After some discussion, Nappa ultimately had no choice but to yield to Vegeta's wishes, and the two of them set off for Earth.
At the speed of their Space Pods, it would take a full year to reach Earth, since the planet was located in a very remote part of the universe.
After giving Raditz's Space Pod to Bulma, Son Goku looked at her beaming face. Even someone as slow-witted as he was could tell how happy she was—not that Son Goku was actually stupid. He was simply innocent and naive.
Bulma then assured him that the Gravity Chamber's gravity could be increased up to a hundred times normal, and that she could also shorten the construction time. It would only take a week.
After all, the basic framework had long been settled. It was just that her father insisted on adding other equipment, like a music system.
Son Goku was thrilled when he heard the news. It meant he could move on to the next stage of training, following the techniques He Lingxuan had given him.
After saying goodbye to Bulma, Son Goku returned home. He found that although only a day had passed, Gohan had already come back.
Son Goku hurriedly asked Son Gohan what had happened.
Son Gohan told him that he had actually spent more than half a year training in a place called the Hyperbolic Time Chamber at Kami's Lookout. His son's reminder jogged Son Goku's memory: he had trained there when he was a child.
Back then, he had lasted only a short while before coming out. He never would have expected Gohan to endure a full seven months. He had He Lingxuan to thank for guiding his training, of course, but Gohan's hard work and inner strength were undeniable.
An idea suddenly popped into Son Goku's head: he should spar with Gohan and see just how strong he had become.
After all, Gohan had spent seven whole months training alongside He Lingxuan in such harsh conditions. His power must have increased tremendously—he might even be stronger than Son Goku now.
Still, having recovered from a serious injury had greatly increased Son Goku's power, so he confidently figured he could at least fight Gohan to a draw.
With that in mind, Son Goku immediately suggested a spar. Seeing Gohan hesitate, he assumed his son was afraid to fight him, so he kept encouraging him to give it everything he had.
Gohan had originally wanted to tell him that He Lingxuan had trained him to become a Super Saiyan, letting him instantly unleash fifty times his normal power. But seeing how confident his father was, he decided not to say anything.
The father and son headed to a relatively flat stretch of land on Mount Paozu.
It had once been covered in forest, but ever since Son Goku began using it as his regular training ground, it had become what it was today.
They stood facing each other. Son Goku beckoned to Gohan and said, "Come on, Gohan. Give it everything you've got. Let's have a friendly spar."
Gohan hesitated when he heard this, but ultimately decided not to transform into a Super Saiyan. He released only a small fraction of his power.
Just like his regular sparring sessions with He Lingxuan, he was in front of Son Goku in an instant, throwing a punch!
Son Goku didn't even have time to react before the punch landed in his stomach. The difference between their power levels was simply too great.
Luckily, Gohan realized something was wrong. He had only released a small portion of his power, and at the last moment, he pulled back most of his strength. Otherwise, they really would have had one of those infamous father-and-son moments.
Even so, Son Goku was in bad shape after taking the punch. He collapsed to the ground, foaming at the mouth, and it took him quite a while to get back up.
Gohan was beside himself with worry. When training with He Lingxuan, he'd been given Senzu Beans, so He Lingxuan never held back against him.
If Gohan weren't so gentle by nature, and if the person he'd fought hadn't been his dad, Son Goku, anyone else would have been six feet under.
Once he'd recovered, Son Goku patted Gohan's head and reassured him. "Haha, Dad's fine. Don't worry. I just didn't realize you'd gotten this strong. Looks like I'll have to work hard at my training too!"
He might have been more convincing if he hadn't still been clutching his stomach.
Only then did Gohan begin to relax, but he still helped Son Goku back home.
When Chi-Chi saw Son Goku return looking like that, she thought he'd encountered an enemy and been badly injured.
But Gohan, standing beside him, looked embarrassed. He spoke carefully. "I accidentally hurt Dad while we were sparring. I'm sorry, Mom."
He even pouted, looking as though he truly hadn't meant to do it. Chi-Chi's maternal instincts took over, and she pulled him into her arms.
"Oh, my poor Gohan! You've been through so much!"
She sat down, stroked his head, and hugged him even tighter. Then she comforted him. "It's all right. Don't worry, and don't apologize. Goku's fine. He's tough as an ox—he'll recover soon."
As she comforted Gohan, she shot Son Goku a rather fierce look, as if warning him never to ask Gohan to spar again.
Even though Son Goku was the one who'd been hurt this time, Chi-Chi loved them both equally. They were both irreplaceable family, and she hated seeing either of them injured.
After a heated exchange, Son Goku finally recovered, bringing their squabble to an end.
But once the arguing was over, the family felt closer than ever. They didn't end up sulking in separate corners or anything like that.
After dinner.
While Chi-Chi was away washing the dishes, Son Goku carefully asked Gohan, "I'll have to trouble you to train with me from now on, Gohan. Is that okay? You can do whatever you want with the rest of your time, whether you'd rather play or study."
Son Goku spoke to Gohan as though he were making a request. Gohan hesitated for only a moment before agreeing.
For the following week, Son Goku and Gohan would finish their meals, claim they were going for a walk to help digest their food, and secretly spar instead. Fortunately, no one was injured.
Although they called it sparring, it was really Gohan coaching his father, Son Goku—or rather, using his overwhelming advantage in power to fight him.
Gohan could already control his ki, but he still couldn't lower it very much. At his current base power of four million, the lowest he could bring it down to was still a power level of four thousand.
So it was only natural for him to overpower Son Goku, whose power level was a little over three thousand.
As for He Lingxuan, he spent the week eating, drinking, and having fun. Every so often, he chatted with the members of the Chat Group about the interesting things happening in their various worlds.
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