The moment Ausbie disappeared, he sensed a ripple behind him. It was exactly like the move Nail had used back then.
The ki blast shot straight at Kasso's face. Kasso turned into a bolt of lightning and moved to the other side. He was so fast that an afterimage remained where he'd been standing, but Ausbie didn't notice.
Boom!
The ki blast passed through Kasso's shadow and slammed into the ground, erupting in a violent explosion.
The ground, already shattered by the force of Ausbie's punch, exploded in an instant, as if it had been hit by a nuclear bomb.
Smoke billowed and dust swirled!
"Don't let your guard down!"
Just as Ausbie looked around for Kasso, a familiar voice came from behind her.
"Damn it!"
Ausbie gritted her teeth. By the time she heard the voice, it was already too late to react.
But just as she thought she was done for, Kasso merely patted her hand. "Silly girl. How could your big brother bring himself to hit you?"
After those few exchanges, he had a rough idea of Ausbie's strength. She was probably around 9,000 in battle power!
Half a month ago, when Ausbie took off her Weighted Clothing in the Heavenly Realm, she had been around 6,000 in battle power. Now, she'd shot straight up to 9,000.
That was terrifying!
Saiyans were divided into three ranks: lower, middle, and upper. There was also the Elite Warrior class. In the Saiyans' minds, only Elite Warriors and a handful of upper-class warriors could reach over 10,000 battle power as adults.
If Ausbie returned to Planet Sadala and Bardock and the others learned how strong she was now, they'd be absolutely astonished.
But Ausbie's rapid growth was thanks in no small part to the Senzu Beans. As soon as Kasso had gotten his hands on them, he'd given her several hundred.
"Big Brother Kasso, am I really weak?" Ausbie curled into a ball and clung to his chest.
She'd been training very hard. Many times in the Gravity Chamber, she'd been so exhausted she'd nearly collapsed. Thankfully, she had the Senzu Beans Kasso had given her. Even so, she still couldn't keep up with him.
"Of course not!"
"I can't even beat you." Ausbie clutched Kasso tighter with her little hands.
"Why do you need to beat me?"
"I want to protect you, Big Brother Kasso!" Ausbie answered without a moment's hesitation.
Back on Planet Vegeta, Kasso had always protected Ausbie so Nappa wouldn't bully her.
Ausbie had seen it all and thought she was useless, always dragging her big brother Kasso down.
That was why she trained so hard, hoping to catch up with him. But the more she trained, the more unfathomable he seemed. Even using the sensing method she'd just learned, she couldn't sense how strong Kasso was.
"Having me protect you is enough." Kasso smiled faintly.
Ausbie fell silent. He couldn't tell whether she'd taken his words to heart.
The two of them flew slowly back to Bulma's house.
Meanwhile, at the Lookout in the Heavenly Realm, Kami and Korin looked down at the world below. The ground, struck by the shock wave, looked as though it had just been through a world war. It was utterly devastated.
A huge crater stretched before them like a dark abyss, its bottom nowhere in sight.
Thump, thump!
The Lookout was especially quiet. The two seemed able to hear each other's hearts beating.
They were both completely stunned!
Another half month passed.
In the yard of Bulma's house, Bulma sat on a small rug with her eyes closed.
As time passed, she felt a faint warmth rise within her. It flowed through her arms and legs and reached her chest, leaving a pleasant warmth wherever it went.
Bulma opened her little eyes and suddenly saw Kasso staring intently at her.
"You..."
Before Bulma could finish, Kasso asked urgently, "Do you feel something warm inside you?"
"How did you know?" Bulma asked curiously.
Bulma had been about to ask Kasso the same thing, but he'd beaten her to it.
"Not bad!" Kasso said, a little astonished.
He sensed a faint energy inside Bulma—so faint it was no bigger than a strand of hair.
"What do you mean?"
Kasso's words left Bulma confused. Then she suddenly thought of something and asked excitedly, "Can I fly now?"
"Keep dreaming!"
Bulma: "..."
Kasso's words had made Bulma think she could fly.
But...
Kasso looked at her exasperatedly. Did she really think an ordinary Earthling could just fly?
Across the entire Dragon Ball anime, only a handful of Earthlings could fly. Every one of them had trained from a young age and had excellent talent.
Still, the fact that Bulma had developed even the faintest sense of ki left Kasso too astonished to speak. He hadn't expected her to have some talent after all!
But she was still a long way from flying.
First, Bulma would have to keep training until the "ki" inside her grew stronger. Then she'd have to raise her battle power above 80.
In Kasso's view, 80 battle power should be enough to let Bulma fly, barely.
"Humph!"
Bulma rolled her eyes at Kasso. If she still couldn't fly, why had he looked so astonished?
From his tone just now, anyone would have thought Bulma could actually fly.
Neither of them spoke again, and the yard fell quiet.
Kasso suddenly said, "Now that you've developed a sense of ki, keep training like this. One day, you'll be able to fly through the sky."
Bulma looked at him. What did he mean?
Was he leaving?
"I'm getting ready to leave. You'll have to train on your own from now on. And without me here, don't push yourself when you train. Definitely don't train the way I made you before. You don't have Senzu Beans!"
Kasso said all that because he was worried Bulma might overdo it on her own. Without Senzu Beans, training as if her life depended on it really could cost her life.
Even without Kasso's warning, Bulma knew that. She might be a little girl, but she was one of the smartest people in the Dragon Ball World.
So when she heard Kasso's words, Bulma pursed her lips. She wasn't stupid!
"I'm off!"
With that, Kasso vanished without looking back.
Bulma stared at the empty yard, feeling a little down.
For the past month, Kasso had always put on a cold front while training her. But afterward, he'd follow behind her and say he was just taking in the scenery!
As if he wasn't worried something might happen to her!
Thinking about it, Bulma muttered, "That guy isn't as annoying as I thought!"
Then she noticed a small cloth bag on the table. Bulma froze for a moment, went over, and opened it. Inside were ten Senzu Beans!
Bulma: "..."
What a hypocrite!
But soon, the corners of her mouth curled up.
He'd been on Earth for two months. All in all, he'd gained a lot.
Not only had he learned how to use "ki," he'd also prepared 200 Gravity Chambers for the Saiyans.
Finally, he'd returned the two petrified Dragon Balls to their original locations.
He'd done everything he needed to do. Kasso glanced back at Earth, then vanished into space with Ausbie.
On Planet Sadala.
A month ago, 200 black houses had suddenly appeared on the planet. Bardock had no idea what they were for.
But remembering that Kasso had been away for two months, Bardock wondered if that kid had made them.
Before you continue