There was a saying in my memories from my previous life.
When a Golden Great Ape regained its sanity and wielded Great Ape Power in human form, that was the day Super Saiyan 4 appeared.
But Son Gohan had been born an ape. My apologies.
It was true that he had remained conscious.
But he couldn't return to human form while in his Golden Great Ape state and become Super Saiyan 4.
It felt like something was missing.
So his transformation had failed.
Son Gohan wasn't discouraged. He thought it was perfectly normal.
He had only been reborn for a little while. He still had a long road ahead of him.
Nothing could be achieved overnight, and no one could reach the pinnacle of the universe in a single day.
Those overpowered protagonist templates he'd seen in his previous life—the ones who signed in while still in the womb, punched Grand Zeno as soon as they were born, and kicked the Grand Priest—were never going to be his lot in this life.
The only things he could rely on were his foresight and his tireless efforts.
An hour later,
Son Gohan and Trunks had returned to human form.
They forced themselves not to look at the full moon in the sky, or they'd have to go through another transformation. They wouldn't get any sleep tonight.
After all that exhausting commotion, both of them were worn out.
Trunks decided he didn't want to go home after all and planned to spend the night at Son Gohan's house.
The two brothers rubbed their eyes as they headed back to the front door.
Just then, the Supreme Kai and Kibito, who had disappeared earlier, materialized out of thin air again.
Trunks watched the two strange characters warily and quietly clenched his fists.
He was ready to beat them both up.
Aside from yawning, Son Gohan showed no surprise at all.
He had already expected the Supreme Kai and Kibito to come back.
Afraid Son Gohan would tell them to leave as soon as they met, the Supreme Kai hurriedly spoke the moment he appeared.
"Sorry to bother you two. I'm the Supreme Kai of this universe. I mean you no harm; I just want to be friends with you. Is that all right?"
Seeing the dignified Supreme Kai acting so humble displeased Kibito, but there was nothing he could do about it.
Of course, Son Gohan knew he was the Supreme Kai.
The Supreme Kai's appearance and clothes were so distinctive that it was hard not to recognize him.
Son Gohan glanced at him and yawned. "Oh, got it. I'm just really tired today, though. Whatever you want to discuss can wait until tomorrow."
Was he dismissing them already? Kibito couldn't believe it.
The Supreme Kai had even revealed his identity!
"You..."
The Supreme Kai quickly stopped Kibito and said with a smiling face, "All right, get some rest. We'll come back tomorrow."
"Don't come too early, either. Come in the afternoon," Son Gohan said.
"Okay!" The Supreme Kai pulled Kibito away in a hurry.
Watching the two disappear in an instant,
Trunks, still confused about what was going on, asked Son Gohan, "Gohan, who exactly are those two?"
"Didn't he just say? The Supreme Kai," Son Gohan replied.
"A god? Is he a god like Dende?" Trunks pressed.
"Trunks, I'm really tired. We'll talk tomorrow. Good night."
Son Gohan stopped paying attention to him, went into the bedroom, and promptly fell asleep without even taking off his clothes.
"Whose divine rank is higher, anyway?"
Trunks was still wondering whether Kami or the Supreme Kai ranked higher.
Sacred World of the Kai.
The Supreme Kai sat silently for a while, then said to Kibito,
"Kibito, find out what has happened on Earth over the past few years."
"And find out who those two Saiyans are."
"Yes, Supreme Kai." Kibito left to carry out his orders.
The next day,
Son Gohan didn't wake up until eight in the morning.
When he woke, he found Trunks still curled up asleep on the sofa.
Son Gohan went over and kicked him awake.
"Why didn't you sleep in the bedroom? Is the sofa more comfortable?"
Rubbing his sleepy eyes, Trunks stared blankly for a few seconds before replying, "I was thinking about something last night, and I ended up falling asleep here."
"Thinking about something? What?" Son Gohan asked, puzzled.
