When he saw the number on the Scouter, Trunks immediately exclaimed in surprise:
"Huh—?"
"Uncle Rix, you trained with Uncle Tarble, so how come... you only gained 400 in power?"
Only at the end did he realize that asking might not have been very polite, and his voice grew much quieter.
He even hunched his shoulders and gave an awkward smile.
However,
Rix remained composed as he shared his guess.
"Prince Trunks, how could this subordinate's talent possibly compare to Prince Tarble's or Prince Vegeta's?"
"After training for a day under ten times gravity, I'm already very satisfied with such a big improvement."
"I never would have dared dream of improving my power this quickly before."
Trunks was surprised again. "Huh?"
"Is that so?"
His little expression made it clear he wasn't convinced.
Rix nodded firmly, speaking with absolute certainty. "That's right. It must be."
Seeing this, Trunks nodded his little head slowly, still uncertain.
At his age, he wasn't the type to dwell on a question.
Still, he wasn't stupid. He changed the subject and said, "Then I'll ask Dad later!"
"Uncle Tarble, Uncle Rix, let's go! It's almost time for dinner."
Without waiting for the two of them to respond, he darted off.
From the looks of it, he really was going to tell Vegeta about what he'd just discovered.
It was only a matter of time before someone found out. Trunks had merely brought the matter to light sooner.
As soon as Trunks was out of earshot, Rix said with heartfelt admiration, "Your Highness, your talent truly can't be judged by ordinary standards."
"This subordinate thinks... you may be the most talented Super Warrior among us Saiyans!"
Even before coming to Earth, he had witnessed Tarble's talent.
But he hadn't expected that, after training in the Gravity Chamber, that talent would seem even more extraordinary!
He clearly remembered that back then, the other man's daily increase in power had only been about twice his own.
But now?
It was more than five times his!
If that wasn't extraordinary, what was?
If Tarble knew what he was thinking, he would definitely have said—
You're still too young!
We've barely begun.
The Legendary Super Saiyan is the real monster, okay!
Still, with this cheat at his disposal, he had a chance to go toe-to-toe with the Legendary Super Saiyan!
It all depended on whether his basic training speed changed each time he broke through to a new transformation.
If his basic training speed increased along with it, then surpassing the Legendary Super Saiyan wouldn't be an unreachable goal.
At the thought, a faint smile unconsciously tugged at his lips.
But on the surface, he remained modest.
"Rix, don't say things like that again."
"No matter how great someone's talent is, it doesn't change the fact that they're weak."
"Remember, until you have strength, everything else is just talk."
"So, your priority should be to train hard and get stronger!"
Hearing these words, so unlike what he was used to, Rix regarded him with newfound respect.
"Yes, Your Highness. This subordinate will remember your words!"
He'd noticed that ever since Tarble had recovered from his serious injuries three years ago, he seemed like a different person.
His personality hadn't changed much, but his way of doing things and the things he said were completely different.
Rix couldn't figure out why, but he really liked this change.
Because Tarble now carried an unyielding spirit and a firm resolve to train and grow stronger, making him seem more like a Saiyan of a warrior race than before.
Tarble was satisfied with Rix's attitude. He gave a small nod and headed out of the Gravity Chamber first.
Rix was the first person he had bound, so naturally, he didn't want him to remain weak.
There was another, more straightforward reason: if a bound target died, the training effect would immediately decrease by the corresponding multiplier.
He didn't want that to happen. If he wanted to keep reaping benefits, he had to make sure his sheep stayed alive.
The most direct and effective way to eliminate that risk was to make the sheep strong enough to protect himself.
Rix followed close behind. Even now, he hadn't forgotten his role as Tarble's bodyguard.
The deeply rooted Saiyan hierarchy alone would have been enough to keep him mindful of his position as a bodyguard, to say nothing of the law of the jungle, where the strong ruled.
He had to admit, Rix did a very good job of it.
Among their people, there were almost no cases of subordinates rebelling against their superiors.
Before long,
the two of them arrived at the dining area.
Just as expected, Vegeta asked them about their training as soon as he saw them.
"Tarble, Trunks told me you gained 2,300 in power after one day of training."
"Is that true?"
Tarble calmly nodded. "Yes, Big Brother."
"I trained for a full day, ten hours straight, and only gained 2,300 in power."
"At this rate, I wonder how long it'll take me to reach your level, Big Brother!"
Once he had a definite answer, Vegeta's eyes widened, and his astonishment was plain to see.
"Tarble, I never imagined your training talent was this incredible!"
"Do you know how much power I gained after one day of training under a hundred times Earth's gravity, before I became a Super Saiyan?"
As he spoke, he didn't wait for Tarble to answer. He held up his left hand, making a six with his fingers, and said with a mixture of conviction and shock, "It was always around 6,000!"
"But you've only spent one day getting used to ten times Earth's gravity, and you've already gained 2,300 in power!"
"Do you know what that means?"
"It means your training talent is several times greater than mine!"
"Even Kakarot can't compare to you!"
"I heard Kakarot took six days to get used to a hundred times Earth's gravity. Even then, his power only reached around 90,000."
"If you trained for the same amount of time under a hundred times gravity, you'd gain around 120,000 in power!"
"Tarble, you may well be the most talented warrior in Saiyan history!"
"Kakarot was also a Low-Class Warrior, but he had talent that no ordinary Low-Class Warrior could possibly possess.
"And you were also judged to be a Low-Class Warrior at birth.
"I think our old method of judging whether a warrior was high- or low-class was completely wrong!"
For a moment, he was overwhelmed with excitement.
He thought he had uncovered a long-hidden truth!
Kakarot!
Just you wait!
I may not be able to surpass you, but you'll never surpass Tarble!
Never!
The thought filled him with relief, as if he had finally let out a breath he'd been holding for years!
At the same time, his eyes burned with intensity!
That was right!
They burned with intensity!
Because he could finally see hope of surpassing Son Goku!
His disposition had changed a lot by now. Otherwise, he would never have pinned his hopes of surpassing Son Goku on someone else.
Ever since the Majin Buu incident, he had accepted deep down that Son Goku was the greatest Saiyan warrior.
So he knew exactly how vast the gap between him and Son Goku was!
He might never catch up in his entire life.
He had kept training all this time just so he wouldn't fall too far behind Son Goku.
He also wanted to see how far he could go in a lifetime spent chasing Son Goku.
Of course,
on the surface, he was as stubborn as ever, insisting he could go toe-to-toe with Son Goku.
After all, they still hadn't had a proper chance to settle their promised fight!
Before you continue