Ethan and Goku sat cross-legged on the floor facing each other. Everyone else was scattered around them, quietly listening as Ethan explained Super Saiyans.
"Over the years, I've done some research on the side. Goku's and Earthlings' physical compositions are basically the same, the only difference being that Saiyans have a special type of cell in their bodies."
"As your strength increases, the number of these cells constantly grows. After comparing myself with Krillin, Bulma, and the others, I believe the quantity of these cells is the key factor in whether one can transform into a Super Saiyan."
Using himself as an example, Ethan explained that to master transformation, he needed to continuously increase the special genes in his body. He had to work hard to make them grow to a certain amount before a complete and obvious change could occur. This was the key element of transformation.
"When did you collect my cell samples?"
"With how hard you train in the gravity chamber, what couldn't I collect?"
Ethan spread his hands. Hair and blood samples, he could get as much as he wanted. Goku trained himself to the brink of death, suffering major and minor injuries every few days. If an ordinary person trained like that, they would have destroyed their body long ago.
Saiyans, however, were a terrifying race with nearly limitless potential, and with outside help like Senzu Beans, Goku was not only alive and well, but also getting stronger and stronger.
"You think that reaching a certain number of these cells can make me transform into a Super Saiyan?"
"As your power level broke through one million, the rate at which these cells increased began to slow down significantly. I estimate that the growth of these cells has reached a certain point. The next step should be figuring out how to activate this portion of the cells."
"How should I do that?"
Goku did not doubt Ethan's words at all. He was only curious about how to do it. Ethan could only spread his hands and say, "I can't pinpoint the exact method for transforming into a Super Saiyan, but I imagine there are only a few ways. We can try them one by one."
Ethan casually mentioned various ways of guiding power. Many of the theories were somewhat similar to what Goku had learned from Kami, so he did not doubt them, thinking they were Ethan's own experience or knowledge related to his planet.
Vegeta, standing to the side, remained silent. He felt that Ethan was talking nonsense, but the other man did not seem like he was, because he was full of confidence.
Ethan was so confident because he knew the plot.
Goku sat there pondering how to guide the power within him, or activate those special cells to complete the transformation. Ethan was in no hurry to reveal the key factor of "anger." Saying it right away would be too suspicious. It was better to wait.
When he walked to the side, Yoruichi secretly poked Ethan in the back with her finger, then stood behind him and used him as cover to ask in a low voice, "When did you do those experiments?"
Collecting samples from Goku and the others for comparison sounded plausible. Yoruichi knew Ethan was a technical genius no less capable than Kisuke.
Do not be fooled by the fact that many technological products in this world relied on Bulma. In reality, the black technology Ethan brought out was no less impressive than that father-daughter duo's.
"I didn't do any..."
"..."
Yoruichi's mouth fell open. After thinking about it carefully, Ethan, aside from training, usually just relaxed. He occasionally went into the lab to make what he needed, then came back out. He rarely stayed there for long periods. It really did not look like he had done any observational experiments.
"So, you were just making all that up?"
"I did say it casually, but I wasn't making it up."
Yoruichi nodded, indicating that she understood. Ethan knew a lot about this world, and it was not strange for him to know some hidden secrets.
"That Super Saiyan..."
"Think of it as insurance!"
If he and Frieza ended up locked in a bitter struggle, or both ended up badly wounded, Goku could make sure that he and the others would not die at Frieza's hands.
As long as they stayed alive, there would be a chance to get revenge. As for the mission, Ethan felt that as long as he survived, there was still a chance to complete it. If he died on the spot, then everything would be over.
In the following days, Ethan and Goku constantly discussed how to achieve the transformation.
From initial anticipation to growing doubt, Vegeta slowly began to believe that Ethan's words could not be trusted at all. Super Saiyan really was just a legend.
As for the special cells inside Saiyans, they were different races from different planets, so it was normal for there to be differences. Perhaps that was simply a normal phenomenon.
Just as Vegeta was beginning to think this way, Ethan proposed using emotion to stimulate oneself, causing intense mental fluctuations to trigger a change.
It was not strange for him to think of this method. During the past year of training, even Goku had seen more than once how astonishingly strong his son Gohan could become when he was angry.
"Perhaps for Saiyans, anger is the best catalyst. It's just that the amount of that special cell in Gohan's body isn't enough, so he can't complete the Super Saiyan transformation!"
