Blonde Launch, Chiaotzu, Bulma, and Dende sat on lawn chairs outside of the Son family residence, overlooking the grassland below. There, a massive dome stood alone, the giant letter C printed on its side confirming that it was owned by Capsule Corporation. Even from their high vantage point and through the muffling of the dome's walls, they could still vaguely hear the continuous sound of blows being exchanged, as they had for quite some time. Launch sat with a can of soda in her hand, which Chi Chi had insisted upon after Launch asked where she kept her alcohol. Chiaotzu, meanwhile, was perfectly content with a small glass of milk, while Dende drank from a glass of water, concerned at how long it had been since Piccolo and Tien had asked for his services. Before long, Chi Chi emerged with a plate of food, a fruit salad for Chiaotzu and roasted fish for Launch and Bulma.
"Ah, sweet! Thank you, Chi Chi!" Chiaotzu said, floating his plate over to him with his telekinesis.
"Yeah, thanks, Chi," Launch said, grabbing her fish and chewing off a piece of it.
"No problem," Chi Chi said, slightly bothered by Launch refusing to use any utensils. She glanced down at the dome, noticing that the faint sounds of combat had not ceased since she had last been out with their drinks. "My word, they're still at it?"
"Yup. Three whole hours. They've just been fighting each other nonstop," Chiaotzu confirmed. "Haven't even taken more than a second to rest."
"It's honestly pretty fascinating to see just how long they've been able to last," Bulma added, while Dende regarded the dome with a pondering look.
"I'm still wondering what their motivations are for all of this. I mean, why go to such extraordinary lengths, pushing themselves to the breaking point and beyond, refusing any and all assistance until to do otherwise would mean death?"
"Goku," Launch answered immediately.
"Goku."
"Goku."
"They both want to beat Goku," Chiaotzu said.
"...Naturally," Dende responded dryly, slightly exasperated.
"The real question is whether all of this could help them do it," Bulma said. "I mean, isn't Goku, like, a thousand times stronger than them now? I'm not sure how training under three hundred times Earth's gravity is going to make up for that."
"Eh, I dunno. Tien's ki feels a lot stronger than it did yesterday, and they only started using the chamber today," Chiaotzu chimed in. "I mean, I got a fair bit stronger just walking around for a week under ten times Earth gravity. Sparring like that under what will eventually be three hundred times Earth gravity would have to lead to a bigger improvement."
"True..." Bulma said, thinking it over before shrugging. "Well, in any event, I think I've been here long enough to ascertain that the chamber isn't going to explode, shut down, or collapse under its own gravity and form a black hole that sucks up everything in a fifty mile radius." She calmly took her fish and got up from her chair, heading towards a clear open area where she could place her helicopter capsule. "Make sure those two know to clean off the solar panels every once and awhile, if they want to keep punching each other," she said jokingly. Launch chuckled before an idea came to her head.
"Say, Bulma, you got any plans tonight?" she asked, surprising Bulma.
"Uh, not exactly. I was thinking I should probably go home and take something in order to sleep, since ever since I took this experimental drug I developed a few days ago, I kind of...don't, anymore. But, you know, I can do that whenever, really. That's...kind of the problem." She paused when everyone else looked at her with either concern, complete confusion, or both. "Did, uh, did you want to do something?"
Launch shrugged. "Eh, I dunno. It's gotten kinda boring just sitting around here," Launch said, taking a bite out of her fish. "I know some pretty good clubs down in Ginger Town. Never really been to any of them with friends before."
Bulma appeared somewhat uncertain. "Well, that sounds fun, but Ginger Town? That's hours away in my helicopter capsule! Hardly anyone would be there by the time we arrived!"
"Not necessarily," Launch replied. "I know somebody here who has a faster ride available." She looked directly at Chi Chi, who began to fidget slightly.
"I, uh, I'm not sure I understand."
"That flying cloud Goku's got listens to you, doesn't it?" Launch asked, to which Chi Chi became a bit more nervous.
"Well, yes, but-"
"Oh, I gotcha! Kintoun is much faster than any of my vehicles. It could get us to Ginger Town in an hour, maybe less!"
"And Chi here can be our driver. Or...flier? Ah, whatever, you know what I meant," Launch finished, leaving Chi Chi conflicted. She chuckled, a bead of sweat forming on the side of her face.
"Well, it sounds like a delightful way to spend the evening, but I'm afraid I won't be able to join you two. I'll call Kintoun down and instruct it to take you there."
"Aw, come on, Chi Chi!" Bulma said. "We've never really taken the time to just hang out together as friends before."
"Besides, it's been, like, a whole month since you were last out of the house," Launch added. "You should feel free to go out every so often."
Chi Chi continued to look unsure, trying to explain her feelings on the matter, until Chiaotzu decided to interject.
"I can stay and look after Gohan for you, Chi Chi," Chiaotzu said. "And I'll make sure nobody bothers him while you're gone."
Chi Chi looked at Chiaotzu for a moment before glancing towards Gohan's room, where she knew he was still continuing to work on his homework. She sighed and turned towards the other women.
"I suppose going out for one night couldn't hurt," she said, to which Bulma cheered.
"Aw, yeah, girls' night! Let's do it!" Launch and Chi Chi chuckled before the latter let out a sharp whistle.
"KINTOUN!" she shouted at the top of her lungs. For a few seconds, nothing happened, but eventually, the flying cloud descended from its customary resting position miles above the Son family residence, hovering above the grass in front of Chi Chi as if it were expecting something. "Wait here for now, Kintoun," she said, patting the cloud gently. "I'll be right back." The cloud did a small somersault, almost as if it were happy about the small gesture of affection, while Chi Chi walked back into the house. After taking a right, she walked down the hall until she came upon the door to Gohan's room, and knocked gently.
