Three Years

In the blink of an eye, three months had passed, and Chaya was finally able to leave the infant incubation room.

Someone lifted him from the incubation pod, but Chaya discovered that the people holding him were not his parents, but another unfamiliar Saiyan couple.

"Little Chaya, your parents died while carrying out a mission. From today onward, Auntie Rebecca will take care of you," said a delicate-looking female Saiyan softly as she held Chaya.

Rebecca's husband went over and picked up another Saiyan infant, then placed her and Chaya together on a movable bed before leaving the infant incubation room.

At that moment, Rebecca's husband, Adri, said, "Although Brent and the others died, as their comrades, we'll take good care of their child. This way, Selyne will have a companion too. When they carry out missions in the future, we can arrange for them to go together."

"Mm, I hope the two little ones can get along well!" Rebecca smiled as she looked at the two little children on the bed.

So my parents died while carrying out a mission, and the people taking care of me now are their former comrades. Chaya silently observed them. His parents' deaths did not bring him much sorrow. Other than blood ties, there had never really been much familial affection between them.

Instead, he felt closer to this Saiyan couple who had adopted him.

Turning to look at the other infant lying beside him, Chaya saw the tiny child sucking on her little finger, her bright eyes fixed unblinkingly on him. Seeing him look at her, the little girl made a few cooing sounds, pulled her finger from her mouth, then pressed it against Chaya's lips and began fussing loudly.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

Chaya slapped away the Saiyan girl's finger, but the little one seemed to be having a great time and reached over again.

"Look, Rebecca. Isn't Selyne quite fond of little Chaya? I think they'll definitely get along well," Adri said with a hearty laugh.

"Yes!"

Rebecca could not help smiling as she watched the two little ones frolic.

How can you tell that we're getting along well? Chaya cried inwardly.

Rebecca's home was located in the prosperous district of Planet Vegeta, not far from the royal city. Families living here were generally those of Mid-Class Warriors or above. Both Rebecca and her husband were Elite Warriors, and their house was also the most luxurious one nearby.

For the convenience of carrying out missions, members of the same squad did not live too far apart. Chaya's original home had also been in this district, only a few streets away from Rebecca and Adri's house.

During their previous mission, the Adri Squad had been ambushed by hostile forces while carrying out a mission on a remote planet. After a fierce battle, seven of the Adri Squad's thirteen members had died and four were seriously injured. The squad had suffered a devastating blow, and Chaya's parents had been among the seven who died.

The Adri Squad existed in name only.

So after returning to Planet Vegeta and delivering compensation to the families of his fallen comrades, Adri disbanded the squad and found himself work as an instructor at a training camp. It was then that they learned of Chaya's existence, so they brought him home and raised him alongside their daughter, Selyne.

After arriving at Rebecca and Adri's home, Chaya lived a very comfortable life. It would have been even better if a little Saiyan had not been constantly trailing behind him.

For some reason, ever since meeting Chaya for the first time, the little Saiyan named Selyne seemed to have found an entertaining toy. She followed behind Chaya everywhere, unwilling to leave him even while eating or sleeping, making Rebecca often say that the two of them were especially compatible.

Not long afterward, Chaya and Selyne reached the age when they had to begin training. Under Adri's arrangements, the two entered a training camp. Aside from Saiyans with Elite Warrior potential, who could have their own independent training grounds, all Mid-Class Warriors had to share the same grounds.

Both Chaya and Selyne had the aptitude of Mid-Class Warriors, so they were assigned to the same training camp.

There were a total of one hundred Saiyans in this training camp, all children with Mid-Class Warrior potential. Their battle powers generally ranged from sixty to seventy. There were only a few children like Chaya whose battle power had already approached one hundred.

These children trained under the guidance of adult Saiyans. Life in the training camp was extremely harsh, and after training for a while, Chaya immediately experienced the difference between Saiyan training methods and those of Earthlings.

This was hardly training. It was simply getting beaten up. Every day consisted of nothing but beatings. Those adult Saiyans had no idea what restraint was. No matter who you were, they would start by pummeling you mercilessly, without offering any tailored guidance at all.

This is how the warrior race trains? If Saiyans weren't so physically tough, how could this kind of training possibly achieve anything?

Chaya shook his head helplessly on the training ground. During this period, his battle power had not increased much, but his ability to withstand blows had improved considerably.

In his view, this kind of training was a complete waste of time. Thinking of that, Chaya felt somewhat regretful. Could cultivation methods in the universe really be this backward? No wonder they don't even know how to use Ki.

Unfortunately, he still had to endure this life for another three years. To Chaya, who desperately wanted to grow stronger, it was simply wasting his life.

Several times, Chaya asked Adri whether there were any other cultivation methods, but Adri merely looked at him in surprise and replied, "This is the best way for Saiyans to grow. Many forms of life in the universe grow through this kind of training."

Chaya was left speechless.

From this, Chaya could see the gap between Saiyan and Earthling cultivation. Saiyan training methods were incredibly clumsy, still stuck in a primitive and savage state, yet this type of training was the most widespread throughout the universe.

By comparison, the Earthlings' methods were what truly deserved to be called cultivation.

The strong honed their claws and fangs; the weak relied on wisdom.

Earthlings' cultivation methods were highly intelligent practices created through long years of struggle on a low-level planet. Their starting point was fundamentally different from that of the people of the universe. No wonder the overwhelming majority of them could not use Ki.

With no other choice, Chaya could only rely on his memories of watching the Dragon Balls anime in his previous life and explore on his own. He strapped weights onto himself; he knew no more advanced methods than that.

Fortunately, under Planet Vegeta's tenfold gravity, the results were immediate. Before long, he had surpassed the other Mid-Class Warriors of the same period.

When little Selyne, Chaya's constant shadow, saw that he always had a bag strapped to himself, she thought it looked fun and tied several onto herself as well. She immediately became unable to walk, so Selyne stared at Chaya with tear-filled eyes and an unhappy expression.

Chaya insisted that this really was not his fault!

At last, the three years of training came to an end. Not yet four years old, Chaya had already grown to nearly a meter tall, and his battle power had broken through to 410. This made him stand out sharply in a Mid-Class Warrior training camp where battle powers generally hovered just above 200.

A battle power of 410 was already far stronger than Son Goku had been when he defeated the second King Piccolo at the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament in the original story, yet Chaya was still not even four years old.

This was thanks to his Mid-Class Warrior aptitude, though it was also inseparable from Chaya's own hard work.

Selyne ranked just behind Chaya, with a battle power of 370, likewise far surpassing children her age. The achievements of the two of them were already more outstanding than those of ordinary Elite Warriors.

When the three-year term ended, missions were assigned to Chaya and Selyne as well. Through Adri's arrangements, Chaya and Selyne were assigned to the same mission.

Their target was a remote planet in the southern part of the North Galaxy star region—Planet Selma.