Chapter 79: Preparations

On Earth word of a new challenge looming quickly spread. Many of the human fighters made their intentions clear, while they would do whatever necessary to defend the Earth, whatever the odds, they wouldn't go into space to a fight they are completely outmatched in. The Earth needed its defenders on Earth.

Once the team that would be going on the Gohan rescue mission was decided, many of the other newer fighters moved on with their lives. With the world now fully aware of Ki and its superhuman and destructive abilities, there was a massive demand forming for civilians to learn how to control Ki themselves. So they'd have a somewhat better chance of protecting themselves when the next tragedy struck the Earth.

After the battle against Cell many of the current defenders of Earth were given a chance to retire due to their recent deaths. This sudden civilian demand presented the perfect opportunities for a retirement career, while still keeping their own fighting ability up. Seemingly overnight dozens of new martial arts dojos opened across the world.

During that time one of the more powerful humans was finally able to move forward with a plan they had been working on before the arrival of the Saiyans threw the Earth's collective future into doubt. 2 months after the end of the Cell games King Chappa announced that the World Martial Arts tournament would be returning.

Many changes had to be implemented from his original plan though. Because of the wide range in power across the world, in order to make the new main tournament, challengers would need to win at least one of more than a 2 dozen minor tournaments that would soon take place across the world. The main fighters of the Cell Games on the other hand would be given a free pass into the main tournament should they want it. The main tournament would be held in one years' time.

With the announcement, a storm of excitement swept the globe. With how many intense, world-ending level fights that had been broadcast the last few years most people wanted to watch the super human combat without the fate of the world being at stake. Besides many people around the planet had a feeling of being involved in the last fight against Cell, after all it was their energy that had joined together in the final spirit-destructo disc. Tickets to the tournament sold out in a matter of seconds.

While the world was still buzzing with the announcement of the world martial arts tournament, The Main Forces of the Z Fighters trained relentlessly to combat the latest threat to their way of life, and rescue Gohan. One member of the Earth's defenders was embarking on a bit of a side mission though.

Nappa made his way away from Capsule Corps leaving Vegeta to stew yet again after another intense training session where he failed to ascend to the next level. At this point Vegeta was simply holding Nappa back, much like how Nappa had once held Vegata back before his initial ascension. Even with his pride bruised at being defeated by Cell and seeing the heights of power Cepa could produce, instead of throwing himself further into training to prepare for the supposed upcoming threat, there was a more pressing issue that Nappa had recently discovered while watching the news with Bulma. And one he refused to let a single more day pass without seeing it resolved.

The issue in question was the fact that most of the main Z-Fighters had been appointed as de facto Generals, yet he, the General of the Saiyan Army and one of the most powerful fighters in the universe, had not had a similar honor bestowed on himself.

During the news stories covering the fight against Cell it nearly drove him mad that each and every one of the human fighters had the prestigious rank before their names yet he did not.

As he arrived at the Palace of Earth's King in Central City he was immediately met with confused looks from the guards. Not only was Napp one of the biggest threats to the Earth in the past but he was also now one of its greatest defenders.

While the group stood off to the side, battling conflicting feelings of awe, confusion, and fear, one finally mustered up the courage to confront Nappa as the Saiyan made his way towards the palace doors.

"I'm sorry sir but do you have an appointment?" The man, who was among one of Master Roshi's early disciples, asked tentatively.

"Nope, but it should just take a minute. I need to ask the King about something." Nappa replied without breaking his stride.

Several of the guards tried to step forward but even if they had the most basic understanding of Ki they knew just how hopefully outmatched they were.

Noticing the uncomfortable looks on their faces Nappa finally briefly stopped. "What? Is he in a meeting or something right now?" Nappa asked, confused, why they would be so nervous about one of Earth's heroes meeting with it's King.

"No, not that-" one guard started to say before being interrupted.

"Great! There's no problem then." Nappa announced before continuing on his way leaving the guards helplessly standing by conflicted where they should intervene further or call on one of the other Z Fighters to get involved instead.

Inside the Palace the King was hard at work approving a purchase that he hoped would revolutionize the training of the EDF and the Z Fighters forever.

Just as he stood up to stretch his legs his door burst open causing the fur to stand up across his body in surprise.