"Gohan?" she said through the door.
"Yes, mom?" he said back, almost by rote.
"I'm going to be gone for awhile. I...I might not get back in time to tuck you in, but Chiaotzu's offered to stay and watch you." She paused, waiting for a reaction. "Is that okay?"
"Mhm," Gohan said simply. From what Chi Chi could hear through the door, it sounded like he was still hard at work on all of the homework that she had assigned him, as punishment for sneaking onto the Namekian spaceship. Just as he had been the previous night. And the night before that.
"Alright," she said after a second. "I'll see you soon! ...Don't push yourself too hard. Okay?"
"Mhm," was all she heard in response. She stood in the doorway for a couple seconds before taking a deep breath and walking back outside to find a curious argument taking place.
"Honey, I hate to break it to you, but you are not pure of heart," Launch said, amused. Bulma, meanwhile, was adamant.
"Ah, come on! This thing might not have let me on before, but that was when I was still a dumb teenager! I mean, hell, I almost died like a dozen times trying to find the Dragon Balls just so I could wish for a hot boyfriend! I think I've become a lot more mature and selfless since then, and if this cloud is as smart as I think it is, it'll recognize that."
Dende and Launch looked at her quizzically, neither of them particularly willing to trust that assumption. For his part, Chiaotzu giggled.
"Oh, this is gonna be good," he said.
"Watch me!" Bulma retorted, irritated by the group's lack of faith. She took a step back and turned away from the cloud with her arms outstretched before allowing herself to fall backwards...and directly through the cloud, landing hard on the grass below. Chiaotzu and the other onlookers laughed as Bulma angrily attempted to swat at the cloud to no success. "Oh, screw you too, you over-sized chunk of cotton candy!" she said as the cloud tilted slightly, in a rather annoyed manner. Chi Chi chuckled as well, finding the situation to be a welcome dose of levity.
"Ooh, hold on, let me try!" Chiaotzu said, floating up towards the cloud excitedly. Bulma picked herself up and dusted herself off, chuckling all the while.
"Ah, right, I'm sure this overly sanctimonious, holier-than-thou puff of smoke will be perfectly fine with-" she said, seconds before her jaw fell as Chiaotzu sat snugly on the cloud.
"Oh, wow, this is surprisingly comfortable," he said, shifting around on the surface as Bulma stammered, trying to figure out just how this was possible.
"But...but...but he literally trained to kill people! For money!" she cried out, utterly confused.
"I guess Kintoun works in mysterious ways," Chiaotzu remarked before floating off, leaving Bulma irritated. Chi Chi sighed before taking a step towards Bulma.
"I could try towing one of your vehicle capsules along, if you'd like," she said kindly, to which Bulma scoffed.
"I'll pass on that, although I appreciate the offer. Besides, as if I'll admit defeat to the arbitrary rules of some heavenly aerosol! Let me see here..." She pulled out her capsule container and rummaged through its contents, meticulously organized by numerical order. "Aha! Here it is!" She pulled out a capsule labeled "576," and opened it, releasing a small watch-like device in a puff of smoke. The others looked at it with confusion, not sure what it was, with the exception of Launch.
"Hang on, is that-?"
"Mhm! A new and improved Micro Band! I decided to revisit the concept a few years ago, and worked out some issues with the original design."
"Micro Band? What is she talking about?" Dende asked.
"Ah, it was some old doodad Bulma built years ago that shrinks the person wearing it. She gave it to Roshi in exchange for some submarine he had lying around," Launch explained. "He kept suggesting that Blue should take a bath while we lived at Kame House, but after I realized what his game was..." Launch laughed as she reflected on the memory. "Ah, hell, the look on his face after I riddled him full of bullet wounds! I will cherish that image for as long as I live."
"...Right," Bulma said, slightly unsettled. "Anyway, let's go!" She pushed a button on the device and almost instantly shrunk down to the size of a mouse. Chi Chi took a second, processing everything, before bending over in order to offer her hand, which Bulma jumped onto before Chi Chi closed it, making sure to keep a good grip on her lest she get blown away.
"What about you, Launch? I can't imagine that you're very pure of heart, at least not by Kintoun's standards," Chi Chi inquired, to which Launch simply chuckled.
"Ah, don't worry. I've got that covered." As she spoke, she glanced around the grassy field until she found what she was looking for: a dandelion. Quickly plucking it, she put it up to her nose and took a deep breath, finding herself unable to resist an incoming sneeze. "Ah...ah...ACHOO!" she cried out, instantly transforming into her Blue counterpart. She looked around for a second, as if trying to remember where she was and what she was doing, before the memory ultimately came to her. She ran up to Kintoun and hoisted herself aboard, wrapping her arms around Chi Chi's waist and fitting snugly on the cloud's surface. With the other two secured, Chi Chi readied herself for take off.
"Alright, Kintoun: take us to Ginger Town!"
Without wasting a second, the cloud took off at top speed, startling the three of them as they soared into the late afternoon sky, leaving Dende and Chiaotzu alone. For a while, neither of them spoke, unsure what a good conversational topic would be without the others to bounce off of. Eventually, Chiaotzu just said the first thing that came to mind.
"So...immortality, huh? Everyone seems to want it, but is it, uh, all it's cracked up to be?"
Dende just kinda looked at him for some time, not quite sure how to respond. Were he to voice his true feelings on the subject, it would undoubtedly be off-putting. And yet, the longer they stood there in silence, the more awkward the situation would become. No sooner had the silence finally become so unbearable that answering Chiaotzu's question was preferable to Dende than he was saved by outside circumstances. The sounds of combat below suddenly stopped, and Dende stood up straight, hearing something in his mind and looking towards the dome worriedly just as Chiaotzu felt a rather significant decrease in Tien's ki signature.