"Don't be ridiculous! Super Saiyan is the legendary warrior of the Saiyans! How could it be some half-breed!"
He had originally wanted to say "mongrel," but considering the current situation, Vegeta decided it would be better to be a little more careful with his words.
Goku did not care about Vegeta's skepticism. Even Raditz remained silent nearby, because Goku's existence had already shattered too many traditional Saiyan ideas. Raditz had personally witnessed Gohan's power and rate of progress.
He had a thought deep inside. If Super Saiyan was the legendary genius warrior, then Gohan actually fit the traits of a Super Saiyan very well: naturally strong in combat, immense potential, rapid progress, and terrifying when angry.
At that moment, Goku was forcing himself to get angry. Faint streams of ki began to appear around him, and his aura started to rise. However, after rising for a moment, it seemed to lose momentum and suddenly returned to normal.
"I feel something, but it's really hard!"
Because of the sudden burst of power, everyone's attention was drawn back to him.
Vegeta and Nappa did not have the ability to sense ki. Raditz had already mastered this skill, and there was no need to mention the others. Aside from Bulma, who was simply watching the show with everyone else, everyone felt the surge in Goku's aura just now.
"It feels a bit like how Ethan does when he uses his transformation ability. Maybe Goku really can transform into a Super Saiyan!"
Ethan also nodded and gave an affirmative answer.
"If I wasn't very sure before that my deduction was correct, then now I can more or less confirm that Super Saiyan really is a transformation ability belonging to the Saiyan race. It's just that achieving this transformation is relatively difficult."
"That's okay! Since it can be done, all I need to do is train hard and learn how to master this ability!"
Goku's mindset had always been excellent, and it was precisely because of this mindset that he could maintain such a high rate of progress. For him, there seemed to be no such thing as a bottleneck.
"Didn't you say that as combat power increases, the number of those special cells can also increase? Does that mean that if we keep increasing the number of those special cells, it'll become easier to transform into a Super Saiyan?"
Raditz seemed more concerned about transforming into a Super Saiyan than Goku was.
He could not help but care. He was a true Saiyan, and Super Saiyan held a very special meaning for the Saiyan race. Even if Saiyans were not that concerned about family ties, the birth of a legendary Super Saiyan in their family had nothing to do with kinship. It was glory.
Of course, there was still a slight sense of family. If he could not become a Super Saiyan himself, Raditz very much hoped that Kakarot could successfully transform into one, rather than Vegeta or Nappa.
"When a Saiyan is severely injured and near death, then healed, their combat power can increase significantly..."
During their previous training, this Saiyan trait had helped Goku's combat power rise so quickly and so greatly.
So Raditz's idea was simple: have Goku continue using this method to raise his combat power.
Unfortunately, his method was rejected by Goku.
"This method isn't very useful to me now!"
Raditz did not know, but Goku did, that this method was not unlimited and had its limits. Now, after recovering from severe injuries, the increase in his combat power was getting smaller and smaller. He guessed that he had already reached a ceiling, or perhaps his potential had been fully tapped.
As Goku's training partner, Ethan had also noticed this. He remembered that the original author had mentioned that this Saiyan ability could not infinitely increase combat power. In other words, this ability was just a mid-to-early-game cheat. Once strength reached a certain level, it would no longer be effective.
In the original story, the last time Goku significantly increased his power after a severe injury was when his power level was around three million. This was an explicitly stated number. After that, he never significantly raised his power through this ability again. Vegeta seemed to have risen to over two million, but the original story did not give a specific number.
After that, both of them raised their normal combat power through arduous training.
On the other hand, Cell broke through to the Super Saiyan 2 realm by relying on the Saiyan trait, so Ethan did not know how to judge it.
"Being unable to increase combat power through this ability also seems to represent something."
Ethan believed that perhaps Goku had already reached the threshold of becoming a Super Saiyan, and his current potential had been squeezed dry, requiring him to break through this barrier before his potential could increase again.
"So, let's focus on the Super Saiyan transformation first!"
"Okay!" Goku was full of energy, but he did not know what to do. "How should I do it?"
Ethan really did have an idea. He glanced at Krillin nearby...
"If Piccolo killed Krillin, you'd be very angry, right?"
"That sounds interesting. I'd be happy to help!"
"..."
(To be continued.)