Earth, The Lookout
Buzz.
A mass of blue-black smoke erupted skyward.
"Hahahaha… I'm finally reborn! Time to wreak havoc all over again!"
From within the smoke emerged a grotesque dragon: twisted features, a pair of wings on its back, and blood-red eyes blazing with malice.
Goku, Vegeta, and Piccolo all stared, stunned, at the monstrosity in front of them.
"Hey, you bastard, what did you just say?"
Vegeta could feel the terrifying evil ki pouring off the creature and instantly realized something was very wrong.
"A disaster… a huge disaster…"
Dende's face was pale with fear.
"Heh… so my creator is here too. In that case, I'll show you a little courtesy."
The evil dragon chuckled darkly.
Then he threw his jaws wide open, sucking all seven Dragon Balls on the ground straight into his belly. His body burst into light and split apart into seven streams of blue-black energy, each one taking the shape of a different dragon and shooting off in seven directions.
High above Earth, a strange seven-colored barrier snapped into existence, wrapping around the planet and cutting it off from the outer cosmos.
Everyone could feel that powerful, evil ki. Goku's expression grew especially grave as he looked up at the sky.
"Goku! What have you done this time…?!"
North Kai's voice suddenly rang out.
"You idiot!!"
Before Goku could even answer, another deafening voice exploded in his ears.
It was Elder Kai, using his full volume as usual.
"I told you ages ago the Dragon Balls aren't toys you can casually use whenever you feel like it! That kind of thing throws all of nature into chaos!"
"Elder Kai, we can all hear you just fine. Could you not shout so loud?"
Kid Goku dug at his ear, grumbling.
Sacred World of the Kai, GT Timeline
"Please calm down, Old Ancestor…"
Kibito Kai hurried to placate him.
"Calm down? When something like this happens, how am I supposed to calm down?!"
Elder Kai stomped his foot in frustration, then barked toward Goku again:
"Listen up, Goku! If you let this go on, the entire universe could be destroyed!"
"You mean that weird dragon?"
Goku asked.
"That's right! It's all because you humans keep abusing the Dragon Balls that a monster like that was born!"
"You're so noisy… We said we can hear you. Can't you turn it down a notch?"
Vegeta frowned, thoroughly annoyed.
"Oh, so now you've got the nerve to talk back to me? This is all your wife Bulma's fault in the first place! If she hadn't built that Dragon Radar of hers, the Dragon Balls wouldn't be so easy to find!"
Elder Kai's voice only got louder.
"What the hell did you just say?! Say that to my face if you've got the guts!"
Vegeta exploded.
Bad-mouthing Bulma was crossing the line.
Ahem.
Main timeline Gohan coughed deliberately.
He clearly remembered: in the original GT, Elder Kai roasted Bulma directly. But since Bulma wasn't here this time, Vegeta ended up taking all the fire for her.
"If I could, I'd have gone over there to straighten you out already. But Earth's been isolated from the outside by that barrier. I can't get through at all!"
Elder Kai snarled.
"Tch."
Vegeta ground his teeth, snorted coldly, and finally held his tongue.
"Alright, alright, Old Ancestor, we don't have time for this. Get to the important part."
Kibito Kai stepped in to break the stalemate.
"Everyone listen carefully. There's something you don't know. Every time the Dragon Balls are used, a bit of their positive energy is depleted, and a corresponding amount of negative energy builds up. That trait has been there since the very moment they were created."
"Huh? Negative energy? What's that supposed to mean?"
Goku couldn't follow at all.
"Idiot. If the negative energy increases, that probably means the power of evil is growing."
Piccolo couldn't help cutting in.
"Piccolo's right. The optimal usage rate for the Dragon Balls is once every hundred years. That gives them enough time to slowly digest the little bit of negative energy birthed by people's desires. But ever since the Dragon Radar was invented, you've been making wishes so often that in just thirty short years you pushed the Dragon Balls past their limit! Once the negative energy can't be suppressed anymore, that monster from earlier appears the Shadow Dragon."
Kibito Kai's tone was heavy.
