The Old Kai's Weapon

Super Buu presses his advantage over the exhausted Gohan with ruthless efficiency. Thanks to absorbing Piccolo and Gotenks, Buu now wields techniques that were never his own. He fires Piccolo's Special Beam Cannon, then follows with a barrage of Super Ghost Kamikaze Attacks. Each stolen technique drains what little energy Gohan has left.

With Gohan barely standing, Buu seizes him and charges a finishing blow. At that critical moment, Bee runs forward and barks at the towering villain. Mr. Satan, fueled by outrage over his daughter's death, kicks Buu in the head three times. Buu hesitates, some buried memory of his former friendship flickering beneath the surface. The distraction gives Gohan just enough time to rally, kicking Buu's arm away before the blast can reach Bee and Mr. Satan.

On the Sacred World of the Kai, Goku watches helplessly as Gohan collapses. The Old Kai proposes a radical solution: he will give up his own life so that Goku's can be restored. Since the Old Kai is an immortal being, trading his existence for Goku's is the only way to send a living warrior back to Earth without breaking the laws governing the afterlife.

The Old Kai sits down, bids a quiet farewell, and dies. Goku's halo vanishes. For the second time in his life, Son Goku is alive again. The Old Kai sits back up with a new halo of his own and irritably tells Goku to stop standing around and get moving. Simultaneously, King Yemma and Fortuneteller Baba set their own plan in motion: bringing Vegeta back to the living world.

Gohan is on the run, barely staying ahead of Buu's relentless pursuit. But the Old Kai has one more card to play. He removes his Potara earrings and explains their power to Goku: when two people each wear one earring, they merge into a single being permanently. There is no dance, no time limit, and no margin for error.

Goku takes the earrings and prepares to leave for Earth. Episode 266 marks a pivotal turning point in the Buu saga, bringing Goku back from the dead and introducing the Potara as the last viable weapon against an enemy who has absorbed every advantage the heroes once held.