The Unlucky One

"Planet Vampa. It's a desolate planet—why would a mission suddenly pop up there? Could that alien be trying to screw me over?

No, no. He wouldn't have the guts!

Could I really be this unlucky? Just because my skin is darker than Son Goku's?"

Aboard the spaceship, Darles stared at the familiar name, the Tree of Might Seed clenched in his hand. He couldn't make sense of it, and he was more than a little disgruntled.

Then he wondered if he ought to pay his respects to the various big shots in the Dragon Ball World. After all, he'd probably arrived in this world without reporting in. He might as well pay his respects in advance!

Zeno?

No. With Zeno's childlike mind, he was clearly unreliable. If he got the urge to erase something, the whole of Universe 7 might disappear!

The Grand Priest?

Probably not. The Grand Priest was reliable enough, but he helped Zeno manage the twelve universes. Who knew who Darles was?

Whis? Beerus? Supreme Kai Shin?

After going over all the big shots in the Dragon Ball World in his mind, Darles had no choice but to abandon the far-fetched idea.

Still, he couldn't really be blamed. He felt like he'd been far too unlucky lately!

Never mind which big shot had tossed him into this dangerous Dragon Ball World. Even if they had, he couldn't afford to offend someone like that. But they should at least have given him some compensation! He wasn't asking for a system or anything—just one cheat, superpower, or Majin Bloodline would do!

One would be enough. He wouldn't complain about two, either.

But even after testing things several times, Darles hadn't found anything unusual. Even the Tree of Might Seed in his hand was something the original Darles had possessed in the source material, and he'd nearly missed it because he hadn't looked closely.

Fine. Even without those things, he could still become a big shot thanks to his knowledge of the plot. But what was with arriving in this world seriously injured and on the verge of death? The days of putting the protagonist through misery were long over. These days, it was all about feeling good from beginning to end. That kind of thing was so outdated!

Then Darles suddenly remembered that Saiyans seemed to grow stronger after being put through the wringer.

Really? In that case, never mind. Next item.

What was Frieza's deal? Darles had already been about to make a run for it, so how had he managed to run into Frieza on his way back? Didn't Frieza know he was still a nobody at this point? Why run into a big boss like that? Could he even beat him?

Fine, he'd only caught a glimpse of Frieza and been startled. But now he was heading straight for another boss's lair. Darles's heart had nearly given out.

That's right. Darles's destination was the very planet where the terrifying man who could grow almost infinitely stronger just by roaring might have been exiled—Broly!

Planet Vampa!

If this single-seat spaceship hadn't already been set to a fixed course that couldn't be changed at will, Darles would have turned around and gone back!

This was no way to live!

Who was Broly? He was a legendary Super Saiyan, a super warrior who appeared only once every thousand years and had unlimited potential!

In the future, Son Goku and Vegeta would have to train to become Super Saiyans. Broly, on the other hand, would only need one good fight with Son Goku.

What's more, Darles didn't know whether the Broly on Planet Vampa was the mild-mannered one from the Super movie or the one who chased Son Goku down in the theatrical film.

The two versions were vastly different. The former would be manageable, but if it was the latter, Darles's face was identical to Kakarot's. The moment he dared to appear in front of Broly, he could announce that his Dragon Ball adventure was ending early!

Darles's first thought was definitely to run. He could lie low for three or five years. With the Tree of Might Seed and his foreknowledge, raising his battle power wouldn't be hard. By then, whether it was Frieza or Broly, they'd be eating his dust.

But it was too late now. He could only take things one step at a time.

According to the spaceship's navigation system, he'd reach Planet Vampa in about a month.

That meant Darles had only a month to come up with a plan. At the very least, he had to avoid direct contact with Broly. Broly probably couldn't sense ki yet, so if Darles could learn to conceal his ki within a month and hide the moment the ship landed, he'd still have a chance.

At the very least, he had to make sure Paragus's Scouter couldn't detect him. On a planet that big, all he had to do was hide, and he'd have the advantage!

At that thought, Darles felt a little more at ease. Then he remembered that he still hadn't taken the time to check his current battle power!

"This messed-up world!" Darles muttered with a curse.

Following the method he remembered, Darles switched on the Scouter attached to his left ear and scanned himself!

"Beep beep beep!"

A string of numbers flashed across the Scouter before finally stopping.

"4,862!"

Seeing the battle power displayed on the Scouter, Darles's mood, which had just begun to settle, immediately soured again. He hadn't expected the original body's potential to be so poor. He'd already died once, and Saiyans were supposed to receive a huge boost in battle power after recovering from near-fatal injuries. Yet he'd only gained a little over 3,000 battle power. That was far below what he'd expected!

But after thinking it over, Darles decided this was probably how it should work. If merely surviving a near-death experience led to a huge boost in battle power, then with how much Saiyans loved fighting, a whole host of powerful warriors would have appeared long ago. Frieza wouldn't have had the chance to wipe out Planet Vegeta. Never underestimate how crazy the warrior race Saiyans were about fighting!

