Capsule Corporation.
After half a year of training, Gohan and Piccolo had pushed the gravity chamber to thirty times Earth's gravity.
Their strength had undergone a complete transformation.
Yet because they had trained exclusively with each other, neither of them felt fully confident in judging their own true power.
That meant it was time to use the scouter Raditz had brought to Earth.
Bulma was just as curious about their progress, so she was more than happy to help.
"There's no need for testing at all," Piccolo said confidently, stepping forward. "I've already gained invincible power. No matter who comes, I'll win."
As he spoke, his aura surged outward.
A scorching presence wrapped around his body before rapidly expanding into the air.
He was clearly releasing his full power.
Gohan merely smiled as he watched.
He was very familiar with this reaction. Almost everyone in the world had felt unstoppable at some point.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
The scouter Bulma was wearing began to shrill as the numbers climbed rapidly. Even someone with no martial training like her could not help but stare in disbelief.
"Power level four thousand two hundred… four thousand five hundred… four thousand seven hundred… six thousand three hundred. It's still rising?"
Fear nearly spilled from her eyes.
The gap between this and the values she had measured before was so enormous that she was left speechless.
"Seven thousand four hundred."
At last, the number stabilized.
This was Piccolo's strength after his training. Compared to his original power level of four hundred eight, the difference was nothing short of staggering.
Even compared to the twelve hundred he had when their training first began, the leap was astonishing.
Bulma could not find the words.
Hearing the final number, Gohan fell into thought.
He trained with Piccolo every day, so he already had a sense of their growth.
If Piccolo's power level was seven thousand four hundred, then his own must be close to ten thousand.
The increase surprised even him.
In the original timeline, after a full year of training with Piccolo, their power levels had only reached around two thousand eight hundred.
Even with direct access to the gravity chamber, this kind of growth still filled him with excitement.
As things stood now, when the Saiyans arrived, everything could be changed.
"Still not at ten thousand?" Piccolo said coolly, though the joy in his eyes was hard to hide.
Bulma remained stunned as she stared at the scouter. She had not fully processed the numbers yet, and even if she had, she still worried about what lay ahead.
"Your turn, Gohan," Piccolo said, snapping her back to attention.
He had trained alongside Gohan for months and knew the boy was no weakling, but he had never seen Gohan's true power. Now he wanted to see it with his own eyes.
Gohan did not rush to be tested. Instead, he said calmly, "Uncle Piccolo, power levels alone are not accurate. I think we should find an opponent and test ourselves in real combat."
"An opponent?" Piccolo raised his chin slightly, confidence overflowing. "Your father isn't here. Who on Earth is qualified to be my opponent?"
Gohan smiled faintly. "There may be no one alive right now. But we can revive an old opponent."
"An old opponent?"
"Yes. For example, my uncle Raditz."
The moment he said it, both Piccolo and Bulma froze.
They stared at Gohan as if he had lost his mind.
Raditz had tried to take him away and had even caused Goku's death.
And now Gohan wanted to bring him back?
"What are you thinking, reviving Raditz?" Piccolo asked.
"I'm only making a suggestion," Gohan replied evenly. "Right now, we have no opponents for comparison, so it's hard to know whether we can defeat the two Saiyans who are coming. Raditz was their partner. He should know a great deal about them."
"Hmph. With that man's temperament, he won't cooperate easily," Piccolo said.
"That's true," Gohan agreed. "But Uncle Piccolo, you can defeat him easily now, right?"
"Of course. I won't lose to anyone."
"Exactly. Once he's defeated, we can get a lot of information from him."
Piccolo's gaze darkened as he considered the idea seriously.
Bulma, however, had already thought of another issue. "Reviving someone that dangerous is one thing, but what about Shenron? We still need him to bring Goku back. If we use the Dragon Balls now, what happens then?"
Piccolo nodded and looked toward Gohan.
"That's simple," Gohan said. "We can revive my father at the same time."
"But Kami said Goku went to train with King Kai. If we revive him now…"
"Aunt Bulma," Gohan asked gently, "have you revived people before?"
"Yes."
"Then based on your experience, if my father's body is in the Other World, when he's revived, will he return to Earth or revive where he is?"
Bulma paused, thinking carefully.
From what they knew, Shenron's revival did not include teleportation. Wherever the body was, revival happened there.
"He should revive where he is, with King Kai."
"Then reviving him now or reviving him in six months makes no real difference," Gohan said. "Either way, he'll be alive again."
"But Kami told us Goku needed to train there and asked us not to revive him yet. Wouldn't it be wrong to ignore that?"
Gohan understood Kami's reasoning.
Only the dead could travel the Other World, and only the dead could run Snake Way to reach King Kai. At the time, his father needed to remain dead for that training.
But according to the timeline Gohan remembered, his father had already reached King Kai's planet.
That meant the condition no longer applied.
"Then that was then," Gohan said softly. "And this is now. Why don't we ask Kami directly?"
"Hmph. If you want to ask him, just look up and speak. That old man is watching us right now," Piccolo said dismissively, without even glancing at the sky.
Still, Gohan and Bulma both looked up.
"Yes, I am indeed watching," Kami's voice echoed in their minds, carrying a quiet joy. "Your progress far exceeds my expectations."
Piccolo snorted, his expression full of disdain.
"Then, Guardian of Earth," Bulma asked carefully, "if we revive Son Goku now, what will happen?"
"Goku has already reached King Kai," Kami replied. "Even if he is revived, he will revive there."
"So that means he can be brought back early?"
"In theory, yes. King Kai's judgment is complete, and Goku no longer needs to remain dead. But Gohan, tell me this. Why do you wish to revive Raditz?"
Gohan answered calmly, "Because training needs purpose. Uncle Piccolo and I need to understand the strength of the two Saiyans who are coming. Raditz has that information."
That was his spoken reason.
In truth, he was thinking further ahead.
He knew even greater threats would appear in the future, enemies far more dangerous and cunning. He had to prepare in advance.
Raditz was part of that preparation.
Though his uncle lacked ambition and was not especially strong, he was still a Saiyan.
If Raditz could truly be guided onto a better path, then in a future crisis, he could even serve as one of the participants in the ritual of the Super Saiyan God.
That way, if an unforeseen disaster arose, they could summon that power ahead of time.
At the very least, before any god of destruction appeared, such enemies could be handled.
None of this needed to be explained to Kami.
For now, fighting the coming battle was reason enough.
"Gathering intelligence on your enemies is wise," Kami said slowly. "But Raditz committed grave crimes. Are you truly confident you can make him obey?"
"Yes," Gohan replied without hesitation. "I am."
He nodded firmly.
He knew Raditz still possessed traces of familial attachment.
And if Vegeta could eventually change, then there was no reason his uncle could not walk a similar path.
"In that case, summon Shenron," Kami said with a soft sigh. "I will contact Goku and King Kai."
"Thank you, Guardian of Earth," Gohan said respectfully.
He turned toward Bulma.
"You're just like your father," she said helplessly, shaking her head. "I can never argue with either of you."
She ordered the collected Dragon Balls to be brought out and prepared to make the wish.
Yet her gaze lingered on Gohan.
Today's performance had clearly shaken her.
Though the boy was only four years old, his thinking was remarkably clear, often more thorough than her own.
He was beginning to resemble Goku.
A trace of sadness flickered in her eyes as memories surfaced of the days she first met Goku in the mountains, long ago.