Kami's Lookout
Mr. Popo's proposed method would have been incredibly reckless—basically asking for death—if an ordinary person tried it. But in the Dragon Ball World, it was simple!
Piccolo went down himself and brought back a jar of Senzu Beans!
"Are you sure you want to do this, Piccolo?" Son Gohan asked one last time.
"Enough talk. I'd rather die than live beneath Sun Wukong!! Come on!!"
Piccolo shut his eyes and dropped his guard, with a Senzu Bean in his mouth!
Son Gohan raised his palm and pressed down. Crack!!!
"Damn, that hurts!!" Piccolo's face twisted in agony.
He collapsed to the ground in an instant. Every bone in his body shattered, and the fragments pierced through his flesh and skin, jutting out where they could be seen!
Strangely, his life force remained incredibly strong. He still wasn't close to death!
He bit down on the Senzu Bean in his mouth, and a warm current spread through his body. His shattered bones visibly grew back and healed! It was as if time itself had reversed!
"Son Gohan... what was that for?"
Although he had healed in an instant, sweat from the excruciating pain still covered his face!
"Cough, cough... I didn't expect Namekians to be so tough! You weren't near death, so what was I supposed to do? That's the best I could manage. Any more force and you'd die; any less, and your bones wouldn't all shatter!" Son Gohan said awkwardly.
Mr. Popo suddenly remarked, "I only said he needed to be near death... I never said his bones had to shatter!"
"You heard that, Son Gohan..." Piccolo's eyes were like knives. If looks could kill, Son Gohan would have died ten thousand times over.
"Yeah, yeah... Get ready. Let's do it again!!" Son Gohan gave in and reminded Piccolo to prepare once more.
Whoosh!!
This time, a beam of energy shot from Son Gohan's fingertip, solid as a physical object. It was no thicker than his little finger, but the energy it contained pierced Piccolo's heart in an instant!
Piccolo's eyes widened, and a wave of weakness washed over him!
"Piccolo, swallow the Senzu Bean!!"
Even Kami was affected. His body trembled, growing dim and bright by turns, as if he were about to vanish!
Seeing this, Mr. Popo hurriedly urged Piccolo on!
A damaged heart was like a ruined car engine, but through sheer force of will, Piccolo managed to swallow the Senzu Bean!
The wound in his heart healed rapidly, and Kami's body solidified once more!
"Mr. Popo, if we do this a few more times, I'm afraid I'll die of old age!" Kami said fearfully.
Mr. Popo furrowed his brow slightly.
After Piccolo's injuries healed, his consciousness, which had been drifting on the brink of life and death, instantly returned to the world of the living!
As soon as it returned, he clearly sensed his body defending itself on its own, his cells rapidly dividing and reproducing. The Dragon God Zalama genetic gene hidden within his cells also gave off a faint glimmer.
But it lasted only an instant before everything returned to normal!
His body had changed as well. He could feel that it was more supple, and his limbs had become much better at regenerating!
Before, if his arm was cut off, he had to pour all his ki into stimulating his regenerative ability. After it grew back, his battle power would drop, and he would be left weak and exhausted!
Now, he could regenerate a limb with only half the effort! He barely lost any stamina, either!
Piccolo opened his eyes and told them about the changes in his body!
Mr. Popo nodded to himself.
Son Gohan said, "Your strengths as a Namekian are finally showing. Regeneration is your advantage. If you take this ability to its limit, you might be able to regenerate from a single drop of blood! Or maybe even come back to life as long as a single cell remains! Mr. Popo, does that sound right?"
Son Gohan shared his thoughts, then asked Mr. Popo what he thought!
"Dragon God Zalama's greatest power was wishes—the power of miracles! Miracles give the world hope, and wishes give people something to strive for! Judging by Piccolo's condition, Namekians must have inherited Zalama's Power of Wishes. That's why Namekians cultivate the mind and spirit, strengthening their consciousness and soul, which in turn strengthens their bodies. The wishes buried deep in their subconscious can also stir that trace of power in their genes and awaken even stranger abilities! Piccolo's consciousness just drifted along the boundary between life and death, with one foot in the underworld and one in the living world. That unusual experience strengthened his consciousness! What you call the body's self-defense is simply the result of his subconscious, buried deep within him!" Mr. Popo's explanation was clearer and more detailed!
After explaining, Mr. Popo continued, "But this method went beyond my expectations. There is great terror in the space between life and death. Only by fearing death and respecting life can you get a special effect. Using this method to improve quickly isn't practical! Piccolo, if you went through it again, would you be as afraid as you were just now?"
Piccolo thought for a moment, then answered, "No."
"Exactly. You know you won't die, so you wouldn't fear death anymore. Being fearless isn't necessarily a good thing! And we don't need to try it a few more times. Even if we tried just once more, Kami wouldn't be able to take it! Let's stop here," Mr. Popo said.
"Mr. Popo, then why can Saiyans do it?" Son Gohan asked.
"When Saiyans grow stronger after recovering from near-death experiences, it's their physical strength and battle power that increase. That potential comes from your tails! It has nothing to do with consciousness. Saiyans are a warrior race by nature, and fighting spirit is also a kind of consciousness. But that doesn't explain what happens to Namekians! Fearlessness is the opposite for your two races. For Saiyans, it's a racial advantage!" Mr. Popo patiently explained.
"Looks like Piccolo will need to find another way to get stronger," Son Gohan mused.
"No need. I think I've already found a direction!" Piccolo said, looking energized.
"Oh??" Son Gohan looked puzzled.
"Mr. Popo helped me understand my strengths and weaknesses. I'm no fool. In the past, I focused too much on improving my body and neglected my consciousness. If I find a way to strengthen my consciousness and mental power, that should change my body in turn and help me obtain more of the Dragon God Genetic Gene!" Piccolo truly was the brains of Dragon Ball Z!
He immediately thought of a solution!
"Right! You're brilliant! How did I not think of that?" Son Gohan clapped his hands, agreeing with Piccolo.
"I'd hope I'm smarter than a three-year-old child!" Piccolo said mockingly.
"Heh... if I remember correctly, someone is only about seven years old, right? I wonder why he looks so old—nothing like a young man!" Son Gohan didn't get angry. Instead, he fired back at Piccolo!
"Shut up, Son Gohan! Whoever told you that, I'll tear his mouth off!!" Piccolo flew into a rage.
In Age 753, Piccolo had only just hatched. In Age 756, Sun Wukong defeated him at the World Martial Arts Tournament!
Now it was Age 760, so Piccolo was only seven years old!
"Pfft!!! A seven-year-old elder... That's hilarious!!" Son Gohan didn't care about Piccolo's fury and mocked him again.
What could Piccolo do? He couldn't beat him, and he couldn't win an argument with him!
"Son Gohan... just you wait!!" Helpless, Piccolo could only leave him with a threat before walking away!
Hmph, I'll never call him Uncle in this lifetime! Son Gohan thought.
In his previous life, he'd been furious with Son Gohan in Dragon Ball for being so useless. Why did he have to call someone only four years older than him "Uncle"? If they'd been related by blood, he could have accepted it because of the family hierarchy!
But he and Piccolo weren't related in the slightest. They weren't even the same race or species: one was a mammal, the other an egg-laying animal!
After he'd crossed over, he'd sworn he would never call Piccolo Uncle!