King Kai did not see anything strange. Ethan's actions were completely consistent with what he had said. He really had only come to revive Gohan, Piccolo, and Goku.
And having finally achieved his goal, reviving Goku, his son, and Piccolo, Ethan took them and left New Namek, returning to Earth.
The subsequent work was tedious, but did not take much time.
After explaining the general situation, everyone split up to collect the Dragon Balls, which had regained their power, and then wished upon the Dragon for Cell to be brought before them!
Before Cell could even figure out what was happening, Ethan blasted him into dust with an energy blast, leaving not even a speck of flesh behind, making resurrection absolutely impossible.
At this point, all hidden dangers in this world were eliminated. Next, Goku would need to frequently travel between Earth and Namek in the coming days. This was because Earth's Dragon Balls could no longer revive Krillin, Yamcha, Tien, and Vegeta. They would need to rely on Namek's Dragon Balls.
"To be honest, I'm still a bit confused about everything."
It was not just Goku, who had been inexplicably revived and then dragged around everywhere. Even Trunks, who was in the know, was currently confused.
It felt like all the problems he had suffered with for countless years had been solved!
Not only would Ethan take the two androids away, he had also killed the potential threat, Cell. Furthermore, he had revived Mr. Goku, Mr. Gohan, and Mr. Piccolo.
Piccolo's revival meant Kami's revival, and the Dragon Balls regaining their power. After a year, they could completely use the power of the Dragon Balls to restore Earth to how it had been before being ravaged by the androids.
Although they would still need to discuss exactly how to do it, after all, the androids had caused havoc for so many years. It was not as simple as making a wish to restore Earth and having no problems.
"Those are problems for you to consider. I, as an 'outsider,' won't get involved."
"Thank you very much for your help."
Compared to the confused Goku and Piccolo, who had died early and did not feel much, Gohan was the one among them, besides Trunks, who felt the most about the current situation.
He had watched his father and elders die at the hands of the androids. He had trained hard and done his best to fight the androids, yet in the end, he could not change anything and still died at their hands.
Although Trunks had shown impressive potential and was an excellent warrior, he truly had not known if Earth still had a future.
Unexpectedly, Trunks had done even better than he had imagined, causing such a huge change in the situation.
Although traveling through time and parallel worlds sounded incredible, the facts were laid out before him, and there was no need for him to doubt their authenticity.
"You're welcome."
Looking at the Gohan before him, who was full of a warrior's aura and completely different from the one in the other timeline, Ethan did not say much, just nodded.
He had done everything he could. This world would usher in a completely different future, and what that future would become depended on what these people would do next.
Unfortunately, Ethan would not be able to see it. After "saving" this world and giving this timeline a brand-new future, he would take his "spoils" and return to the timeline he was more familiar with.
"You're leaving already?"
"Yes!"
He had just come to capture Seventeen and Eighteen. Of course, he would leave once he had them.
"Trunks, are you coming with me? Then you can pilot this time machine back."
If Trunks did not go with him, this time machine would be left with him.
Trunks thought for a moment and finally decided to go with Ethan.
"Oh?"
Everyone was surprised by Trunks' choice. He did not seem like someone who would be reluctant to part with the time machine.
"I want to become stronger."
Goku and Gohan of this world did not know Ethan's strength, but Trunks had personally witnessed Ethan's power. That immense strength, the ability to calmly handle the siege of three androids, was something he greatly desired to possess.
He did not want to become invincible in the universe, but he wanted to become strong enough. Only then could he protect everything he wanted to protect.
"Then you'll need to be mentally prepared."
"No problem!"
At this moment, Goku, who had been silent, folded his arms and muttered with a pout, "Oh, I really want to go and see how strong I am in that world."
When they were revived, Trunks had briefly recounted his experiences. Goku knew that the version of himself in that world had received the special medicine and had not died from heart disease, and that he had undergone special training to face the androids, possessing considerable strength.
Simply describing it with words could not give him a direct understanding of how strong he was. Goku really wanted to see it with his own eyes, and also see the results of his training in Heaven.
"I think you should just stay here obediently and let Bulma give you a thorough check-up to prevent your heart disease from recurring."
"Hmm... it shouldn't, right?"
