Can We Carpool Like This?

(The author's imagination alone is limited. If you have any interesting ideas for how the Twelve Talismans could be used in Dragon Ball, feel free to discuss them here. I'll take them into consideration and add them in.)

(The initial roster for the Tournament of Power: 1. Protagonist, 2. Super Saiyan Blue Son Goku, 3. Super Saiyan 4 Vegeta, 4. Legendary Super Saiyan Broly, 5. Mystic Gohan, 6. Super Saiyan 3 Raditz, 7. Android 17, 8. Android 18, 9. Golden Frieza, 10. Orange Piccolo)

"Damn!"

Inside a rented apartment, Lin Xiu stared at the pool of cola spread across the table, his mood on the verge of collapse.

As a veteran Dragon Ball fan, after work, he had ordered a Pin Hao Fan delivery and turned on his computer to rewatch the classic Dragon Ball GT scene where Goku transformed into Super Saiyan 4.

Now, the thrill had been ruined by the cola that came "free" with his Pin Hao Fan order.

"Damn it, I'd just gotten to the part where Baby was blown up..."

Muttering curses, he set the cola bottle upright. What he didn't know was that cola had already seeped into the cheap power strip by his feet, crammed with plugs for his computer, monitor, and phone charger.

The cola had long since run down the edge of the table and filled the sockets.

Crackle—snap!

A powerful current instantly surged through Lin Xiu's body.

In the final moment before his consciousness faded, the last thought that flashed through his mind was: My Pin Hao Fan... I haven't even finished it...

Planet Vegeta, Area A, Lower-Class Warrior Residential District.

The atmosphere inside Taro's home was oppressively grim.

Chen Xiu—no, he should be called Kaxiu now—sat quietly in a corner of the room.

He had transmigrated.

It had taken him an entire year to accept that fact.

He had gone from an adult office drone to a three-year-old Saiyan infant with a tail.

Worse still, he knew exactly where this was.

"Taro, have you really made up your mind?"

A deep male voice came from outside. The door opened, and a man and woman walked in.

The man had wild hair, a cold expression, and a cross-shaped scar on his face.

The woman had gentle black hair, but her eyes carried the unique resolve of a Saiyan.

Bardock and Gine.

"Bardock."

Kaxiu's father, Taro, stood up and glanced at his wife.

"I've decided. Frieza has summoned every Saiyan back, and there's something strange about it all. I have a bad feeling."

Bardock and Taro had forged a life-and-death bond on the battlefield.

Bardock said gravely, "Me too. Frieza has been asking about the legend of the 'Super Saiyan'... He's afraid. I just came back from the front lines, and I feel like... the Saiyans may all be doomed."

Gine stepped forward and looked at the infant inside the incubation pod—Kakarot.

"So, we're planning to send Kakarot away."

Gine fought back her reluctance.

"We stole a small long-range spaceship and set its coordinates for a remote planet called Earth."

Taro glanced at his unusually quiet son, Kaxiu, in the corner, determination flashing in his eyes.

"King Vegeta has long been dissatisfied with my son's slow growth in battle power. He was already planning to exile him to some garbage planet."

Taro gave a cold laugh.

"Rather than let them arrange our fate, we'll choose for ourselves."

He turned to Bardock and said, "Bardock, my dearest friend. Could we... carpool?"

Bardock froze for a moment, then laughed.

"I knew you'd say that. But the ship is too small..."

"If we squeeze in, it'll fit us all!"

Taro cut him off.

"Kaxiu is already three. He's sensible. If the two of them are together, at least they'll have each other!"

"But..."

Gine hesitated.

"Listen to me, Gine."

After pondering for a moment, Bardock placed a hand on his wife's shoulder.

"Taro's right. One more companion means one more chance at survival."

He looked at Taro. Their eyes held the same resolve to face death.

"There isn't much time. The gap between patrol shifts is short. We leave immediately!"

Planet Vegeta's barren wasteland, launch site.

Two pairs of parents, two infants.

Kaxiu was held tightly by his mother in this life, her tears dripping onto his face.

"Kaxiu... my son... you must live... you must..."

Taro forcefully patted Kaxiu on the back, his voice hoarse.

