"A Saiyan who transforms into a Great Ape." Soro grinned, his enormous mouth curving upward. "Their battle power increases tenfold!"
"Huh?" Son Goku was even more shocked. His eyes widened, and his jaw nearly hit the floor. "It increases tenfold!"
"What? Tenfold?" Piccolo's pupils constricted, and his fingers clenched involuntarily.
Son Gohan quietly wiped the sweat from his forehead with his little hand.
A tenfold increase in battle power!
It was terrifying!
"I wonder if I can transform without a tail." Son Goku looked envious as he reached behind himself and touched the spot where his tail used to be.
He shook his head and sighed.
"But it seems like I'd lose my reason if I transformed. Even if I could do it, it wouldn't be much use."
"Only a tiny fraction of Saiyans keep their reason after transforming into Great Apes," Soro said with a smile. His huge eyes held a hint of warmth. "But with enough training, they can eventually regain their reason!"
"Really?" Son Goku looked intrigued, his eyes lighting up. "I can regain my reason? That's great!"
"Your father can already keep his reason while transformed," Soro explained with a smile, his voice rumbling like distant thunder.
"My dad?" Son Goku scratched his head, his gaze turning distant. "I don't remember him at all."
"The biggest weakness of the Great Ape Transformation is the moon." Soro didn't continue talking about Son Goku's father, Bardock. Instead, he looked up at the sky, the man-made orb reflected in his golden eyes. "As long as the moon is destroyed, the transformation ends."
"That's true!" Son Goku nodded thoughtfully.
After a pause,
Son Goku suddenly realized something and hurriedly asked, "Can Vegeta keep his reason when he transforms into a Great Ape?"
Soro nodded, dipping his chin slightly.
"In other words..." Son Goku sucked in a sharp breath, the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end. "When Vegeta and Nappa came to Earth this time, if you hadn't stepped in, Soro, could they have transformed into Great Apes and fought me?"
His Adam's apple bobbed.
"If that had happened, I'm afraid I wouldn't have stood a chance against him!"
Soro smiled, the corner of his enormous mouth lifting, but didn't answer.
A deep light flickered in his golden eyes.
After all, that hadn't happened in this timeline, so there wasn't much point in saying more.
"You can go," Soro said, waving his hand. His enormous palm stirred up a gust of wind. "I won't pick on you."
"You scared me," Son Goku said with a sigh, patting his chest. "I thought something had happened to you. I'm glad you're all right."
He didn't intend to stay, either. His body began to rise slightly.
"Then we'll head back. We'll find a chance to have a proper spar sometime."
"Sure." Soro nodded.
Son Goku and the other two immediately flew off. Their three figures streaked across the sky and soon dwindled to tiny specks.
The wasteland fell silent again.
Wind swept in from the distance, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Soro stood where he was, looking down at his enormous body, then at himself.
The reason he'd let Son Goku and the others leave was that his clothes had been torn to shreds when he transformed into a Great Ape.
If he returned to normal now, it would damage his glorious image.
Soro's mouth twitched.
He'd have to find a way to get armor like the Saiyans wore.
That kind of armor was incredibly stretchy.
Vegeta's armor hadn't been damaged at all when he transformed into a Great Ape.
Soro looked away and focused his awareness within himself.
He extended one huge finger and tapped the air, selecting the skill icon labeled [Battle Power ×500].
The colorful icon flashed.
At once, Soro felt the energy inside him surging wildly, like a volcano coming to life, magma rushing through his veins.
A rush of power swelled through him. His muscles bulged, then settled back down.
Yet none of that energy seemed to spill out. It was perfectly concealed deep within him.
Like a sleeping beast lurking in the shadows, perfectly still.
In other words, other people still perceived his battle power as 200,000.
But his true battle power had already reached 100 million.
Soro was thrilled. His enormous mouth spread into a grin, showing a row of sharp teeth.
Now that he'd tested the form enough, he didn't feel any particular attachment to being a Great Ape.
It was just a shame he couldn't turn into Broly's Wrathful form.
Broly's Wrathful transformation only increased his energy tenfold and made his body a little bigger. That was all.
Actually, being a full-sized Great Ape made fighting inconvenient.
He could keep adjusting it over time.
For now, he needed to get home and change into some new clothes.
He couldn't exactly go running around naked after changing back, could he?
Soro glanced down at the few scraps of cloth on his body. His mouth twitched.
"Whoosh!"
He shot up from the wasteland, his huge frame tearing through the air like a streak of light.
The ground rapidly shrank beneath him, and the mountains and rivers turned into lines.
He flew toward West City, moving far faster than he had on the way there.
Capsule Corp headquarters.
Bulma stood in the yard watering the flowers, a hose in her hand. Sunlight glinted off the stream of water.
She hummed to herself, in a good mood.
Suddenly, the sky darkened.
It was as if a huge cloud had blotted out the sun.
Bulma looked up. The hose nearly slipped from her hand.
A gigantic black Great Ape descended from the sky and landed in the open space in front of the yard.
Its immense body blocked half the sky, and its shadow swallowed her in darkness.
At the sudden appearance of such a colossal creature, Bulma was so terrified she nearly lost her soul. Her pretty face turned deathly pale, and her lips trembled.
"Y-y-you..." Her voice shook. Her legs gave way, and she fell onto her bottom.
The hose slipped from her hand and bounced across the ground, spraying water everywhere.
"Don't eat me..." Bulma waved her hands frantically in front of herself. "I just peed myself... I'm not tasty."
Her eyes reddened, and tears welled up.
"Bulma."
The Great Ape suddenly spoke, its low voice rumbling like thunder from underground.
"It's me."
Bulma: "????"
Bulma froze, her eyes widening and her mouth falling slightly open.
It was as if something had jammed her brain, leaving her unable to process what she was seeing.
Then she cautiously asked, "Soro?"
"That's right." The Great Ape nodded its enormous head and blinked its golden eyes.
Bulma slapped a hand to her forehead.
Only then did she remember that the Great Ape in front of her looked a lot like the one Son Goku had turned into when he was a child.
Black fur, golden eyes, and thick arms.
So it was Soro!
Before you continue