Despite being able to spend another day inside, Goku says that he will not do any more training within the Room of Spirit and Time, and sees off Vegeta and Trunks with an odd expresion on his face. Goku and Gohan return to their home, where Chichi and Gyumao await them. Kuririn eyes Goku skeptically, wondering why he is saying that he will not spend the remaining time training. Goku and Gohan enjoy some leisure time, including fishing together.
While out shopping, Gohan happens upon the elderly gentleman Lao, and the young girl Lime, in Chazuke Village. The village's most influential man, Bourbon, is putting the villagers to forced labor, building a dome to shelter them from the Cell Games. When Lao defies Bourbon, the assassin Tao Pai Pai appears before him. However, upon discovering that Gohan is Goku's son, he runs away. Bourbon's schemes are thwarted, thanks to Gohan.
Eight days remain before the Cell Games. Chichi decides to throw a birthday party for Gohan, who turned 11 inside the Room of Spirit and Time. Going through photo albums, she remembers the day they named Gohan. Goku also remembers how, not long after he was born, Gohan escaped a perilous situation with the tremendous force of his own Ki. As night falls, Gyumao and Kuririn join in the celebration of Gohan's birthday party.
Trading places with Piccolo, who had just finished his training, Vegeta enters the Room of Spirit and Time. Preparations move steadily forward for those taking part in the upcoming Cell Games. Meanwhile, the Royal Defense Force launches an all-out attack on Cell, but instead are the ones who are wiped out. Seeing this happen, Goku thinks of reactivating the Dragon Balls with a new Kami-sama, to bring everyone killed by Cell back to life.
With the help of Kaio, Goku is able to seek out the Ki of the Namekians, and Instantaneously Move himself to the new Planet Namek. At the Grand Elder's recommendation, Goku returns with Dende, who will be the earth's new Kami-sama. Dende, an excellent Dragon-type Namekian, successfully uses his power to bring back the Dragon Balls! At that same time, down at ground level, the world's combat sports champion, Mister Satan, declares his entry into the Cell Games.
Vegeta ends his training, and as Satan declares on TV that he will defeat Cell, Goku searches for the reactivated Dragon Balls using the Dragon Radar. However, Tai Pai Pai already has two of the Dragon Balls collected before Goku gets to them. Tao Pai Pai is startled by Goku's arrival and soon gives up. Goku gets all seven Dragon Balls together.
At last, the day of the Cell Games has arrived. The first ones to arrive at the ring are Mister Satan and some live TV relay staff. As Satan provokes Cell, Goku, Gohan, and the rest of the Z Warriors begin to assemble! Goku is about the fight first, but is stopped by Satan, who has yet to realize Cell's true abilities. Satan declares that he will be the first to fight...
Satan, thinking that Cell's attacks are nothing more than tricks, is raring to fight. But before he can, a helicopter descends out of the sky, and Satan's two apprentices, Piroshiki and Caroni, leap out of it! They announce that they will fight Cell before Satan does. Cell easily deals with the two of them. Satan at last challenges Cell to battle, but is swatted away with no trouble.
The Z Warriors finally step forward, and the Cell Games begin in earnest. Goku volunteers to be the first challenger. The battle with Cell begins. As the fierce, lightning-fast battle between the two of them unfolds, Satan declares all of it to be a trick!! However, neither Goku nor Cell were yet fighting at their true capacity. But then, Goku finally starts to go after Cell at 100% of his power!
At Cell's request, Goku goes after him at full power. Cell also fights back with 100% of his power. Their two tremendous forces collide head-on. Cell attacks using Tenshinhan's Shishin-no-ken and Piccolo's Makankosappo attacks. He then attempts to blow Goku and the entire earth away with a super-powered Kamehame-Ha blast. Sensing the danger, Goku Instantaneously Moves into the sky. He saves the earth by making himself the target.
