The Hunt for Cell is On! Goku, Back in Action!

With Cell's origins now understood by the entire group, the fighters split up to address multiple threats across the globe. Vegeta departs alone, declaring his intention to break through the Super Saiyan barrier and achieve a power level beyond anything the universe has witnessed. Future Trunks and Krillin head to the ruins of Dr. Gero's laboratory to find and eliminate the present timeline's version of Cell before it can ever mature into the terrifying creature now consuming the countryside.

Beneath the demolished lab, they discover a hidden underground chamber housing Dr. Gero's massive automated supercomputer and a glass tank containing Cell in his embryonic state, a small bio-organic mass slowly growing in nutrient fluid. The sight is deeply unsettling. Future Trunks and Krillin also find the complete technical blueprints for Android 17 stored in the computer's memory banks. They take the schematics for Bulma to analyze, then systematically destroy everything: the computer, the tank, and the developing Cell organism. This ensures that even if the current Cell is not stopped, no second version will ever emerge in this timeline. Krillin rushes the blueprints to Bulma and her father at Capsule Corporation, who immediately begin searching for an exploitable structural weakness in the android's design that could be used to shut them down.

Taking a shortcut back to Kame House, Krillin stumbles directly into Cell's path. The bio-android has cornered a group of terrified civilians and is preparing to absorb them. Krillin intervenes, buying the people time to flee, but he is hopelessly outmatched. He tries Tien's Solar Flare to blind Cell and escapes by grabbing onto a passing airplane, but Cell recovers quickly, leaps onto the aircraft, and resumes his assault.

Just as Krillin faces certain death, Piccolo and Tien arrive to rescue him. Cell senses their combined power and retreats, hiding his energy signature as he disappears into the countryside to continue feeding in secret.

Three days pass as Cell continues his rampage, absorbing entire populations across the countryside. The Z Fighters use a hovercraft to search for him, masking their own energy to avoid detection. At Kame House, Chi-Chi hears a sudden rumble and rushes to check on Goku, only to find his bed empty.

Outside, Goku stands in the sunlight, fully recovered from the heart virus. He demonstrates his restored strength with a powerful Kamehameha that shakes the entire island. He tells Chi-Chi that he already knows everything happening through telepathic contact he made while unconscious, but he has no intention of fighting just yet. First, he plans to train and surpass the Super Saiyan form.