"Oh, no. I, uh, I have to take care of this," he said before flying off towards the dome, leaving Chiaotzu alone. He looked around for a moment, unsure what to make of Dende's evasiveness before his gaze settled on the house.
"Alright, I guess I'll, uh, go inside now," he said, with nobody else listening.
Once he was done healing Tien's injuries, Dende only needed to take one look at the two warriors, Tien barely able to stand while Piccolo stood with his arms crossed, before he made a decision.
"Okay, you two are taking a break. Immediately."
Dende crossed his arms as Piccolo and Tien looked at him with annoyance. Neither of them wished to delay their training any longer than was absolutely necessary.
"Nonsense," Piccolo retorted. "I haven't been injured to a degree which my regeneration could not easily repair."
"Maybe you weren't, but Tien here had four cracked ribs, a sprained ankle, and massive internal bleeding. If I hadn't gotten here when I did, he could have died."
"But I didn't," Tien replied. "That's what you're here to prevent, correct?"
Dende scoffed. "You're not Saiyans. There's no reason for you to be pushing yourselves this hard, and just because I agreed to heal you two whenever you needed it doesn't mean that I'm going to encourage that."
Tien sighed. "Is it not enough that we pledge to be more careful in the future?"
Dende shook his head. "Nope. It seems clear to me that you two believe my healing abilities give you free reign to be as reckless as you want, reassured by the fact that I can repair almost any damage that wouldn't kill you instantly. It is equally clear that some limits must be put into place."
Piccolo looked at Dende, unconvinced. "You wouldn't abstain from healing us when necessary."
Dende nodded, conceding the point. "True, but, as I learned while talking to Tsuno the other day, members of the Dragon Clan with healing abilities were capable of selectively healing others' injuries." Dende smirked as Tien and Piccolo understood his proposal. "The next time either of you injure yourselves to the point that you are near death, I'll just stabilize you and repair anything which could easily worsen. After that, your recovery will be entirely up...to you." Piccolo and Tien were silent, to Dende's amusement. "I'm sure you two would much rather use that time to train, as opposed to simply laying around doing nothing. Particularly with Krillin, Yamcha, and Master Roshi all coming back to Earth sooner or later, after months of training with this King Kai person? And that's not even mentioning how strong Goku has become." The two warriors continued to remain silent, unable to counter Dende's argument, and Dende couldn't resist leaving one last comment to add on to their embarrassment. "But, then again, what do I know? I'm just a child, after all. A child who also happens to be the only person in the known universe who can touch someone and repair broken ribs in a matter of seconds instead of a matter of weeks."
"Enough!" Piccolo barked. "You've made your point."
Dende grinned. "I know I have." In a second, he dropped his carefree expression and became deadly serious once more. "Now, you two are going to rest for at least thirty minutes. Tien, you are going to eat a full meal during that time. And throughout the rest of the day, you two are not going to spar with each other."
"What?!"
"But-"
"No buts!" Dende said, borrowing from what he knew of Earth expressions. "You're free to do whatever you'd like on your own, as long as you're not pushing yourselves too hard. However, I don't want you two sparring with each other today. Understood?"
Tien and Piccolo glanced at each other, both acutely aware of their own humiliation. "Understood," they said in unison, evidently displeased.
"Excellent," Dende replied. "Be sure to heed my instructions in the event you require my talents again this evening."
"We will," Piccolo confirmed, before Dende exited the gravity chamber and took off towards the Son family residence, leaving Piccolo to hit the button to the door with a kiai, causing it to seal itself as the gravity generator resumed producing a field equivalent to five times Earth gravity. Tien winced at the familiar sensation of pressure, but noticed that it had gotten fairly more tolerable now that all of his injuries had been healed. With a minor degree of effort, Tien walked over to the generator's control panel and shut it off before inputting a series of commands. Once this was done, Tien moved towards a panel in the wall and pushed a circular red button, causing it to push outwards and reveal a compartment containing food, water, and other supplies which Tien had prepared for the day's training. Pulling out a brown paper bag with his name written on it, Tien then picked up a water bottle and tossed it to Piccolo, who caught it faster than he could see. As Tien moved to set up a space for his sandwich, Piccolo looked at the bottle in his hand with a mixture of indecision and annoyance.
"Young Dende is right, Piccolo. It is important to rest every so often."
Piccolo scoffed. "This coming from a man who was days away from dying of old age."
Kami chuckled. "In this case, both your elders and the youth are in agreement," he quipped, worsening Piccolo's mood. Still, he could admit when he had been beaten in the realm of logic. He swiftly opened the water bottle and downed its contents before vaporizing the empty container with a small burst of ki and joining Tien on the floor of the chamber. Upon sitting down, Piccolo noticed Tien's meal, a dish of homemade jiaozi, as well as the paper bag, which displayed Tien's name written in pen and surrounded by small hearts.
"That...changeling woman, Launch, she made this for you?" he asked plainly, causing Tien to look at Piccolo with confusion.
"'Changeling?'" he asked, a hint of amusement in his voice, although Piccolo didn't understand why.
"She changes form, does she not?"
"I...suppose that's one way to describe what she does, yes," Tien responded. "Her appearance and personality changes between two distinct individuals whenever she sneezes."
Piccolo nodded slowly, having seen both of her distinct forms on several occasions, but only recently putting together that they were in fact the same person. "I'm assuming the blue-haired one is the one who prepared your meal."
