Dragon Ball is no stranger to transformations, and certainly not a stranger to fusion either, if the Potara Earrings and the character of Gogeta is any indication. It's become a popular trend thanks to the appeal of fusing Vegeta and Goku into a stronger warrior, and even if Gotenks was a funnier version of the character, the strength of a fusion isn't something that is easily forgotten. However, there are two characters that fused way before Goku and Vegeta, and the consequences of said fusion were more meaningful to the story of Dragon Ball.

Piccolo and Nail may have only met very briefly on Namek, and there isn't a lot of history between them when you look at it, but the Namekian Fusion between them isn't just an interesting concept, but a useful one for Piccolo. However, just what are the specifications for this, and what risks does it come with for something so popular?

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The Basics of Namekian Fusion

And The Risks Of Fusing Identity

To set the stage, Dragon Ball first introduced the idea of fusing two characters, with Piccolo and Nail in the Namek Saga. Namekian fusion was explained to be a forbidden art on that planet, due to the risk that came with such an increase of power at the time. However, Nail was almost dead due to the beating he received from Freeza, and Piccolo's desire to become stronger to aid in the fight inevitably gave Nail the idea of performing the forbidden art. The risks were made clear, that being that Nail and Piccolo both ran the risk of their conciousness being overwritten by the other, even if, inevitably, the same body would gain a significant boost. However, Nail's body was weak at the time. And so, even after the Namekian Fusion was performed, Piccolo's personality and conciousness remained intact, while Nail was subsumed.

Ultimately, what we know about the basics is that Namekian Fusion requires two Namekian. Specifically, Namekians from the Warrior Clan, those that are the fighters to protect the Namekian race from conflict as shown in the beginning of the Namek Saga. Luckily, Piccolo and Nail were not just part of the same clan, but they were also the strongest Namekian's this story has shown so far. Another factor about Namekian Fusion, is that it isn't timed like the Fusion Dance, and neither does it mix both personalities of Namekians like the Potara Fusion. Instead, the powers are mixed and amplified, while one dominant conciousness and personality are determined by a myriad of metaphysical factors. In the case of the Namek Saga, Piccolo remained the dominant personality in two instances. Piccolo fused with a weakened Nail, and so he gained all his strength, but retained his personality. With Kami, it took longer to convince the guardian of Earth to fuse with Piccolo, considering their former turbulent history as enemies. Eventually, to save the earth, they both fused, with Piccolo retaining his whole personality again, but also becoming a different person.

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The Nuances And Subtle Changes.

What Happened, And How It Affected Piccolo

Knowing what happened to Piccolo, there are still subtle differences within him after having done Namekian Fusion. Even more than that, the fusion doesn't necessarily mean that Piccolo remains the same with no consequences. In terms of strength, Piccolo gained an extraordinary boost in power each time he fused. Piccolo went on to fight against Second Form Freeza the first time he fused with Nail, and when he fused with Kami, Piccolo became strong enough to fight against Android 17 on fair ground. However, another detail to remember is that Piccolo, despite fusing and absorbing both Namekians, Piccolo also took on characteristics and some of their emotions in the process.

The Namekian Fusion may be a risky process with guaranteed results, but it certainly is useful for the future. New Namek still has plenty of Namekian warriors that are willing to risk their lives for their home, and considering Piccolo is now the strongest Namekian in Universe 7, there are a lot of possibilities for what may happen if Piccolo needs to fight again. Of course, Piccolo had achieved his Orange Piccolo form, which could be directly connected to the Namekian Fusion, which made his power possible to achieve. The truth remains that even so, Namekian Fusion has the potential to rival Potara Fusion and even the Fusion Dance with the right conditions and requirements.

Dragon Ball

Dragon Ball is a franchise by Akira Toriyama which follows the adventures of Goku, a powerful warrior who protects the earth with his group of friends. A recent title from the series is Dragon Ball: The Breakers, an action style game where 7 players have to survive being hunted by the Raider.