"Hey, I need an answer about something." Nappa loudly announced as the King tried to calm himself.

'Why is he here? Where are my guards? Is he finally going to try and complete his initial mission of destroying the Earth?' King Furry's mind was a mess as a dozen different scenarios ran through his mind.

"Mr. Nappa… I wasn't expecting you, but please come in and have a seat." The King finally replied, trying to stay cordial.

"I'm fine this will just take a minute." Nappa replied quickly confirming the King's worst fears. He would die today.

Just as the King tried to think of fitting final words Nappa surprised him again. "Yesterday I saw a story that said all of the others like Tien, Kakarot's mate Chi Chi and even Kakarot all are Generals in your army right?"

King Furry's eyes blinked wondering why Nappa would be bursting into his office to ask about the ceremonial titles the Z fighters had to justify their high pay. "Well yes technically they are-"

"I want in too then." Nappa bluntly said.

"Want in?" King Furry asked, confused.

"Yeah none of the Earthlings hold a candle to me in terms of raw strength. Kakarot is decent and has great instincts but his critical thinking ability is trash. Besides I was the head of the entire Saiyan Army before Frieza blew up our planet. Since it seems like we'll be here awhile I guarantee I can get the Earthlings whipped into proper fighting shape." Nappa declared proudly.

King Furry just sat there confused. Was the title really such a big deal? "Sure we can get that approved, no problem." King Furry replied calmly.

"Alright then who do I fight to claim their title?" Nappa responded, crossing his arms proudly.

"Oh no that's not necessary, we fully know how strong you are. We will just make the arrangements." King Furry quickly replied hoping his interaction with the Saiyan would end with this.

"Oh...Ok I guess that makes sense." Nappa replied slightly dejected at not getting to prove his superiority through combat. "Well when I get my soldiers assigned to me just send them to Capsule Corp." Nappa finally said before leaving the room, Without anything better to do for the moment he figured he would check in and see how Kakarot's training was going at the moment.

Goku could only sigh as he looked up at the sky. Since Raditz and Turles were technically his family he had been put in charge of keeping an eye on them, something Chi Chi was less than thrilled about. They had borrowed a basic capsule house from Bulma and had set it up a short distance away from his family's house, even then she kept her senses peeled for any movement from the duo, if they came too close to her child she wouldn't hesitate to kill them both. The last few weeks Chi Chi had started becoming more distant again though as if there was something else occupying her thoughts as well.

Because of that Goku had devoted himself to training Raditz and Turles up some so they could be more useful in the fight against this Broly figure that had taken his son. Unfortunately because they were both so weak compared to Goku he had to hold back a significant portion of his power to make it an entertaining fight. Frankly this action was preventing his own training too.

Finally he decided he needed a break from that, both his brother and Turles seemed sloppy, like they were so used to being the strongest fighter around that they had lost some of their edge, some of their creativity. They were slow to adjust and tried to just power through. This issue was especially true for Turles.

As Goku looked up at the sky and let out a sigh again he faintly picked up another power level at the edge of his perception over the spikes of power emanating from Turles and Raditz's spar. 'I wonder why Nappa is coming?' He thought to himself as he jumped back to his feet. His blood began to pump faster at the prospect that Nappa had come to spar with him.

After just a few minutes Nappa arrived. As he landed both Raditz and Turles stopped their spar and turned towards the two more powerful Saiyans watching from a distance.

"Hey Nappa! Long time no see!" Goku cheerfully called out. "Are you here for a spar?"

Nappa smirked, "Why not, I could use a change of pace, you two should watch how real Saiyan warriors fight." Nappa added before immediately turning Super Saiyan.

"I guess we are skipping the warm up?" Goku asked as he transformed as well.

"Well for me this is still a warm up." Nappa replied confidently, pointing out his own superiority.

In an instant both disappeared from the view of the other two Saiyans. As loud booms echoed around them. For the hundredth time since their confrontation with Broly both Raditz and Turles felt how truely weak they were.

Nearly an hour later Goku's battered and bloody body was sitting at the bottom of a crater and Nappa's bruised body was covered in lightning looking down at him.