"I was wondering whether Kami or the Supreme Kai ranked higher. I spent the whole night thinking about it." Even now, Trunks still hadn't figured out whose divine rank was higher.
"The Supreme Kai outranks Kami," Son Gohan told him.
"Really? I thought Dende was more powerful."
"Stop thinking about it and go wash up."
Son Gohan urged him to go wash up.
Then the two of them found something to eat and flew to West City.
After arriving at Capsule Corp, the first thing Son Gohan did was ask Bulma to make a device that could emit Blutz Waves.
Bulma had no idea what Blutz Waves were and was completely baffled.
Son Gohan had no choice but to explain how Saiyans transformed into Great Apes.
Only then did Bulma understand. She agreed to set aside some time to make a Blutz Wave Emitter.
Son Gohan asked, "Aunt Bulma, is the spaceship fully charged?"
"Not yet, but it's at 80% now. It won't be long," Bulma replied.
Son Gohan said, "You can put charging the spaceship aside for now. Study the Blutz Wave Emitter first."
Bulma was taken aback. "Uh, why?"
Son Gohan smiled. "Eighty percent is enough, and I've found a better way now. You can focus on researching the emitter and the Time Machine."
He'd found a better way?
What could possibly replace the spaceship?
Bulma didn't understand, but she didn't ask any more questions.
Not long after lunch, Videl came again.
This time, Son Gohan didn't teach her anything. Instead, he told her to practice the Flight Technique on the grass by herself.
Videl didn't object. She smiled at Son Gohan, then happily went off to practice.
Son Gohan didn't waste any time. He went into the Gravity Chamber, set the gravity to 500 times normal, and warmed up by doing 1,000 one-finger push-ups.
Then he began his daily training session, which lasted more than two hours.
The two hours passed quickly. By the time he came out of the Gravity Chamber, Videl had already left.
The people waiting for him now were the Supreme Kai and Kibito.
The moment they met, the Supreme Kai smiled warmly. "Mr. Gohan, we meet again."
"Hello," Son Gohan replied with a smile.
Then he took the Supreme Kai and Kibito to a dessert shop and had a robot bring them several desserts and iced drinks.
They ate and chatted.
At first, the Supreme Kai and Kibito hadn't wanted to eat food meant for mortals. But they couldn't resist Son Gohan's enthusiasm, so they tried a little—and then couldn't stop.
Seeing how amazed they looked, Son Gohan nodded with satisfaction and thought, Earth's food is the best in the universe. Did you think that reputation was for nothing?
I knew just how to win them over.
Watching them, Son Gohan smiled. "Supreme Kai, what did you want to see me about?"
The Supreme Kai hurriedly wiped the cream from the corner of his mouth and quickly regained his composure.
Then he said, "I told you last night. I want to be friends with you, Mr. Gohan."
Son Gohan gave him a meaningful look, then said, "Supreme Kai, you did your homework after you went back..."
"Ah, what do you mean?" the Supreme Kai asked in surprise.
"It's simple. Last night, you didn't even know my name."
The Supreme Kai wore an awkward smile, with none of a god's dignity left.
Seeing him looking so uncomfortable, Son Gohan didn't press the point. He smiled and said, "It's an honor to be friends with you, Supreme Kai. I was just too tired last night. Sorry."
The Supreme Kai was immediately flattered.
Son Gohan hadn't been like this last night. That cold, distant attitude had frightened him a little.
He hadn't expected him to be so friendly today.
"It's all right, it's all right. Rest is important, of course."
"Heh, right? Since we're friends now, I've treated you to all this delicious food. Aren't you going to show your appreciation? Maybe with a little welcome gift or something?" Son Gohan said with a chuckle.
"Huh?" The Supreme Kai and Kibito couldn't quite process what he'd said.
A welcome gift?
What was that?
Did mortals give each other gifts when they met?
Well, now that they thought about it, it did make sense. There was a saying among mortals about returning courtesies, so it was probably something like that.
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