The atmosphere on the grassland was, for a moment, very awkward.
Vegeta almost pounced on Goku to fight to the death again because of Goku's unintentional remark!
But with Whitley's constant persuasion, he managed to suppress his anger.
He snorted two streams of hot white air from his nose, his large eyes glaring fiercely at Goku to express his extreme dissatisfaction.
"Alright, alright, let's get back to business!"
Whitley clapped his hands as he flew between the two behemoths. "Now! Both of you, focus!! As I said before, try to channel the power of a Super Saiyan on top of your Great Ape form! The goal is to become a Golden Great Ape!"
Vegeta let out a heavy snort.
Although he was extremely annoyed right now, his desire for power made him calm down again. He began to mobilize the vast power within his body, trying to perfectly combine the power of a Super Saiyan with the form of a Great Ape.
But... his situation still didn't look optimistic.
Every time he felt the golden aura was about to cover his entire body, he would always fall short at the last moment.
The energy within him seemed to have no outlet and clashed violently, making it difficult for him to maintain the transformation. He could only let the golden light dissipate with unwillingness.
He tried again and again, the huge veins on his forehead throbbing, showing that he was under immense pressure and backlash.
On the other hand, Goku's situation was completely different.
Listening to Whitley's guidance from the side, he tilted his huge head, seemingly not quite understanding the complex principles, and just responded with a simple-minded, "Oh! Okay! I'll try!"
Then, just as Vegeta failed once more and was pounding his chest in frustration, the brown fur on the Great Ape that was Goku suddenly, without any warning, went "swoosh"—and was instantly covered from head to tail in a layer of dazzling gold!
The process was unbelievably smooth! It was as if it was a natural progression, encountering no bottleneck at all!
A gentle and stable golden aura burned on his body. Goku even curiously lifted his giant golden claw to look at it and laughed in a guttural voice, "Huh? It seems... it seems I succeeded? Is this it, Whitley?"
Whitley was silent.
Vegeta was instantly stunned. He looked at Goku in disbelief and subconsciously asked urgently, "How did you succeed?! Why do I fail every time!!!"
Goku stood there and thought for a moment, then laughed and scratched the back of his head. "I don't know what happened either. I just listened to what Whitley said, and then... with a 'swoosh,' it just changed."
Vegeta: "!!!"
The Great Ape that was the prince now stared with wide, scarlet eyes, deadly fixed on the golden Goku, who seemed to have his own background lighting.
His huge mouth was slightly agape, an expression of utter disbelief, as if he had seen a ghost!
"A... a 'swoosh'?!"
Vegeta's voice was distorted with shock. He subconsciously repeated the word that made him feel incredibly frustrated.
"Yeah!" Goku nodded his giant golden head affirmatively, his tone still so matter-of-fact. "It was just a 'swoosh'! It's very simple!"
"Hmph!!!"
Vegeta was completely crushed by the casual words "it's very simple"! A huge sense of failure and disbelief welled up in his heart!
Why? Why was something he had tried so hard and failed at again and again so easily accomplished by this low-class warrior, Kakarot?! This is impossible!
He spun around abruptly, showing his back to Goku and Whitley, no longer wanting to look at that golden figure that made his heart ache.
To think... to think he was surpassed by that guy Kakarot?! What a joke! How could he, Vegeta, possibly lose to him!
Whitley watched Goku's successful transformation, sighed, and then nodded in satisfaction. "Not bad, Goku! I didn't expect you to have such a talent for this! You're an intuitive type!"
He flew a little closer to continue his guidance. "Alright, since the first step is done, next, try to see if you can compress your body back to a humanoid form while retaining this Great Ape power! Remember, it's not about canceling the transformation and returning to your normal state, but becoming a 'humanoid Great Ape' form! A 'humanoid Great Ape,' understand? It's about keeping this power, but with an appearance similar to our usual selves!"
Goku let out a half-understanding "oh," then obediently closed his eyes and began to try.