The skirmish with Goku had been a nice change of pace but even then Nappa was acutely aware there was a difference in strength that Goku couldn't yet pass. At this point it seemed that Goku and Vegeta had hit a similar wall to the one he had confronted when he was first trying to transform. Their growth the last 2 months had been non-existent. Looking at the still shocked Raditz and Turles. Raditz's growth so far had been ok for 2 months of training but Turles appeared to be in the realm near where Nappa had hit his wall.

"Hey Kakarot." Nappa suddenly said.

Goku pulled himself out of the crater, "Yeah…Nappa…" Goku replied, still breathing hard.

"How about you let me take these two back to Capsule Corp for a while. It's been awhile since I've gotten to actually train another Saiyan." Nappa replied with a smirk coming to his face.

Goku let out a sigh of relief, he trusted Nappa and maybe having those two farther away would help calm Chi Chi down. "Sure if they want to go."

Raditz immediately gulped, he remembered the hellish training Nappa had put him through as a child, at the same time though it appeared Nappa's way had gotten results. For as powerful as his brother was, it appears the Saiyan General was still a full league above him. Quickly Raditz looked to Turles to confirm their decision.

Turles fist had clenched in determination, this was the power he wanted so badly. It was what he needed to kill the bastard Broly. This was what he needed to wipe away the shame of his own death. Without even looking Raditz's way, Turles gave him an answer. "If you can make me a Super Saiyan, then let's go."

Somewhere in space:

Gohan's body rocketed towards the ground at lightning speed creating a massive crater and sending cracks through the ground, both large and far enough that it caused nearby buildings to partially collapse.

Although by most definitions he would still be considered a child, Gohan had seen enough violence and bloodshed in his life to scare even the most veteran warriors. His entire body hurt, there wasn't a single inch on his body that hadn't been bruised or battered the last few weeks, even then he didn't care. He forced his small body back onto his feet and forward again.

For weeks he had done nothing but fight Broly. Day after day he would fight with all of his might, and day after day he would fail to deal major damage. The days had blurred together long ago. He would spend a few hours away and then the rest of the day in a healing tank on their ship. One of the few markers he could reliably use to track their time was when they traveled from world to world.

Taking another deep breath Gohan forced out the last of his reserves, igniting his Super Saiyan aura once more.

"Come on! I'm getting bored!" Broly's manic laughter was echoing across the battlefield.

Even though he had transformed, Broly had been slowly learning to hold back some against Gohan. He would fight as long as possible in his base form, but Gohan was still capable of making him transform. When he thought the battle would end in an instant. Now though Broly did his best to try and savor the fight. Instead of delivering a blow that would knock Gohan out in one hit, he would purposely aim for an arm or a leg. Only when Gohan could barely move anymore would he grant him the relief of unconsciousness.

Gohan was almost out of energy, he could feel it as soon as his Aura flared. Still he launched forward, trying to draw out his fury just a bit longer. He wanted a sign that he was improving. He wanted to land just 1 hit against Broly in his ascended form. A sign that the endless pain he was experiencing was worthwhile, that the gap between them was closing, even a tiny bit.

His first strike missed Broly's face by just a hair, but he quickly used his momentum to turn the attack into a spinning kick aimed at his throat.

Before he could finish his spin though a powerful blow landed square in the center of his back launching the small demi-saiyan through a nearby building.

Broly had used the motion of moving his head backwards to give him enough momentum to launch into a headbutt.

The larger Saiyan wasn't done yet though, as a small green orb formed in his hand and chased after the rapidly retreating body.

The blast sailed above Gohan dissolving the upper half of the building Gohan had crashed into. Broly had no intention of letting Gohan catch his breath under the rubble. His bloodlust was at its peak. If Gohan wasn't giving his all he would have to take it out on the rest of the planet. But that would mean all of the food would vanish again and they would have to move on sooner again. Controlling his madness on the ship was torture. His desire for violence was endless.

He took a deep breath and began his ascent more and more green spheres forming around him. "Gohan fight me!" He screamed. There was no response though. Blast after blast rained out over the city as the huddled citizens were quickly wiped out in whatever shelter they had taken when the assault had started. Still Gohan didn't stir. After a few more minutes of this Broly released his transformation and drifted back down towards the rubble his sparring partner had disappeared in.

As he entered he expected an ambush, but was disappointed to find Gohan unconscious partially submerged in a small pile of rubble.

