Chapter 4

"DODGE!"

Gohan yelps as he sees Piccolo launch another blast at him. He quickly dives to the side, narrowly avoiding the attack. Goku just watches with an analytical eye, keeping track of Gohan's progress.

Gohan watches the big slug man as he suddenly runs at him. His mouth wide and quivering, he quickly scrambles up on to his feet. He pulls out the sword Piccolo gave him and prepares it.

Piccolo reaches the child and sends a chop motion at Gohan's neck. Gohan's eyes suddenly steel as he raises his sword, blocking the arm with the broad side of his sword. Then, he lowers his body and the sword. The sudden lack of resistance has Piccolo stumble just a bit.

Gohan uses this to his advantage, along with his small size, to quickly run between Piccolo's legs. Piccolo sees the child run past him, growling in annoyance. "You're supposed to fight, not run runt!"

Gohan just turns back, still running, and says "But you're too strong and I haven't made a plan yet. I need to run to buy time!"

Piccolo eyes him, then grunts. He then mumbles quietly "Smart kid." He then says loud enough for Gohan to hear "But that isn't an option with me."

Piccolo brings his arm back, then sends it forwards. The appendage stretches far beyond human limits, quickly closing the distance between Gohan and Piccolo's hand.

Gohan sees the arm coming and turns around to face it. He eyes the sharp claws, gulping slightly to himself. He raises his sword, then with a yell, brings it down. Piccolo watches with a small smirk on his face.

And then, Gohan stops. The hand completes its journey and grabs onto Gohan. Gohan yells in surprise as it pulls him back to Piccolo, depositing him in front of the green slug man.

Piccolo growls and says "What was that?! You could've prevented my attack!"

Gohan just looks up at Piccolo with wide eyes, some tears in his eyes. "I-I'm sorry M-Mr. Piccolo! I j-just froze!"

Piccolo looked ready to berate Gohan again when Goku walks over. With a small grin, he says "Be easy on him Piccolo! He still is only a kid. Blood and death isn't something he's accustomed to."

Piccolo just eyes the saiyan, then grunts. He turns away and says "I'm going to go train myself. Gohan, Goku's taking over." With that, Piccolo flies into the air, rocketing towards his favorite rock.

The two Son family members watch him go. Goku then grins widely and says "Hey Gohan! How about today I teach you the Kamehameha?"

Gohan turns to Goku with wide eyes, sparkling with hope. "Really?!" Goku nods with a big grin. Gohan grins even wider than his father, then jumps up with a cheer. "Yeah! I get to learn the Kamehameha!"

Goku laughs loudly as he sees his son jump around in joy. After Gohan calms down, Goku says "Alright Gohan, you see that mountain?"

Goku points over to one of the many rocky mountains outside of the forest they were taking residence in. Gohan nods, and Goku continues. "I want you to watch me. See how much you can learn from watching someone else." Gohan looks up at him with understanding, then nods. His father was freakishly good at copying what he can see. If Gohan had to bet, his dad wanted to see if Gohan could do it too.

Goku spreads his legs out into his normal fighting stance, cupping his hands in front of him. "Ka…"

He brings his arms back, shifting his hands to form a ball of air between them. "Me…"

Goku's eyes never shift from his target. They narrow slightly as he forces his energy into the space between his hands. "Ha…"

A bright ball of energy sparks into existence between Goku's hands. His hands tense, forcing the energy to stay in a ball shape. Bright, blue light flew out of the gaps in Goku's hands. "Me…"

Goku's eyes narrow even more as he makes one last calculation. Then, he thrusts his hands forwards with a yell. "HAAAAA!"

The ball of energy rockets forwards, expanding into a massive beam of blue energy. The attack continues to grow in size, going from the basketball sized ball of energy to a beam that dwarfed a two story house. The beam slams into the mountain, then instantly blows up. The entire mountain disintegrates into a cloud of dust, rock shrapnels raining down in front of them.