Tien suddenly assumed a serious expression. Had he been speaking to someone like Krillin or Yamcha, they would've quickly realized that his seriousness was exaggerated on purpose. However, as Piccolo did not know him as well, he became slightly off-put, wondering what he had done to upset Tien.
"Under what basis did you draw that conclusion?" he asked, as if he were offended. "Is it so unfathomable that Blonde Launch could have prepared a dish as excellent as this? What is it about Blue Launch that led you to believe she made it, despite only speaking to her once?"
Faced with Tien's supposed irritation, Piccolo was left even more uncomfortable, and struggled to respond in an attempt to justify his thought process. "Um, well, I had simply thought that, uh...what knowledge I have of both personalities led me to conclude that...um..." Piccolo found himself sweating slightly, and felt...embarrassed. It was a rare emotion for him, one that never failed to make him uncomfortable. To his surprise, however, Tien's anger seemed to dissipate instantly, and in a flash he was...chuckling. Piccolo was even more confused than ever.
"Forgive me," Tien said. "My attempt at a joke." Understanding dawned in Piccolo's eyes just as Kami began chuckling in his mind, which only served to irritate and embarrass him further. "Blonde Launch suggested that I should try and further develop my sense of humor. What do you think?"
Piccolo grumbled. "She's not the only one who thinks it could use some work," he said grumpily, which strangely served to make Tien chuckle even more along with Kami. "What?" he said to both, causing Tien to smile slightly.
"You made a joke," he explained, to which Piccolo cocked his head.
"I...I did?"
"Well...kind of," Tien conceded.
"Bit dry, but you're getting there," Kami added.
"...Huh," was all Piccolo could say.
For several minutes, nothing more was said, until at last Piccolo, acting on impulse, decided to break the silence.
"You've improved a great deal in a very short period of time," Piccolo said, causing Tien to look up.
"Thanks," he said simply before continuing his meal.
"That 'Max Power' technique is quite impressive. I must admit, after I had successfully sorted through all of Kami's memories, I had debated devoting time towards mastering the technique myself."
Tien murmured slightly as he ate. "Why didn't you?" he asked.
"It seemed that, even with Kami's refinement, the loss of speed and stamina outweighed the raw power increase the technique offered. After that, I was either more than or not nearly strong enough for the technique's use to make much of a difference, especially considering such drawbacks."
Tien mulled over Piccolo's words, until an idea occurred to him. "If you don't mind my asking, have you ever considered using that gigantification technique again? The one you used when you first fought Goku at the tournament?"
Piccolo looked at Tien quizzically, not sure what he was getting at. "Well...no. You were there, surely you must have observed that it didn't increase my power at all outside of raw physical strength. Not to mention the massive increase in size left me an easy target of Goku's attacks."
"But at the same time, your speed didn't decrease at all, in spite of your increased size."
"True, although I fail to see...the relevance..." Piccolo said, starting to piece together what Tien was thinking.
"The primary drawback of the Max Power technique is the massive increase in muscle mass that accompanies the infusion of ki into the body. This ultimately hampers the user's movement and causes a great deal of strain, making it difficult to maintain for extended periods," Tien explained. Piccolo nodded, aware of all of this through his access to Kami's memories. "For humans like me, a lot of that strain comes down to simple biological limitations. Our bodies simply can't sustain such a massive increase in muscle mass for very long. In Chiaotzu's case, he couldn't even sustain it at all, at least not without almost hurting himself in the process."
"And you believe that my ability to increase my size could allow me to make greater use of the Max Power technique than you have been able to?"
Tien shrugged as he finished his jiaozi. "Your physiology doesn't seem to be bound to the same limits as me and the others. It's worth a shot."
Piccolo pondered the matter for a moment before making a decision. "Alright. Then I shall attempt to test your hypothesis." He got up off of the floor and walked to the center of the chamber, Tien quickly following suit.
"You think you can pull off the technique based on what you know from your memories?" he asked, to which Piccolo nodded.
"It shouldn't be too difficult," he said, preparing himself for the attempt while Tien looked on with interest, wondering whether his idea would produce any results. After taking a few deep breaths to center himself, Piccolo began to slowly grow in size, surpassing eight feet tall, then nine, then ten, his width growing proportionally to his height such that he covered a much larger portion of the room than he had previously.
"Remember, the chamber's only about fifteen feet tall," Tien cautioned.
"I am aware," Piccolo said, his voice slightly louder and deeper as a result of the size increase. "Now, then..." Piccolo grunted in exertion as he began to pump additional ki into his more massive frame, his muscles bulging out uniformly throughout his body, yet less so than when Tien and the others utilized the Max Power technique. He threw out a couple of jabs at the air, and smirked with satisfaction. Although he did feel encumbered compared to when he was normal size, and the strain of the transformation certainly didn't help with the strain of growing, Piccolo could easily tell that neither issue was quite as pronounced as they were when Tien had used the technique during their earlier sparring. And, most significantly, both Piccolo and Tien could tell that the power increase Piccolo could pull off at that size was greater than almost anyone else had been able to manage.
"Incredible," Tien said as he observed Piccolo's newfound power. "Your first time using the technique, and you've managed to get it up to a fifty percent power increase."
Piccolo smirked. He could have told Tien that simply from sensing his own power level. "Indeed. It would seem that your hypothesis was correct. Namekian physiology seems more readily capable of handling the increase in muscle mass caused by the Max Power technique. I would wager that at my normal size, I can operate the technique to about the same degree you do, but far more easily." To demonstrate this point, Piccolo quickly shrunk back down to his original size, allowing himself to release some of the additional ki he had taken into his body as he attempted to hold onto the rest. To his surprise, he found that his muscles had bulged out more at this size than when he was larger, and the physical strain was also greater than he was expecting. Nevertheless, a few test movements revealed that he was only moderately encumbered by the transformation, while retaining a 25% power increase. Tien looked on with interest, fascinated by his sparring partner's capabilities, before Piccolo ultimately reverted back to normal.
