4. Qi, Cultivation in Progress

"You're really not here to ask Gohan out on a date?" At the doorway, Chi-Chi stared suspiciously at the beautiful young girl before her. Videl glared back, impatient. "I already told you, I'm not."

Son Gohan and Son Goten, having just arrived home, happened to hear their exchange. Goten's mouth twitched. Videl, is it really a good idea to talk to your future mother-in-law like that?

"Videl, sorry I'm late," Gohan said, scratching his head in embarrassment. He had been too excited yesterday and completely forgot about their appointment. He then asked, "But how did you know my home address?"

"I just looked it up at school," Videl replied curtly, making Gohan feel even more awkward.

Goten stared at Videl for a few seconds, then blurted out a shocking question: "Big brother, is she your girlfriend?"

"How could she possibly be!" Videl shouted, her face turning red.

"Oh," Goten nodded, looking as if he understood, though he clearly didn't.

Back at the same spot, Gohan began teaching Videl the Flight Technique. Goten sat on a large rock, looking bored, watching Gohan show off while trying to teach the girl how to fly.

"To master the Flight Technique, the most important thing is controlling your ki," Gohan explained bit by bit, forgetting that Videl didn't even know what ki was, let alone how to cultivate it.

"Ki? What is ki?" Videl looked blank, leaving Gohan, who was in the middle of showing off, feeling incredibly awkward and unsure how to explain it.

"Geez, like this." Unable to watch any longer, Goten sighed. He opened his palm, and a pale blue energy blast the size of his hand shot out, leveling a small hill with a loud boom.

"Right, like that. I'm not sure what you call it," Gohan nodded in satisfaction.

"A magic trick," Videl said with complete seriousness.

Gohan's mouth twitched. "It's not a magic trick. We didn't use any props."

"How would I know? I don't understand this magic-like stuff of yours," Videl exclaimed. Gohan felt incredibly embarrassed, then added dejectedly, "Is it really impossible without that?"

As Videl leaned in closer, Gohan caught the faint, sweet scent of a young girl. Having never experienced such a thing, his face flushed red.

"Hey, if you two are going to kiss, could you at least consider how it makes others feel?" Goten, who had been resting his chin on his hand, interrupted with dead fish eyes. He finally understood: his big brother was being pursued by a girl. Is the emotional intelligence of Saiyans really this low?

The two froze, realizing how close they were, and pulled away, blushing. Gohan stammered, "Don't worry, Videl. Everyone has ki; it's just a matter of learning how to guide it out."

Hearing this, Videl's mood shifted from worry to joy.

Goten raised an eyebrow. Looking back at all the Dragon Ball works, the only one who actively pursued a girl was the original owner of this body. Goten's mouth twitched violently. His parents had married in a complete daze; ridiculously, when Chi-Chi said, "You should marry me," Son Goku agreed because he thought a "wife" was some kind of delicious food. As for Vegeta and Bulma, that was a case of pregnancy before marriage—by the time they realized what happened, their son was already old enough to run errands.

"Sigh," Goten sighed. The emotional intelligence of Saiyans was truly unbearable to watch.

That said, I don't know if the Dragon Ball world I'm in now is Dragon Ball Super or Dragon Ball GT. If it's GT, that's fine; I have over a decade to lay low and grow stronger. But if it's Super... damn, I might as well just give up. Gods of Destruction and all that, Goten thought as he watched Gohan teach Videl how to manifest her ki.

Forget it, I'll just train on my own. Goten stood up and said to Gohan, "Big brother, I'm going to go train by myself."

"Oh, alright," Gohan glanced at Goten before focusing his attention back on Videl.

Goten moved away, stopping at a distant location. With a "tuan," he transformed into a Super Saiyan and began his daily routine: one-fingered push-ups, balancing his entire body upside down.

"39,997, 39,998, 39,999, 40,000." Goten was drenched in sweat. Once he hit forty thousand, he switched to the index finger of his other hand.

The grueling training continued. Once Videl could skillfully use her ki, she moved on to the Flight Technique, while Goten continued his solitary grind. The bottleneck for Super Saiyan 2 was showing signs of loosening, bit by bit.

One day, Videl finally mastered the Flight Technique, soaring freely through the sky. Only then could Gohan focus on his own training, but by now, he had fallen far behind Goten. Goten's power was very close to the level Gohan had been at seven years ago; he was only one spark of rage away from breaking through to Super Saiyan 2.

"Boom."

"Boom."

"Boom."

After Videl left, the training between Goten and Gohan continued. Meanwhile, the Z Fighters of old were also training hard in preparation for the World Martial Arts Tournament: Vegeta, Krillin, Trunks, Gohan, Goten, and Son Goku, who was still in the Other World.

Satan, that fool, sat on his sofa with his legs crossed, puffing on a cigar. He acted as if his victory was guaranteed, choosing to enjoy unearned glory rather than train. When asked about Videl, he just arrogantly replied, "Don't worry, Videl. There isn't a single person in this world who could beat your father."

In his arrogance, Satan never considered what would happen if the person who actually killed Cell decided to hold him accountable. It was fortunate that it was Gohan who finished off Cell; if it had been Vegeta, it would be a question of whether Satan would even be alive today.

Videl left in a huff; she was truly helpless when it came to her father.