Besides, although the Low-Class Warriors—the most numerous group—had a high death rate, there were always survivors after a major battle. Over the years, only one Low-Class Warrior with a battle power exceeding 10,000 had appeared: Bardock. There had to be some kind of limit.

Darles guessed it had to do with building up potential. Although Saiyans spent their whole lives fighting, the rate at which they accumulated potential was simply too slow. Son Goku was different. He trained extensively on Earth, then trained under high gravity, which was why his strength increased so dramatically each time he recovered from a serious injury.

On Planet Namek, Vegeta had also tried to exploit this trick to boost his battle power, but it hadn't worked very well. That was probably the reason.

A peaceful state of mind also helped Saiyans grow stronger. For instance, the Saiyans in Universe 6 were, on average, much stronger than those in Universe 7. If the Super movie's explanation was accurate, then becoming a Super Saiyan depended on both an increase in the body's S-Cells and intense emotions. If so, the S-Cells that grew in a peaceful environment should also play a major role in a Saiyan's strength.

Darles's predecessor had been just like a traditional Saiyan, relying solely on fighting to grow stronger and never even considering training. In that case, the modest increase made sense.

Having accepted this, Darles's mood began to settle. He resigned himself to the reality, though it still left him feeling a little frustrated.

The vastness and allure of the universe had always drawn humanity's gaze. Since ancient times, people had looked up at the stars. But only when you were truly out among them did you realize how dangerous they were!

A white, spherical spaceship streaked through the empty reaches of space. White vapor wrapped around it, making it look like a comet with a trailing tail!

The view drew closer. Through the spaceship's glass, its pilot came clearly into view: a Saiyan warrior. That warrior was Darles.

Usually, when a single-seat spaceship like this made a long journey, its pilot would enter deep hibernation. For one thing, it reduced the strain on the body. For another, space was simply too vast. In a ship that could fit only one person, there was no way to train or have fun. Without hibernation, anyone would eventually go crazy!

But Darles wasn't hibernating like he usually would. He was turning things over in his mind. He needed to learn how to conceal his ki before reaching his destination, and he was relying on a few training methods occasionally mentioned in his memories of the Dragon Ball World!

Training in the Dragon Ball World was crude, with no flashy techniques or anything of the sort. It was mostly about training the body. Once your body became strong enough, the energy within you became strong enough too. That energy was the ki inside everyone.

But unlike the rough way the rest of the universe used ki, Earthlings, being weak by nature, focused more on controlling it precisely. This led them to develop techniques that used ki in different ways, like the Destructo Disc, the Tri-Beam, and the Evil Containment Wave.

Most importantly, because they focused on making use of every bit of ki, Earth's warriors developed better sensing abilities. They could sense the ki inside others, and they could also conceal their own. What Darles needed to do now was master control of his ki like an Earth warrior—at the very least, he had to learn to hide it.

"Be as still as the sky, be as swift as lightning!"

The words came to Darles's mind. Mr. Popo had taught them to Son Goku while he was receiving Kami's guidance in the Heavenly Realm. After training under Mr. Popo, Son Goku's strength had changed dramatically by the following year's World Martial Arts Tournament. This was the most reliable advice Darles could think of.

Darles slowly closed his eyes and tried to quiet his mind. It was difficult for him. Saiyans were naturally an irritable race, and the violence, bloodlust, and desire for battle in their blood kept surfacing in his mind. On top of that, the memories from his previous life and all the information he'd absorbed over the years kept distracting him. He couldn't concentrate at all. Forget training his state of mind—just getting calm was already a struggle!

He opened his eyes again, a trace of helplessness flickering in them!

Two whole days had passed, and Darles still hadn't found the slightest clue. Instead, he'd made himself utterly exhausted, his eyes bloodshot.

Darles slumped in his seat and stared blankly at his reflection in the spaceship's glass. It was a very familiar face: the signature black, spiky hair, the lean face, the handsome features. Everything was familiar except the skin tone. The only other difference was the lack of Son Goku's innocent smile, which made him look gloomy and sinister.

"Son Goku, Kakarot." Darles murmured the two names, his thoughts hidden.

Suddenly, a spark of inspiration flashed through Darles's mind. He realized how he should train next.

This time, Darles didn't close his eyes again. Instead, he opened them as wide as he could and gazed through the glass at the boundless reaches of space. He stopped thinking about training and tried to discover the beauty in the silent void.

Enormous stars, dim planets, dangerous asteroid belts—Darles looked at them from a different perspective and let himself appreciate the universe's artistry!

Slowly, Darles's expression began to grow calm. The irritation, helplessness, and anxiety on his face all disappeared. A sincere smile appeared on his face, as innocent as a baby's!

He lost himself in the beautiful scene before him and slowly closed his eyes. This wasn't the deep hibernation the spaceship could induce. He had simply fallen asleep, a smile on his face!