Super Saiyan 4 and a New Mission

Goku and Vegeta found Gogito in the dining room. He was eating, and when he saw them rush in, he greeted them.

"Hey, you're back already!"

"Nothing was going on, so we came back."

"Piccolo told me you can transform into something called Super Saiyan 4. Is that true?"

Goku pulled up a chair beside Gogito and asked his question.

"Piccolo said your appearance changes a lot. Red fur covers your upper body, your hair gets longer but stays black, and even your eye area turns red. It sounds incredible!"

Goku grew more and more excited as he spoke.

"Super Saiyan 4, huh!"

Gogito took a napkin and wiped his mouth. Leaning back in his chair, he looked at Goku and Vegeta and said,

"That's right. I can transform into Super Saiyan 4, and its power is incredible."

"Then how do you transform?"

Vegeta could hardly wait. He wanted to transform before Kakarot did.

But Gogito said,

"We've known each other for so long. Haven't you noticed anything different about me?"

Goku and Vegeta fell silent, thinking. Hmm? What was different? They were all Saiyans.

They'd known Gogito for so long, yet they'd never seen him transform. In his normal state, he was much stronger than they were. And there was the way he moved—Goku and Vegeta still couldn't figure it out. They would feel like they were about to hit him, but then he'd dodge at the last moment. It felt completely different from fighting anyone else.

Wait, Saiyans? Vegeta realized Gogito had a tail!

Vegeta's eyes flew open. "It's the tail. Gogito has a tail!"

Gogito usually coiled his tail around his waist, so it didn't draw attention. Goku and Vegeta hadn't thought much of it before. But now that Gogito had pointed it out, Vegeta suddenly remembered: a tail was unique to Saiyans, and under a full moon, it let them transform into Great Apes. With that in mind, Vegeta had an idea of how to achieve Super Saiyan 4. If he was right, this time he'd get ahead of Kakarot.

At the thought, the corners of Vegeta's mouth lifted uncontrollably.

"So it was the tail!"

Goku scratched his head. He'd thought about it for a while but couldn't figure it out. In Goku's memory, tails weren't particularly important.

Seeing Vegeta grin, Gogito guessed he might have figured out how to achieve Super Saiyan 4.

"That's right, it's the tail. Super Saiyan 4 is achieved by transforming into a Golden Great Ape while in Super Saiyan form, then regaining your rationality. It's an evolution that combines reason and instinct, giving you the Great Ape's strength as well as speed it lacks."

"You could say Super Saiyan 4 is the perfect form. It combines strength, speed, reason, and instinct. Its body is incredibly powerful and can absorb energy, as long as the amount doesn't exceed what the body can handle."

"Like Super Saiyan 2 and Full Power Super Saiyan, Super Saiyan 4 is a form best suited for battle. Unlike Super Saiyan 3, it doesn't put too much strain on the body. The difference is that Super Saiyan 4 is far more powerful. They're not even in the same dimension."

"Wow! That's amazing!"

Hearing Gogito explain Super Saiyan 4, Goku clenched his fists in excitement, eager to transform right away. But Vegeta poured cold water on him.

"Don't forget, Kakarot, you're just a Low-Class Warrior. You'll lose control if you transform into a Great Ape. But as a prince, I won't lose control when I transform. That's the difference between us, Kakarot. This time, I'm one step ahead of you! Hahaha!"

Vegeta laughed smugly, as if he'd already put Kakarot beneath his feet.

Goku didn't mind Vegeta's taunt at all. As long as he could get stronger, that was enough. Even if it took him a little longer, he'd be satisfied as long as he could become a Super Saiyan 4. Once he did, he could catch up with Vegeta.

"Enough, you two. You don't even have tails yet. What are you getting so excited about?"

Gogito interrupted Vegeta's daydreaming and Goku's excitement.

"Hurry up and figure out how to grow your tails back!"

"That's easy. We can just ask Shenron to give us tails," Goku said casually.

Then the two of them took the Dragon Radar and went out to look for the Dragon Balls.

Broly came to eat at that moment, accompanied by Android 18 and their daughter. No one knew when the two had gotten together; they'd taken a liking to each other. Krillin was weeping in the bathroom.

Over the years, Android 18 had become best friends with Tights and Bulma—thanks, of course, to Bulma and Tights' money power.

Android 17 and Android 16 weren't used to such a lively atmosphere, so they chose to become forest rangers at an animal reserve.

Just like in the original story, Android 17 married a zoologist. The couple had one child and adopted two more.

Android 16 was a pure robot built from scratch. He couldn't get married and had no desire to, so he stayed with Android 17 to protect nature.

Sigh! Those poachers were in for it. If they ran into Android 16 and Android 17, they were pretty much wiped out.

Android 18 and Broly also had a child, a daughter named Lily.

Ding!

Mission triggered: Save Android 17.

Mission details: Android 17 in the GT Timeline could never find a reason for his existence. Eventually, after being manipulated by Dr. Gero and Dr. Myuu, he once again wreaked havoc on Earth. During the rampage, he killed Krillin and injured Android 18. In the end, the emotions of the Android 17 inside him gained the upper hand, and he chose to die at Goku's hands.

Mission reward: Double base power

Another new mission. Gogito hadn't received one since the last had ended. He'd thought the system had run out of money and shut down!

This time, it was Android 17 from the GT Timeline. That Android 17 was a pitiful fellow too. After all these years, he'd never found a purpose in life and had always felt out of place. His own sister had married that short, bald guy and started a family of her own, leaving her little brother behind. And his big brother, Android 16, had died long ago. Everyone else had come back to life, but Android 16 was gone forever.

With Goku and the others around, he couldn't do whatever he wanted, and life had lost its meaning.

GT Android 17 was just like a lost boy, unsure which road to take.

So when Dr. Gero manipulated him, he readily accepted being controlled and went on another rampage. His original mission had been to kill Son Goku.

When he saw the short, bald guy who had stolen his sister—the one person he cared about most—he killed him without hesitation. Then he tried to persuade his sister to join them. But she'd spent years among Earthlings and wouldn't go along with them. Still, he couldn't let her ruin their plans, so he injured her and left her unable to move.

After fusing, Android 17 was no longer outmatched by those meddlesome Saiyans. He rampaged and slaughtered at will, trying to fill the emptiness inside himself. But he couldn't feel any happiness at all. It was like wanting to buy something for a long time but never having the money, then finally being able to afford it one day, only to find it wasn't all that special and quickly lose interest.