As he controlled his thoughts, the powerful golden aura around him began to slowly recede, and his massive presence gradually weakened...
Whitley saw that this was the wrong trend and quickly shouted to stop him. "Idiot! I'm not telling you to dissipate your power and return to normal! It's compression! Compress the power of the Great Ape into a humanoid body! The form changes, the power remains! It even gets stronger! Understand?!"
Goku flinched from the shout, a hint of grievance on his giant golden face.
But he refocused his mind and tried hard to understand Whitley's meaning of "the form changes, the power remains."
On the other side, however, Vegeta had entered a state!
Provoked by Goku, his unyielding pride and competitiveness were pushed to the extreme!
He gritted his teeth and raised his own ki to its absolute limit without reservation! A roar of unwillingness erupted from the depths of his giant throat. "It's just a transformation!!! How could it possibly be difficult for me, Vegeta!!! I am—the Prince of Saiyans!!!!!! AHHH!!!! HAH!!!!!!"
RUMBLE—!!!!
Along with his roar, an unprecedented golden aura erupted from Vegeta's body like an explosion!
The violent energy fluctuations even caused the surrounding ground to tremble slightly, and countless rubble began to lift off the ground, slowly rising into the sky, pulled by the energy!
The veins on the Great Ape Vegeta's forehead bulged, and thick blood vessels also stood out on the surface of his massive body.
His golden fur was no longer flickering as before, but had become stable and solid, just like a true Super Saiyan!
"HAAAAAAAA!!!!!!"
With his final, heaven-shattering roar, the violent aura around him finally stabilized completely!
At this moment, a brilliant golden light completely covered him. A Golden Great Ape, in no way inferior to Goku's, stood proudly on the land of the Sacred World of the Kais!
"Haha... hahahaha!!! I did it!!!!"
Vegeta felt the power within him, far stronger and more violent than a normal Great Ape transformation, and couldn't help but let out a hearty laugh!
He whipped his head to look at the still-trying Goku and proudly declared, "Do you see that?! Kakarot!!! I, Vegeta, will never be left behind by you!!!!"
But at this moment, Goku seemed to have entered a peculiar state.
His eyes were tightly closed, and the ki around him was no longer fluctuating violently. Instead, there was a strange rhythm to its flow, as if he was trying hard to comprehend and compress that vast power, completely oblivious to Vegeta's declaration.
Whitley's attention was also completely drawn to Goku.
He keenly felt an indescribable power faintly circulating within Goku's body.
"Thump... thump... thump..."
A heavy and powerful heartbeat faintly came from Goku's chest, like the beating of a war drum! A wild, primal aura was slowly awakening from his body and spreading outwards.
Whitley's eyes narrowed, a look of surprise on his face. "This guy... is he about to cross the threshold so easily? Is he about to succeed?"
He couldn't help but take a sharp breath and sighed in a low voice of disbelief, "As expected of... the main character..."
This level of comprehension was truly unparalleled!
Vegeta, standing to the side, also stopped laughing and stared intently at Goku, his heart in turmoil.
He could feel that Goku was in a very peculiar state, as if on the verge of some kind of breakthrough!
This feeling of being about to be surpassed by Goku again was like a thorn stabbing fiercely into his proud heart.
And then, at that moment, a sudden change occurred!
Goku, whose ki had been steadily climbing and who seemed about to complete his metamorphosis, suddenly snapped his eyes open!
A flash of pain and confusion crossed his eyes, and the energy fluctuations around him instantly became extremely unstable!
"...Hah!!!"
He let out a shout that was less a roar and more a painful groan. The transformation process that was about to be completed was as if forcibly interrupted by something. The brilliant golden light around him suddenly extinguished like a power outage!
Then, his massive Golden Great Ape body began to shrink uncontrollably. The golden fur receded, and the immense power flowed away like a tide...
In the blink of an eye, Goku had completely returned to his normal state, and as if all his strength had been drained, he fell limply to the ground.