"Considering the maximum size you've grown to in the past-" Tien began.
"37 meters tall," Piccolo clarified, a part of him almost smug about it.
"-without losing speed, and with considerably less physical strain, the amount of pure raw power you could wield-"
"Would be considerable," Piccolo finished. "By my estimate, based on what I have managed thus far, I could grow up to perhaps sixteen times stronger at my maximum size."
"Sixteen times..." Tien muttered before he shook his head. "But you wouldn't be much faster than normal, and you'd be a massive target, to boot."
Piccolo nodded. "Precisely why I have not used my size-altering ability in combat since that day," he said. "In all respects, the Kaio-ken is a superior technique for the purpose of increasing one's power. Still, with the Max Power technique in mind...it may have some use."
"You mentioned that you had been trying to successfully pull off the basic level of the Kaio-ken. Do you feel any closer to accomplishing that?"
Piccolo grumbled and shook his head. "No. Although I am aware of the principle behind it, and have Goku's use of the technique to serve as a reference...for some reason, it still eludes my grasp."
Tien put a finger to his chin, thinking. "Hm...perhaps the Max Power technique may help in that area. The two techniques do share some similarities, based on how you explained it to me. Familiarizing yourself with using Max Power may help you to fully understand how to utilize the Kaio-ken."
Piccolo pondered this before shrugging. "It's worth the effort, I suppose. It is conducive to both of our goals that I successfully achieve the Kaio-ken as soon as possible."
Tien nodded. "Indeed." After a spell of silence between the two warriors, the computer contained within the gravity generator spoke up through the device's built-in speaker.
"Attention: thirty minutes have elapsed. The gravity generator will now resume standard operation within thirty seconds. Prepare yourselves." After taking this information into account, Tien swiftly disposed of the remains of his meal in order to prevent them from being crushed into the gravity chamber's floor. This now taken care of, Tien took a deep breath, bracing himself as the room returned to five times Earth gravity. Piccolo likewise felt the change, albeit not nearly as severely.
"You go ahead and keep practicing with Max Power," Tien said. "I'll engage in simple exercises under this level of gravity, and notify you if I desire to increase the gravity any further."
"Understood," Piccolo replied, and the two began their respective regimens. As Piccolo's muscles grew in size once more, he glanced at Tien, who began with a simple series of laps around the chamber. He suddenly found himself reflecting on how curious their circumstances were. Almost a decade prior, Piccolo's own father had killed Chiaotzu, and had nearly killed Tien before Goku intervened. Then, of course, there were the years of Piccolo's own life spent trying to kill Goku, and by extension all of his friends, Tien included. Piccolo knew that, had he possessed the power and the means to do so without earning the ire of Goku, Tien would have tried to kill Piccolo without hesitation. And yet, now the two were...more or less getting along.
Really, his situation with Goku and the others had changed quite drastically, with so many factors lying at the center of it all that Piccolo was hard pressed to find any single one to point to. The arrival of the Saiyan Raditz and the pending invasion of his allies had obviously necessitated a lengthy pause in outright hostilities between himself and Goku's friends. The removal of his father's consciousness from his mind had also helped him to carve out his own personality, separate from the lingering desires which had driven his actions until that point. And, of course, there was the rather unusual bond between himself and his pupil, serving only to weaken his father's influence over him. And yet, even with all of this in mind, a part of Piccolo still couldn't quite believe it. He never could've imagined that he'd be spending his days sparring with a man he wanted to kill not two years ago, right outside of Goku's own home, which Piccolo had devoted a minor fraction of his time towards tending to. And yet, not only was this the case, but to be quite honest...he hardly even minded.
"Funny how things work out, isn't it?" Kami asked inside his mind, causing Piccolo to grunt in response, somewhat amused.
"You could say that."
Dende sat on his lawn chair overlooking the field below once again, Chiaotzu now staying inside in order to look after the house. He thought about going inside to talk to him, but decided against it. He figured he had made Chiaotzu very uncomfortable given how their last conversation went. Thus, he sat alone, idly listening to the serene sounds of nature.
That is, until the sound of something very much not natural could be heard incredibly close to his face.
Without any warning, Mr. Popo suddenly appeared in front of Dende atop his magic carpet, smiling that friendly, yet slightly unnerving smile of his that always put everyone else slightly ill at ease.
"Greetings, Dende," he said jovially, right before Dende literally flew out of the lawn chair in fright. After taking a moment to adjust to Mr. Popo's presence and stop panicking, Dende mustered up the courage to speak.
"W-What brings you here, Popo?"
At this, the genie frowned slightly.
"Mister Popo," he said, not appearing to be particularly upset, but nonetheless insistent on clarifying that particular point.
"Ah. Sorry," Dende replied politely, to which Mr. Popo nodded.
"I would like you to accompany me to the Lookout," he explained. "Grand Elder Tsuno and I have discussed an offer that we would like to make to you."
"What kind of an offer?" Dende asked.
"It will take some time to explain," Mr. Popo replied. "Please, stand next to me on my carpet, and you will be transported to the Lookout instantly."
Dende looked at the genie for a moment before sighing and nodding. Tsuno would be able to tell him if anything happened to Piccolo and Tien, and a teleporting carpet would get him there quick enough to do something. He could afford to leave briefly.
"Very well," he said, floating onto the carpet and giving Mr. Popo the go-ahead.
A second later, the two of them were atop the Lookout, and Dende's body had to quickly readjust to the reduced air pressure, causing him a brief second of pain before he regenerated from the resulting damage. Grand Elder Tsuno stood not too far away, smiling as Dende arrived.
