The Third Plan

Trunks and Son Gohan fell silent for a long while.

Memories of the past decade and more flashed through their minds.

Trunks's eyes grew misty.

Son Gohan breathed a sigh of relief. The weight on his heart lifted, and he felt much more at ease.

The power he had gained during his bottleneck began to stir, and he grew stronger once more.

It wasn't much, but Son Gohan was thrilled.

It meant he had broken through his bottleneck, and reaching Super Saiyan 2 was now only a matter of time.

Trunks wiped the corner of his eye and said, "It's finally over."

Son Gohan looked at him and smiled.

"Come on, let's go home."

"Yeah, let's go home." Trunks grinned brightly.

Brothers and master and student alike, the two of them soared into the air and flew toward Capsule Corp.

Three days later.

The news was playing on TV.

"Next, we have a report about the Androids."

"To all the survivors on Earth: according to reliable sources, the two Androids who have plagued humanity for twelve years have been killed by a mysterious strong fighter. Starting today, we humans... are free."

The report was brief, but it shook everyone.

Every human with a heart and soul choked up. Many fell to their knees and bowed, grateful that the mysterious, unnamed warrior had stepped in to save all of humanity.

Twelve years of pent-up emotions burst forth. Some people cried, others laughed, singing and dancing as they slaughtered chickens and goats.

At Trunks's home.

The three of them ate while watching the news on TV.

Bulma took a small bite of fruit, then looked at Son Gohan and said:

"Gohan, I was the one who informed the kingdom that the Androids had been killed. But I know you've always kept a low profile, so I kept your names out of it. You don't mind, do you?"

Son Gohan tore off a chicken leg and stuffed it into his mouth, filling his cheeks, then replied.

"Of course not. That's perfect."

"Good." Bulma nodded with a smile. "Gohan, you've become even more impressive than your father."

Son Gohan pulled a whole chicken leg bone out of his mouth and set it on the table as he spoke:

"Heh, I've still got a long way to go. Trunks is impressive, too."

"Of course Trunks is impressive, too. He's been following you all these years, Gohan. You've taught him well."

Hearing Bulma's words, Trunks couldn't help puffing out his chest.

He looked delighted.

After nearly two years in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, Trunks was now much taller than he'd been two days ago. Bulma marveled at how much her son had grown.

Bulma continued, "That reminds me, why are you two still sporting golden hair?"

"It's part of our training, Mom," Trunks answered quickly.

"Training? Well, all right." Bulma didn't press him further.

It wasn't as if she understood it anyway.

Son Gohan thought for a moment, then looked at Bulma and asked, "Aunt Bulma, there's something I'd like to ask you."

"What is it?"

"Do you remember Fortuneteller Baba?"

"Fortuneteller Baba? Oh, yes, I remember her. I met her once when I was young. She lives in the desert, where she has a palace. Why do you ask?"

"I need to find her. Aunt Bulma, do you remember the way? Could you take me there?" Son Gohan's eyes lit up.

Bulma readily agreed. "Of course. We'll head out as soon as we finish eating."

"Okay!"

"Gohan, can I come along, too?" Trunks asked.

"Sure. Let's go together," Son Gohan said.

Not long after the meal.

Bulma took out a Capsule Corp Capsule and tossed it onto an empty patch of ground. "BOOM!" It transformed into a plane.

The three of them boarded and flew out of West City, crossing the desert until they reached a lush green oasis. Bulma piloted the plane down to the ground.

It was hard to imagine that such a vibrant oasis could exist in the middle of an endless desert.

It was the first time Trunks and Son Gohan had been there, and they looked around curiously.

Deep within the oasis stood a strangely shaped palace. It had to be Fortuneteller Baba's home.

The three of them headed toward the palace.

They soon reached its entrance.

But the palace doors were shut tight, giving Son Gohan a bad feeling.

Son Gohan and Trunks exchanged glances.

They couldn't sense a single presence inside the palace.

In other words, it might be empty.

Still, Fortuneteller Baba was a bit otherworldly, and perhaps she had no presence to sense.

After all, Fortuneteller Baba wasn't an ordinary person.

She was a messenger from the spirit world.

Bulma walked up and knocked on the door.

They waited for an answer.

But the result was disappointing. They waited a long time, and no one answered.

Fortuneteller Baba was most likely not at the palace.

"It doesn't seem like anyone's inside," Bulma said helplessly.

