The Lookout, Room of Spirit and Time
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Gohan, in his Super Saiyan 2 state, was trading blows with Super Saiyan 2 Vegeta.
Every punch landed with solid, bone-rattling impact. This kind of pure close-quarters brawling was the best way to drag out Gohan's latent potential.
Each time a fist slammed into him, strength surged up from the deepest part of his body, rushing out like a flood.
By the sixth month inside the chamber, Gohan's base battle power had already broken through the hundred-billion mark.
Even Vegeta, whose growth had been stalled for a long time, saw his base power rise by roughly twenty billion, reaching one hundred and twenty billion.
"Gohan, my tail is growing way too slowly. Got any good ideas?"
Vegeta rubbed the small bump on his tailbone where the new tail was just starting to poke out.
"How about… we try the method Elder Kai used on my dad?"
Gohan lowered his voice as he suggested it.
"Get lost. I'd rather die than go through that in front of you. You think I'm going to drop my pants in front of you? Just kill me instead!"
Vegeta snapped, face dark with embarrassment.
"You think I want to watch that? If you don't like it, we can just wrap up here and go out. Find Bulma, have her build another Bruits Wave Amplifier. That should still let you transform."
Gohan offered another option.
"No. Even if I could rely on technology to hit Super Saiyan 4, that would be the weakest kind of Super Saiyan 4."
Vegeta shook his head without hesitation.
"When Baby possessed me and turned my body into a Golden Great Ape, I regained part of my consciousness. I could feel it clearly: even in that state, I was far inferior to Kakarot. It must be because my tail hadn't properly grown back."
"That's not quite right. You did transform into a Great Ape and I'm the one who cut off that tail. Kind of hard to say it 'never grew out,' isn't it?"
Gohan was puzzled.
"That power was fake, not truly mine."
Vegeta's eyes were cold.
"Even if you hadn't cut it off, I would have eventually reverted to normal. That force came from Bruits Waves artificially amplified by the machine. It wasn't my own strength. And afterward, if I wanted to transform again, I'd always have to rely on that amplifier. That's just slapping shackles on myself."
"Then what do you want to do?"
Gohan was getting annoyed. This didn't work, that didn't work. He had no idea what Vegeta was aiming for.
Vegeta fell silent, lost in thought.
An hour later…
"Damn it… Gohan, whatever happens in here, you're not allowed to tell anyone. Ever."
He walked over to the supply area, rummaged around for a while, and finally pulled out a massive pair of metal tongs.
"Here."
Vegeta's expression was extremely ugly as he shoved them at Gohan.
"Heh…"
"Don't you dare laugh!"
And so…
Gohan planted his feet, gripping the tongs tightly as they clamped down on the very tip of Vegeta's tail.
"You flying, or am I pulling?"
Gohan asked.
"I'll do it myself… Yaaah!"
Vegeta leaned forward and flew ahead.
As he flew, his tail was forcibly stretched out, growing longer and longer. When it reached a certain length, Gohan instantly let go.
"Bastard! You couldn't at least give me a warning?!"
Vegeta spat, rubbing the back of his throbbing head.
"There wasn't time. If I hadn't let go, it really would've torn off. Save it. Try it now. As far as I know, you've still got your Artificial Moon technique."
Gohan quickly changed the subject.
"Hmph."
Vegeta walked about a hundred meters away.
He raised his palm and gathered a ball of brilliant light, then hurled it upward.
"Explode!"
Boom.
The artificial moon blossomed above them. Vegeta stared up at it, and his heart started to pound faster and faster.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
"Raaah!!"
Vegeta's transformation was a success.
Whoosh!
A mouth blast shot toward Gohan in an instant.
"Oh, come on. Playing the 'I lost control' act, huh?"
Gohan obviously didn't believe Vegeta had truly gone berserk.
He slipped left and right, weaving through the blasts.
Vegeta kept on pretending.
"Hey, Vegeta, keep faking it and I'll just cut your tail off again, I swear!"
Gohan shouted.
The raging Great Ape suddenly froze, then went still.
"Hmph. So you noticed already?"
Vegeta's voice rumbled out.
"Don't forget, I went through the whole 'you first coming to Earth' period. Back then, your battle power was only a bit over ten thousand and you still kept your reason as a Great Ape. Who are you trying to fool now?"
Gohan snorted.
"Fine. I've basically figured out the principle behind Super Saiyan 4. Let me try it properly."
Vegeta stopped acting.
The brown Great Ape began to glow from his feet upward, golden light wrapping his enormous body.
Buzz.
Gold flared in all directions. When the light faded, the towering form shrank back down. Red fur, black hair Super Saiyan 4 Vegeta stood there at last.
The savage aura roaring off him made the space in the Room of Spirit and Time crack and splinter.
"This is the real Super Saiyan 4. Far stronger than that Golden Great Ape garbage."
Vegeta looked down at his own body with satisfaction.
"Alright. We've achieved what we came here for. Are you going to train a bit to get used to Super Saiyan 4, or do you want to head out now?"
Gohan asked.
"Heh. I spent six months being your sparring partner. You don't mind returning the favor for a few days, do you?"
Vegeta, now in Super Saiyan 4, had regained all of his arrogant confidence.
"I don't mind. Just don't complain that it hurts."
Gohan wasn't afraid at all.
