The alien went deathly pale and wet himself.
To him, Son Gohan was terrifying.
Every one of his companions had been killed with a single punch from Son Gohan. He hadn't used a single flashy move.
His attacks were clean and decisive.
How could anyone stand against someone like that?
The alien stammered, his mind completely blank. He didn't know how to answer Son Gohan.
"Go on. If I'm satisfied with your answer, I might let you live," Son Gohan said.
"I'll talk. I'll tell you everything."
The alien's legs trembled. Urine soaked his crotch, filling the air with a foul stench.
Son Gohan pinched his nose in resignation, enduring the smell as he listened to the alien's story and repeated pleas for mercy.
According to him, he belonged to the Bojack Legion. He was part of its vanguard, a scout responsible for searching for and surveying inhabited planets.
After arriving on Earth a few days ago, they'd started gathering information about the planet.
At first, they'd discovered that Earth was a low-level planet, inhabited by humans with a battle power of only five—weaklings.
Planets like that usually had few resources and little worth exploring.
But yesterday,
they'd learned about the Dragon Balls from a certain Earthling.
For aliens, the Dragon Balls—which could grant any wish—were undeniably tempting.
They were the most enticing treasure imaginable.
So Earth's value had skyrocketed.
The vanguard had immediately reported everything about the Dragon Balls to their superiors.
Their leader, Bojack, had ordered them to do whatever it took to gather the Dragon Balls.
Whoever collected them all would be richly rewarded.
After receiving the order, the vanguard began interrogating Earthlings about the Dragon Balls.
But the Earthlings didn't know much.
They knew even less about how to collect them.
Unable to get the answers they wanted, the aliens had begun a merciless slaughter.
They'd hoped to force the Earthlings to tell them where the Dragon Balls were.
The outcome was obvious.
Son Gohan: "..."
There was a certain four-letter phrase he wanted to say.
The Dragon Balls brought success, and the Dragon Balls brought ruin.
He wondered which Earthling had been so loose-lipped about them.
Perhaps he should make a wish to make the Dragon Balls less well-known.
But who exactly was this Bojack?
Son Gohan searched his memory, but couldn't recall anyone by that name in the Dragon Ball world.
Still, he understood.
From the moment he'd been reborn, the wheels of history had already veered off course and headed down a new track.
Son Gohan stared coldly at the alien before him. "How strong is Bojack? And when will he reach Earth?"
At the mention of Bojack, the alien's eyes lit up as he spotted a chance to survive.
"King Bojack is immensely powerful. You absolutely can't defeat him. How about this? The two of us join forces and work from the inside. We might have a chance of winning."
"What do you say? Think it over. This may be our only option."
Son Gohan said, "I asked when he'll arrive."
The alien replied, "At the speed of the king's spaceship, he'll reach Earth in about ten hours. We're running out of time."
"You need to think this through. Joining forces is our only chance."
"We really are running out of time." He repeated himself.
"Oh, is that so?" Son Gohan smiled. "You make a good point. Then I'll take your advice. Let's work together."
"I knew I was right about you. You really are a clever man." The alien smiled along with him.
It seemed his life was safe after all.
"Right? Hehehe..." Son Gohan chuckled, then the energy at his fingertip suddenly flared, smashing the alien's head to pieces.
Even as he died, the alien couldn't understand why Son Gohan had suddenly turned on him after agreeing to work together.
Son Gohan kicked the alien's corpse away, then struck it with his palm, reducing it to a cloud of blood mist.
The self-important alien turned to ash and vanished into the air.
"Are you stupid, or am I? We're in the Dragon Ball world, and you're still telling me that old joke about how you and Jack Ma could combine your fortunes to sway the Asian economy?"
Son Gohan muttered to himself, then took off and flew to where Videl was hiding.
Videl looked at Son Gohan in surprise. "You've already taken care of them?"
That had been way too fast. She'd only heard the booms of explosions.
Son Gohan nodded. "Yeah. We're safe for now."
"Safe for now? What does that mean?" Videl asked in confusion. Hadn't all the aliens been dealt with?
Son Gohan said, "I won't hide it from you. Even more terrifying aliens will arrive on Earth tomorrow."
"Really? Then what do we do?" Videl grew tense again.
Son Gohan said, "Tomorrow, my companions and I will fight them. If we win, everything will be fine. If we lose, Earth will return to the days when it was ruled by the Androids. It might even be worse."
Videl's face went deathly pale.
"Is, is there no other way? Even the combined military might of our entire kingdom can't defeat tomorrow's enemies?"
"They can't," Son Gohan said. "Let me put it this way: if I wanted to destroy Earth, all I'd need is one ki blast."