"Huh? What's going on?"
Whitley reacted extremely quickly, instantly flying forward and catching Goku, who was about to collapse.
Goku's face was as pale as paper, his forehead covered in cold sweat, and his breathing was extremely rapid and difficult.
One of his hands was clutching his chest tightly, and his mouth was wide open as if he couldn't get enough air, unable to even speak.
"Hey! Kakarot!!!"
Seeing this, Vegeta instantly shattered the Artificial Moon above with a ki blast.
He immediately canceled his transformation and returned to his human form, rushing over and squatting down to check on Goku's condition with a frown.
Although he was usually annoyed with this guy, seeing him suddenly in this state, Vegeta's tone unconsciously carried a hint of barely perceptible anxiety.
Whitley looked at Goku's pained appearance and instantly realized what was happening, his face changing abruptly. "You... could it be... you're having a heart attack?!"
He suddenly remembered the heart virus from the original story, and slapped his forehead in frustration. "Why at a time like this!"
He then quickly fumbled on Goku's body, searching for the small bottle of special medicine he had given him.
Vegeta also immediately remembered this and, in his urgency, grabbed the collar of Goku's gi and roared in his ear, "Hey! You bastard, Kakarot! Wake up! Where's the special medicine I gave you before?! Where did you put it?! Say something!!! Do you want to die?!!"
However, Goku was already delirious, able to only let out pained gasps, completely unable to respond.
Whitley quickly searched Goku's body but found nothing! His pockets were empty!
"Where's the medicine?! Did he not bring it with him?!" Whitley's heart sank.
Just then, the dying Goku seemed to use his last bit of strength to squeeze out a few words from his throat, so faint they were almost inaudible, "Mas... Master... Roshi... Grand... pa..."
Whitley's eyes lit up! Right! Master Roshi!
"Hang in there, Goku!" Whitley immediately said to Vegeta, "Watch him!"
Then, without hesitation, he placed his fingers on his forehead, his mind highly focused, and instantly locked onto Kame House on Earth!
Swoosh! His figure vanished from the Sacred World of the Kais in an instant!
Only the pained Goku and the grim-faced, anxious Vegeta were left.
Earth, Kame House.
Sun, sand, waves... the usual leisurely atmosphere permeated the small island.
Kame House was quite lively today. Master Roshi's disciple, Ox-King, had brought his daughter, Chi-Chi, to visit his master.
Although it was a visit... there were still some things to discuss with his master.
Ox-King looked at the energetic Master Roshi, who could still secretly read photobooks, and a sincere smile appeared on his face. "Seeing you so healthy, Master, I'm truly so happy!"
But besides his happiness, a hint of hesitation appeared on Ox-King's face.
He rubbed his hands and said with some uncertainty, "It's just... Master, about that thing we mentioned last time... that boy Goku, will he really be willing to marry our Chi-Chi?"
As he spoke, he glanced at his quiet, beautiful daughter sitting nearby, feeling very unsure.
He knew his daughter's personality better than anyone. Chi-Chi's appearance was absolutely impeccable, having inherited her mother's beauty, and she never lacked for suitors.
But the problem was... Chi-Chi's personality was too strong, too opinionated, even a bit feisty. Her past few relationships had all ended after just a couple of days, with the other party scared away by her assertiveness and seriousness.
Now, the young men in the surrounding towns all knew about his daughter's temper, and no one dared to pursue her anymore.
Ox-King was very troubled by this. He wanted to persuade his daughter to change her personality, but every time, he was met with a scolding from his own daughter.
Ox-King was on the verge of despair.
Master Roshi was currently chuckling lecherously with a "hehehehe," while unabashedly sizing up the beautifully developed Chi-Chi.
Only after hearing Ox-King's words did he retract his gaze, push up his sunglasses, and reassure him with a confident expression, "Don't worry! That boy Goku's character is absolutely top-notch! He will definitely take good care of Chi-Chi! That's the child that your senior, Gohan, raised with his own hands. Not to mention, he's a disciple I, Muten Roshi, personally trained!"
