Son Gohan's Training Plan

Trunks's eyes were full of curiosity as he stepped inside.

Son Gohan followed close behind.

Once they were inside, the door to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber shut automatically.

Son Gohan turned around and saw that there was a clock on the inside of the door, too.

It showed exactly midnight.

But its hands moved incredibly slowly, barely shifting at all even after a long time.

Son Gohan knew this didn't mean the clock was broken.

When it came around to midnight again, a year would have passed.

Trunks walked ahead, looking excited.

"Gohan, did you hear that? One year in here is only one day outside. Isn't that incredible?"

Son Gohan smiled. "Yeah, of course I heard. And that's not all there is to this place. You'll find out soon enough."

"What else is there? You know so much, Gohan," Trunks said.

"I'll tell you later. Let's have a look at where we'll be staying first," Son Gohan said.

Soon, he'd let Trunks experience ten times Earth's gravity, along with the enormous temperature swings—the thrill of going from fire to ice.

Son Gohan decided to surprise Trunks.

The living quarters were just to the right of the entrance.

They were simply furnished, with two large beds, a wardrobe, and a full-length mirror mounted on the wall.

A little farther in, there was a bathroom and a toilet.

A huge bathtub sat in the bathroom.

After a tiring day of training, soaking in it would probably feel wonderful.

Just then, Trunks asked, "Gohan, where does the water here come from? And where does it go?"

Trunks, that question really had you stumped, Gohan.

"I guess it comes from wherever it's supposed to come from and goes wherever it's supposed to go."

Trunks: "..."

The kitchen was to the left of the entrance. Along with the usual utensils, there were several enormous vats.

He lifted the lid of one.

Inside were water, rice, and flour.

Want meat? Ha, no such luck.

There was just enough to fill their stomachs.

Son Gohan knew there was something strange about those vats, too.

It seemed they restocked themselves automatically from time to time.

Pretty amazing.

But Son Gohan couldn't be bothered to investigate things that defied the laws of physics.

After all, this was a world of anime. What was or wasn't possible?

He bet Trunks had never seen anyone build a spaceship by hammering away with nothing but an iron mallet.

That sort of thing was no big deal here.

After looking over the kitchen in the living quarters, Son Gohan swept his hand forward and said, "Trunks, come with me."

"Okay." Trunks nodded and followed behind Son Gohan, looking thrilled.

Would he still be smiling in a little while?

They passed through the corridor between the living quarters and the kitchen and arrived before a vast white expanse.

They looked like they were standing on the shore of a white sea. They gazed into the distance, but couldn't see the end.

Son Gohan gave him a knowing smile. "Trunks, go take a look."

"Okay!" Trunks replied loudly, then leaped into the white expanse.

And then—

"Thud!" He landed face-first on the ground.

Trunks shot Son Gohan a resentful look and struggled to get back up.

But a crushing force—ten times Earth's gravity—pressed down on him, dragging him toward the ground.

Trunks felt as if every cell in his body were sinking.

"Hahaha!" Son Gohan pointed at Trunks and burst out laughing.

"Gohan, you're so mean."

Trunks pouted and muttered, then surrounded himself with a white aura and slowly stood up.

He'd let his guard down. He hadn't been prepared at all, or even given it a second thought.

Otherwise, with Trunks's combat strength, he wouldn't have taken such a humiliating fall.

"Hahaha, I forgot to tell you that the gravity here is ten times Earth's," Son Gohan said with a laugh as he stepped into the white expanse, too.

Since he was prepared, Son Gohan didn't have any trouble.

He just felt heavier, and moving wasn't as easy.

"Gohan knew and still didn't tell me ahead of time. He made me fall. How could you?" Trunks grumbled indignantly.

"Hahaha! To show the Hyperbolic Time Chamber some respect, what's wrong with giving it a hug?"

As he spoke, Son Gohan felt the surrounding air suddenly grow scorching hot.

With every breath, it was as if he were inhaling streams of flame that seared his organs.

But not long after, the temperature plummeted.

In just a few breaths, they went from a furnace to an ice cellar.

The freezing air slowed the flow of their blood.

Their breath turned to ice crystals in an instant.

Scorching heat, then bitter cold—fire and ice alternating. It was terrifying.

Trunks's face flushed red, then pale.

"I—I finally understand why Mr. Popo said nobody could live in here for two years. This place is deadly."

Son Gohan drew several deep breaths of the air, hot and cold at once, loosened up, then threw a punch and kicked. His movements were powerful and swift. After leaping around a few times, he stopped.

"You're right. This environment is incredibly grueling, but training in it can make you stronger by leaps and bounds."

"With ten times the gravity and air that's both freezing and scorching, our combat strength will keep rising just from living here, even if we do nothing else."

"So, Trunks, we should be grateful to have a training environment like this—one that can help us get stronger and defeat the Androids."

Trunks stood at attention. "Understood, Gohan. I'll train hard."

Son Gohan nodded. "Good. Now, come on, Trunks. We're short on time and have a lot to do, so we need to make every second count. We'll begin the first phase of our training now."

"Okay."

"Come on. Don't transform into a Super Saiyan. Attack me with all your strength."

Son Gohan had divided their training into three phases.

He knew that both he and Trunks had a weak foundation.

So the first phase would be about strengthening and consolidating their basic abilities.

Those fundamentals covered several areas: basic combat strength, resistance to blows, and fighting techniques.

They could train all three at once, and each would reinforce the others.

Son Gohan planned to spend six months on this phase.

It didn't matter if it took a little longer.

Only with a solid foundation could they build something great on top of it.

It was the same principle as sharpening your axe before chopping wood.

For the second phase, Son Gohan's plan was to surpass Super Saiyan.

Once they had built a solid foundation, it would be time to try to break through.

They had to dare to imagine it, dare to do it, and dare to put it into practice.

Only then could they keep surpassing themselves.

Son Gohan planned to spend six months on this phase, too.

That was a long time as well.

But they couldn't help it.

They had no teacher, so they could only keep experimenting and testing what worked.

They would learn from their failures and keep trying new methods.

Failing, reflecting, and trying again—Son Gohan believed they would succeed one day.

Things couldn't get any worse. They were already much better off than before, weren't they?