Bulma suddenly slapped Goku on the back, agreeing with Ethan's suggestion.
"Ethan is right. You should just stay here and make sure there are no problems before talking about anything else."
"Alright... but, Bulma, you look so old, I'm not used to it."
A vein popped on her forehead. For so many years, she had missed her good friend countless times, but she had forgotten how irritating the living Goku could be. Now it all came flooding back.
"How many years do you think you've been dead? It's already amazing that I can still look like this at my age, okay?!" After yelling, Bulma looked indignant and muttered softly, "Anyway, the Dragon Balls are back. Next time, I'll have the Dragon make me young again!"
"..."
Trunks had never seen his mother like this. Seeing her relaxed expression, Trunks felt that even just to make his mother live more easily and happily, he had to become stronger.
After chatting for a few more minutes, Trunks took out the time machine. Since Ethan had modified it, the energy consumption for each round trip was no longer a big issue.
In a sense, the two timelines were connected by Ethan's casual action. In the future, if Trunks and his friends encountered trouble, they could completely use the time machine to seek help in the other timeline.
"Ethan!"
"Hmm?"
Just before they were about to leave, Bulma suddenly called out to Ethan. Ethan had a premonition that it was probably related to the Bulma on the other side.
Indeed, it was related to Bulma, but this Bulma was not emphasizing that he should "take responsibility." Instead, she said something that left the people nearby a bit confused.
"I think, no matter what the reason, it's best to just say it directly."
Ethan glanced at Bulma. It seemed this Bulma had not lived for so many years in vain. She must have sensed something.
"I will."
"That's good."
Waving her hand, Bulma did not say anything more and watched as Ethan and Trunks boarded the time machine, then activated the machine and disappeared before her eyes.
Closing and opening his eyes again, he was in another world.
Ethan looked at the familiar surroundings. It was the backyard of his house in West City, the same place they had departed from.
Trunks checked the time. This landing point was just one hour after they had left.
Ethan did not spend much time on this trip.
Capturing the two androids, going to King Kai and Namek, using the Namekian Dragon Balls to revive Goku, his son, and Piccolo, and then using Earth's Dragon Balls to locate Cell and conveniently kill him.
All of that added up to just over a day, and that included a considerable amount of time spent talking and chatting.
Ethan got off the time machine and saw Goku and Bulma walking over.
"Looking at your relaxed expression, things must have gone smoothly, right?"
"Yes."
"Those two androids have been captured?"
"With the controller Bulma helped make, how could I possibly miss?"
The androids had been captured. The next step was to take these two androids to Cell, let him absorb them, and then eliminate him.
First, let him evolve and become incredibly powerful, and then defeat him. It sounded like something a normal person would not do, yet this was exactly what Ethan was going to do.
"How do you plan to do it?"
Ethan thought for a moment. The safest and most reliable method, of course, was to find an absolutely secure place where Cell could not escape, throw Seventeen and Eighteen in first, and then use the Dragon Balls to send Cell in as well.
"The plan is simple. The key is that the location is difficult to choose."
"Ethan, can I discuss something with you?"
"What?"
"Can I fight Cell first this time?"
Goku did not care about anything else. He just wanted to fight Perfect Cell. Ethan immediately agreed, so readily that even Goku was a little surprised.
What if Goku accidentally killed Cell?
In fact, Ethan had come to terms with it. Just like how he could capture Seventeen and Eighteen from another timeline this time, he found that there were many ways to complete the mission, so he was increasingly unwilling to follow the predetermined routine.
He even felt that if he could regain his full strength, even if he did not kill Cell or Buu, he could still leave this world.
Just like in the final period in the Bleach world, he could even observe and freely manipulate the various rules of the entire world. If he wanted to leave this world, why would he care about any predetermined mission?
"It feels like I'm being led on."
He needed to properly organize his thoughts. He always felt that being led by the nose by the "Tower of Babel" like this was not a good thing.
"Next, I shouldn't just focus on increasing my combat power. I should fully recover the various abilities I originally possessed."
Possessing immense divine power with multiple attributes, various spells, and mastery of various rules. Perhaps this would take more time, but only by fully recovering his complete strength would he have the confidence to handle all sorts of situations and avoid passively developing along a predetermined path like he had been doing lately.
(To be continued.)