Only after he had closed the bedroom door, shutting off the quiet inside, did Vitelli finally let out a long breath, as if a tremendous burden had been lifted from his shoulders.
The next second, he was off like a horse freed from its reins, sprinting toward the Gravity Chamber in the backyard! He was so fast that he left a blur in the morning mist!
Clack! A dull locking sound rang out as he firmly bolted the heavy alloy door of the Gravity Chamber from the inside.
"Training! I'm going to train!"
Leaning against the cold metal door, Vitelli took in the familiar, oppressive space. A relieved smile spread across his face, mixed with a hint of gratitude at having survived a disaster.
Heaven knew how much this past week of dates had worn him out mentally, considering he was a training fanatic to the core!
He felt that accompanying his girlfriend shopping, traveling, and sightseeing was more exhausting than doing ten thousand squats under five hundred times Earth's gravity!
Inside the Gravity Chamber, Vitelli loosened up his muscles and bones, his eyes sharpening again. He took a deep breath and willed it to happen.
"Ha!"
Golden light flashed! A fierce, concentrated golden aura instantly enveloped his body. His hair stood on end, turning a brilliant gold, while his emerald-green eyes gleamed with a calm light.
He planned to try training under gravity while in Super Saiyan form. That would not only hone his strength, but might also help him adapt to and master the form faster, perhaps even bringing him closer to the threshold of Full Power—the state where his aura was contained and his energy consumption was extremely low.
However, the ideal was lofty, while reality was harsh.
Five hundred times Earth's gravity pressed down like a rising tide, but on Vitelli, transformed into a Super Saiyan... it felt like he was wearing a... jacket that was only slightly noticeable?
Forget feeling pressure. This didn't even count as a warm-up!
"Tsk!"
Vitelli pursed his lips helplessly. His golden aura receded like the tide, and his hair returned to black.
"Just as I thought. Compared to my normal state, there's no pressure at all."
He had no choice but to obediently end his transformation and stand in the center of the high-pressure chamber in his normal state, once again feeling the weighty pressure bearing down on him like a mountain.
Soon, the familiar tightness in his muscles, the rush of blood through his veins, and the satisfying feeling of his strength growing by tiny increments under extreme pressure all came back. He let out a contented hum.
Meanwhile, in the bedroom.
Bulma, who should still have been fast asleep, quietly opened her eyes.
She listened as the nearly inaudible footsteps outside the door, with their distinct hint of a hasty escape, gradually faded away, until a muffled sound came from the direction of the Gravity Chamber as its door was shut and locked.
"Heh..."
She couldn't help laughing as she buried her face in the soft pillow, her shoulders trembling slightly.
After a while, she lifted her head, rolled her pretty eyes at the ceiling, and muttered under her breath:
"Hmph! Men. Training fanatics. Wooden heads!"
After muttering, she snuggled deeper under the covers and rolled over. Surrounded by the lingering warmth Vitelli had left in the bed, she contentedly drifted back to sleep.
Sunlight slipped through a gap in the curtains, falling gently on her smiling lips.
Life seemed to have returned to its familiar routine: training, eating, and spending time with Bulma.
But Vitelli's regular three-point routine now included a fixed extracurricular activity—visiting the Lookout from time to time.
To repay Mr. Popo for his crucial guidance in controlling his strength last time, Vitelli had gone to considerable trouble this time.
He had sought out the best anime-inspired craftsman in West City and commissioned him to carefully make a lifelike Shenron model, complete with painstaking detail, from special alloys and materials.
When Vitelli presented the shimmering gift to Mr. Popo in the courtyard of the Lookout, the eternally expressionless attendant of the gods seemed to have a faint glimmer in his dark eyes.
He still wore the same blank expression and said nothing.
But the careful way he accepted the model and gently ran his fingers over the dragon scales, along with the fact that he almost never let it out of his hands, silently announced just how delighted he was with the gift.
Kami watched Mr. Popo's evident delight, then looked at Vitelli, who had brought nothing for him. The old man's wrinkled green face tightened slightly.
At last, he gave a heavy "Hmph!" and swept his sleeve, turning to stride into the depths of the Lookout with his hands behind his back and a distinctly displeased air.
