Finding a New Guardian

"Ah Yuan, that move of yours is terrifying. If I'd been a little slower, I'd definitely have been killed."

Son Goku patted his chest, looking thoroughly frightened.

At the last moment, Son Goku realized he couldn't block the attack, so he quickly used Instant Transmission to get over beside Mo Yuan.

Even now, thinking back to when he'd faced that attack head-on, Son Goku still felt shaken.

Hearing Son Goku's words, Mo Yuan smiled faintly without denying it.

It was the strongest killing move Mo Yuan had developed, and it had taken him a very long time to complete.

He'd combined the traits of Son Goku's Kamehameha, Piccolo's Special Beam Cannon, and Krillin's Destructo Disc, then added a little bit of his own wild imagination to create it.

If ki were water, Son Goku's Kamehameha would be a high-pressure water jet, while Mo Yuan's Space-Splitting Sword would be a waterjet cutter.

A high-pressure water jet was used for washing things, while a waterjet cutter could slice through stone and steel plates.

With the same amount of power, the more concentrated it was, the greater the damage it caused.

The Space-Splitting Sword was incredibly powerful and had tremendous penetrating force.

Of course, its drawbacks were obvious too: the windup was fairly long, and it took quite a while to gather ki.

And once unleashed, it was almost impossible to control. If an opponent ran away like Son Goku had, the attack would essentially do no damage.

However, now that Mo Yuan had learned Instant Transmission, he'd solved that problem. He could control the attack through spatial nodes.

He hadn't used that ability just now because there was no need. He hadn't intended to actually kill Son Goku.

"Come on, I'll heal you."

A green glow appeared around Mo Yuan's hand, and he pressed it against Son Goku.

"Whoa! You can even heal people?!"

Son Goku was delighted to feel his wounds rapidly healing.

That would save them a Senzu Bean.

Ever since Yajirobe had wasted all their Senzu Beans, they'd been wishing they could split each bean in half to make them last longer.

In fact, that was exactly what they'd ended up doing later.

Anyway, Senzu Beans were scarce now, so they had to save them whenever they could.

After healing Son Goku, the two of them returned to the Lookout.

Son Goku was a little surprised to see Piccolo and the others there. "Piccolo, what are you guys doing here?"

Piccolo crossed his arms, looking exasperated. "With you making that much of a racket, wouldn't it be strange if we didn't come?"

"Huh? True. Hahaha!"

Son Goku scratched the back of his head and laughed awkwardly.

"Oh, right, Piccolo. Can you separate and return to how you were before merging with Kami?" Son Goku suddenly remembered something and asked.

Ever since learning that Cell had escaped to another timeline, Son Goku had wanted to use the Dragon Balls to revive the people on Earth whom Cell had killed.

But the Dragon Balls could no longer be used, because Kami and Piccolo had merged.

"No." Piccolo shook his head.

"Once Kami and I have merged, we can't separate into two people again. If Earth hadn't faced so many disasters, we wouldn't have chosen to merge."

"I see. So there really isn't a way. That makes sense..."

Son Goku hadn't expected it to be possible, so he hadn't been too hopeful.

He then asked, "Gohan told me some Namekians survived. Do you know which planet they went to? I hope we can find them soon."

Piccolo: "What?"

Son Goku: "I want to find a Namekian among them and have him stay on Earth. That way, Kami and the Dragon Balls can both be brought back, right?"

Hearing Son Goku's words, Mr. Popo's eyes lit up. He gazed at Goku with hopeful little eyes. "If you can find a new Kami, I'll have you to thank."

Mr. Popo was overjoyed. The thought that there might soon be a new Kami put him in an excellent mood.

Though Mr. Popo, Mo Yuan and the others, and Son Goku and his friends were all good friends, Mr. Popo knew they couldn't stay at the Lookout forever.

Once they left, he'd be the only one here, all alone.

Son Goku's idea was a good one, but Piccolo couldn't help asking, "But, Goku, how will you bring him here? We don't even know what planet they're on."

Son Goku smiled. "Have you forgotten I can use Instant Transmission? If I can find a ki similar to yours, that means there are Namekians there."

