The Third Plan

Trunks and Son Gohan both fell silent for a long while.

Memories of the past decade or so flashed through their minds.

The corners of Trunks' eyes grew moist.

Son Gohan let out a sigh of relief; a weight had been lifted from his heart, and his entire body felt much more at ease.

His battle power, which had been stuck at a bottleneck, showed signs of loosening, growing stronger once more.

Although the increase was slight, Son Gohan was pleasantly surprised.

This meant the bottleneck had been broken, and the Super Saiyan 2 form was within reach.

Trunks wiped the corners of his eyes and said, "It's finally over."

Son Gohan looked at him and smiled.

"Let's go, let's go home."

"Yeah, let's go home." Trunks beamed with a radiant smile.

The two, who were both brothers and master and apprentice, took to the sky and flew toward Capsule Corp.

Three days later.

The television was broadcasting the news.

"We are now reporting on the Androids."

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

The news segment was short, but it shook everyone to their core.

Every human with flesh and blood choked back sobs; many knelt and kowtowed, grateful to the unknown mysterious powerhouse for stepping in and saving all of humanity.

Twelve years of suppressed emotions erupted; some cried, some laughed, singing, dancing, and feasting in celebration.

At Trunks' home.

The three of them were eating 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 notified the kingdom that the Androids were dead, but I know you two have always kept a low profile, so I withheld your names. You don't mind, do you?"

Son Gohan tore off a chicken leg and stuffed it into his mouth, his cheeks bulging, before responding.

"How could I? This is perfect."

"Mhm." Bulma nodded and smiled, "Gohan, you've become even more outstanding than your father now."

Son Gohan pulled a clean chicken bone from his mouth, placed it on the table, and said:

"Haha, I'm still far from that. Trunks is also very excellent."

"Of course, Trunks is excellent too. Trunks has been following you all these years, Gohan; you've taught him well."

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

His face was full of joy.

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

Bulma continued, "But come to think of it, why are you two still keeping your hair golden?"

"It's a form of training, Mom," Trunks answered quickly.

"Training? Alright then." Bulma didn't press the matter further.

She didn't understand it anyway.

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

"What is it?"

"It's like this, do you remember Fortuneteller Baba?"

"Fortuneteller Baba? Oh, 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 have business with her. Aunt Bulma, do you still remember the way? Take me there." Son Gohan's eyes lit up.

Bulma agreed immediately, "Of course, no problem. We'll set off as soon as we finish eating."

"Mhm, mhm."

"Brother Gohan, can I go too?" Trunks asked.

"No problem, let's go together," Son Gohan said.

Shortly after the meal.

Bulma took out a Capsule, threw it onto the open ground with a "BOOM!", and it transformed into a plane.

The three of them boarded the plane, flew out of West City, crossed the desert, and arrived at a lush green oasis, where Bulma piloted the plane down to land.

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

Trunks and Son Gohan were both visiting this place for the first time, looking around with curious eyes.

Deep within the oasis stood a palace with a peculiar design; this must have been the residence of Fortuneteller Baba.

The three of them walked toward the palace.

They soon arrived in front of the palace gates.

However, the palace gates were tightly shut, giving Son Gohan a bad premonition.

Son Gohan and Trunks exchanged glances.

This was because they could not sense any presence whatsoever from inside the palace.

In other words, there was likely no one inside.

But one could not rule out that Fortuneteller Baba was more of an underworld entity and simply lacked a living aura.

After all, Fortuneteller Baba was never an ordinary person to begin with.

She was an emissary of the underworld.

Bulma walked up and knocked on the door with a loud thud.

They waited for a response.

But the result was disappointing; after waiting for a long time, no one answered from within.

In all likelihood, Fortuneteller Baba was not in the palace.

"It looks like there's no one inside," Bulma said with a hint of helplessness.

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

Bulma replied, "That lecherous old man has been out of contact for over a decade. He was probably killed by the Androids, sigh."

