Vegeta saw Son Goku voluntarily give up his claim to the top spot. He was a little surprised, but immediately lifted his chin smugly.
His expression seemed to say, "This time, I win!"
Seeing the eager, combative looks in their eyes, Tarble felt a little helpless.
Honestly, he didn't want to.
But he knew all too well that if he refused, those two would cling to him like stubborn plasters and never let go.
They weren't called battle maniacs for nothing.
"Fine, I'll spar with you, but not right now."
As soon as he agreed, Son Goku and Vegeta beamed with delight.
In unison, they both said, "Great!" twice.
Just then, Son Gohan and the others arrived.
Sensing their energy, Tarble and the others turned toward the horizon at the same time.
"Oh, Krillin and the others are here!" Son Goku cried happily. "Hey—"
"Krillin—"
As he called out, he waved his hand.
Among the newcomers, Krillin held an irreplaceable place in his heart.
As soon as Son Goku's shout rang out, Krillin and the others reached them.
Before they had even landed, they called out happily, too.
"Goku!!!" x4
"Dad!" x3
"Goku!"
The whole group swarmed over.
"Haha!"
"Everyone, it's been a long time!" Son Goku said with a hearty laugh.
Krillin complained, "You go off to train, and then you're gone for ages!"
"Sorry, sorry. I got so caught up in training that I lost track of time," Son Goku said with an awkward grin.
It was his usual trick.
Simply put, he couldn't be bothered to come up with an excuse.
He'd been training on North Kai Planet for three or four months.
Come to think of it, his doing so was another way to save his family money.
He could train in peace, too—a win-win.
Hearing that, Krillin gave him a scornful look and couldn't even be bothered to call out his lie.
There was no doubt about it: he'd come because he'd been drawn by that incredibly powerful energy, too.
Recalling his earlier suspicions, he secretly sized up Tarble.
He wasn't the only one. Piccolo and the others were also watching Tarble discreetly.
Unfortunately, Tarble had already suppressed his energy, so they couldn't tell anything from it.
While they were wondering about that, the two little ones, Trunks and Son Goten, had already gone into action.
They ran over to Tarble, each asking him a question.
"Uncle Tarble, was that incredibly powerful energy just now released by you?"
"Yeah, Uncle Tarble, that energy felt a little like yours, but it was also very different."
Seeing the two little ones' curious faces, and glancing at everyone else's eagerness to know, Tarble smiled and nodded.
"That's right. I was the one who released that energy."
"That energy is unique to the Super Saiyan 4 transformation."
Before he'd even finished speaking, Trunks and Son Goten's eyes lit up, and they exclaimed together.
"That's so awesome!" x2
"Super Saiyan 4~"
"It sounds so powerful~" (✧◡✧)
Children's praise was always so pure, without the slightest hint of empty flattery.
So Tarble was delighted to hear it. His lips curved into a handsome smile before he could stop them.
Before he could reply, Trunks asked, eyes full of hope, "Uncle Tarble, can you transform for us?"
Tarble readily agreed to such a simple request.
The next second,
a brilliant flash of light burst around him with a roar.
When the light faded, he had transformed into the dashing form of Super Saiyan 4.
With a faintly mischievous smile on his lips, he gazed at Trunks and Son Goten with a gentle yet imposing look.
"Trunks, Goten, this transformation I'm in now... is Super Saiyan 4!"
"How does it... look?"
He'd meant to ask if it looked cool, but changed his words at the last moment.
This time, transforming had felt even more effortless.
In Super Saiyan 4 form, his energy was even more restrained than in his first three transformation forms.
Unless he deliberately released it, he was hardly any different from his normal state.
"That's so cool!"
"Goten, you're wrong. It's not just cool—it's powerful, too!"
The two little ones marveled at him, their eyes shining as they admired his appearance.
They even reached out and felt the bright red fur.
Tarble wasn't ticklish, so he didn't scold them and let them touch it.
Fortunately, they weren't too mischievous and didn't try to pull any fur out.
Otherwise, they'd definitely have gotten a beating.
At the same time, he noticed that Son Gohan and the others had changed their expressions, too.
Along with their amazement, there was admiration and envy in their eyes.
Just then, Vegeta spoke beside him, his voice tinged with discontent and accusation.
"Tarble, when you transformed earlier, did you deliberately release your energy?"
Meeting his eyes, which seemed to see right through everything, Tarble merely smiled without answering.
There was something sly about that smile.
That's right!
He'd done it on purpose.
At that moment, his silence said it all.
Seeing this, Vegeta glared indignantly and pointed at the two furrows in the ground, shouting, "I knew it!"
"You little—"
Before Vegeta could finish berating him, Tarble cut him off.
"Big brother, if I'd transformed into this form, would you really have been able to feel the full power of Super Saiyan 4?"
Hearing that, Vegeta was left speechless, unable to argue.
That was because he couldn't sense just how powerful Tarble was in his current form.
"Hmph!"
In the end, all he could do was snort and turn away.
At the same time, he was filled with uncertainty.
What was going on?
Could Super Saiyan 4 actually suppress its energy?
If Tarble had known what he was thinking, he definitely would've said that Vegeta was clever!
At that moment, Son Gohan also gathered around Tarble and exclaimed sincerely,
"Uncle Tarble, you're amazing!"
"You must be stronger than my dad now!"
As he spoke, he looked to Son Goku for confirmation.
"Dad, can you transform into Super Saiyan 4 yet?"
At that question, everyone turned to look at Son Goku, their eyes filled with anticipation.
Before Tarble arrived, Son Goku had been the Saiyan they all recognized as the strongest.
He was superior to Vegeta in both strength and talent.
If they had to say which of the two, Son Goku or Vegeta, was more likely to break through to Super Saiyan 4,
they would have had no hesitation in believing it would be Son Goku.
That was how much faith they had in Son Goku!
Before you continue