The First Potential Development

After Son Goku tilted his head back and drank the Ultra Divine Water, at first, nothing happened.

He even smacked his lips. "The taste... is a bit sweet? And there's a fishy aftertaste?"

Master Korin stared at him nervously. "How do you feel?"

"It's alright, just a little—"

Before he could finish his sentence.

Son Goku's body jolted violently, as if his spine had been struck by an invisible bolt of lightning. He curled up like a shrimp, his hands clutching his abdomen so tightly that his knuckles dug into the muscles of his stomach. His mouth hung wide open, yet he couldn't make a sound—it wasn't that there was no sound, but the pain was so intense that his throat spasmed, choking off even a scream.

It's here. This is it. I knew it would hurt, hurt a lot—I knew—but knowing and enduring are two completely different things—!!!

His stomach felt as if a small sun had been ignited inside it. A searing, agonizing pain exploded from his gut, spreading through his blood vessels to every corner of his body. It felt like thousands of red-hot knives were churning through every muscle fiber, and billions of red-hot needles were piercing every single cell simultaneously.

Son Goku's consciousness clung desperately to one thought amidst the agony, like a drowning man clutching a piece of driftwood—I won't die. I won't die. I won't die.

But the pain was real. Too real. It was the kind of pain that truly reached into the marrow of his bones.

"Ughhh—!!!!"

He finally let out a scream.

That scream erupted from the secret chamber at the top of the tower, piercing through the entire Korin Tower and shaking loose a flurry of stone dust from its surface. The birds nesting in the forest below were startled from their roosts, their cries echoing back and forth between the clouds.

Son Goku's knees slammed into the ground, cracking the stone slabs in a radial pattern. His pupils contracted to the size of pinpricks, and the veins on his forehead and neck bulged out.

"Goku!!!"

Krillin rushed forward. He knelt beside Son Goku and reached out to help, only to be violently repelled by an invisible force—it was the most primal, uncontrollable ki, surging wildly from within Goku's body and exploding in every direction without rhyme or reason.

Krillin was knocked flat, his back hitting the stone wall of the chamber with a dull thud. He scrambled up, rushed forward again, was repelled again, and then climbed back up once more.

"Krillin! Get back!" Master Korin couldn't bear to watch any longer. He blocked Krillin with his staff, his white fur standing on end from the violent aura. The expression on the cat's face was something he had never shown anyone in hundreds of years—awe.

"His body is being reshaped by the Ultra Divine Water—if he survives, he will be reborn; if he doesn't..." He didn't finish the sentence.

"Survive—you have to survive—!!!" Krillin didn't know if he was shouting or crying. His voice was drowned out by the roar of the violent air currents, inaudible even to himself.

At the top of Korin Tower, the winds and clouds shifted.

BOOM—!!!

The previously clear morning sky darkened instantly the moment the shockwave erupted from the top of the tower. Dark clouds surged in from all directions, twisting into a massive vortex directly above Korin Tower. Thunder rolled within the vortex, and lightning struck down from its center, exploding in rings of blue electric arcs against the tower. The torrential rain was forcibly held in mid-air by the rising pressure, forming a suspended, unyielding curtain of water.

Meanwhile—

In the Heavenly Realm, at the Lookout.

Kami stood before the temple, overlooking the mortal world. Suddenly, his body stiffened, and the staff in his hand clattered to the ground.

"This ki..." A look of disbelief appeared on his aged face. "In the lower realm... how could there be such powerful ki?! And... it's still climbing?!"

He closed his eyes, his perception surging downward like a tide. When his consciousness touched the top of Korin Tower, that violent and scorching aura made him tremble, forcing him to take three steps back.

"That child... no, that is no longer the ki of a 'child'..."

At the top of Korin Tower.

The agony came in waves, yet Son Goku's consciousness remained exceptionally clear.

Hold on... you have to hold on!!!

"AAAAAAHHHHHH—!!!"