"Damn kid." Broly muttered to himself as he grabbed Gohan by his leg and dragged him back towards the ship. He would have to entertain himself with the rest of the native inhabitants instead of getting in a real fight.

As Gohan was submerged in the liquid his eyes peaked open slightly, not enough for Broly or anyone else to notice.

'This isn't working...' That was the only conclusion he could come to. He was gaining a large zenkai at least once a day, even then he didn't feel like he was actually closing the gap between himself and Broly at all. 'Is the gap just too large? Or is he still getting stronger too?' Despite the weeks of studying his target he didn't have an answer to it. One thing he was sure of though, this was not someone he would be able to take down alone, at least not in the short term.

If he was going to beat Broly he would need help. Thinking about it, Gohan felt the twinge of anger. If Raditz or Turles had survived they would at least have a second Saiyan to entertain Broly even temporarily. Even having a member of the Ginyu force with him to strategize while Gohan had Broly's attention would be a relief. This was the first time Gohan was truly on his own against an enemy.

There were other powerful beings out in the universe though, that much was proven with the intervention of Taiga. Because of Turles and Taiga's war throughout the galaxy, it was likely there were still Tree of Might fruit running around the universe. If he could have access to that, he would gain strength even faster than before, his Zenkai's compounding on a matter of seconds instead of hours. The issue would be if Broly himself gained a taste for the Fruit too. It would be too dangerous to risk the gap between them growing even faster.

'I wonder...could I make him attack Taiga's homeworld?' It was a tempting offer. Even if the other fighters were only as strong as Taiga they would at least serve as a distraction for Broly. Maybe they would be able to work together and even overwhelm the Saiyan Monstrosity. It would be risky though, if Gohan wasn't able to stop him there, there might not be another chance to defeat Broly.

If Taiga hadn't already brought them the Tree of Might, it could be possible for Gohan to strike a deal with them, he wouldn't trust them to uphold their end of the bargain though. Quickly he ruled out that idea.

He needed to surround himself with a new group of warriors loyal to him, and dedicated to defeating Broly. They would bring Gohan the fruit, and Gohan could use the Fruit to gradually catch up to Broly. It would be a long war of attrition and hundreds of billions would likely die, but at this point Gohan didn't see another option.

He closed his eyes again and relaxed back into the liquid. He just needed to find a way to convince Broly.

Nappa, Raditz and Turles landed in a barren wasteland that had once been the site of Nappa's first defeat on Earth. Although it was a place that did not hold good memories for Nappa, at the same time it was a somewhat nostalgic location as well. It was the place where his life began to change, transforming from a slave under Frieza's boot to regaining his honor as the Saiyan General. Because of that it seemed like a fitting spot to help his fellow Saiyans liberate themselves from their own weakness.

"So what do we do now?" Raditz asked, trying to put some bravado in his voice. Years of trauma inflicted by Nappa was hard for him to shake off.

"Now I will explain how you become a Super Saiyan." Nappa replied.

He launched into his explanation first how Kakarot had been able to ascend to become the first Super Saiyan in a 1000 years. Then he detailed his own transformation, what he knew of Vegeta's transformation and Trunk's transformations.

After listening to his tales, both Raditz and Turles realized there was a common theme to each ascension. It required the person involved to lose something dear to them or undergo some other sort of emotional awakening, and it required them to be in a situation where they would die if they didn't unlock that power.

'Just like Gohan...' Raditz realized. Gohan had seemingly reached a point in his life where he was finally content, and Broly arrived to steal everything from him again.

"So...what you're saying is we just missed the perfect opportunity to ascend against Broly?" Turles asked.

"From the sounds of it even transforming wouldn't do you any good." Nappa replied dismissively. "Turles you are approaching the cliff where training isn't going to do you any good. You have to have something to fight for. So we'll need to find you something you want to protect or something you want to avenge besides yourself." Nappa continued. "Think back to what matters the most to you, to the things in your life that have hurt you the most. That will be the fuel you'll have to use to start the transformation."

'So the brat was on the right route from the very beginning.' Raditz realized. Gohan was always destined to become a Super Saiyan because he had always had the ability to unleash an explosive power. 'That must be why Shizen needed him to survive. He must be able to reach the same level Nappa has unlocked as well. Can I actually do the same though?'