Goku and Cell continue their evenly-matched fight. Cell says that the out-of-bounds rule is meaningless to them and proceeds to blow the ring away. An earnest, kill-or-be-killed battle then begins. Goku is about to launch an extraordinarily large Kamehame-Ha from above, but in the split-second before releasing it, he Instantaneously Moves himself right in front of Cell! The enormous Kamehame-Ha hits Cell at point-blank range!!
Goku's full-power Kamehame-Ha blows the entire upper half of Cell's body away! However, despite missing his top half, Cell regenerates his cells and recovers! Goku once again starts fighting fiercely, but while Cell still has plenty of Ki to spare, Goku continues to fight at his full strength and gradually shows signs of fatigue. Then, all of a sudden, Goku declares that he is conceding to Cell!!
The other Z Warriors are surprised by Goku's concession. However, Goku names the next challenger to Cell to be Gohan, saying he is the stronger fighter. Gohan is reluctant to fight Cell. Unbelievably, Goku gives Cell a senzu bean, restoring his power. At last, the battle between Cell, who has completely recovered his power, and Gohan, whom Goku recognizes as the mightiest fighter, gets underway.
Gohan repeatedly withstands Cell's attacks, without fighting back. As the battle goes on, he presses Cell to surrender. As Gohan tries to persuade him, saying that he does not want to kill him, Cell continues his merciless onslaught. Eventually, Gohan strikes back at Cell, who then responds with an eerie smile at the force of Gohan's attack.
No matter how much Cell keeps attacking, Gohan refuses to fight back in earnest. No. 16 takes Cell by surprise, pins him with a full-nelson, and is about to blow himself up. However, Bulma had removed his self-destruct device. After destroying No. 16, Cell produces a number of Cell Juniors, and sends them to battle the other Z Warriors looking on, in order to give Gohan no choice but to fight!
The Z Warriors are tormented by the ferocious attack of the Cell Juniors. Gohan can only stand immobile and watch. At the request of No. 16, Satan tosses the artificial human's head over to where Gohan is. Once there, he begs Gohan to defend the animals and other elements of nature that he loved, as well. Cell then heartlessly stomps on No. 16's head. At that moment, Gohan's anger reaches its limit!
Just as Cell had ventured, Gohan's power reaches its critical point! Gohan proceeds to take the senzu beans from Cell, then heads off to the other Z Warriors, where even Goku is having trouble with the Cell Juniors. One after the other he defeats them with a single blow! They are wiped out as Goku watches on with a content look on his face. In contrast, Cell gazes upon Gohan with an expression of anger. At last, the final showdown is about to begin!
The final battle of Gohan and Cell, wherein they clash at full power, has begin! Cell is unable to match Gohan's speed, and all of his attacks are dodged. Cell panics, and hits Gohan with a full-power punch. However, Gohan withstands the blow, and responds with his own strike. In just two punches, Cell is left kneeling on the ground!!
Gohan begins to overpower Cell. None of Cell's many techniques has any effect on Gohan. Finally, Cell launches a Kamehame-Ha blast, powerful enough to destroy the earth, from the sky above Gohan! However, it is pushed back by Gohan's own super Kamehame-Ha, blasting Cell in the process! Cell loses several of his limbs, but regenerates them. He is then bombarded by an unrelenting, devastating attack from Gohan, and unable to endure it, he vomits out No. 18 from his mouth...
Having spit out No. 18, Cell reverts to his second stage. Stating that he is no longer a match for Gohan, Cells puffs up his entire body in an attempt to blow himself up, taking the earth and all of mankind with him! Just as everyone resigns themselves to death, Goku takes action! Saying "Bye-bye, everyone," he Instantaneously Moves himself and the exploding Cell to Kaio's World. It appeared that Goku's sacrifice had saved everyone...
