Talking to Mr. Popo Again

Earth.

Within the estate of Bulma's family in the suburbs of West City!

In a cozy room, Bulma listened carefully to everything Vegeta said. Her expressions shifted constantly, ranging from worry over his recent coma to jealousy over his confession...

"Alright, that's how it is. I accept any punishment! If you don't agree, I'll go and reject Gulnara!" Vegeta was beyond caring now.

At worst, he would fail the system's mission. Super Saiyan 2 could wait. But he could not let down the woman standing before him!

Watching him admit his fault, Bulma felt her heart soften. She wanted to laugh, but she deliberately kept a straight face to scare Vegeta!

Vegeta snuck a glance at Bulma's expression, thinking to himself:

She must be furious. She'll definitely never agree! In the original story, it seems she broke up with Yamcha because he was a philanderer... Gulnara, it looks like I'll have to let you down!

Bulma looked at this man, who was fearless at all times yet trembling with anxiety right now, and couldn't help but burst into laughter. "Haha, Vegeta, go look in a mirror. Look at yourself right now—you're truly adorable!!!"

Vegeta wore a look of utter astonishment. Was this... an agreement!?

"Alright, what are you worrying about for nothing? If this were the past, I might not have agreed. After all, not just any woman can compare to me! But this queen you speak of—I genuinely admire her!" Bulma explained.

"You're agreeing just like that?? Not even a little jealous? I'm starting to doubt if you even love me," Vegeta said.

The way Bulma was acting now didn't seem like her at all.

"I'm agreeing. From the moment I rushed out of Earth with you, I understood that your future isn't limited to just this planet! There will be plenty of time later, so why not? Besides, she can even help me keep you in check..." Bulma said, acting coy.

Three months later.

Everyone gathered at the estate. Goku, Chi-Chi, Gohan, Oolong, Krillin, and even Piccolo were there—even that old man Master Roshi had come!

The Namekians summoned the Dragon and made their first wish. Because Chiaotzu's body had vanished, they revived him first. The strength of the Namekian Dragon lay in this: it could even recreate a body from scratch upon resurrection!

Next, because Porunga could not grant the wish to revive everyone killed by a certain person all at once, they had to be specific.

The others waited for Earth Shenron to be revived before making their own wishes! Dende had already stayed behind; unlike in the original story, he remained early because Vegeta had invited him to be the new Kami of Earth.

The Namekians wished to find a new, habitable planet and took all their people present with them! Only Dende was left behind.

Dende watched Moori and the others depart with teary eyes!

"Dende, don't worry. We have a spaceship. If you miss them, we can borrow a ship from Aunt Bulma to go visit!" Gohan comforted him.

Ever since they returned, they had been playing with Dende whenever they weren't studying. The two children had become very close!

"Mm, thank you, Gohan," Dende said, wiping away his tears.

At this moment, the group was rejoicing over Chiaotzu's resurrection!

Krillin asked, "Dende, do you know how to make Dragon Balls? Can you revive Earth Shenron?"

He hadn't been here during this time, so he wasn't aware of Vegeta's arrangements.

"Enough, Krillin. I've already taken care of it. I'm taking Dende to the Lookout now!" Vegeta said impatiently.

He suddenly turned his head toward Master Roshi, his eyes filled with killing intent as he said:

"Old man, I didn't care before, but if you ever dare to lay your pig-trotters on Bulma again, I'll make sure you die without a burial ground!"

Without even looking at Master Roshi's terrified expression, he instantly teleported with Dende to the Lookout, having some business with Mr. Popo as well.

Oolong looked at his own palms in confusion. "Eh, pig-trotters... is he talking about me..."

The others stifled their laughter as they looked at Master Roshi, who was sweating profusely—he didn't even dare to look at Bulma!

"Haha, Master Roshi, so you have a day where you're afraid too," Krillin teased.

"Hmph, I'm not... I'm just old, and my heart is willing but my strength is lacking!" Master Roshi insisted stubbornly.

"Old man, I suggest you take his words to heart, lest he really sends you to your grave one day!" Piccolo warned.

"Relax, Master. As long as you don't act out, Vegeta won't do anything to you!" Goku chimed in to smooth things over.

Lookout.

Mr. Popo looked at Dende, who looked exactly like the former Kami, and sighed with deep emotion! He was incredibly moved! Finally, someone had come to keep him company!

Dende looked at the pitch-black Mr. Popo and asked Vegeta in confusion:

"Mr. Vegeta, who is he?"

"He was the former Kami's attendant, and he will be yours too. He's responsible for your daily needs!" Vegeta didn't expose Mr. Popo's true strength.

