Mount Paozu
"Gohan, thank goodness you arranged everything with Bulma ahead of time. Otherwise, I really wouldn't have gotten out!" Sun Wukong wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
As it turned out, before telling Chi-Chi, Son Gohan had made a trip to Bulma's house!
He'd used the spaceship Sun Wukong had ridden as a child to ask Bulma for a reward!
Although the spaceship was meant to help him build a Gravity Chamber, the technology that let it travel through space had indeed benefited Bulma's family quite a bit!
Bulma was very generous, too. She'd given him a bank card with a hundred million on it, and even told him to ask her for more if it wasn't enough!
Gohan had also guessed that Chi-Chi would call Bulma to ask about it, so he'd arranged everything with Bulma ahead of time to deal with Chi-Chi!
Things had gone even worse than he'd imagined. Chi-Chi had flown into a rage, but fortunately, it had all ended without disaster!
After Bulma found a convenient excuse to placate Chi-Chi, Chi-Chi let the father and son off the hook and packed her things to visit the Ox-King's house.
"Dad, this is still your fault. You blew up Grandpa's castle back then, so we're this poor. Poor me, only two years old, already having to figure out how to earn money to help support the family!" Son Gohan complained.
"Ah... this! Heh..." Sun Wukong naturally had no answer to Son Gohan's words.
"Are you two done yet? You're so long-winded! Two Saiyans with terrifying power, and yet a woman has you wrapped around her finger!" Piccolo had long since run out of patience.
He simply couldn't understand this kind of warm, familial affection!
Every second of it was torture!
"Don't be in such a hurry. You haven't even had the chance to get scolded by a woman. Who'd ever want a guy like you, with a green face and a head so green it shines?" Son Gohan immediately mocked him.
"Hmph! This king doesn't need some useless woman!"
"Oh... I forgot. You hatched from an egg, so you're not a mammal! How pitiful—you can't enjoy the most beautiful feeling in the world!" Son Gohan fired back.
"Affection is a bond that makes you stronger!" Piccolo said coldly.
"What a heartless guy!"
King Kai's Planet
"King Kai, I've brought you the people. This one is a well-rounded Namekian genius. This one is a Low-Class Warrior among the Saiyans, and also my dad. But I reckon only someone pure-hearted and kind like my dad could learn your Spirit Bomb!" Son Gohan said, pointing to the two of them as he introduced them to King Kai.
"Mm. I hope so!" King Kai said.
"All right, I'm off. I'll leave the two of them in your hands. Contact me once they've learned it. I'll be in the North Galaxy, not going far!" After saying that, Son Gohan left using Instant Transmission.
Sun Wukong and Piccolo stayed on King Kai's Planet and began training under King Kai's instructions!
Getting used to the gravity, catching Bubbles, hitting Gregory, telling corny jokes... They did it all!
Meanwhile, Son Gohan!
He was currently on Earth's satellite, the moon!
"The vacuum of space really is unfathomable! Good thing I wished Shenron for this, or I'd never be able to survive!" Son Gohan carefully sensed everything about his body.
Ever since he'd made his wish to Shenron, his body had gained a new ability. Now that he'd come to the vacuum of space for the first time, he could feel it clearly!
He felt the pores all over his body part slightly, absorbing tiny traces of energy floating in the vacuum and converting them into the nutrients his body needed, replacing oxygen!
Asking King Kai to teach him the King Kai Fist was only a small step in his plan!
Now, he was going to test whether he could keep his reason after transforming into a Great Ape, without being overwhelmed by its savage nature!
Whoosh!!!
After looking around, Son Gohan chose a suitable spot and used Instant Transmission to go there!
The position was perfect for observing the moon in its entirety, and the sunlight made the Burz Light reach its full potential!
Son Gohan stared at the moon. His tail suddenly twitched on its own, pointing toward it.
In less than three seconds, his body began to change!
His heart started pounding rapidly, and his eyes turned scarlet!
His muscles bulged, and dark brown fur began to grow over his body!
His mouth jutted out and stretched forward!
Son Gohan clearly sensed energy pouring out of his tail!
And mixed in with that energy was an extremely violent, savage nature!
But Son Gohan had lived two lives, and Shenron had strengthened his soul, increasing his spiritual power!
He could easily suppress that savage nature and maintain perfect control of his reason!
"Roar!!! Awoo..."
A gigantic Great Ape stood tall in space, roaring furiously at the sky!
"As far as I know, Super Saiyan 4 is achieved by transforming into a Great Ape and then transforming into a Super Saiyan again. I wonder if I can skip Super Saiyan 2 and 3 and go straight to Super Saiyan 4?" Once his curiosity was piqued, he couldn't hold it back!
Son Gohan began to experiment, trying to trigger a Super Saiyan transformation in his Great Ape body!
Pfft!! Bang!! Crack!
The instant he powered up, his muscles gave way, blood sprayed from his skin, and his bones snapped. His whole body was fractured, leaving him gravely injured!
"Oh no! My clothes! Senzu Beans!" Summoning the last of his strength, he used Instant Transmission to return to the spot where he'd appeared on the moon.
He barely managed to return to human form, then grabbed the Senzu Bean hidden in his waistband and swallowed it!
"Phew... That was dangerous. One second later and I'd have been done for. They weren't kidding when they said you shouldn't tempt fate!" Son Gohan got up, talking to himself as he put on his clothes!
Just as he'd powered up to trigger the Super Saiyan transformation, an energy that terrified him and that he couldn't control had surged through his body!
That energy had come rushing up from his tail!
Thankfully, he'd abandoned the transformation instantly, and the power had slowly returned from his body to his tail. That was the only reason he'd survived!
"Looks like my body still isn't strong enough to transform into a Super Saiyan 4. Judging by that energy, I'll need to reach a whole new level of life before I can control it! Could I really have to become a God before I can transform into a Super Saiyan 4?" Son Gohan began to ponder.
After a long while, he still couldn't think of a good way to resolve the problem.
"Whatever. I should be strong enough to handle what's coming. There's still more than a year before my uncle Raditz comes to Earth, right? The story of Dragon Ball Z is about to unfold!" Son Gohan murmured to himself.
Son Gohan began to consider how to deal with the events that were about to happen.
Raditz, Nappa, Vegeta—even Frieza—didn't worry him in the slightest now.
But this was only the beginning!
After testing his Great Ape transformation, Son Gohan moved on to the next step of his plan!
He would search for Thunder Steel and have Bulma build the Gravity Chamber he wanted!
At first, he'd planned to simply wish for it on Namek. But it seemed a shame to waste a wish on something that could be obtained so easily!
Later, he'd planned to go straight to Kaioshin Star and ask the current Supreme Kai, Shin, for Thunder Steel!
But he remembered that during the Majin Buu arc in the original story, Shin and his attendant Kibito had appeared and said that Frieza could be killed with just one finger!
Son Gohan could easily kill Frieza now, but he couldn't claim he could do it with one finger!
To be safe, it was better not to approach them for now!
So he decided to use the year or so he had to travel around the universe and search for Thunder Steel along the way!
After all, with Instant Transmission, traveling around the universe would be much easier! And he could return to Earth in an instant, too!
Son Gohan closed his eyes and searched his mind for planets inhabited by living beings!