Peace returns. Years pass. Goku stays dead, training in Other World. Gohan grows into a teenage scholar. Vegeta has a son, Trunks. Then a warlock named arrives to revive the ancient, pure evil: Majin Buu — a pink, childlike, utterly insane creature who turns people into candy and eats them.

Goku teaches Trunks and Goten (his younger son) the , creating Gotenks — a powerful but cocky warrior. Meanwhile, Buu absorbs Gotenks, Piccolo, and Gohan, becoming Super Buu — tall, cunning, and terrifying.

The Dragon Balls are now inert because Piccolo is dead. The heroes learn that Piccolo came from Namek, the original home of the Dragon Balls. Using Kami’s old ship, Gohan, Krillin, and the newly revived (but amnesiac) Vegeta’s ally, Bulma, journey to Namek to wish their friends back.

Kid Buu pushes it back. Desperate, Goku wishes on Porunga (the Namekian Dragon) for . In a final, earth-shattering Kamehameha, Goku obliterates Kid Buu.

The only hope is the . Goku and Vegeta, now revived, reluctantly fuse into Vegito — the single greatest warrior in existence. Vegito toys with Buu, even fighting as a candy (a jawbreaker that kicks Buu’s ass). But they are absorbed. Inside Buu, they free the absorbed fighters, causing Buu to transform into his original, pure form: Kid Buu — small, pink, and utterly insane, with no reason, only destruction.

Now Perfect, Cell announces the — a televised tournament to prove his perfection. Earth’s warriors fail. Goku fights valiantly but surrenders, knowing his son Gohan alone possesses hidden, explosive power. Gohan, shy and peaceful, refuses to fight. Then Cell spawns mini-Cells to torture Gohan’s friends. When Android 16 (a kind robot) tells Gohan it’s okay to fight for justice — and Cell crushes 16’s head — something snaps.

When Goku refuses to join him, Raditz kidnaps Gohan. Forced into an uneasy alliance, Goku teams with his former enemy, Piccolo, to rescue his son. In a desperate battle, Goku sacrifices himself to hold Raditz while Piccolo lands a fatal blow. With his last breath, Raditz warns that two even stronger Saiyans — Vegeta and Nappa — will arrive in one year.

is chaos incarnate. He turns Babidi into cheese. He turns Dabura (the Demon King) into a cookie. He kills nearly everyone. Vegeta, realizing his mistake, sacrifices himself in a massive explosion — but Buu regenerates.

The Saiyans arrive. Nappa easily defeats the Earth’s mightiest warriors, killing Chiaotzu, Tien, Yamcha, and Piccolo (who dies protecting Gohan). Goku arrives, fresh from King Kai’s training. He defeats Nappa with ease. Then comes Vegeta — arrogant, ruthless, and powerful. The battle is brutal. Goku uses Kaioken times four to overpower Vegeta’s , but Vegeta transforms into a Great Ape after Gohan’s tail grows back. Crushed, Goku passes the fight to his friends. With Krillin’s desperate strategy and Yajirobe’s surprise sword slash, they cut Vegeta’s tail. Gohan, in a rage, crushes Vegeta’s armor as a Great Ape himself. Vegeta barely escapes on his pod. Krillin spares him on Goku’s wish — a mercy that will later define the universe.

Meanwhile, the other Z-Fighters (Krillin, Tien, Yamcha, Chiaotzu, and Yajirobe) train with Kami and Mr. Popo. Goku trains in the afterlife under King Kai, learning devastating techniques like the and the Spirit Bomb .

The battle escalates. Frieza, able to transform into four increasingly monstrous forms, toys with everyone. He kills Dende (the new guardian of the Namekian Dragon Balls), then brutally murders Vegeta after the Saiyan prince tearfully begs Goku to avenge their race. Vegeta’s dying words reveal the legend: Frieza feared the Super Saiyan, the galaxy’s mightiest warrior.

But the tyrant — who destroyed Vegeta’s home planet — is already there, seeking immortality. Vegeta, now a rogue, also arrives, slaughtering Frieza’s elite soldiers (Zarbon, Dodoria, the Ginyu Force) to steal their Dragon Balls.

Ten years later. Goku and Vegeta have surpassed Super Saiyan 2. Gohan is a scholar. Buu is reincarnated as a good boy named . At the World Martial Arts Tournament, Goku flies off with Uub to train the next generation — smiling, because the adventure never truly ends.