The Spirit Tree

The universe is vast. From his interstellar navigation charts, Kast currently knows he is on the outskirts of the North Galaxy, roughly 10 light-years away from the nearest habitable planet.

If one were to rely on the technology of Kast's past life, without wormholes or spacetime folding, even the fastest spacecraft would take tens of thousands of years to reach such a destination.

But today, 10 light-years is nothing to Kast; even without spacetime folding, a direct flight in his ship would take only a few hours.

Unlike his past life, the technology in this world is far superior, and in this universe, the speed of light is not the fastest velocity attainable.

Otherwise, Kast would never have been able to return from the remote planet where he was exiled from Planet Vegeta in just a few days.

As for why it took nearly a year to travel from Planet Vegeta to Earth, the reason is simple: Earth is located in the northern reaches of the universe, while Planet Vegeta is in the south. They are at two extremes, separated by an immense distance.

Therefore, it took a relatively long time.

In the vacuum of space, Kast is currently piloting his ship forward.

Watching the surrounding stars recede into the distance, a red dot suddenly appears on the monitor in front of him.

This dot represents a sign of life in the vicinity.

"Hm? What is this!?"

Kast is puzzled as he stares at the red dot on the display. According to the computer's route, this area was supposed to be a barren galaxy filled with nebular debris. There are no stars, no terrestrial planets; the only thing present is a gas giant. In such an environment, it is fundamentally impossible for life to emerge, and ordinary organisms could not survive here.

Yet, strangely, the computer is showing a life signal.

Filled with doubt, Kast silently closes his eyes and senses the direction indicated by the monitor, but miraculously, he feels no life energy at all.

"Is it too far away?"

But looking at the distance shown on the map, it isn't far at all.

This anomalous situation piques Kast's interest.

"Interesting!"

He adjusts the ship's course and heads toward the location indicated by the computer.

Because the distance is short, he arrives quickly, and as the ship draws closer, Kast sees the scene unfolding before him.

"How is this possible! This is!"

Seeing the planet floating ahead, Kast stands up in shock.

Kast's ship is currently in a desolate void filled with rubble and ruins. In the center of this debris should have been a massive gas giant, but now, the gases surrounding the planet's surface are dissipating, revealing the rocky strata beneath.

However, the most miraculous thing is that a giant, monstrous tree is growing on the planet!

The giant tree's roots are intertwined, anchored deep into the planet's surface, its towering crown reaching beyond the atmosphere. At a glance, it looks like a giant standing there, awe-inspiring.

Looking at this giant tree, Kast finally understands why the ship's detector sensed a life signal while he himself felt nothing.

Ultimately, it comes down to the difference between the ship's sensors and his own senses. The ship is equipped with planetary detectors that scan for life signals of all kinds, including both biological and botanical life.

Kast, however, can only sense the ki emitted by living creatures. He cannot perceive the energy of plants; the two are fundamentally different, which is why he failed to detect any presence.

As he stares at the giant tree, while still in shock, Kast carefully searches his memories. Finally, it clicks: there is only one tree in the Dragon Ball world capable of growing this large and using a planet as its nutrient source.

It is the legendary tree that appeared in the Dragon Ball movies: the Fruit of the Tree of Might!

Yes, the Fruit of the Tree of Might. In his memories, North Kai described it as a tree that circulates among the gods, its fruit being something only gods are qualified to consume.

This divine tree is extremely demanding; it survives and grows by using a planet as its nourishment. Once it takes root on a planet, it frantically absorbs every nutrient the world has to offer.

Eventually, it produces red fruit from these nutrients.

The planet is then left as a barren desert, unable to sustain any life for hundreds of years to come.

However, Kast, being familiar with the plot, knows that while the negative effects of the Tree of Might are devastating to inhabited planets, its fruit possesses powerful properties!

Not only does it not harm the human body, but it also provides a massive boost to one's strength, and this amplification comes without any side effects.

It is well known that in the Dragon Ball movie, Turles used the Fruit of the Tree of Might to suppress the Z Fighters for a time.

Even in his battle against Goku, who had a combat power of 30,000, Turles—who was initially at a disadvantage—managed to turn the tide simply by eating one Fruit of the Tree of Might.

His strength skyrocketed instantly, and in just a few moves, he knocked Goku to the ground.

So much so that even when Goku later used the ten-fold Kaioken, he was no match for Turles.

If not for the energy provided by the Tree of Might being used to form a Spirit Bomb, the Z Fighters would likely have been defeated.

Thus, one can see just how powerful the effects of the Fruit of the Tree of Might are.

Kast sometimes wonders if the God of Destruction Beerus and his peers, who appeared later in the series, possess such immense power because they consume these fruits?

After all, the Tree of Might is known as a tree that only gods can eat.

Since the God of Destruction is a high-ranking deity and his domain is destruction, is it possible that he finds planets to destroy, plants the Tree of Might on them first, eats the fruit, and then destroys the planet?

Honestly, it is quite possible. Given Beerus's gluttonous and sleepy nature, it is hard to imagine him training diligently, so this theory holds significant weight.

Of course, this is all just Kast's speculation; he doesn't know the truth for sure.

But since he has encountered this Tree of Might, there is no reason not to pick some fruit and eat it.