RandomGuy96 wrote:Small thing I just noticed: during the final battle with Cell, Gohan says his ki has been cut in half due to his injuries. But, at Goku's urging, he still manages to overpower Cell's Kamehameha near the end by apparently boosting himself somehow. It's possible that he was lying about being at half power... but he was obviously very injured, with a broken arm, and we've seen less severe injuries than that cause a 50% or more drop in ki. So he was probably telling the truth. This implies that Gohan got over twice as strong in that moment just by being "rage-boosted". We never saw the hypothetical maximum power Gohan would be capable of, which is his full SS2 power (rather than half) + a rage boost. That puts some Buu arc statements in a different light:
Chapter: 458 (DBZ 264), P4.4-6
Goku: “Ah! Wait, Gohan. I have 2 more senzu; you should eat 1. You used up a lot of stamina earlier. [ ] Get angry, Gohan…Remember how you got angry and fought Cell, and draw out all of the power you have. If you do that, you won’t lose to anyone in the entire world! Not to anyone…"
My theory is that Gohan was indeed down to half his power level because of the busted arm, but only at that moment.
Gohan at this point is still governed by his emotions. His anger is what's helpful, so that's what the Z Fighters emphasize, but I think he's still governed by all of his emotions.
So after Cell prepares to self-destruct and Gohan can't stop him, his confidence takes a significant hit, and he's down to, say, 80% of full.
Then Goku sacrifices himself to fix Gohan's mistake. A bittersweet victory that crushes the poor kid further, putting him at 65%.
Then Cell comes back, able to teleport and stronger than ever. Gohan let his arrogance get the better of him and has literally no positive benefit to show for it. Let's call that 55%.
Then he takes the hit to his arm and drops down to 50%. As he says, his power is at half and he can't use his arm. I just think that the repeated blows to his confidence are what did most of the work to drag him down to that level, with the busted arm merely being the straw on the camel's back.
Then Goku encourages him and boosts his confidence back up. I think Gohan began firing that Kamehameha at, not the 50% that was true but only specifically when he made that statement, but rather close to his full power. 85-ish% and climbing after Goku tells him not to worry about wrecking the Earth, and finally going to the most he could muster, 95%, after Vegeta gave him the opening he needed.
Twilight: My library?! My library!! Do you have any idea how many books I had in there?!
Lord Tirek: How many, little princess?
Twilight: Over NINE THOUSAND!!!