Not Bad

"Besides doing push-ups, have you been doing any other training?"

"I've been doing sit-ups too!"

"..."

Piccolo was speechless.

Those were just ordinary exercises.

But never mind. As long as Son Gohan got stronger and could handle the Saiyans who would arrive in six months, it didn't matter if he was stronger than Piccolo.

"Uncle Piccolo, could you teach me the Special Beam Cannon?"

Son Gohan was stronger now, but he still didn't know many techniques.

"Of... Of course!"

Piccolo paused before answering.

He hadn't expected Son Gohan to want to learn his Special Beam Cannon.

It was his strongest attack, but it took a little while to charge.

"Uncle Piccolo, what other techniques can you use? Why don't you teach me those too?"

"Sure! But if I teach you, you'd better train hard!"

"Okay!"

Son Gohan nodded.

Piccolo watched him, then immediately placed two fingers against his forehead. A ball of golden energy appeared at his fingertips.

After a while, Piccolo finished gathering energy. He pointed his two fingers toward a nearby hill and said,

"Special Beam Cannon!"

"Ziu..."

As soon as Piccolo spoke, a spiraling beam of golden energy shot from his fingertips toward the hill.

With a deafening boom, the hill was blasted to pieces.

A number of rocks flew through the air and landed near the two of them.

"Well? What do you think?"

Piccolo asked Son Gohan.

"Not bad!"

"What do you mean, 'not bad'? I killed Raditz with that move!"

Son Gohan had just called his strongest attack "not bad."

"Uh... It's really impressive?"

Seeing Son Gohan brush him off only made Piccolo more annoyed.

"Forget it! This move isn't all that practical. I'll teach you something else."

"Something else?"

"Yeah!"

Piccolo nodded.

"The next move I'm going to teach you is called the Masenko!"

"The Masenko!"

The morning passed quickly, and before they knew it, it was noon.

Son Gohan found a lost wild boar nearby and made it his lunch.

After eating, Son Gohan took a nap on a small hill.

In the afternoon, Piccolo brought Son Gohan to the Lookout.

Tien Shinhan and the others were training there. When they saw Piccolo, fear immediately appeared on their faces.

Son Goku was dead. If Piccolo decided to attack them, no one could stand against him.

Piccolo saw the terror on Krillin and the others' faces and gave them a disdainful look.

"Don't worry. I won't lay a hand on you before we defeat the Saiyans!"

"That's good!"

Krillin breathed a sigh of relief.

"Uncle Krillin!"

Son Gohan suddenly called out to him.

"You're G... Gohan?"

"Yeah!"

Son Gohan nodded.

"Krillin, these are...?"

"This is your Uncle Tien Shinhan, Uncle Yamcha, and Uncle Chiaotzu!"

"Uncle Tien Shinhan, Uncle Yamcha, Uncle Chiaotzu!"

Son Gohan greeted the three of them.

"Mm!"

They nodded.

"Um, Gohan, Piccolo took you away to train. How's your training going?"

"Not bad."

"Not bad?"

Piccolo's mouth twitched.

Son Gohan was already stronger than him. If Gohan was only "not bad," did that mean Piccolo was barely "not bad"?

"What's wrong, Piccolo?" Krillin asked, noticing his expression.

"N... Nothing!"

"Is that so? Gohan, did you come here to train today?"

"No, I just came to see you. I also wanted to ask you for some toiletries!"

"Toiletries? You mean things like toothbrushes?"

"Yeah!"

Son Gohan nodded.

"Then I'll go ask Mr. Popo if he has any toiletries!"

"Mr. Popo?"

"Mr. Popo is the guardian's servant. Didn't your dad tell you?"

"He did. I just forgot for a moment!"

"I see!"

Just then, Piccolo's lips curled into a slight smile.

"Don't you want to know how strong this kid is now?"

Yamcha said, "Gohan's strength?"

"Exactly!"

"Good. I want to know just how strong Goku's son is, too!"

As he spoke, Yamcha looked at Son Gohan.

"Well, Gohan? Don't worry, I'll go easy on you!"

"..."

Son Gohan fell silent.

He wasn't sure whether to call Yamcha confident or conceited.

"Go easy on him!"

Piccolo couldn't help laughing.

"W... What are you laughing at?"

Seeing Piccolo suddenly laugh made Yamcha shudder.

"I'm laughing at how stupid you are. To tell you the truth, forget you—even I can't beat him now!"

"You... You can't beat him?"

Yamcha was shocked.

Tien Shinhan and Chiaotzu also looked at him in disbelief.

In just six months, Son Gohan had already surpassed Piccolo.

"That's right!"

Just then, Krillin came out with Mr. Popo.

Seeing the shocked expressions on Yamcha and the others' faces, Krillin looked puzzled.

"What's going on with everyone?"

"Krillin, Piccolo just said Gohan's stronger than he is now!" Yamcha said.

"What!"

Krillin was stunned.

When he'd heard Son Gohan say his strength was "not bad," he'd assumed Gohan was weaker than they were. He'd never imagined Gohan could beat Piccolo and still be so modest.

But this was good news for them. With Son Gohan around, they wouldn't have to fear Piccolo anymore. And with Gohan so strong, they had a better chance of defeating the Saiyans who would arrive on Earth in six months.

At the thought, Krillin's face lit up with excitement.

"That's great, Gohan! I can't believe you've already surpassed Piccolo!"

Piccolo snorted, displeased.

"Yeah!"

Son Gohan nodded.

Everyone present was happy, except Yamcha.

Son Gohan had already surpassed Piccolo, and Yamcha had just boasted that he'd go easy on him.

"Then, Uncle Yamcha, why don't we just skip the match?"

"Skip it? Yamcha, were you going to fight Gohan?" Krillin asked.

"Yeah! It's fine, Gohan. I may not be as strong as you now, but I still want to find out just how strong you are!"

To save face, Yamcha pretended to be unconcerned.

"Okay, then!"

"Mm!"

Yamcha nodded.

The two of them stepped back at the same time, putting some distance between them.

Piccolo and the others moved to either side, so they wouldn't interfere with the fight.

"Then let's get started, Uncle Yamcha!"

"Okay!"

Yamcha nodded, then rushed toward Son Gohan like the wind.