Outside the Royal Palace of Sadal, the undeniable spirit of festivity was in the air. Already children and adults alike were gazing fondly upon and trying to snap pictures of the in-progress statue of the pure-hearted Android from Universe 7 who had saved two-thirds of the multiverse from erasure. Around the statue were a colorful array of tents, with workers dragging around tables and chairs into their appropriate places. In 3 days' time, these tents and tables would host a plethora of feasts and celebrations to commemorate the survival of Universe 6 and its Saiyan species.
Standing proudly on the upper balcony of his palace, Potat observed intently as the various attractions, stalls and games were assembled. As King, he wielded a charisma perfect for his role. On his head was a mat of black hair that started pointing upright at the right side of his head, with each thick lock becoming more bent and pointing further down as it went further to his left side. He had a long, bushy beard that reached all the way down to his pectoral region, coupled with sharp, emerald eyes that could impose respect and deference on an entire room without so much as saying a word. His muscular body was protected by thin, white armor with bright orange pointed shoulder guards and a stylized insignia of a tiger's head on his heart. His torso and below was covered by a purple robe, symboling his royal position. As he watched the scene down below, he was interrupted by a tap on his shoulder.
"Lord Potat," spoke the red-caped, mustached advisor that had caught the King's attention, "Commander Cabba has requested an audience with you." "Good," replied the King, "tell him I will be heading down to my office right away." At this command, the advisor bowed and sprinted out of the room.
As Potat carried a firm stride down the hall to his office, he passed by the glass windows of one of the large training rooms. A peek inside and the rumbling window revealed two foot soldiers flying and clashing through the room as Super Saiyans. The two soldiers spotted Potat glancing through the window and temporarily ceased their spar, landed on the floor and saluted him. The wise King saluted back before continuing his walk. That Cabba's Super Saiyan training is truly something, he thought to himself. When I have more time, I need to get him to teach me how to do it, too!
He finally stopped at the end of the sky blue hallway, with the door to his office at the very right side. Opening the door revealed his desk with stacks of paperwork on top of it and, sitting with his arms rested on his small, light purple robe in front of this desk, Cabba. The youthful commander jolted up from his chair, shaking the King's hand in place of a salute before sitting back down. Potat took his seat on a comfortable, leather moving chair behind his wooden desk. Cabba wasted no time beginning his diatribe.
"First off, as you may have seen on your way here, the training of the Super Saiyan Squadron is going great. It seems to be quite easy to obtain the form if your power level is high enough."
"However, that is not the main reason why I am here. During the Tournament of Power, I made two key developments that could make our army even stronger. First off, I was able to discover how to obtain the level beyond Super Saiyan, otherwise known as Super Saiyan 2. It appears that in order to do so, you need to undergo a traumatic or life-threatening experience while already in your Super Saiyan state. I remain unsure as to how we can manage to train an army of 2nd level Super Saiyan fighters without forcing them to undergo stressful traumatic experiences like this, but just know that it is possible." To accentuate his point, Cabba transformed into a state resembling Super Saiyan, only with higher, thinner bangs and yellow lightning engulfing him. He quickly powered down after this; he could tell by the look on the commander-in-chief's face that he felt the power too despite not having his scouter on him.
"In addition, while I was helping recruit fighters for our team in the Tournament of Power, I met with two particularly exceptional girls. They are both part of a group of bandits I've been chasing for quite some time now. The first girl is named Caulifla; as the leader of the group, she is a prodigy who has learned both currently known Super Saiyan transformations with little effort, and is currently training to access a so-called Super Saiyan 3."
Potat stopped Cabba to think for a bit. Stroking his beard, he wondered, Caulifla... ...Didn't I already send the chief of police after her? What the hell was that airhead doing, leaving the work to Cabba? Gah, I'm going to have to speak with him after this. He then gestured Cabba to continue.