Since he chose to live in seclusion, there was no need to expose him! After all, he didn't have the strength to defeat him yet.

"Mr. Popo, I'll be troubling you from now on," Dende said respectfully.

"No trouble at all. I'm very happy to see you here. This is the former Kami's staff, representing the position of Earth's Kami. It belongs to you now," Mr. Popo said excitedly.

Dende took it with both hands, then stood holding the staff with one hand, looking a bit like the former Kami himself!

"Right, Mr. Popo, does the Lookout have a model of the Dragon? I can revive the Dragon!" Dende remembered his purpose and asked Mr. Popo.

"Yes, I believe there is one. Kami-sama made two sets of models back then, fearing he wouldn't succeed on the first try, but he ended up creating the Dragon on the first attempt! I'll go find that set for you. This is wonderful, you have the ability to create Dragon Balls too!" After saying this, Mr. Popo headed toward the Lookout's storeroom.

"Dende, you're still young. If you get lonely, you can ask Gohan to come play!" Vegeta said at this moment.

"Rest assured, Mr. Vegeta. With this staff, I seem to be able to scan the entire Earth. I can observe all the facets of human life... I won't be bored!" Dende said excitedly!

Vegeta suddenly recalled that Piccolo had once said the same thing. So, this was the power of the Guardian of Earth's position!

He felt a sudden wave of awkwardness!

"Dende, watch what you should watch. Don't go peeking at things you shouldn't, or you'll hurt your eyes!!" Vegeta instructed!

Dende wore a look of utter confusion!

"You'll understand later! Besides, you Namekians don't have that function anyway!"

It seems he would have to be careful from now on. Earth had a Guardian once again.

However, with Vegeta's mastery of the Space-Time Technique, while he couldn't create space yet, isolating a pocket of space was something he could easily achieve!

After all, there were too many gods with voyeuristic tendencies—Fortuneteller Baba, King Kai, the Supreme Kai, and even Whis with his staff!

It was just that the Supreme Kai and Whis hadn't noticed him yet.

Mr. Popo walked out then, holding the model of Earth Shenron! He handed it to Dende.

Dende looked at it, surprised by how different it was from Porunga! He hadn't expected Earth's Shenron to look like this; although it didn't look as powerful as Porunga, there was a faint sense of dominance about it! It looked much better than Porunga's image!

Dende chanted in the Namekian language, his hands forming seals that Vegeta couldn't comprehend! The model gradually transformed into a golden light, broke through its container, flew into the sky, and split into seven rays of light that scattered in all directions!

"It's done. Aside from reviving Shenron, I've also upgraded the Dragon Balls' capabilities. They can still grant three wishes, but if you make a wish to revive many people, it will consume more energy, reducing it to two wishes!" Dende explained.

"That's enough, Dende. Honestly, I don't really approve of overusing the Dragon Balls. Even your original creators suffered disasters because of their nature, let alone the humans on Earth who are filled with all sorts of desires!" Vegeta said with concern.

After all, he knew about the Shadow Dragons that appeared in the original story! Although the system said this wouldn't be a fan-fiction world, it seemed like the signs of Super Saiyan 4 were already appearing. It was hard to avoid other situations; Dragon Ball GT was a work acknowledged by Akira Toriyama, not a fan-fiction, so it was understandable! Perhaps the original history would change...

"That is indeed true. I don't know exactly what happened, but every time the Grand Elder mentioned it, he was terrified, his eyes filled with fear. We are all the Grand Elder's children; if he doesn't speak of it, we don't know either!" Dende said solemnly.

"Mr. Popo, let's have a talk!" Vegeta said.

"Very well, follow me. Guardian Dende, please wait a moment!"

"Alright. Go ahead!"

Dende stood at the edge of the Lookout, clutching the staff and watching the lives of the people on Earth, mimicking the exact posture of the previous Guardian! Mr. Popo led Vegeta to a house.

"What is it, Mr. Vegeta? Speak your mind!" Mr. Popo asked, puzzled.

"I know about the matters between the Saiyans and the gods, including the Elf Race! And the former Grand Priest!" Vegeta looked at Mr. Popo with a heavy expression.

After all, he didn't know how Mr. Popo would treat him!

"Oh, so you know everything! Aren't you afraid I'll kill you?" Mr. Popo threatened!

"I am. I'm no match for you right now, but I care more about your stance and the attitude of the gods!" Vegeta said, suppressing his fear.

After all, the gap between him and Mr. Popo was still vast!

"Rest assured. I won't do anything to you, otherwise, I wouldn't have taught you techniques or transmitted the battle visions of your ancestors!" Mr. Popo said, withdrawing his aura.

