(Goku POV)
It was a hot and sunny day on Mt. Paozu. Several years had passed since Majin Buu's death, and a time of peace had descended upon Earth.
Son Goku, the strongest protector of Earth, had worked hard to reach the current pinnacle of his strength. He had defeated a demon king, an intergalactic warlord, and monsters capable of bringing about the apocalypse of not just earth but the entire universe! However, as impressive as his feats were, his wife Chichi said that wasn't enough to put food on the table. After weeks of her nagging him, he had finally gotten a job as a radish farmer.
It was a decent living and a respectable one that Chichi claimed she could talk to her fellow housewives about, but Goku didn't care much for that. He cared for training, but unfortunately, with his level of strength, growing radishes wasn't good enough to help maintain his strength.
Besides, he couldn't even challenge himself even if he wanted to, since the machine softened the dirt for him. All he could do is sit back and stare into the cleared land ahead of him with utter boredom. His only companion being the hum and roar of his tractor echo across the mountainous valley he worked at.
Well, that and his memories of his younger years.
At times like these, he fondly looked back to his memories of when he was a child and trained under Master Roshi with his best friend Krillin, plowing fields with their bare hands. Even after all this time and with his current power, Goku's hands still ached just remembering those first few days of Master Roshi's training. Still, he couldn't help but miss those days, even with all the strain and exhaustion his body went through. Which only made his current predicament even more of a bummer.
He thought it would have been better if he plowed his fields by hand like the old days, but when Chichi found out she heavily disapproved and got Bulma to gift them a tractor.
Goku might not be the smartest carrot in the shed, but even he knew that it made no sense to rely on slow, clunky machines when he could do it with his two hands.
If Goku had his way, he could easily till all the fields in a few minutes without breaking a sweat. Hehe, that would be great because he could then spend that extra time training. Sitting on a tractor for 12 hours was not something Goku found joy in. He could feel his muscles twitch in excitement whenever he trained or fought a strong foe. An excitement that went unanswered when he sat on this darn tractor!
But what Chichi said goes, so he did as his wife told him.
Suddenly, his mind jerked back to reality when his tractor stopped. Goku pressed a bit more on the gas to try and make it move, but it wouldn't budge. He sighed and made sure to turn off his tractor's engine before hopping off to inspect the issue. The last time he didn't, Chichi yelled at him for wasting gas. Once on the ground, he turned his attention to one of the front wheels. Ah, it was a stump.
Goku remembered that he had to clear this land himself when it was just forested. He used a Destructo disc to cut down all the trees and harvested them for firewood, selling the rest for the same purpose. It would have been a waste if he had just vaporized the wood with a ki blast. However, it seems he missed one. He needed to improve his forest-clearing skills next time.
Nevertheless, at least it got him off his feet for the first time that day.
Goku bent his knees and tried to slide his hand under the stump to get a good grip. Once he secured a decent hold of the stump, he used a fraction of his energy to uproot it. He had become so accustomed to this type of work after so many times that it had become muscle memory.
"Huh?"
Which made any form of resistance seem even more surprising. Thinking it must have been a fluke, he tried again, and once more it defied his attempt to remove it from its home.
"Oh wow. You just won't let go. You're about as stubborn as Vegeta," Goku said.
Goku smiled at the defiance. Any form of distraction from the monotony was welcome in his book. Goku put more energy into his arms and pulled the stump upward more than what was needed to rip out the stubborn piece of wood. To Goku's confusion and delight, the stump did not budge, not even an inch.
This was actually getting interesting. Goku tightened his core and dipped into his ki reserves slightly, guiding the bright, warm energy from his stomach all the way across his arms and legs. Taking a deep breath, Goku channeled ki into his fingers to grip the stump harder.
"Hah!" Goku lifted the stump once more, expecting his increase in power to be enough to rip it out of the ground. After 20 seconds of light grunting, Goku pulled back and reevaluated the stump.
"Wow. You don't know when to give up do you? I can respect that, but as much as I like the challenge, I have to get you out. So brace yourself!"
