Paozu Mountain,
Jiren stood with his arms crossed, saying something to Goku, Vegeta, and Piccolo.
Vegeta had already moved into Paozu Mountain. After spending a long time with Goku and his sons—especially Gohan—his temper had become far less violent.
And since he and Goku were both training maniacs, even though Vegeta acted like he couldn't stand Goku on the surface, every time Goku came looking for him, he never refused.
A few days ago, while the two were still going "Ora Ora" in a sparring match, Jiren descended from the sky and beat them both up without saying a word.
Even Piccolo, who rushed over afterward, suffered a fierce beating. He could only blame himself—every time he showed up, he always had to pretend to be cool, arms crossed and cloak covering half his face.
But Jiren was the type who was ruthless and silent. Before Piccolo could even announce who he was, Jiren cleaned him up together with the other two.
After making the three behave, Jiren told them directly that he had come under Kaito's orders to train them.
The moment they heard it was Kaito, Goku rubbed his numb lower back and got up from the ground, complaining:
"You could've said that earlier! Why attack us right away?!"
Vegeta and Piccolo climbed up from the ground with dark faces, cursing under their breath:
"Damn it! What's wrong with this guy?!"
Jiren said calmly,
"I just wanted to test your strength first. Now I know. You're unbelievably weak. But don't worry—since this is Dragon God-sama's order, I'll make sure your training actually looks like training!"
Although they had been beaten up, the mention of increasing their strength instantly lit up their eyes. For the three of them, training might as well have been the only joy in life. No one would reject getting stronger.
So from that day until now, the three had been stuck in Jiren's hellish training.
At one point, Jiren even thought their progress was too slow, so following Kaito's suggestion, he brought them to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. After leaving the chamber, all three of their powers had undergone a qualitative transformation.
Of course, because Piccolo still hadn't fused with Kami, his strength was still far behind Goku and Vegeta, those two Saiyans.
According to Kaito's instructions, Jiren specifically set a training goal for Goku and Vegeta—to achieve Super Saiyan first.
Methods like emotional stimulation, gathering ki in the back—Jiren used them all on the two of them, and now both had successfully become Super Saiyans.
And under Jiren's guidance, the two were already on the verge of breaking through to beyond Super Saiyan.
Vegeta benefited greatly from this—having a master like Jiren and a training prodigy like Goku around made his training efficiency skyrocket. If he had been practicing alone in silence, at most he'd have trained himself into some sloppy version of Vegeta.
Counting the time spent in the Time Chamber, Jiren had spent over a year with Goku and the others. Maybe he was influenced by Goku's cheerful optimism—Jiren's obsession with hatred had softened a lot, and his personality had grown gentler.
This was one of Kaito's reasons for having him train Goku. Goku in the Z timeline was very charismatic, and he believed Jiren would definitely come to like him.
And today was finally the moment of farewell.
Even though Jiren still looked as cold as when they first met, his words were much warmer now:
"Alright, everyone. My mission is complete. The rest is up to your own understanding. To be honest, you really surprised me—especially you, Goku."
A faint smile finally appeared on Jiren's face. Goku scratched his head awkwardly—he had only comforted Jiren one night when the guy was feeling emo, that was all.
Vegeta and Piccolo weren't heartless either. Jiren's help in improving their strength was obvious. They were genuinely grateful to him. Now that they were parting, even Vegeta managed to say,
"See you again if fate allows."
But just as Jiren was about to leave, a white spaceship descended from the sky and landed on the peak of Paozu Mountain.
Everyone froze for a moment. Jiren also paused and didn't leave. Instead, he took Goku and the others and flew over.
By the time they arrived, the spaceship's door had opened, and Babidi and Dabura stepped out with a group of small fry.
Ki had good and evil, too. The moment Babidi and the others emerged, Goku frowned—he knew that this group was definitely not friendly.
Jiren, on the other hand, treated the entire Earth as Kaito's divine sanctuary. In his eyes, Babidi and the others reeking of evil had trespassed into the sanctuary—an insult to Kaito.
He released a faint trace of his aura and said in a low voice:
"Who are you? Do you know whose planet this is?"
Babidi didn't respond. The moment Jiren released that tiny wisp of aura, the pointer on Babidi's detector was about to snap off.
He looked up with a face full of excitement and shouted:
"Excellent! I didn't expect to find him the moment we arrived! Dabura! Go up there and test his strength!"
Dabura grinned, cracked his joints, and walked toward Jiren.
Even though he didn't know Jiren's exact level of power, with Babidi's mind-control magic backing him, he felt no fear at all.
But in Jiren's eyes, Dabura's level was already perfectly clear. To him, Dabura was no different from a weakling.
Dabura swaggered right up to Jiren and was about to say something when Jiren cut him off directly:
"I really don't like the aura on you. Let me give you some advice—leave now while you still can."
Jiren was a very merciful person. Aside from his nemesis, he rarely killed.
Dabura sneered and taunted:
"And what if we don't? Kid, I admit you've got some strength, but don't get cocky!"
Before Jiren could reply, Vegeta could no longer tolerate Dabura's attitude. He stepped forward and shouted:
"What the hell are you supposed to be?! You must be tired of living!"
Dabura had no intention of acknowledging the short-looking Vegeta. He just cast him a glance and said casually:
"Where did this little shorty come from? I don't have time for you."
"What!?"
The single word "shorty" instantly broke Vegeta's defenses. Even Goku couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing.
Hearing Goku laugh, the veins on Vegeta's forehead bulged. He clenched his fists and roared:
"You bastard! I'll shut that filthy mouth of yours forever!"
Whoosh!
Golden flames erupted from Vegeta's body. He entered Super Saiyan form instantly. The detector in Babidi's hand began beeping wildly again, its pointer stuck at the critical point.
Of course, this wasn't anywhere close to Jiren's level—this was just the detector's limit.