"Don't you blame the Saiyans? After all, your resignation had a lot to do with the ancestor Yamoshi!"

"Actually, my resignation wasn't just because of Yamoshi, but also because of the uncontrollable current Grand Priest! When I was in office, his strength was already no less than mine! He even had the intention to kill me! So I chose to step down and live in seclusion!" Mr. Popo sighed.

"The current Grand Priest? The father of the current Angels?"

"That's right. I always knew he had great ambition! But I wasn't sure what it was! I could only set up a layout intentionally!" Mr. Popo said.

"Could it be that the unsealing of the ancestor Yamoshi also had something to do with you?" Vegeta had a new question!

When Gulnara had explained things before, Vegeta found it strange. How did the Elf Queen travel across the universe to reach Universe 6? After all, the Super Dragon Balls were scattered between Universe 7 and Universe 6!

"Yes, I was the one who intentionally arranged for her to receive news of the Super Shenron. I deliberately hid it from all the gods, brought the Super Dragon Balls from Universe 6 to Universe 7, and then sent people to create the ruins of the gods. I let her learn the divine language! Even when she summoned the dragon, I was controlling Universe 7 to ensure no energy leaked out!" Mr. Popo revealed a shocking secret!

Vegeta couldn't understand why Mr. Popo would do such a thing!

"The current Grand Priest is my disciple! His Ultra Instinct was also taught by me, though he tells the new gods that it's his own!" Mr. Popo continued.

"Why is it like this? Then why did you seal and curse the Saiyans?" Vegeta asked indignantly.

"Yamoshi actually knew my plan. After the first battle, it wasn't that I didn't have the strength to kill him, but I wanted to cooperate with him! So I made an excuse to seal him, letting him train in secret! I just didn't expect him to be so stubborn about defeating the gods himself, eventually leading to his death!" Mr. Popo explained.

"I gradually discovered that the Grand Priest had slipped out of my control! His strength had surpassed mine! I had no choice but to resign from the position of Grand Priest!" Mr. Popo said.

"Then can I bring the Elf Race out now? I did promise them!"

"It's best not to. The current Elf Continent has managed to avoid that person's pursuit thanks to the wish of the Namekian dragon and my shielding. Don't be careless until you are strong enough to defeat him!" Mr. Popo warned quickly.

"Who exactly is the current Grand Priest? You gave up the position of Grand Priest—aren't you worried about Zeno's safety?"

"Zeno is the embodiment of the rules of this world. As long as the world is not destroyed, Zeno can be revived even if he dies. So there's no need to worry. If Zeno were to die one day, it would mean the entire universe and the world had perished! What would there be to worry about then?" Mr. Popo even cursed.

"Then why are you hiding on Earth? And who exactly is the Grand Priest, and what is his conspiracy?" Vegeta asked in a continuous barrage.

Mr. Popo replied unhurriedly, "First, I hide on Earth because Dragon God Zalama disappeared hundreds of millions of years ago, but I am certain he is not dead because the Super Shenron still exists!"

"As for the second and third questions, I don't know who he is either. When I was traveling the universe, he suddenly appeared before me without any warning. He was just a child then! Wrapped in swaddling clothes! I saw he was gifted, so I took him as a disciple and taught him with all my might. It wasn't until the Dragon God disappeared that I realized something was wrong. He was hiding a massive conspiracy and even showed a hint of killing intent toward me!! I still don't know what his conspiracy is. I can only wait patiently!"

After speaking, he looked at Vegeta with complex eyes.

"You don't think I'm a product of his conspiracy, do you? Damn it!" Vegeta said, looking at Mr. Popo's gaze.

"When you found me, I thought you were! After all, your soul and body were not compatible. I thought you were a soul created by that guy! But through my observation of you, I found you to be loyal and righteous, not as cold and heartless as you appear! I feel you aren't, but whether you are or not, you know that yourself!" Mr. Popo explained.

"Rest assured, I guarantee I am not his pawn. I cannot tell you about my origins yet, I hope you understand!" Vegeta explained.

"No matter. Your strength is not yet a threat to me. Wait quietly! One day, everything will be clear. If you are not his pawn, then you must hurry to increase your combat power; after all, you are too weak right now!" Mr. Popo said calmly.

"Then lift the curse on us Saiyans, and the seal on our genes!" Vegeta demanded.

"Not yet. First, now that I have stepped down from my position as Kami, my strength is not what it once was. Second, even if I could break it, are you not afraid that the current Grand Priest would notice? If he finds out, he will know you have met with me. He will not let you go! If you improve and break it yourself, you might just survive the period of weakness. After all, my presence here is a deterrent to him. It keeps him wary!" Mr. Popo explained.

