Nimbus Speed

As Goku races toward the battlefield on the Flying Nimbus, Piccolo puts his plan into motion. Krillin charges at Nappa as a decoy, rocketing skyward at the last second. The distraction works long enough for Piccolo to grab Nappa's tail from behind. But when Gohan moves in for the finishing strike, Nappa simply elbows Piccolo in the head and knocks him out cold. Vegeta gloats that both he and Nappa have trained to eliminate the tail weakness entirely.

With Piccolo down, Nappa turns his brutality on Gohan, battering the child without mercy. Krillin intervenes and lands several solid hits before launching a Destructo Disc. Nappa foolishly prepares to catch it, but Vegeta screams a warning just in time. The disc misses by inches, slicing a scar across Nappa's cheek. Enraged, Nappa blasts Krillin aside and prepares to finish him when Piccolo recovers and strikes Nappa from behind.

As Nappa turns to retaliate, all three defenders sense an enormous power signal approaching from the distance: Goku, whose energy has grown far beyond what any of them remember. Vegeta's scouter reads it at 5,000 and climbing. Realizing that Goku may only be showing a fraction of his true power, Vegeta orders Nappa to kill everyone immediately. When Nappa charges Gohan, the boy kicks him square in the jaw, enraging the Saiyan beyond reason. Nappa fires a massive Bomber DX at Gohan, and at the very last second, Piccolo throws himself in front of the blast.

Nappa has trained away his tail weakness, rendering Piccolo's plan useless. Krillin's Destructo Disc nearly decapitates the Saiyan, but Vegeta's last-second warning saves Nappa from the one attack that could have ended him. Vegeta's scouter detects Goku's power at 5,000, prompting a kill order for all remaining fighters.

Gohan surprises everyone by kicking Nappa in the jaw, but the enraged Saiyan retaliates with a devastating Bomber DX aimed at the boy. Piccolo intercepts the blast, throwing his body between the attack and Gohan in the episode's climactic moment.

Vegeta's order to kill the Z Fighters stems from his realization that Goku's power level of 5,000 might only be the surface. This strategic thinking separates Vegeta from Nappa and foreshadows the prince's calculating nature throughout the series. Piccolo's decision to shield Gohan sets up one of the saga's most emotional moments.