Regenerating himself from his nucleus, which had survived the explosion, a powered-up and revived Cell returns to Earth, where he kills Trunks with a single blast. Beside himself with anger at the death of his beloved son, Vegeta attacks Cell, but is easily brushed off. As Vegeta braces himself for death, Gohan rescues him, but his left arm is injured in the process. When Cell sees this, he sees his chance, and launches a scathing attack!
Cell is surprised by his own power, far beyond his perfect form, and takes delight in it. In order to bring everything to a close, Cell builds up enough Ki to destroy the solar system, and is about to release a super-huge Kamehame-Ha. As Gohan is overwhelmed by this tremendous Ki, he hears the voice of Goku in his head, assisted by Kaio. Gohan, encouraged by his father's voice, then counters with his own super Kamehame-Ha.
The super Kamehame-Ha blasts launced at the same time by Cell and gohan violently slam into each other! Since their powers are roughly equal, their energies clash between them. In addition to Goku's reassurance, Vegeta, Piccolo, Tenshinhan and the other Z Warriors offer their support. Gohan wrings out every last bit of his strength, and at last obliterates Cell! It almost seems as if Goku were there, next to him.
The battle had finally reached its end. Gohan had used up all of his energy and could not even stand up, but a satisfied smile played about his face. The Z Warriors then headed to Kami's temple to bring everyone killed by Cell back to life. Through Shen Long's power, the people were resurrected. However, Goku sent a message from the Next World that he did not wish to be brought back to life since he wanted to stay and train there.
Through the offices of Great King Yama, Goku was allowed to pass to the Next World with his body intact, so that he could undergo training. With the second wish to Shen Long, Kuririn's request to have the bombs removed from No. 17 and No. 18 bodies is granted. The next day, Gohan, Kuririn, Yamucha, and the other Z Warriors gather at the Capsule Corporation to see of Trunks, as he returns to the future.
Trunks returns to the future, in which the Artificial Humans have taken over, and is reunited with his mother Bulma. He then obliterates No. 17 and No. 18 with no difficulty. Previously, he had been no match for them, but thanks to his training in the past, the incredibly powered-up Trunks was without equal. A few months later, Trunks also easily dispatches Cell, when he comes after the time machine.
In order to receive training from the grand Kaio, the most powerful being in the Next World, Goku accompanies Kaio to Grand Kaio's World, where he meets Paikuhan, one of the champions of the West. After see how high the level of the martial artists in the Next World is, Goku is greatly motivated. Goku accompanies Paikuhan, who goes to Hell at the Grand Kaio's request to put down Cell, who has been running amok.
It is decided that an Anoyoichi Tournament will be held, and the mightiest members of the North, South, East, and West Galaxies assemble. After hearing that the winner will receive personal training from the Grand Kaio, Goku manages to secure a berth. In Goku's first match, he faces the South Galaxy's Caterpi, a powerful opponent with many arms and legs. Overpowered by Goku, Caterpi chooses to power up by surrounding himself in a chrysalis...
After getting through the first round, Goku's next opponent is Aqua, from the East Galaxy. Aqua does not appear to be all that strong, but he has the psychic ability to change any location to be underwater! The two begin fighting within water above the tournament ring, and Goku has a hard time dealing with Aqua and his fish-like movements. On the other hand, Paikuhan beats Olivue, from the North Galaxy, and steadily wins his way through.
Goku defeats Malaiko, from the West Galaxy, and moves on to the final round. Sure enough, his opponent in the final round is Paikuhan. Cheered on by members of the North Galaxy and the West Galaxy, Goku and Paikuhan begin the championship round! The two of them sound out each other's abilities. Finally Goku turns Super Saiyan, Paikuhan strips out of his gi, and the real final round begins!!
Goku, now Super Saiyan, and Paikuhan, free of his gi and much lighter on his feet, continue their evenly-matched battle. Their fight extends into outer space, and with neither side giving up any ground, they exchange finishing techniques out to the ends of the cosmos. Finally, Goku's Kamehame-Ha connects with Paikuhan, and the match is settled! However, as a result of the grand Kaio's ruling, both of them are disqualified for going out of bounds...