"If only we could find Master Roshi. Given their relationship, he should be able to contact Fortuneteller Baba," Son Gohan said.

Bulma replied, "That perverted old man's been out of touch for over ten years. He was probably killed by the Androids, too. Sigh."

Master Roshi had either died or spent more than ten years hiding somewhere safe.

But given his personality, he was more likely to have been killed by the Androids.

After waiting a while longer, the three of them eventually returned empty-handed.

At Son Gohan's suggestion, they also went to Penguin Village.

Unfortunately, they couldn't find Arale, the robot girl.

Penguin Village did exist, but more than half of it had been destroyed, leaving it in ruins.

Arale and Dr. Senbei Norimaki were nowhere to be found, as if they had vanished without a trace.

Perhaps they didn't exist in this world, or perhaps they had gone somewhere else.

The three of them returned to Trunks's home.

Bulma continued repairing the spaceship. According to her, it would be ready in another day or two.

Bulma told Trunks to stay home and help.

With Trunks looking at him reproachfully, Son Gohan went alone to Kami's Lookout.

When he set foot on Kami's Lookout again, Son Gohan immediately stated why he had come.

"Mr. Popo, can you contact King Kai?"

King Kai was the reason Son Gohan had come.

Even his visit to Fortuneteller Baba had been to try to contact King Kai.

He wanted to learn the location of New Namek through King Kai.

That was his third plan: go to New Namek.

Mr. Popo said, "I can, but you should know that I can't interfere in the affairs of the mortal world. What are you planning to do?"

Son Gohan smiled. "This has nothing to do with the mortal world. I'm only asking you to contact King Kai. It's just a normal communication between divine beings."

"Oh, that's true," Mr. Popo said, looking enlightened.

"Exactly. To be honest, I'm contacting King Kai to find a new guardian for Earth. Please get in touch with him for me," Son Gohan said.

Find a new guardian for Earth?

Mr. Popo perked up at once and contacted King Kai.

His method was incredibly simple, seemingly involving no technique at all.

But Son Gohan knew he couldn't do it himself yet. There had to be some hidden trick to it.

Mr. Popo looked up and called into the empty sky, "King Kai! King Kai, are you there? Popo needs to speak with you."

Son Gohan wasn't surprised. He had seen even stranger things.

The method might have been crude, but as long as it worked, that was all that mattered.

Sure enough, before long, King Kai's voice rang out from the sky.

"Oh, it's Popo. What is it?"

Mr. Popo immediately replied, "Well, King Kai, I'm not the one who needs to speak with you. It's Goku's son, Gohan. I'll let him talk to you directly."

"Oh, all right," King Kai's voice echoed from above.

Mr. Popo turned to Son Gohan and said, "Mr. Gohan, place your hand on my shoulder and you'll be able to speak with King Kai."

"Oh, okay." Son Gohan nodded and placed his right hand on Mr. Popo's shoulder.

The next moment, he felt a mysterious power connect him to North King Kai.

He could speak with North King Kai now.

North King Kai said, "You're Goku's son, Son Gohan, aren't you? What do you need?"

Son Gohan said, "King Kai, I'd like to know the location of New Namek."

"New Namek? Oh, I remember. That's the planet you asked Shenron to find more than ten years ago, one suitable for the Namekians to live on. Let me look it up."

"Yes, that's the one."

After a while, North King Kai's voice came through again.

"Found it. New Namek is in the Lyra Constellation, in the 35th major star system, the first planet. Gohan, why are you looking for Namek?"

Son Gohan was delighted. He quietly memorized the location North King Kai gave him, then replied, "Thank you, King Kai. I'm going to find a new guardian for Earth."

"Oh, I see. Anything else? If not, I need to get back to racing cars... I mean, I need to get back to work," North King Kai said hurriedly.

Son Gohan: "..."

I heard that, King Kai.

"Are my father and the others there right now?" Son Gohan asked curiously.

What were they all doing?

North King Kai replied, "Goku and the others aren't here right now. They went to Grand Kai's place to take part in the Other World Tournament. Anything else?"

"Oh, no, that's all. Thank you, King Kai," Son Gohan said.

"Okay, goodbye!" North King Kai hurriedly signed off to go racing.

Son Gohan rubbed his chin and pushed all those stray thoughts out of his mind.

His expression gradually brightened.

Everything was going smoothly.

Third plan: ✔️