I can't fail to pull out a mere Z Sword, can I?
Son Gohan thought confidently.
With his current strength, he was far stronger than the other Son Gohan, who had never trained and struggled just to become a Super Saiyan 2.
There was no reason that guy could pull it out while he couldn't.
If that were really the case, what was the point of working so hard to train?
He might as well just give up.
Son Gohan smiled. "It's a deal."
Supreme Kai and Kibito were happily eating their food, too.
They were already counting their chickens.
After a while, Supreme Kai asked, "So, Mr. Gohan, when are you planning to try pulling out the Z Sword?"
Why were these two getting so impatient? Looking at them, Son Gohan couldn't help finding it amusing. "I'll go in a bit."
Then he added, "Lord Kai, do you have any other swords besides the Z Sword? My younger brother would like one, too."
Supreme Kai thought of Trunks, then said, "Of course. I have another sword here called the Sword of Heroes. It can give its wielder great confidence and courage. It's a rare and excellent sword, and I'm sure he'll like it."
As Supreme Kai spoke, he opened his right hand, and a long sword appeared in it.
"Here." He handed it to Son Gohan.
Son Gohan took the sword and drew it from its scabbard with a metallic clang.
"What a fine sword! It really is a fine sword!"
The blade was incredibly sharp, gleaming with a cold light. Son Gohan liked it at first glance, and he figured Trunks would like it, too.
He'd asked North King Kai for a sword before, but still hadn't gotten his hands on it.
Besides, anything Supreme Kai brought out was surely a cut above what North King Kai had to offer, right?
There was no need to keep waiting for that sword.
Clang! The sword slid back into its scabbard.
Son Gohan smiled. "Then thank you, Supreme Kai."
As he spoke, he put away the Sword of Heroes.
A little while later, Supreme Kai also gave him a huge chunk of Thunderbolt Steel, weighing several tons.
Son Gohan asked Supreme Kai and Kibito to wait for him at the dessert shop, then took the sword and Thunderbolt Steel to find Bulma.
Seeing Son Gohan carrying back a huge chunk of metal, Bulma asked curiously,
"Gohan, what is this?"
Son Gohan answered honestly, "I got it from Supreme Kai. Apparently, it's the hardest metal in the entire universe."
As he spoke, he set the Thunderbolt Steel down in the yard.
The ground immediately sank a great deal beneath it, leaving Bulma staring in shock.
"The hardest metal?"
Bulma walked over curiously and tapped it, only to feel a sharp jolt of pain shoot through her hand.
"Yikes!" She sucked in a breath. "I've never seen a material like this. Earth probably doesn't have anything like it."
Son Gohan said, "This metal isn't just hard; it's incredibly dense, too. A piece about the size of your fist weighs five or six hundred pounds."
Bulma's eyes lit up, as if she'd discovered a whole new continent.
New things always piqued her interest.
Going inside, Son Gohan set the long sword on the table and said,
"Aunt Bulma, where's Trunks? This sword is for him."
Unable to resist her curiosity, Bulma tried to pick up the sword from the table. No matter how hard she strained, the Sword of Heroes didn't budge.
Panting, she said, "Trunks went to East City to help out."
"He went to East City? What for?" Son Gohan asked in surprise.
Bulma explained, "Videl called a little while ago. There was a serious incident in a town near East City, and she was having trouble handling it, so she wanted your help."
"But you had guests over, so I sent Trunks instead."
Son Gohan: ...
What was going on? You all had each other's contact information now? How come I didn't?
Oh, right. I don't have a cell phone. Never mind.
"What kind of case couldn't Videl handle? What happened?" Son Gohan asked, furrowing his brow.
Among ordinary people, Videl was already at the very top when it came to fighting ability.
If even she couldn't handle it, had some alien come looking for trouble again?
Bulma said, "Apparently, a hundred-meter-tall Great Ape kidnapped the town mayor's daughter. It grabbed her and climbed to the roof of a building, where it's now facing off against the kingdom's forces."
Son Gohan: ...
Why did this feel so familiar?
What was this, King Kong?
Son Gohan rolled his eyes, then said, "Now that Trunks is already on his way, this little Great Ape won't be able to cause much trouble.
Aunt Bulma, please give him this sword for me. I'm going with Supreme Kai to Supreme Kai Planet now."
Bulma paused. "You're going to Supreme Kai Planet? When will you be back?"
"One day at the earliest, two or three at the latest. I'll be back soon."
"Okay, then."
So Son Gohan hitched a ride with Kibito straight to the Sacred World of the Kai.
That made Son Gohan the first mortal in tens of millions of years to set foot on the Sacred Land of the Kai.
The sky above the Sacred World of the Kai was clear and blue. Lush spiritual plants filled the land as far as the eye could see, and even the breeze carried a rich spiritual energy.
Son Gohan felt the pores all over his body open up, greedily soaking in the fresh air.
With such abundant spiritual energy, even mortals could live longer here, while cultivators would make twice the progress with half the effort.
As expected of the Sacred Land of Gods.
A town near East City.
A Great Ape over a hundred meters tall crouched on the roof of a skyscraper, holding a little girl in one hand. It glared fiercely at the helicopters buzzing overhead.
To it, those helicopters were like flies, irritating it beyond belief.
Hmph!
What was wrong with this?
It had simply fallen for a human girl and wanted her to be its wife. What was wrong with that?
Hadn't they been promoting freedom in love all along?
Foolish humans. They were enough to drive an ape mad.
It didn't understand. It just didn't understand.
The little girl in the Great Ape's hand looked no older than thirteen or fourteen. She had shoulder-length black hair and a pair of big, sparkling eyes. She was a very pretty child.
The girl was crying so hard her face was streaked with tears, looking utterly pitiful.
Even so, she was still trying to reason with the Great Ape.
"Waaah, Great Ape, please let me go home, okay? Look at how different our sizes are. This really won't work. Please, I'm begging you."
The Great Ape spoke in human language, and the stench from its mouth nearly made the girl pass out.
"No, no! My dad told me to bravely pursue true love, and I'm not giving up. I fell for you at first sight and want you to be my wife. I'll treat you well. I get it now—you're testing how much I love you, aren't you?"
"Waaah, could your dad maybe have meant that you should go after a female ape? I'm human! I'm human! We're not even the same species. How could we ever be together? Please let me go. We have no future together."
Despite her young age, the girl spoke clearly and logically. Though she was sobbing, she remained remarkably calm.
But the Great Ape still shook its head. "My dad also said true love can cross the boundaries of age and even species. I believe you'll be moved by me someday."
The girl rolled her eyes and cursed the stupid ape in her heart.
But aloud, she said, "Y-you're so big, and I'm so small. We can't have children."
"Huh? Why not? You're lying to me." The Great Ape was astonished.
"Why would I lie to you..."
Before you continue