The Lookout,
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Everyone stared at the fused Piccolo, some astonished, others excited!
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Only Mr. Popo stood there with tears in his eyes. He murmured, calling out, "Guardian of Earth..." No matter who Mr. Popo was, the two of them had spent over a hundred years together. Their bond ran deep!
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"Gohan, let's go home! Your mom must be getting worried," Goku said.
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"Yes, Dad! Goodbye, Uncle Piccolo!" Gohan replied!
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The two flew down from the Lookout and headed for Mount Paozu!
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Piccolo stood at the edge of the Lookout, just as Kami had once done, but the staff that symbolized the Guardian of Earth was no longer in his hands!
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Mr. Popo turned to Vegeta and said, "Come with me. I've prepared what you asked for!" Vegeta folded his arms and followed Mr. Popo into a vast room.
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Inside stood a Training Puppet that looked like Vegeta. As Vegeta stared at it, he wondered: was this what Mr. Popo had been preparing all this time?
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"Vegeta, though I don't know who you really are, I'm certain you and the body you're in aren't the same person," Mr. Popo said, his face expressionless.
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So the system had been right! The mismatch between Vegeta's soul and body had let Mr. Popo spot something amiss!
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"Goku used this Training Puppet when he was a child, too. Fight it, and you may gain unexpected insights," Mr. Popo said.
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Could this be the foundation of the Ultra Instinct Kakarot had learned as a child? Vegeta wondered.
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As soon as Mr. Popo finished speaking, Vegeta charged at the Training Puppet. It didn't budge. Just as Vegeta's fist was about to land, the puppet raised its hand slightly. It looked slow, but in the blink of an eye, its palm was already facing Vegeta's fist—as if Vegeta had struck it there on purpose! Vegeta's heart jumped. Was this the legendary Ultra Instinct? Whis had said only Angels and the gods' race could master Ultra Instinct! How could a puppet Mr. Popo had made so casually use this technique? Who was he, really?
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The Saiyan's battle-loving blood boiled. Casting aside his doubts, Vegeta charged again! They darted back and forth, but no matter what move Vegeta tried, he couldn't touch the puppet. Soon he was panting with exhaustion, while the puppet remained just as it was, without even stepping outside a one-meter radius!
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Fury and helplessness filled Vegeta. He roared, "Killing Intent Fist..." His power erupted, and his terrifying aura shook the entire Lookout. His battle power soared from 700,000 to 3.5 million, and he charged at the puppet several times faster!
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Mr. Popo's eyes narrowed. Watching this unfamiliar technique, he murmured, "What a powerful skill. It multiplies his battle power by five. It doesn't seem as strong as North Kai's Kaio-ken, but it has none of the harmful side effects. He can fight without limit! Who is he, and why does he know such strange techniques?"
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"You puppet, you dare look down on me? Galick Cannon..." Vegeta roared! He brought his hands together before his chest, shaping them like a flower. A tremendous torrent of yellow energy shot toward the puppet!
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The puppet still didn't move. At the instant the energy reached it, it slid slightly to the left, dodging the attack by a hair's breadth! Vegeta controlled the energy blast with both hands and swung it upward. The blast tore a huge hole in the roof, then shot into the sky, broke through the atmosphere, and vanished into space!
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Outside, everyone stared at the blast in shock. They hadn't expected Vegeta's power to have grown so unfathomably great!
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Only Piccolo stood motionless, like a stone pillar! Even with Killing Intent Fist, Vegeta had reached only 3.5 million in battle power—still far below him. Piccolo could easily have broken that beam with one hand!
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If Vegeta knew how much Piccolo was underestimating him, he'd surely transform into a Super Saiyan right then and there!
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"Vegeta, if you keep fighting like this, you'll never learn what I'm trying to teach you! Your muscles are always tense. You can't relax, so you can't sense the puppet's movements. You have to let your body fight naturally! In battle, let your body dodge attacks on its own. Don't wait for your brain to think of a move and then send the command to your body—that wastes too much time! You may seem fast to ordinary people, but to me, you're slower than a snail!" Mr. Popo explained.
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Vegeta considered Mr. Popo's words. They were much like what Whis had said in the original story when teaching him and Kakarot. Even in the original story, Vegeta had never learned the technique! Was he doomed never to master Ultra Instinct? If this kept up, wouldn't he end up saddled with the title of second-best for another thousand years?
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"Try again. If you still can't do it, I'll teach you something else. Perhaps the technique your Saiyan ancestors used when they returned to their roots will suit you better," Mr. Popo continued.
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"Returned to their roots?" Vegeta asked, puzzled.