"Uh? What's up with Kami...?"
The sudden cold shoulder left Vitelli baffled. He turned to Mr. Popo and asked in confusion.
Mr. Popo merely held the Shenron model and shook his head in silence, still saying nothing.
Vitelli didn't dwell on it. He had another reason for coming. "Mr. Popo, I came to continue training with you. I feel like there's still a lot of room for improvement in how precisely I control my strength."
Mr. Popo finally looked up. He gazed at Vitelli with his vacant eyes for a while before speaking slowly, his voice as flat as ever:
"I taught you everything I could last time. Clarity of mind, harmony of power, a firm foundation... The rest of the way is for you to walk on your own. I have nothing new to teach you now."
With that, he turned and left the courtyard to attend to his own business, carrying his beloved model.
Watching Mr. Popo's short, stout figure disappear into the corridors of the Lookout, seeming to hold some deeper meaning, Vitelli stood in the empty courtyard and felt the biting wind high above the clouds. After a long while, he let out a sigh.
"It seems that when it comes to training, in the end, I can only rely on myself..."
Time flew by, and another peaceful and fulfilling year passed.
One sunny afternoon,
Bulma was lounging beneath the huge parasol in the courtyard, dressed in a cool summer outfit and leafing through the latest technology magazine.
Suddenly, a lively voice called down from above:
"Hello! Are Vitelli and Bulma here?"
Bulma looked up at the sound and saw a golden cloud hovering above the estate. Son Goku sat on it—the first time she had seen him in ages.
He had grown a little taller, and some of the childishness had faded from his face, but his eyes remained bright and clear, and he wore his familiar innocent smile.
"Oh? Goku!"
Bulma sat up in delight and waved at him.
"What brings you here? Come on down!"
Goku guided the Flying Nimbus down lightly onto the lawn and looked around the elegant estate with curiosity.
"Bulma! I finally found you!"
He greeted her cheerfully, then craned his neck to look around.
"Does Vitelli not live here? I can't sense his ki."
When Bulma heard that he had come looking for Vitelli, she decided not to get up.
She lazily stretched back out on the lounge chair and pointed toward the huge metal building in the backyard.
"You're looking for Vitelli? He's got a pretty cool new hairstyle now—his hair's turned gold. There, he's training inside. Just press the doorbell."
"Golden hair?"
Goku scratched his head and walked curiously toward the Gravity Chamber.
He rang the doorbell, and its crisp ding-dong sounded especially clear in the quiet courtyard.
"Vitelli! Are you in there?"
Inside the Gravity Chamber,
Vitelli was floating cross-legged in midair in his Super Saiyan 1 Full Power Form.
His golden aura burned quietly around him like a tame flame. His ki was so completely contained that it seemed almost indistinguishable from the surrounding environment.
His eyes were closed as he immersed himself in the subtle flow of his power and the perfect coordination of his body.
The doorbell and Goku's familiar voice passed through the heavy alloy door and reached his ears.
"Kakarot?" Vitelli slowly opened his emerald eyes, a trace of confusion flashing in them. "What's that kid doing here?"
He willed himself down, landing lightly on the ground. The golden aura surrounding him instantly vanished as he suppressed it.
He walked to the door. With a hiss, the heavy alloy door slid to one side.
"Goku? What brings you here looking for me?"
Vitelli studied the young Saiyan standing at the door. He seemed to have grown a bit taller, and his ki had become much more refined.
The moment Goku saw Vitelli, his eyes lit up like spotlights!
He could keenly sense the terrifying, abyss-like power coming from Vitelli. Just standing in front of him made his body instinctively tremble. It was a physiological reaction he couldn't suppress—the response of the weak when faced with the strong!
"Wow! You're so strong, Vitelli!"
Goku shouted excitedly. There wasn't a trace of fear on his face, only pure fighting spirit and excitement.
"I started trembling just from standing in front of you! That's amazing! How did you do it?"
Looking at him, Vitelli reached out and precisely pinched Goku's still slightly chubby cheek, giving it a good squeeze. "If you've got something to say, just say it. Since when did you learn to flatter people?"