"But she's not even the best one. In her clan there's a girl by the name of Kale. She possesses a great friendship with Caulifla, to the point where they consider each other sisters. At first she seems frail and unassuming, but if she feels like Caulifla is endangered or that she has let her down somehow, she attains this... ...well, let's call it a 'mutation'..."
At this description, Potat sat further upright and interjected. "A mutatation you say? You mean some form of Super Saiyan, right?"
"Well, not exactly." Cabba replied. "Truth be told, I'm not even entirely sure if it's related to it. Like Super Saiyan, the user's hair sticks up and their power expands dramatically. However, Kale's hair becomes bright green rather than gold, and the muscle mass increase is significantly larger than normal. Instead of emerald eyes, they turn completely white. Until recently, she would completely lose control of herself upon transforming and would have to be calmed down; whether via friendly persuasion or by force. However, she has recently attained a slimmer, more controlled version of the form, where she..."
Cabba suddenly stopped, noticing Potat's change in mood. What was once a friendly smile had slowly morphed into a stern, neutral expression as Cabba had described Kale's unusual transformation. His eyes seemed less focused, as if he was spacing out. But deep down, Cabba sensed something else. Within the folds of the aging King's face and the clusters of scratches and small scars from bygone battles, he could distinguish a sense of unease.
For the next 30 seconds or so, Cabba tried to snap Potat back to attention. But the king was preoccupied with a newfound cluster of emotions with himself. Emotions that dated back to a memory he hadn't thought of for decades...
"Class is dismissed!"
At this announcement, a cluster of children wearing all manner of noble garb stormed out of the Sadal Royal Academy's biology lab, among them a 14-year-old Potat. While the rest hurried to the dining hall, he walked down the southern part of the hallway. In his left hand was a paper bag containing his lunch, and in the right one a book he had just finished reading about the history of the long-defunct Namekian slave trade, which he was going to turn in to the library in exchange for another book. If he wanted to be King some day, he figured, he needed as much knowledge and wisdom as he had strength.
Potat swung open the wooden doors of the library and slid his book into the "Returns" slot. He then marched down to the shelves in the back of the room, wasting no time scanning them for a new volume. The Royal Academy's library was one of the most celebrated parts of the school, with their books being not only being in tremendous supply and variety, but also kept in pristine condition and carefully sorted. So Potat was stunned to find a dusty, ripped-up book of children's fables between two autiobiographies from famous Saiyan military personnel. Dusting off the book and staring at the torn leather cover depicting a faded, hand-painted scene from the classic tale "The Fox and the Tree of Might", he wondered whether to hand the book back to one of the librarians or to just toss it into the garbage. But something compelled him to not do either. Perhaps it wouldn't hurt to just skim through it, Potat thought to himself. And so he did, taking care not to tear any of the yellowed pages further as he flipped through a variety of stories, some of which he remembered from his early childhood, and others which he did not.
Eventually, after reaching around the last third of the book, Potat stumbled upon an unusual page. First off, compared to the other pages, this one was in great condition, having zero signs of page yellowing or paint fading. At the top of this page was a large caption that read "The Violent Demon, Juuze". There was only a single drawing on this page right above the title, depicting an exaggeratedly muscular man with thick, flowing emerald hair and a long red robe around his waist. Compared to the other illustrations in the book, this one was less detailed, with the edges of the illustration being more jagged and inprecise. To top it all off, the story wasn't listed anywhere in the storybook's table of contents. Potat was more curious than offput, and he began to read through the messy, hurriedly-scrawled text:
This is the earthly form of the Demon known as Juuze.
His Origin is unknown. All that is known is that he feeds on blood; more specifically the blood of Saiyans.
Every 10,000 years, he comes to the surface world to satisfy his hunger. He takes control of one chosen newborn, who he uses as his vessel.
The victim will be born with a higher-than-normal battle power, but will have a much slower growth rate. As they advance through their formative years, they will suffer from further symptoms, including stifled development of social skills and being provoked easily.