"You're one year older than Kakarot. Take care of him! Live like a true Saiyan warrior!"

On the other side, Gine was also tearfully giving Kakarot instructions.

Bardock, meanwhile, appeared calm. He merely walked over and rubbed the two children's heads.

Kaxiu looked up with clear eyes that belonged to an infant yet held an adult soul. He gave Bardock a deep look, then turned to gaze at his parents in this world.

"Goodbye, Goku's father. Goodbye, my parents in this world."

"Quick! Get in the spaceship!"

If you think this book is good, please add it to your bookshelf so you don't lose it next time.

The two infants were quickly placed into the small, round spaceship.

Three-year-old Kaxiu and two-year-old Kakarot.

Bang!

The hatch closed.

"Coordinates: Earth. Initiate launch!"

The spaceship trembled lightly and slowly rose into the air. Then, with a whoosh, it became a streak of light and vanished into the dark red horizon.

Gine could no longer hold back and threw herself into Bardock's arms, weeping bitterly.

Taro and his wife also embraced as they watched that streak of light in the distance.

"This... is for the best."

Taro murmured.

"Yeah."

Bardock raised his head and looked toward the planet's orbit.

There, an enormous flagship radiating an ominous aura was slowly descending.

"Frieza is here."

Bardock removed the red band from his head and tied it tight.

"Then."

Taro cracked his neck, producing a series of cracks.

"Let's make one final stand here! Let that bastard see the pride of us Saiyans!"

"Just what I wanted!"

In the depths of space, the spaceship cruised automatically onward.

"Waaah—waaah—waaah—"

Within the cramped space, Kakarot's crying was pure torture to the ears.

Kaxiu felt like his head was about to split in two.

"Stop crying, stop crying! If you keep crying, wild beasts will eat us the moment we reach Earth!"

With his infant body, he struggled to cover Kakarot's mouth.

However, he was only a tiny baby. His arms were too short to reach.

"This is so damn annoying!"

Kaxiu grew irritated.

He saw a packet of liquid food prepared for infants in the ship's automatic feeding system, but it was stuck at the outlet.

Come out!

Kaxiu roared inwardly and instinctively held out his hand.

At the very instant that thought arose—

Something miraculous happened.

The stuck packet of liquid food seemed to be grabbed by an invisible hand. It trembled slightly, then with a whoosh, floated up and wobbled its way over to Kaxiu.

"...Huh?"

Kaxiu froze.

He looked at his tiny infant arm, then at the nutrient fluid floating before him.

"This... this is..."

He cautiously formed another thought: Go over there.

The nutrient fluid wobbled toward Kakarot.

Come back.

The nutrient fluid flew back.

"Holy shit!"

"Psychic powers! Telekinesis! My cheat is telekinesis!!"

He was ecstatic.

He had no idea how strong this "telekinesis" was, but in a high-martial world like Dragon Ball, any extraordinary ability could become a trump card for survival!

What he did not know was that the [Rooster Talisman] (levitation, telekinesis), branded deep into his soul, had been instinctively activated.

"Waaah—waaah—" Kakarot was still crying.

"Fine, fine, here you go!"

Using his telekinesis, Kaxiu controlled the nutrient fluid and accurately pushed it into Kakarot's mouth.

The world finally became quiet.

Kaxiu let out a breath. He looked at the stars racing backward beyond the porthole, then at the little fellow beside him sucking on nutrient fluid, who would one day become "Son Goku."

"Starting out by carpooling with Son Goku, and my cheat is psychic telekinesis..."

"Bulma, Android 18, Dragon Ball, the World Martial Arts Tournament..."

"In this life," Kaxiu clenched his tiny infant fist, "I, Lin Xiu, will definitely live to the fullest!"

Several months later, Earth, Mount Paozu.

An old man dressed in a martial arts uniform was searching through a bamboo forest for something.

Rumble—!!

A fireball fell from the sky and crashed beside a nearby mountain stream.

"Oh my! What was that? A monster?"

The old man was highly skilled and fearless. Gripping his staff, he ran straight toward it.

(The enemies the protagonist encounters will basically be completely outmatched, so it probably won't have any impact.)