He had already spent too much time trying to get rid of this guy. He needed to get going since Goten should be arriving any minute now with his lunch. He could sense his energy next to Chi Chi's, and that usually meant food was coming soon. Drooling at the prospect of food, Goku pumped himself up with a short grunt. He channeled his energy once more, but this time, brought out 10% of his base reserves. This level of energy might end up being overkill for his task, but he wanted to get this over with.
"Huh? It's not moving?" The Saiyan pulled for a few more seconds before realizing it wouldn't be enough. While part of him was annoyed, the other part was getting excited.
"Well, what do you know? Alright, you have my attention, Mr. Stump. Let's see if you can keep up!"
With fierce determination, Goku unleashed even more of his base power into his pull. 15%... 20%... 30%... 40%!? The stump remained still, as if dismissing Goku's attempts to remove it from its rightful place.
"You're putting up a much harder fight than I thought. Shame you are just a stump and not a fighter. You would make a good sparring partner. Fine. Let's see if you can handle... this!"
Goku released a loud shout that shook the earth, and his power skyrocketed another 30%. A total of 70% of his strength was being channeled over the stump, which was somehow still able to match him. The amount of strength he was putting out would have hurt Frieza back on Namek, yet somehow this stump surpassed this level of strength.
His blood rushed in excitement. This stump was proving to be a rather worthy foe.
No longer seeing the stump as weak, he decided to 'go all out' and, with another shout, brought out the remainder of his power in the form of a bright aura of ki that cloaked him from head to toe.
Nothing happened.
Goku released his grip and rotated his pulling arm. It felt sore, actually sore from the strain of pulling something too hard! He was starting to wonder just what the heck was going on. How could a stump have this much strength?
This scenario piqued his curiosity, and unfortunately for the stump, this only made him treat the stump as a serious opponent.
"Very well. Playtime's over."
Goku went into a stance and clenched his fists. The ground began to shake, causing small pebbles to levitate into the air. Sparks danced around his body, and his hair was flickering between black and gold.
His inner energy reserves suddenly turned golden, and the floodgates of his power opened. Muscles bulged and grew, multiplying his ki reserves by 50. A substantial amount of power was unleashed with a shout that echoed all over the valley. His hair stood up on end, and his body exploded in a yellow flash.
0-0-0
(Krillin POV)
At the same time, Krillin, Goku's best friend, was currently on duty. He was a police officer, and while that meant he had the occasional high-speed chase, he was still someone who had to do a lot of pencil-pushing. He was currently writing a ticket for some idiot who had parked in front of a fire hydrant. Seeing as it was a fancy new sports car, it likely belonged to some entitled rich kid. Oh well, rich or poor, a ticket is a ticket.
Krillin gently tore the ticket from his notebook and slid the note under the windshield. He then got back into his hover scooter and continued his lazy patrol. Until it was interrupted when he felt his best friend's ki energy skyrocket. Krillin gazed down at the clock and noted it was almost noon. He couldn't help but shake his head.
"Goku is goofing off again." Well, that or he's taking an early lunch break. Though he doubted that Chi-Chi would care about the technicality.
It was a good thing Chi-Chi didn't know how to sense energy, or else his friend's 'secret training' would be a thing of the past. As much as he agreed with Chi-Chi when it came to having a job to provide for the family, Krillin understood that having Goku stay in shape was crucial to the safety of their planet. Chi-Chi understood it too, but at times it felt like she hadn't grasped the concept after all these years, even after she was killed by Buu...
He was brought out of his depressing thoughts by another surge of energy, only this time more intense.
"Oh wow, he's really getting into it."
(Goku POV)
Goku was now standing in the middle of his field, clad in a golden aura. His formerly jet black hair was now glowing with an intense yellow energy. His eyes, now painted a light teal, honed in on the stubborn piece of wood that had forced him to push himself this far.
"You've proven to be quite strong, stronger than Frieza, which is crazy considering you are just a stump, but I doubt even you can handle the power of a super-" He pulled, and his eyes widened in disbelief as the stump continued to defy his strength.
