Karochi was actually quite attached to his shadow. After all, they'd spent six months beating the stuffing out of each other!!
Tch!! No wonder I'm so strong! Karochi gloated to himself.
Winning this battle meant that Karochi had completed all his training on Earth. It was time to leave. He'd planned from the start to head for Namek.
He had three goals:
① Have the Grand Elder unlock his potential. Aside from the Old Supreme Kai, this was the safest way to increase his strength without any side effects.
② Try to get the Grand Elder's permission to make a wish with Namek's Dragon Balls!!
Namek's Dragon Balls were easy to find in the villages, unlike Earth's. It was ridiculous that something as precious as the Dragon Balls was just left scattered all over the planet.
③ Go to Yardrat! He had to learn the secret techniques there.
Watching Tights wave at him, Karochi smiled. Then, all of a sudden, he seemed to sense something and turned to look up at the sky.
A spaceship was approaching, just like the one Karochi had arrived in.
"So it's here already!! Looks like Planet Vegeta has gone up in a big fireworks display," Karochi murmured.
That had to be Kakarot. The destined protagonist had arrived!! And his arrival meant Planet Vegeta was done for. The story was about to begin.
When Karochi landed back at the Lookout, he saw Kami looking unusually grave. "Karochi, if I'm not mistaken, that thing just now was...!?" It was obvious that Kami had sensed Kakarot's arrival too.
Korin flew up just then, his catlike face equally solemn.
"Karochi, you sensed it just now, didn't you~? Meow!!" The energy was faint, but the spaceship was exactly like the one Karochi had ridden to Earth. Korin couldn't help but take it seriously!!
After all, Karochi had told him that he was one of the weakest fighters among his people.
"Huh!? What's wrong? Why do you both look so serious?" Tights asked, baffled. Kami had been smiling warmly a moment ago, but now his face looked like a layer of black ink had been smeared over a cabbage!!
"Don't worry, Lord Kami, Korin! The one who arrived is my fellow Saiyan, but he won't pose any danger to Earth. As long as you don't interfere with his growth, he'll definitely become Earth's main defender in the future," Karochi explained.
At first, Kakarot had been just as hot-tempered as any Saiyan. After Son Gohan adopted him, he'd often broken things. It wasn't until he accidentally fell off a cliff and hit his head that he became the Goku from the original story.
If his growth had been disrupted, Kakarot might have ended up like Turles!! Turles's existence was, in a way, a reflection of what Kakarot had been like originally.
"Phew~! So that's how it is." Kami and Korin finally relaxed after hearing Karochi's explanation!!
Tights had caught on too. "Oh! Has one of your people arrived, Karochi??" She really wanted to meet him.
Uh!! He'd forgotten that there was someone here with an insatiable curiosity. He had to placate her. "Big Sister Tights, he's still a baby, and it's not a good idea to interfere with his growth right now!! How about we meet him after we get back from our trip through space!!?"
After all, they'd be gone for at least two and a half years, if not three. By then, Kakarot would have become Goku! It wouldn't hurt to meet him.
"Hmm~! I guess that's fair! Still, honestly, why did it take you so long to beat a puppet of your own? If you'd taken another two months, I would've left on my own," Tights complained at the mention of their space trip.
The spaceship had been ready for ages, but Karochi's training just wouldn't end!! She was so frustrated. Her curiosity about exploring space kept urging her on.
Mainly, she was out of new material. She desperately needed something fresh!! She'd already written a book based on the inspiration she'd gotten from observing the Lookout, and it had sold like crazy.
On top of that, lots of people had come all the way to Korin's Sacred Land to visit and admire the grandeur of Korin Tower. Quite a few had even tried to climb it, but the result was exactly what you'd expect: a complete waste of effort.
"Ah, well, Shadow really was strong!!" Karochi could only explain with an awkward smile.
There was no denying Shadow's strength. Even in the fifth month, Karochi had still been on the back foot and could barely gain an advantage.
Tights tossed her head, sending her golden ponytail swinging, and huffed in a sulk. "I don't care. You wasted my precious research time! You owe me!!"
??? What could he possibly pay her with? Would she take his body!!? He still lived on money Tights gave him!! He finally understood Vegeta's happiness: latch onto a rich woman and climb out of poverty!!
"Fine, fine, fine! I'll make it up to you. Come on, let's go get ready and set off as soon as we can." Karochi was already as tall as Tights. He scooped her up in a bridal carry.