Master Roshi was actually a little unconfident.
With Goku's current planet-destroying power, a sneeze from him could blow away dozens of himself...
But no matter what, he was still his first teacher in name! He, Muten Roshi, was determined to be this matchmaker!
Ox-King looked at his master's somewhat unreliable appearance, and his heart became even more unsettled.
He sighed and, avoiding Chi-Chi's pricked ears, lowered his voice and said to Master Roshi, "Master, I'm not worried that Goku will be bad to Chi-Chi. I know that child's character. I'm afraid that..."
He trailed off, glanced at his daughter again, "...with Chi-Chi's personality, Goku... sigh, never mind."
He ultimately swallowed his words, able only to pray silently in his heart that the boy Goku could handle Chi-Chi's personality, or maybe change her a little.
Chi-Chi felt her father's gaze, looked up at them with some confusion, then lowered her head again and sat quietly, lost in her own thoughts.
At this slightly awkward moment—
Swoosh!
Whitley's figure appeared out of nowhere in the middle of Kame House, startling all three of them!
Master Roshi let out a sigh of relief when he saw it was Whitley.
He was just about to ask him why he had suddenly appeared, but Whitley had already spoken first, his tone urgent. "Long story short! Where is the special medicine for Goku's heart disease?! Give it to me, quick! Goku had a sudden heart attack while training and is on the verge of death!"
"What?! Goku is sick?!"
Master Roshi was shocked and jumped from his chair. "The medicine! Right! The medicine!"
He was instantly flustered and began to rummage through the house like a headless chicken. "This drawer... no! This cabinet... not here either! Huh? Wait! Isn't this the limited edition XXXX swimsuit photobook I've been looking for for so long?! So it was stuffed in here!"
BAM!
Whitley, seeing the old pervert get distracted at such a critical moment, felt the veins on his forehead throb. He unceremoniously slammed a fist on his bald head.
"GET SERIOUS!!! FIND THE MEDICINE!!! YOU BASTARD!!!"
Whitley was speechless.
Chi-Chi and Ox-King also reacted upon hearing that Goku was critically ill and quickly got up to help search.
"Mr. Goku..."
Chi-Chi had heard stories about Goku from her father.
A look of worry also appeared on her face, and she began to nimbly check the bookshelves and cabinets.
Ox-King was in charge of searching through the boxes piled in the corner.
Master Roshi clutched the large bump on his head, grimacing in pain, but he knew the situation was urgent. He quickly threw away the treasured photobook and joined the search.
For a moment, Kame House was in chaos, things being overturned everywhere.
"Found it! It's here!"
In the end, it was Chi-Chi who found the small bottle with the "Special Medicine" label in a drawer of Launch's desk.
She quickly took it out and handed it to Whitley.
Whitley snatched the bottle, a great weight finally lifting from his heart.
He glanced at the worried Master Roshi and Ox-King, nodded, and quickly reassured them, "Don't worry, now that I have the medicine, he'll be fine! I'll let you know what happens!"
After speaking, he placed his fingers on his forehead again.
Swoosh! His figure vanished in an instant, leaving only a messy Kame House and three worried people.
Master Roshi and Ox-King looked at each other.
After a long while, Master Roshi sighed worriedly and slowly sat back down.
Ox-King quickly comforted him. "Master, don't worry too much. That boy Goku is so strong, he'll definitely be fine!"
Master Roshi nodded, but his brow was still furrowed.
Beside them, Chi-Chi, who had silently begun to clean up the messy room, suddenly paused.
She stood in the middle of the cluttered house with her head down, her hands clenched tightly, her eyes filled with complex emotions.
There was concern, there was worry, and there seemed to be a hint of imperceptible... determination?
At this moment, a certain thought was rapidly turning in her mind.
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