Once the victim reaches their 20th birthday, that is when Juuze prepares to strike. The next time they should be angered for any reason, whether it be feelings of betrayal, danger or sadness, no matter how insignificant those emotions are, they will open a gateway for Juuze to strike the victim's very Soul and fully take them over. Once this happens, the victim will take a form similar to the drawing seen above. From there, they will enter a rampage where they will kill as many Saiyans as possible. Once Juuze has had its appetite satisfied, he will exit the victim. This process is often too much for them, causing them to implode on themselves.
If you see a Saiyan possessed by Juuze, your only two options are to calm them down, either by persuasion or by force. It is possible to control a lesser version of the Demon's power, but few have succeeded in this endeavor.
The Demon shall reappear at Age 761.
After reading this passage, Potat's confusion and curiousity turned into disappointment. Oh brother, another one of these insane superstitions, he thought to himself. Upon handing the book back to one of the librarians and explaining its condition and what he had read, he shuffled back to a desk with one of the autobiographies that had been near it, slurping down some soup. His reading that day was occasionally interrupted by his thoughts on the strange book: Why was that particular page in such good condition? Where there records of any cults or people who believed in this so-called "Juuze?" These questions quickly subsided over the following days as Potat got busier with studying for end-of-year exams and projects.
After Cabba tapped him on the shoulder a few times, Potat left his period of introspection. Before the commander could interrogate him on that lapse in attention, Potat gave a simple request: "I would like to visit Caulifla and Kale, if that's OK with you." Cabba's air of suspicion faded away as he replied with an excited "Of course! I'm sure you'll love them." Potat then dismissed him with a salute as Cabba left his office.
The armored, orange-haired thug jogged down to the main room of the base. Carrying two massive cooked wings in his hands, he panted before placing the wings on Caulifla and Kale's plates. Before Kale could even begin to cut the meat with her silverware, her proverbial sister had already gobbled up half of her serving. "The meat's pretty good," she grumbled while chewing "albeit a bit too chewy." Not even a second after swallowing, she eagerly wolfed down the other half of the wing, leaving mere crumbs on the plate. By this point, Kale had only managed to eat a single piece of meat, and was just reaching to cut another piece. She was again interrupted, this time by rumbling. The entire room, furniture and silverware included, shook up and down as Caulifla's minions ran and looked around in confusion. Suddenly, the rumbling stopped, replaced by an amplified shout.
"This is the Sadal Defense Force! Anyone and everyone inside this building is to come out immediately!"
At this call, Caulifla and Kale huddled up with the rest of their goons, making sure they remembered their escape plan should an arrest be attempted. Walking behind their spiky-haired leader, Caulifla's gang came out of the base with their hands raised in the air, facing them a large blue hovering tank with two large groups of soldiers flanking either side of it. Suddenly, another, more familiar voice exclaimed "You can put your hands down!". Caulifla turned to see Cabba on the deck of the tank, standing next to a large bearded man she did not recognize. Breathing a sigh of relief, she and her comrades lowered their arms. The man standing beside Cabba floated down and walked up to her. Reaching a hand out, he proclaimed "Greetings, madam. I am King Potat of Sadal. It is a pleasure to meet you. I am here to inquire with you about a potential military opportunity." At this statement, Caulifla scoffed. "Quite your fancy talk! I'm not interested in this macho soldier stuff."
Potat nodded in acceptance. "Very well. You aren't the only one I came here to speak with, anyway." He then turned to see the darker-skinned girl with a red tanktop and skirt standing right behind Caulifla. "You. Are you Kale?" She nodded her head up and down. "Pleased to meet you! Would you mind coming a little closer so we can see you better?" Kale slowly walked towards Potat, who was now standing right in front of the small army. She was more socially confident than she used to be, but the sight of all these people watching her still got her a bit nervous. Eventually, she reached her destination, and Potat spoke up again. "Madam, Cabba has told me about your unique transformation. I would like to see it."