"-Saiyan?"
Impossible.
A mere stump powerful enough to beat a Super Saiyan's strength? In this form, he could easily turn rock into dust with little effort. But this stump, it was neither scratched, damaged nor moved since he had been attempting to remove it. Goku's Saiyan instincts went into overdrive, his lust for battle had been triggered.
He adjusted his grip and put as much energy as he could into his arms, legs, and spine.
"Haaaah!"
He could have used a shovel to dig around the stump and lift it out, but he felt he needed to do this with his own strength. After 5 minutes of pulling with no success, Goku smiled, "holy cow, you're way stronger than Frieza! Heck, you might have given Cell a good run for his money. Now I am getting pumped, let's see how you handle Super Saiyan 2!"
An explosion of sparks erupted from his being and danced over his body. The amount of ki once more multiplied and, at the same time, drew the attention of every ki sensor on the planet. The ground around the stump eroded slightly as the turbulent winds generated by Super Saiyan 2 blew the surrounding soil into the air.
"No way?! Super Saiyan 2 still isn't enough?!"
This stump was starting to scare him, to the point where he wondered if he was dreaming or not. Goku was tempted to pinch himself to make sure he was not sleeping, but before he could do so, his grip slipped and his fingers grazed the tree bark of the stump.
"Ow!"
Goku looked down at the palm of his hand and he was shocked to see a rather large splinter piercing his super saiyan 2 enhanced skin. Pulling it out, he actually felt himself wince slightly as the inner layers of his skin were exposed to the outside air, though it was short-lived since the wound was quickly clogged by a drop of blood.
So it wasn't a dream after all.
He chuckled nervously, "man, you really are a strong stump, aren't you? How did I even manage to damage you when you were a living tree?" That was the million zeni question. If this stump could withstand this much power from him, how could it have been damaged by his Destructo Disk?
"Very well, since you have given me quite the good showing, I'm going to go all out for real this time. Let's see how you can handle me when I go even further beyond!" Goku grit his teeth, his veins bulged out from his arms, legs and his temple as he pushed the energy from deep in his core outward. His screams echoed throughout the mountain range.
The planet earth briefly shook under the immense power.
0-0-0
(Vegeta POV)
While most people thought the current seismic event was a mere earthquake, a select few knew what was really going on and they were terrified. Vegeta knew that Kakarot never used Super Saiyan 3 against an opponent unless it was absolutely necessary.
What was strange was that he could only sense Kakarot's energy and no one else's.
"What is that idiot up against that he would resort to super saiyan 3?!" He didn't waste any time, he charged up his power and blasted into the air, heading in the direction of Mt. Paozu.
0-0-0
(Goku POV)
Goku finished transforming. His demeanor was much more irate but calm.
He extended his arms and with practiced ease, he formed claws made of ki, to ensure a firm grip.
With his newly reinforced arms, he firmly grabbed the stump, making sure to even dig his ki claws into it. Which once again failed since the bark was so perplexingly hard. Goku was no longer surprised by this, given how this stump had withstood so much of his power. Using every bit of energy he had in Super Saiyan 3, he pulled.
The ground trembled under the weight of Goku's super saiyan 3 strength. Honestly, it was getting ridiculous at this point! Super Saiyan 3 Goku was using enough energy that he could have lifted the Earth over his shoulders and used it as a volleyball.
Goku was starting to get annoyed and began to push past the limits of Super Saiyan 3. He pulled and pulled and pulled some more.
"Crap." Goku's legs slipped, and he promptly fell on his ass.
"Owowow, huh?" Goku noted that his feet felt kind of chilly, and when he looked at them, he saw that all his toes had ripped through his boots.
"Ah man, Chi-chi just bought these for me! She's gonna kill me!"
The amount of power that he was forcing into them was beyond the intended maximum amount of abuse they were designed to withstand. It was a miracle they even lasted that long. All of that effort and energy used, and the stump remained completely unharmed, as was the soil it clung onto. Goku went up to have another round, but when he got up from the ground, he felt a wave of dizziness and exhaustion hit him like a freight train. Super Saiyan 3 had run out, and he was forced to power down to his base form.
