The night passed without a word.
Early the next morning, before the sun had even risen above the horizon, Karochi and Tights were already at the spaceship, giving it one last inspection.
"Phew! Everything looks good. We can finally set off." Tights was practically bursting with excitement.
After looking forward to this for so long, it was only natural she'd feel that way.
"Oh, my! You're leaving so early? How about a glass of milk? You could have some breakfast!" Mrs. Brief offered sincerely beside the spaceship.
Karochi was tempted. There was no harm in having breakfast before they left, was there? Space wasn't going anywhere, so why rush?
But when he saw how impatient Tights looked, he couldn't help sighing.
"Maybe another time, Mrs. Brief. We're hoping to set off early so we can get back sooner," Karochi said, sounding a little reluctant.
Mrs. Brief didn't look disappointed at all. "Then take care on the way!"
Huh? Had you just been saying that to be polite, ma'am?
Tights dragged Karochi straight into the ship's cabin!
There was an incredible amount of space inside. They made their way to the control room. Honestly, it was almost as spacious as the control room on Frieza's ship in the original story.
And Frieza's ship needed multiple people to operate it. Dr. Brief had simplified the controls so much that all they had to do was set their destination, and the ship would navigate there automatically. Amazing!
"Karochi, sit down! We're about to leave," Tights reminded him.
After all, there would be severe shaking when they left Earth and broke through the atmosphere.
Karochi obediently did as she said. He'd read the original story, so he knew what to expect! The craft he'd ridden before had also shaken violently when entering the atmosphere.
The spaceship climbed to an altitude of one thousand kilometers, then stopped.
"Hm? Why did we stop? Is it broken?" Karochi asked curiously. He really didn't understand spaceships.
Tights quickly explained, "It's about to accelerate. Don't talk, or you might bite your tongue."
With that, Tights immediately fell silent.
Sure enough, the ship entered a powerful acceleration phase. Because of the inertia, Karochi clearly felt himself being pushed upward.
The sensation wasn't too strong, of course. That wasn't because the ship was slow, but because it was exceptionally stable.
Still, the moment they broke through the atmosphere, the ship shook violently. It gave Karochi a sudden flashback to riding a bus in his previous life.
But it soon steadied. They must have left Earth's atmosphere.
"Phew!" Tights let out a breath and unfastened her safety harness.
"All right, we've left Earth!" she said, pressing a button.
The screen in front of them turned transparent, revealing the entire starry expanse!
Countless stars streaked past their view.
"Wow! Is this space?" Tights was stunned by the sight. Countless points of light adorned the vast black canvas, making it utterly mesmerizing.
Karochi was just as awestruck as he gazed at the universe spread out before him.
It was worth mentioning that the glass was one-way. Karochi and Tights could see outside from within the ship, but no one outside could see in.
The spaceship seemed to become part of the cosmos itself, perfectly mimicking the surrounding scenery!
It was also incredibly fast. In no time at all, they had already left the Solar System.
"Tights, how about we eat?" Karochi reminded her. The breakfast bell had rung; it was time to eat.
They'd said they would eat aboard the ship! Oh, right, he was the one who'd said that. Never mind, then.
Tights didn't say anything. Instead, she took out a capsule and set up a picnic in the cockpit! And he had to admit, eating while taking in the scenery made for a unique experience.
After they finished eating, Karochi did a few stretches and prepared to start training. They were short on time, after all.
"What, you're going to train again?" Tights looked at Karochi's movements and couldn't help feeling exasperated.
What was so great about training? Why was he always thinking about it, like some pervert who'd spotted a pretty woman?
"Yeah! Tights, I told you before, didn't I? Space is full of danger almost everywhere you go! I'm weak as a kitten; I'm nowhere near strong enough to hold my own. To keep both of us safe, I have to get stronger."
There was another reason Karochi didn't mention. The enemies who awaited them in the future were one more outrageous than the next. There was Frieza, of course, but also Androids, Cell, Majin Buu, and later on, either Super 17 or the Tournament of Power in the Dragon Ball Super universe.
Whenever he thought of the Tournament of Power, Karochi felt a pain in his stomach! Zeno was truly a menace.
"Enough, I've heard you say that countless times! Honestly, what are you so scared of?" Tights really didn't understand. She'd grown up on a peaceful Earth, after all.
There was no way she could truly understand the horrors of space.
Karochi just shrugged and headed off to the Gravity Chamber alone!
The gravity machine was an incredible training tool! It was the most effective way to get stronger quickly.
"Whoa, this Gravity Chamber is way bigger than the one Kakarot had in the original story." It took Karochi three or four minutes to reach it.
The Gravity Chamber was located in the very center of the spaceship! It was at least twice as spacious as the one in the original story.
