Chapter 61: Potential Unleashed
After thinking it over, Turles posed a question. "Grand Elder, if we unlock our potential now, can we recover that lost natural growth capacity through training later?"
"Hmm? I hadn't considered that." The Grand Elder paused, lowering his head in thought before answering. "However, in my view, if you receive effective training afterward, recovery should be possible. After all, this power belongs to you—I'm merely releasing it prematurely. Though I'm uncertain how long recovery would take."
Hearing this, Turles felt reassured. As long as recovery was possible, there would be a way. Besides, he still had the gravity chamber as his training cheat. Recovery should come quickly.
Vegeta and Raditz also brightened at the news, especially Vegeta. He was confident his natural talent surpassed any other Saiyan—even Broly, that so-called Legendary Super Saiyan Turles kept mentioning, didn't intimidate him.
Soon enough, not just Raditz but even Turles would be beneath his boot.
Only Nappa's eyes showed envy and resentment before he lowered his head in silence.
The Grand Elder observed all their expressions, though he didn't mention that he'd glimpsed their futures—all these Saiyans would undergo tremendous changes. And the one who'd catalyze it all was Turles.
Turles remained unaware of Vegeta's scheming, though even if he knew, he wouldn't be concerned. True, in the original story Vegeta was second only to Goku among Saiyans, with unquestionable talent. But that was later. Right now, Vegeta didn't warrant Turles's full attention. His current goal was singular: Broly.
If after all his efforts he still couldn't surpass Vegeta, then there was no point worrying about the future—he might as well give up and live a quiet life on Earth.
"Grand Elder, we're ready. Thank you for this." Turles made his decision and spoke respectfully.
"Very well. Who's first?" Perhaps with several years of life still remaining, the Grand Elder was quite straightforward.
"I—"
"Uh..."
Vegeta moved to step forward first, but remembering Turles's earlier glare, he held back.
Raditz naturally didn't dare go first if Turles hadn't, so he could only look to his leader.
Turles ignored both Vegeta and Raditz, instead turning his gaze to Nappa with calm certainty. "Nappa, you're first."
Nappa's head snapped up, staring at Turles in disbelief.
Turles nodded at him, gesturing for him to proceed.
Nappa couldn't identify what he was feeling. Part of him thought Turles was being foolish, yet why did his chest feel tight? That wasn't the reaction a hardened warrior should have.
"Boss, why would you—"
Raditz started to protest, but Turles's look cut him off.
"Yes, Boss!"
Snapping out of his daze, Nappa acknowledged the order and walked to stand before the Grand Elder.
The Grand Elder placed his hand atop Nappa's bald head. Though Nappa's skull seemed large compared to Turles and the others, it appeared small beneath the Grand Elder's massive palm, which completely covered it.
Turles chuckled softly, drawing everyone's attention.
"Turles, what is it?" Bulma asked curiously.
"Nothing. Just remembered something amusing." Turles shook his head, deflecting the question.
Bulma eyed him suspiciously. Her intuition told her Turles definitely wasn't thinking of anything good.
But Turles had already shifted his focus, watching Nappa beneath the Grand Elder's hand with serious intensity.
Nappa's body began trembling uncontrollably under the Grand Elder's power. His aura erupted violently.
The next moment, in the perception of the three Saiyans, Nappa's energy signature began climbing rapidly. His battle power shot from 5,000 to 10,000—and kept rising.
"It's actually real!" Vegeta stared at the scene in disbelief, murmuring under his breath.
"Hmm? What, didn't you see it with your own eyes?" Turles caught Vegeta's words and looked at him with amusement.
"Hmph!"
Vegeta glanced at Turles, snorted dismissively, then turned away—though his eyes burned with intensity as they tracked Nappa's still-climbing power.
"Boss, how high do you think Nappa's battle power will reach?" Raditz had somehow sidled up next to Turles, speaking in a hushed voice.
Turles gave Raditz a knowing look and teased, "What, afraid Nappa will surpass you and pay back all the bullying you've done these past few days?"
"Who—who's afraid! I'm just concerned that Nappa, being who he is, won't follow your orders if his power increases too much. You know how unruly he is."
Raditz immediately protested, face flushing, before exposing his true nature in the next breath.
"Ha! I'm not worried. No matter how much potential Nappa has unlocked, he can't surpass me. But you, Raditz—if I remember correctly, before you joined me, your battle power was always lower than Nappa's, wasn't it?"
Turles directly addressed Raditz's concern, making his expression shift uncertainly.
Seeing this, Turles chuckled lightly.
Raditz had been getting complacent lately. Ever since his near-death recovery with a Senzu Bean, his sudden power increase had gone to his head.
Defeating Nappa in one move had made him look down on everyone except Turles. Even Vegeta, whose battle power was lower, received constant provocations.
This would be a good lesson to keep him grounded.
Though Turles and Raditz spoke quietly, Vegeta still overheard. He felt some disdain internally but said nothing, keeping his gaze locked on Nappa.
After several minutes, the Grand Elder removed his hand from Nappa's head, breathing slightly harder.
Nappa now radiated an aura far beyond his previous level. The powerful pressure rolled outward, making Bulma unconsciously retreat behind Turles.
The three Saiyans could clearly sense Nappa's battle power had risen to around 20,000. Raditz breathed a sigh of relief, sneaking a glance at Turles before looking at Nappa with renewed contempt.
Nappa's improvement fell within Turles's expectations. Unlike Raditz, Nappa hadn't been put through Turles and Paragus's gravity chamber training. For him to improve this much proved genuine talent—worthy of his childhood classification as an elite warrior.
It had to be said, during King Vegeta's era, while Saiyans were sorted by potential at birth, these classifications did prove accurate over time. Not all Saiyans were Bardock or Goku.