Goku breathes out, then smiles. He turns to Gohan and says "Well, what did you learn?"

Unlike most kids, Gohan was watching with rapt attention instead of going into complete awe. Gohan looks down, thinking, then says "Well, you made your ki into a ball next to you. And then, you brought it forwards rapidly, disrupting the ball and making it turn into a beam that explodes."

Goku grins widely and says "Wow! You really did catch a lot. Now, can you tell me why I say 'Kamehameha'?"

Gohan opens up his mouth, then closes it slightly. "I… um… Because… its cool?"

Goku chuckles lightly, ruffling Gohan's hair, much to the protest of Gohan. "Not quite, but it does help with that, huh?"

Goku raises a finger and says "I say the name because words have power."

Gohan tilts his head, suddenly confused. "Huh?"

Goku, patient as ever, says "Well… let me explain. You see, our ki is a form of spiritual energy. It keeps our souls alive so we can go to the afterlife. The reason we can control it is because we make a surplus of this energy, letting us use the surplus to make attacks and make ourselves much stronger than we are on our own. That's why you die if you use too much of your energy."

Gohan watches with intense focus, absorbing the energy like a sponge. Goku then says "So, when you form a technique, you name it. When you name it, your energy 'remembers' the name and automatically adds extra energy to make it stronger. That's why I say 'Kamehameha' when firing the Kamehameha. It makes it stronger than if I didn't."

Gohan's eye brows furrow in disbelief. "So… if I made a technique, I make it stronger by saying its name?" Goku nods with a grin. Gohan just looks down and says "I don't know whether to be disappointed or excited about this fact."

Goku opts to ignore the comments and says "Alright, how about you try it now. I'll guide you through it." Gohan nods and gets up, walking over to where Goku was once standing.

Goku kneels down next to Gohan and points to another mountain. "Try hitting that one, k?" Gohan nods, then breathes in. He breathes out, then steels his eyes.

He brings his hands in front of him, cupped just like his father. Goku watches with a critical eye, making sure Gohan didn't make any big mistakes. "So far so good."

Gohan calms himself, then says "Ka…" He brings his hand back, twisting it to form a ball of air. "Me…" Gohan's hand trembles slightly as he forces his ki energy into his hand. "Ha…" Goku's eyes narrow as he sees the ball of energy form in between Gohan's hands. "Me…" Gohan grits his teeth, then sends the attack forwards with a yell. "HAAA!"

The beam, albeit weaker and smaller than Goku's, produced devastating results. It rockets towards the mountain with extreme speeds. Goku watches as he sees it ready to collide with the mountain. Then, something unexpected happens.

The beam collides with the mountain, but doesn't blow up. Instead, it continues to push against the mountain, slowly breaking the massive rock into pieces. Goku's eyes widen immensely, and he turns to Gohan.

Gohan was gritting his teeth tightly, forcing his hands up. He watches as his attack doesn't blow up the mountain. He believes he didn't put enough energy into it. He forces more energy into the attack, pushing his arms forwards in the process. "HRAH!"

The beam suddenly doubles in size, gaining a huge surge of energy. The enlarged beam reaches the mountain, then explodes, showing similar results to Goku's blast.

Goku watches in awe, then turns to Gohan. His eyes widen even more as he sees Gohan swaying dangerously. Goku quickly kneels down, catching Gohan before he could fall.

Gohan blinks, looking up at Goku with tired eyes. "How did I do daddy?" Goku blinks in surprise, and then a small, proud smile appears on his face. "You did well Gohan. You did really well."

Gohan grins, and then his eyes flutter close. His breathing levels out, and the young hybrid falls into a dreamless sleep. Goku watches him with a smile, then stands up straight. He turns to the direction of their shelter and blasts off towards it. Gohan deserved the rest.

Chronoa closes the book with a sigh. "Gohan, so young, and yet so talented. It is nice to see him and Goku bond." She then smiles and says "We'll check in on Zamasu next chapter. Thanks for reading!"