Sweat emerged from his pores and soaked his clothes. His ragged breaths and aching back made standing difficult. "Phew, talk about a workout. Man, you are really strong. Stronger than I would have imagined. It's been years since anything has pushed me this far. Man, I need a break."
No longer able to handle the strain, he sat on the stump and wiped the sweat and dirt that clung to his forehead.
"Man, where is Goten with my lunch? I could really use it right about now."
"Dad! Are you okay?!" the frantic voice of his son called out, thankfully still carrying his lunch.
Well, speak of King Yemma, and he shall appear. "Oh, hey Goten. Why wouldn't I be? Nice! You brought my lunch! Thanks!" He grabbed the massive bentos from his son's tiny hands and began to spread out his meal in front of him.
Brushing aside his youngest son's worries, he gave a prayer as thanks for his food, and began to dig in.
"Kakarot! What is the meaning of this?!"
Goku paused mid-bite into his lunch and looked at Vegeta then saw the rest of his friends had tagged along with him.
"Vegeta, guys? What are you doing here?"
Vegeta glared at him. "What are we doing here? You have the nerve to say such a thing after shaking the entire planet with your Super Saiyan 3 form?"
Goku rubbed the back of his neck and laughed nervously, "eheheh, oops. Sorry about that. I didn't mean to frighten you guys. I was just dealing with a very stubborn stump."
Everyone looked at each other with looks of skepticism on their faces, "Uh, Goku? Are you sure you didn't fight anyone? It's not that we don't believe you. It's that the idea of a tree stump being more powerful than Frieza or Majin Buu sounds kind of… unbelievable." Krillin said as he looked at the aforementioned stump he was now sitting on to eat his lunch.
Vegeta made an offended grunt. "Unbelievable? More like asinine. To think that you, of all people, needed to use the power of the legendary transformation of our warrior race to do basic landscaping. You truly have gotten soft, Kakarot."
"But it's true! That tree stump was able to keep up with me! I started out small and climbed my way up, but it just didn't care!"
"Regardless, your unprompted power-up caused a major stir all over the Earth. You need to be more considerate next time before you decide to use such strength." Piccolo had chided and scolded him hundreds of times, but he felt this was one of the more ridiculous instances in recent memory.
Goku scratched his cheek in embarrassment. "Sorry for the false alarm. I promise to be more careful in the future."
Piccolo nodded. "See that you do. Now, about that stump."
"Huh? Oh yeah! The stump! You guys wanna give it a whirl? If you manage to remove it, I'll even give you some free radishes. "
Vegeta scoffed. "Very well. I will accept your dumb challenge, Kakarot, but only to prove my point." With a swift movement, He kicked Goku off the stump.
"Geez, Vegeta, why'd you do that for?"
Vegeta ignored him and grabbed the trunk by its base, much as Goku had first done when he tried to remove the trunk. With a slight bend of the knees, he used barely a fraction of his strength, enough to rip out any normal tree stump.
"Grrr." But they weren't dealing with the average stump. Much to everyone else's surprise, Vegeta received the same result as the buffoon he kicked. Nothing.
Goku's friends looked at the stump in shock, their skepticism swept away by the gentle mountain breeze
"Oh, I see what you were getting at, Kakarot. This stump truly is stubborn." Vegeta smirked. "But, unlike you, I have actually kept up my training, and no mere stump will stop me."
Unintentionally following Goku's previous attempts, Vegeta powered up and pulled on the stump with little effect.
"Why you lousy!"
Vegeta coated his body in a dense white aura and powered up harder, but the stump once again seemed to ignore his power. The prince clicked his tongue in annoyance. His efforts were making no impact on the stump at all, which made him look like more of a fool.
"Wow. Goku wasn't kidding when he said that stump was special. Huh, Piccolo?" Piccolo looked at Krillin with a smirk. "Yeah, you're right. If Goku wasn't able to rip out this stump, then there's no way in hell Vegeta would be able to either."