"Welcome, Dende. I trust that you have been well?"
Dende nodded slowly. "More or less. What have you brought me here to discuss, Grand Elder?"
Tsuno chuckled slightly, amused by his young brother's straightforwardness.
"I suppose I ought to get straight to the point: Mr. Popo and I have been discussing a possible solution to two separate problems that each of us are facing at the moment."
Mr. Popo nodded. "As you can imagine, having both the Earth's Dragon Balls and the Namekian Dragon Balls tied to the life of a single person could easily lead to disastrous consequences."
Tsuno nodded. "Even assuming that we remained at peace for centuries, sooner or later I too would pass just like Grand Elder Guru, and the Earth's Dragon Balls would be deactivated, with no one immediately present to restore them."
Dende nodded slowly, understanding what the two of them were getting at. "You wish to transfer the Earth's Dragon Balls to me, so that they will continue to remain active."
"That is correct," Mr. Popo replied. "Recent events have demonstrated how having two sets of Dragon Balls active can be immensely beneficial, and considering your own immortality, there would be very little risk of Earth's Dragon Balls ever becoming inactive. We would always be able to make use of their power if need be."
Dende paused. Mr. Popo's argument was sound. After all, without Earth's Dragon Balls, many of his Namekian brothers, along with untold thousands both on Earth and throughout the rest of the universe, would remain dead, slain by Frieza and those who served him. Without the Namekian Dragon Balls, Chiaotzu, Master Roshi, and now Krillin would be permanently deceased, torn away from their families and friends forever. The continued existence of both of these magical artifacts was clearly beneficial to all parties involved, even if they both presented the danger of misuse.
And yet…
"Well, I would certainly be willing to accept Earth's Dragon Balls, but...you mentioned that there were two problems that you believe I can solve."
Mr. Popo smiled. "It is as Tsuno told me: you are rather intelligent, and perceptive, young Dende." Dende simply murmured in response, prompting Tsuno to continue.
"The problem Mr. Popo must address is filling the vacant position left by Kami, half of the lost son of Katas...and Earth's previous Guardian." Dende cocked his head in confusion.
"Guardian?" the child asked. "Was he the strongest warrior of this planet? I was under the impression that he was centuries old and somewhat frail."
Mr. Popo sighed. "For a long time, he was by far the strongest of Earth's warriors, for what little worth that strength seemed to have. Near the end of his life, Son Goku, his son, and many of his allies all surpassed Kami." Dende nodded, understanding a bit better. "However, it is not necessary for a planet's Guardian to be the strongest fighter of that planet."
Dende was still confused. "But would strength not be necessary in order to guard the planet from potential threats?" Mr. Popo shook his head.
"The purpose of the Guardian is to oversee the planet placed under their protection," he explained. "Upon assuming the position, Kami was granted a number of abilities to aid him in that task. His own control over the abilities he possessed as a member of your Dragon Clan improved dramatically, and he was able to see everything that occurs on Earth, as long as he remained atop the Lookout. He was able to possess the bodies of others and channel his full power through them, an ability which he seldom used for obvious reasons. He could also transport souls to the Other World and argue on their behalf, as well as sense the ki of godly beings, something mortals are incapable of under normal circumstances. All of these powers aided him in serving as Earth's supervisor and protector under the Kais, the overseers of the wider universe."
This only served to confuse Dende more. "Kais? Other World? What?" Tsuno hastened to clarify things for the boy.
"As Mr. Popo explained it to me, the Kais are a race of beings responsible for creating and loosely overseeing all life in the universe," Tsuno clarified. "They live in Other World, a world which houses the souls of the deceased, like our brothers not long ago. Different Kais are responsible for different sections of the universe, and all the souls which reside in each of them. King Kai, the person who taught Goku his most powerful techniques, is the Kai responsible for overseeing the north quadrant of the universe, including both Earth and Namek."
"I...I see," Dende said, trying to understand it. "So, Kami, he reported to King Kai."
"Occasionally," Mr. Popo remarked. "In all the centuries I served under him, he only spoke to King Kai a handful of times."
"And he had the ability to travel to this...Other World, as a mortal?" the boy followed up, to which Mr. Popo nodded.
"He could travel anywhere in the universe, provided that he knew its specific location. However, he only ever used it to move between Earth and Other World."
"But there is no regulation against leaving the Lookout for whatever reason?" Dende asked. Mr. Popo shook his head.
"None at all. You would be free to move about as you deem fit, even going so far as to reveal yourself to the general population." The genie paused to consider an important point. "Of course, I imagine some eyebrows would be raised if you left the planet you were guarding too often..."
Dende nodded. That at least made sense, but there was still one lingering question he couldn't quite answer. Or, rather, there was an answer, but not exactly one he would have liked.
"But...why are you asking me to fill this position? Surely there are others who are stronger, older, more experienced. Beyond my obvious...abilities, I don't see how I stand out that much as a worthy candidate."
Tsuno nodded, understanding the child's confusion. "Well, as I understand, there aren't as many worthy candidates as you may have assumed. In order to be considered for this position, you must be completely pure of heart, without a single drop of evil in your soul."
"This, unfortunately, excludes most of Earth's strongest warriors from being eligible to serve as Guardian," Mr. Popo added. "Of those that remain, we concluded that many would not be interested. Son Goku already declined Kami's offer to appoint him as a successor six years ago."
"Our brothers all want nothing more than to return to their homes on Namek," Tsuno continued.