Raditz and Turles stood silently as they thought of their lives.

Raditz had, had seen thousands of supposedly allied warriors die over his decades of service under various masters. Very few of those deaths elicited any sort of negative emotion in him though. 'Shizen...' The one commander who had treated him with respect, who he had to kill with his own hand was different though. It was the one time he for sure felt upset at his loss. His grief at losing Shizen was like an old wound that would flare up occasionally, but even that loss didn't seem enough on its own. The loss of the Saiyan race had faded for him over the decades as well, even together he wasn't sure this would be enough to help him ascend.

Turles on the other hand was facing an even worse issue. Throughout his life, he didn't have anyone he truly cared about. His family was a traditional low class Saiyan family, he only had the vaguest of memories of them even. He was little more than an annoyance to his parents when he would return from missions. They gladly threw him into combat the very instant he was able to and would quickly force him back on missions as soon as he returned. When the Saiyan Race had been exterminated and his own team of low level Saiyans were ambushed on their mission. He had no qualms about fleeing to let his team meet their own deaths.

After becoming a roaming mercenary he had met thousands of warriors but none of their deaths meant anything to him. Even when he discovered the Tree of Might by chance and started his own group. The deaths of his men was always at worst a minor annoyance, A temporary setback, slowing him achieving his goals and nothing more. Meeting Gohan and Raditz had been interesting. Family but family on his terms. He enjoys the budding rivalry of it at times. He enjoyed feeling that a low class Saiyan warrior was in fact the ruler of the remaining Saiyans. It was just a delusion in the end though, he was still among the weakest of the Saiyans alive.

"Are there any other ways to ascend?" Turles asked,

"Not that I know of, but if you don't have something you think will work, that's fine we can try and find out." Nappa said with a smirk. 'Besides if worse comes to worse we can always ask Cepa.'

Raditz felt a knot form in the pit of his stomach, Nappa smiling never meant anything good for him.

It had taken several more weeks of convincing and negotiating but he had eventually figured out the right bait. By looking for more powerful warriors, and offering to train them to help search for other powerful warriors they had discovered a system that would satisfy Broly. The key argument though was even if it lessened how much they could fight now, he promised he would be able to fight Broly practically without rest if they did it right.

It took several more months to get the recruitment right. Most of a planet would still get wiped out, but there needed to be enough survivors that the remaining warriors, usually beaten within an inch of their life, felt like there was enough left to protect.

By luck they had found a local warlord that had been recruited to Taiga's side in the last struggle who had apparently skimmed a fruit or two off the top and had started his own operation.

Once news of it had reached Gohan's ears, it was easy to steer Broly's attention that way, given Gohan the perfect chance to get a hold of a few fruits again. Given them to the most loyal of his new subordinates they set out gathering fruit, after making an example of one to show how little difference a single fruit would make for one of them and a quick explanation of Saiyan physiology as well.

These warriors could then be used as scouts looking for other powerful worlds. Either the world had warriors worth hunting down or after the natives were subdued, a tree could be planted again to continue the cycle.

The fruit did its job as Gohan started to last longer and longer against Broly. The latter having to transform sooner and sooner each round. Still despite that Gohan could never land a deceiving blow before he transformed. And once he did despite Zenkai after Zenkai the gap never seemed to close. The cycle simply continued.

I'm not sure how many people are still following the story after such a long gap, but here after a 4 year wait is the next chapter. I am sorry it took so long and if the writing style has changed. Grad school robbed me of most of my time to write and even after I was done, after writing my thesis I felt like I had lost a lot of my creativity and lost most of my writing style. I still don't feel like it is back my writing style is back.

I spent a few months last year re-reading my story, fixing typos and trying to get my inspiration and style back. Finally a coupe months ago I at least feel like writing again. All of that said though I cannot give any guarantees that this story will be finished, how often it will be updated or even if there will be more chapters there will be after this one. I would at least like to get to what I consider a stopping point but no guarantees.

I ended up rewriting this chapter probably 5 times over the last four years before I finally found a version I was semi-Ok with.

Thank you for all of the support everyone has given me over the years, especially during the hiatuses.

Even factoring in the hiatuses its crazy to me that this story has lasted 9 years.

The review section this time will be abbreviated but I will try to respond to as many as possible.