Hearing that taunt angered the already annoyed Vegeta.
"Don't underestimate me!"
An explosion of yellow energy interrupted their banter. Vegeta had wasted no time transforming into a Super Saiyan. Vegeta pointed an open palm at the stump and gathered a large ball of ki.
"Haaaah!"
The ki ball launched toward the stump, and many braced for the impact… the impact that never came as the ki blast dissipated once it hit the stump's bark.
"What… "
"the…"
"HELL?!" Vegeta looked at the stump as if it had spit in the face of his saiyan heritage and called his mother a night worker.
"See? I told you so-" Goku tried to say, but Vegeta was having none of it.
"Shut the fuck up, Kakarot!"
Vegeta got into his titular stance, his hands behind his back while his eyes seemed hyper-focused on his target. Pink energy flooded Mt. Paozu as it coalesced into Vegeta's hands.
The Z fighters took a step back as they felt the planet busting power being aimed straight at the ground.
Krillin, being the brave fool that he was, tried toncalm Vegeta down, "Uh, Vegeta… I don't think pointing that thing towards the planet is a good idea-"
But Vegeta refused to listen and instead focused on his new objective, reducing this hunk of wood to mere atoms!
"GALICK GUUUUUN!" A huge beam of light flew towards the stump. The attack connected and created a massive explosion of energy, dust and superheated wind.
After a minute of blindness, everyone could see Vegeta smirking. "Hmph, see, it wasn't that tough. Now you owe me some free radishes, Kaka... rot?!" His smirk morphed into disbelief when the dust cleared to reveal an untouched stump.
"Wow. To think that there was a stump that not even a Super Saiyan could handle. That's crazy."
Vegeta's pride was hurt, and his rage manifested as an explosion of yellow aura coated in lightning. He was done playing games and pulled out his full-powered Super Saiyan 2, but he wasn't done; he lifted one arm into the air and channeled everything he had into that one area. He compressed the light energy flatter and flatter until it was a flat disk, a Destructo disk to be precise.
A saw had felled the tree, so a saw of energy should be no different.
"This farce of a challenge is over! DESTRUCTO DISK!" Vegeta threw the disk with all his strength.
It only took a fraction of a picosecond for the rotating ki blade to touch the stump.
The technique shattered.
Everyone stopped talking; the only noise made was the sound of the wind blowing through the mountains.
"Grraaaaaahhhh!"
Vegeta launched himself at the stump and started smashing his fists on it. The stump had clearly gotten to him, as it had injured his pride as a Saiyan.
Goku tried to intervene, but his friend Krillin stopped him, "I think it's for the best that you let him tucker himself out."
Goku sighed and agreed, then everyone continued to observe Vegeta's tantrum. At least for the first few minutes, watching Vegeta continue to smack the stump repeatedly without much success started to get boring. Seeing no threat to Earth, everyone decided to go back home. Everyone that is, except Goku, who still had to finish tilling his field and Vegeta who refused to let a mere stump make a mockery of his power. The prince's attempts to uproot the felled tree dragged on for so long, even Goku went back to doing his work.
Goku figured if that stump could stand up to the power of a Super Saiyan 3, then it deserved to stay; therefore, he decided to just till the field around the stump instead. By nightfall, Vegeta was still trying and failing to make even an impression on the wooden menace.
He was exhausted, hungry, and frustrated that he, the Prince of all Saiyans, had been bested by a tree stump. Humiliated and defeated, Vegeta flew back to Capsule Corp with what little strength he had left.
AN:
This story was inspired by an early episode of DBS, where Goku removes a stump. It was able to withstand Goku's strength for a moment which got Goku excited. It sadly did not last long and got uprooted.
After watching that, It brought me flashbacks to those times I struggled to remove stumps when I worked in landscaping. WIth that life experience, I got inspired and wrote this, because I thought it would be funny if Goku and friends tried to remove an immovable object.
Thanks for reading