Nine Days Later - Kami's Lookout
"Thanks a lot, Mr. Popo!" Gohan said earnestly, though in his heart he still thought Popo was a total maniac.Calling him a maniac and being grateful weren't mutually exclusive.
"Hm?" Popo's sharp gaze felt like it could pierce right through Gohan's soul.
"Uh… Mr. Popo… what are you doing? I'm still a kid!" Gohan immediately took a few steps back in alarm.
"Pfft. Don't flatter yourself."
"…."
Gohan hadn't expected Popo to be that deadpan. He was left completely speechless.
"W-well, Mr. Popo, I'll be going now!" Without another word, Gohan used Instant Transmission to get the heck out of there.
Capsule Corp. - Bulma's Estate
Exhausted, Goku staggered out of the gravity chamber.
"Bulma… I'm starving. Got anything to eat?" he asked, barely making it to her lab door.
"Don't bother me. There's food in the dining hall. Tell the service bots," Bulma replied without looking up from whatever she was tinkering with.
"…Alright."
Goku sighed and shuffled toward the dining room.
Whoosh!
A figure suddenly appeared in front of him.
"Dad? What happened to you?" Gohan asked, startled to see how weak Goku looked.
"Ran outta stamina… and took a bit of damage," Goku said, voice faint.
"What? You didn't get Senzu Beans from Korin?"
"Oh… forgot about that." Goku scratched the back of his head sheepishly.
"…Here, I've still got two left. Take one." Gohan offered his last Senzu Beans.
"Nah… I'd rather have some real food. Senzu Beans fill you up, but they've got no flavor. Hey, you eaten yet? Let's eat together." Goku was already heading for the dining hall.
"Sure. I haven't had a proper meal in nine days. Living off Senzu Beans alone… my mouth's gone bland," Gohan admitted.
The two strolled to the dining hall. Goku had finally figured out how to use Capsule Corp's food service bots.
In less than thirty minutes, the table was piled high with every kind of dish imaginable.
They tore into it like wild beasts, the bots serving fast, but they ate faster.
Especially with the grilled meat. They skewered and devoured it so quickly, it was like the sticks might catch fire from the friction.
An hour later, both were leaning back, hands on their stomachs, burping contentedly. Sleepiness crept in.
"Dad, you've gotten a lot stronger in these nine days. How many times can you multiply Kaio-ken now?" Gohan asked.
"Eight or nine times. If I don't care about the strain on my body, I can push it to ten for a few minutes," Goku replied casually.
"Eight or nine? Ten?! Why can't I do that? I'm stronger than you!" Gohan was shocked.
"Gohan, you may have more raw power than me, but you haven't learned to control your ki to its absolute limit."
To illustrate, Goku picked up a stainless steel spoon from the table.
"Watch."
A gentle but precise heat flowed into the spoon. It glowed red, melted into liquid metal, then reformed into a spoon before cooling again.
"Can you do that?" he asked, tossing another spoon to Gohan.
Gohan tried. Heat flared instantly, and the spoon disintegrated into black smoke.
"Control… Dad, you've mastered complete control over your ki, haven't you?" Gohan said, realizing the difference.
"Exactly. Kaio-ken works by igniting your cells with ki, forcing rapid division and regeneration to multiply your power. It needs absolute control. Power alone isn't enough. The stronger your power, the heavier the strain." Goku explained patiently.
"…I see. I've been overestimating myself," Gohan admitted, embarrassed.
Ever since arriving in this world, he'd been relying on his meta-knowledge of Dragon Ball to boost his strength fast, but his ki control was far behind Goku and Piccolo's. He'd been so focused on numbers that he hadn't properly refined himself.
After the Kami's Lookout training, his power level had soared past ten million, enough to crush Popo's puppet with ease. But Goku's words cut through his pride.
"Gohan… the martial path is long. Never let pride blind you." Goku's expression was unusually serious, none of his usual goofy air.
"I understand, Dad. You really are… wisdom hidden in plain sight," Gohan replied respectfully.
"'Wisdom hidden in plain sight'? What's that mean?" Goku tilted his head.
"…Forget I said anything."
Later, Gohan headed to Bulma's lab.
"Miss Bulma, is the gravity chamber ready yet?" he asked cautiously.
"Miss! How many times have I told you? Stop calling me 'Auntie.' Just call me Bulma!" She put down her tools, grabbing Gohan by the ear.
"Alright, alright! My ears are ringing!" Gohan protested.
"Almost done. Just one more polish and it's ready." She took a buffer to the ring in front of her.
Three minutes later.
"Done! Took me days, but it's finished. Since you're still a kid, I made it big enough for your thumb. When you grow, you can wear it on your ring finger." Bulma handed him a platinum-colored ring.
"That's nice, but… how much gravity can it generate?" Gohan's eyes gleamed.
"Guess."
"Guess if I'll guess?"
"Guess if I think you'll guess."
"…."
"It's way beyond the planned specs. One thousand times gravity. But be careful. I can't even imagine how heavy that will feel. And it's not just linear, it multiplies exponentially."
"One thousand?! Perfect. I can train with this for a long time!" Gohan was thrilled.
"That's not all. After nine straight days of work, I've made this chamber like a full house bath, kitchen, TV, music system… everything." Bulma listed features Gohan clearly didn't care about.
"Thanks, Miss Bulma." Gohan gave a deep bow.
Huh. Must be all that time spent in Japan learning their little bows. Small courtesies, no big ceremonies.
"Alright, alright. You're Goku's kid, helping you's only natural. But if you get more rare materials, don't forget me." Bulma was warming up to the polite boy, a far cry from her first meeting with Goku.
Under her breath, she muttered, "Chi-Chi was too quick to grab him… I met him first. I wonder if I'd have had such a smart, well-mannered kid with him…" A blush spread across her cheeks.
"What was that, Miss Bulma?" Gohan blinked.
"Nothing! Anyway, take your dad and get out of here. Training here every day, eating like pigs you two are driving me nuts. Go on, scram, so I can rest!"
Gohan didn't understand why she was suddenly angry, but he didn't dwell on it. He called Goku, and they left together.
Goku packed up the standard gravity chamber back into a capsule before they went.
From the balcony, Bulma watched their figures shrink into the distance, muttering, "Damn you, Yamcha. If you hadn't been such a womanizer, I could've had a brilliant son too… My prince… where are you?"
Somewhere on a distant planet
"Achoo!"
Whoosh! Boom!
"What's wrong, Prince Vegeta? Is it this planet's cold weather?" Nappa asked, stomping an alien into the dirt.
"Shut up, Nappa. A Saiyan elite doesn't 'catch colds.' Hmph. These missions Frieza's assigning are getting harder. Hey, Raditz are you sure your little brother's still alive?" The short man with flame-shaped hair growled.
"I'm sure, Prince Vegeta. That planet doesn't have any strong humans. With my brother's power, he wouldn't have died." Raditz's long hair swayed as he replied.
"Good. After we finish this job, take a mission near Earth. Bring your brother back. He may be a low-class warrior, but with training he's bound to be more useful than these pathetic Saibamen." Vegeta crushed the last one under his boot. It was too damaged to be worth keeping alive.
"Yes, Prince Vegeta. I understand."
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