It was a beautiful summer day on Mount Paozu. The lingering effects of winter were long gone, giving way to blooming flowers and trees of the spring. Now the sun seemed to shine longer and brighter, with a nice mountain breeze to keep the occupants cool. It was on such a fine day that we find the Son family, joined by the Ox-king, as they go about their daily routine.

Goku was taking some time to train, going through his katas with fluid, unbroken motions before he began a series of complex maneuvers against imaginary opponents. He knew that Piccolo was still out there likely plotting his next move, and he would have to make sure that he's prepared for such an encounter. The last fight was much too close for comfort, especially with the fate of the Earth hanging in the balance, so he made sure to keep pushing himself to the limit when he could.

Chi Chi was sitting next to her father a few yards away, taking full advantage of his massive shadow to keep herself cool. They'd been discussing her father's kingdom and the challenges he and her mother had been facing recently. Occasionally she'd turn her attention to Gohan, who was chasing leaves in the breeze, just to make sure he didn't wander too far or too close to Goku.

"So, without you there to take the throne, your mother and If have decided that the monarchy of the Ox-family is to be transformed into a republic. We're still independent from the rest of the nations, but we expect to keep the same accord with King Furry. Problem is getting everyone on board."

"What do you mean daddy? Shouldn't they be happy that they'll have a voice in how their country is ran?"

"You'd think so, but there are an overwhelming number of Conservatives who still prefer to defer all major decision making to a King or Queen. Our family has ruled that area for as long as anyone could remember. I suppose in some naïve way that the people who choose to stay under the Ox family thought that it would last forever."

Chi-chi frowned, "I can't say I blame them. Until I met Goku, I had no intention of leaving the kingdom. But once we were married, I realized that he had no intention of being a King. I've thought about just having him named King regardless so that we can continue the tradition, but once I had Gohan…"

Ox King nodded, "We understand. I remember how hard it was on you growing up a princess in a country where everyone walked on eggshells around you. That was a chaotic time for us, with the castle being on fire, and your mother on her world peace tour against the Red Ribbon army. You're doing your best for your family, and we're proud of you for that."

Chi Chi couldn't help but feel pleased as she leaned onto her father, "Thanks daddy." Turning her attention back to her son, Chi-Chi found the toddler chasing a small squirrel with glee as it scurried towards a tree. The rodent had no trouble evading the clumsy attempts before latching onto a tree and climbing out of reach, leaving Gohan to cry after it as he could not do the same.

The boy tried to climb, his arms failing to get him very fare as he managed to get up a bit before falling onto his bottom and causing him to cry in frustration, "Waaaaahhhhhhhhhh"

Chi Chi called out to her son in an attempt to sooth him, "Its ok Gohan, come to mommy!" Her voice didn't seem to have the desired effect, as instead the boy continued to cry as he started pressing against the tree. She tried a few more times, but when it became apparent that he was not going to budge on his own the mother moved to collect her child. She was stopped by her husband who had gently, yet firmly placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Goku, what are you—"

"Just hold on a bit, Gohan's about to do it again."

A frown crossed over her face. Goku had told her about two weeks ago that Gohan had used an incredible power when playing outside. One that left quite a hole in one of the thicker trees, but not a bruise on Gohan. Chi-Chi was focused on how he was put into the situation in the first place, so she wasn't really paying attention to the power, but now her eyes were wide as she witnessed something amazing.

Gohan, no longer wailing, was still pushing onto the tree with his hands with grunts of effort. Normally this would have been mundane, but she started to hear a snapping sound as the roots of the tree began to come up as the tree was forced to tip from some great strength. "Yaahhh!" Gohan gave one more push and soon the tree was in free fall, slamming onto the ground with a mighty boom that once again but Gohan on his backside and caused Chi-Chi to stumble.

Gohan seemed a bit confused at how he ended up on the ground, but seeing his mom looking at him, he smiled before clumsily bumbling over to her and hugging her legs.

Needless to say, Goku was estatic, "I told you Chi-Chi, Gohan is really strong! If I trained him he could even become stronger than me!"

Chi Chi flared his nostrils as she felt heat raise in her chest, "Absolutely not! Gohan doesn't need to grow up like either of us as a fighter. I told you already, don't want him getting involved with fights like you had with Piccolo. He's smart, he could be a great scholar and a respectable member of society."

Goku sighed, he'd had this conversation many different times but all with the same result. He was about to try again, but the Ox King beat him to it.

"I don't think that'll be possible Chi-Chi."

To say she was taken back was an understatement, "Daddy, what do you mean?"