"Flatter you?" Goku asked in confusion, grimacing as he struggled against the pinch. "What's that? Is it some kind of horse meat you can eat?"
Vitelli was speechless. Completely defeated, he let go and rubbed his forehead helplessly.
"Uh... you... Forget it. What is it? You didn't come all the way here just to compliment me, did you?"
Rubbing his reddened cheek, Goku grinned and said with blazing enthusiasm, "I came to get you to enter the World Martial Arts Tournament! I couldn't fight you at the last tournament. It was such a disappointment! This time, I'm definitely going to beat you!"
He clenched his fists, his eyes burning with fierce fighting spirit.
"Oh?"
A playful smile tugged at Vitelli's lips as he looked Goku up and down.
"Quite confident, aren't you, Kakarot? But..." He reached out and lightly tapped Goku on the forehead.
"You're still nowhere near strong enough, brat!" As he spoke, he made as if to pinch Goku's cheek again.
"Ah! Damn it! Don't pinch my face again!" Goku hopped back nimbly, protesting indignantly.
Vitelli smiled, pulled his hand back, and grew serious. "I'm not entering this tournament."
"Huh? Why?" The excitement on Goku's face instantly fell away, replaced by disappointment.
"Because you guys," Vitelli said, spreading his hands with an irritatingly matter-of-fact tone, "are all too weak. Do you even need to ask? Fighting you would be like picking on little kids."
Seeing Goku's eyes dim, Vitelli changed his tone, a glint of amusement in his eyes.
"But... since you're so eager to improve, I can help you get stronger. Want to give it a try?"
"Huh?! I can get stronger?!" Goku's eyes lit up again. "How?!"
Vitelli turned and walked straight back into the Gravity Chamber, tossing a remark over his shoulder. "Want to find out? Then follow me!"
"Hey? Why'd you come back by yourself? Where's Goku?"
In the evening, Bulma looked curiously at Vitelli, who had just showered and appeared beside her, his damp hair making him look refreshed.
"That kid Goku?" Vitelli dropped into the lounge chair beside Bulma and picked up the glass of juice she had already drunk half of, gulping it down without hesitation.
"He's risking his life training in the Gravity Chamber. Have the cook prepare extra for dinner—about... hmm, three times my usual portion. Otherwise, there definitely won't be enough for him."
"Ooh."
Bulma drew out the sound, a teasing smile playing at her lips. "Since Goku's taken over your precious Gravity Chamber, what are you going to do? Want me to get the first-generation Gravity Chamber Dad built for you out of the storeroom? It's a bit old, but better than nothing, right?"
Vitelli leaned back comfortably in his chair and gazed at the brilliant sunset. He slowly shook his head. "No need."
His tone was calm and certain. "At this point, it doesn't make much difference to me whether I have a Gravity Chamber or not."
Bulma picked up on the faint hesitation in his words and turned to look at him. "Hmm? What happened?"
Vitelli turned to meet Bulma's concerned gaze and answered frankly. "I... hit another bottleneck."
"Huh?!" Bulma's expression changed slightly. She immediately sat upright, her voice tense. "A bottleneck?! You're not going to disappear for several days without a word again, are you?!" Her last experience of Vitelli "disappearing" still haunted her.
Seeing how tense Bulma had become, Vitelli felt a warmth in his heart and took her cool hand in his. "I... probably won't, at least not for now."
He smiled, trying to reassure her, but then added with some uncertainty, "Still... I can't say for sure this time. Breaking through a bottleneck sometimes takes... an opportunity."
He paused, watching the worry in Bulma's eyes, then told her what he had in mind. "How about you help me with something tomorrow?"
"With what?"
"Invite some well-known chefs and pastry chefs to the estate."
Vitelli's gaze grew serious, even carrying a hint of... anticipation?
"Chefs?" Bulma was taken aback. Then she realized what he meant and gave an exasperated "Hmph," puckering her lips as if she wanted to throw a little fit.
This training fanatic wasn't thinking about spending time with her—he was thinking about food first?
But then she remembered how accommodating and considerate Vitelli usually was with her. Her small irritation instantly turned into helpless indulgence.