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"Yes. Your Saiyan ancestors ruled the entire Universe 7 billions of years ago and drove the gods back again and again. If the one at the summit hadn't erased them, I might not be standing here teaching you now!" For the first time, Mr. Popo's unchanging expression shifted ever so slightly. Vegeta had seen that expression many times before. It was unmistakably fear!
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Vegeta wondered. The original story had never mentioned any of this. Were there still many secrets in the Dragon Ball world?
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"Teach me that technique that lets the body fight on its own. I just can't learn it!" Vegeta said. Neither of them mentioned the words Ultra Instinct. Mr. Popo assumed Vegeta didn't know about it, while Vegeta didn't want to reveal how much he knew. The more he said, the more he might get wrong. Mr. Popo had already noticed something was off, and Vegeta didn't want to expose anything else!
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"All right. I don't know the exact technique, either. I can only transmit some images of the battles from that time. Study them carefully and try to understand," Mr. Popo said. He extended his dark fingers toward Vegeta's forehead. Vegeta's head throbbed as if it were about to explode, and he couldn't help but scream!
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"I've transmitted them into your mind. You can't accept all the battle images yet—you're too weak. I sealed most of them away. For now, you can only see your ancestors beginning their campaigns of conquest!" Mr. Popo said expressionlessly!
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Vegeta broke into a cold sweat. As Mr. Popo sealed the images, the pain in his head gradually faded!
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With a casual wave of Mr. Popo's hand, the Training Puppet he had created turned into a lump of mud. Vegeta stared at him in shock, humiliation spreading through his heart! The puppet he'd been fighting had been nothing but a pile of dirt! Anger welled up inside him, though he didn't notice that as his fury grew, the S-Cells in his body had risen from 75 percent to 90 percent. Another 10 percent, and he'd meet the requirements to transform!
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The two headed out of the temple!
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Once outside, Vegeta said to Piccolo, "We leave in two months. Be ready! Don't get cocky. The strongest enemy on Namek, their emperor, is ten times stronger than you are now!"
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Piccolo stared at him in disbelief. "What? I thought I was invincible! I had no idea there was always someone stronger..." He immediately put aside the arrogance he'd felt earlier!
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"Hmph. And he's nothing special in this universe. There are countless people stronger than him," Vegeta said dismissively!
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Cell, Majin Buu, the God of Destruction, the Angels, Moro—which of them wasn't stronger than Frieza? Although Frieza had grown enormously stronger in the Dragon Ball Super story, seemingly in a short time, that power had come from the potential he'd built up while enduring torment and meditating in Heaven!
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With that, Vegeta flew toward West City.
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At Bulma's house, Bulma was still hard at work in the workshop, hammering away at the spaceship. It looked completely different from before. The once delicate, compact ship had grown about ten times larger!
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Vegeta came in and asked, "Bulma, how's the ship coming along?"
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"The outside is almost done, but there's nothing inside yet. I'll need another twenty-odd days to finish the bedrooms, Gravity Chamber, music system, bathroom..." Bulma explained as she worked.
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"None of that matters. The most important thing is the Gravity Chamber. Make sure it's done right!" Vegeta cut her off!
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"What do you mean, none of it matters? You may not need those things, but I do! And I want to see aliens, too!" Bulma said haughtily!
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"What? You're coming, too? Absolutely not. It's dangerous there. The planet could even be destroyed. If you die, we'll have to waste a wish bringing you back," Vegeta said.
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He was clearly worried, but too stubborn to admit it!
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"Relax, relax! I know you're worried about me. If things look bad, I'll escape in the pod. I'll leave the ship for you. I took the essential parts out of your friend's ship and turned the rest of the wreckage into a simple escape pod. Besides, do you really have so little faith in your ability to protect me? Or are you worried about me?" Bulma said with a smile, looking at him!
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"Hmph. Who's worried about you?" Vegeta said stubbornly!
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"It's late. Let's go get some rest..." Vegeta said with a lecherous grin!
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Bulma saw his roguish smile and blushed slightly. "You're impossible. I'm not finished yet!" Though she said that, Bulma had just gotten a taste of the fun, too. She set down her tools, linked her arm through Vegeta's, and headed for the bedroom...
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After they'd had their foreplay, Vegeta looked tenderly at Bulma and said, "All right, I won't tease you tonight. You haven't had enough rest. I was just worried you were too tired, so I made an excuse to get you to rest."
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Bulma looked at the domineering, wickedly charming prince before her, her heart full of emotion! Perhaps this was the only time he was ever so gentle. In public, he was always cold and aloof, his pride keeping everyone at arm's length!
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"What, can't you hold back? I'll help you," Bulma said. Before she could finish, she slipped beneath the covers... (I'll leave the details to your imagination!)
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Vegeta stared in astonishment at the woman who had given so much for him, his heart overflowing with emotion...!!
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