool!"
Android 18 was visibly excited.
It felt like surviving a disaster — and especially that one sentence:
"If you want her, you'll have to beat me first."
It made her heart race.
She had completely forgotten that Android 17 had been inside Cell and had perished in the explosion.
"Phew, thank the heavens. Good thing Mr. Cado was here, or Earth would've been doomed."
Android 16, leaning against a rock, sighed in relief.
"How is this possible? How can he be this strong?"
Vegeta swallowed hard, disbelief written all over his face.
Even though his power also far surpassed Cell's, there was no way he could've made it look so effortless like Cado did.
He had trained so hard, for so long, just to surpass Cado.
And now...
'No way. I'm supposed to be the strongest in the world.'
'No one should be stronger than me! No one!'
Vegeta clenched his fists even tighter.
In the next moment, he flashed over to stand directly in front of Cado.
"What's wrong, Vegeta? Not happy about it?"
Cado said bluntly.
He had ignored Vegeta before, but if he wanted to get in his face — fine.
Looking at Vegeta's scowling face, Cado suddenly felt the urge to smack him.
"You bastard! Don't think you're hot stuff just because you killed Cell."
"Let me tell you, I could've killed him too. He was just too weak. I didn't even bother."
Vegeta said coldly.
Without realizing it, he had just issued a challenge.
"Oh, is that so..."
Cado replied lazily.
This was exactly why Cado disliked Vegeta.
Always putting on airs, desperately trying to protect that fragile pride of his — and completely ignoring the safety of others for the sake of his own ego.
That was why Cado liked Trunks instead.
Decisive. Cool-headed. No unnecessary drama.
"You bastard! Still pretending to be calm? I'll show you what real power looks like!"
Cado's nonchalant attitude completely infuriated Vegeta.
After all the trials and tribulations he had endured to gain this strength, Cado still treated him like nothing.
How could he possibly accept that?