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Trunks landed smoothly, his boots touching down without a sound.
"Dad, Mom, I'm back."
Then, spotting a familiar face nearby, he tilted his head slightly. "Gohan? You're here too?"
Before Gohan could reply, Vegeta stepped forward, his expression stern and authoritative. The pressure of a father's presence was immediate, his brows low, eyes sharp.
"Trunks," he said in a low voice, "Gohan tells me you haven't been showing up to train with him for a while. Didn't you insist on training with him instead of me? Don't tell me you were just looking for an excuse to slack off."
Faced with his father's intense stare, Trunks knew there was no room for bluffing.
"Well… I did start training with Gohan," he admitted honestly. "But I couldn't even touch him. So I went looking for… other options. I found those leftover Cell Juniors."
Hearing that, Vegeta narrowed his eyes, analyzing both Trunks' tone and expression. He didn't sense any deception.
"And? What came of it?" Vegeta asked, voice still heavy. "Are those Cell Juniors even worthy opponents?"
Trunks straightened up a bit, his voice confident. "They're not much of a challenge anymore. In fact, they've been trying to call me their leader, but I refused."
A flicker of satisfaction passed through Vegeta's face. If even those freakish remnants of Cell couldn't keep up, it meant Trunks hadn't been slacking off. Quite the opposite, he'd been progressing.
Vegeta gave a short nod of approval, though his tone remained composed. "Good. But don't forget, they're just five overgrown pests."
With that, Vegeta's attention turned sharply toward Gohan. Clearly, this was his true objective all along.
"And you, Gohan?" Vegeta asked pointedly.
Gohan's expression tensed. He lowered his head slightly, and the air grew heavier around them.
"Vegeta Ojisan," He said slowly, "I've continued training since the battles with Cell and Bojack. I haven't stopped. My power's definitely grown stronger."
"But…"
He hesitated. Something in his tone turned uncertain.
Vegeta narrowed his eyes. "But what?"
Gohan took a breath and said it all at once: "But no matter how much I train, I'm only increasing raw strength. I realized… going from Super Saiyan to what we call Super Saiyan Grade 2 wasn't the end. There has to be something beyond that. A transformation beyond the transformation."
Trunks frowned slightly, already understanding what Gohan was trying to express. But to his ears, the explanation was going in circles.
He offered a small, awkward smile. "Gohan, the next form after Super Saiyan… It's probably best to just call it Super Saiyan 2."
Gohan paused, then nodded thoughtfully. "Right. That makes sense."
"In any case," He continued, "if there's a Super Saiyan 2, it stands to reason that there should be a level beyond that. Let's tentatively call it… Super Saiyan 3. I've been stuck at this bottleneck for a while now. I think I've brought Super Saiyan 2 to its peak, but I just can't seem to break through to the next level."
Hearing Gohan's frustration, Vegeta fell silent, arms crossed as he considered the implications.
(So Gohan's already maxed out his Super Saiyan 2… and he's aware he's hit a wall.)
He wasn't wrong.
In fact, Vegeta had heard Trunks' inner thoughts more than once. One of them in particular still echoed in his mind:
(A tail might be necessary for Super Saiyan 4…)
That idea had taken root. Which meant, logically, there had to be a Super Saiyan 3 between 2 and 4. But for now, like Gohan, he too had reached a frustrating plateau.
(So even he's stuck at this level… same as me.)
Vegeta's gaze shifted to Trunks, staring intently at the boy's head.
(If I want to figure this out… I need to keep watching Trunks closely.)
Then, just as the silence began to drag on, Trunks broke it.
"Gohan, I want to head into the Hyperbolic Time Chamber tomorrow. You want to come with me? It's the weekend, after all."
The moment those words left Trunks' mouth, Vegeta's eyes narrowed. His curiosity piqued, why was Trunks inviting Gohan into the Time Chamber?
Gohan blinked, caught off guard. "Huh? Tomorrow?"
Trunks nodded. "Yeah! It's been a while since we sparred, and I want to show you how far I've come. Besides, I feel like I've hit a wall in my training. I need someone strong to push me past it."
Truthfully, with danger looming, Trunks knew he had no other option; he had to unlock Super Saiyan 2 as quickly as possible. That meant intense training... and the Hyperbolic Time Chamber was the only way to speed things up.
Gohan looked away, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. "Uh... Trunks, I already made plans with someone from class."
Seeing his expression, Trunks smirked knowingly.
"Oh? That classmate wouldn't happen to be the twin-tailed girl who's been hanging around you lately, would she? Don't tell me she's your girlfriend?"
Gohan's face lit up like a tomato. "T-Trunks?! How do you know that?!"
Realizing he'd overreacted, Gohan tried to cover his tracks. "I mean, wait, how do you know what she looks like? And she's not my girlfriend!"
Trunks shrugged with a cheeky grin. "I saw her walking behind you today. Just figured it out."
Hearing that, Bulma's interest spiked instantly.
"What?! Gohan, you've got a girlfriend now?" She gasped playfully. "Tell me, what's she like? Does Chi-Chi know yet? Oh, I have to call her!"
Without waiting for a reply, she dashed back into the house, giggling to herself.
Gohan groaned, scratching his head. He hadn't expected Trunks to stumble across that earlier encounter. Now, thanks to Bulma, he could already imagine the mess waiting for him at home.
"Actually, Gohan," Trunks chimed in, "Why not bring her along into the Time Chamber?"
Gohan paused, stunned by the suggestion.
(Wait... that's right! Videl's been training lately too. Maybe she could come along?)
But then a concern popped into his head. "The gravity inside the Hyperbolic Time Chamber is way more intense than outside. Isn't that dangerous for someone who doesn't have Saiyan physiology?"
"And I thought only two people could enter at once. If you and I go in, what about Videl?"
Before Trunks could say anything, Vegeta stepped in.
"That's easy. Just bring in a Gravity Machine and set it to minus ten times Earth's gravity. It'll cancel out the pressure from the chamber."
He folded his arms, speaking from experience. "I used that method to help Trunks adapt back when he was first training in there."
"And the two-person rule?" Gohan asked.
Vegeta snorted. "That's a myth. I've been in there with Mr. Popo and Trunks at the same time. As long as the room holds, it doesn't matter how many are inside."
Hearing that, Gohan's face lit up. This way, he wouldn't have to cancel on Videl or miss out on training.
Trunks, hearing Vegeta's practical advice, mentally gave him a thumbs-up.
(Heh... that's Dad for you.)
His inner thought drifted into Vegeta's mind. But instead of being pleased, Vegeta felt a twinge of irritation. He hadn't been invited.
Without a word, he turned and started walking toward the Gravity Room.
(There's no way Trunks invited Gohan in there without a reason... heh. I'm going too.)
(End of Chapter)
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