"And I doubt that Son Gohan would be willing, even assuming his mother wouldn't wholeheartedly object," Mr. Popo finished. "In short, you are on a very short list of people who could be worthy candidates at this time. This would be true without your immortality and your healing abilities, even if both are undoubtedly points in your favor."
Dende nodded, another question forming in his head. "And...what will happen if no Guardian is selected?"
Mr. Popo and Tsuno looked at each other, momentarily debating how to answer, before Mr. Popo decided in favor of blunt honesty. "The first Guardian of any given world is appointed directly by the Kai responsible for overseeing that world's section of the universe, in recognition of courageous and selfless acts which protected that world and perhaps the wider universe from a major threat. The succession of Guardians continues as a way to repay the honor bestowed upon them by their Kai, transferring those god-given powers through generation after generation. If such a world remained without a Guardian for a long enough period of time, the Kais would see it as an insult. All contact between the Kais and the residents of that world would cease effective immediately, and great warriors of that world would be expressly forbidden from traveling to their Kai's planet for any reason, no matter how righteous they may be."
Dende couldn't keep his eyes from widening slightly. "Could any given Kai not elect to make an exception?"
Mr. Popo shook his head. "No ordinary Kai has the power to do so. Such customs are strictly enforced by the Supreme Kais, Kais of far greater power and status who watch over both the living world and Other World. King Kai would have no option but to expel Earth's warriors from his planet and swear off all contact with them forever."
"That being said," Tsuno quickly interjected. "We both want to impress upon you that you are by no means required to accept Mr. Popo's offer. You may be one of only a few candidates, but there are other candidates, at least one of which may well accept the position. No one would think less of you for declining."
Dende nodded faintly, somewhat overwhelmed as he thought the whole situation over. The way he saw it, he had two options, both with their own merits.
The first option, taking up Mr. Popo's offer and becoming Guardian, represented what seemed like an enormous responsibility. He would likely have to remain on Earth most of the time, even though he could theoretically travel to Namek whenever he wished, and he would be responsible for the welfare of all life on the planet. At the same time, however, accepting the offer meant learning things he hadn't even considered possible. In one short conversation, his entire view of the order of the universe had been altered, and he knew somehow that there were still greater questions to be answered. Answers which serving as Earth's Guardian could provide him.
The second option, declining the offer and returning to Namek with his people, would be the easier of the two. He wouldn't have the immense responsibility of overseeing the Earth, and he would be able to return to his life before as if nothing had happened. His responsibilities would consist of farming hydrangea plants, laughing and playing with his brothers, and slowly developing his skills with the use of ki. It was a simple life, a life which Dende knew he would be content living. And yet...there was something making him hesitate.
Were he to return to his village, his newfound healing abilities would be almost unnecessary. On Namek, accidental injury to the extent that a Namekian's own regeneration couldn't easily repair the damage was virtually unheard of. Beyond assisting in farming, Dende's only true role among his people was simply to grow up and be ready to eventually become the Grand Elder, hopefully not until several centuries had passed. All that had changed following Frieza's invasion was that now, instead of simply being a Grand Elder, he would quite possibly be the last Grand Elder for all eternity, an undesirable situation that could be easily avoided through a single wish on either of the sets of Dragon Balls. In short...Dende wouldn't be very useful back home.
Earth, on the other hand, was populated by a staggering number of living beings, beings who were on the whole far more vulnerable than Dende's brothers. From what he had observed in his short time on the planet, accidents were frequent, often resulting in damage that couldn't be fixed through their own medicine, and which could even result in death. His powers, and the ability to instantly transport himself wherever he wished, could be the key to saving thousands upon thousands of lives. The amount of good he could do for the people of Earth, people who had thus far readily accepted his brothers' presence on their world, and some of whom played a direct role in saving his own, was astounding.
Of course, there was still a rather significant issue left unspoken, but really, would it not be selfish to resolve it? To sacrifice a trait that would allow him to help so many more people than he might have otherwise, simply for his own personal comfort? And for a comfort so bizarre, as well: a desire for the simple possibility of death. Why would someone wish to have the risk of dying by random chance? It would make far more sense to choose to die when one was good and ready. Surely the people of Earth would eventually reach a point where his powers were no longer needed. Whenever that came to pass, there would be no need for him to remain immortal, and he could simply ask his brothers to render him mortal once more with the Namekian Dragon Balls. It would perhaps mean outliving many of his brothers and friends, but he had already seen most of them die once. Besides, giving up the possibility of saving a significant number of lives for his own satisfaction in dying with his people was the height of irrationality. There was only one sensible option.
"I accept," Dende proclaimed, two words that would change his life forever.
Another chapter uploaded, and not a moment too soon. I mean, honestly, this one's been done for a while, but Chapter 30...is not. Yeah.
As of this moment, I only have a one chapter lead, through Chapter 31. Even swapping the two chapters around, which can be done given their differing locations, would only give me a month to write the new Chapter 31, then another 2 weeks to write Chapter 32, and so on. To be honest, I've found myself juggling a lot of things that have kind of caused me to push this to the back of my mind. The idea of working on it just hasn't been occurring to me lately. Even writing this update at this very moment is taking me away from something else that I need to be doing. I'm honestly torn on whether I should make plans to put the fic back on hiatus halfway through the arc, or if I should keep this going purely so that I don't end up not meeting the expectation I set of being able to give you guys an uninterrupted arc. I quite literally don't have the time to decide that at the moment, so, you know what? I'll let you guys toss in your two cents.
Let's go over the responses.
mastercheif1229 says: "Absolutely incredible chapter! Looking forward to the next one! Story gets better and better with each one!" Why, thank you.
RKF22 says: "Excellent work can't wait for more" I honestly appreciate your consistency, good fellow.
