Khami and the Secret Training
Piccolo raised Gohan abruptly, shaking him awake. "WAKE UP!" he bellowed.
Gohan's eyes fluttered open to the sight of Piccolo's stern, green face. He gasped, trembling uncontrollably.
"Good," Piccolo smirked, dropping Gohan to the ground.
Gohan staggered to his feet, still shaking. He scanned the desolate wasteland around him, seeing no one but Piccolo. "W-where am I?"
Piccolo chuckled darkly. "You're in the wastelands, boy, where no one cares for you and no one will protect you..."
"Where's my dad?" Gohan choked out, tears starting to flow.
"Hehehe," Piccolo laughed dryly.
"No!" Gohan sobbed. "Who are you? Where's my dad?" His cries echoed through the empty landscape.
"SHUT UP!" Piccolo roared, but Gohan's cries only intensified. Frustration etched into Piccolo's features.
"Waahaha- OUCH!" Gohan recoiled as Piccolo backhanded him across the cheek.
"SHUT UP!" Piccolo snapped. "One more sound and I'll give you something to cry about."
Gohan forced himself to silence, tears streaming down his face.
"Better," Piccolo sighed. "Listen, boy. Remember your uncle?"
Gohan nodded, still sobbing.
"We barely managed to kill him," Piccolo continued gravely. "But his friends are coming. We struggled with him alone. Now we have to face more of his kind. We don't know their strength or their numbers. They'll arrive in a year. That's why we need to train."
Confusion clouded Gohan's face. "But why do I have to train?" he whimpered. "I'm just a five-year-old boy."
Piccolo crossed his arms. "You may not be very well aware of it right now but you have great powers, hidden deep within you. That's how you were able to hurt your uncle."
Gohan tensed. "But why do I have to train with you, why can't I train with my dad?"
Piccolo smirked. "Goku would go easy on you."
Korin's Tower
Yajirobe lounged, munching on potato chips as he listened to Krillin.
"So..." Krillin concluded. "We have to be ready."
Yajirobe scoffed. "Like you guys can handle anything stronger than Goku. Don't make me laugh."
Chiaotzu bristled. "But we have to try!"
Korin nodded thoughtfully, eyeing Yajirobe. "Hmm..."
Yajirobe squirmed. "I don't like that look," he muttered nervously, beads of sweat forming.
Yamcha grinned. "Looks like Korin wants you to train too, Yajirobe."
Yajirobe paled. "Seriously? Isn't that a bit much?" He wiped sweat from his brow. "Dealing with Saiyans and a toned-up Yajirobe at the same time? Dangerous, I tell ya."
Krillin smirked. "Oh, come on, Yajirobe. We need all the help we can get. After all, you might be the only one who could stand a chance against someone stronger than Goku."
Yajirobe was speechless.
Tien turned to Korin. "Shall we go?"
Korin nodded. "Give my regards to Khami."
"Sure," Tien replied, leaping into the air.
Yajirobe sighed in relief. "Yeah, just leave already." As he turned, a hand grabbed his leg.
Chiaotzu grinned up at Yajirobe while Krillin and Yamcha grabbed his arms.
"No!" Yajirobe protested, chips scattering. He struggled against their grasp, colorful expletives flying.
Krillin and Yamcha grinned maliciously, dragging Yajirobe toward the tower's edge.
Korin roared with laughter, tears streaming down his face. "Bwahahaha! Have fun, Yajirobe!"
Chiaotzu waved cheerfully at Korin, holding tight to Yajirobe's leg. "Goodbye, Mr. Korin."
And with that, Krillin and Yamcha leapt upward, Yajirobe in tow.
Gohan stood shivering before Piccolo, the cold wind whipping around them.
"So," Gohan ventured weakly. Just yesterday, he had been safe at home, studying. "What do we do first, Mr. Piccolo?"
Piccolo smirked. "We do nothing. You do."
"Huh?"
Piccolo turned away. "If you can endure six months alone in the wilderness, then maybe you'll be ready for my training." With that, Piccolo began to walk away. "Enjoy."
Gohan stared in disbelief. "No! What will I eat? Where will I sleep? You can't just leave me like this. It's cruel."
Piccolo continued walking. "Guess what? Sometimes, kid, life is cruel." He leapt into the air, disappearing from view.
"No, wait!" Gohan yelled, chasing after him. He kept running until Piccolo vanished completely, leaving Gohan alone and gasping for breath.
At Khami's Place
Goku landed gracefully on Khami's pristine floor, drawn by the distant sound of prayer. He headed toward the prayer room and quietly entered.
