"Can you...see it?"
Son Goku asked with a slight tremor in his voice. He wasn't worried about being discovered as someone from another world; it was the instinctive panic of having his sense of what was possible turned upside down.
"Only vaguely." The Grand Elder reached out and gently pressed his withered palm to Son Goku's forehead. "Let me...see more clearly."
A warm force flowed in through his forehead, like a gentle stream coursing through his whole body.
Son Goku felt his consciousness pulled into a strange space—
He "saw" it.
He saw Frieza's fleet blotting out the sky, green flames devouring villages, Namekians falling amid their cries, and the Grand Elder slowly closing his eyes in his stone house...
Then the scene changed.
He saw himself transformed into a golden Super Saiyan, battling Frieza on a shattered planet. He saw Namek explode, scattering into cosmic dust. He saw himself flee aboard a spaceship, only to be caught in the shockwave of Namek's explosion...
"So that's how it is..."
The Grand Elder's voice pulled him back from the visions.
Son Goku's eyes snapped open. He found himself kneeling on the ground, drenched in cold sweat.
"You... come from another 'possibility.'" The Grand Elder's voice held a hint of emotion. "Your soul carries memories of another world. In that world... Namek was destroyed. And I... died, too."
Nail's eyes widened. "Grand Elder?! What are you talking about?!"
"Frieza," Son Goku said, lifting his head. Complex emotions burned in his dark eyes. "Frieza, the Emperor of the Universe, will invade Namek with his army to obtain eternal life. He'll slaughter your people and take the Dragon Balls... In the end, even this planet will be destroyed."
The stone house fell silent.
Nail clenched his fists until his knuckles cracked, fury burning in his eyes. "That guy...would dare?!"
"He would," Son Goku said gravely. "And soon. Maybe in a year, maybe two. With Frieza's intelligence network, he'll discover the secret of the Namekian Dragon Balls sooner or later. And you've already captured one of his men, haven't you?!"
The Grand Elder fell silent.
He looked at Son Goku, his cloudy eyes seeming to see through everything. "So...you came here to grow stronger. Strong enough...to stop all this?"
"Yes." Son Goku clenched his fists. "I need power. I need...the strength to protect Earth, Namek, and everyone who matters to me."
The Grand Elder looked at him for a long time.
Then he smiled. His expression was old and kind, like a grandfather looking at his grandson.
"Child...your wish is pure. You're not like a Saiyan. You're more like...a Namekian."
He slowly raised both hands, his withered palms facing Son Goku.
"Let me...draw out your potential. In return..."
His voice grew serious.
"When Namek faces disaster in the future...please come to our aid."
Son Goku froze.
He looked into the Grand Elder's expectant eyes, and an indescribable wave of emotion welled up inside him.
"I promise you." He nodded solemnly, his voice low and firm. "I swear on the name of my grandfather, Son Gohan—as long as I'm alive, I won't let Namek be destroyed!"
The Grand Elder smiled.
"Then...let's begin."
Soft white light radiated from the Grand Elder's hands, enveloping Son Goku.
At that moment, Son Goku felt his consciousness expand without limit, rising higher and higher.
He "saw" every cell in his body—no, something deeper than that.
"Your potential...is beyond imagination." The Grand Elder's voice echoed through the void, tinged with wonder. "Saiyan blood, a pure heart, and that 'power of memory' from another world... Their fusion has turned your body...into a divine weapon yet to be forged."
Son Goku felt the changes within him.
At first, it was warmth, like soaking in a hot spring. Then the warmth became searing—
"Ugh...!"
His ki surged wildly, like floodwaters bursting through a dam and washing over his body.
No, it wasn't merely "growing." It was "unlocking"! He felt invisible restraints inside his body, limits inherent to his Saiyan blood and barriers left by his soul and body not fully fusing after his transmigration. Now, under the Grand Elder's power, those restraints were being broken open, one after another, layer by layer!
The process of awakening his potential was painful, no less so than drinking the Ultra Divine Water.
"Uaaagh—!"
Unable to hold it in, Son Goku threw back his head and roared. Pure white ki burst from his pores.
"Hold on!" The Grand Elder's voice was more solemn than ever. The white light from his hands blazed brighter, and an unnatural flush spread across his aged face. "Unlocking your potential...isn't about giving you power. I'm helping you shatter your restraints! The stronger your will, the more of them...you can break!"
Son Goku closed his eyes, staying conscious through the pain.
He imagined—
A morning on Mount Paozu, the kind smile of Grandpa Son Gohan, and a steaming bowl of porridge.
The beach at Kame House, the sweat gleaming on Krillin's bald head, and the two of them being pushed to the brink by Master Roshi.
The World Martial Arts Tournament ring, the frustration and respect in Tien Shinhan's three eyes, and Chiaotzu's small figure standing in front of him.
And...
Frieza sneering in space, flicking a finger to destroy a planet.
Cell spreading his perfect wings in the arena and announcing the start of the "Cell Games."
Majin Buu's pink figure, seemingly innocent yet devouring everything...
"I have to get stronger..."
"Strong enough...to be invincible!"
"Strong enough...to protect everyone I want to protect!"
"BOOM—!!!"
Pure white ki erupted in an instant!
"Th-this ki..." The shock wave drove Nail back five steps. His eyes were wide with horror as his back slammed into the stone wall. "It's...it's still rising?! Grand Elder! Can his body take it?!"
The Grand Elder's face was pale as paper, and a trace of blood even slipped from the corner of his mouth. Yet his eyes shone brilliantly. He watched Son Goku, wrapped in golden ki, as if gazing at a masterpiece coming into being.
"He can... There's something deeper...within him..."
"Child!" The Grand Elder's voice boomed through Son Goku's mind like a great bell. "Hold on!"
"Rumble—!"
After holding on for a while longer, Son Goku felt his consciousness cast into a golden sea.
It was a sea of potential.
Boundless, bottomless.
If the Ultra Divine Water's awakening of his potential had been like finding a path for a stream to join a river, the Grand Elder's awakening had found that river a way to reach the ocean.
"Nothing stands in my way now!"
He murmured to himself.
The Grand Elder finally lowered his hands and slumped weakly against the stone bed, panting like an old bellows. But a deeply satisfied smile lifted the corners of his mouth.
"Good...very good..."
Son Goku slowly opened his eyes and looked down at his hands. He clenched a fist—
"Pop!"
The air compressed in his palm with a crisp bang, and a visible ring of white ki spread from his fist!
[What a feeling...]
He estimated his strength.
[In the original story, after Goku recovered from nearly dying on Namek, his base battle power rose from 90,000 to 3 million. But now...the Grand Elder has unlocked my 'limit,' not simply poured battle power into me.]
[My base battle power...has increased at least fivefold? No, maybe more. More importantly, my body can now withstand more powerful transformations and higher multipliers of Kaio-ken...]
[In other words, my limit is now far beyond where Goku was at this point in the original story!]
"Thank you, Grand Elder." Son Goku bowed deeply, bending at the waist to a full ninety degrees. His voice brimmed with heartfelt gratitude. "I'll never forget this kindness..."
The Grand Elder waved a hand. His breathing was even weaker than before, like a candle flickering in the wind. "Don't thank me... I only...opened the door for you... The path...is yours to walk..."
He paused to catch his breath, then said to Nail, "Go...bring all the Dragon Balls from the village..."
"The Dragon Balls?" Nail was taken aback, confusion filling all three of his eyes. "Grand Elder, you want to—"
"To help him make a wish." The Grand Elder looked at Son Goku. "This child...deserves Namek's...friendship."
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