Sure, Vegeta's base power was two dozen billion higher than his, but Gohan's dark-gold Super Saiyan 4 multiplier was twice as high as theirs.
"Yaaah!"
Gohan transformed into Super Saiyan 4.
His overwhelming aura crashed down on Vegeta like a tidal wave.
One of them sat at eight hundred trillion. The other, four hundred and eighty trillion.
Boom.
Vegeta flew backward, clutching the spot where his rib had just snapped.
Blood dribbled from the corner of his mouth.
"Damn it!"
Ignoring his injuries, he forced himself to stop.
Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang!
The moment he halted, Gohan's fist smashed straight into his face again.
"You're using me as a whetstone. Aren't you afraid you'll break the blade?"
Vegeta was getting pummeled mercilessly.
But this was also the fastest way for him to grasp the true essence of Super Saiyan 4.
"Quit whining about where I hit you. If it knocks down the enemy, then it's a good technique. Now keep going. A-da-da-da-da-da!!"
Gohan's fists rained down on him like a storm.
Vegeta could only raise his arms to block, being driven back step by step by those heavy, hammer-like blows.
Meanwhile, outside.
"So as long as I beat you, the Dragon Balls will return to normal, right?"
Goku had already defeated six of the Shadow Dragons. Only the last one remained the One-Star Shadow Dragon.
"Hahaha, Goku, you're too arrogant. You think you can beat me with those ruined eyes of yours?"
Syn Shenron the One-Star Shadow Dragon laughed wildly.
Whoosh.
Because Goku had come straight from the Lookout to hunt down the Shadow Dragons, Pan and the others were not with him this time.
He was personally carrying the restored Dragon Balls himself.
With a casual flick of his finger, Syn's ki blast shredded the cloth bag at Goku's waist.
The six Dragon Balls spilled out, rolling across the ground.
"Ha!"
Syn opened his mouth wide and sucked all six of them into his body.
His ki skyrocketed in an instant, surging past Super Saiyan 4 Goku.
"Crap. That ki… it's insane!"
Goku's face changed drastically.
Room of Spirit and Time
Vegeta and Gohan both paused mid-fight.
"That ki is so strong it actually reached us in here…"
Vegeta's body tensed. A powerful sense of unease rose in his chest.
"It must be because our battle broke the space in here, opened up cracks, so the Shadow Dragon's ki could leak through. Stop. It's time to go. Here, senzu bean."
Gohan tossed him a bean.
Vegeta didn't stand on ceremony. He swallowed it at once.
Boom.
His muscles swelled, broken ribs knitting themselves back together in an instant.
His aura was even a touch stronger than before.
"Alright. Let's head out first. Yaaah!"
Vegeta sucked in a deep breath and let out a roar.
Rip.
A tear in space opened before them, linked directly to the Lookout outside.
The two stepped through.
"Heh… Gohan, Vegeta, you finally came out."
Goku immediately sensed their auras.
He had already reverted to his base form.
After swallowing the six Dragon Balls, Syn Shenron had pummeled him into complete helplessness in just two moves.
He had burned through a lot of stamina fighting the other six Shadow Dragons beforehand, especially Three-Star and Four-Star.
The Lookout
"Hurry up and go. Goku's already back in his base form!"
Piccolo's voice was tight with urgency as he spoke to the newly emerged pair.
"Got it. Vegeta, grab onto me."
"Right."
Without wasting words, Vegeta gripped Gohan's arm.
In the next instant, both of them vanished with a sharp whoosh.
"Die, Goku!"
Syn Shenron gathered a glowing red sphere of energy in one hand and hurled it straight at Goku.
Boom.
"Who?!"
The One-Star Shadow Dragon snapped his head up.
"Heh… Syn Shenron, right? There's something I've been curious about for a long time. I've always wanted to ask you."
Gohan floated in the air, arms crossed, a teasing smile tugging at his lips.
"Son Gohan? No… you're not him. Who are you?"
Syn's expression darkened.
"Answer my question first. Your back is covered in spikes, your neck too, your elbows as well. When you sleep, do you have to lie on your side?"
"Pfft cough, cough!"
Vegeta, who had been completely focused a moment ago, almost choked when he heard that.
"You dare mock me…"
Syn's face twisted with fury.
"And another thing. Do you know a guy named Afu? Can you do that 'crow airplane' pose too? Aside from the spikes, you two look pretty similar."
Gohan didn't let up at all, following up with another jab.
"Son Gohan… you're courting death!"
Syn Shenron finally snapped. He had no idea who Gohan was talking about, but he understood the mocking, taunting tone perfectly.
He couldn't hold back anymore and lunged straight at Gohan.
Clang!
Their forearms collided in midair.
The shockwave alone blew Goku off his feet, sending him tumbling away.
Vegeta rushed over to catch him.
"Here. Senzu bean."
Crunch.
Goku chewed and swallowed.
Pop, pop, pop.
He bounced back to his feet, clapped the dust from his clothes, and light once more returned to his eyes.
"Vegeta, be careful. That guy is no joke."
Goku warned, his expression solemn.
"Hmph. You should be more worried about that pest. Your kid from the other timeline is far more dangerous than he is."
Vegeta snorted, letting his own aura die down as he dropped back to his base form.
The two of them stood side by side, watching the battle unfold.
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