"Earthlings are far too weak. Even the kingdom's most powerful nuclear weapons would be like a light scratch to people like us. They'd have no effect at all."
"If I were prepared for them, even a nuclear barrage wouldn't hurt me in the slightest."
Son Gohan's words left Videl speechless with shock.
This was the first time she'd learned that humans could reach such a level of power.
It was also the first time she'd realized how terrifying Son Gohan was.
From what Son Gohan had said, there was no telling how dangerous tomorrow's enemies would be.
But one thing was certain: they could easily destroy the entire Earth.
How could they overcome a crisis like that?
Did they truly have no choice but to rely on Son Gohan?
Were the people of Earth helpless to do anything but wait for their doom?
Videl's thoughts were in turmoil.
She just stood there in a daze, unable to think of anything to say.
As Son Gohan had said, the kingdom's power was simply too insignificant.
It couldn't possibly affect the outcome of the battle.
The more than ten years of chaos caused by the Androids were proof enough.
Against overwhelming strength, the kingdom's forces were like the light of a firefly.
Meager, weak, and helpless.
Son Gohan glanced at her and said, "All right, I should get going. See you."
"Son Gohan!"
Videl suddenly called his name.
"What is it?" Son Gohan turned back, about to soar into the sky.
"Be careful tomorrow," Videl said. "I still want to learn the Flight Technique from you."
"Okay."
Son Gohan nodded, shot into the sky, and flew toward Kami's Lookout.
He wanted to see how Trunks was progressing, and he also wanted to ask North King Kai who this Bojack was.
Knowing more about his opponent was much better than going in blind.
Just then,
North King Kai's voice rang out in Son Gohan's mind.
"Gohan, Son Gohan, can you hear me? This is North King Kai."
Son Gohan was surprised. North King Kai had contacted him on his own?
That was incredible.
The Androids had wreaked havoc for more than ten years, and North King Kai had never once contacted him.
What was going on now?
Son Gohan stopped and hovered above the clouds, replying, "I'm here, King Kai."
North King Kai's voice sounded again. "I'll get straight to the point, Son Gohan. A terrifying fellow is heading for Earth and is expected to arrive tomorrow. You need to be ready for battle."
Son Gohan was a little surprised.
He hadn't even asked, yet North King Kai had brought it up on his own.
It seemed there was something important about Bojack's identity.
He definitely wasn't some insignificant nobody.
Otherwise, North King Kai wouldn't be this worried.
Son Gohan said, "If you mean Bojack, I've already encountered his vanguard."
North King Kai sounded surprised. "It is Bojack. I didn't expect you to know already."
Son Gohan said, "I wiped out his entire vanguard. King Kai, I'd like to know what sort of person this Bojack is."
North King Kai fell silent for a moment, lost in memory, then began to explain.
"Bojack is a name from a very long time ago."
"About a thousand years ago, a massive evil force appeared in the galaxy. They committed every kind of atrocity, and their goal was to destroy the Four Galaxies."
"At the time, this evil force, led by Bojack, was incredibly powerful and unstoppable. Wherever they went, they left devastation in their wake. Countless inhabited planets were turned into dead worlds by their hands. Almost no one in the Four Galaxies could stand against them."
"The galaxy faced a great disaster and teetered on the brink of ruin."
"Later, Grand Kai taught the four of us a way to seal them away."
"The four of us—the East, West, South, and North Kai, who ruled over the Four Galaxies—joined forces and finally sealed Bojack at the edge of the universe. Peace returned to the Four Galaxies at last."
"A thousand years passed."
"But not long ago, an ambitious fellow killed South Kai."
"With South Kai dead, the seal we'd placed together all those years ago could no longer hold. Bojack broke free and began wreaking havoc across the galaxy once more."
South Kai, of all people, had been killed? That was shocking.
Son Gohan managed to resist the urge to make a snide remark and continued, "I didn't expect him to be an ancient relic from a thousand years ago. Just how strong is he? How does he compare to the Androids?"
North King Kai considered the question, then replied, "He's far stronger than the Androids. Otherwise, he couldn't have wreaked havoc across the galaxy for so many years."
Son Gohan said, "There's something I don't understand. If Bojack was so powerful, how did you four manage to seal him?"
What he meant was that the four Kais were all weaklings. How could they possibly have sealed someone that powerful?
North King Kai had lived for countless ages. How could he fail to catch Son Gohan's meaning?
He coughed, then tried to cover up his embarrassment. "It was mainly the sealing method. Unfortunately, now that South Kai is dead, we can no longer set up the seal we used back then. The galaxy is going to fall into chaos again. Sigh."
Son Gohan: "..."
Before you continue