The next morning.
On a clearing on the back slopes of Mount Paozu.
Talot, Raditz, and Salari stood around Goku, who they hadn't seen in nearly two to three years.
Although still young, he had grown taller and his body had become increasingly sturdy.
Of course, this was not the time to dwell on that.
The air was thick with an oppressive aura, making little Goku's expression serious. He dared not relax for even a moment.
"Ready, Kakarot?"
After a long pause, Talot was the first to speak.
"Mm, Brother Talot, I've been ready for a long time." The determination on Goku's face grew firmer; he clenched his fists and spoke as if saying, "bring it on."
"Good. But before the training officially begins I have to warn you. The special training we're going to put you through is not ordinary. The next seven days are your trial period. If you can't endure these seven days of hellish training, then we won't continue training you after that." Talot's words carried a cruel tone.
Sharp eyes continuously scrutinized young Goku, watching for any change in him.
"I won't give up! So please, train me. No matter how hard or tiring, I'll persevere with it." Goku didn't hesitate at all.
That answer was exactly what the three wanted.
Talot had actually known Goku would answer like that.
After all, he was the original work's protagonist, someone who would forge ahead bravely when faced with any hardship. In the original work, he endured so much suffering and always chose to face it, constantly seeking greater strength.
Although this world had long since been changed by Talot's arrival, Goku was still the original work's Goku.
In fact, he was even more eager to grow stronger than the original work's Goku.
"I hope you can keep that optimistic attitude, Kakarot. Before the real training begins, let us broaden your horizons and show you what true fight really is! After watching, you'll understand what kind of opponents you'll be up against in the future." Talot gave Raditz and Salari a look.
This had been agreed upon from the beginning. They decided to give Goku a little shock.
Raditz and Salari each said a few words to Goku, then the two of them stepped back and suppressed their power levels down to the thousands.
That was already the limit; any lower and Raditz and Salari won't know how to fight.
They had almost forgotten how to fight at only a few thousand power level.
Last night they had done simulation practice of this several times.
"Watch closely, Kakarot." Raditz said.
"Don't blink." Salari added.
In an instant, the two of them radiated an aura unlike anything young Goku had ever experienced.
When the aura stabilized, Raditz and Salari flashed across the ground, leaving behind afterimages. Their movements were as fast as lightning and their attacks as fierce as thunder.
Boom!!! Their fists collided, producing a loud sonic boom.
Although they had suppressed their power levels to around five thousand, a five-thousand power level was already a force capable of easily shattering mountains and rivers.
Their playful sparring of fists and kicks lasted only a short minute, but it widened Goku's horizons to the point where he could hardly move.
Thinking back on the battles he had fought before, Goku realized those so-called fights were nothing but child's play compared to this.
"Amazing, incredible. They are so fast I can't even see them clearly, and the power… there's no way I can withstand it. So, this is the strength of big brother and sister…" As Raditz and Salari's fight continued, the shock on little Goku's face gradually faded, replaced by excitement and impatience.
With his horizons widened, he yearned even more for the future.
He was already thinking: after finishing the training, would he be able to become this strong too?
Talot saw Goku's change. After secretly nodding, he signaled Raditz and Salari with his mind to stop sparring.
Raditz and Salari understood and stopped, returning to Talot's left and right sides.
"How do you feel, Kakarot?" Talot asked.
"So fights can be this fierce… Brother Talot, Brother Raditz, Sister Salari, can I be this strong in the future?!!" Goku was simple-minded, and as he spoke, his eyes burned with scorching flames.
He couldn't wait to start training.
"That's good, you didn't shrink back after seeing combat at that level. Now, I'll first teach you the correct way to train your Ki. Over the next seven days, from morning until noon and from after dinner until before bed each day, you must keep training your Ki! As for the afternoons, your brother Raditz and Sister Salari will teach you fighting methods and techniques." Talot didn't waste words. After saying this, he began today's training session.
After offering a word of encouragement, Raditz and Salari stepped aside to rest.
Only Talot and Goku faced each other. Talot patiently and carefully explained the methods of Ki training to Goku.
From simple Ki gathering, Ki controlling, Ki releasing, to using Ki to do things like flying, freely using energy blasts, and so on.
Goku had actually already been exposed to these things before, but he had not truly gone down the correct path.
Take flying, for example. He could already do it, but couldn't fly at will, so he still relied on the Flying Nimbus.
As for energy attacks, he already knew how to gather and release simple energy blasts and could perform the Kamehameha, but he only knew he could release it, he didn't understand the internal principles and had never trained systematically.
With full concentration, Goku noted down Talot's words in his mind. Although he would forget some, he was earnest and tried to grasp things in his own way.
The training plan had officially begun.
Raditz and Salari, who had gone to rest on the side, didn't intervene in Talot's teaching, but that didn't stop them from making remarks.
"Kakarot's determination surprises me. He's a lot like we once were, yet also very different," Salari sighed.
"Right. That's why I said from the start not to underestimate Kakarot. He's my little brother! Even if his power level was only 2 when he was born, innate talent is one thing; we all reached our current strength through effort. Also, if we had seen a battle of that level when our power levels were only in the hundreds, we'd probably have been terrified. In terms of courage and conviction, Kakarot is no worse than us. In fact, he may even be better than us." Raditz said firmly.
"Mm. If you hadn't said it I'd almost have forgotten. Now that I think back, before Planet Vegeta exploded, we were trained by Uncle Bardock… just like we're training Kakarot now." Salari said, feeling emotional.
Hearing this, Raditz didn't reply; he only clenched his fists in silence.
His father Bardock was someone they generally didn't bring up, because he was a taboo for them.
...
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