The Ox King grinned as he approached Gohan and lifted him up, much to the child's delight, "Well that was Ox-power, a true sign of our royal blood in his veins."

Chi-Chi raised a brow, "That was Ox power? I didn't start to develop that until I was much older, and even then it never made me that strong."

"True, but you didn't really develop yours after training to fight in the World Martial arts tournament nearly three years ago. Gohan here seems to have it in spades just like my dad did."

Needless to say, Goku was confused, "Ox power? What kind of technique is that?"

Chi Chi was quick to fill him in, "I told you about it briefly a while ago remember? It's part of our inheritance, and the main reason our family was made rulers of the country. Our history tells us that back before the nations untied to come under one banner, every worthy monarch had an ability blessed to them by the old god. They were the peacekeepers, used to fight back the demons whose word hadn't separated from ours yet, but once the demons were banished, they became kings and queens. Our family is one of the few left that can still access that power. All the rest have vanished, either due to their line ending, or the power weakening to a point that it is no longer recognizable."

"Aw man, I'll bet those guys had some great fighting techniques. So, you guys have it too?"

Ox King just laughed as he continued to play with Gohan, "Well it comes about in a few ways. Ox body is easy to spot. We'll grow much larger and faster than other humans, just like I did, and we'll live longer than most as well."

"Ox Power though, is…hmm, I suppose it is just a more potent Ki. At least, that's as close as I can describe it to anything that you've seen. Ox power can cause dramatic increases of our physical feats, but it also effects our personalities as well. Shy and quite people can become fearless and proud. Why, you went through similar changes when you were a child Chi-Chi."

At that, the princess looked surprised, "I did? When?"

"All the time! When you were out among the subjects, you were so shy and cute, everyone loved you. But they also knew you had a bit of a temper. One time you took down a full-grown T-rex because it was scaring some cows that you were playing around with."

"I-I did? I remember the farmers thanking me for being there that day, and the dead dino, but I don't remember being the one to kill it."

"Oh, that's normal. At first Ox power can only be used instinctively, like when you're in a dangerous or stressful situation. My grandfather told me stories of my father's tantrums when he was a child, they never really remember any of them before puberty. But it can be trained! And once you're in control of Ox power, it can be accessed at any time!"

For a moment, Chi Chi and Goku watched as Gohan played with the Ox King. Both were digesting what they heard about Ox power. Both reached different conclusions.

Chi Chi was the first to speak, "We'll have to make sure he doesn't have a reason to use that power. I'm sure we can keep him safe and talk with him about it when he's older."

Goku didn't think that ideal, "Aw come on Chi Chi, you should let me train Gohan. We don't know what the future holds, and who knows, we might need his strength to help save the world."

"Absolutely not! My baby doesn't need to do anything to save the world and I won't let you put those ideas in his head. Fighting does not have to be everything!"

"But Chi-Chi I'm not asking it to be everything." He paused and grabbed her gently by the shoulders, "You remember how close I was to losing to King Piccolo, and how close Junior came besting me as well. I'm always going to do my best to face down any challenger, but one day there could be someone stronger than me—"

"There isn't anyone! You beat everyone and anyone who came to challenge you, Piccolo included!"

"I know Chi Chi, but who is to say that there won't be more? There are all kinds of fighters out there Chi Chi, and I can't always be there. What if Gohan needs to defend himself when he's going to school, or if there is someone that he cares about in trouble? Don't you want him to be able to take action?"

"There's a difference between defending himself and being a fighting fiend like you! You were awesome a child Goku, but as a mother I remember your exploits and I would never want that type of lifestyle for our son. If you train him, he'll probably be just like you, running of to face whatever threat comes up just because he can."

Goku smiled, "Well we can't know that yet. He can still study, just because I don't doesn't mean I don't think it's important. You can still have him study, it doesn't have to be all about fighting."

Chi Chi growled before finally relenting, "Ok Goku, you can train Gohan but only on the weekends! For the rest of the week he's going to study and live like a normal child, understood?"

"Alright! I'll take it for now. He's still small, but I can train him like grandpa trained me so that he won't be overworked."

"If you don't mind, I'll want to help too." Ox king brought the couples attention back to him, where they say a now tired Gohan curled up in his grandfather's arms on the verge of sleep. "I'll bring back some of the scrolls we have on bringing out Ox power. It's passed down from generation to generation, heck its technically his by birthright."

"Alright that's enough talk of my baby fighting. Hand him here dad, I'll put him to bed and get lunch started."

The sleeping toddler was transferred to his mother's arms without a care in the world. Having no idea that soon, his life would change forever.