Seven years have passed since the mortal combat against Cell, and Gohan enters high school. He decides to attend a school in Satan City. However, Gohan's overflowing sense of justice causes him to stop some bank robbers on his way to school in his Super Saiyan form. Stories of the "Golden Warrior" spread throughout the city. Even worse, despite wanting to live the life of a normal high schooler, he accidentally makes a strong showing during gym class...
Wanting to continue as a hero of justice, while somehow managing to keep his true identity hidden, Gohan takes the matter up with Bulma. Gohan plays with Trunks while Bulma invents some transformation gear, and is overjoyed when it allows him to change into his hero persona! After quickly resolving a busjacking incident, and with some quick thinking, identifying himself as the Great Saiyaman, Gohan begins his life as a hero.
Has the Great Saiyaman's true identity been seen by a young woman named Angela? Gohan has no choice but to go out on a date with her when she threatens to reveal his secret. However, Gohan's first date turns out to be an uphill battle. To top it off, a crisis breaks out during the date! Slipping out of Angela's sight, Gohan transforms into the Great Saiyaman, and skillfully solves the trouble. It turns out that what Angela actually saw was...
When the villainous group, the Red Shark Gang, stirs things up, Videl takes off after them and ends up fighting their boss. Gohan wants to go to help the beleaguered Videl, but becomes frustrated when he cannot slip out of class. Amazingly, Gohan's fidgeting feet cause an earthquake, and Gohan uses the opportunity to dash to Videl's side. However, when he gets there, Videl was faring better than he expected.
The giant monster Totos' child, Chibi, is captured by a circus and put on display. Gohan transforms into the Great Saiyaman to rescue Chibi, but then becomes pursued as a thief. Videl steps in to return Chibi to his captors, placing Gohan, as the Great Saiyaman, in a tight spot. Just when he thinks the misunderstanding is resolved, and the case is settled, his identity as the Great Saiyaman is revealed!
Having learned that Gohan is the Great Saiyaman, Videl makes him promise to enter the Tenkaichi Tournament together with her. Upon hearing this, Vegeta announces that he will enter, as well. In addition, Goku says that he will return from the Next World for one day, so that he can enter, too! Thrilled at being reunited with Goku, Gohan encourages Kuririn and Piccolo to enter as well, and begins to train again in preparation for the tournament.
Vegeta and the other Z Warriors train on earth, while Goku trains in the Next World, and Gohan trains with his little brother, Goten. Goten is still jsut a young child, but without Gohan realizing it, he has gotten so he was able to turn Super Saiyan! Just then, Videl dropped in unannounced, and pressed Gohan to teach her how to fly, as he had promised. Gohan grows impatient at not being able to proceed with his own training.
Forced to teach the Bukujutsu technique to Videl, as well as Goten, who can turn Super Saiyan, but is unable to fly, Gohan's training is going nowhere fast. At that same time, while training at the Capsule Corporation, Trunks turns Super Saiyan right before Vegeta's eyes! Vegeta is stunned at the latent ability he possesses. The Tenkaichi Tournament is right around the corner!
Videl at last masters the Bukujutsu technique. And then, the day of the Tenkaichi Tournament arrives. Gohan, Piccolo, Vegeta, and the other Z Warriors arrive at the bustling tournament grounds, gathering together in rapid succession. As everyone delights at being with familiar friends once again, Uranai Baba arrives with Goku, halo over head in place, as he returns from the Next World for just one day!
Videl and Gohan's classmates had come to the tournament to cheer them on. One of them, Shapner, plots to reveal the Great Saiyaman's secret identity by snapping pictures of his exposed face, but all of his schemes end in failure! Meanwhile, the preliminaries for the adult division of the Tenkaichi Tournament get underway, and the Z Warriors all achieve astoundingly high scores on the punch machine!