Reviews:

Dr. Blue22 - Yes Gohan is entering a period of expononetial growth pretty much. We will have to see how that plays out. I know in this latest chapter I didn't go back to it a whole lot but hopefully in later chapters we can see more. Sorry again that the wait was so long.

DarkFalconZ - That is an interesting outlook on it. Probably a good description of what he has been through so far too lol. I am sorry the wait for this next chapter was so long.

RKF22 - I am sorry the wait ended up being so long, I know it was a short chapter for the wait but I hope you enjoyed the chapter at least.

Carl9390 - Gohan is trying his best, we will see how that plays out!

TheTrueSonGoku - Thank you very much! I hope you enjoyed the latest chapter as well and you enjoyed it as much as the last (despite the long wait)

JOEL - Thank you! I'm sorry but I couldn't find any questions on the latest one. Would you mind repeating them? I am sorry it took so very long to update. Grad school took all of my focus for a while. And really ruined my writing style for a while too. It also killed my enjoyment of writing too. It has taken me years to undo that, including completely re-reading my own story to try and get inspired again. To get to a point where it didn't feel like working that I was dreading anymore. I am sorry it took so long. I remember you were one of the very first followers that kept with the story. I have enjoyed getting your reactions over the years and I'm sorry it has probably been so painful following the story with the hiatuses. Personally I hated when my favorite stories got discontinued too so I really have tried to keep it going, I just was not in any place too. I am trying to get back there though. I will do my best but I can't give any guarantees that it will be finished unfortunately. I do appreciate all the support you and everyone else has given me over the years. I hope I can still put out a story you enjoy in the end.

ImmortalGodd - Both parts of that rivalry would be incredibly damaged. There is a ton of hate there on Gohan's side, but we will see how it plays out. I hope to at least make it through this arc at a minimum. Yeah the Long Road is a great story! That is my personal favorite DBZ fanfiction actually and one of the inspirations for this one.

Silas, Spirax570, Extra 9, Kazikamikaze24,

Thank you all for the reviews! I am sorry for the long wait, but I hope you enjoyed the latest chapter as well.

Xeroboros - That is some dedication! I'm sorry there was such a long wait after you binged all of that. For your question, absorbing people in hell wouldn't work for Cell because they are only spirits instead of flesh and blood.

HJP55 - Yes that was the inspiration for that name :)

HJP55 - I'm glad you like those characters! Neither of their stories are done by any stretch; they have a hard road ahead of them though.

Guest (chapter 60) - Yeah I was trying to capture Cell's own delusions that I am sure he thought Gero shared.

(Chapter 61) Him meeting Gohan definitely helps aid the deviation.

(Chapter 68) Yeah he sort of did

Guest starting on May 20th 2020: I enjoyed getting to follow your reading of the story. I am sorry the wait was so long.

DBZ Fan - I am sorry, the story hasn't been abandoned, I was just drowning in grad school and then recovering from that. My writing style, creativity, and joy of writing got absolutely beaten out of me in grad school and it has taken me a very, very long time to recover. I re-wrote the chapter at least 4 or 5 times, but I just finally was able to force myself to get it done. My hope is still to someday finish this story, or at least get to an acceptable off ramp. I just can't say how long that will take or if I will be successful. This was originally a 4 year plan on my part. I had it mapped out 25 chapters a year. Instead it ballooned an additional 50% from my original outline and I was only able to sustain 25 chapters for 1 year. I plan on doing my best, but it may take a while. I am sorry about that and I do appreciate all of the support you and everyone else have given over the years.

Captain Fox - I am sorry it has taken so long. A lot of stuff has been going on the last few years.

Gotenks Rules - I do have the story mapped out to possibly someday include some Super characters at least. Hopefully if I get that far someday it will be a story you enjoy!

Okami2312 - I am sorry it has been such a long wait. I can't give any guarantees that I will be able to finish it, but I do plan to continue to try to finish it anyway even if the ending is abbreviated. I hate leaving people hanging without closure. So I am trying to avoid that at least.

Naruto - thank you for all the reviews. I enjoyed following along as you read the story!

Thank you to everyone else for all of the reviews and the patience. I will do my best but I can give 0 guarantees on how long I will last with the story. I will do my best to give everyone some closure at least if I don't feel like I can finish it all the way.