Master Roshi had either died or had been hiding in some safe place for the past ten years.

But given his personality, the probability of him being killed by the Androids was much higher.

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

At Son Gohan's suggestion, the three of them made a trip to Penguin Village.

Unfortunately, they could not find that robot girl, Arale.

Penguin Village did indeed exist, but it had been more than half destroyed and was in a state of utter ruin.

Arale and Dr. Senbei Norimaki were nowhere to be found, as if they had evaporated from the face of the earth, leaving no traces behind.

It was unclear whether they simply did not exist in this world or if they had gone somewhere else.

The three of them returned to Trunks's home.

Bulma continued to repair the spaceship, and according to her, it would be finished in another day or two.

Trunks was asked by Bulma to stay home and help.

Under Trunks's aggrieved gaze, Son Gohan went to Kami's Lookout alone.

Stepping onto Kami's Lookout once again, Son Gohan stated his purpose directly.

"Mr. Popo, are you able to contact King Kai?"

King Kai was the reason for Son Gohan's visit.

Even his attempt to find Fortuneteller Baba had been for the sake of contacting King Kai.

He wanted to use King Kai to learn the coordinates of New Namek.

This was his third plan: to travel to New Namek.

Mr. Popo said, "It is possible, but Mr. Gohan should know that I cannot interfere in mortal affairs. What is it that you are trying to do?"

Son Gohan said with a smile, "This doesn't count as a mortal affair. I am just asking you to contact King Kai; this is merely a routine communication between deities."

"Oh, that is true." Mr. Popo seemed to have a sudden realization.

"Exactly. To be honest, the reason I am looking for King Kai is to find a new Guardian for Earth. Please, help me contact him quickly," Son Gohan said.

Finding a new Guardian for Earth?

Mr. Popo was instantly invigorated and immediately contacted King Kai.

His method of contact was extremely simple and crude, seemingly lacking any technical complexity.

But Son Gohan knew that he himself was not yet capable of such a feat; there must be some profound secret to it.

He watched as Mr. Popo looked up and shouted into the empty air high above: "King Kai, King Kai, are you there? Popo has something to discuss with you."

Son Gohan did not find it strange, as he had seen even more absurd things.

Although this method of communication seemed slightly primitive, as long as it was effective, that was all that mattered.

Sure enough, it wasn't long before King Kai's voice echoed through the sky.

"Oh, it's Popo. Is something the matter?"

Mr. Popo immediately replied, "It is like this, King Kai. It is not I who has business with you, but Goku's child, Gohan, who wishes to speak with you. I will let him talk to you directly."

"Oh, okay." King Kai's voice echoed through the sky.

Mr. Popo said to Son Gohan beside him, "Mr. Gohan, you can talk to King Kai by placing your hand on my shoulder."

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

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

He could talk to North King Kai.

North King Kai said, "Are you Son Gohan, Goku's son? What do you need me for?"

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

North King Kai said, "New Namek? Oh, I remember now. It was that wish you made to Shenron over ten years ago, asking Shenron to help find a new planet suitable for Namekians to live on, right? Let me look."

"Yes, that's the one."

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

"Found it. New Namek is in the Lyra Constellation, the 35th main star system, the first planet. Gohan, what do you need Namek for?"

Son Gohan's heart leaped with joy. He silently noted down the location North King Kai had given him, then replied, "Thank you, King Kai. I'm going to find a new Kami for Earth."

"Oh, I see. Is there anything else? If not, I need to go racing... no, 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 now?" Son Gohan asked curiously.

What were those people doing?

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

"Oh, then nothing else. Thank you, King Kai." Son Gohan said.

"Alright, goodbye!" North King Kai quickly disconnected, busy with his racing.

Son Gohan touched his chin, casting aside any stray thoughts.

His expression gradually turned joyful.

Everything was proceeding smoothly.

Third Plan: ✔️