"Fine. It seems the waters in this world run truly deep," Vegeta sighed.

He had originally transmigrated here just to get stronger to survive. He never expected to be caught up in such a massive conspiracy. Agreeing to Gulnara's conditions had also dragged him deep into the mire.

"What about Earth? Have you discovered anything?" Vegeta continued to converse with Mr. Popo.

"No. Although I sensed a trace of the Dragon God's aura coming to Earth hundreds of millions of years ago, it vanished immediately! I could only create the Lookout and use the last of my power from my former position to arrange a minor position—the current Kami—while I hid within the Lookout, observing everything. The current Grand Priest has been searching for me! Those Angel sons of his were all created using his blood through unknown methods. I am not even sure if they know of his conspiracy, but I suspect they do not; after all, the fewer people who know, the better! If you encounter them, do not reveal anything you know, lest an accident occur."

"So that's how it is. No wonder you have always existed on Earth; even Piccolo doesn't know when you appeared. You were already here when he accepted the position of Kami," Vegeta realized with a start.

So the position of Kami on Earth was all arranged by Mr. Popo! No wonder the original story never described his origins! It was too far back in the past.

"Because of me, you cannot learn Ultra Instinct. But do not be discouraged. As long as you can enhance your base combat power like Yamoshi and then break through to Super Saiyan 6, you too can jump off the chessboard and become a player. Then you can fight the Grand Priest!" Mr. Popo comforted him.

"Enough. I have no other questions. Is there anything else you need to say? Get it all out at once so I don't have to keep coming back to you!" Vegeta said impatiently.

"There is one more thing. I have observed history and can clearly see your past. It is not that it is identical to the current you; it is completely unrelated! Regardless of your actions, your schemes, or your calculations, I cannot see your future. This proves that he cannot see it either. Although I have lost my position, my divine power and techniques remain. While he is stronger than me, he cannot see your future either; it appears as a void, unlike anyone else's! Therefore, you are the most likely person to uncover the conspiracy and defeat him. Earth holds many anomalies. I have observed the progression of other divergent worlds regarding the Androids, Cell, and Majin Buu, but in this world, your strength is far too great! This is why I am confessing everything to you. Do you understand what I mean?" Mr. Popo said in one breath.

"I understand. When the day comes that I am qualified, I will not forget your help. Besides, I have people I care about, and I will never forgive anyone who harms them!" Vegeta said with a hint of tenderness.

"Good, as long as you understand, rest assured! When you are away, I will look after Bulma; I won't let anything happen to her! There are not many people in this world who can defeat me," Mr. Popo said solemnly.

"Then thank you. That removes my worries."

Having someone powerful to look after things was a good thing.

"Go. You understand the situation now. If you have more questions, come find me again," Mr. Popo said.

"I'm leaving. Don't look for me unless it's important; I'll find you if I need anything," Vegeta said with a haughty air.

His figure vanished instantly.

"Oh? Instant Transmission? But it's different... what a strange person," Mr. Popo murmured, watching the spot where he had disappeared.

He then composed himself and walked out of the Lookout.

Serving the new Kami seemed to have become a joy in his endless life; only in this way did he feel like a true, flesh-and-blood creature rather than a cold deity.

"System, get out here and explain yourself clearly. What exactly are you? Did the Grand Priest send you?"

"Ding..." The system was speechless, emitting only a dull sound.

"Ding your grandfather! Tell the truth, or I won't complete your tasks anymore. Since you want me to complete them so badly, you must have an ulterior motive!" Vegeta shouted angrily.

The system now felt like a ticking time bomb. Thinking about why he came to this world and how others might be pulling the strings made him shudder. He hadn't expected his rebirth to be a conspiracy as well.

"This system cannot reveal too much. I can only tell you that the system is on the host's side. It was absolutely not created by the Grand Priest; he does not possess such great power!" The system's mechanical voice sounded somewhat haughty.

"Screw you! Then when can you reveal it?"

"The host will know when the time comes. I cannot say now, lest we be discovered!" At this moment, the system seemed to possess a trace of humanity, no longer a cold machine.

Vegeta thought carefully. Mr. Popo could not see the existence of the system, and according to Mr. Popo, the Grand Priest's strength was comparable to his own; he likely wasn't the creator of the system.

"Fine. If I ever discover that you are part of a conspiracy, I will do everything in my power to uninstall you! I mean what I say!" Vegeta threatened viciously.

"Rest assured, host. This system's existence is dependent on you. If you are harmed, I will be destroyed as well! So there is no need to worry," the system explained silently.

It simply refused to reveal any information.