...
Tien, Krillin, Yamcha, and Chiaotzu landed at Khami's place, dragging the reluctant Yajirobe along.
"It seems they're praying," Tien observed. "I haven't prayed yet. Have you?"
The others shook their heads.
Tien entered the prayer room, followed by Chiaotzu, Krillin, and Yamcha.
Yajirobe sniffed his collar. "I need a bath first." He disappeared into the bathroom on the other side of Khami's place.
...
The Earth's fighters emerged from the prayer room, flanked by Khami and Mr. Popo. Khami, with his wrinkled green skin, and Mr. Popo, short and dark, surveyed the group.
"What brings you all here?" Khami inquired.
Goku stepped forward respectfully. "We've come to train under your guidance, esteemed Khami."
Khami studied Goku silently before speaking. "Goku, I've already trained you. You've surpassed me. There's nothing more I can offer you here," the old master admitted.
Goku looked crestfallen. "Then who will I train with?"
Yamcha stepped forward. "What about us, Khami?"
Khami glanced at the other fighters. "You... can train."
Tien smirked. "Great!"
Krillin frowned slightly, thinking, 'Goku's our strongest man. He needs to be even stronger if we are to stand up to those Saiyans.'
Khami gestured to Mr. Popo, who nodded knowingly.
"Follow me," Mr. Popo directed the fighters to a vast storeroom, flicking on the lights. "These are the weighted clothes Goku used to train," he explained.
"Wow," Yamcha marveled at the shelves filled with undershirts, wristbands, and boots of varying sizes, each shelf labeled.
Mr. Popo continued, "Start with column one's weighted clothing. As you progress, the weights will increase."
Krillin struggled to lift a boot from the shelf. "This is heavy."
Tien smiled, realizing, 'So this is how Goku trained for Piccolo.'
Krillin, Tien, Yamcha, and Chiaotzu began selecting their own weighted gear.
Mr. Popo turned to Yajirobe.
Yajirobe scowled. "I'm not putting any of this on. Crazy."
Goku's distant voice echoed, "Hey everyone! Don't get on Mr. Popo's bad side, okay?"
Mr. Popo fixed Yajirobe with a stern look. "Good advice," he said solemnly.
Yajirobe swallowed hard.
Stars twinkled overhead as night descended.
Gohan sat against a tree trunk, nibbling on berries.
After his tears, Gohan felt some solace in the quiet of nature. No school, no homeworkâjust survival for six months. Yet thoughts of his worried mother clouded his mind.
Suddenly, something cold slid over his hand. Gohan looked down to see a snake. He shrieked, grabbing its head and crushing it in a panicked reflex.
"That was close," he panted, heart racing.
Moments later, rain began to fall.
"Oh no," Gohan sighed, rising. "I need to find shelter." He sprinted toward a distant mountain, hoping to find a cave.
Unseen, Piccolo watched from a cliff above, silently observing Gohan.
Khami listened intently to Goku's concerns.
Goku clenched his fists. "I have to get stronger, Khami. I don't know how powerful my brother's friends will be."
"Hmm..." Khami pondered. "There might be a way for you to become stronger, Goku."
Goku brightened. "Really?"
"But it's extremely dangerous," Khami cautioned. "No one has ever returned from that place."
"No problem," Goku replied boldly. "If I don't get stronger, the Saiyans will kill me anyway."
Khami shook his head. "You could just train here with your friends, Goku."
Goku looked incredulous. "Come on, Khami. Why mention it if you don't want me to go? It sounds so exciting." He began pacing eagerly. "I want to go. It sounds like a challenge."
Mr. Popo returned to Khami's side. He had instructed the fighters to complete ten rounds of Khami's domain wearing weighted clothing. He glanced up at Khami. "If anyone can survive that place, it's Goku, Khami," he remarked.
Khami remained silent.
Space...
Two pods hurtled through space at incredible speeds.
"Hey, Vegeta," Nappa's voice crackled through the scouter.
Vegeta opened his eyes. "What is it, Nappa?"
"How much longer until we reach Earth?"
Vegeta considered. "It should take just under a year," he estimated.
Nappa grunted in frustration. "Ugh, I hate being cooped up in this pod."
"Well," Vegeta mused, "we might as well take advantage and get some sleep."
"You're right, Vegeta," Nappa agreed. "That would make the trip easier."
Vegeta smirked. "And who knows, if I feel like it, maybe we'll stop by a planet for a cup of coffee."
Nappa chuckled. "Sounds good to me."
The pods continued their journey, steadily closing in on Earth with each passing second.
To be continued...