While Goku has proven throughout his Dragon Ball career that he has no shortage of deadly attacks, there is one move that has killed one hundred percent of the enemies he has used it against, marking it as his all-time deadliest—and fans completely missed it.
Goku has always been an incredibly deadly character from the moment he made his debut in Dragon Ball Chapter 1. In that chapter, Goku was introduced walking through the forest, killing and eating some of the most dangerous animals out there including bears, tigers, and giant fish, all like it was nothing. Fast forward through those earlier chapters and readers witness that Goku doesn’t have any reservations about killing so long as it is for a good reason, such as for sustenance or self defense. When Goku decides it is time for something or someone to die, he usually either uses his brute strength or delivers a devastating ki blast, with Goku’s most powerful attack being the Kamehameha. However, one move is way more effective than any of the others, though Goku has only used it less than a handful of times.
In Dragon Ball Chapter 96 by Akira Toriyama, Goku is taking on the entirety of the Red Ribbon Army by himself after the organization repeatedly tried to murder him. After he wiped out all of its forces, Goku found himself face to face with the leader of the Red Ribbon Army, General Black who had just assumed command moments before Goku entered his chambers following the assassination of General Red. Knowing that he didn’t stand a chance against Goku in a one-on-one fight, General Black climbed into a giant mech-suit which he used to battle the Saiyan child. However, even with the added strength of the mechanical exo-skeleton, General Black was still no match for Goku, so he decided to fly away and escape. However, Goku knew that if he let Black get away, he would just rebuild the Red Ribbon Army and come after him and his friends again. So, Goku used all of his might and jumped towards the villain with so much force that he actually flew clean through the torso of the suit, causing it to explode.
While Goku’s fight with General Black was the first time he used himself as a living cannonball, it wouldn’t be his last. Many chapters later, Goku was battling his first major villain in the Dragon Ball series: King Piccolo. King Piccolo was an evil Namekian who was put into stasis within the Earth for centuries before re-emerging to conquer the planet as he tried to do so many years before. While he was a formidable foe who nearly succeeded in his dark mission, Goku was able to use the move he previously used on General Black and launch himself through King Piccolo’s torso, killing him.
Despite the fact that Goku has grown so much in power since the early days of Dragon Ball that he no longer needs to use himself as a projectile, the efficiency of that move cannot be disputed. Both times he used it within these two examples resulted in two deaths. At that point in time, Goku had used the Kamehameha a number of times and hadn’t killed anyone even though that technique is regarded as his most powerful, which is exactly why even the most dedicated Dragon Ball fans completely missed Goku’s deadliest attack.