"Oh, uh... ...sure, I can do that. The controlled or uncontrolled version?"
"The controlled version please."
Dangit!, Kale thought to herself. I haven't been practicing controlling my transformation. I'm not sure if I can do it this time...
"Very well. Be warned, I haven't been practicing it, so please stand back, this may get a little bumpy..."
At the back of the line, two soldiers standing next to each other in formation exchanged confused glances. "Why are our King and Commander Cabba wasting their time with these thugs?" The brown-haired one asked. His friend, a slightly more muscular man with a mustache, shook his head. "Don't underestimate them, Daiko. Caulifla's gang has been a thorn in the side of law enforcement for ages. Cabba even recruited them for the Tournament of Power." "Really? They both look like pipsqueaks." Daiko replied. His comrade began "I may not know their true power, but they are pretty cute..."
The soldiers' train of thought was interrupted by a sudden tremor.
The small army watched on as Kale spread her legs and balled her hands into fists. As the ground shook and cracked and the girl's muscles expanded and convulsed, she was coated in a sickly green translucent aura. Her once docile black eyes morphed into a wild shade of gold. The braid that kept Kale's hair in a ponytail was engulfed by a green blaze, allowing every lock of hair to flow freely upward, flashing emerald green every other second. While her power continued to rise and rise, Kale gritted her teeth, using every fraction of her willpower to keep the full raging power of her form from spilling out in an uncontrollable rampage. Eventually, after her arms and legs had nearly tripled in size, the aura sizzled away, leaving the girl in her half-transformed state, her shoulders oozing smoke. Taking a deep breath, she slowly but steadily shrunk down her muscles back to a smaller, yet still fearsome size. Finally, she loosened control slightly, letting her hair permanently take on that shiny green color that had flashed earlier, her body now emanating a more natural Super Saiyan aura.
Upon attaining her controlled Super Saiyan form, Kale immediately jumped for joy. Upon opening her eyes again, she saw the wall of soldiers staring at her form, mouthes agape and with sweat on their brow. A select few of them had pieces of colored glass broken off from their scouters at their feet. "I wouldn't put much stock in their reaction" said Potat, "they're just unfamiliar with your form, that's all."
"You have great talent, Kale. Some might say otherwise, but I think it could be put to great use. Would you like to join the Defense Force?"
Kale gave a shaky response. "Sure, I could give it a try... ...but I'm not sure about abandoning sis...". Her voice was deeper for sure, but tonally it was indistinguishable from the awkward, lanky girl she was prior. She rushed over to her lifelong friend, softly speaking to her.
"Sis, I don't know if I can handle being part of the Sadal Defense Force on my own. I really wanna, but..."
"Oh, stop it Kale!" replied Caulifla. "I think it's better for you to be out and about rather than being stuck in some groggy den with a bunch of sweaty knuckleheads anyway. Besides, you can always come visit me if you want."
"I guess you're right, but it's just that-"
"Look, if you're getting all worried that people will get freaked out by your Super Saiyan form, don't worry about it. Just see it as a challenge: You may scare them off at first, but you're gonna dissuade their fears by doing the best you can, right Kale?!"
This talk was enough to elate the girl's spirits. Still in her transformed state, she ran back to Potat, excitedly proclaiming her acceptance. She then rushed over to give Cabba a big bear hug. While the young commander blushed, the very same soldiers who not even a minute ago were horrified by Kale's transformation and readying their weapons were now struggling to restrain laughter at the scene before them. As Cabba climbed back up to the deck of the tank with Kale along with the soldiers preparing to leave, Caulifla had one final exchange with him:
"Hey! Just because you're buddies with Kale doesn't mean my gang's gonna stop our ways! You better believe we're still gonna be looting and shooting just like old times!"
"In that case, I'm gonna have to work harder to stop you!"
"I'd like to see you try, little man!"
With that exchange over, Caulifla and the remaining gang members walked back into their den as Potat's army marched off.