"Mr. Popo's heard of this too… A long, long time ago, a Shadow Dragon appeared once before. And when it did, it wasn't just the host planet that was destroyed… even the surrounding galaxies were wiped out."
Mr. Popo said quietly.
"Idiots. Now do you finally understand how serious this is?"
Elder Kai snapped.
"I still don't really get all that, but from the sound of it, this is our fault. If that's how it is, then we've just gotta go."
Goku laced his hands behind his head and strolled toward the edge of the Lookout.
"Hey, Kakarot! What do you mean 'go'?"
Vegeta demanded.
"Go defeat the Shadow Dragons and take the Dragon Balls back. What else?"
Goku said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Everyone was stunned speechless for a moment
even Elder Kai and Kibito Kai on the Sacred World of the Kai were no exception.
"Elder Kai, don't worry. Leave this to them."
Main timeline Gohan suddenly spoke up.
"Oh? From the look on your face, you seem to know something about this too?"
Elder Kai asked.
"Yeah. Those Shadow Dragons that split off just now… with Vegeta and this timeline's Dad teaming up, they should be able to handle them."
Gohan said.
"…Fine. Then we'll have to rely on them."
Elder Kai could only choose to lie flat and accept it. There was nothing else he could do.
"Alright, I'm heading out!"
Goku leaped off the Lookout, locked onto the Shadow Dragons' ki, and gave chase.
"I'm going too!"
Vegeta was just about to take off after him
"Hold it."
Gohan suddenly called out, stopping him in his tracks.
"?"
Vegeta turned back, frowning slightly.
"It's not as simple as I made it sound. If you want to wipe out the Shadow Dragons completely, you'll have to reach Super Saiyan 4 first. Only by joining forces with my father in that form will you guys be able to deal with the final enemy."
Gohan explained.
"Super Saiyan 4, huh… But my tail was just cut off. It won't grow back in such a short time."
Vegeta clenched his fists, frustration written all over his face.
"Heh, I've got a solution. Don't forget where we are."
Gohan pointed toward the entrance to the Room of Spirit and Time.
"Use the time acceleration inside to let your tail grow back?"
Piccolo was the quickest to catch on.
"Exactly. And I need to train too. Vegeta, you don't mind being my sparring partner, do you?"
Gohan invited.
"Heh. You're a good Son Gohan. I suppose I'll 'reluctantly' agree to your request."
Vegeta was very satisfied with this Gohan's attitude. He was a far cry from the soft, desk-bound version of Gohan in this timeline.
"But… doesn't Vegeta have no time left? He used it all up back in the Cell Games."
Mr. Popo said hesitantly.
"Relax, Popo. Back then Gotenks literally ripped open the dimensional door. They can do it too."
Piccolo explained.
"Oh, that's right. I completely forgot…"
Mr. Popo slapped his forehead.
"Then there's no problem. This way, please."
He led the two of them toward the Room of Spirit and Time.
Gohan, of course, knew exactly how strong the completed Shadow Dragon would be. His goal this time was to break his base battle power past the hundred-billion mark. Then, with his mutated dark-gold Super Saiyan 4 and its eight-thousand-fold multiplier, his combat power would surpass GT Goku's Super Saiyan 4 by a full tier.
And bringing Vegeta along wasn't just for the sake of having a sparring partner he also wanted to test just how strong Super Saiyan 4 Gogeta would be with this new foundation.
Everything unfolded in an orderly fashion:
Goku headed out across Earth to challenge the Shadow Dragons one by one.
Gohan and Vegeta stepped into the Room of Spirit and Time to train.
Piccolo stayed on the Lookout as their central support, monitoring the planet and passing intel on to Goku as needed.
Sacred World of the Kai
"Elder Kai… there's really no way for me to go back?"
GT Gohan still couldn't swallow it.
"No. You just stay put here and focus on your own training. That Gohan from the other timeline is far stronger than you are anyway. You'd better worry about yourself first."
Elder Kai's words were like a blade stabbing straight into GT Gohan's heart.
"I'm going to get stronger!"
GT Gohan walked off to the side, shrugged on the weighted clothing Kibito Kai had prepared for him, and began his own harsh training.
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