Jokermask18 says: "Another good chapter. What are the odds of the humans discovering transformations for themselves beyond Max Power?" Thank you, and...eh? As far as something uniquely human, not just learning some other person's big power up technique, probably fairly unlikely. I might give them something, though, who knows? That would probably be pretty far in the future if I did end up going for it.
Anonymously96 says:
"Okay So normally I don't like OCs but I must say that Jamba is not feeling forced and is well written with an actual personality
It seems that he's wanting to kill Goku not because he's evil but because of some compulsion
Wondering that that unstoppable Force of evil is tbh
Also, King cold is so so confident of beating Goku when he knows that Goku is well over twice his power? Or has he somehow unlocked the third transformation of his race and now just needs some more training to catch up to Goku's 225 million?
Personally, all this time staying as a ssj would definitely increase Goku's base power as well as multiplier, so his hopes and assumptions of Goku not gaining a lot of power will be kind of misplaced tbh
Also the power of cooler maybe his fourth form, but from canon I think the fifth form is merely a 2-3 times increase, still well well below the power of Goku and King Cold
So much anticipation for what's gonna happen
Update soon"
Why, thank you! I definitely enjoy Jamba as a character myself, although I must correct you on one point: he's not being compelled to do what he does, at least not in the sense that he's being forced somehow. He believes that what he is doing is necessary, and he is making every choice he makes entirely of his own volition.
The unstoppable evil will be something hinted at in time, but I will tell you that it's not an original creation. As for King Cold, he hasn't really trained much and he's got a lot of potential, so it's not altogether impossible. Also, King Cold is Frieza's father, and the prince's overconfidence had to come from somewhere, now didn't it? And as far as Cooler goes, from what I understand of the movie, he was fighting Goku's base form evenly in his 4th form, meaning that his 5th form would actually be many more times stronger than what I've planned for it. He is stronger than King Cold, though, believe me.
I hope you keep on enjoying these chapters!
CosmoCatte says:
"Another great chapter!
This is one of those chapters that is most easily described as as setup chapter - nothing massive happens at any given point but instead a series of smaller events are set in motion that will have greater effects later on.
I enjoy the snippets we get of Goku and what's going on with him, however just as much I'm enjoying the interactions that focus on the remaining Ginyus and Cold. I think your writing ability is showing itself strongly with this arc, as despite being built from the ground up by you it holds just as much integrity as the previous arcs of the story.
If I had to nitpick any one thing, as I often try to do in order to give something constructive, I think it would be that while I like the use of Zuno it's dawning on me that he's kind of an information ex-machina. Nothing is stopping Cold from just getting all and any information he needs, and I feel like that creates potential for a power imbalance that surpasses 'interesting' and moves into 'boring'.
Not to say that it's a guarantee, but it's definitely something to consider!
Either way, this was a great chapter and I'm looking forward to the next one!"
Thank you, especially regarding the integrity of the arc, as that was one of my big concerns going into this. And, yeah, I have considered that Zuno may represent too much information. I'll certainly keep that in mind going forward. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!
GhostKing666 says:
"Super Kaio-ken is only really possible when your dead, the strain is just to much when your alive(and even then Goku was only able to keep it up for a few seconds and with the SS1 form).
To use the Kaio-ken while transformed requires either a Super Saiyan transformation that possesses perfect ki control(aka Super Saiyan Blue) or a transformation that creates a body far more durable and resilient then a Saiyan regular body(If Super Saiyan 2 could be said to be an overclocked version of SS1, SS3 is taking that concept to the limits that a Saiyan body could handle(though curiously enough possessing a tail actually helps mitigate the stamina issues of SS3, to the point where Kid Goku, who previously couldn't handle more then a few seconds as an SS3 could fight normally as if he was in his adult body). Super Saiyan 4 get's around the limitations of SS3 by using the Oozaru aspects of the transformation to create a body that's far more physically durable and robust, drawing out a Saiyan's power to its ultimate limits(similar to Gohan's mystic form), which is why Kid Goku would become an adult when going SS4 and why the form can handle generating energy levels far beyond what SS3 can handle with virtually no stamina issues(outside of fusion anyway). Such a body would also be capable of handling the Kai-ken despite the lack of perfect ki control(and in fact SS4 Gogeta even uses the kaio-ken in Dragonball Heroes))."
Huh, see, I was always confused by that whole "Ten Times Kamehameha" thing they do in GT. But yeah, I'm sticking to the canon explanation of "Super Saiyans' ki is just too volatile to make use of the Kaio-ken without injuring oneself." Much simpler that way, in my opinion.
And back in Chapter 24, GuardianTree7 says:
"Another great chapter, though you might have dragged out Goku's transformation too long. It was really good, Frieza ignoring him as Goku thought internally, but what Frieza did was far worse then in the original. In this version he's closer to Piccolo and Yamcha's there too. So based on what Frieza did I think it would be more like a flip of a switch, no emotions and internal conflict building up overflow the dam blocking the transformation, the dam would have already burst the moment Frieza did that last act, and he'd be dead. I'm not saying the transformation would be instantaneous, but the trigger would be. Also poor Dende, the others should have really distracted Frieza better."
Yeah, I've heard some people complain about the length of the transformations sometimes, sorry about that. I figured that that scene would take place over maybe 20-30 seconds, and I wanted to give myself some time to describe the whole thing. At least now all the transformations Goku does into Super Saiyan will be way faster, lol.
Next up, a few power levels, I guess?
Tien: 3,000, 3,750 at Max Power
Piccolo: 465,000, 581,250 at 25% Max Power and 697,500 at 50% Max Power
Piccolo(Max Giant Form, estimate): 7,440,000
With all that said, thank you all for reading, hope you all have a fantastic night, and take care.