Mastering Ki

After waking from his slumber, Turles checked the flight log and saw that a day and a night had passed.

It was the first time Turles had slept since crossing over. Now he felt lighter than ever before, as if every shackle had fallen away.

He tried to sense his ki and picked up on it easily. It felt clean and pure, a truly wondrous sensation. He hadn't used his eyes to see it, yet the information appeared in his mind all the same. Unlike the images his eyes saw, this was so close that his mind captured every movement, faster and more accurately than his eyes ever could!

Turles grinned, then burst into unrestrained laughter!

His hunch had been right. He'd found a way—he'd actually learned to control his ki!

It was all thanks to Turles's memories from his previous life. He hadn't expected that knowing the story would help him in this world, let alone that some of the cultural ideas he'd encountered in his past life would have such a profound effect on him.

It all stemmed from a hunch. Earlier, he'd been muttering Son Goku's name, which had led him to think of some of Akira Toriyama's ideas behind creating the Dragon Ball Universe, such as where names like Son Goku and Jackie Chan had come from.

All of this showed how deeply Eastern culture from his past life had influenced Akira Toriyama's work. If so, then Turles figured the cultural idea of "harmony between heaven and man" must also have played an important part.

So Turles stopped trying to concentrate and instead let his thoughts drift freely. He took in the beauty of the universe, felt the wonders of nature, and began to blend into his surroundings, as quiet as the sky.

And the best way to blend into the ocean was to become a drop of water!

Turles imagined himself swimming through the sea like a fish, running through the wilderness like a deer—unrestrained and free!

Clearly, he'd succeeded!

Turles hadn't expected to get it right on his first try. It seemed this body wasn't entirely without talent. At the very least, the fusion of two lives had strengthened his soul and sharpened his insight. The original Turles certainly hadn't been so naturally gifted.

Turles easily directed the ki inside him. A warm sensation spread through his whole body, something he'd never felt before. Curious, he tried a few other things.

After experimenting for a while, Turles began slowly suppressing his ki. The energy inside him quieted, and its flow gradually slowed!

He pressed the button on his Scouter again.

"Beep, beep, beep!"

"0!"

"Perfect!" Turles exclaimed, crushing the Scouter in his hand!

He didn't need the thing anymore. He knew Frieza had planted a listening device in every Scouter. As long as one was switched on, Frieza could listen to everything being said. Keeping it would always be a liability.

Now he could control his ki at will. He could not only lower his power level, but reduce it to an unbelievable zero. That meant his mastery of ki was nearly perfect, like Mr. Popo's in the Heavenly Realm.

Turles felt the ki inside him respond as readily as a limb. Its quantity had decreased somewhat, to around 1,000, but its quality had improved. Before, his ki had been like a fluffy mass of cotton; now it was like cotton soaked in water. It took up less space, but had gained weight!

Turles nodded in satisfaction, kept his power level at zero, and fell into hibernation. He was suddenly looking forward to his upcoming trip to Planet Vampa!

Planet Vampa!

Paragus was preparing that evening's meal: the front leg of an insect. On this planet, it was just about the only thing fit to eat!

"Broly!" Paragus suddenly shouted in irritation, tossing aside the carcass in his hands.

Broly's towering figure appeared from the cave behind Paragus. He calmly picked up the insect carcass and continued preparing it.

Broly worked with a serious expression, without a hint of impatience. Having lived on Planet Vampa since he was little, he never took food lightly and never wasted a scrap!

Though he'd spent a full eighteen years on this planet, Paragus still couldn't stand it. He thought constantly about returning to Planet Vegeta. He would take Broly back and have him cruelly kill that bastard King Vegeta. Then Paragus would take the Saiyan throne and become the new King of the Saiyans. Planet Vegeta could be renamed, too. Planet Paragus had a nice ring to it!

With Broly at his side, Paragus could be more than King of the Saiyans. Emperor of the Universe would be within his grasp as well. He wasn't afraid of that shorty Frieza. One day, the whole world would lie beneath the feet of father and son!

Paragus was still grumbling when a white spacecraft streaked across the sky and descended toward the other side of the planet, unnoticed by him.

Broly tapped Paragus on the shoulder, his eyes fixed on the white speck in the distance.

"Broly, don't bother me. Deal with it yourself!" Paragus said, batting his hand away.

When he felt Broly tapping him again, Paragus angrily turned around. "Broly, you—"

He didn't finish. Following Broly's gaze, he spotted something from his memories.

At first, Paragus could hardly believe his eyes. Then he burst out laughing and slapped Broly on the shoulder. "Broly! We're saved! We can finally leave this place!"

Without waiting for Broly to respond, Paragus set off toward where the spacecraft had landed.

Broly didn't understand why Paragus was always so eager to leave. He had no memories of the outside world and couldn't imagine the wonders of civilization, since he'd lived on this planet for as long as he could remember.

But Broly always listened to his father, so he took off after Paragus.

Soon, Broly landed in front of a huge crater. Paragus was frantically searching for something.

"Why? Why isn't it here? Where's the ship?" Paragus cried, almost hysterical.

Broly stood silently at the edge of the crater, watching Paragus. He didn't know what a spacecraft was, so he had no idea how to help.

"So that's Broly?"

Far away, Turles watched the two from hiding, his ki completely suppressed.

The ship's systems had woken Turles from hibernation early, before he reached Planet Vampa. He knew Paragus was a true Saiyan: cold and callous, treating lives as worthless. Even with his son Broly, it was hard to tell whether Paragus felt more affection for him or saw him as a tool. So the moment Turles landed, he hid his spacecraft far away.

As soon as he'd hidden the ship, Turles sensed two ki signatures approaching at high speed. He hurried back here, and sure enough, he saw Paragus and Broly.

Turles was a little surprised to see that Paragus wasn't wearing a Scouter. Then he realized that the old-fashioned Scouter from eighteen years ago had probably exploded while measuring Broly's power. How could it have survived?

But when Turles saw Broly's face, he knew this was the version of Broly from the newer film. That put him completely at ease. At least his life was safe.

Still, he needed to observe them for a few more days.

Back in the cave where he'd taken temporary shelter, Turles suddenly sighed, unable to hide his envy and resentment.

"What a terrifying talent!"

From Turles's sensing, Paragus's strength was around 20,000. He'd been an Elite Warrior back in the day, so that level of power was well within expectations.

But wasn't Broly's strength a little over the top? He was only eighteen, wasn't he? How could he be so strong? Even a Legendary Super Saiyan had to have some limit. At the very least, it ought to make sense!

Yet from what Turles could sense, Broly's power level was already over 500,000. He'd estimated it by comparing Broly's strength to Frieza's. As for the exact figure, Turles had no way of knowing!

Even so, Broly's power had frightened him. Broly had only ever trained with Paragus. If he fought more powerful opponents, and no one killed him in one blow, his strength would become even more terrifying.

Broly was also exceptionally talented in battle. In the original story, fighting Son Goku and Vegeta alone had taught him how to sense ki. And once he went berserk, he could overpower Golden Frieza. The more Turles thought about it, the more hopeless it seemed!

But since Paragus's Scouter was broken, Turles figured he could take a few more chances. Maybe he could try approaching Broly alone first. Going by the original story, Broly was quite innocent. If Turles could win him over, he'd make a powerful ally!

After forcing down a nauseating bite of thigh meat from the cave's former occupant, Turles made up his mind.