He threw his head back and roared, the sound shaking loose more stone dust! The white aura expanded instantly at that moment, shifting from pale white to pure white, rising like a small sun atop Korin Tower!

Krillin tried to approach but was knocked down by the shockwave again. He braced himself against the ground, eyes wide as he watched that figure. "Go... Goku..."

Master Korin was speechless. In his eight hundred years of life, he had never seen anyone not only survive the lethal poison of the Ultra Divine Water but also unleash such terrifying energy!

"BOOM—!!!"

With a deafening roar, the aura suddenly retracted.

The dark clouds retreated, and the sunlight spilled down once more. The storm around Korin Tower subsided, as if everything that had just happened were merely an illusion.

On the platform, Son Goku slowly stood up. He raised his hand, looking at the pure white aura in his palm.

Is this... what it feels like to have one's potential unlocked?

He closed his eyes, feeling the surging power within his body. That ki was much denser than before, flowing through his body like a rushing river.

Combat power... from around 600, it's climbed to about 1100? So, the increase in combat power was just a side effect. The Ultra Divine Water opened up my "limit," and my foundation has been completely reshaped.

"Whew..."

He let out a long breath and suppressed his ki. The pure white aura gradually dissipated, returning to his normal state.

"Master," he turned and bowed deeply to Master Korin, "thank you."

Master Korin stared at him blankly, taking a long moment to find his voice. "You... are you really alright?"

"I'm fine," Son Goku flexed his wrists and hopped twice, a brilliant smile on his face. "I feel great! I'm full of energy!"

Master Korin: "..."

It opened its mouth, but in the end, it could only offer a bitter smile, its voice tinged with exhaustion: "A monster... you really are a monster... In eight hundred years, you are the first person to drink the Ultra Divine Water and still be jumping around like this..."

"Hehe!" Son Goku scratched his head, looking embarrassed.

Krillin scrambled up from the ground, rushed over, and punched Son Goku on the shoulder before pulling him into a hug.

"You, you bastard..." Krillin's voice was muffled, thick with nasal congestion, "You scared me to death... you really scared me to death..."

Son Goku froze for a moment, then laughed and patted Krillin's bald head: "Alright, alright, didn't I come out just fine? I promised to treat you to barbecue, and I never go back on my word!"

"Who wants your barbecue!" Krillin pushed him away, wiped his eyes, and stubbornly turned his head, "...I want ten servings."

"Haha! Fine! Twenty servings it is!"

Master Korin watched the two brats, a smile unconsciously tugging at the corners of its mouth. But soon, its expression turned serious, and its bell chimed softly:

"Son Goku, wait."

"Master?"

Master Korin cast its gaze toward the clouds above, its voice low: "The Heavenly Realm... Kami wishes to see you."

"Kami?" Son Goku's heart stirred.

It's here... In the original story, Kami only officially met Goku after the King Piccolo arc ended. But now, my energy has drawn his attention prematurely... The timeline has changed again.

"Yes," Master Korin nodded, its eyes complex, "When you unleashed your energy just now, Kami sensed it. He asked me to tell you... to go to the Lookout."

Son Goku's eyes lit up.

The Lookout... Kami... and Mr. Popo.

"I understand," he puffed out his chest, his smile radiant, "Thank you, Master! Next time I come, I'll bring you even more fish! And the Senzu Beans, I'll be sure to use them sparingly!"

Master Korin was taken aback, then burst into laughter, its bell jingling: "Good! I'll be waiting! But don't bring so many next time; they'll spoil if they aren't eaten!"

Son Goku waved to Master Korin and Krillin, then leaped into the air, his figure shooting toward the sky like an arrow. A white aura trailed behind him like a long tail as he flew toward the faint, shimmering Lookout hidden above the clouds.

Krillin ran to the edge of the platform and shouted at the receding figure: "Goku--! Come back soon--!"

A hearty response echoed from the sky:

"I--know--!!!"