"Hmm, I trained under fifteen times Earth's gravity at the Lookout! I'll start with twenty times gravity, then."
Just like Goku in the original story, he was starting at twenty times gravity. But Goku's base power level back then was already 8,000, about four times Karochi's.
The gravity came on, and Karochi felt his breathing grow heavy! His body gradually hunched over.
Even the tail behind him couldn't stay upright. It drooped straight down.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Karochi began to shuffle forward, one slow step at a time. Each step felt as if he were carrying a thousand pounds.
Karochi didn't notice that Tights had turned on the Gravity Chamber's monitoring feed. Her brows knitted together as she watched him struggle to move, her expression full of worry.
"What a dummy!"
Her plaintive voice echoed through the control room, as if she were venting her frustration, or perhaps complaining.
Karochi was completely dumbfounded. It had taken him three whole days just to adapt to twenty times gravity!?
What the hell? How had Goku in the original story managed six days of training under a hundred times gravity?
What the hell! Was the gap really that huge? N-no... Surely not?
"What's wrong? Is your training not going well?" Seeing Karochi's expression, Tights couldn't help asking with concern.
Karochi quickly waved his hands. "It's not that. I just feel like I'm making progress too slowly."
Karochi looked troubled.
The more he trained, the more ordinary he felt. Goku had adapted to a hundred times gravity in six days, while Karochi figured he'd probably only manage forty times.
Smack! Tights slapped Karochi, exasperated. "What, you want to get strong overnight? Even someone like me, who doesn't train in martial arts, knows that rushing won't get you anywhere. How do you not understand that?"
She'd watched Karochi train over the past three days. Honestly, it looked like he was torturing himself! Under that much gravity, Tights thought she'd die if she were in there.
He'd adapted in just three days and still wasn't satisfied! He was being insatiably greedy, and might choke on his own ambition.
Wait, she was right! Why was he in such a hurry? They weren't going to Planet Namek to fight Frieza. They were only going to grow stronger and make a few wishes.
Besides, they had plenty of time before reaching Planet Namek. He could just take it slow.
And just as Tights had said, was training faster really a good thing?
Goku had completed a hundred-times-gravity training in six days and even managed to become a Super Saiyan! But so what? When he got back to Earth, he still contracted the Heart Virus.
To be fair, a Super Saiyan's immune system was already absurdly strong. Under normal circumstances, he shouldn't even catch a cold!
The likely reason he got sick was the way Goku had trained himself to the brink of death. The Kaio-ken was another factor.
That technique placed an absurd strain on the body. Goku's decision to force himself to use 20x Kaio-ken on Planet Namek was probably another reason.
"Hahaha, thanks, Tights! I get it now." Why rush? He could take it slow.
Tights finally let out a quiet sigh of relief. She'd really been afraid Karochi would overdo it and ruin his body.
They'd known each other for a year now, so they'd grown attached.
Then, pretending she didn't care, she shoved her hands into her pockets and said, "Since you want to thank me, come with me to Planet Bimos tomorrow! I checked it out. It's a planet made entirely of rock, yet somehow it has air that humans can breathe. I'm curious about it."
Uh, weren't they supposed to be going to Planet Namek? Why were they changing destinations halfway there?
As if she'd noticed Karochi's confusion, Tights immediately explained, "Planet Namek is your destination, not mine. I'm here to collect material! I'm only going to investigate, and it won't take much time."
She'd come to travel through space—cough, cough—find inspiration and collect material! She wasn't like this muscle-bound martial artist whose mind was full of nothing but training.
After hearing her out, Karochi decided she had a point. Tights hadn't had a destination in mind to begin with, so he nodded. "All right, Tights. We'll head to Planet Bimos tomorrow!"
"Now that's more like it!" Tights smiled.
Yeah! She was really cute. Even the heart of the twenty-something guy inside Karochi gave a little flutter.
Karochi truly hadn't expected that the capable woman he'd known in his previous life could be so adorable as a child.
The contrast was pretty striking.
"Oh, right! The information my dad uploaded to your ship says this planet is some kind of intermediate-level planet! Is it dangerous?" Tights asked, as if she'd just remembered something. She didn't really understand what an intermediate-level planet was.
Whoa, it was an intermediate-level planet? If he'd heard that three days ago, he would've hesitated. But now, he wasn't afraid at all.
"Don't worry, Tights. An intermediate-level planet is one where the strongest fighter has a power level above 1,000 but below 10,000! My power's improved a lot after three days of adapting to twenty times gravity. There's nothing to worry about."
What a joke. His base power level had already reached 8,000, and with a Ki Burst, he could even surpass 10,000! What was there to be afraid of? Bring it on.
Before you continue