Piccolo was astonished. "You can sense ki from that far away?"

"Probably! If it's not too far, I should be able to. I'll try now. Everyone, stay quiet for a moment..."

As he spoke, Son Goku pressed his index and middle fingers to his forehead and began searching for a ki similar to Piccolo's.

Seeing how seriously Son Goku was concentrating, everyone held their breath.

After a long while,

Son Goku's expression shifted slightly, and he lowered his hand.

Everyone watched him expectantly.

Son Goku said awkwardly, "Sorry, I still can't do it! What should I do?"

Everyone: "=͟͟͞͞(꒪⌓꒪*)"

"Wait! If I go to King Kai, maybe I can find them."

Son Goku thought of another idea and eagerly started searching for King Kai's ki.

"How do you get to King Kai?"

"Found him!"

Son Goku disappeared in an instant.

He'd probably gone straight to King Kai.

"I hope Dad's all right."

Gohan silently prayed.

=͟͟͞͞(๑•̀=͟͟͞͞(๑•̀д•́=͟͟͞͞(๑•̀д•́๑)=͟͟͞͞(๑•̀д•́ ٩

After learning that Cell had gone to another timeline, Piccolo and the others stopped patrolling.

They stayed at the Lookout.

They were curious about the Hyperbolic Time Chamber too.

They also wanted to train inside for a while.

Mo Yuan wasn't close to Piccolo and the others, and he didn't feel like going over to make small talk.

Besides, they were still somewhat wary of Mo Yuan and his companions.

So the Lookout was divided into two little groups.

Mo Yuan, Lazuli, and Lapis.

Piccolo, Son Gohan, Krillin, and Tien Shinhan.

Mo Yuan put together some afternoon tea and called Mr. Popo over.

The four of them sat beneath a large parasol, enjoying delicious afternoon tea in perfect comfort.

But perhaps because Piccolo and the others were there, Mr. Popo didn't stay with Mo Yuan's group for long.

Mr. Popo also suggested that Mo Yuan join them, but Mo Yuan refused.

First, they weren't close.

Second, Piccolo and the others were wary of them.

Joining them now would only make things awkward.

After all, not everyone was as carefree as Son Goku.

Hearing Mo Yuan say that, Mr. Popo didn't bring it up again.

"You two really don't consider me a person, do you?"

Watching his sister and Mo Yuan being all lovey-dovey, Lapis couldn't help complaining.

Mo Yuan and Lazuli looked at Lapis in confusion. Then they exchanged a glance and said in unison with a laugh, "Single dog!"

Lapis: "(╯‵皿′)╯︵┻━┻"

Nearby, Krillin kept sneaking glances at Lazuli.

He didn't know why.

Whenever he saw Lazuli and Mo Yuan being affectionate with each other,

his heart felt a little sore...

Mo Yuan noticed Krillin's gaze and turned to look at him coldly.

Feeling the chill in Mo Yuan's eyes, Krillin suddenly felt as if he were being stared down by a primordial beast. Even breathing became difficult.

He quickly turned his head away, not daring to look at Lazuli again.

"What's wrong? Is there something there?"

Lazuli asked in confusion.

"Nothing."

Mo Yuan turned back, his expression returning to normal.

Lazuli didn't ask any further and held the food in her hand to Mo Yuan's mouth.

Mo Yuan bit down without a second thought.

"Ugh!! Cough, cough!!!"

A blast of spicy flavor shot straight to the top of his head.

Mustard—an enormous lump of it!

Mo Yuan coughed so hard his eyes watered.

Seeing Lazuli covering her mouth and laughing, Mo Yuan decided she shouldn't be the only one to enjoy this delicacy.

He put an arm around Lazuli and shared the taste with her before the flavor had faded from his mouth.

A moment later,

Mo Yuan looked at Lazuli, whose eyes were brimming with tears from the mustard, and said softly,

"That's what it means to share both joy and hardship."

Lapis, beside them: "(▼⊿▼)"

=͟͟͞͞(๑•̀=͟͟͞͞(๑•̀д•́=͟͟͞͞(๑•̀д•́๑)=͟͟͞͞(๑•̀д•́ ٩