Turning to Kami and Korin, he said, "Um, Lord Kami, Korin, I'll be off now! We're getting ready to head into space. Oh, my fellow Saiyan can also turn into a Great Ape when he sees the full moon. If it's convenient, could you go to Mount Paozu in two years and cut off his tail? Just make sure it doesn't grow back."
Before leaving, Karochi made sure to remind them. Son Gohan was a good man, and it was hard to accept that he'd been killed by Goku after Goku lost control!! As for Karochi's own tail, he hadn't cut it off because it was important to his future growth.
Kami nodded readily. It wouldn't be difficult.
"Huh!!! You can turn into a Great Ape too??? Can I see?" Tights had been sulking and ignoring Karochi, but the moment she heard he could transform, she perked right up.
Karochi only grinned mischievously. "Sure, Big Sister Tights. When I turn into a Great Ape, my strength increases tenfold, to 27,000, and I lose control. The whole Earth might be gone by morning!!"
At Karochi's shocking claim, Kami and Korin shook their heads frantically. "No, no!! Karochi, you absolutely mustn't turn into an ape!!!!!!"
They nearly shouted it. Good heavens!! With a battle power of 2,700, Karochi was already so strong he seemed like a monster. If it reached 27,000, wouldn't Earth be doomed?
Uh!! He'd just been trying to scare Tights. He hadn't expected to nearly frighten Kami and Korin to death. Tsk, he felt bad about it!!!
His aura flared up around him and Tights, and he shot toward West City. At this altitude, the air resistance was low. He called back, "Don't worry, I won't turn into a Great Ape on Earth!" to put Kami and Korin at ease.
Karochi was already moving more than twice as fast as he had a year ago. At full speed, he could even reach three times that speed!! A journey that used to take ten hours took him only three now.
"Oh my~~! Isn't this little Rocky? You've grown so much, and you've gotten quite handsome! So, how about going on a date with me??" Mrs. Brief asked Karochi out again when she saw him.
Of course, Karochi thought she was doing it on purpose, probably to test his character or something.
"Mom, what are you doing!?" Tights was at a loss. Karochi was only five!! What were you doing? Did this count as molesting a minor?
Oh, Karochi wasn't from Earth, so that was fine!!
"Oh my, my~!!! When are you two getting married? I want to be a grandmother and hold my grandbabies!" Mrs. Brief made another shocking remark, and Karochi froze on the spot.
Holy crap, even Ultraman would've had to flash his red warning light!! Honestly, he only saw Tights as a big sister, or maybe a little sister. He'd never had any improper thoughts about her.
Tights beside him went bright red, both embarrassed and angry!!!!!
"Ahem~~! Um, Mrs. Brief, Tights and I are going to check out the spaceship first. We'll come back to see you later!!!" He grabbed Tights and fled.
Good grief, if they didn't run now, he had a feeling Mrs. Brief would start picking out names for their children!!
When Karochi saw the spaceship, his eyes widened in astonishment. His expression froze, his mouth fell open in an O, and he stood there like a wooden statue.
He'd always assumed it would be like the spaceship Goku rode in the original story!! A big ball.
But he was wrong. It was a huge, round disc, with smooth, rounded edges, just like a UFO from his previous life! Its height, width, and length were all more than ten times those of the big ball in the original story.
He even wondered if the spaceship would be able to reach outer space.
"Hehe~! Look at this spaceship. Isn't it huge and round??" Tights looked pleased with herself. Brief had originally planned to build a ball-shaped ship, just like the one in the original story.
But she thought it was too small, and after she insisted, Dr. Brief had no choice but to expand it.
Karochi pointed at the spaceship with a trembling finger. "Um, Big Sister Tights, can I ask you something? It's so huge—won't it be really slow??"
If it took ten years to get to Namek, he'd turn around and gather Earth's Dragon Balls instead.
"Don't worry, it won't! I took apart the engine of the spaceship you came in and made five perfect replicas, then installed them on this ship. Tights told me you wanted to go to Namek, so I checked the coordinates. It should take about six months to get there!" Dr. Brief suddenly explained from beside the spaceship.
"Of course, it could've been even faster! But Earth's materials are too limited. There was no way around it. If I'd built it the way I originally planned, it would've taken only six days to reach Namek." Dr. Brief exhaled a ring of smoke after speaking.
Karochi's worries vanished completely when he heard that. Six months was about the same amount of time it had taken Bulma and the others to go to Namek the first time. He turned to Brief and bowed deeply. "Sorry for all the trouble, Dr. Brief!!!"
He meant it. The Brief family had taken such good care of Karochi!!!
Before you continue